Later this month, the Parsons City Commission and representatives from Parsons USD 503 will discuss details of a monument to the former Douglass School in Parsons.
USD 503 School Board member Lou Martino discussed the matter with commissioners on Monday. He has discussed the memorial previously with city commissioners and his fellow school board members.
The monument idea flowed from a request by Parsons resident Sontana Johnson to have Glenwood Park either renamed or have its name altered to include Douglass.
Douglass School, 822 S. Central, operated as a school for the Black children of Parsons from 1908 to 1958. Parsons school administrators had started desegregating city school buildings in the years before the 1954 Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education ruling required schools in the country to desegregate. In July 1957, the school board agreed to move kindergarten students at Douglass to McKinley School for the 1957-1958 school year. And the board voted early in 1958 to discontinue Douglass School for the 1958-1959 school year, with the remaining students transferred to other district schools, according to minutes from the school board meetings and Sun archives.
The school district attempted to sell the Douglass School property in the years after the closure. In July 1960, the school board discussed the need for more classroom space and using Douglass for kindergarten in the 1960-1961 school year. The motion ended in a tie vote, “thus killing it,” according to the Parsons Sun in July 1960.
In late 1962, the razing of Douglass School began, though a start date and completion date could not be found. The first mention of it was a short news item in November 1962 that quoted a contractor on the demolition. He marveled at the support beams in the building. The demolition process continued into 1963.
A photo published in the Parsons Sun on Feb. 27, 1963, showed a fire at the school site. The demolition crew at Douglass was burning scrap lumber and the embers threatened to spread. The school can be seen in the background of the photo.
In the Sun on May 15, 1963, a Police Beat item said that firefighters were called the night before to Douglass School, which was being razed, to extinguish a fire inside started by workers. The fire was extinguished only because sparks endangered nearby homes.
On Monday, Martino updated the commission on the Douglass monument during the second public comment segment. He initially asked about city funding being available for the project, as previously discussed, and received assurances that the city’s tourism fund was healthy and that city crews would contribute in kind to the monument (concrete work). Jim Kutz designed the monument that would be 7 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Martino shared a concept of the monument with commissioners. The monument will be placed at the southeast corner of Central z and Appleton on the walking trail and could have solar lights installed.
Martino said the district received a $6,500 grant from the Parsons Area Community Foundation. The school district and he hoped the city would contribute the rest.
He said a QR code would be added to the monument where those interested could read more of the history of Douglass, including remembrances of those who attended.
The entire project is expected to cost between $20,000 and $25,000, Martino said.
He said the hope is to have the monument up by Juneteenth this year. Donald Watkins, the son of a former principal at Douglass Levi Watkins, will be speaking at this year’s celebration.
Commissioners agreed to meet with Martino and USD 503 Superintendent Lori Perkins on April 17 to discuss the project further. That meeting begins at 4:30 p.m.
Muralist hired The commission also agreed to contract with Gage Guiot of Chanute to paint a mural on the east wall of the building at 1808 Broadway.
Guiot has completed murals in Chanute, Humboldt and is finishing one on the Senior Citizens Center in Altamont. His concept so far would touch on Parsons’ history, including drive-in movies, cars and the railroad. The center white rectangle could be used to screen movies as well, commissioners heard.
The commission agreed to contract with Guiot for the mural at a cost of $42,000. Guiot will get $10,000 from a grant, $15,000 from local donations and $17,000 from the city.
Jim Zaleski, the city’s economic development director, said vegetation along the wall would be cleaned up. He said the city will work with the building’s owner, the Community Development Corp., to get the wall white washed in preparation for the mural work.
He said he’s also looking to work with the CDC on roof work and asbestos removal to assist in the sale of the building, like what was done with the former Sullivan Furniture building on Main Street.
In other matters, the commission:
See COMMISSION, Page 3.
Chanute muralist Gage Guiot plans on spray painting a mural on this building at 1808 Broadway. City commissioners approved a contract with him at Monday’s meeting. Above is a rough idea of the mural. A theater marquee may replace the movie camera and other modifications likely will be coming. Courtesy photo
— Heard from Taylor Moreland of the local American Advocacy Initiative, a non-profit to promote civic engagement, community togetherness and advocate for those in need of resources. She said AAI will partner with police for a domestic violence awareness event from 3 to 5 p.m. May 31 in front of the Parsons Municipal Building. Part of 17th Street and an alley will be closed for the event.
— Accepted the donation of music production equipment from Matt Hoisington and Russell Head.
— Agreed to spend $144,893 to fix two traffic lights damaged by recent wind storms at 22nd and Main and 16th and Corning. Crosswalk buttons will be added as well. The money will come from the public safety sales tax.
— Agreed to purchase two 72-inch Grasshopper mowers for $22,013 each using the park sales tax fund.
— Approved a franchise agreement with Kwikom for the installation of residential fiber internet service around town.
— Met in closed session for 20 minutes to discuss possible litigation. No action followed.
