Belvidere High School - Belvi Yearbook (Belvidere, IL)

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IN A LITTLE RED SCHDOI HOUSE ln T835 New York was a teeming metropolis which could boast of the first flea circus, an Extraordinary Exhibition of the first lndustrious Fleas. The MiddleWestwas pioneer country, and in northern Illinois a little settlement along the banks of the Kishwaukee hada population of thirty seven. Despite the rigors of frontier life, the education of the children was not being neglected. Under the shade of the trees and in private homes, wives and daughters of earlysettlers were play- ing school marm . Among these was Mrs. Lawrence, grandmother of Miss Louise Lawrence, who taught for many years in Belvidere High School. The NewtonAcademy, one of the firstestablished schools, attracted scholars from several states. Belvidere citizens a century ago would have spoken fondly of the academy on the hill, located on the southeast corner of the court house square. In T854 a stone building, which occupied the space where Lincoln School now stands, became the first public school in Boone County. A brick addition, built in T857, costeight thousand dollars and made it easily the most pretentious school building in the country. The south side facilities consisted of one brick and two frame buildings occupying the three lots on Pearl Street, where Washington and the High School now stand. The wooden buildings were sold in T883 but may still be seen in Belvidere. One is the home of Dick Heywood at 424 Caswell Street, and the other is now the Corn Belt Hatchery. Four of our present schoolswere construced in the T890's--Lincoln, Washington, Perry and Logan . In T9T2, through the efforts of a conscientious teacher, the age old rivalry between North and South Belvidere High Schools came to an end. This teacher circulated a petition for consolidation, and when two thirds of the city had signed it, she deemed a vote unnecessary. Thus on March T8, T9l2, the two schools became one. In December, T9T6, the new high school was completed. A more recent addition to school facilities is the Community Building. Community Unit School Dis- trict T00 was formed in T949 with the merging of Flora, Spring, Belvidere, Bonus, and part of Caledonia townships. In T877, there were six teachers in the north side and seven in the south side school. Wages ranged from fifteen dollars to one hundred and twenty two dollars a month. Henry J. Sherrill, principal of the north school, was recognized as an outstanding educator in the Northwest. Inthe main hall of B.H.S. hangs a plaque inscribed with his name and presentedby those students oflong ago who could remember Father Sherrill. John Lawson, janitor in the south side school for the last quarter of the nineteenth century, was afamiliar sight to school children anda much talked of personage Aformer slave, he had run away during the Civil War to join the Union Army. Beloved by all, the duties of this brown skinned, white haired oldman, beloved by all, were to ring the tardy bells, keep the school clean, and the water pails filled. The faculty has grown from six to well overthirty. Although a teacher three quarters of a cen- tury ago would have driven a high spirited mare instead of a Ford or a Buick, the same high pur- poses prevail--to teach and to serve in order that students may grow. Teachers of South Belvidere Schools, T869

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i877--I95Z i877--The population of the United States soared to thirty-eight cmd a half million, a blue glass craze swept the nation, and people put blue glass shades in their lamps to absorb the healthful rays, Belvidere boasted four thousand inhabitants, thirteen churches, three newspapers, more than fifty stores, and three cheese factories. By May the Belvidere Library had grown to over one thousand volumes, and nine students received high school diplomas. T Nine students, four from one school, tive from the other, became the firstalumni of a Belvidere High School. From these small beginnings our high school has grown for seventy five years. Today nearly six hundred students attend B.H.S.--to study, to play, to cheer the Bucs. The little red brick school house has grown to a big aneg a school bus waits now where once stood the horse and buggy, ancl down on State Street the parking meter has replace the hitching post. Each class that has graduated from B.H.S. has madea contribution to the history of our school . For along with the initials in the scarred study hall desks, they have given usa tradition, a loyalty, a standard to live up to. Between these covers is portrayed the story of our days in B.H.S., our own contribution to this growing history. Here too is a glimpse into the past, a brief picture of students, teachers, and life in the good old days. Thus we, the Class of 1952, dedicate our Belvi to all the graduates of Belvidere High School. ln honor of them and in gratitude for all that they have done for us, we present this book to those who will follow.

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