Who ARE THE FORT WAYNE TURNERS? Fort Wayne Turners is a society of some 700 members who subscribe to its basic principles which are:   1. A planned program of physical education for the development of sound body.   2. A planned program of cultural education for development of sound mind.   3. Planned recreational and social programs for all members of       the family group and participation in civic projects.
	We conduct a school of physical education and promote a wide range of cultural education activities at the "Turner Hall" located on a 12-acre site adjacent to the Johnny Appleseed Park on Parnell Avenue. The local society is a member of the American Turners and participates in gymnastic, cultural, and athletic competitions with other Turner societies throughout the United States. Turners were active in Fort Wayne as early as 1860 when the Turner Hall was located above Halstein's Bakery at 20 East Berry Street, the present location of the Lincoln Bank Tower. Turners rented four downtown locations before acquiring their own hall on West Superior Street in 1906. Having outgrown the facilities on Superior Street, in 1950 the society purchased the present site and subsequently constructed a new gymnasium building. Later, the facilities were improved to accommodate softball and playground activities. Two outdoor sand volleyball courts were constructed in 1995. In 1866, American Turners established a normal college for the training of gymnasium instructors. That college is now a part of Indiana University. A major contribution to the welfare of the city by the Fort Wayne Turners was the introduction of physical education into the public school system in 1901. Turners donated gymnasium equipment and the expertise needed to organize the curriculum. Turner gym class members demonstrated the movements. In 1908, Henry Myers, Fort Wayne Turner instructor, became the public school's Directory of Physical Education, a position he held for thirty-five years. From the primitive system of callisthenic exercises between the desks, the present system of physical education has developed into an all around system of games, sports, folk dances, apparatus work, tumbling and other features of modern education.  Fort Wayne Turners is proud to have had a part in the introduction of physical education in the public schools. A family oriented organization, we believe that physical fitness is essential to good citizenship and we strive to attain our objectives through "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body." For more information, call 471-8876 after 3:00pm Monday-Saturday Back To Sponsors Page Back To Home Page
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