Burgard Vocational High School - Craftsman Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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How many can you name ltor of one of the first publrshed Vocatlonal Educatron Magazlnes 1911 1914 WBK was actrve rn every phase of educatron and commumty hfe He was an officer and Drrector of the New York State Vocatlonal and Prac t1cal Arts Assoclatxon New York State Teachers Asso clatlon Boy Scouts of Amerrca CS1lver Beaverj YMCA Rotary Club Aero Club of Buffalo Amerlcan Voca tronal Assocratlon and the Buffalo Teachers Federatlon He contrrbuted many artrcles to vocatronal and educa tronal magazrnes and trade journals and was co author of a serres of textbooks on automotrve trammg He also served on the Apprentice Commrssron for New York State and the Federal Government The period followmg World War I saw the begln mngs of the growth of vocatronal educatron More and more the leaders of both lndustry and educatron began to realrze the responsrbrlrty of the government rn pre parmg the youth of the country for competltrve lrvmg rn the machme age Leadmg thrs movement rn Buffalo was ELM VOCATIONAL SCHOOL and Wrlllam B Kamprath Durmg thls post war perlod many addltlons to Elm and vocatlonal trammg came lnto bemg The automo b1le course was expanded under the able leadershlp of Mr Martrn Doebert and many capable people were added to the faculty Durlng thls perrod also Mr Mrchael Steffan was mstrumental rn foundmg the av1a tron course for whrch we are now world famous Prmt mg of course remarned one of the hlghhghts of the vo catlonal program under the gurdance of Mr John Hermke Many old trmers who are stall w1th us Jomed the school durmg thus trme Mr Chad now head of the automoblle department was one of the ploneers ln auto motrve mechamcs Mr Endres Mr Krasselt M Prerce became the mamstays of the course Mr Mullen hoff and later Mr Johnson were added to the prmtmg faculty and Mr Lmes assrsted m the av1at1on depart ment Of course vocatlonal educatlon lS not all shop ' .IL K , -,zl J -'g:f1Q.' QQ T ' l , f ,Q , , ' ' ' - .- 1, ,Jigs-, ' yi 5,41 ,,.1. ' ff ,- .1 f 1, . , ' . . , - 1 1 9 ' 1 1 ' ' ' 1 - ' - , - , . , . , . . H . ,, . . . . . - ' 1 I . . , . , r. ' 1

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Our first building Fifty years ago, a then unknown figure in the educa- tional world came upon the field of youth development in the city of Buffalo. Little did the powers that were realize the tremendous potential which was then within their grasp. William B. Kamprath is the Mr, Voca- tional of the Vocational School movement and it was he who that day fifty years ago broke forth upon the pages of BufTalo's educational growth. A half century is a long time to devote to a single cause, particularly when that cause was frowned upon by most educators. However, today, due chiefly to the efforts of this man, the education of the youth of the city of Buifalo has advanced to a point where we are the envy of the world in our preparation of youth for industry. The growth of Vocational Training, Burgard Voca- tional High School and the career of William B. Kamp- rath are not only simultaneous but also synonomous. In 1910 the Broadway Vocational School of Printing 6 under the principalship of WBK first saw light of day through a narrow basement window in old School 444. Two years later the school was moved to its own building, a rented former grocery store at Michigan and Tupper. It was then called the VOCATIONAL SCHOOL OF PRINTING. In 1914, still the step-child of education, the school inherited the former Technical High School building on Elm near Eagle and became known as ELM VOCATIONAL SCHOOL. During the sixteen years as Old E1m,', the school under the leadership of Mr. Kamprath underwent many stages of growth and overgrowth until it occupied nine rented annexes throughout the immediate neighbor- hood. During this period of growth Bill Kamprath was also growing in stature as an educational leader. He was Executive Secretary for Western New York of the New York State Military Training Commission, and in 1918 was principal of the Fighting Mechanics of the Na- tional Army Training Detachment. He became the ed- We had many annexes .-ec,

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WBK thanks Henry Burgard work and many other of our present faculty joined at Old Elm. Mr. Garcea saw to the physical well-being as gym teacher. And on the bookwork side we gained Mr. Wright, Mr. Roudenbush, Mr. Tilley, Mr. Elliott, Mr. Meinhold, Mr. Finley, Mr. Hague, Mr. Englund, and Mr. Helfrich. To these men the city owes much for it was their work under the drive and enthusiasm of Mr. Kamprath that eventually brought into being, BURGARD VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL. The many teachers who have joined our faculty since the old daysi' are often entertained and even inspired by some of the stories of the early days of vocational train- ing which are part of the lore and legend of Burgard Vocational. For the first quarter century of our existence we had only men instructors. The Pedagogicus Masculinus held away. But in recent years there have been assigned to us some outstanding women who hold forth in the lan- guage arts area. For a long time the faculty of Old Elm had dreamed and planned a new school building-a structure in keep- ing with the highest ideals of the skilled crafts to be taught therein. The campaign was tough and long. Many sites were examined and finally the present loca- tion was selected. A debt of gratitude beyond payment is owed to Mr. Henry P. Burgard for his wonderful contribution to the educational program of the City of Buffalo. In his letter transmitting the site to the city, Mr. Burgard wrote as follows: I have long sensed the need for vocational education, and I am pleased with the progress which our city is making toward education along these lines. And now, after many names, many buildings, but only one leader, BURGARD VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL is born. It is a beautiful building, mammoth and magnificent in its proportions, and intensely prac- tical in all its appointments. The design of the structure is a combination of modern factory and school archi- We had music even then.