Lew Wallace High School was a four-year (9-12) public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

of the

Gary Community School Corporation Gary Community School Corporation serves most students who reside in Gary, Indiana. History In 2017, Gary Community Corp became the first school system in Indiana involved in a state takeover. Control of the district was transferred from the ...

in Gary,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States.

Staff

The faculty included nearly 65 teachers.

History

In 1926 the 45th Avenue School of Gary, Indiana was officially named Lew Wallace High School named after

Lew Wallace Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is ...

. Wallace was a native to Indiana who served as a United States General during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, as the Governor of the New Mexico Territory, the Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and as the author of ''Ben Hur.'' The "A and B wings" of Lew Wallace were constructed in 1933. The campus was renovated as recently as 1972, an addition that included the Richard Polk Gymnasium. During a period of time, the school served K-12 students. The school offered community recreation programs on weekends. As of 2014, the school was formally known as Lew Wallace Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Academy. Athletic programs included baseball, basketball, football, and track. On Tuesday, June 3, 2014, the Gary School Board voted 4–2 to close Lew Wallace, along with 5 other schools. The building was reported to need $2.8 million of repairs. As of 2015, one year after closure, the building was reported to be in worsening condition.

Notable alumni

* Stacy Adams, former football coach at

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

Vic Bubas Victor Albert Bubas (January 28, 1927 – April 16, 2018) was an American college basketball coach for Duke University and the first commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.

, former basketball coach at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

John Bushemi John A. Bushemi (April 19, 1917 – February 19, 1944) was an American, best known for his service as a World War II combat photographer and filmmaker for the U.S. Army. Bushemi, the son of Sicilian immigrants, was born in Centerville, Iowa ...

, war photographer * Joe Capua, All-American basketball player at

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

Branden Dawson Branden James Dawson (born February 1, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League. A native of Gary, Indiana, he attended Lew Wallace High School and played college basketball for the Michigan ...

, class of 2011,

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

alumni and NBA player *

Tellis Frank Tellis Joseph Frank Jr. (born April 26, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). At 6'8.5" (2.08 m) and 225 pounds (102 ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball player *

Milo Komenich Milan Melvin "Milo" Komenich (June 22, 1920 – May 25, 1977) was an American professional basketball player. His brother was fellow professional basketball player Bill Komenich. Collegiate career Born in Gary, Indiana, he was the son of Serbian ...

, NBA basketball player * Jerome A. Prince, 21st mayor of

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

Jerry Shay Jerome Paul "Jerry" Shay (born July 10, 1944 in Gary, Indiana) is a former American football defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Shay played college football at ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Hall of Fame and All-American football player, NFL Defensive Tackle and current scout *

Hank Stram Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (N ...

, AFL/NFL Head Coach and

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

Champion

References

External links

* Lew Wallace Public high schools in Indiana Schools in Gary, Indiana {{authority control