Margaret Ware Parrish, a great granddaughter of James Ware Parrish, a founding member of the Kentucky Female Orphan School (KFOS), was a splendid athlete. She graduated from Centre College in 1941 and went to work at KFOS in June 1942; latterly, she served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II. She went on to complete graduate work at the University of Kentucky and the University of Indiana.
Miss Parrish returned after the war to Midway and rejoined the staff of the school where she served as coach, physical education teacher, and athletic director until her retirement in 1979. KFOS introduced physical education in 1921 when Mrs. Honeywood Parrish Rouse, also a great granddaughter of James Ware Parrish, directed the courses for the year just before she married.
Over the years, in addition to formal classwork in health and physical exercise in the gym, students enjoyed playing on intramural teams, such as basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf and croquet. During the Pinkerton High School/Midway Junior College era, Margaret Ware Parrish developed varsity teams in basketball and volleyball. They competed from time to time with girls’ teams in nearby high schools and small colleges, but they had no leagues, conferences, or championship tournaments in which to compete. Miss Parish played a pivotal role in improving opportunities for women in sport in Kentucky.
She started the ‘Night of Lights’ graduation activity in the 1950s which continues to this day where graduating students light candles that float away down the Town Branch, symbolizing their own impending journeys into the wider world. Additionally, she organized the May Day celebrations.
Midway University’s most prestigious athletics award is the Margaret Ware Parrish Award presented to an outstanding student-athlete. Her strong leadership, integrity, and service established the institution’s Athletics Department as one of the most admired in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Margaret Ware Parrish was a civic leader, historian, author, and a pioneer in Kentucky women’s sports. Midway University is honored by her dedicated service to the institution.