By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Editor’s Note: Every day, we see names chiseled on buildings or posted on city street signs, but we don’t always know who these people were. For those who have not lived all their lives in Hays — or perhaps for some who have — “WHO ARE YOU?” is our attempt to share some history about the Hays community.

Valis Rockwell Administration Center, 323 W. 12th St., Hays

If you have been to Hays USD 489 administration center on 12th Street, you may have seen a sign in memory of Valis Rockwell, for whom the building is named.

Valis Rockwell was the longest-tenured superintendent in the Hays school district.

Rockwell was born on May 17, 1913, near Waldren, Kansas. He grew up in Lewis, Kansas, and graduated from Stafford High School in 1931.

He and his wife, Freda, both worked as a teachers for rural Ness County schools. Valis was appointed as a principal and then superintendent in 1940.

He served in the Navy during World War II and then worked briefly for International Harvester in LaCrosse before moving to Hays in 1950 to attend Fort Hays State University and study for his master’s degree in education.

Rockwell began teaching at Lincoln Elementary School in 1950. A year later, he moved to the high school where he worked as a counselor and business manager for the district.

He and his wife survived the flood of 1951, and Valis earned his master’s degree in 1953.

In 1957, when Superintendent Clyde Phillips retired, Rockwell was hired to take his place.

Under Rockwell’s leadership, the area schools were unified, and the Hays district’s boundaries grew from just the city limits to encompass about a third of the county, including Munjor, Schoenchen, Antonino and Catharine schools. When Rockwell retired, the district had 4,000 students compared to this year’s enrollment of 3,201.

With the growth in enrollment, new schools had to be built. Bond issues were passed to build Wilson Elementary; Hays Junior High School, which became Felten Middle School; Roosevelt Elementary; and Munjor Elementary.

Rockwell saw his share of frustration as well. Two bond issues failed during his tenure, one by only 20 votes. He had supported a new high school proposal, but a bond to build what is now HHS did not pass until after his retirement.

The former Hays High School, where Rockwell served as a counselor, was converted into district offices in 1990 after the new high school was built on East 13th Street. The administration building was named for Rockwell during a ceremony in August 1990.

According to newspaper accounts, Rockwell was in attendance at the dedication and said, “To have our name associated with this stately old building is the highest honor.”

Also attending the event was Don Hurst, assistant superintendent of curriculum at that time.

He said Rockwell “had an uncanny memory and ability to call people by name, and he would usually asked how the children were and called them by name, too.”

Tom Toepfer, school board president in 1990, said thousands of students went through Hays schools while Rockwell was superintendent.

“They all knew him,” he said. “I won’t be surprised if they all call him their friend too.”

Rockwell died at age 90 in 2003.

Upon his passing, many district staff members reflected on his standing as a role model in the community in newspaper accounts.

Eric Harfmann, who was principal of Kennedy Middle School in 2003, said, “He was always cool under pressure. He always thought situations out before he made a decision, always looked at all the sides of an issue.”

Eloise Miller, who taught kindergarten and first grade for more than 48 years at Lincoln, recalled Rockwell’s flexibility.

“He was a great superintendent because he was practical,” she said shortly after his death. “Rather than saying, ‘This is a strict rule,’ he listened to people and did what was best for the people involved.”

Mike Karl, a junior high physical education teacher Rockwell hired in 1972 said, “He was a perfect guy to be in education because education is about people, and that’s what he represented. … I remember him as being a people person more than anything. He had the ability to do business with you, yet smile and make you feel important. He not only knew you and remembered your name but the names of all your family.”

A portrait of Rockwell still hangs at the top of the stairs on the second floor as you come in the main entrance to the building.

What will ultimately happen to the property on 12th Street is in question, as the district debates its long-term facilities plan. The building is declining and has accessibility issues. Some have suggested closing the building and moving administration offices to another existing school facility.

It’s interesting to note that Hays school history at 12th Street goes back much further than the Rockwell building.

Before the current building was constructed, another high school stood on that site that was built in 1916. The 1916 building was torn down to make way for a newer high school that ultimately became Rockwell Administration Center.

A school occupied that site even before 1916. The original permanent school building for the city of Hays was constructed on that site in 1873. Pieces of limestone from that schoolhouse are built into the wall just as you come in the main entrance of Rockwell.

Sources: USD 489, Ellis County Historical Society