Ardsley High School - Ardsleyan Yearbook (Ardsley, NY)

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A HEARTH STONE TALE OF A H S Ccontinuedl library where Miss Van de Werker put in so much time and energy in cultivating a liking for good literature and the like Where the Fifth Grade is now Mrs Flint began teaching the sixth grade in 1920 Mrs Kinder vatter kept commercial students in rhythm where the Intermediate Grade is now Mrs Ehler and Mrs Fergu son have been in service a good many years as Third and First Grade teachers respectively Subsequent to a brief substitution by a Miss Coe while Mr Bennett was in France and subsequent to Mr Frank York's principalship, Mr Arthur W Silliman the deliverer of A H S into the 'lap of repute' and all that is good and desirable for an educational in stitution, came into the foreground bringing with him the stamina, sagacity, and discretion which has so prominently marked his most progressive administration. From 1916 till the present has transpired the greatest and most favorable transformation in all the eventful history of the school, but this progress pro extra curricular activities had their birth here and virtually led to the mollification of a restless stu dent body who found satisfaction and contentment under Mr Sillimans institutions The two or three years prior to Mr S1ll1man's ar- rival on the horizon were emphatically unsatisfactcr as weighed in the terms of educational ethics and methods, for even in a small cosmopolitan community where there exists a wide divergency of social pract ices the school is responsible in a large part for the dissemination of the seeds of harmony, appreciation for self government, and subsidiary interests, which are entirely embodied in extra curricular activities Matters had arrived at a crisis, and Mr Silliman was the individual to whom the distressed faculty turned for wise counsel They were gratified and well re munerated for their patient toleration, for the new principal diagnosed the case and prescribed the preoisa medicine for coping with matters Thus did the Studen Council derive its origin and was the Honor Society later formed by plans and specifications submitted by a student committee Incidentally, in the year 1921 there was but one graduate, Elsie Goerz, while at the graduation of the ensuing year three were graduated, Beatrice Goehren, Josephine Nannariello, and Dorothy Underhill Th class mottoes were 'Never sometimes, but alwaye', and 'B square and be Y's', respectively In 1922 a magazine known as 'Pep' was issued by the student body, and in 1923 THE ARDSLEYAN was initi ated as a quarterly, although in the succeeding year 23 O O Q bably reached a culminal point in the year 1925 when Y e 0 . Q

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A H ARTH STONE TALE OF A H S Coontinuedl Hard benches, rough floors, far too inadequate facilities pronounced the doom of the 'little red school house' despite major like sincerity and en deavors on the part of the teachers to attain a har monious atmosphere for the welfare of the students Thus did Mr Abraham Storms at a subsequent date donate the property very adjacent to that of the site of the 'little red school' for the sole purpose of its being utilised for educational purposes, and he went so far as to make it a stipulation in the deed that if compliance with the purpose to which it was dedicated were not enforced, the property would auto matically be surrendered The historic old edlfice that was constructed of wood Just beside the Proud foot estate on this very property was later moved to Railroad Avenue and converted into a livery stable Even the street itself has been obliterated, and in its place is the Saw Mill River Parkway After Mr Ropes' dismissal from service, Mr Gilbert Buck, grandfather of the young Stymuses, was few, who still survive in Ardsley, gained their start in life msmxxxmxmxmmxmxxxsxs As we are seated we look into each other's faces and reflect how much warmer the fire is becoming, how much more intimate a1e the etchings, how proportions are being augmented Day has virtually slept away, and the advent of a new day brings new, rejuvenated interest in those historic etchings dancing on the hearth Our scene shifts to a portion of what is now the Municipal Building It was here that Mr William Slocum assumed the reins as principal in 1872 and served a major portion of his principalshlp Mr Slo cum,a very public spirited man, a capable pedagogue, and an accomplished disciplinarian really by virtue of the systematic disposition he himself possessed, his sportsmen like and paternal interest in the af fairs of his pupils successfully administered Justice and encouraged law and order At the beginning of his administration the enrol lment at the school was approximately eighty five. The school comprised but two rooms, one devoted to the needs of the elementary department, the other to those of the senior department In fact it was one large room merely curtained off, and there for forty solid years did Mr Slocum endeavor with all the fer vor with which the Lord had endowed him to inculoate a spirit of learning through which he endeavored to teach the subject matter more successfully. He had 22 principal of the aforesaid school under whose roof a 0 O Ee

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A HEARTH STONE TALE OF A H S Kcontinuedl for his assistant in these endeavors a Miss Mary Tut hill whose unceasing interest and sympathy were none the less commendable To comprehend the environment of the building and the very evident pioneering project that schooling was a matter of fifty years ago in our thriving little com- munity, it is well to call attention to little annota tive excerpts from a daily attendance record kept by Principal Slocum In most cases when there occurred 'wholesale' absences or any comparable sltuations, he attributed each to some mishap or other 'School closed no stove up' 'ceiling being repa1red', 'principal moved his family' are representative of the alibis, which seem really comical to us who are so used to commodiously furnished rooms, who are nracti cally unaware of the heating facilities which we enjoy as a matter of course, and who expect rather than hope then during the winter months necessitated the closing of school as indicated by these same fascinating notes We are also told that after heavy rain storms it was anticipated that the water would have to be swept into gutters along the floor molding of the room where it would be drained off Of course, in time the two room school was supplanted by an enlarged plan which involved the addition of what is now the front portion of the Municipal building where the congregation hall and hose company are housed A contractor named Cham berlain from Nepera Park had been engaged for this work, which proposition was consummated at about the outset of the century Just prior to this time there had been an estab lishment located at the Junction of Daisy Avenue and Sprain Road called 'Eel College', which also served those residing in the distant sector of the district northeast of Ardsley Unfortunately little otherwise seems to be known concerning this school A Mr Chamberlain held the principalship up till about l9l4 when from the little stucco structure that we know so well was removed everything that might make one cognizant of its having been a school to the main portion of the Present Ardsley High School Mr Earl W Bennett, who is at this very time a supervisor of schools on Long Island, became principal then He was at a considerable disadvantage on account of his youthful appearance, it is opined, but those who knew him attest to the fact that he was a competent in- structor who went out of his way to cooperate with the student body Arrangements then were quite different from now For instance, the Present Board room was then the 24 1 for well-contemplated curricula. Heavy snows and rains