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

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ABOVE: The school library as it stood in the late 1800’s, with few books. RIGHT: The annex on Spring Street. ABOVE: The mural in Classical’s auditorium. LEFT: The old lecture hall, now the big study in room 323. The aquarium, down in the basement. History vii

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vi The balcony, which was once used by students. The High School in Springfield has changed its name a number of times. Once it was “The High School’, then ‘Springfield High School”, “Central High School”, and finally, ‘““‘Classical High School” in 1934. The atmosphere, however, has remained un- changed, as has its goal of educating young people. Not only has the school changed, but so has its appearance. Many of the changes the building has gone through are apparent. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Classical was an ex- tremely modern school. There were gas lights in the halls and lampposts in the foy- er. The floors were sparkling clean. There were also glass doors at the entrance. But, of course, the building has aged over the past 90 years and has gone through a lot of water and wear that has forced the removal of some of these things. In the basement, to the left of the boys’ room, is the janitor’s office, which was once an aquarium. The aquarium was quite large and was used for biological studies. Another modern privilege similar to the aquarium was the observatory, which was located in the attic. The observatory had several mi- croscopes available for the students’ use. Room 211, currently Mr. Ligarski’s com- puter room, was once the location of the school library. The back of today’s library was a classroom, and the front portion was a study hall. This study hall was for use by girls only. The boys had their own study History years. (bottom) hall on the first floor. This type of separa- tion of boys from girls wasn’t an unusual occurence. Hach morning, the boys entered from the east entrance and the girls from the west entrance. Their recreation rooms were also separated. Room 323, which is now the big study hall, was once a huge lecture room. The room was furnished with tiers of seats and large demonstration tables. Also on the third floor, across from room 316, there is a room which is now deteriorated, but was a greenhouse. Here, plants were grown for the use of the science classes. Another asset to the students of Classical was the annex. It was located near Techni- cal High School and was used until 1980. It served as extra space for Classical’s stu- dents until the classroom space in the annex was no longer needed. Finally, Classical was proud to have a magnificent piece of art as part of its build- ing. A mural entitled “The Light of Educa- tion”, which is located in the auditorium, was painted in 1910 by Robert Reid, a fam- ous New York artist, and donated to the school. It depicts Samuel Chapin educating the Indians and the settlers. Every person who attended Classical was very fortunate to attend such a beautiful school. Not only is Classical highly recog- nized for its academics, but it is one of the most beautiful and historic schools to ever exist. ABOVE: The foyer, elegantly illuminated with lamps. BELOW: The auditorium in the early 1900’s (top), and Mr. Stevens, Classical teacher for many

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Viii Let’s hear it for Classical! The years 1927 to 1946 were in an era of hard times for teenagers. With the sudden stock market crash, the United States was thrown into a harsh depression. Students were forced to find jobs in order to keep up their family incomes. Despite these trou- bles, teenagers found a way to set their own styles and images for the time in which they lived. One style of the time was the preppy look: guys wearing slacks, sweaters, ties, sports coats, and shined shoes. They accentuated the “neat” look of the time by wearing their hair slicked back. The trendy girls wore full woolen skirts, sweaters, and numerous wire bracelets, similar to those popular today. Their trendy styles were highlighted by bright red lips and nails. Every girl was sure to have a shiny new penny in her pen- ny loafers, so as not to be out of place in the school. Flapper dancers were the rage of the day. History in 1929 and today. Students gathered at Classical dances to bop to the Charleston and to sway to the sounds of their idol, Frank Sinatra. There was a lot of school spirit during these times. A Classical football game or soccer game would always be crowded with screaming, supportive fans. The social uproar of this era was the new teenage fascination with cars. The particu- lar attraction of these vehicles was the rum- ble seat, which served its purpose when teenage boys went parking with their girl- friends in Forest Park. The era ended with World War II. Teen- agers were very patriotic. They had a deep respect for soldiers; some teenagers signed up to defend the United States before they were old enough to be drafted. In this era teenagers were very sincere and helpful to their families and country. These qualities in the students would continue for the years to come. TOP: Looking their best on prom night. ABOVE: Out on a Saturday night. BELOW: Theodore Bleau