Elizabeth “Betty” (nee-Polli) Marzluff left a lasting legacy in West Ashley
Have you ever noticed the small building tucked in the trees behind “The Schoolhouse” at the corner of Magnolia Road and Sycamore Avenue?
In the early 1940s, when the Charleston County School Board purchased the land for the construction of Albemarle Elementary, the building was noted as being part of the purchase but with no reference to its previous use. Once Albemarle Elementary opened, the building functioned as an overflow space to prevent classroom overcrowding. Then in 1961, the space was converted to a unique classroom space dedicated to focusing special education for “retarded children” — the descriptive term used during this time period for special needs children. The curriculum and teaching came under the direction of Mrs. Elizabeth Marzluff, who took on the task with dedication, enthusiasm and a desire to see her students become a functioning part of society.
Who was this dedicated, optimistic teacher named Elizabeth “Betty” Marzluff? She was born Elizabeth Carolyn Polli in Cleveland in 1921, graduated from Mayfield High School in 1938, and pursued a B.S. degree in Home Economics at Ohio State University, where she met her future husband, Joseph “Joe” Oscar Marzluff.
Graduating in 1942, she next attended Merrill-Palmer School in Detroit, Ohio. Her future husband transferred to the Naval Academy. They married in 1944 at the height of the war, and Joe was deployed to the Pacific. After the war ended, Joe’s military career had the family calling many locations home. Education was a strong driver in Mrs. Marzluff’s life. In the early 1950s, while stationed in Turkey, she began a kindergarten for the children of other Americans living there. After the stint in Turkey, they returned to Ohio. Next, it was to Charleston, then California, and then back to Charleston from 1959-1969.
It was during that last 10-year period in Charleston that Mrs. Marzluff set a standard for special education in Charleston County that ultimately saw her becoming the coordinator for the County. Individual attention to the fundamentals, as well as creativity in teaching, was part of her process. Watching turtle eggs hatch, constructing Christmas ornaments, incorporating math into baking, learning carpentry, pottery making, and the kiln firing of clay were all part of the curriculum to build confidence and, thus, productivity in her students. Maybe the inspiration came from her Mayfield High School class motto: “Today we follow, tomorrow we lead.”
Mrs. Marzluff also took every opportunity to educate a broader audience on the successes seen in her classroom. One 1963 News & Courier report of her presentation to the Optimist Club went as such: “It isn’t often that a woman gets a chance to speak for 30 minutes uninterrupted to an exclusively male audience. When said audience gives the speaker a standing ovation at the end of her talk, you can bet your boots that she’s an expert in her field.”
Just a few years later, a 1966 Charleston Evening Post article entitled “The Joy of Achieving. Happiness Is Where You Find It” described the advances Marzluff had achieved with her students. The title was a perfect description of Elizabeth Marzluff’s program and work, and she had come to be known as an expert in this special field of education.
Ultimately, the military moved the couple to Kansas in 1969 for Joe’s final tour of duty. Elizabeth Polli Marzluff died there in 2011, but her legacy of special education lives on in the children she taught in the small building nestled in the trees behind Albemarle School.
Today, the building needs a little love. Maybe with this story of its unique and special history, the community can rally for its protection and preservation. Maybe even naming it for the woman who dedicated her energy to crafting a special education curriculum for children under her charge.
Interesting St. Andrew’s Parish stories? Contact Donna Jacobs at westashleybook@gmail.com.
