Kurt Vonnegut graduated from this Shortridge High School in 1940. Opened in 1864, it is the oldest free high school in Indiana. Vonnegut wrote for the newspaper, the Echo, here and also served as its editor.
He spoke highly of the institution: "It's my dream of America with great public schools. I thought we should be the envy of the world with our public schools. And I went to such a public school. So I knew that such a school was possible. Shortridge High School in Indianapolis produced not only me, but the head writer on the I LOVE LUCY show (Madelyn Pugh). And, my God, we had a daily paper, we had a debating team, had a fencing team. We had a chorus, a jazz band, a serious orchestra. And all this with a Great Depression going on. And I wanted everybody to have such a school."
