Classical High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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vxavin-xnsuQ4-sn-Qui. THE BLUE AND W -su -sum-usnsn vsuxnsnsu -uns.vxnwx.1541-Qnvsnvgvin-i4uQ.ss--Q4241-vsanvxuq This was the only way to get to school if you did not wish to walk, or did not have a horse of your own. If you wished to arrive on time, it was safer to walk. THE HIGH SCHOOL ON STATE STREET, 1874'1898 A' me ,f X559 . ogwfef. K TOMMY M11.x.ER's LUNCH . . . This building was on the present site of the Eire and Marine Insurance Company. Many of the students from the High School, pictured above, hiked down here an recess for food and refreshment. GEORGE S. PAGE Pap Corn Vender of the QOYS -6.. L l

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THE BLUE AND WHITE aQ4eL1:a4eL:vx:vs-:a4:LaenavsaeL4ngaeLaeL::L::s4eLa:ie:La enaexaexaexaesiexaesagagaeassnvsvvgexs A Century of High School Education It was September ist, 1828 when the first High School opened in Springfield in the new building on the corner of School and High Streets. To us this barn-like brick structure with a bell in a cupola seems queer, but to the fifty or so boys who sat behind heavy unpainted wooden desks on rough pine benches, it was an adventure to be there. The principal, a recent Amherst College graduate, Story Hebard, was well liked and kept good order. When he left after two years, the pupils, to show their ap- preciation of his work, presented him with a fine gift of a set of books. The next principal, David N. Sheldon, was not so well liked. The boys of this time belonged to two groups, the 'iHillers and the Streeters , coming from the Hill and Main Street ref spectively. There was keen rivalry between them which did not confine itself to after school hours. They so thoroughly disliked the new principal, however, that they for once united to make his life miserable. Cnce Mr. Sheldon had to threaten to call out the militia in order to quell an unusually vicious uprising. Needless to say Mr. Sheldon remained only part of a year. Simeon Calhoun, the next man to be prinf cipal, was a believer in stern measures. He llogged his way to obedience, but later won the respect of his pupils. During the earlier part of his two year term, he often boasted of having Hogged fifteen to twenty boys a day. Of the eight principals in the l'0ld High School , as it was lovingly remembered by the pupils who went there, none remained more than a few years. The longest term was that of Henry R. Vaille H835-18381. His name will always recall the story of his green goggles which he wore during school hours, to the con- fusion of all mischief-makers, who could never tell what part of the room he was watching. The last principal of the 'i0ld High School was Charles Burnett, who served until the school was closed in 1840. The building was sold and used as a dwellingfhouse until about 1930. So ended the first stage in the history of the High School. The building was crude and limited, heated by a woodstove, the only blackf board a painted space between the windows, one room for all the pupils with the principal as teacherg nevertheless the desire for learning on the pupils' part and the education and en' thusiasm of the principals made the difficulties seem unimportant. . 4, f' REV- STORY HEBARD CHARLES C. BURNETT WV, REV SIMEON H. CALHLYUN -5-

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THE BLUE AND WHITE :Q-oaevxavsnanxa-i:osn:ana:amnmnaa-asusual ns. Q- wx.-sn use wx- vs. use -in -Qi vs- use nn- ox- vs- oxnsa us vin -so ON wrgsrtrlm RAILROAD. 'i 'A ff m, f '- ii 'B ,i- - ,H 5. fa, A W P . V . ,6 I . ' 1 ' ' 7gqm., :vzannrxn . N . f ' M? 5 .11 sal'zm.:,.s-1113 5' ali A ...V M., I A, . ' I ' , ,.,. I .1 .. if 2 V. ,1 'ff -Q-V'-::1'v 1.1 ai. . , f f ' A., yi , ,l..,n,-.n I-' :2'gif5S. f 4 . - - H , 5- , .. ,Q Q - Y MM ' at-451 ' 1 . T7 I W, Q-....--.ta .sg I .. h H M .Q . 5 Iv ,fwVT'rqx-.:5,p-a- 'f ' 1 ' 5 ' .I 5 . -,,, .,,. 4... wg , . L .K Q W A. .3,. . gg-f'. '.- K f ' -xy, 5 .,i ,7f-- ' 7' AF CON TRQIH E E B 5 l KELD. moan w Arn-4 mf, ' vwooo, :ww--mf ' ' This was the train that went through Springfield in the 184OlS, .Many children skipped school to see this train pull into the station. The quarter-century from 18-11 to 1865 has been called the Golden Age, the finest period in the history of the school. Rev. Sanford Lawton began as principal in a twofstory, brick building on West State Street. He was succeeded in 18-1-1 by Ariel Parish. Mr. Parish, a wellftrained, capable graduate of Yale, who had taught bef fore in district schools, was the first of the Springfield principals to make teaching his life work. One interesting feature of his term was the rigorous training given in spelling. Students were required to spell 1,000 words a term, and anyone who could spell -1,000 words in a year was ranked as a first-class speller. When we realize that an uncrossed t or an undotted i, erasure of any word or letter, or a blot where an error might exist, caused the word to be marked wrong, we wonder how there could have been even as many good scholars as there were. ln 1848 the school moved again, this time to a building that had been built particularly for it, on the present site of the Nlunicipal group. The school was dedicated in September with appropriate exercises and speeches by Gov. George Briggs, Horace Mann, Secretary of the State Board of Education, and others. Because of its hardwood floors and cherryftopped desks, it was thought magnificent and was called by old Judge Morris 'lan educational palace . What he would have said about our present schools is an intriguing question. The first class to receive diplomas graduated from this school in March 1856fcomposed of eight girls and one lone boy. Among the four student publications, of this period one was called 'lThe Messenger Bird , put out by the girls, and another, HThe Portfolio . '1The Recorder staff might like to know some of the details of this latter. Separate editors of what were called male and female departments were thought necessary. Essays were written and printed on such melan- choly and thoughtfprovoking subjects as Farewell , l'Thought , HSlander , and How Blessings Brighten as They Take Their Flighrni An item from one issue mentions a class of 166 pupils, 108 girls and 58 men. The third stage, called the Middle Ages, be' gan in 1865 and continued until 189-1. Mr. Parish had resigned in 1865 after completing Z1 years of the finest service, a record in those days of short terms, and had become the Super, intendent of Schools in New Haven. His sucf cessor was the Rev. Milan Cyrus Stebbins. The Superintendent of Schools of this period, E. A. Hubbard, proved one of the best friends of the school. He raised the standards of teach- ing, obtained funds for the erection of several grammar schools, increased the teachers' sal- aries, and lengthened the course from three to four years. He also added new courses of me- chanical and freehand drawing, history, hygiene, and physiology. Court Square in the early forties. This picture was evidently taken on a busy day.