Ben Blewett High School - Brochure Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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MUSIEA AMEHIEANA Music had first place this spring. Early in the term the special chorus, the voice class and the glee clubs, along with those of the other high schools, began to prepare for their scene in the Musica Americana pageant. This program was given on St. Louis Night, during the Na- tional Music Educators Convention. in March, and was arranged and directed by Ernest Hares. Dressed in the somber greys and blacks of the pilgrim fathers, the pil- grim group kneeled and, with bowed heads, chanted a hymn of praise, this being the only contemporary music, ln the background could be seen a vision of the future, the modern choir. The entire pageant was de- voted to the progress of American music from the Indian chant to the present day swing, There were many other outstand- ing scenes. Among them were pre- sented the Civil War period, the songs of Stephen Foster, the immor- tal music of Victor Hugo, and the beginning of Iazz. Page Eleven Courtesy of F. D. Hampson Cumnirrrial Pham C

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THE IIENTENNIAL CELEBHATIUN On lune 2, a centennial celebration was held in the outdoor theater be- hind Blewett. It was in the form of a pageant consisting of a pro- logue, three episodes, and an epi- logue, each preceded by an intro- ductory statement, presenting the advancement and progress of one hundred years of education, industry, recreation, and culture. The source material was authentic records of the original early school board reports, Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, and Godey's The Lady's Book, a woman's monthly maga- zine containing the fashions of an early period. Some of the costumes were valuable authentic fashions, while others were accurate copies of the originals. The prologue presented the color- ful life of the early St. Louisans in 1804. when on a memorable day in March in the court yard of the Government House at First and Walnut Streets, three flags-the Spanish, the French, and the Ameri- can-flew in turn above the as- sembled group of citizens. lt was then that St. Louis became a part of these great United States and the public school became an expres- sion of the democratic ideals that grew after the American occupation. Episode One depicted the thirty odd years between 1838 and 1870, during which the first school for public education was opened on April 2, 1838. lt was not until 1853, however, that the first high school, later to be called the Central High School, was initiated. Such well- known educators as Dr. William Harris and Miss Susan Blow were instrumental in the development of early public education: the former in the field of the high school, the latter in the field of the kindergarten. The conditions of the schools during the Civil War were depicted by a scene showing the dismissal of school on May 17, 1861, when the state funds were withdrawn from the sup- port of public schools and diverted to martial equipment, In Episode Two the later devel- opments from 1870 to the present day were shown and their signifi- cance to later life emphasized. The changes in education, industry, recreation, and culture from the early period to the present day, were fixed firmly in the minds of the audience by scenes from the little red school house of 1870 and the modern school: by work songs of the early untrained laborers of the '70's and the music of the skilled technicians of today: by a parade heralding such outstand- ing events as the founding of the St. Louis Cycle Club, the Browns' baseball championship, the Olympic qames, the Veiled Prophet parade. the Lindbergh flight, the Cardinals' championship, and the Municipal Opera: by a dyed-in-the-wool mel- lerdrammern of the 1870's and a dance and song from one of the pop- ular modern light operas. The last episode illustrated the conception of schools as the corner- stone of democracy. Development of education demanded that all classes be educated and trained to enable democracy to endure. In symbolic form, Democracy pleaded with St. Louis to bestow upon all of her charges the privileges which he had so generously bestowed upon some of them. Then Education showed what the schools of today had to offer. The episode closed with the triumph of Democracy se- curing the privileges of Education through the efforts of St. Louis. The entire program was summarized in the epilogue written in poetic form. Page Ten

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FACULTY Miss L. R. Ernst Floyd E. Bailey, .. Paul F. Barnes ,.,. . , C. Bockelbrink . Grace Brown, . Iessie Cable, ,, ,. Beulah Chambers ,....,. Elizabeth K. Coakley,,,. , . Emma Coultas , .... ,, Philipine Crecelius .. A. D. DeVilbiss...,,,,, Ruth Dolan., ,,,, .,.. . . Greene Erskine ., . ., ,Principal ,Mathematics ,. ... ,,.,,, Science ,Industrial Arts Household Arts .,,,,,English Household Arts ,,, ,Matlienzatics ,,,,,, English , ,,,,, ,, Science . .. ,,,, Science ,.lVlathematics Ulnclustrial Arts Christine Fairham.. .,,,,,,,,. Grace Fitzmaurice ..... .. Margaret Fitzsimmons ,, .,,.... Cornelia Forbes ,, .. Guy C. Forsman ...,,,,,, Hazel Forsythe. ,,,, ....,,,CommerciaI .Social Science Social Science Social Science Language .,,,, ,Language C. D. Frankenberger ,,..... ,Physical Education M. R. Gallup .... Arthur Glick Daphrene Gray, , Elizabeth Guerin ,,,,.. Aelize Haacks ., ,, Robert Hahnel ,,,,. English ,Science , ,,,,, ....... , ,, English Social Science ,Physical Education , ,.,.......lVIusic Fitzsxmnmns, Crccelius, Fitzmaurice, Gray, Gallup, Guerin. Forsythe, Forbes. Coakley. Forsman, Erskine, Frankenberger, Dolan, Barnes, Miss Ernst. Chambers. Coultas. Fairham. Bailey, Glick. Brown, De Vilhiss. Cable, Bockelbrink. Page Twelve