Steve Collier
The Norwood City Schools enjoy a long and rich history, one that dates back more than 150 years, when a one-room school house, Central School, was built at the corner of Elm Avenue and Montgomery Road. The first class to graduate from Norwood was in 1899. In honor of that occasion and the 107 graduations that followed, the Norwood Alumni Association has established a “Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.” The first induction ceremony will be on September 28, 2007. The following distinguished Norwood graduates will be the first recipients of this honor:
Dr. Venus Weller Bluestein, 1951
Professor Emerita of Psychology, University of Cincinnati.
William J. O’Meara, 1955
President/Vice-President of a number of Silicon Valley companies. Founder of LSI Logic.
Dr. Paul Dixon, 1956
Past president and chancellor of Cedarville University.
Walter K. Weisel, 1958
Currently, chairman and CEO of Innova Robotics & Automation Inc. Received Joseph F. Engelberger Award in 1992 for the most significant contribution of robotics to the service of mankind.
General Joseph W. Ralston (Ret.), 1961 Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO. Commander of US European Command. Vice-Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Christine Parks, 1961
Actress in film, television, off Broadway and regional theatre, singer, model, educator and volunteer working with mentally disabled children.
The aforementioned honorees have graced the halls of our schools, reached into the world and made a difference.
Today, we are preserving the district’s history by maintaining our schools, most of which were built around the 1910s. Many class reunions request tours of the buildings they attended and the most frequent comment is “the building is not as large as I remember.” Currently, we have an elementary school in each quadrant of the city. Norwood Middle School was the high school until 1972, when a newer, more modern building was constructed next door. In 1972, the “new” NHS was considered a state-of-the-art building, housing a planetarium, television studio, greenhouse and swimming pool. The swimming pool in the middle school was filled in several years ago and is now used as a wrestling room.
The community embraces their historic buildings with all the character of days gone by. With available - and limited funds - the district puts forth great effort to maintain the buildings with security systems and modern day amenities for our students.