Atwood Hammond High School - Post Yearbook (Atwood, IL)

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but I shall never know what it was, for I just then fell out of the hammock and woke up. I didn’t laugh at my dream for I knew it was the future of the members of the Sophomore class of the Atwood Township High School of 1918. I went into the house and began to prepare for my journey to France for I, Celia Thrasher, was now a Red Cross nurse. —• of ,0 ATWOOD TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL Manual Training Room. There are fifteen work benches, each provided with all the necessary bench tools. Besides, there is a carefully selected set of tools suitable for all the various kinds of work done in a well-equipped shop.

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Prophecy of the Sophomore Class One sunny afternoon in summer I sat down in a hammock under some shade trees and leaned back among the cushions. I was feeling dreadfully drowsy and the humming of the bees in some flowers a short distance from me made me feel more sleepy. Presently, to my astonishment. I found myself in a large city. I was riding in a street car to some unknown place. You can imagine my surprise when I saw Elvert Brewer and Ervin Anderson on a wagon selling vegetables. I just got a glimpse of them for the street car was moving rather fast. I was soon interested in a struggle between three policemen and a crowd of boys. As the street car neared the scene I became aware that I knew these policemen. They were Emmett Conner. Inscoe Day and Raymond O'Laughlin. I was simply dumbfounded. Who would ever have thought that these boys would be policemen! The street car stopped and I got off and walked into a drug store. I was looking at some books when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and whom should I see but Sophia Scheffer, my chum in zoology class. I was very glad to see her. I asked her what she was doing and she said that she had lately been busy hunting for zoological specimens. We chatted fora few minutes and then I bought a book and went out of the store. I went to a park and sat down on one of the rustic seats, which made the park seem very beautiful and restful. I picked up a paper that was upon the seat and began to look over its contents. On the want-ad page I found a few advertisements that rather surprised me. One was an advertisement for help in a large dry goods store owned by Ethel Reedy and Grayce O’Laughlin. Another was for help at a lumber yard owned by Lloyd Kimmel. The one that surprised me the most was an advertisement of a new hair tonic that could be purchased at a certain store which was owned by Leola Quick. I decided to go see her at once (don’t think I wanted any of the hair tonic.) for I hadn't seen her for a long time. She was very glad to see me and showed me around over her store. I was very surprised to learn that Mabel Monroe and Lela Billman were her partners in the store. I asked her if she knew anything about our class members, when we were Sophomores, and what they were doing now. She gave me the following information. Mae Downs and Marie Bowman owned a candy store in Atwood. Blanche Kamin and Freeda Harshbar er were Red Cross workers in France. McLain Heath and Chester Moore were teachers in Atwood. Warren Wierman was the coach of the foot-ball team. Wava Schoonover was selling Fords in Atwood. Ruth Kimmel was living in one of the western states. Pearl Barnhart, Grace Roloson and Lora Wildman owned an ostrich ranch in New Mexico. Lena Jumper was in New York overseeing a hospital for cripples who had just returned from France. Leola started to say something else

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A SOPHOMORE ESSAY THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS OF THE GRADE SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS—A PHASE OF THE CENTURY’S PROGRESS Nothing has shown our develop-menfand progress better since 1818 than the advancement of the grade schools. The ordinance of 1787, passed by the Congress of the American Confederation, stated that education was to he encouraged in the northwest territories. The majority of the inhabitants of Illinois at this time were sturdy farmers. They tilled their soil and sold their crops in the cities. The greater part of the people had no education; in fact, they hardly needed it in their simple business affairs. If any one of them had to give his signature in any of his business dealings, he used a cross or some other rude sign. They did not realize the value of learning, and therefore they did not encourage schools. Considering their environment, it is not strange that this was their attitude toward schools. Nearly forty years had passed before new settlers came from the eastern states. In the East education was encouraged, therefore many of the immigrants had a fair education. They started a movement in favor of schools in order that their children could have at least as good an education as they had. Not until forty years after the ordinance of 1787 had become a law were schools established and organized. The Constitution of Illinois, which was signed in 1818, contained nothing pertaining to schools. Illinois had been a state seven years before the first school law was passed. In 1820, before any school laws had been passed, a chatter was granted to the Belleville Academy. In 1825 the Fourth General Assembly passed the first school law in Illinois. This law provided for the free schools for white children, and made provision for the use two per cent of all money in the treasury for educational purposes. Very few schools were established under this law, yet Illinois was a pioneer in the educational movement, because schools existed in the New England states only. The first school law provided no means of compulsory education; they were supported by subscriptions from the parents of the children. This method delayed the progress of education a number of years, for money was scarce the greater part of the time. The first educational convention was held in Vandalia in 1833. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss existing conditions, to improve methods of instruction, to awaken public interest, and to secure suitable legislation of a worthy free school system. The second convention was also held at Vandalia. Cyrus Edwards was chairman, and a man no less noteworthy than Stephen A. Douglas, secretary. They prepared a bill rec-