Carl L. Mackey was born in Marietta, Ohio in 1895. He graduated from Marietta College in 1918, where he played baseball and football, and he was on the track team. Shortly after graduation, he entered an officers’ training camp, but as he was about to receive his orders, the war ended and he was honorably discharged. Late in 1918, he was hired by Sandusky High School to be the Athletic Director. He also taught Science and Civics. He coached Sandusky’s basketball team during the 1918-1919 academic year, where the team played to capacity crowds at every game. In the mid-1920s, he took a job in Oberlin, but by the time by 1928, when Jackson Junior High School was opened, Mr. Mackey was the principal of the new school.
The opening of Jackson Junior High School was an exciting event in Sandusky. The school had a swimming pool and a large gymnasium which was also used as a community center from the late 1920s through the 1940s. By the early 1950s, Mr. Mackey had become the assistant superintendent of Sandusky City Schools, and from 1953 to 1958, he served as superintendent of the school system.
Mr. Mackey was superintendent of schools in Sandusky when the new high school building opened in 1957.
Mr. Mackey was not only active as a teacher and administrator, but he was very involved in other community affairs as well. In the 1940s, he was the president of the local chapter of the Lions Club, and he was involved with the first Safety Town in Sandusky, sponsored by the Rotary Club in 1956.
After retiring from Sandusky City Schools, Mr. Mackey moved to High Point, North Carolina; he died in North Carolina on March 25, 1976. He was survived by his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren. In his time in Sandusky, Mr. Mackey got to know many local residents through his many years of committed service to the school system and the community.
