Bell Township High School - Bee Tee Vie Yearbook (Salina, PA)

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Introduction problem the P. O. S. of A. Hall was rented for school use. In order to solve the problem per- manently a four room building was built in 1905. Four more rooms were added to this twelve years later. The first steps in establishing a high school curriculum were taken by Bella Glass Boden in 1908. This work was directed by lvlrs. Boden herself as Super- vising principal until 1911. Dur- ing that time E. E. Shaulis and Eugene Piatt were high school principals. ln 1911 Salina High School, offering a two year course, was officially organized with E. B. Leaf, principal. From 1913 to 1916 E. H. Keibler and james L. jones held the principalship. A third year was added in 1917, when james Hughes was principal. R. G. Bortz, V. R. Peterson, and Charles Helman served in that capacity one term each with the same curriculum. C. M. McNaughton came to Salina as high school principal in 1921 and held that position until 1929. During his stay the schools of the township were consolidated and a fourth year was added to the high school course, making it a standard fourth class high school. Mr. George Willard began his work as supervising principal, too, in 1921. In order to take care of the number of students that were being brought in from the out- lying schools the building was moved in from Wolwends and two other portable rooms were added. This situation caused the members of the school board, F. F. Weister, president, john lVlcCreary, secretary, W. J, Whitesell, treasurer, D. P. Bow- man and R. L. Alcorn, members to make plans for the erection of a new high school building. This, the first brick school building in the township, was completed in 1929. lt had eight class rooms and a spacious auditorium, which accommodated grades seven to twelve. At the same time as the new building there came a new high school principal to B. T. I-I, Sq Mr. George Gage, who remained until 1931. Mr. Mearl Gerheim, who taught in the highschool for one year when Mr. Gage was principal, was elected to the office of high school principal in 1932 A vocational course was offered for the first time in 1930. Forty- two students .were enrolled in this course the first year, and the number increased from year to year, definitely increasing the enrollment of the school. The course included all phases of home economics, as well as agriculture and shop. These, of course, interested a number of students who had not wanted the academic course offering foreign languages, science, history and advanced mathematics. The frame building, which

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BEE TEE VIE The early school onth was twenty-six days long, hat meant having school every ay except Sunday. By 1860 he school month had been sh rtened to twenty-two days, whi h included just every other Satur ay. This was soon changed to the school month of twenty days s we have it now. The Bible, Pilg im's Pro- gress, Robinson Cr soef' and other such books as 'ere found in the homes were thi! only text books at first. Later tliie ' 'United States Reader and Cobb's Speller were used, and for an arithmetic, the Western Cal- culator. As late as 1863 little rr geography or gra ll'T1aI' WHS taught. ln 1850 1V1cGuffey's Readers and Spellersu and Rays Arithmetics' use. Each pupil pr came into pvided his own text books and he teacher was required to teac whatever the pupil brought, m kingfxany different classes neceisary. Penmanship was a spected art and rem sults were achieved paper with goose quill by the teacher and highly re- rkable re- n foolscap pens made homemade ink.5 Sums were done on small slates with small piecies of soft slate gathered from or crick. When Bell Towns a separate townshi Alcorns' School, me fore, was the first s the ' 'run ip became in 1853, tioned be- chool built and took care of the immediate se community' 'und tho who had attended lV1cDivittsg which was located near Beaver Run. About the same time Duffields' was moved near D. S. Carnahan's farm, and the Dutch F lat School was relocated near james Mor- gan's. The location of Shaffer's and the Bell Point School re- mained unchanged. The buildings erected about 185 8 were frame buildings heated with cast iron coal stoves. The cost of building these and fur- nishing them completely was ap- proximately 532500. Until 1887 Bell Townships school system was comprised of six schools. Then a sixth build- ing was constructed at Salina by the Townsend Brother Con- tractors. In 1900 the Dutch Flat School was rebuilt near Lucian Claw- son'sg DuFF1eld's was abandoned and a new building was con- structed near Albert Wolford'sg and the location of the Bell Point School was changed. When part of the Bell Point district was cut off from Bell Township and annexed to Wash- ington Township, the Bell Point School was returned to its original site. At the same time the building at Wo1ford's was rebuilt as Wolwend's. This building was later moved to Salina. A second building was built at Bell Point in 1915. A one room school was ade- quate at Salina until 1903, when the number of pupils required more space. As a solution to this

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BEE TEE VIE became exclusively school except for economics room, had years of service and demned as a fire hazlard. This required action on the school board again, a grade the home seen many was con- part of the and so in 1936 the membersgID. P. Bow- man, president, V Williams, secretary, corn, treasurer, L. memberg and Mr I. C. Mc- R. L. Al- . Weister, . Grayce Nixon, member-beglan negoti- ations for a P. W. A ., grant to help Finance such a project. A grant amounting to 4572, of the total cost was received and a bond issue started on December 7, 1937. When this new building was started, Mr. Willard, who began his work as supervising principal in 1921, was still at the head of the township school systemg and Mr. Gerheim, who started his career as high school principal in l932, was also still commanding officer of the high school. fgx ll