Central High School - Chieftain Yearbook (Muskogee, OK)

Page 13 text:

was also a small room for an office, and three more for a study hall on the upper fioor. Two of the most important events that have ever happened to Central High School occurred during the fall of 1909. The first was the organization of a football team which passed through a very successful season, winning four games out of five played. During December of the same year the Scout made its first appearance as a monthly magazine. Jane Rockwood was the editor. The present student body can readily see the extent of the Scout's growth, which has kept apace with that of Central High School. The following spring the second graduating class passed from the portals of the school. Bascom Smith, besides being president of the class has the added distinction of having chosen the Green and White colors which have followed Central High School through victory and defeat since that time. Mr. John T. Helley was the principal. School opened in the new building on Dayton and E streets September 26, 1910 for the winter term. The student body and faculty were overjoyed because of the new building. It was likened unto a palace by those people who had been forced to attend classes in the make-shift rooms of the buildings which had been used up to this time. The first and original building consisted of but half of the present building. The north wing was added some years later. Mr. L. E. Weatherwax was principal of the school and had been since 1909. By virtue of the additional room, new subjects were added to the curriculum. Three more departments were also added, Art, Domestic Science and Physical Education. The Scout prospered under the editorship of Howard Upton. The second football team of Central High School ended the season with five victories and two losses. Miss Ellen Russell formed the first high school orchestra during the school year of 1910. The first play ever to be presented by a school or organization was given. The junior class gave two during the year as entertainments for the seniors. A Proposal Under Difficulties was given during the first of the year and another, Thank Goodness the Table Is Spread, was given before the close of school. A basketball team was also organized this year and the Green and White cohorts were victorious in seven games and were trampled on in but two. In the spring the baseball nine won four and lost one contest. Two debates were held and Central High men proved to the state that they were at last on the map by winning both contests. In the Spring 37 students graduated and for the first time diplomas were presented. The next year, 1911-12, was also a very successful one for Central High. Subjects in the commercial department were offered which included bookkeeping, typewriting and commercial arithmetic. ' The Entre Nous club was organized as a Girls' Literary club. The Scout continued its growth with Rilla Duncan as editor. All the athletic teams enjoyed a comparatively successful season. Work continued in the music, class, and chorus work. The first opera was presented by the chorus, The Pink Parasol. l During the year of 1912 plans for the enlargement of the building were started. The great increase in classes and attendance made this a necessity. The north side of the building was added at a cost of 375,000 Another worthy move was the organization of the Boys' Glee club which took place during the year of 1912-13. The senior class also presented a play, which has been made an annual event since that time. The name of the play this year was Charlie Aunt. The graduating class used for the Hrst time the conventional cap and gown. The football team suffered a series of reverses that were due partly to the schedule entered upon. The debate teams finished victorious for the third straight year. Harold Pemberton was the president of the senior class of 1913. Forty-nine people received diplomas this year, the same number as in 1912. In the autumn of 1913, work was started on the addition to the building. The faculty numbered forty members. The football team was much improved in the fall of '13 and won seven games. The other athletic teams made excellent showings, but the debate teams suffered defeats, due to the illness of two team members. With the coming of spring the fancies of the seniors turned from work to play and on the morning of April 1 appeared at their classes dressed as Hobos. This custom PAGE NINE 3 ...g-1 1: W' W' T

Page 12 text:

1 HISTORY OF CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL URING its career of eighteen years, Central High has occupied five different dwelling places. Its beginning was modest, but it has developed rapidly, thus attaining its present size and importance. A real need for a high school was first felt in the fall of 1905. There was a public school system at the time, and had been since 1898, but taxes were uncertain, and no attempt to organize a high school had yet been made. In response to this demand five freshman subjects were offered. The northeast room of the Jefferson school was used for the class of nineteen pupils who desired to take the course. One teacher was ob- tained who taught four of the subjects, while Mr. Redd, principal, taught the other subject. The five subjects were, algebra, general history, Latin, rhetoric and Zoology. The teacher was Miss Iduma Hughes. The work was organized under a four year system, but students could graduate with three years work. Those who made ninety in their grades or over were exempt from the examination. This room had to be abandoned shortly after however, for the number of students increased rapidly. In the fall of 1906 there were one hundred and twenty pupils enrolled. Then during the summer of 1907 Kendall College was moved to Tulsa, and as the town was growing rapidly the autumn of 1907 found over two hundred students enrolled for high school with six teachers. Consequently it was necessary to move to a larger place, and the Franklin school building was chosen as the place. Splendid school spirit marked the time spent in this place, the girls sold candy and started a school library with the proceeds while the classes set out trees on Arbor Day which still beautify the Franklin grounds. During this third year of high school work, physics, chemistry, American Literature, German, solid geometry, Latin, and English history were offered. Mr. Ira L. Cain was principal at this time having been elected to the position in 1906. During this year there was no room large enough to have an assembly, and as a result a piano was placed in the large hall upstairs in Franklin school, and here the students met once a week to sing. The pleasant school life was not destined to last long however, for in the spring a large crack appeared in the front wall of the Franklin building, and the school was declared unsafe. Thus the high school students found themselves homeless again. The Kendall building was next to house the growing high school. The site had been bought by real estate investors who were tearing the buildings down in order to sell the land. They offered the main administration building to the high school and possession was taken during April. This school structure was three stories high. It had many class rooms, one assembly room, and was situated on twenty acres of ground. The high school passed the year of 1908 and 1909 in this building. During this year, manual training, agriculture, and American history were added to the list of subjects of- fered and the faculty was increased to nine members. Although the real estate men had been willing to let the school use the building, they were nevertheless anxious to sell the land, and early in the year, requested the school board to have the building vacated by June. They did not wait until June how- ever, for long before that month they began laying off blocks and putting in streets. About this same time the school board began planning for the erection of a perman- ent high school building. There was no place known however in which they could have school during the year 1909 and 1910. Selling bonds, settling details, choosing a loca- tion, and doing other things necessary to build the school would take too long to hope to finish in time for that year. It was decided late in the summer to rent the Sawyer and Bostic buildings on South Third street and conduct the school in them. The whole thing was rented for 8225 per month. Thus in October, 1909, after some preparation on the building, the high school began what turned out to be the most unique and interesting phase of all its career. The rooms had been made by putting thin board partitions up which permitted each class to hear the disconnected jumble of the discussions going on in the other classes. There PAGE EIGHT

Page 14 text:

has since been followed by each of its successors. The graduating class of '14 was the largest in the history of the school, numbering seventy-two. The year 1914-1915 was an unusually good year in athletics. The basket ball team only lost one game out of fourteen, and better, still, the football team was undefeated, having won eight games. Among other high points of the school's activity at this time were the victories of the debating team, and the presentation of The Nautical Knot. Roy F. Hannum was the principal of the school. Each year it had been the custom to publish a special edition of the Scout at the end of the term. In the spring of 1916 however, it was decided to put out, with a dif- ferent staff, another publication to take the place of the annual edition. It was proposed that the senior class publish it, and that it be called The Chieftain. It was started and has become one of Central High's most cherished traditions. During the fall of 1918 the girls being interested in debating, the Delphic debating society was organized. As for music, the orchestra had increased to twenty-nine mem- bers and the 'tMikado was given by the two glee clubs this year. The following spring, that of 1919, was the high point in the history of the publications of Central High. By the efforts and cooperation of the staff and the students, the Scout returned from Nor- man with the shield for first place. This was also the end of its existence as a monthly paper. It became a weekly from then on, and in the fall Miss Bessie M. I-IuH took charge of the work. The football team of 1919 was unusually successful. Nine games were won, while a post season game was the only one lost. A good basket ball season followed. The base ball team in the spring of the same year had been state champions and the debating team came off victors. In this school year the student body government was organized and put into use by Mr. C. K. Reiff who was principal. Also the number of faculty had been gradually increased year by year, and at this time consisted of sixty persons. The senior class roll included eighty-seven graduates. The football team in 1920 again won nine games and tied one. The debating this year was not quite so successful, although the basket ball and baseball teams had fairly good seasons. The advisory system was introduced into the school. This has become one of the most important of Central High's institutions. This year was also marked by a change in the English courses, one of the changes being that Journalism was made one of the English subjects. Two of Central High's clubs came into existence in 1920. One was the Stagecraft, and the other was the Mirror Club. The Mirror Club really sprang from the older Dramatic Club, in the fall. Both clubs have continued to develop and are thoroughly established parts of Central High. In the following fall, in 1921, the football team lost two games out of nine. The basketball team was not extra, and the base ball team only fair. After an unusually successful year, a school will take a set-back and this is what Central High seemed to have done in athletics. In the spring of 1922, the Junior college was organized in order that students might have the Freshman year of college at home, and thus save part of the expense of getting a college education. English, history, and mathematics were the subjects taught. Also in the same spring, the Scout won at Norman, The Green and White Book was published, and one hundred and forty-six seniors graduated in a class of which Ralph Britton was Sponsor. In the following fall the football team started the season by losing. Then came 'iBig Bill Rennie who whipped the team into shape and caused them to have a success- ful season after all. In the spring, that of 1923, the list of graduates was the largest that it has ever been-two hundred. Britt was sponsor again, and Lawrence McAllister was president. The following autumn found the football material much lighter than usual. By the eH'orts of the coaches, however, a good team was formed. At first all Went well, but toward the last misfortune fell upon them, and they lost three games. Not long after this, Central High suffered a great loss. Ralph Britton was offered a place in California, and left just before Christmas. His never failing good humor, and friendliness had made everyone his friend, and in turn he was friend to everyone else. Thus we draw up to the present. The Central High of today is much different from that struggling school which originated eighteen years ago. A PAGE TEN