A woman’s efforts to find and preserve the fight songs of Indiana schools that were closed because of consolidation has resulted in a published book and website that continues to gather information.
In 2024, Western Wayne News readers alerted Reta Williams to the inclusion of all the county’s songs in a 2017 book written by the late Mary Lou Griffey.
Williams had reached out to the newspaper for her Indiana School Song Project. She was seeking songs for the Boston Terriers, Cambridge City Wampus Cats, Fountain City Little Giants, Greens Fork Demons, Milton Sharpshooters, Whitewater Bears and Williamsburg Yellow Jackets.
Griffey’s basketball-focused book is called “The Goal, The Towns, The Teams, The Times.” It features many photos of Wayne County’s 12 schools before 1963 consolidations, histories of each community, and memories from former athletes, coaches, officials and fans.
Williams visited Cambridge City Public Library in August 2024, where she found the county’s songs she needed for her book. She told WWN that its article “hit the jackpot for me!”
Williams discovered 643 of the 718 songs for her book, “Echoes From the Gym: Fight Songs of Indiana’s Un-Forgotten High Schools.”
She said the book was made possible thanks to the help of many, many Hoosiers who contributed.
Any missing songs, including six from Fayette County (Alquina, Bentonville, Everton, Fayette Central, Orange and Waterloo) and two from Henry County (Lewisville and Kennard) can be sent to her attention through indianaschoolsongproject.com or to P.O. Box 2, Michigantown, IN 46057.
Williams printed her book through Barnes and Noble Press. Copies are available through the company’s website, or it can be ordered at one of its stores. She plans future editions as more songs are found.
A version of this article appeared in the August 27 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.