Edwin Denby High School

**BillRush** · May-01-10, 09:16 PM

The football pics are definitely "45/46 when Denby won the city championship under coach Abe Eliowitz, an MSU star. My oldest brother went thru Denby's first four years, graduating in "38. The Sweet Shop on the corner was run by a sweet no-nonsense Greek couple. Friday Dances alternated with the Catholic school next to the Civic. Anyone know who Edwin Denby was?

**Hermod** · May-01-10, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by BillRush

The football pics are definitely "45/46 when Denby won the city championship under coach Abe Eliowitz, an MSU star. My oldest brother went thru Denby's first four years, graduating in "38. The Sweet Shop on the corner was run by a sweet no-nonsense Greek couple. Friday Dances alternated with the Catholic school next to the Civic. Anyone know who Edwin Denby was?

Secretary of the Navy, hence the name Denby Tars and the fight song "Anchors away, Denby, Anchors away....."

Denby was a UofM football player. He served as a congressman from the 1st Congressional District for a number of years. he was SecNav under Harding and Coolidge. He died in 1929 and they named the school after him.

**Hermod** · May-01-10, 10:33 PM

Originally Posted by BillRush

The football pics are definitely "45/46 when Denby won the city championship under coach Abe Eliowitz, an MSU star. My oldest brother went thru Denby's first four years, graduating in "38. The Sweet Shop on the corner was run by a sweet no-nonsense Greek couple. Friday Dances alternated with the Catholic school next to the Civic. Anyone know who Edwin Denby was?

The Catholic School next to the Civic was Guardian Angels and was [[as I recall) a grades 1 to 8 school. The Catholic high school for girls was Dominican High School [[plus a large convent which must have served a lot of the RC schools in the area). Dominican was on the south side of Whittier near McKinney and had a very nice looking campus. The Catholic high school boys in the area took a bus to go somewhere to school [[name escapes me, maybe De la Salle).

**ggcanfield** · May-01-10, 10:34 PM

If anybody's interested, there's a brief biography of Edwin Denby [[from his AP obituary) in this blog post:

http://belleislehome.blogspot.com/20...denby-and.html

He was a pretty interesting guy, involved in the Teapot Dome oil scandal, and heavily involved in the Detroit Masons at the time the Masonic Temple was built, among other things.

**BillRush** · May-02-10, 08:58 PM

The football players are from the city championship era 45-46 under coach Abe Eliowitz-MSU star and later coach at Cooley.My oldest brother was in the first class to go all four years 34-38.

**BillRush** · May-02-10, 09:10 PM

ggcanfield-Thanks for the bio of Denby. Surprisinghly there was no effort to educate the students re Denby during the four years I was there. Perhaps the war interfered. I was pleasantly surprised toearn of his Detroit connections.
I didn't see the other responses until my second note.

**scribe114** · May-03-10, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by BillRush

The football players are from the city championship era 45-46 under coach Abe Eliowitz-MSU star and later coach at Cooley.My oldest brother was in the first class to go all four years 34-38.

Abe Eliowitz [[Canadian Football HOF) was the Baseball coach at Cooley for quite a few years Milt Pappas played for him and won the Metropolitan League Championship in 56 and 57 Milt's younger brother Perry pitched for Cooley and was drafted by the Yankees. I think Denby beat Western the previous year. Abe's son Sam Eliowitz who was a stud QB at Western around the same time, was my Athletic Director at Chadsey.

**scribe114** · May-03-10, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by BillRush

ggcanfield-Thanks for the bio of Denby. Surprisinghly there was no effort to educate the students re Denby during the four years I was there. Perhaps the war interfered. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of his Detroit connections.
I didn't see the other responses until my second note.

The High Schools in the city were named by either location, [[Northwestern, Southwestern, Western, Northern, Eastern, Northeastern, Southestern, )

Or after prominent members of the Detroit Bd. of Education, Educators, Superintendents and Board Members and local citizens.

Frank Cody [[Was Superintendent of DPS)
Charles E. Chadsey [[Was Superintendent of DPS)
Samuel Mumford [[Board Member: Mumford was slated for construction in 1938 but was halted until 1949 due to moratorium on building due to WWII)
Laura F. Osborn [[Board Member)
David L. Mackenzie [[Principal of the old Central H.S. and Dean of old WSU Main Bldg)
Jared W.Finney
Henry Ford
Edwin Denby [[Pershing H.S. it's sister school, was opened at the same time in an identical building)
Thomas Cooley [[Head of the Michigan Supreme Court)

**Hermod** · May-03-10, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by scribe114

The High Schools in the city were named by either location, [[Northwestern, Southwestern, Western, Northern, Eastern, Northeastern, Southestern, )

Or after prominent members of the Detroit Bd. of Education, Educators, Superintendents and Board Members and local citizens.

Frank Cody [[Was Superintendent of DPS)
Charles E. Chadsey [[Was Superintendent of DPS)
Samuel Mumford [[Board Member: Mumford was slated for construction in 1938 but was halted until 1949 due to moratorium on building due to WWII)
Laura F. Osborn [[Board Member)
David L. Mackenzie [[Principal of the old Central H.S. and Dean of old WSU Main Bldg)
Jared W.Finney
Henry Ford
Edwin Denby [[Pershing H.S. it's sister school, was opened at the same time in an identical building)
Thomas Cooley [[Head of the Michigan Supreme Court)

Central High School [[my father was class of 1931 and my mother was class of 1932)

Wilbur Wright Aero Mechanics

Cass Tech

Commercial

**IrishSpartan** · May-03-10, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Hermod

The Catholic School next to the Civic was Guardian Angels and was [[as I recall) a grades 1 to 8 school. The Catholic high school for girls was Dominican High School [[plus a large convent which must have served a lot of the RC schools in the area). Dominican was on the south side of Whittier near McKinney and had a very nice looking campus. The Catholic high school boys in the area took a bus to go somewhere to school [[name escapes me, maybe De la Salle).

De La Salle was on Conner & Glenfield across a street from the airport. Austin opened around 1951 on Warren near Mack. I think some Guardian Angels people attended Servite [[Warren near Dickerson) as well. They did not attend St. David since that was a parish school only. Additionally, the options of several places such as the old St.Joe's [[open until 1964) and St.Anthony's on Field off of Gratiot existed.

**Hermod** · May-03-10, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by IrishSpartan

De La Salle was on Conner & Glenfield across a street from the airport. Austin opened around 1951 on Warren near Mack. I think some Guardian Angels people attended Servite [[Warren near Dickerson) as well. They did not attend St. David since that was a parish school only. Additionally, the options of several places such as the old St.Joe's [[open until 1964) and St.Anthony's on Field off of Gratiot existed.

We lived a bit east of Guardian Angels, so most of my Catholic neighbors went to St Matthews through 8th grade.. The girls then went to Dominican. De la Salle sounds about right for the boys, taking the Six Mile bus to Gratiot, then the Gratiot streetcar to the airport.

**BillRush** · May-03-10, 08:42 PM

Who was Jared Finney.?I went there grade 5-8 and don't have a clue. How about Von Steuben?[[ my Kdg -4)
Baron Von Steuiben from the Revolutionary war?

**Hermod** · May-04-10, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by BillRush

Who was Jared Finney.?I went there grade 5-8 and don't have a clue. How about Von Steuben?[[ my Kdg -4)
Baron Von Steuiben from the Revolutionary war?

I went to Anthony Wayne Elementary [[K-6) and we sure were taught all about "Mad Anthony Wayne" and his exploits. He led the nighttime assault against the Brits at Stony Point. He also stomped the crap out of the pesky injuns at Fallen Timbers and made the midwest safe for white people forever more.

I then went to Andrew Jackson Intermediate School [[7-8). We were taught that Andrew [[Old Hickory) Jackson was a "god" probably because our principal [[Mr. Mack Monroe) was a major player in Detroit Democratic politics. Old Andy did a number on the pesky injuns too [[several times) but back in the pre-PC days, that was a "good" thing. I guess PC was the reason they changed the name from Andrew Jackson to McNair [[Jackson also was a slaveholder).

**vjean46** · August-31-11, 03:50 PM

I graduated in June '64 [[they also had a class Jan. '64) with a class of 550. We were the beginning of the baby boomers.

**MidTownMs** · August-31-11, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by kellyroad

Hermod, Denby, like so many schools in Detroit post world war II, had a huge influx of baby boomers. Although I didn't attened Denby HS, I did take drivers training [[what eastsider didn't) and typing and worked there as a life guard via the Detroit Parks and Rec. Here's a few pics via Wayne State's Virtual City:
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...5;viewid=74345
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...2;viewid=19102
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...viewid=57833_1

You're right I had driver's education at Denby in 1964 when I was a student at Southeastern High.

**Gistok** · August-31-11, 06:00 PM

Finney topped out population wise at about 2,200 students.

1965 sounds about right for the first graduating class at Finney. Their football team was the Tartan's... their yearbook The Cairngorm [[a mountain range in Scotland).

The early 1960s expansion that built the courtyard area and Cafetorium was the first addition. At that time Cannon Rec Center auditorium and Gymnasium were used by Finney until the later 1970s when the north addition added more schoolrooms, an auditorium and gymnasium... as well as a dumb looking new English wing on stilts.

For being one of the newest schools in Detroit... the teardown of Finney probably has more to do with shoddy construction techniques in the 60s and 70s than anything else. Most of the older schools [[Denby, et al) were built much more solidly.

**Gary** · August-31-11, 06:34 PM

Gistok...I thought Finney's athletic teams were nicknamed the Highlanders.

**Al Publican** · September-01-11, 11:55 AM

Fellow Denby grads, it seems that there is a dispute over the meaning of the school's nickname "Tars." At first thought it had something to do with sealant that sailors applied to wooden hulls. More recently, I'm told that "tar" is short for "tarpaulin," a sheet of canvas that acts as a sail on a ship.

Also, I recently saw a tee shirt that said Orlando Tars. When I searched it, I couldn't find a high school in Fla with that nickname, but I did come up with a college in Orlando that goes by Tars [[school name slips me).

So, what is a "tar"?

**Eastburn** · September-01-11, 02:54 PM

I believe it's a term for sailor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tar

As noted above, Edwin Denby was Secretary of the Navy at one time.

**Hermod** · September-01-11, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Al Publican

Fellow Denby grads, it seems that there is a dispute over the meaning of the school's nickname "Tars." At first thought it had something to do with sealant that sailors applied to wooden hulls. More recently, I'm told that "tar" is short for "tarpaulin," a sheet of canvas that acts as a sail on a ship.

Also, I recently saw a tee shirt that said Orlando Tars. When I searched it, I couldn't find a high school in Fla with that nickname, but I did come up with a college in Orlando that goes by Tars [[school name slips me).

So, what is a "tar"?

The old time sailors would waterproof their hats with a coating of tar [[also used in caulking the ship) and were therefore called "tars" after their hats.

**Hermod** · September-01-11, 05:47 PM

Originally Posted by Eastburn

I believe it's a term for sailor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tar

As noted above, Edwin Denby was Secretary of the Navy at one time.

Originally Denby was grades 10-12. Detroit schools operated on a 6-3-3 system.

Each grade had an assembly room for the boys and one for the girls. The assembly rooms were headed by counselors. The boys assembly rooms were House of Midshipmen [[10), House of Commodores [[11), and House of Admirals [[12). The girls assembly rooms were House of Marion Denby [[10), House of Yosemite [[11), and House of Mayflower [[12). After they added the 9th grade, their "houses" were C-1 and C-2 with no assembly rooms. When we had 4,500 at the school, there was no way that the grades could fit into their assembly rooms, so they were just large classrooms, but they still had the doors decorated with the original names and the counselor's offices were still adjoining the rooms.

**Zaiko** · September-01-11, 05:47 PM

Someone mentioned that Cass Tech had more?

I believe that Cass was also about 4,500 in its heyday.

**mikefmich** · September-01-11, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by Eastburn

I believe it's a term for sailor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tar

As noted above, Edwin Denby was Secretary of the Navy at one time.

Edwin was planted at Elmwood, along with a memorial stone for his son who was lost at sea. An interesting marker IMHO.

**grumpyoldlady** · September-02-11, 10:03 AM

I understand they are spending big bucks renovating Denby, including the auditorium. I'd love to see before and after photos of the renovations.

**vjean46** · September-02-11, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by Hermod

Originally Denby was grades 10-12. Detroit schools operated on a 6-3-3 system.

Each grade had an assembly room for the boys and one for the girls. The assembly rooms were headed by counselors. The boys assembly rooms were House of Midshipmen [[10), House of Commodores [[11), and House of Admirals [[12). The girls assembly rooms were House of Marion Denby [[10), House of Yosemite [[11), and House of Mayflower [[12). After they added the 9th grade, their "houses" were C-1 and C-2 with no assembly rooms. When we had 4,500 at the school, there was no way that the grades could fit into their assembly rooms, so they were just large classrooms, but they still had the doors decorated with the original names and the counselor's offices were still adjoining the rooms.

In the 60's, Assemblies were held in the auditorium, and we had study halls which were probably the rooms you had assembly.