Belmont High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Belmont, MA)

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Belmont Recollections Originally in 1898 the Roger Wellington School was a square building. loiter, two wings had been added as shown in this view from Orchard Street. In 1914, ground was broken for an addition which, until 1987, constituted our present high school. In the Belmont Citizen of March 30, 1929, ap| carcd a picture taken by Jay R. Benton (presumably) in 1914 from Fairmont St. looking toward the location of the present high school. It shows vacant land north of Fairmont St., then the Grady farm where Glendale Rd., Orchard St., and the high school are now. The Roger Wellington School is shown with two wings, but originally, it was a square building with two rooms on each floor plus a kindergarten room and office or storeroom. Miss Hannah McGinnis was Principal and taught the fourth grade. It was there that I first learned slant writing, after which vertical was tried for several years, after which they again reverted to slant. As a consequence, I write neither. At the southwest corner of the present high school property was a brick gas house, ami on the slope above the swimming pool was some kind of a factory. A brook flowed from a pond west of Common St. where Orchard St. now is. This is now piped underground. The fifth through ninth grades were on the first floor of what is now known as the Town Hail Annex, with the high school of alxnit one hundred pupils on the second floor. “In 1882, when the Town Hall was built, Belmont adopted a Town Seal. The design, drawn by Henry Mitchell, Seal Kngraver, represents a statue of Pomona, goddess of fruits and gardens, against a background which is the view seen from Wellington Hill looking towards the Town Hall. In the distance are the spire of the First Church, the roof of the Town Hall, and the railroad, all partly obscured by trees. The scene is drawn upon a trefoil thought to symbolize the three towns of Watertown, West Cambridge, and Waltham. On one side is a spray of laurel and on the other a spray of oak leaves. The whole is encircled by two rings between which is engraved the words ‘Belmont Incorporated 1859.’” 14 Town Seal

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The front and hack faces of the medallion issued by the town of Belmont during its 50th anniversary celebration in 1001). The medallion is made available through the courtesy of Mr. HAROLD BIRCH. The high school faculty consisted of Mr. Charles Jenney, Principal— also taught bookkeeping; Miss Mary Burbank—French and geometry; Miss Gertrude Miller—English; Miss Wiswall—I-a tin; Miss Emily Hunt—French; Miss Grace Johnson—Lit in. There was also a teacher for chemistry and physics. In those days, to prepare for college it was necessary to take a year of post-graduate work in high school, as the colleges had separate entrance examinations in English, French, German, physics, chemistry, anil geometry. Each morning, an assembly for the high school was held in the thin! floor assembly hall. The school was divided between the Heils and Blues and contests were held in debating, basketball, etc. Watson Flett was the star debater, and Ava Poole the star speaker. The football squad consisted of about eighteen, but by the end of the season, it dwindled to about thirteen or fourteen. Some of the team were Ava Poole, Fred Ix onard, Ix c Sherman, Prescott McNeil, Alex Husband, and Clifford Birch in 1908. In the winter we had a toboggan slide starting at what is now Professor Buckingham’s front steps on Cedar Rd. to where the gym is now. Highland Rd., Glendale Rd., and On-hard St. had not been built. In those days school started I believe at eight o’clock with a recess of about forty minutes, and closed at one or one-thirty. Everyone walked as hardly anyone had automobiles. The roads were gravel or macadam, and during the summer, watering carts operated to lay the dust. There were two high school dances each year, one given by the Junior Class and the other by the Seniors. We had dance orders and filled in the names of the girls we asked for dances which were mostly waltzes and two-steps. The girl you took to the dance had the first dance, the supper dance, and the last dance with you. Dances were over at twelve o’clock and then you escorted the girl home on foot. It could l e one and one-half miles each way. (Signed) Harold W. Birch, Treasurer C’lass of 1909 15