Windber High School - Stylus Yearbook (Windber, PA)

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. -v-vymuw--71511 'rf-vp!-r'11wl1r 6f' - , V , W ill E' HH: lr fl' ,HA PPDGBIZSS IN lf 5.Qf 1 - ,,,. IPUCATTQN HISTORY OF WINDBER HIGH SCHOOL Windber High School, with its present enrollment of 1358 has had a meteoric rise in the last three de- cades. In common with all other phases of Windber's community life the high school has developed so that it has be- come one of the best in the state, offer- ing a varied curricula to meet the demands of modern complex living. Wi'ndber was organized into a borough in 1900. Consequently, the first school board of the town was elected at that time. It was composed of the following members: Dr. O. J. Shank, president, J. C. Begley, sec- retary, A. C. Bantley, treasurer, Dr. H. L. Carlisle, C. E. Davis, and J. W. A. Roley. However, the teachers for the town schools for the term of 1900- Timnmsus STEVENS NVho was instrumental in passing , Free School Act of 1834- board. There were eight teachers on V 1901 were elected by the township the faculty that year, namely, J. J. Shaffer, principal, L. G. Shaffer, George F. Vg vw, Ickes, Lula Schultz, Katharine Reeser, Ida E. Berkey, Milly Shaffner, and Alice Shaffner. Although the board, when elected, could not take charge of the schools until the following year, they began to make extensive provisions for increasing the , educational facilities so as to meet the needs of the community which had 4, in four years increased from 50 to 8,000 inhabitants. When the borough board took charge of the schools, they elected ' X W Williarn Scott, of Johnstown, supervising principal. The first . Q I important step was the establishing of the first high school -if ' ' V fllfifl J and adopting a new course of study embracing thirteen years. Thus Windber High came into being in the fall of 1901. , S in biz 5, -. ' ' A -w HW ur g ljz

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f 'ifima -5 ' Barr ' E X : V if HHH ggs '5i stilff . .. Wi .. . e. llDITt1AT101-I .fe -A1-- ln:-.a Iii ,, ll ' 1 P ' , l ' , Elerie 1 I SHEEE HEEB PPUGFIFS IN iiw s al I c ,ll l.-. .. L,-ef. , ---1' 'r r'l+'f-sf.. THE FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL ACT The so-called upauperi' schools, es- tablished by the Act of lSO9, which provided free schooling for 'Gall chil- dren between five and twelve years of age, and whose parents were unable to pay, continued until 1834 in Penn- sylvania when the people, tired of this upauperismv in education, demanded a change in the law. Governor George Wolf said in his message to the General Assembly of 1833-34: alt is time, fellow citizens, that the character of our State be re- deemed from the state of supineness and indifference under which its most important interest, the education of its citizens, has so long been languishingf' The legislature of that year passed the new school law. The opposition, however, to free Schools, especially from the religious sorts who had their own schools, grew GOVERNOR GEORGE WOLF so rapidly' that the majority of men During whose term Pennsylvania elected to the legislature of 1834 35 established Free Schools went to undo the legislation of the pre- ceeding term. The fight for free schools was very bitter in both the Senate and the House. All seemed to be lost when Thad- deus Stevens made his remarkable speech in defense of free schools. This turned the tide, for it rang out with facts which could not be disputed. Free pub- lic education was saved. The following is an abstract of his speech: 'Alf an elective public is to endure for any great length of time, every elector Enust have sufficient information not onlv to accumulate wealth and take care of his pe- tunitrx concerns but to direct wisely the Legislature, the Ambassadors, and the lxetutne of the Nation' for some part of all these things, some agency in ap- proxinf., Ol disapproving of them, falls to every freeman. lf then the pelmctnency of our government depends upon such knowledge it is the -te'- dutv of the Covernment to see that the means of information he diffused to every citizen. This is sufficient answer to those J X who deem education a private and not a public duty- who argue they are willing to educate their own children and not their neighhor's children. 'I we-ll, Dept. of Pnlslie Instruction, Ilarrisburg -ill alma I ' Q' .ui K -J 7 I 1 2'I'5IVlll2'4 for this section-courtesy. Tl. M. Cross- E ' Tl-n nl tg! ' . 1

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,xiii-f wwe.. i'gt z MH if' H H E I5 sara Pfggglfgfwm I ,233 , , . 5.1. ,,,., . sg, ,.,, ag,.,,, ,a,...?,.,s, i' The regular high school course consisted of three years, but those pupils whoso desired were privileged to take one year post-graduate study. It will be re- membered that the elementary department consisted of nine grades: three primary, three intermediate, and three grammar. Surprising is it seems to us today, the first Windber High School had two courses, the regular and the special. All subjects except Greek and German were obligatory. In the fourth, or post-graduate year college preparatory students were permitted to speeialize, hence the special course. Supervising Principal Scott was assisted by C. H. Risser, who had charge of the first high school, as teacher and principal. ln 1903 the borough had eighteen school rooms in three buildings. The East End building had in the mean time been built and the Ninth Street Hall was used temporarily. In the summer of 1903 the Brick building on Thirteenth Street was built at a cost of thirty thousand dollars. This building had ten rooms and housed the high school, which was rapidly increasing in. enrollment. It is interesting to note what the Harrisburg School Gazette said about Windbct' at this time: Windber is not a huge mining camp with primitive institutions as one might suppose. Her people are intelligent and progressive. The present school board, three of whom were rc-elected this spring is composed of two physicians, one dentist, an attorney, and two merchants. All these, with one exception are graduates of some educational institution. These men of affairs know the advantage of good schools. That the people approve the progressive steps is shown by the re-election of the old directors Knot old in every sensej. These men do one thing that is unusual for directors-they visit the schools. The report shows forty-five visits by directors in one month. Windber's first graduating class, 1903, had eight members, namely, Ruby Duncan, Eva Bell, Patience Williams, Sue Vickroy, Ethel Miller, Alice Tyler, John Wyre, and Roy Sharpless. During that year, 1902-3, there were fourteen in the freshman class, thirteen 'n the sophomore class, and five in the junior class. In 1905 Mr. Scott resigned as supervising principal and was suc- N ceeded by D. M. Hetrick. There was no graduating class in 1905. lg Q if ' During Mr. Hetrickis first term seven students were graduated 5,5 from the high school, all graduating from the college prepar- E 1 K atory course. Typewriting and bookkeeping were the first 1 'H V , commercial subjects introduced into the high school mit-:ata --4 9 ' -' 'J 'X