By JACK PALMER
palmer@crescent-news.com
Talk about humble beginnings.
In the fall of 1960, Good Samaritan School opened its doors in temporary quarters at First Presbyterian Church with an enrollment of nine students.
The school turned 50 this year but its original mission remains the same — to assist and equip Defiance County residents with developmental disabilities with the knowledge and skills they will one day need to work and live as independently as possible.
“Defiance County residents have been served well by Good Samaritan School,” said Barb Acomb, principal since 1990. “As the mandated regulations and curriculum have changed, our staff has continued to provide caring and quality instruction and services to our students.”
The school’s birth can be traced back to the vision of a small but passionate group of parents and community leaders.
School officers for the first two years were Mary Speiser, president; Betty Cameron, vice president; Walter Salsbury, treasurer; and Violet Wagner, secretary. The advisory board was comprised of Emma Backus, Judge Dan Batt, Clare Hoeffel, Dr. Alton Kurtz, Dr. Gerald Huber and Rev. Carl Hoch.
The school’s first students were Donald Kretzer, George Wagner, Arthur Engle, Glen Goeltzenleuchter, Robert Miller, Earl Marcom, John Speiser, Ed Harney and Earl Fuller. Tuition was $25 per month.
Mary (Cameron) Lee, a Good Sam preschool teacher since 1984, remembers the early efforts to start the school by her parents, Dr. James and Betty Cameron. Their son, John, had Down Syndrome.
“My mother went around to different service organizations to ask for funding. That first year the school operated on all private funds,” said Lee. “My father was also a very active proponent of the school.
“My parents had the means to send John to a special school out of state, but they saw the need for those parents who did not have those means. Looking back now, 50 years later, I have a real sense of pride of what was accomplished in those early years.”
Mary Reeves, who served as superintendent from 1977-92, began her Good Sam career as a teacher in 1963.
“We had two teachers and an aide,” recalled Reeves. “The students were transported to the school in two station wagons, plus a third station wagon from Paulding County. That year the school was located in the basement of the county jail (now the courthouse annex). We had 22 children, all of school age.”
During those early years the school also was located at the county children’s home and at Zion’s Lutheran Church. That all changed when a new facility was opened in 1965 at the school’s current location at 195 Island Park Ave. Sizeable additions were added in the late 1960s and early 1980s.
“We just had a small room and a couple of classrooms when we first moved into the new building,” said Reeves. “There wasn’t even a dining area. Mary Alice White was the superintendent, but she was part-time.”
Reeves said the school has always been a great place to work.
“I remember dedicated volunteers like Marty Bleeks and dedicated board members like Darrell Jones. The parents have always been very supportive and so have the residents of Defiance County. The school continues to be a leader in educating children and adults with special needs.”
During the past five decades students who need a special touch, a pat on the back, a smile of encouragement and assistance with daily living skills — have found that Good Samaritan School is a wonderful place to grow.
With a staff of just over 30 teachers, teachers’ assistants and related service staff, the school presently serves 95 students ages 3-21 and another 45 children from birth through age 2 in its early intervention program. The superintendent is Rick Edmonds, who replaced Reeves in 1992. Acomb has been the school’s only principal.
The seniors program, begun in 1990, offers day services to individuals age 50 and over. It was only the second such program in the state at that time.
“This county has a lot to be proud of with this school,” said Alice Southworth, parent of a former student and a former board member. “I was always amazed at how many people who were not parents were still willing to serve as board members through the years. That’s made me very proud.”
Southworth credits Good Sam for providing her daughter, Mary, with the education and life skills to live independently.
“That school was where Mary got her self-confidence. Merle McDonald was the physical education director and he brought that out of her. She turned out to be an excellent athlete. She also learned many skills which she used later in life, including the life-saving skills to rescue another person in our swimming pool.”
Southworth said her daughter currently participates in the county board adult program’s Next Chapter Book Club, which meets on a regular basis to read a selected book.
“I am amazed that Mary can read so well, and she really enjoys it. Good Sam has brought out so much in her that I never dreamed was there.”
Added Southworth: “The teachers have always been very dedicated. It’s really hard to go through what they go through day after day, yet they make progress with every student.”