1930s Yearbook Art Editors1938 Mary Cole and 1938 Carl HanselJuly 2022![]() The 1938 Faculty Sketch by Mary Cole The 1938 Parent Sketch by Karl Hansel
Mary Cole was the only daughter of Asa and Agnes (Dunn) Cole. She had three brothers, Herbert IHS 1933, Andrew IHS 1942, and Asa Ward Cole IHS 1941. The Utica Daily Press reported on the art work in the 1938 Mirror. "Caricatures of various members of the faculty are among features which also include pictures of the Board of Education, the faculty and various student activities. Drawings by the staff artists, Mary Cole and Carl Hansel are the best presented in recent years, according to school officials, while student activities are described on several pages." The seventh page of the 1938 Yearbook contained Mary Cole's Mirror drawing and is featured in this month's cover story image. Her senior yearbook caption centered on her artistic talents. Mary comes - the paper's bare, Page 46 of the 1938 Yearbook contains the Sports sketch. Page 7 of the 1938 Yearbook contains the featured cover example of Mary Cole's art work. Page 31 of the 1938 Yearbook contains another example of Mary Cole's art work.
The Ilion Public Library featured Mary's art work in November 1936 . The Observer Dispatch reported on November 23, 1936 that "... drawings will be on display at Ilion Public Library this week. They are the work of Mary Cole, a 15-year-old girl of unusual, almost extraordinary, talent. ...Included in the 11 specimens is a full-sized copy of "The Lord's Supper." It was drawn with an ordinary artist's pencil and required several months to complete. Not only is it a faithful reproduction of the original, but it is marked with a delicacy of shading and completeness of detail not expected in so young an artist." Mary participated in many art contests while she was a student at Ilion. The Observer Dispatch reported on May 21, 1939 that "Three students, Mary Cole, Ilion High School; Robert Crossway, North St. School, and Glenn Morgan, West Hill School, emerged winners in the annual poppy poster contest sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary ...Miss Cole has taken part in several contests and has never failed to win a prize. Her pencil drawing of The Lord's supper, done as a high school freshman, attracted wide attention and received considerable publicity. She will major in art at college."
During the summer of 1938 Mary studied art under Prof. George Hess and Prof. Ruth Lee at the College of Fine Arts, Syracuse University. Mary attended the School of Fine Arts, Syracuse University for three years.
Mary enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in September, 1942. She was the first Ilion woman to do so. Miss Cole enlisted in mid-summer shortly after the WAAC was formed. She was sworn in in September and called to duty in December. Miss Cole asked for duty as a photographic technician where she could utilize her natural artistic ability to good advantage. She served two years in Washington and was later stationed at the Philadelphia Ordnance Depot. World War II The entire Cole family was featured in The Utica Observer Dispatch on January 31, 1943 with the headline "Cole Family of Ilion Serves 100 Per Cent for Uncle Sam". The three sons and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Asa Cole, 26 Armory, are in the Army now. Technical Sergt. Andrew Cole, of the Air Corps, was in foreign service. He enlisted in July, 1939. First Lieut. Herbert Cole, was commanding officer of a Signal Corps company. He has served for more than three years, and earned his commission by promotion from enlisted ranks. Pvt. Ward Cole was the last of the group to leave. He was sworn in January 1943. "To say that Ma and Pa Cole are proud of their four service stars is to put it mildly. The four Coles are undoubtedly one of the reasons why Ilion was the first town in New York State to win the Treasury's "T" flag for war bond subscriptions."
Lt. Mary A. Cole, WAC, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Asa C. Cole, 36 Armory, became the bride of Sgt. Richard A. Carroll, AAF, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W Carroll Buffalo, at a nuptial Mass in the Church of the Annunciation, July 17, 1945, with the. Rev. Daniel Horan officiating. The couple left on a wedding trip, after which Sgt. Carroll reported to Camp Dix for reassignment and his wife returned to the Philadelphia Ordnance Depot. Sgt. Carroll was a graduate of Amherst Central High School, Buffalo, and also attended the School of Fine Arts, Syracuse University.
Post World War II After the war, Mary settled in East Aurora. NY. Two of her children also showed artistic talent. Her daughter, Betsy Carroll Smith, recently paid tribute to her mother on her own Facebook page. Mary's son, Mark Carroll, is also a full-time artist. In an interview, Mark Carroll described how he came to pursue an artistic career. "I come from a family of artists. My father, Richard, was a wood and stone carver, my mother, Mary, a landscape and portrait oil painter. I grew up watching my parents and their artist friends creating art. We lived in East Aurora and were surrounded by renowned regional Western New Your artists. It instilled in me an appreciation for the value of a life spent creating art." "I majored in art in High School and at S.U.C. Buffalo. Later, I returned to college to become certified in Art Education. After teaching high school art for 8 years, I deciding to take the plunge and make creating sculpture a full-time job."
Architect Brother - Ward Cole
Mary's brother, Asa Ward Cole, fulfilled his artistic leaning by earning his New York State license to practice as an architect. In 1957, he left Ilion, to accept a position with a California firm. "...before leaving, he took a final look at an Ilion ranch home, the first house designed and built with specifications he had drawn. The house is the new home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Travis on 378 Second St. Extension. Ward had become so interested in completion of the home that he personally worked on the shrubbery." Sadly, Charles Travis, 1938 Class President and classmate of Mary Cole, died at the age of 37 in November of 1957, and did not get to enjoy his new home for very long. Mary's mother, a registered nurse, passed away in 1964. She was predeceased by her husband. She was buried in Church Street Cemetery, Little Falls, NY.
Carl Hansel was born on May 15, 1919, in Germany, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Hansel. The family immigrated to the United States, in 1925, to live in Ilion. He had a brother, Paul Herbert Hansel, IHS 1943. He also had a sister, Annemarie K. Hansel. Annemarie was a member of the class of 1939 but she received her high school diploma from Ilion High School in 1946. She had left school, for a period of time in wartime, to work at Remington Rand. She enlisted in the United States Navy, Waves, in 1943. She was stationed in Boston, Mass., in the Hospital Corps and was honorably discharged in 1945.
Page 4 of the 1938 Yearbook contains another example of Carl Hansel's art work.
The Utica Daily Press reported on the art work in the 1938 Mirror. "Caricatures of various members of the faculty are among features which also include pictures of the Board of Education, the faculty and various student activities. Drawings by the staff artists, Mary Cole and Carl Hansel are the best presented in recent years, according to school officials, while student activities are described on several pages."
Post High School Carl was employed as a draftsman in the engineering department of Remington Rand, Plant 2. He married his 1938 fellow classmate, Virginia Helen Dorn, on October 17, 1942, in Ilion. Following their honeymoon, they lived at 60 W. Main St, Mohawk. They later made their home at 175 Second St. Ilion. During World War II, he served as a Corporal in the army.
Carl Hanson died on July 25, 1990, in Newtown, Fairfield, Connecticut, at the age of 71.
Related Sources Fultonhistory.com Newspaper Archive References:
Utica NY Observer 1936 - 8748.pdf November 23, 1936 - Ilion High Girl Displays Unusual Talent as Artist
Other References:
Created and maintained by Aileen Carney Sweeney - Class of 1974 Digital Image Copyright & Copyright © 1997 - 2022 ilionalumni.com |
![]() |
Alumni Home | | | Class News | | | General News | | | District History | | | Search | | | Traditions |
![]() |