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| Rollo High School |
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| Rollo, Illinois |
| Rollo High School Memorial Stone - 2008 |
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| Rollo Town Hall and Grain Elevator |
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| (Former Rollo Country School Building) |
The History of Rollo High School
Rollo is a tiny hamlet located in southwestern DeKalb County in northern Illinois. There is no population
listing for the town of Rollo in the 2000 Illinois Census report, however we are told there are only two houses left in the
area which once was the village of Rollo. The town was founded in 1885 along a railroad line that connected Spring Valley
and DeKalb. Rollo is located on the DeKalb County roadways of County Road 6 and Suydam Road. The Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad cuts by the western edge of the town limits. The nearest town of note might be Mendota located
14 miles to the southwest of Rollo. Rollo is named after a character, "Little Rollo", from the children's book
series of the day, The Rover Boys.
In 1886 a school building was moved to the west of edge of Rollo. A well was built near the school
and its cement frame was still visible in the 1960s. This building was moved to a nearby location in 1912
and in the 1960s, possibly even still today, serves as the Rollo Township Hall. It was in the year 1900 that interest
arose in developing a consolidated school district for the many country schools in the Rollo area. Several years of planning
took place until finally the Rollo School District joined with seven Country School Districts to form a consolidated school
district. A school building, it was decided, would be built and located on the western edge of Rollo. The
land for this building was donated by Harvey and Nellie Weddell Bullis. Several visits were made to
McNabb Swaney High School (also on this site) in attempts to learn from and improve upon the Swaney efforts. The new
building was finished and the children all moved in on Jan. 13, 1913.
| Rollo Student Body |
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| Rollo School 1913 - Opening Year |
One of the Principal's duties was to keep the fires burning and the rooms warm. The boys
of the school would chop firewood during their recess to help out. This new school in tiny Rollo gained not
only state-wide attention, but also attention on a national level. Collier's Magazine had this to say about the Rollo
Consolidated School effort:
"One
of the best examples in the United States of how rural schools
may benefit from consolidation is the new township educational
plant in Rollo, Illinois. It teaches all the grades from ABC to high
school, and includes laboratory work, manual training, and house-
keeping courses.*
| Rollo Grocery Store Bldg |
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| Photo Taken Jan. 2008 |
| Rollo Church - Photo Taken in 2008 |
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There were very few other buildings in Rollo even at this time. A general store, teacher's
house, town hall, train depot, grain elevator, and a church along with but a few houses actually stood inside the town limits.
Support for the school was overwhelming though. Christmas plays, spring "May Day" parties, and special events were known
to draw crowds of well over 200 people. This in spite of Rollo's population never exceeding 100 people, normally much
less.
A gymnasium was added to the school grounds in 1917. The only problem was this building was not
connected to the school building where the locker and shower rooms were. The boys of both teams would dash from one
building to the other before and after games. It was said that the Rollo boys had a distinct advantage in the early years
of the gym's use. Hot boilers were located in the corners of gym. The out of bounds lines went right up to
the point where the boilers sat. The Rollo boys were known to set "traps" in the corner near the boilers, causing
more than one lad from the visiting team to lose his concentration protecting the ball. Dressing rooms were added
to the gymnasium building in 1936. A new stage was added to the building in 1915.
For nearly four decades Rollo high school proudly served its community. For some of those years Rollo
was but a three-year high school with the senior class attending school at nearby Shabbona or Earlville. It was
in 1935 that Rollo High School received a four-year high school accreditation.
Rollo High School's new building was all inclusive for grades K - 12. The year the Rollo School
System closed there were a total of 40 kids in the entire school (K - 12). The final graduating high school
class at Rollo (1954) had a total of six kids (see photo below). In fact the
largest enrollment in the high school's history of grades 9 - 12 was 16 students!
It was in the late 1940s and early 1950s that Rollo residents began consolidation talks with its neighbor
to the north, Shabbona. As stated in report I was fortunate enough to read, the Rollo High School District fell victim
to the very item which was the cause for its creation, progress. It was felt with the developments in transportation
and financial gains by combining school districts that the Rollo kids would benefit more by consolidating their school district
with a larger school district. Rollo High School was deactivated in 1954 with its high school students bused
to Shabonna for their education.
The Rollo school building served as a grade school for kids in grades K - 8 through the 1976-77 school
year. The Rollo High School building hung in there for years, for a while being used as a township building,
before being destroyed in 1984. A sad ending for a once truly proud school building. Several alumni gathered and
each took a brick from the fallen building as a reminder of their school days. As the school's "obituary" card read:
In Memory of Rollo High School
Date of Birth: January 13, 1913
Date of Death: September 17, 1984
Burial: Rollo Township Park
Family: 263 High School Graduates
178 Grade School Graduates
Rollo was featured in an Illinois schools journal in 1920. The following facts were made available for
the publication:
No. of districts consolidated: 6
Square miles:
27
Assessed valuation:
$589,910
Cost of house:
$35,000
Annual tax levy:
$8,968
Tax rate:
2.40
Annual tax levy before:
$2,250
Teachers now:
9
Teachers before:
7
Enrollment now:
125
Enrollment before:
90
Enrollment in grades:
74
Enrollment in high school: 43
No. studying agriculture:
17
No. studying manual training: 18
No. studying home economics: 13
Aid from vocational fund:
Yes
Public conveyance:
No
Years of high school course: 4
Months in year: 10
Rollo Principal J.R. McEntee fielded questions from the publication as well:
Q - In what way do adults of the community profit by the school?
A - School foster the community spirit. Adults use building and equipment for social affairs, grange,
short course, etc.
Q - In what particular does the school meet the needs of the children and young people in the community in
a superior way?
A - School gives the children better and more schooling, encourages college education, raises the standard of living.
Q - What complaints are made?
A - No objections from anyone.
Q - What features give the most universal satisfaction?
A - Community spirit created around the school. Better school advantages. Vocational education
a factor in the lives of boys and girls. Big school budget. More money.
| Rollo HS Park - Site of Former Rollo High School |
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| Rollo Teachers Cottage |
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| Gymnasium Behind the Cottage |
| Certificate of Four-Year HS Status - 1935 |
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| Displayed in Paw Paw Township Building |
The wishes of the donors of the land, Harvey and Nellie Weddell Bullis, were that if the
land were to no longer be used as a school ground it should be returned to the ownership of their heirs. The children
of Harvey and Nellie graciously donated the property to Paw Paw Township who currently
utilize the former Rollo School grounds as a park.
Rollo High School Quick Facts
Year opened: 1915
Year closed:
1954
Year building razed:
1984
Largest High School enrollment (9 - 12): 16 students
Total enrollment last year open (K - 12): 40 students
Last Graduating Class size (1954): 6 students
School nickname:
the "Eagles"
School colors:
Orange & Blue
School Fight Song: Written in 1950 by RHS Class of 1933 alumnus
Marjorie Atherton Cook
"We're
The Eagles"
"We're the Eagles
The Eagles from Old Rollo High
We're Royal Blue and Orange Too!"
(remainder
being sought)
| Rollo School Trophies |
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| Displayed in Paw Paw Township Building |
| Rollo Eagle Mascot - Formerly Hung in Gymnasium |
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| Hand Made by a Rollo School Student |
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Athletics
Rollo High School offered baseball, track, and, of course, basketball. In the early fall amidst the smell of freshly
cut crops the Rollo boys toured the county playing baseball against all comers. In the middle of the fall came
the sport of choice, basketball. Track was offered in the spring. No IHSA success was listed in track
or baseball.
Boys Basketball
The early autumn Rollo basketball games of the late 1910s and early 1920s were contested on a hard
dirt surface outside in the school yard. As the weather got cooler, and the night-sunlight shorter, games were moved
indoors. This was probably not a treat in the eyes of their opponents. The Rollo boys gained a distinct advantage
indoors as their home gym was rather unique. The overhead beams hung so low that long shots had to be arched over the
beams to have a chance at going in. Full court passes were not even an option. The team competed in the Green
River Valley Conference against foes from the towns of Paw Paw, Compton, Kings, Steward, Lee, Franklin Grove, and Lee Center.
Of these schools only Paw Paw remains in service today. The Rollo boys also competed in the Little Ten Conference.
The Rollo High School boys proved they could play anywhere. Two District titles were won in boys basketball in
their 39 year history. In fact, at one point the Rollo boys won five consecutive Green River
Valley Conference tournament titles!
Another great story is that of player Alvin Benson, who competed on Rollo's last District title team
of 1950. What made Alvin unique was the fact that he competed in spite of having full
use of his right arm only (check out # "8", 2nd from the left in the front row, in photo to the right). Alvin
was born without the bottom portion of his left arm but in no way considered himself handicapped. As was
stated to this writer, you do not miss what you never had. Alvin's cousin, Russell,
played on Rollo's other District Championship team in 1938.
Rollo High School's two District title teams are listed below. Even the coach's names are listed.
One coach, Carson DeJarnatt, made two other coaching stops after leaving Rollo including a stay at Sterling
High School. DeJarnatt also coached Baseball and Track during his tenure at Rollo. The Rollo kids stayed competitive
to the very end, finishing the school's basketball life at 17 - 7 in 1954. This completed a string of four consecutive
winning seasons to close the high school basketball life of Rollo. Unfortunately team records of the District Champions
and other great RHS teams are not available. Some scores involving Rollo in the IHSA Tournament were located on a website
titled "Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores." These scores are posted below.
1915-16 Waterman Tournament Champions Coach
Alfred Tate
Defeated Lee Center, Compton,
and Polo.
| Waterman Tourney Champs |
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| Rollo HS Basketball - 1915-16 |
1921-22 Ottawa District Tournament Coach's
name & record needed
1st Rd lost to DePue 19-17
1922-23 through 1932-33 Postseason scores,
records, and coach's names needed. 1933-34 DeKalb
District Tournament Coach's
name & record needed
1st Rd lost to DeKalb 57-24
DeKalb lost to Sycamore in title game 1934-35 DeKalb
District Tournament Coach's
name & record needed
1st Rd lost to DeKalb 50-31
DeKalb lost to Waterman in title game 1935-36 Mendota
District Tournament Coach's
name & record needed
1st Rd Beat Hennepin 29-19
Semi-final lost to Earlville 42-28 Earlville
lost to Mendota in title game 1936-37
Ottawa District Tournament Coach's
name & record needed
1st Rd lost to Earlville 33-30
Earlville lost to Leland in 2nd Rd.
1937-38
Steward District Champions Coach
Earl Horn
(early rd District scores needed)
Title Game Beat Steward 48-34
IHSA Regional Qualifier
Won 1st Rd Game (score needed)
2nd Rd Lost 37 - 35 to Dixon High School
| District Champs |
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| Rollo HS 1937-38 |
1938-39 through 1944-45 Postseason scores, records, and coach's names needed. 1945-46 Somonauk
District Tournament Coach's name & record needed
1st Rd lost to Paw Paw 58-42 PAW PAW (58): Carnahan 15, Torman 14, Daw 10, Wells 7,
Marks 5, Henry 5, Jones 2. ROLLO (42): C. McDowell 13, F. McDowell 9, Thoms 9, Hartman
8, Horn 2.
Paw Paw ;lost to Somonauk in title game 1946-47 Newark
District Tournament Coach's name & record
needed
1st Rd Beat Paw Paw 67-47
Semi-final lost to Somonauk 46-43
Somonauk lost to Newark in title game 1947-48 Somonauk
District Tournament Coach's name &
record needed
1st Rd lost to Newark 47-41
Newark lost to Minooka in title game
| Rollo HS Basketball Team 1947-48 |
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1948-49 Serena
District Tournament
Coach's name & record needed
1st Rd lost to Leland 55-42
Leland lost to Minooka in semi-final
Minooka beat Somonauk in tile game
| Rollo HS Basketball Team 1948-49 |
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| Left Click on Photo for Larger View |
1949-50
Leland District Champions Coach
Carson DeJarnatt Only
10 boys in entire school
1st Rd Beat Earlville 49-38
Semi-final Beat Paw Paw 48-38
Title Game Beat Minooka 47-35
Ottawa Regional Tournament 1st
Rd lost to Marseilles 49-47
Marseilles lost to Streator in semi-final
Streator lost to Ottawa in title game
See article written
below by Brian Hoxsey!
| District Champions - 1949-50 |
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| Rollo HS |
| 1949-50 District Champs 5 of 9 Players Pictured |
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| Photo Taken September 18, 2005 |
Rollo's District Title in 1950 by Brian Hoxsey
The Eagles entered the Leland District Tournament and were rated last of the
eight teams. Rollo
had defeated Earlville and Paw Paw in the regular season and probably should have
been rated ahead of them. Their head
coach was Carson DeJarnatt, who
went on to be a Hall of Fame wrestling coach at Sterling High School.
Rollo
had finished the previous season under DeJarnatt
with just three wins in 23 games, but was 13-9
starting post season play and had finished 5-5 in Little Ten
Conference play.
There were ten boys in the
school in1950 and nine actually played basketball, but one
was injured at tournament
time and two of the remaining eight were freshman and didn't play much.
It was left up to five seniors
and one junior to lead the team.
In their opening
game they were pitted against LTC foe and neighbor to the
south Earlville High School.
Rollo led at halftime 24-22 and then
outscored the Red Raiders 16-7 in the third quarter to own a 40-29
advantage. Earlville cut the lead
to seven (40-33) early in the fourth period, but Rollo was able to
grab back
the momentum and earn a 49-38 victory. Dan Todd
led the Eagles with 15 points, Alvin
Benson chipped in
12. In the second game of the night, Paw Paw upset second-seed
Seneca 39-35 to
move on to play Rollo in the semifinals.
In their contest against Paw
Paw, Rollo held a 11-7 lead after
one quarter, but the Bulldogs eventually tied the game at 19-all
by halftime. Phil Buland
(12 points), Rollo's center, controlled
the lane in the third frame as the
Eagles were in front by six points in the final seconds of the third period
before Benson nailed a one-handed shot
from half court as the gun sounded to bring the Rollo
fans to their feet. The Eagles
extended their advantage to 41-29 in the initial minutes of the
final quarter and held on for a 48-38 win to move them into
the title
game against defending district tournament champ Minooka. Don Landers
backed Buland
with 10 points, Todd had eight.
Leland, who
had upset LTC regular season and tournament
champion Serena in the quarterfinals, fell to
the much taller Minooka club in the semifinals. The Panthers
never led, but hung with
the Indians the entire game. Top-seed Minooka
used their clear height advantage over Rollo to grab a 26-21 lead at intermission
and were still ahead 34-28 entering
the final quarter. The Eagles'
Robert Catron opened the fourth
with a basket from short range, then Wayne Goldsberry
hit one from long distance and Buland
followed
with a lay up to tie the score. Goldsberry's basket then gave the underdogs the
lead and the Rollo crowd exploded.
The Eagles continued to hit baskets
from all over the court and totally out-played the Indians
in the final minutes;
in fact Rollo out-pointed Minooka 19-1 in the final eight minutes and scored 24
of the last 25 points in the game
to capture the improbable championship
with a 47-35 triumph and a trip to the Ottawa Regional. Buland
led Rollo with 15 points, Catron
added nine and Goldsberry
and Todd eight
each.
One side note to the game was that Minooka's
sophomore point-guard was Al Stegman. Stegman,
a Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer, was a longtime coach
at Harding Grade School and Serena High School.
He also was Serena's athletic
director for many years and the LTC secretary for over a
decade.
The day of Rollo's
Regional opener against Marseilles saw a tremendous blizzard hit the area.
Many fans thought the game would be
canceled because of the bad weather.
The officials from Kankakee couldn't get
to the game, but tournament officials hastily
arranged for local Ottawa officials to do the
game. The
Eagles made the long treacherous trip to Ottawa and had a 47-46 lead in the
final moments of the game.
However Panther center Mike Trad
converted a pair of free throws in the last seconds
to end Rollo's "Cinderella"
season with a 49-47 loss. It was a rough game for one of the officials as
well
as referee Eddie Chlaus fell and broke a bone
in his arm, but continued to call the game.
Rollo
finished the season with a 16-9 record and
of the 47 district tournament
champions' state wide, was probably the smallest
and most surprising winners.
1950-51 Earlville
District Tournament
Coach's name & record needed
1st Rd lost to Somonauk 48-43
Somonauk lost to Minooka in title game
1951-52 Serena
District Tournament
Coach's name &
record needed
1st Rd lost to Minooka 98-39
Minooka beat Earlville in title game
1952-53
Postseason scores, record, and coach's
name needed. 1953-54
17 - 7 (final
season)
Coach's name & record needed District
Scores Needed
| Little Ten Conference Baseball Champs |
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| Rollo HS 1923 |
Baseball
Nearly every boy in the entire high school played every sport. Imagine having 10 boys in
the entire high school and fielding a team of nine for the ball games!! Rollo did this, and did it well,
winning a Little Ten Baseball Conference Championship in 1923!! (see team photo to your right)
| DeKalb County Relay Champs - 1916 |
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| Photo taken 1963 - Original Trophy Too! |
Boys Track
The Rollo Eagles soared in track as well. In fact the relay team of 1916 won the
DeKalb County championship in their event. (see photo to the right)
If you have any further track and field stories to share regarding the Rollo High School Eagles
please share them with us so we can add them to the Rollo High School lore..
Results from a 1929 track meet between Rollo, Plano, Sandwich, Waterman, Leland, and Sheridan were
provided by Linda Hess. Looks like a Rollo HS athlete named Rockaband held his own in this meet!
1929 Track Meet Plano & Waterman-31 pts, Sandwich-30 pts,
Leland & Rollo-14 pts, Sheridan-6 pts ¼ mile- Keene(W) (57.9s), Graves(S)-2nd, Boeckenhauer(W)-3rd high jump- Sorensen(P)-1st
(5’9”),
Reimann(P)-2nd, Balsey(L)-3rd broad jump- Sorensen(P)-1st (19’3/4”),
Balsey(L)-2nd, Henning(P)-3rd pole vault- Morey(S)-1st
(11’), Sorensen(P)-2nd, Swanson(W)-3rd 220 low hurdles-Henning(P)-1st
(32.2s),
Rupp(L)-2nd, Woodard(S)-3rd Shot put- Morey(S)-1st (41’8”),
Rockaband(R)-2nd, Wesson(S)-3rd 50 yd dash-Fay(W)-1st
(6.5s),
Henning(P)-2nd, Balsey(L)-3rd 100 yd dash- Rockaband(R)-1st
(11.6s),
Fay(W)-2nd, Graves(S)-3rd 220 yd dash- Rockaband(R)-1st
(26.3s),
Fay(W)-2nd ,Johnson(SH)-3rd 120 high hurdles-Reimann(P)-1st
(20.3),Rupp(L)-2nd ,Thompson(W)-3rd javelin-Scent(S)-1st
(124’2”),Goldsberg(SH)-2nd , Rockaband(R)-3rd 880 yd- Reingardt(W)-1st
(2:22.2),McDougall(W)-2nd ,McKirgan(P)-3rd Mile run- Felder(S)-1st
(5:12.5),
Reingardt(W)-2nd ,McDougall(W)-3rd Discus- Johnson(SH)-1st
(94’9”),
Wesson(S)-2nd, Dalstell(S)-3rd mile relay-Waterman-1st (1:46.3min),
Sandwich-2nd, Plano-3rd
Grade School Athletics
After the high school closed Rollo enjoyed several more years of great athletic contests through
the eyes of the little Eagles. The Rollo Grade School Eagles finished the 1959-60 season with a record of 14 - 1 and
the 1960-61 season at 14 - 5. Many great athletes of future Shabonna HS teams were from the little hamlet of Rollo.
| THE LAST OF THE EAGLES - The Class of 1954 |
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| John Herrick, Charles Foster, Darlene Sinnen, Harriet Welsch, Harold Sevendson, Mildred Bierderbeck |
The Last Graduating Class
On May 28, 1954 Rollo High School was host to her last commencement excercise. The six graduates
and the entire town could feel the sadness in the air. This poem was written by a Rollo HS alum regarding their beloved Rollo
High School:
There is never a life without sadness,
There is never a heart free from pain.
If one seeks in this world for true solace,
He seeks it forever in vain.
So when to your heart comes the sorrow,
Of losing something dear you've known.
Tis the touch of God's sickle of harvest,
Since He reeps the field He has sown.
Special Thank You
Thank you to Charles Foster (pictured in the color photo above to the right) for
providing this massive amount of information regarding Rollo High School, one of my favorite pages on this site. You
can tell Rollo High School and the village of Rollo had a short but VERY special time in Illinois
High School history. Thank you also to Judy Svendsen for an informative and interesting tour of the
Paw Paw Township Building which now sits on the site of the former school building. Great job Charles and Judy!
The Eagle Spirit Lives On!!
The third Sunday of every September, every year, brings the Rollo
High School Eagle alumni home to roost. A reunion is held at the church in Rollo with a luncheon held afterward.
The pictures below were taken on September 18, 2005, at the most recent alumni reunion. This is proof
positive that the Eagle spirit lives on with great pride!!
| Rollo HS Alumni - Classes of 1948-54 |
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| Alumni Reunion September 18, 2005 |
| Rollo HS Reunion September 18, 2005 |
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| Alumni of 1947 and Earlier Classes |
Help Us Remember...
...the great stories and many accomplishments of Rollo High School and its students and faculty
before there are no longer those around to share them. We are especially interested in a photo of the old school
building as well as great teams of Rollo High School's brief existence. You can e-mail us information and photos at
ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or write to us at:
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, Il. 60631
| Rollo High School Class of 1926 |
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| Submitted by Ed Clapsaddle (His father, Ralph Clapsaddle is in back row, 2nd from left) |
| Rollo HS Students of 1935 |
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| Submitted by Suzanne Renshaw - Via her Grandmother Harriet Reeder |
| Rollo HS Students 1935 Pictured Above |
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| Submitted by Suzanne Renshaw |
| Rollo HS Students of 1936 |
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| Photo Submitted by Suzanne Renshaw |
| Rollo HS Students 1935 - in Photo Above |
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| Submitted By Suzanne Renshaw - Via her Grandmother Harriet Reeder |
| Rollo HS Christmas Ornament |
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| Submitted by Roberta Van Briesen |
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