The Lynn Street Colored School Center of Goodwill is at 208 S. Lynn St., Seymour.
Zach Spicer | The Tribune
An upcoming fundraiser is twofold.
For one, funds raised will go toward the continued restoration of the Lynn Street Colored School Center of Goodwill at 208 S. Lynn St., Seymour.
Secondly, it will be an opportunity to honor veterans of the Armed Forces.
The inaugural We Will Never Forget Gala is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in the fellowship hall at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 504 N. Walnut St., Seymour. Along with recognizing veterans, there will be a dinner, entertainment by the Sounds of Dreams big band, a silent auction and a dessert auction.
Tickets are $20 for a military veteran, $25 for an individual or $40 for a couple. They may be purchased at Artistic Impressions or This Old Guitar Music Store in downtown Seymour. They also are available at Bethel Community Church in Seymour from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday by calling 812-519-3438.
“I’m really excited about it because it’s the first time we’ve done a big fundraiser,” said Kay Shelton Welton, chairwoman of the Lynn Street Colored School Center of Goodwill committee. “We’re trying to move forward. Our next project is to restore our roof on the building. That’s one of our main projects. The other project is just to have fun with people (at the fundraiser).”
Donations are being accepted for the silent and dessert auctions. To contribute, call Welton at 812-216-5482.
She said the committee chose to do the event on Veterans Day because there are a lot of local veterans. Her father, uncle and cousins served their country, and several of the truck drivers at Walmart Distribution Center, where she works, are veterans.
“We want to remember our loved ones that have served,” Welton said. “I’ve got cousins that served in the military and fought in Vietnam. One of my aunts, her brother was killed in Vietnam, so it’s something to remember our people, not just one color but all colors, because our military is important, and it’s something that we cannot forget.”
Welton also stressed the significance of the Tuskegee Airmen who served at Freeman Field in Seymour during World War II. The Black pilots’ actions that resulted in entering an all-white officers club later served as a catalyst for the desegregation of the U.S. military by President Harry S. Truman in 1948.
Welton said the Freeman Army Airfield Museum plans to extend its hours Nov. 11 so people can visit it during the day before going to the gala that night. The museum includes a Tuskegee Airmen exhibit, and a memorial and statues honoring the Tuskegee Airmen is across the road near the airport terminal.
“People can go out and look and see that museum and see how people have evolved in this country alone,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of history here in Seymour that we don’t even know about.”
Speaking of history, a lot of work has been done at the Lynn Street site to ensure the two-story historical structure is preserved.
In recent years, volunteers have helped clean up the property. This past summer, funding came together for a new south wall to be erected.
The next steps will be to get a new roof, windows and doors installed on the building that was constructed in 1870. In total, it will take more than $300,000 to get the building completely fixed.
The roof has been covered twice until a new one can be put on. Welton said the committee has sought bids for the job.
“It’s going to be pretty big right now because all of the rafters are old,” she said. “The one side of the building … there are a couple holes in the roof where the wind has been really hard on it and has created a bigger hole in the roof than what it previously was. We’re looking at restoring the roof hopefully next year by spring, sooner if we can.”
Interior restoration will include gutting the building and recreating the upstairs level.
The ultimate goal is to turn the building into a place where people can learn about its historical significance.
John Newby and William Maddex started the school. For a period of 10 years, it had more than 125 students. And at one time, the church next door served 219 families.
The Great Depression and later World War II, however, caused some Black families to leave Seymour for jobs in larger cities, such as Detroit and Chicago.
The school only had 11 students in 1929 when the state board of health condemned the building because it had poor ventilation, heating and lighting, no water supply and no sanitary system and was unsanitary.
State officials gave the school board three options: Remodel the building and bring it up to code, tear it down and start all over or sell the property and integrate the students into other schools.
The board went the latter route, and the three pieces of property were purchased by the Maddex family for $610.
Edgar Maddex, who was a student at the school while growing up in Seymour, and Adabelle King Maddex started the Goodwill Center in the basement of the church. All of the center’s services were free to anyone, no matter their race, and the Maddexes did what they could to help people.
A fire damaged the building in 1941, and for a while, the Goodwill Center was housed in the basement of the church. A year later, the building was turned into a dormitory for those building Freeman Field as a military base during World War II.
By 1960, the Goodwill Center had outgrown its space and moved into the former school building.
After Edgar died June 22, 1973, his daughter, Blanche Maddex Smith, carried on his legacy by maintaining the center until ill health forced her retirement.
Since its closure in the 1980s, the building had deteriorated, and the Shelton family used it as storage. The south portion of the building fell down years ago, most likely because of its old age.
Several years ago, Welton approached then-Seymour Mayor Craig Luedeman with her vision of the property.
A Leadership Jackson County project team helped the family fill out applications for nonprofit status and grants, worked with Indiana Landmarks to have architects assess the building and establish a plan and arranged cleanup days to work on the inside and outside of the building.
Since then, it has been a matter of obtaining the money needed to put the committee’s plans into motion.
Anyone interested in donating to the project may send it to P.O. Box 77, Seymour, IN 47274.
If you go
What: We Will Never Forget Gala
When: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11
Where: Fellowship hall at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 504 N. Walnut St., Seymour
Who: Open to the public
Cost: $20 for a military veteran, $25 for an individual or $40 for a couple; may be purchased at Artistic Impressions or This Old Guitar Music Store in Seymour or at Bethel Community Church in Seymour from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday by calling 812-519-3438
Details: Dinner, entertainment by the Sounds of Dreams big band, military veteran recognition, a silent auction and a dessert auction; to donate items for the silent and dessert auctions, call Kay Shelton Welton at 812-216-5482
Proceeds: Restoration of the Lynn Street Colored School Center of Goodwill in Seymour
Information: facebook.com/lynnstreetcoloredschoolcenterofgoodwill