Teacher's Row

Teacher's Row is the home of many influential individuals in Baptisttown. A majority of them were teachers at Lincoln High School. In particular, Alfred Porter, William and Helen Best, and Thomas Cheeks all lived on Teacher's Row. Teacher's Row is located on Lincoln Avenue, from Garvin Street to Governor Street. The locations of these homes are still around today, although they are not exactly the same as they used to be.

One of the teachers who lived on this stretch of Lincoln Avenue was Alfred Porter. He lived at 650 Lincoln Avenue and was a teacher of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation for almost 40 years. He was born in 1903 in Terre Haute, Indiana, about two hours away. While growing up, he attended Dunbar School for Elementary and Middle School, and then Wiley High School, where he graduated in 1921. After graduating high school, Porter decided it was time to go to college. He attended many different universities throughout the 1920s, including the University of Denver, Indiana University, and Indiana State University. While taking classes, he moved to Evansville to become the band director for Douglass High School in 1925. Dr. Charles Rochelle was a teacher at said school, and believed he would be a good fit for the school and the community as a whole. Later, Douglass High School was turned into Lincoln High School, where he taught science and music for 37 years. He married his wife, Phoebe, in 1928 and had two daughters.[1]Unfortunately, he passed away in 1981, but his legacy still lives on. 

            Helen and William Best were also prominent figures during their time. William Best was the first principal of Lincoln High School, and his wife Helen was a teacher at Clark High School and at Lincoln High School. They lived at 658 Lincoln Avenue. Helen grew up in Terre Haute, like Alfred Porter. Her father worked for Harold Van Orman, who owned St. George Hotel. Helen’s family eventually moved to Evansville because of Van Orman, and Helen attended Clark High School. According to Helen Best, there were only 9 people in her graduating class of 1915, all of which became teachers. After High School, she attended Indiana State University and later taught at State Normal School of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. She worked at that school for two years, until moving back to Evansville. After she returned, she worked at Clark High School for 8 years starting in 1920. In 1928, however, she began teaching at Lincoln High School instead. At both of these schools, she taught home economics and music. William Best came from the Caribbean island of Barbados when he was a child as a way to “better themselves.” His father was a Seventh Day Adventist minister and his mother was a nurse. They lived in Ellicottville, New York, where William  received his education. He got a job in Rockville, IN as a teacher and taught there for 2 years. While there, he took classes at Indiana State University. After working in Rockville, he became the principal at a school in Mount Vernon, Indiana. In 1913, he moved to Evansville to be the principal of Clark High School, where he stayed until 1951. He married Helen on November 30, 1930.[2]

            Last, but not least, is Thomas Cheeks. He lived at 654 Lincoln Avenue and was the basketball coach at Lincoln High School until 1951. He was originally from Miami, Ohio, which is situated near the Indiana-Ohio border. Cheeks graduated from Oxford University in Ohio and then moved to Evansville in the late 1920s. In 1951, Cheeks and his wife, Pauline, divorced in and he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pauline became a widow in 1929 after her first husband, Howard Thompson, underwent an appendix and gall bladder surgery. The cause of death was ruled to be peritonitis.[3]While the coach of the basketball team, Cheeks traveled all around, even as far as Tuskegee, Alabama.[4] In 1939, Cheeks ran for the title of Mayor of Derbyville in the “first sepia mayorality race ever conducted in the city.” The “mayor” would be taken to the Kentucky Derby that year as a gift from the Evansville Argus.[5] Although he did not win, this shows that he was influential enough in Baptisttown to be put on the ballot.[6] 

            Alfred Porter, William and Helen Best, and Thomas Cheeks were all fundamental in making Baptisttown what it was. Each of these teachers taught students how to thrive in a society that seems to be doing everything they can to stop them from achieving their goals. They were not only teachers, but social workers, political figures, role models, and more. These particular teachers were important because they were some of the first black teachers in the city. They set the precedent for the next generation of leaders and showed it does not matter what someone’s race is, they can still be successful. 

[1] Alfred Porter Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. June 12, 1974. 

[2] Helen Best Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. July 6, 1973. 

[3] Pauline Thompson Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. June 26, 1973. 

[4] “Lincoln Lions Travel to Tuskegee for Try at Southern Title.” Evansville Argus  (Evansville, IN), March 15, 1940. 

[5] “Mayor of Derbyville Election Ballot” Evansville Argus (Evansville, IN), March 4, 1939. 

[6] "Dr. Baylor Elected Mayor." Evansville Argus (Evansville, IN), May 13, 1939.

Alfred Porter Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. June 12, 1974.

Helen Best Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. July 6, 1973.

Pauline Thompson Interview. Oral History Collection, USI Archives and Special Collections. June 26, 1973.

“Lincoln Lions Travel to Tuskegee for Try at Southern Title.” Evansville Argus (Evansville, IN), March 15, 1940.

“Mayor of Derbyville Election Ballot.” Evansville Argus (Evansville, IN), March 4, 1939.

"Dr. Baylor Elected Mayor." Evansville Argus (Evansville, IN), May 13, 1939.