Helping Her Fellow Citizens One Act of Service at a Time

By Emily Spuhler
Originally Published in Fall 2019 Nostalgia News

A volunteer, dedicated educator, and benefactor are just a few ways to describe Ethel Harnett. She was born in 1886 in Williamsburg, Indiana, now known as Nineveh. James and Amanda Harnett, her parents, moved their children to Franklin when Ethel was a young child. Ethel lived in the family home at 698 N. Johnson Avenue for most of her life. She attended Franklin schools and graduated from Franklin High School in 1905. Her high school commencement ceremony was at the Franklin Opera House. After high school, she obtained an Indiana state teaching license and began her long career as an educator.

During the early 1900’s, Ethel Harnett attended college, something that many African Americans across the country could not do. She took education courses at Indiana University and Franklin College to earn her bachelor’s degree and later master’s. A little over a decade after the first African American man and woman graduated from Indiana University in 1895, Ethel Harnett enrolled in classes there. Later she attended Franklin College where Arthur Wilson had become the first African American to graduate in 1902. Going to college during the early 20th century was just one of Ethel Harnett’s many accomplishments.

Miss Harnett’s teaching career began at Booker T. Washington Elementary, a school for African American children, in Columbus, Indiana in 1909. She taught there for 12 years until she resigned in 1921 to teach in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She returned to Johnson County a year later when her mother became ill. When she returned to Franklin, she continued her education at Franklin College and eventually began teaching at the West School, which had opened in 1873. This school at 450 W. Madison Street in Franklin was later named the Booker T. Washington School.

Ethel Harnett was principal when, due to a significant decrease in enrollment, the school closed its doors in 1951, and the African American students from the school were integrated into Payne Elementary in Franklin. This integration in the Franklin school system is significant because it happened before Brown v. Board of Education. In the early 1980’s the old school building was demolished, and a new community center took its place. The Franklin City Parks Department named the building Palmer Park Community Center after receiving a bequest from Miss Harriet Palmer. One of two meeting rooms in the center was dedicated to Ethel Harnett for her tenure as a teacher and principal at Booker T. Washington.

Ethel Harnett served as an educator for 38 years, with 25 of those being in Franklin. Following her death, the Daily Journal featured Ethel Harnett in a June 13, 1988 article. The newspaper interviewed her friends and colleagues, which included Gene Wales who said, “Everyone enjoyed her and loved her. She was always concerned about getting her students a good education.” She was determined to make sure all her students had basic skills to help them succeed in life. A colleague of Ms. Harnett’s told the Franklin Evening Star, “You can always tell one of Miss Harnett’s pupils . . . He always know[s] how to read, spell and work out his words.” A dedicated teacher, she devoted a large amount of her time helping her students succeed. Miss Harnett cared deeply about her pupils so she provided tools, such as tutoring sessions, encouragement, after school programs, and anything else within her power to help her students succeed. When Ethel was not in the classroom teaching, she volunteered her spare time to helping the community.

Throughout her life, Ethel Harnett participated in a number of organizations that aided others. She served as treasurer and superintendent of the Sunday school at the Second Baptist Church in Franklin. As the representative of her church, she joined multiple organizations, such as the Franklin Girl’s Club, the Johnson County Council of Churches, and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

During her lifetime, Miss Harnett’s enthusiasm for serving others never wavered, and she impacted many lives. The Daily Journal reported on her well-deserved recognition when the Franklin Second Baptist Church celebrated an “Ethel Harnett Day” on July 29, 1967. Over 150 former students, colleagues, and fellow volunteers attended this ceremony honoring Ethel Harnett’s service to the Johnson County community as well as the state of Indiana. Ethel remained a Franklin resident until her death in 1988 at the age of 102.

Posted May 14, 2020