Who was Sidney Fenn?

All Medina City residents know that there is a school named after Sidney M. Fenn on West Union street.

If you have walked the halls of the school, you may have noticed his portrait and the plaque that recognizes his contributions to education in Medina.

Any articles or paragraphs on Sidney Fenn always include a long, long list of all of his accomplishments:

• World War I Veteran
• Charter member/commander of the American Legion Post.
• Chairman/teacher of Americanization classes for the American Legion Post.
• Chairman of the Medina Memorial Day Parade for many years.
• 32nd Degree Mason
• Kiwanis Club member
• Chairman of the Service Union for the Salvation Army.
• Active in the United Church of Christ Congregational and was a Sunday school teacher.
• Lifetime member of the Medina YMCA
• Public Relations Director for United Fund
• First president of the Medina county Retired Teacher's Association.

But any person is so much more than their accomplishments.

From the 1955 Medina High School Yearbook.
Courtesy of Rick Nowak.

Sidney Fenn was born in Medina County on 29 February 1892.  This is a portrait of him taken at a very young age. 

Yes. It was the custom to dress both boys and girls in long dresses and not cut their hair until they were old enough for the boys to graduate to pants.

In 1909, he attended the YMCA States Boys Conference.

After graduating from Medina High School in 1912, Sidney went to Ohio State University, graduating in 1916 with a degree in Agriculture. 

His first teaching job after graduation was at the Kingman Schools in Clinton County, Ohio.

21 February 1919, p. 7 Medina Sentinel

1918, Sidney joined the Army and served as a Corporal during World War I. This February 1919 Medina Sentinel article states that he had been assigned to Company L of the 329th and he had been training soldiers for the front of the war at the time of his discharge.

By 1920, Sidney is back living with his parents on North Court Street and he is listed as a salesman for a drug store.

In 1921, there is a Sidney M. Fenn listed in the Cleveland City Directory as a teller at the Garfield Savings Bank. While it is not certain that he is the same Sidney Fenn, no other Sidney Fenn appears in Ohio for the 1920 or 1930 censuses.

In 1922, he married Helen D. Miller in Wood County, Ohio. His occupation was "clothier" and hers was "musician".

In 1923 he was first hired as a teacher for the Medina Schools. By 1929, he had become a principal. He was principal of the High School for 18 years.

1927 Medina High School Yearbook

By 1937, Sidney is divorced from Helen, and he remarried. His second wife was Doris E. Camp.

In 1937, he earned his Master's Degree in Administration from Ohio State University. In 1947, the Superintendent's job became available suddenly and Sidney stepped into the void. He held that position until 1961, when he retired.

Sidney had three sons: Craig, Raymond and Robert. Tragically, Doris died in 1954. Sidney remarried to Mary Lou Strock, a music teacher at the high school.

1948 Medina High School Yearbook

Sidney's son, Robert Fenn, who also served as Superintendent of Medina Schools from 1980-1990, remembers this about his father (from The Story of Medina's Schools 1817-2017 by Gloria Brown):

      "I remember playing in front of the fireplace in his office. He sang a lot and he had a great sense of humor." After his mother died, Robert recalls, "He'd come home, put on an apron and make me supper. And he made oatmeal for my breakfast every morning."

About Sidney's dedication to the community and his leadership of the Salvation Army in Medina, Bob Fenn remembers, "People would come to the door, needing a place to stay or a meal. The man at the nearby filling station would send people to our house, telling them 'If you need help, go see Sid Fenn.' My father would always help them out."  

Bob Hyde, creator of the MedinaSquare.org web site also remembers "Sid" Fenn. Bob remembers the principal as being "straight forward, no-nonsense administrator and always, very fair. After a "talking to" Mr. Fenn would always say, "Don't do it again. Now go next door and see Mr. Claggett." Mr. Claggett doled out the punishment.

Local resident, Macy Hallock, was a student at the Medina High School, while Sidney was principal. He remembers Sidney fondly and with a smile in his voice recalls, "He was very likable, affable, with a good sense of humor. He was upright. Everyone liked him and he took an interest in everyone."  Macy also shared this incident:

     "One day I was called into the principal's office, and I had no idea why. Sidney set me down and said, "We have no more to teach you here. We want to send you to college early. The paperwork is all signed and ready for you to go."  Unknown to young Macy, Sidney Fenn and his father had discussed his future and didn't want him getting drafted into the war. So they had arranged for Macy to skip his final year of high school and go straight into college. And between them, they had decided that Sidney Fenn would be the one to tell him. Macy Hallock wasn't even 16 years old at the time.

So, who was Sidney Fenn? A pillar of the community? Yes. A good father? Yes. An all-around really nice guy? YES!

And an good sport?

Sidney Fenn commiserating with fellow birthday sharer about
only having a birthday every four years, because they were
born on 29 February. Medina County Gazette, 28 Feb 1956, p.1

I'd say so, wouldn't you?






























SOURCES:
History of Medina County (1948)
Historical Highlights of Medina (1966)
The Story of Medina's Schools 1817-2017
Medina High School Yearbooks, 1927, 1948, 1955
Medina County Gazette
     21 Feb 1919, p. 7
     28 Feb 1956, p. 1

For Enquiring Minds:

Craig Fenn, Sidney's oldest son, did serve in the Army during World War II. In April of 1945, his parents received news that he was Missing In Action (MIA). Later that month, they learned that he had been taken a prisoner of war. And just a week after that, he was released from the POW camp and was reunited with his troops. 

Medina Gazette 1 May 1945, page 1.

Medina Gazette  8 May 1945

But better than that was the story he told when he got home...

Medina Gazette  22 May 1945, page 1