Charity Dye

(Oct. 15, 1848-July 18, 1921). A native of Maysville, Kentucky, Charity Dye studied at the Indianapolis Normal College in 1873 and received a bachelor of philosophy degree from the University of Chicago in 1900. She began teaching in 1874 at Public School 10 but soon transferred to Indianapolis High School (later renamed Shortridge High School). She gained a reputation as an excellent English teacher. An early success was the publication titled Dawn, a collection of the best work written by students under her direction. Both historian-diplomat Claude Bowers and industrialist Eli Lilly remembered Dye as a favorite teacher.

Following her attendance at a pageant in Oxford, England, in 1907, she began producing plays in observance of historical events. Her “Indiana Pageant,” with a new segment produced each year, raised funds for high school projects. After preparing a successful pageant for the New Harmony centennial celebration in 1914, she was appointed to the Indiana Historical Commission the next year and helped plan the state’s centennial celebration in 1916.

Active in civic affairs, Dye lectured on historical topics and organized the Browning Society of Indianapolis. She spoke in every county of the state in support of a memorial to pioneer women and was active in urging women’s suffrage. When she retired in 1912, an issue of the Shortridge Daily Echo devoted tributes to her. Both Public School 27 and the library of the new Shortridge High School were named posthumously in her honor.

She was the author of The Story Teller’s Art (1898) and Some Torch Bearers In Indiana (1917).

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