MS-126
BRADFORD TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
The Bradford Tabernacle Christian School Collection was Found in Collection in August 2005. It was accessioned into the Flesh Public Library on August 5, 2005.
This collection fills one Hollinger box and contains twelve file folders covering the years 1979 to 1998.
There are no known restrictions on the use of this collection.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The Bradford Tabernacle Christian School Collection is comprised of one series.
SERIES 1: Yearbooks
HISTORY
The Bradford Tabernacle Christian School, near Bradford on U.S. Route 36, opened its doors to students in September, 1973. It was started by parents who felt their children were not getting a “Christian education” in the public schools.
In 1976 the Ohio Supreme Court overturned a Darke County Common Pleas Court decision that children’s attendance at the un-accredited Tabernacle Christian School in Bradford was illegal.
The twelve parents of the Christian school students were originally convicted of violating the Ohio Revised Code section which requires minor children to attend an accredited school. According to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision the defendants’ right to religion under the U.S. and Ohio constitutions took precedence over standards set by the state board of education.
The Reverend Levi Whisner, founder of the Tabernacle Christian School, believed the court’s decision had implications for Christian schools across the nation.
In Piqua, identical charges filed against eight parents of Piqua children who were attending the Bradford school were dropped.
Rev. Whisner called the decision “…a very good victory for religious liberty.”
CONTAINER LISTING
SERIES 1 – Yearbooks
Box 1
File 1 – 1979
File 2 – 1982
File 3 – 1984
File 4 – 1985
File 5 – 1986
File 6 – 1987
File 7 – 1989 (2)
File 8 – 1990-91
File 9 – 1994 (2)
File 10 – 1995
File 11 – 1997
File 12 – 1998