Borough of Etna - Centennial Festivities Yearbook (Etna, PA)

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' '7VI lZ!'15ll'5!tZ!!lUIWYlll!t1!!lWl T ' -.. . ...., ,-101. l Y -tv X , '53 W: ' r' . On December 5, 1962, the board voted unanimously to sell the Locust Street School, much to the consterna- tion and regret of a large section of the Etna populace, who felt it could have been put to use as town prop- erty. ln 1963, it was sold for a reported 3155500.00 to Mr. Ogrodnik and torn down the following year. The need for a Grade School Library made a room of adequate proportions necessary and the last altera- tions were made on the Wilson Street building at the cost of 3l00,000. The throwing together of two rooms on the second floor made possible a beautiful library. Other advantageous changes were made. Washrooms were installed on the first and second floors and the Principal's office moved to the first floor. The old Wilson Street entrance was closed and a new one opened to make these changes possible. The federal government allowed Etna 355,000 for new books for the library and half the books, approxi- mately 1,500 of the Etna Youth Library were donated. Half were donated to All Saints.l That same summer of 1966 a course with impressive name of lmprovin the Self Image of the Student was begun the federal government allowing 35120 per pupil. This year Etna will furnish 53 pupils and re- ceive from the US 38 10000 Since 1963 with an initial proposal by the Allegheny County School Board to the Pennsylvania Department of Education efforts have been made to merge our schools with Shaler Township Reserve Township and Millville the underlying idea being that our students would have the benefit of a more comprehensive educa tion Concentrated efforts and funds would provide more modern schools better equipment and make possible the hiring of enough skilled teachers to man Because of opposition emmatmg principally from Shaler Township the Department of Education Harrisburg reversed the ruling of the County Directors The matter lay dormant ton the surfacei until 1965 when the State passed the proposal and stated that t.he problems of those districts, not yet merged, should be returned to the Cotfnty Directors. For the second time, Allegheny County made the decision for merger and Shaler appealed on May 9, 1969, Shaler took her case to the Court of Common Pleas. Etna awaits the Court's decision! No one beyond the age of reason can deny that Shaler was at one period, dependent upon Etna for high school training for her students. Nor the fact that, in 1931, Etna added an addition to her six years old High School to accomodate students from surround- ing districts. No one resident in Etna now fmany have left Etna able, because of employment here, to build homes in Shalerj is unaware that bussing Shaler chil- dren from one school to the other has, to a large extent, been through the borough. With modern education, small districts find it im- possible to survive adequately because the cost per pupil is exhorbitant. The per capita cost in larger dis- tricts is proportionately smaller. Yet the fact remains that before some of the methods of Modern Education were introduced in Shaler they were already operative in the Etna system. To recap satisfactorily the honorable history of our schools it is necessary to pick up some threads The SUCCCQQIOD of School Superintendents will be found listed at the end of this history as well as the succession of H1 h School Principals and the 1968 69 High School Faculty and custodlans ln reviewing he are reminded that A ,l Reed teacher in the first fSpan l school was killed in the C1v1lWar that ,lohn Mclntyre f1rstH1 h School Prlnci pal left Etna for the service in World War I to return to Etna and the practice of law that Donald Cleland left the H1 h School Prlnclpalship in 1942 to join the armed forces in World War II fas did many of the teachers! and returned in 1946 gf f U 7 5 7 CL 71 U U D CY U' 0' 7 7 . . , . . V , . 0 ,ig . U, ' . . , a . . U . . D 5 7 D 9 - D . . . .. U , 7 ' fr 5 Y , , . . , . U . . U 3 9 . . . U 0 . the project. .. . . U . . , in ' ' o' ' . 7 1---.s---.J.,-, Y . , .rv NN l

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coated and un-coated and lvootctl and un-booted Etna Kindergartners since the fall of 1951 when the first Kindergarten was opened in Locust Street. ln recent years Miss Mary Hull, Miss Hazel Sleigh tEtna -13 yearsl. Miss Helen Kane tEtna 37 yearsj, Miss Jean Derry tEtna 30 yearsl, Miss Myrtle Hodel, Miss Lulu lrvine tEtna 31 yearsl, Miss Florence lrvine fEtna 39 yearsl, and a score of others have left Etna grade schools with a legacy of civic and academic enrichment. From the High School have gone, lately, men and women who deserve equal homage. Mr. Raymond Metzger fsuccessor to Mr, Fillmorel, Mr. Joseph Saw- yer thigh school principal, biology and general sciencel, who died in 1960 while still Principal of the High School. Mr. Keith Arnold fdriver's training and me- chanical drawingl, Mr. Clarence Metzger tathletics and healthl, and Mrs. Virginia Smith fbusiness skillsl. Since the fall of 1923 Miss Henrietta Dietrich has inspired two generations of Etna people to become better citizens of Etna. Together they have not solved ALL the Problems of Democracy but they have tried. Mr. Hu Vo Puntereri fWilson Street an excellent teacher and disciplinarian in sixth grade and Mrs. Ruth Thompson enthusiastic teacher of second raders at Locust and Wilson Streets are both natives of Etna. Another native Etnaite Miss Viola Voelker retired this sprin t1969l after twenty-nine years spent mainly heir to Mr. Raymond Metzger talso Etna bornl in the Music Department. Shortly after Miss Voelker came into the music de- partment, Mr. Samuel Yahres joined the faculty. H was in Etna several years when he left for Aliguippa. Special mention is accorded Sam for he has in the intervenin time composed a volume of church music and several operettas. The first of these published works was Mariann first presented in Aliquippa. lts second performance was given in Etna Hi h School. At the High School Mr. Anthony Donatelli has planned and sanded hundreds of board feet of lumber and in the process has helped build hundreds of boys into men. No printed word nor spoken plea Can teach youn hearts what men should be Not all the books on all the shelves But what the teachers are themselves. ln September 1934 Mr. Hu h Norris became Super- intendent succeeding Mr. Stewart who died that same month after an extended period of ill health. It was during Mr. Norris regime H9311--1937i that Etna be- came an independent school district. No more the annual or semi-annual visits by the County Superin- tendent! On October 2 1936 the Etna High School Athletic Field was dedicated. Mr. A. H. Stoll President V.,- K of the School Board, delivered the de icatory speech. Mr. Clayton McMillen succeeded Mr. Norris and remained in office until the fall of 194-3. On October 28, 1941, Mr. Stoll, still President of the Board, pre- sented the new Athletic Field House and Mr. McMillen received it on behalf of Etnais future athletes. The plaque was unveiled by Miss Martha Gardner, Olive Gray, and Frank Novosel of the school art department. The structure had been started in June 1940 with the aid of W.P.A. ln 1943 Mr. McMillen left Etna and Mr. Robert McKee, to the best of our knowledge the only native of Etna ever to hold the position, succeeded him. ln 1950 Mr. Paul Maxwell took over as Superintendent but remained for one year only. Specifics concerning the years following Mr. Stew- art's regime until 1951 when Mr. Norman Adams took office, were particularly hard to come by. It seems that at some intervening period all pertinent minutw were destroyed. Mr. Adams began his years in Etna in July 1 1951. He had previously been Superintendent at Pitcairn Borough Brockway-Snyder Joint Schools Summerville Borough and Salem Vocational School. His Bachelors Degree in Science was won in 1930 at Grove City and his M.S. at the University of Pittsburgh. During his eighteen years in Etna the two most important operational changes wrought in the school system no doubt, were the beginnin of a Kindergarten H9511 and of the Grade School Library t1966l. Mrs. Alice Martin still in the system came as first Kinder- garten teacher and Mrs. Frank Guy joined the Wilson Street Faculty as Librarian. fThe Etna Youth Library had met in the grade schools and provided books for young readers since 1932 but was strictly a public library. There have been a number of changes in the physical aspect of the schools as well during the last eighteen years. The appearance of the High School was altered some years back with the replacement of areas of the original yellow bricks by glass blocks. 7 U U 0' 7 s J U , , of U 7 U' 7 D , or , 7 , g ' HS U or V 0' 1 cr or 1 U 1 7 e . 7 U Cf C! 5 .. ,. , 5 ff O U' 7 GG f nr v 21 7 7 77 7 Arthur Cuiterman U D fr 1 ff , U , 1 1 . M 7 K . .... ....s .... A ..,. ..,.. ,, A V N

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-----Q-H 1 . V. A 1 'aa -W, l l 'r Xa X We know of but three nurses who have been a part of the Etna School System. Miss Grace Griffin came in 1944 to replace Miss Mable Lewis who had joined the Navy. Miss Griffin has served efficiently in both the Public and All Saintis schools except for the year 1950 when she took a sick leave. During that year, Miss Pauline Clark acted in her place. ln 1960 Mr. Philip Glasser already a teacher in the Hi h School succeeded Mr. Joe Sawyer as Principal and had earned himself a distinctive collar in token of the exactinn years he had expended in that office. Miss Catherine Laird came to Wilson Street to take ow er Miss French s place as Principal and has acted as Guidance Counselor at the High School. Rooms in the Vllilson Street building have been rented to All Saints to accomodate an overflow of pupils since 1965. With the construction of their new buildin it is expected that the arranoement will be terminated in the cominb year l1969-1970l. With tender feelinbs of the heart of the mind and fleetinbly of the more tender sections of the anatomy names are recalled-and happenings. Mr. Span ler s Spoonerisms are Cleefully remembered by his students and co-workers. His speech was rapid and sometimes his tonbue and quick mind tripped each other up. Pete Skertich called upon to recite in Math class became Skeet Pertich. ln assembly the Star Spanbled Banner took on new decibles to become the Bar Stangled Spanner. Shelley s twenty-one verses of To a Skylark would have remained contentedly inside our readers - memorized and unrecited by scores of eighth Grade miscreants without Miss Annie Nixon s conviction that learninm and discipline vsent hand in hand. Two truant officers are recalled: Mr. lde and Mr. Edward fpat Patterson. Pa also a Sin er Sewin 'Vlachine man. is better remembered for bu,,-y rides behind Bob than for curtailed hookey playino. Hu hes Yearly 1'cO,.l. Only a few can be named, As nilh the teachers the namin of those few should reflect the hi h re ard in which they were held and the important part they played in the smooth functionin of the schools. Mrs. Wetterstein whose loxe for the younr ones made her hold the bell rope at Locust Street until the last one in si ,ht raced up the slope 38 l v l . v 3. f l if if PA PATTERSON Mr. Ed Truver also at Locust Street Mrs. Clouse Mr. Grau Mr. Blumer at Wilson Mr. Gottleib Lana Mrs. Carrie Orluske Mr. Tradina and Mr. Georoe Swope at the High School-all are remembered for their kind and cheerful help whenever they are needed. Ears may tingle and posteriors may smart fWhere have rattans disappeared?l but there remains a potent salve to ease the pain. Though squirrels no longer bark from vanished hickories on Griesmeres Hill and no wild turkey has called from the ridbes aboxe Pine Creek for many years-we in 1969 reach back with loncint, -to other thins. ? 1 Because of the old summer or open air street cars the school picnic in the sprint, held added zest. It vw a matter of honor to get to Wilson Street early 7 7 C, , D , U , , V , 7 7 7 U' , , , g U 7 0' U U 1 7 7 U 7 CT , KT T' U , 0' U V 7 1 1 , , U O' U g V7 r 46 77 , un fY ff 7 ' f ff Y ff U' C D t fm .. 11 fn , Remembered custodians go back to Mr. Alonzo g ITB ls ' ' A lg s 3 gf KY P 1 , 56 ,, 66 77 ff T' ff 7 0 F 7