Baker High School - Nugget Yearbook (Baker City, OR)

Page 19 text:

Mr. George Allison Mr. Thomas Hunt Mr. Eugene Hammond 5 . L.-on 6' Mr. Thomas Richards ' Clerk Dr. Flora Biswell Mr. Henry Levinger Page 13 EDUCATION In this mid-century year, Baker can look back on 50 years and more oi line progress which saw the school system grow from a village classroom into a line, well organized system. Based on the golden past, Baker may look with confidence toward a golden future. lor Baker schools are among the fore- most oi the state in preparing lor the education of the youth oi the area. Even now a complete high school plant is being con- structed that the educational offering may be adequate for the youth who lace the future: other units oi the system are scheduled for completion within a five-year period. The system has been revamped and strengthened, is being constructed lor, and re- dedicated to the proposition that the best possible education lor youth is the surest ioundation of happiness.

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Hon G B Moulton Hon S B Kldder l-lon CharlesA Iohns BOARD DF Although the early beginnings of the schools in Baker City were indeed not without hardships. the establishment of a high school program was a struggle for the more 'progessive citizens and educators of the city, and the first years of the high school were stormy ones. Were it not for the zeal and diligence of such Baker City edu- cators at Prof. Herbert Kittredge, Prof. Barrett, Prof. I. A. Church- hill, and such board of education members as the Hon. G. B. Moulton, the Hon. S. B. Kidder, the Hon. Charles A. Iones, the successful establishment of the second public high school in the state of Oregon tPortland High School was the firstj may have been delayed for years. In one of the first editions of The Nugget it was reported the Hon. G. B. Moulton is an enthusiastic supporter of the schools. and the advancement of the Baker City Schools has been largely due to his untiring interest in their behalf. The Hon. S. B. Kidder endeared himself to both school and patrons by his ability to sell the schools to the public. The Hon. Charles A. Iohns, mayor of Baker City and member of the Board of Education. exercised his influence progressively for the maintenance of the high school. U9

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I. A. Churchill Superintendent ol the Baker City Public Schools 1891-1913 ST.l1JEl'll'1lB1'1ClEl'1lS When Prof. I. A. Churchill assumed the superintendency ol the Baker City Public Schools shortly after the organ- ization ol the high school- and there was only one other in the state: Portland-it was indeed a godsend for us . . . because by the dynamic spirit of public weliare possessed by this man, Prof. Churchill has guided the development of the schools of Baker City to a point ot near supremacy in the state . . . -The Nugget, 1902. From the records of the administration oi Prof. Church- ill it is evident that ever-progressive development in the schools characterized the period. The high school program-new and, except for Portland, untried in the state-was crystalized in the Baker City High School plan perfected by the superintendent. This plan was the model for other high school program developments in the state. Expansion of the grammar school program, too, was another accomplishment of the time. The building of the Brooklyn school on the east side, the South Baker school, the North Baker school and the planning lor the new high school building which was erected in 1916 were results of the larsightedness of the superintendent and progressive-minded citizens. The leadership of the Baker City Public Schools in educational progress and high school programming is so manifest that the era might well be called the Golden Age in Baker education. Page ll