Casey High School - Flame Yearbook (Casey, IL)

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ably saves many steps. In fact, nothing has been left out that would add to the efficiency and convenience of the school. Although the graduates were always given liberal credit for work done here, we were not fully accredited with the University of Illinois until 1912. Since that time we have maintained our high standing and now the school is a recognized, accredited member of the North Central Association. Our graduates are readily admitted to the U. of I. and other schools of equal rank, without examination. Our school has grown by leaps and bounds; in 1916 the enrollment was sixty, and in 1926 and 1927 our students numbered more than 400. The vocational subjects—cooking, sewing, manual training, agriculture, French and commercial work—were offered for the first time in 1918. In 1918 the faculty consisted of ten members. The curriculum has been greatly enlarged, and the faculty now consists of twenty-one members, including a dean of girls, and librarian and secretary. School is not only a preparation for life; it is life, and habits pupils learn in school will invariably appear in their business life. Regular attendance is insisted upon and, if for any reason a pupil is tardy or absent, a written excuse must be presented before the pupil returns to class. Casey Township High School is an institution representing the interests of the people of this community, and for this reason, and many others, they should interest themselves in its activities. Casey High School has a notable string of victories to its credit. In the spring of 1926, the school won first in music and literary contest, first in county chorus contest, first in tennis tournament of the Eastern Illinois High School League, and first in the triangular track meet with Robinson and Marshall. The basketball team of 1925-26 won first place in the county and district tournaments and third place in the sectional meet. First place in the state typing contest was won through the proficiency of Hilda Dehl, who was sent to New York City in October, 1926, and returned as winner of the world’s school championship and the Alfred E. Smith trophy. When the winners of yearbook contests were announced, the 1926 Casey Flame won second place in the state contest and was rated in the second class of the Central Interscholastic Press Association contest. The 1927 Flame won honorable mention in the high school division in the Illinois College Annual Association contest held at Millikin Universty. The school paper. The Broadcaster, won distinguished rating in the 1927 Illinois State High School Press Association contest. At the close of both the 1926 and 1927 football seasons, Casey was awarded the Wabash Valley championship. Casey is proud of the new building erected in the fall of 1927 and early part of 1928 at a cost of $110,000. It contains vocational class rooms and one of the largest gymnasiums of any high school in the state. The contract for the building was let May 13, 1927. The actual construction began about the middle of June. The new building is made of the very best of Hytex brick coming from Brazil, Indiana. Schwartz Fricke, contractors from Champaign, Illinois, had charge of the construction. R. L. Kelly was the architect. The gymnasium, surrounded by bleachers on three sides and an enormous stage on the remaining side, has been the scene of many of the basketball tournaments. The gym was informally opened January 12 and 13 with the Clark County Page twenty-one

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CASEY TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY In 1892, the Casey High School was organized to such an extent that a class of three was graduated. The Casey Township High School was established in December, 1915, composed of Casey township in Clark county and districts 4 and 5 in Cumberland county. The school board was elected in January, 1916, and in March of that year, bonds of $70,000 were voted on, for the erection of a new building. Construction on the new building started in March. 1917, and considering the abnormal condition of the times, the work proceeded as rapidly as could be expected. Shortage of laborers and material caused an unavoidable delay. Nevertheless, in September, 1918, the building was fully equipped and ready for occupancy. The Casey Township High School is located four blocks east and three blocks north of the intersection of Main street and Central avenue, which is the heart of the business district of the city. The grounds, consisting of thirteen acres, furnish room for any part of the work in agriculture, also a campus, tennis court and gridiron. The High School building is a beautiful structure of stone and brick and increases the material beauty of the city and surrounding country. The study hall furnishes space for approximately 400 students. The gymnasium is one of the best in this section of the state, being 72 feet long, 52 feet wide, and 18 feet high. On one side is a gallery where 300 spectators may sit comfortably, and on the other a stage, 16 feet by 22 feet. When the gymnasium floor is filled with chairs, it provides room, with a seating capacity of approximately a thousand. This offers exceptional advantages for community activities. On the first floor are the principal’s office, library, six class rooms and two toilet rooms. In the corridor of the first floor is a splendid trophy case, bulletin board, and noteworthy pictures. On the upper floor are three laboratories— physics, chemistry and biology; also the science lecture room, and a teachers’ rest room. In the basement on one side is located a locker room and shower for the boys. Also a large, well-lighted manual training room, and a large agriculture room with solarium. On the other side are the girls’ locker and shower rooms, a kitchen, modern in every way, with a fully equipped dining room, adjacent. Opening into the dining room is a sewing room. These two rooms are connected by folding doors, and can be converted into one large room when necessary. The equipment of the Casey Township High School building is modern throughout. The principal’s office on the first floor is well furnished with all modern conveniences for an office of this character. The study hall is provided with adjustable desks that can be fitted to a pupil of any size. The recitation rooms are equipped with pedestal arm chairs. The laboratories are furnished with furniture and apparatus to give all experimental work under especially favorable conditions. The building is steam heated and ventilated by the fan system which insures a constant supply of fresh air. Gongs located throughout the building, regulated by a master clock in the principal’s office, ring automatically. Five fire alarms were installed last year in the following rooms; Office, boiler room, manual training room, kitchen and chemistry laboratory. Fire drills are held at various intervals throughout the year. Each room is connected with the office by a telephone system, which invari- Paije twenty

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Basketball Tournament but was not formally dedicated until completed in every respect. This new gymnasium has a very large seating capacity. The built-in seats accommodating 2,500 people and with additional bleachers it seats 3,500. For stage performances, with chairs placed on the gym floor 4,500 persons are able to obtain seats. The size of the playing floor proper is 50 feet by 86 feet. The domestic science, domsetic art, agriculture, manual training and music departments are to be housed in the new building. Elevated at the w;est side of the gymnasium is the officials box. Here, the officials operate the new, modern, electric score board and time-keeping device combined. On the west side of the stage are the girls’ locker and shower rooms. The boys occupy the locker and shower rooms on the east side of the stage. All locker and shower rooms have terrazzo floors. Another department in Casey Township High School that we can be proud of is our library established at a cost of $1,500 in October, 1921, by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Yeager as a memorial to their son, Leon Grant Yeager. Every year the school board has added more books and magazines until at present our library comprises 1,800 volumes covering all fields of science, religion, sociology, biography, literature and history. There are 500 books for special use in English, 400 for history, 150 on social sciences and 125 on science, mathematics forty, music thirty, besides the fiction group. In addition to fifteen reference magazines, including Literary Digest, Outlook, Asia, World Work, Time, Review of Reviews, National Geographic, Musical Courier, Bookman, etc., there are many general magazines received regularly. In the newspaper files you will find the Chicago Tribune and various school and college papers. The books have recently been arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System. In this system the books are separated into ten classes numbered as follows: (XXJ-099—General works: Dealing with no particular subject, such as encyclopedias. newspapers, etc. 1(X)-199—Philosophy: Psychology, ethics, etc. 200-299—Religion : Christian and non-Christian beliefs. 300-399—Sociology: Government, economics, law, education, etc. 400-499—Language : Readers, grammars, dictionaries, etc. 500-599—Science: Mathematics, astronomy, geology, botany, etc. 600-699—Useful arts: Medicine, engineering, home economics, etc. 700-799—Fine arts: Architecture, needlework, painting, etc. 800-899—Literature: Poems, drama, and essays in all languages. 900-999—History: Travel, history of all countries and ages. Travel: In all countries. Page twenty-two