Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

Page 9 text:

building, and equipped with all modern edu- cational devices will soon be ready for use. It will be interesting to compare the dedi- cations of the two buildings which will be in point of time, just fifty years apart. KATHEEYN CAENEY, ' 23. OUR PRINCIPALS If tlic excellence of a school can in any de- gree be determined by the terms of office of its i)rincipals, the Wakefield High School de- serves a liigh place among the schools of the state. During a period of fifty years tliis school has had but eight principals. The average term of office to tlie time of Mr. HoAVc ' s death, omitting that of one who re- mained only one term, is eight years and two months. This is a remarkable record for a town in which the salaries have never been large and in which for ton years at least, the High School accommodations have been far from adequate. The first principal in the present build- iug was Melvin J. Hill, a native of Bid- deford, Maine, and a graduate of Bowdoin MELVIN .1. HILL Principal of the present High Scliool from 1872-1879 College. He was elected in 1869 and received the keys of the new High School at the dedi- cation in 1872. Mr. Hill had one assistant. Miss Abbie F. Nye, and the school numbered about sixty pupils. In the room now known as Eoom 10 . an Advanced Grammar School was formed for the younger and less profi- cient ijupils who were given an additional year ' s training for the High School by Mrs. M. E. Wentworth, one of the ablest teachers the town of Wakefield ever had. While Mr. Hill was principal money was raised for the purchase of the piano, the telescope, about fifteen pictures, and a considerable nu7iiber of books. Mr. Hill resigned in 1879 to take charge of the department of mathe- matics in Bryant and Stratton ' s Commercial Scliool, Boston. In 1884 he became Junior Master of the English High School, Boston, and in 189G he became Master of this school. He retired from teaching in 1907. Mr. Hill has lived in Wakefield since 18G9 and has taken an active j ' fi ' t in church and town affairs. Abbott Sanford was the second principal. He was elected in 1879 and resigned in 1881 to study medicine. David W. Putney was elected principal in 1881 and served one term. Walter C. Hill of Stoneham, a Harvard graduate, was elected in December, 1881, and resigned in 1886. E. D. Enssell, also a Harvard graduate, was principal from 1886 to 1888. C. T. C. Whitcomb, a graduate of Amherst College, was elected in-incipal in 1888 and served seven years, resigning in 1895 to ac- cept the position of Head Master in the new English High School, Somerville, Mass. Charles H. Howe, a gradu;ite of Dartmouth College, was elected in 189.5 and continued principal of the school until his death, De- cember 20, 1918. During Mr. Howe ' s admin CHAELES H. HOWE Principal 1895-1918 istration the school grew from a little over one hundred pupils to six hundred pupils. This remarkable increa-se was due in a great

Page 8 text:

PEESENT HIGH SCHOOL HISTORICAL 1872 1922 The Building and Dedication of the Wakefield High School How many pupils in our school realize that our (lospisctl, old high school Iniikling was oDco fresh and now, and tlie pride of the town? The story of the beginnings and the dedication of the present building forms an iiitpresting bit of history. At the town meeting of April 3, 1871, Hon- orable B. H. Sweetser, Chairman of the 8cliool Board, introduced an article under which action might be taken towards the pur- chasing of land as a site for a new high school l)nilding. A committee of five, con- sisting of Mr. Cyrus Wakefield, Honorable Lucius Beebe, Mr. Oliver Perkins, Honorable Richard Britton, and Mr. George Packard, was appointed to act in the matter. The result was the buying of a tract of land at the corner of Common and Lafayette Streets, containing 28,754 square feet, and costing .$9,854. John Stevens, Esquire, a citi- zen of Wakefield, who had charge of the building of the town hall and the Wakefield mansion, was chosen architect and Mr. George Packard was builder. The ground was broken September IC, 1871. Great care was taken in constructing the Imilding, and the choicest materials were used. The woodwork both inside and out is excellent and is seldom equalled in modern public l)uildings. The doors of bird ' s-eye maple are remarkal)le for their massiveness and beauty of grain. The doors in Rooms . ? and 4 are especially lieautiful. It is doubt- ful if tliey can be equalled for beauty in any buililing in town. Tlie high school was com- pleted at a cost of approximately forty-three thousand dollars. On Tiiursday afternoon, October 10, 1872, a large audience assembled to dedicate the new High School. Honorable Ricliard Brit- ton, Oliairman of the building committee, ])iea( ' iited the keys to Mr. John S. Eaton, who in turn presented them to the Reverend Mr. Bliss, pastor of the Baptist Church, who made a brief address and then gave the keys to Mr. M. J. Hill, principal of the High School. Professor B. F. Tweed of Charlestown, deliv- ered the address of tlie day. Sacli in brief was the dedication of the High Scliool fifty years ago. Tlie new High School liuihling, mucli larger than tlie old 6

Page 10 text:

measute to the fact that Mr. Howe had a fine and deep understanding of the relation that should exist between the school and the community and labored incessantly to main- tain those relations. Mr. Howe ' s sudden death occurred two months after the death of Miss Helen M. Poor, who was for twenty five years the first assistant in the school. George E. Dickey, the sub-master, acted as principal after the death of Mr. Howe until the appointment of the new principal in May, 1919. Charles J. Peterson, the present principal, is a graduate of Weslyan University and had, previous to his coming to Wakefield, twelve ye;irs ' experience in high school work. Mr. Peterson brought to his difficult task of re- organizing the school to meet the demands CHAELES J. PETERSON Principal Since 1919 of post war conditions, tact, good judgment, and great sincerity of purpose. The open- ing of the new High School witli its modern equipment will enable him to carry on the work of the school in a broader and more systematic manner Hum has been i)ossible iu tlic old building. THE FIRST SENIOR CLASS We are the last class to graduate from the present building, but before we leave this high scliool forever, out of respect for tra- dition, if for no other reason, let us turn back the pages of Time and gaze upon the class of ' 73, the first class to graduate from this building. The then new- high school was completed late in the summer of 1872, so that school began that Autumn in the new building. The Seniors were naturally proud of the new l)uilding, and did everything possible to es- tablish a reputation iu the Wakefield High School for strong school spirit and earnest cooperati6n with the teachers, and it is due mainly to this precedent that the high school still enjoys the reputation it does. Of course, in that day cooperation was much easier to obtain than it is now, for the en- tire school at that time did not number one hundred pupils. Nevertheless, we have some- thing to learn from these old timers . They established a spirit of competition between pupils which brought the marks up a great deal, and made it easier for the teachers. In those days the same subjects were taught that one finds in any high school today, only they were taught iu a different way. Then, a liberal knowledge in a great variety of sub- jects Avas considered more essential to suc- cess in life tlian an intensive knowledge in a few lines at the expense of other subjects, consequently the high school training was more broad than deep. They studied chem- istry, physics, geology, astronomy, botany, and physical geography in addition to the regular subjects, but none of these were pur- sued beyond their elementary stages. Til is class is to be especially remembered for tlie new customs which came iu with the new high school. It was at this time that the well known rhetoricals came into exist- ence. Every pupil was called upon to do his or her bit in wearing out the platform in Room 1, and each week the best speeches were printed in the high school weekly, The Scrap Bag. 1872 also marks the birth of the college division. The College Division of the class of ' 73 consisted of three boys. The members of this class were: Selini Sheflield White, Valedictorian. Ilattie Grey Mansfield, Salutatorian. Miixy Anne Burditt. Lorette Pratt Emerson. Francis Louise Hartshorne. Annie Rebecca Killorin. Julia Louise Hopkins. Frances Isabella Hubbard. Alice Rosamond Phillips. Emma Lucy Uijhani. 8