THE RAYEN SCHOOL | A look back

Vincent Shivers, a local historian, and Harry Mays, The Rayen School’s Class of 1958’s president who co-wrote a book on the longtime school, each gave a lecture Saturday at the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center in downtown Youngstown about Rayen’s history and construction. A sampling of highlights in the school’s 141-year history:

Fall 1866: The first school building opens on Wick Avenue on Youngstown’s North Side, assisted largely by the estate of Judge William Rayen, who died 12 years earlier.

1895: The school undergoes an addition that provides extra room for studying, assemblies and two laboratories.

1899: Sophomore William F. Maag Jr. becomes the founder and first editor of The Rayen Record before graduating in 1901.

1911-12: The school’s first athletic association is formed. In its first game Oct. 22, 1911, the football team loses to South High School 12-0, but posts a 7-1-1 record for the season.

1918-19: Henry H. Stambaugh, a leading industrialist and director of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., bequeaths $10,000 to buy and equip a new athletic field.

March 23, 1921: Ground is broken for a second Rayen High School building that will open in fall 1922 on Benita Avenue on the North Side.

1930-31: The tennis team wins the city championship for the fifth-consecutive year.

1940: The school’s first auditorium opens.

1951-52: The golf team wins its 20th city championship in 25 seasons. Fred “Rick” Jones, considered Rayen’s best golfer, becomes a three-time state medalist.

1958: Art teacher John Benninger paints a mural to fulfill a requirement for a thesis as part of obtaining his master’s degree at Kent State University. The work becomes a class gift and was installed in a hallway until the school closed in 2007.

1962-63: Five teachers retire after having a combined 161 years of teaching experience.

1967-68: Because of financial difficulties that beset the school district, the band is unable to march. Instead, it gives three concerts.

1974-75: The Key Club performs a series of humanitarian efforts, including organizing a canned-goods drive, entertaining children at the Easter Seals Center and hosting a Halloween party for youngsters in Northside Hospital’s Tod Babies section.

April 17, 1985: Mayor Pat Ungaro is among those who attend a celebration in downtown Youngstown to honor the Rayen Tigers. The occasion marks the first time a city team had won a state championship.

1998-99: Claude Bentley is appointed Rayen’s 20th principal.

2003-04: The cheerleading squad takes first place at an international competition in Toronto.

June 2007: Commencement takes place for Rayen’s final graduating class.

2008: The 86-year-old school is razed.

Sources: Harry Mays, Vindicator files