Jane Dabney Shackelford

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page including photograph; biography of Jane Shackelford, African-American educator. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history.Jane Dabney Shackelfordnative of Clarksville, Tenn., and a graduate of Logansport (Ind.) High School, Jane Dabney Shackelford adopted Terre Haute as her hometown after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana State Normal College in 1919. Born Oct. 16, 1895, the gifted daughter of George and Margaret (Stewart) Dabney first taught in a one-room city school with five grades but ultimately was assigned to teach the third grade at Booker T. Washington School. Finding little in the normal curriculum to inspire African-American children, she set about to remedy the situation while working on a Masters degree at Columbia University. She was awarded the degree in 1927. Blanche Fuqua, her teaching, supervisor in Terre Haute, encouraged her to complete a manuscript, and Shackelfords first book, The Childs Story of the Negro, was published in 1938. It was an instant success, receiving the endorsement of more standardizing agencies of juvenile literature than any previous book of its kind. Subsequent editions were issued in 1956 and 1960. Jane married Kyzer Shackelford on Dec. 31, 1915. The couple had one son, Montrose. While continuing to teach and residing at 1324 Liberty Ave., she penned My Happy Days, a photographic essay about children growing up in a family environment conducive to health, education and recreation. It was successfully distributed by Associated Publishers of Washington, D.C., in 1944 and earned rave reviews. Cecil Vinson, the principal at Cruft School in Terre Haute, took the photographs that illustrated the book. Active in St. Patricks Church and local community organizations such as Girl Scouts, YWCA, American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters, Shackelford retired from the Terre Haute Public Schools in 1962 after 43 years of service. At the time she resided at 1154 Hulman St. Shackelford was a founding member of the Alpha Eta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, received numerous honors and awards, and was granted honorary membership in the International Mark Twain Society. In later years, while residing at Meadows Manor East convalescent center, she began working on her autobiography. She died December 24, 1979, at age 84 before it was completed. Both Jane and her son Montrose are buried at Calvary Cemetery. Following her death, the Vigo County Public Library was the beneficiary of 21 scrapbooks, writings, research materials and educational archives about her extraordinary personal experiences.ATERRE HAUTE(812) 238-6000NATIONAL BANKAlways Close to Home
Origin:	2001-03-14
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/583
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Shackelford, Jane Dabney African Americans Teachers Authors Women Education People Famous Hoosiers

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