“If you have a band, then you have a so-called fight song,” he said.
Benner arranged music and wrote the song, which is still a part of the school district today. He also composed the musical arrangements for the alma mater.
“It was a part of the evolution of the sports and the identity of the Monroe schools and Monroe High School,” he said.
Benner will be inducted as an honorary member of the Academic Hall of Fame on May 9 for his contribution to the school district. Five others will join him.
The general studies teacher certified in mathematics, Latin and music, graduated from high school in Fort Recovery and then from Wittenberg University. His first teaching job in 1937 was in general studies at a Lemon Twp. elementary school.
His principal and later superintendent, Calvin Young, requested that Benner start an instrumental group as a club.
Its success led to requests from other elementary principals for him to teach instrumental music in their schools, so he became an itinerant music teacher.
“(Young) gave a tremendous interest to music, instrumental music and the band,” Benner said. “He bought an instrument himself and became a part of the learning process. We had a teacher’s orchestra. It was his vision and his enthusiasm that led to the development.”
Benner, who like many faculty, served in World War II, continued his teaching career after the war and later went on to earn his doctorate. He later taught graduate studies in music education at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
Countless teachers and graduates from Monroe have accomplished great things, he said, including CW Young’s son, Gene Young from the class of 1956, who is a renowned composer, musician and educator also to be inducted.
“He has gone on from his Monroe beginnings and Monroe experiences and his talent into tremendous achievement in the field of music in competitions and conducting world wide,” Benner said. “To recognize his accomplishments and his spirit ... it’s really the opportunity that Monroe provided.”
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