ELDRED: An Eldred reader phoned the newsroom on Wednesday afternoon to inform us that there had been an error in an article in Tuesday’s edition of The Era about Rose Lasher, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Wednesday.

Mr. Stoughton, a former Eldred Alumni member, reported to The Era that according to his recollection Mrs. Lasher had actually graduated from the Eldred High School in 1940, not the Otto High School (as previously reported.) Stoughton was fairly certain of this memory, as he graduated from Eldred High School not long after Lasher.

Stoughton reported to The Era that he was a member of the last graduating class of the original Eldred High School building, in 1955. Now some reading this may say — but, wait, the Eldred High School didn’t close until 1959, not 1955.

According to historical documentation, Eldred High School officially closed its doors to students in 1959 however, Stoughton remembers it mostly closing in 1955, then between 1955 and 1959, while construction was conducted at the Otto High School site to accommodate the influx of Eldred students, the classes fluctuated between buildings.

The Eldred High School was built by John S. Cotton in 1889 and served the Eldred community until 1959 when a jointure with Otto Township was formed, creating the Otto-Eldred School District. The former Eldred school building has since been demolished.

Stoughton also spoke of another graduate who stood out in his mind in addition to Lasher, his name was Wendall Williams. Williams was also over 100 years old, when he passed away on May 18, 2019. He was a veteran and a 1938 graduate of Eldred. During his time in the military he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

“He was the kind of guy, that if you met him you’d never be able to forget him,” said Stoughton.