Batavia High School - Batavian Yearbook (Batavia, NY)

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THE BATAVIAN-N1NET1z13N HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR V The first use of the new building by the student body occurred on the night of February 15th, when the B.H.S. basketball teams met the Tonawanda High School teams in the new gymnasium. Although victory rested with the visitors, the occasion was a happy one, and the cheering section of more than two hundred and fifty enthusiastic students ushered in the new B.H.S. spirit, which we are sure will continue to be in evidence at all future games. The last assemblies in the old building will never be forgotten. Enthusiasm ran high as representatives from each class pledged themselves to properly care for the new home into which they were to move the following Monday. A happy crowd moved over the equipment and seats, and on the morning of February 25th the new building opened its doors. Classes started shortly after nine olclock, and from then on, Batavia students have been enjoying the privileges so long denied them. Little need be said concerning the completeness of the new building. Its reputation has spread throughout the state as being one of the best of the many new school structures recently erected. It need only be said that every advan- tage enjoyed by the youth of the larger cities, are now made possible to the young people of Batavia. As principal of the new Batavia High School I have no hesitation in saying that all of these advantages are fully appreciated by the one thousand young men and women now in attendance. Promises were made by the student body that full advantage would be taken of the opportunities offered and that the building would be hand-ed to all future students in perfect condition. These promises are being kept. Batavia students may well be proud of their splendid new home, made possible by the generosity and sacrifice of the taxpayers, and Batavia fathers and mothers may be equally proud of the fine group of young people who are daily showing their appreciation of what has been done for them. HOWARD D. WEBER. 27

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THE BATAVIAN-NINETEEN -I'IUNDRED AND TWENTY'F0UR p 61112 New itigh Svrhuul ' As early as 1915 the need for a new building for the students of Batavla be' came apparent. The old building was, even then, recognized to be antiquated and overcrowded. In September of the following year an appropriation of S2O0,0Q0 was authorized by the voters of the district, but when the bids were olmned' m I une, 1917, it was found that war conditions had so increased the cost of build- ing that another S100,000 was needed. I , Because of the war and the greatly increased prices following it, interest in the proposed new building subsided, and it was not until the Fall of 1922 that Peb- lic opinion again demanded that the question once more be given serious conSid- eration. In September of that year the normal attendance of the school was .in- creased by the registration of one hundred additional students, and a building which had long been recognized as being overcrowded was now simply choked with students. In November a delegation from the Students' Council, headed by Clifton Bradley, appeared before the Board of Education and requested that steps be taken to relieve the serious situation. The Board promptly met this request by taking -up the matter with the State Department of Education at Albany. The Department representative declared the old building to be absolutely unfit for school purposes and urged that immediate plans be laid for securing a suitable, modern building. For the next three months the most important local question was whether the construction of the new school would be authorized. A vigorous campaign was conducted by the supporters of the project, a publicity committee was formed. delegations visited the old building, and finally, on April 6th, 1922, an appropria- tion of S450,000 was voted. Few of the students, then in attendance, will forget that memorable Thurs- day, the celebration after the victory was announced, or the Assembly called on the following morning. It was a happy group that gathered about seven o'clock on the morning of july 3rd, when Mrs. VValker, President of the Board of Education, broke the first sod, which marked the beginning of the construction. From that time on the progress of the work was watched with keen interest and expectation by pupils, teachers and townspeople. The erection of the first steel support, the pouring of the first section of the concrete floor, the laying of the first brick, all stand out vividly as landmarks marking the progress of the building. The laying of the cornerstone by Mrs. Wallcer on April 22, 1923, was an- other happy event. Stirring addresses by Superintendent Ladd and Webber Young, President of the Senior Class, marked the occasion. In the Fall of 1923 furniture and equipment were purchased, and Mr. Tom- linson, Chairman of the Building Committee, prophesied that the building would be occupied immediately after the Christmas vacation. However, the final fin- ishing touches lagged, and it was not until February that the long deferred dreams of the pupils were realized. 26

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