Arthur Ailes
In 1935, Morgan was home to a Senior named Arthur Ailes. Arthur had been attending Morgan for years playing sports and making friendships for life. His main passion during school was basketball, and this passion continued for the rest of his life. As an adult, Arthur continually visited Morgan games.
He came so often that there was a seat known by fans as Arthur’s. He always supported the teams, and even sometimes took them out to dinner after games. According to family members, Arthur came to Morgan events until he couldn’t make it up to his seat, which was at the top of the bleachers.
Last year some of Arthur’s children rediscovered the uniform from his senior year. Since Arthur was considered “the greatest Morgan Cherokee fan ever” by many, his family wanted to share it with the school.
His uniform and shoes are now proudly displayed on the wall in the concessions lobby outside of the main gym. Many of Arthur’s family members were able to attend the game where the display was first hung.
After speaking with them, I learned that Arthur and his wife also established a scholarship for Morgan athletes. Morgan was extremely important to Arthur. In the words of his daughter, “basketball was where his heart was.”
Student Feature
Senior, Tia Cerutti, has been attending Morgan since her freshman year. For her whole life art has spoken to her in a way that nothing else could. She has taken art classes all throughout high school in hopes of further molding her talent.
Throughout the years, her pieces have progressed and have even been featured twice at VU’s art contests. Now that it is her senior year, Tia has begun to consider art as a career.
“I’m thinking of becoming an art teacher or maybe owning a studio someday.”
One of the main reasons that art is important to Tia is because of the way it makes her feel.
“It’s the one thing I’m good at. It relaxes me and brings me a lot of joy.”
One of her favorite pieces of advice she has received was actually from her father.
“My dad has always said never to give up and that you’re only as good as you think you are.”
From one artist to all the others, Tia says that you should “do what you want” when it comes to art, and that “anything is art if you want it to be.”
Teacher Feature
Three years ago a former Morgan Township student joined the foreign language staff. Alyssa Long graduated from Morgan, and then immediately went on a mission trip to Guatemala before heading to college. Having studied Spanish in high school, Señora Long really enjoyed being able to use her language skills to connect with the people she encountered.
This partially inspired her to pursue Spanish. The other kick toward teaching came from Morgan’s previous Spanish teacher, Señora Snow. Señora Long had been studying Spanish already, so she interviewed her former teacher. The interview inspired her to pursue her Masters in teaching.
Before teaching at Morgan, Señora Long experienced many things. She studied abroad in Granada, España. Due to shorter class schedules, Señora Long was also able to visit Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Cambridge, London, Paris, and several cities in Morocco in her down time.
After exploring Europe, Señora Long began to teach. She spent two years at Andrean High School while completing her Masters. She reconnected with Morgan by catching up with Señora Snow one day, who informed her that the Spanish teaching position would be opening since she was planning on retiring.
Señora Long really appreciated the family atmosphere that Morgan has, so coming back to teach seemed like a great plan.
Now on her third year at Morgan, Señora Long enjoys helping students learn about culture, break barriers with language, and use their knowledge to explore the world around them, and maybe help discover their passion for language.
PCC Kicks Off
January 4th marked the start of PCC here at Morgan. The boys JV team first defeated Hebron, and then Boone Grove. Their final fame was January 11th against Washington. The girls JV team also began PCC on the 4th, however after a hard fight, they lost against Hebron. Varsity PCC begins on January 19th, starting with the girls playing against Washington. The boys follow close behind on January 23rd. They’ll be up against South Central.
This year’s theme for PCC will be PCC Emergency. The cheerleaders designed a white T-shirt featuring a first aid cross embedded with a Cherokee head. The shirts will begin selling on January 12th, so students and staff alike can show their support at games. The dance team will also be performing a dance with an asylum feeling to tie into the “emergency” theme.
The varsity teams are both looking forward to a challenging conference, with high hopes of taking home the title of PCC Champs. PCC ends January 23rd, so be sure to stop by the games when you have the chance!