Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

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Weymouth High — Past and Present The first High School was established, in 1853, in the Town Hall on Middle and Wash- ington Streets, with Joseph Dow instructing. During the following year the school was held for the first five months in South Weymouth, in the hall of J. G. Rogers at Columbian Square. For the last five months the school was removed to Weymouth Landing, with Jonathan C. Brown as instructor (He is no relation to the present Mr. Brown, as far as we can discover). When the disadvantages of this program became increasingly apparent, the town fathers decided that a permanent high school was necessary. Provisions were accordingly made for opening a school in East Weymouth. S. S. Marston was its first teacher, having, in all, fifty-four pupils. Because of the crowded conditions in the East Weymouth school, another removal took place to the schoolhouse in the tenth district. Mr. Marston, retired because of ill health, was succeeded by Mr. Loring Johnson. In 1860 the second term began in a new school- house in North Weymouth, called the North Weymouth High School, the present Adams School. Now began the period of two high schools, one, the North Weymouth High School, the other, in South Weymouth, the South Wey- mouth High School. The schools were moved about a great deal until the erection of the present main building. The North High School occupied, at different times, the Adams School, and a new building on Tiemont Street, at Weymouth Landing, in 1876. The South High School was first held in the Vestry of the Universalist Church on Pleasant Street. South Weymouth, later in the so called Rogers Hall, and finally in the Howe School in 1895. Since the first school was estab ' ished. the attendance was very irregular. The winter season always brought a great diminishing in attendance. During the Civil and Spanish American Wars, too, the nv sculine attend- ance was noticeably slight, since, in those days, war demanded even the very young. The list of subjects taught was not very different from our present loutine; namely, arithmetic, algebra, bookkeeping, geometry, rhetoric, astronomy, French, Latin. English grammar, chemistry, declamation, composi- tion, anatomy and physiology, and natural philosophy. All subjects were, for a long time, taught by one teacher. Now we come to the history of the present high school building. At the annual town meeting in 1897 a venerable company of sapi- ent town fathers put their heads together and decided that the wavering career of the high school had better end. Accordingly they made Page Six

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an appropriation of $50,000 for the much needed building. Work began directly and the building was completed and ready for occupancy by the beginning of the next school term. Loring and Phipps of Boston were the architects and P. H. Jackson of Brockton did the general contracting, with a bid of $35,636.75. The heating was installed by L. E. Smith of Gloucester with a bid of $3,775. Mr. Edmund J. Bugbee was the first prin- cipal, holding the office from 1898 to 1904. He was succeeded by Edwin P. Sampson from 1904 to 1910. In 1911, Mr. Frederick W Hilton took over the office, which he has held to the present date. With the growth of the town and the in- creasing number of school children, additional quarters were needed. Hence the freshman wing was added and formally presented for inspection on June 24, 1924. John E. Griffin was the contractor, with a bid of $300,000. We, the Class of ' 29, were the second class to use the new rooms. All the preceding, we venture to say, is news to the majority. The following, however, is history. Shortly after the completion of the fresh- man wing, places were begun for the Voca- tional School. The work on the shop was done entirely by trade school boys, and the cast of the building was $35,000. In 1928 r ' owded conditions in the local grammar schools demanded still another change in the school arrangement. The town therefore de- cided to build a new addition to the high school. The new wing, called the Weymouth Junior High Annex, contains four classes each of the seventh and eighth grades. The gen- eral contracting was done by James S. Miles and Son Company, with a bid of $300,000. Work is now progressing on the New Legion Memorial in front of the High School, which will do much to add to the beauty and dig- nity of our school grounds. It has been rumored that the Class of ' 29 will have the initial honor of being the first to graduate from the open air amphitheatre, if, as is hoped, the work of construction is finished in time. But one thing we know, from re- liable authorities: the diplomas for the grad- uating class will be headed by a picture of the complete High School building, something entirely new on Weymouth High School di- plomas. And now, with the High School building complete, a look into the future follows. We who are about to graduate salute you, our underclassmen, and hand on to you the privi- lege of working and striving for the glory of the High School of the Future. Jane Stub ' 29 SEWING CLASS Page Seven