Two and a half years after the August 1936 Centennial celebration and approximately five months after the opening of the new village school in September of 1938, the Centennial Commission in its final meeting contributed the excess funds left over from the celebration to the Board of Education for the good of the school. The following article, presumably written by George H. Kattman, was published in The Evening Leader on February 10, 1939.
NEW KNOXVILLE’S CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE TURNS OVER FUNDS TO SCHOOL BOARD
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Special to The Leader
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New Knoxville, Feb. 10—On Tuesday evening, February 7th at 7:30, just 30 months after the first day of the Centennial festivities of 1936 dawned and smiled upon the citizenry of the New Knoxville Community, the Centennial Commission met in final session, winding up its affairs and adjourned sine die.
Possibly never before in the history of the community did a group of fifteen men, chairmen of the several committees, band themselves together for one common cause and work so harmoniously as did the personnel of the Centennial Commission. In this harmonious attitude lay our strength and success.
At the last of their many meetings, it was learned that through donations by popular subscriptions, to give the commission the first pushing start, the sale of concession space, the sale of Centennial Manuals and interest on the unexpended funds, that a total of $2,192.52 found its way into the strong box of the treasurer. Of this amount $1,523.73 was spent for various items—acrobatic entertainments, fireworks, printing matter for publicity advertising and many minor items pertaining to the expense of putting on the show.
After all items of expense were paid, it was learned that a balance of $659.79 remained undisposed, which was on Tuesday evening ceremoniously turned over to the president of the village Board of Education by Elmer E. Katterheinrich, chairman of the Centennial Commission, with the stipulation that eighty percent of it be expended for playground equipment on the new school playgrounds, and the remaining twenty percent as the Board of Education sees fit. The idea in so dispensing of this surplus was that since it was nobody’s money, but everybody’s money, by so distributing it, it would be reverted to the rightful owners, since the Centennial of 1936 was strictly, and as the schools of today are strictly a community affair.
Just before adjourning sine die, the commission decreed that all legislation and financial matters be impounded in the strong box of the Village and made a part of the village records under the care of the mayors, and thus become permanent for future record.