3/8/2022 Taylor Tucker 4 min read
Written by Taylor Tucker
A high school gym designed and built by mechanical engineering alumnus Halver Rufus Straight was added in 2019 to the National Register of Historic Places for its uniquely round shape and well-preserved construction. Completed in 1932, it was the first building of its kind in the state of Iowa.
This latest recognition adds to a plethora of accomplishments for the late engineer. The curved, glazed tiles used for the gym’s construction were a major product of Adel Clay Products Company, a brick & tile company that Straight had previously owned. He had a rich and diverse career in ceramics, primarily focusing on construction but also obtaining 87 patents for tools and instruments used in clay manufacturing.
Born in El Paso, Illinois in 1884, Straight studied ceramics at UIUC. He was a member of the university’s mechanical engineering club and later joined the engineering honor society Sigma Xi. During his time as an undergrad, he also played clarinet in the military band and was a member of both the Hawkeye theatrical and Scandinavian ski clubs. Upon his graduation in 1907, Straight bought, and renamed, the Dallas County Brick & Tile Company in Adel, Iowa. He relocated to Adel after marrying fellow Illinois native Lura Ethel Hoge in 1909 and remained an Iowa resident until his death in 1956.
Straight sold his ownership of Adel Clay Products in 1926, next serving as president and general manager. Around that time, he also founded the Straight Engineering Company, which specialized in clay working and manufacturing. He served for seven years as chairman of the Research Committee of the Bureau of Standards for the National Structural Clay Products Association, was active with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Ceramics Society, and was an honorary member of the British Clay Workers Association. Straight was also heavily involved in his local community, serving terms as president for Adel’s Chamber of Commerce and its Rotary Club.
Later in life, Straight served as president of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical & Geological Societies. Per its website, the Federation serves to “promote interest and education in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, archeology and lapidary, and to sponsor and provide means of coordinating the work and efforts of groups interested in these fields.”
Straight’s gym, which was built for Yale High School of Yale, Iowa, contains a basketball court that measures 65’ by 35’, with rounded corners for which the walls were considered out of bounds during play. The intimate space created a unique ball-playing experience for students—the National Federation of High School Associations defines a high school basketball court as 84 feet long and 50 feet wide (NBA courts are ten feet longer).
Basketball games were held in the gym from its completion until 1961. During that time, it also hosted numerous events including performances by the Harlem Globetrotters, who would have had to significantly adjust their traditional stunts to fit the smaller venue. The gym ceased to host basketball games when Yale merged with other schools, but continued in use for elementary physical education classes until 1989. The city of Yale then took over the gym, opening it occasionally for public play and special events. In 2000, the city received a grant from the Revitalization Assistance for Community Improvement program to repair and maintain the gym’s roof and windows. The gym was last opened nine years later for a school reunion.
In addition to his communal contributions, Straight willed his impressive mineral collection to the Central Iowa Mineral Society, which later loaned the collection to Drake University in Des Moines. The collection is said to contain 1,500 minerals and 600 fossils and artifacts. In a 1962 announcement of the collection’s loan to Drake, the Des Moines Register wrote that Straight “was one of the early rock hounds in Iowa”—a fitting epitaph for this alum’s lustrous ceramics career.