Benjamin Franklin High School - Key Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

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I s The Benjamin Franklin High School is thoroughly American, even to the site upon which it stands. For what is more American than the old-fashioned circus? And Norton Street, corner of Hudson, was once famous as the circus stamping ground of Rochester. Big and small, learned and unlearned, serious and care free, they all came to Norton Street to feed the elephants and to see the man on the flying trapeze. Then, lest the idea perish, though not from con- scious design, our Key for January, 1938, took the circus as its theme and came out resplendent with big top and all. And surely we can't forget the James M. Cole Indoor Circus that only last fall per- formed on the big gymnasium floor. Barnum and Bailey have folded their tents, it is true, but they haven’t moved away. TORY ever before, Norton Street is vibrant with American life. But, to begin our history, the need of a North- east High School ’ was recognized by the Board of Education as early as the year 1915. In 1916 the first portion of the campus was purchased, 15-3,10 acres for $10,000. In 1921 the school was asked for, at which time the cost was estimated at $1,- 500,000. In October, 1925, there was made a survey of school needs in this section, as a result of which two years later, December, 1927, the sum of $2,300,000 was authorized for the construction of the building. There is something about the bigness, the busy- ness, the vitality, and the general appeal of the circus that is attuned to the American idea of tackling big things in the joyous spirit of adventure and of opportunity for all We hope that this is true of Franklin. The place is a big one—one of the largest and best equipped in the country. Young Americans of many national groups, some of them not long here, work and study and play together. The Almanac, sent to prospective students during the summer before the opening of the first school year, declared that the school would be of the cosmopolitan type We still like the word cos- mopolitan. Sturdy old American traditions con- nected with Benjamin Franklin and colonial days have been sought out and perpetuated in the name of our student council, the Junto, and in the names of all school publications—the Almanac, the Key, and the Courant. Franklin is the meeting place of the old and the new, the near and the far. More than A mile of corridors! Mr. Sabin finds the solution. The first shovelful of earth was lifted On March 28, 1928. From that time the work went vigorously forward until the grand opening on Tuseday, Sep- tember 2, 1930. We were impressively Imown as The Benjamin Franklin Junior-Senior High School, with the regular junior-semor program, and carrying grades eight through twelve. The final cost, includ- ing site and equipment, was $2,922,821.10 Re- cently a considerable addition was made to the size of the athletic held; the campus now includes twenty-six acres. The building was planned originally for an en. rollmcnt of 2,500, but before school began it was plain that more than this number would appear, Six

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ETHEL PLACE BUTTERFIELD January 9, 1884 February 28, 1940 At 14 years, a member of the dm of 1898 at Groton High School, Her fav- orite subjecti, Latm and Greek. A FRIEND OF FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL Ethel Place was a born teacher. Her lather and mother were teachers, too, and she later married a teacher, our own beloved Roy L. Butterfield. She loved young people and found her hap- piness in home and school. Graduated from Cortland Normal School at the age of eighteen, she taught for four years in the public schools of Ithaca and even after her marriage, acted as a supply teacher occasionally in emergencies. Mrs. Butterfield's interest in schools continued as she followed the careers of her sons as pupils and her husband as principal. She was present on that September day, nearly ten years ago, when the doors of Franklin High School swung open to admit its first classes. Her older sons, Roger and Lyman, had already gone on to college, but the youngest, Alfred, belonged to Frank- lin. She knew of all that happened here, became personally acquainted with many student officers and lead- ers, delighted in Franklin Day activities, Key teas, senior plays and banquets, graduation programs, and the teachers' social activities. Any honor or recognition shown a Franklin person gave her joy. A musician herself, she sang often in oratorios at Cornell University as a young woman, and her fine alto voice was heard in church choirs wherever she lived Naturally the Franklin Choir was a great source of pride to her. It is a privilege to pay tribute in the 1940 KEY to Mrs. Roy L. Butterfield and to record her name as one of the first and best friends of Franklin High School. 8

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class rooms left unfinished in the early plans had to be completed at once. Various devices had to be employed to divert attendance to East High and elsewhere in order that we might be able to mate a start with the huge load that would be ours to carry. By the spring term 3,100 boys and girls were with us. This number steadily grew until in the spring of 1933 the maximum attendance of 3,806 was reached. Just in time to keep our walls from bursting, all high schools of the city were placed on the five year plan (grades eight through twelve), and Washington, now a regular senior high school, as- sumed enough of the overload to afford us sub- stantial relief At present, April 9, 1940, our total is 2,809. We have said that the word American” has found much to claim in Franklin. So also has the word ‘‘democratic,'’ and nowhere more than in student government. During the first year the Junto and the Executive Council were organized. The real govern- ing body is the Junto, named from a discussion group of which Benjamin Franklin was the leader, and consisting of two representatives from each homeroom in the building. Eighth graders, there- fore, have equality with seniors so far as voting is concerned. To facilitate things generally, the Junto chooses representatives to the Executive Council, whose particular work is to discuss matters of im- portance and to present recommendations to the Junto for final action. The smaller body consists at present of six student and seven faculty members,- two of the student members must be taken from grades eight and nine. Democracy, again, is the keynote of Franklin’s award system. Awards were first granted in June, 1931, and the present system is governed by recom- mendations adopted in the term of January-June, 1933. Thereby certificates of award are granted to such members of the graduating class as have per- formed meritorious service in various extra-curricular organizations—literary, dramatic, musical, service, and athletic. The plan found favor and has been con- tinued to the present. Awards are made by the Executive Council and are based on recommenda- tions from faculty sponsors for the various activities. It is noteworthy that Franklin docs not issue letters to athletic teams. The award principle is that recog- nition should be given for all faithful, well done extra-curricular work, and that so far as credit is concerned, no one branch of activity should take precedence over the others. The net result of the award system unquestionably has been an increased appreciation of many services hitherto unnoticed because of the lack of glamour connected with them. And this makes for democratic, American ideals. Undoubtedly the greatest earned honor that a Franklin student may attain is membership in the National Honor Society, organized here for the first time in the spring of 1931. Elections are made by a faculty committee and are based on scholarship, character, and general good citizenship Probably errors have been made in these selections, but on the whole a good work has been done and a dis- tinct effort has been made to insure equality of op- portunity for all. The annual induction ceremony i$ one of the most impressive of the year, and member- ship is prized by the student body more than that in any other organization athletic, literary, or social Other highly valued honor organizations are: Les Babillards (French), the Optimates (Latin), the Circolo Dante (Italian), the German Honor Society, the Commercial Honor Society, and the Craft Guild. Robust Americanism and democracy. These words have summarized our impressions up to this point. But there is something in the air at Franklin that is 10 Like leaving home