Crewe High School - Railroader Yearbook (Crewe, VA)

Page 12 text:

The fall of 1953 brought many changes, chief of which was the bringing of Burkevilie ' s entire high school population to Crewe High School. And, once again, the entire place was literally bursting at the seams. During the Christmas holidays, workmen revamped the entire basement; the old cafeteria rooms were converted into suitable rooms forthe commercial department and a girls ' dressing room. A passage was cut through a connecting wall, which open¬ ed a way to the science rooms. Laboratory equipment was brought from Burkeville to equip an extra classroom and a chemical supply room. Some of the Burkeville teachers also transferred to Crewe High ' s faculty. The new cafeteria building covered much of the old playground, so work be¬ gan at once on a new one near the stadium. Over a period of two years, a new ce¬ ment-block wall enclosed the playing fields, bleachers, and grandstand. Dugouts and concession stands were also added. And finally in 1955, the field house was completed. The auditorium came in for its share of improvements. New seats in the first floor of the auditorium replaced the battered, chipped and carved old ones. Large sections of the windows were bricked in and new red velvet draperies hung at the windows. The floors were refinished and the walls painted. Four classrooms were made in the building in which industrial arts were taught until discontinued in the 1955-56 session. These rooms have housed different grades each year. At the present time, the three sixth grades and one of the fifth grades claim this Annex as their home. Two classrooms were also made in the basement of the Tyler Street building. Crewe High School is proud of her field house. This is a view of the new auditorium seats taken from the balcony.

Page 11 text:

Burkeville Brought Many Rich Traditions Into The Consolidation Unlike Crewe school, Burkeville school has occupied many sites and has had several names. Its first building, a log house, built in the early 1870 ' s and located on the Danville highway about a mile north of the underpass, was destroyed by a cyclone. The second build¬ ing used as a school stood on the present site of the Burkeville water tank; the next, a two- room log house built in 1883, stood where the J. S. Hardaway home now stands. Next, The Hall , (no longer standing) was used as a school. From there, the school was moved to a three- room frame building located on the exact spot of the present Presbyterian Manse. Inspired by the efforts of Miss Edna Horner, the principal in 1905-1906, a group of pub¬ lic-spirited citizens made plans to acquire the present site of the Burkeville school. The side of the present school has an interesting history. About 1893 a tall Baptist min¬ ister with a high silk hat and a tenor voice, Mr. Cridlin by name, bought what was then known as the Burke Hotel. This hotel had been built in 1854 and stood where the home economics cottage is situated. It had been used as headquarters for the armies of both Lee and Grant dur¬ ing the Civil War and as a hospital for both armies. Mr. Cridlin conducted the Southside Fe¬ male Institute and used the present Graham ' s Hotel for classrooms. He built the house which Mrs. Margaret Priddy now owns. Colonel Burke gave the land for the street where the present Colonial Trail Highway is built; the Southern Railroad is built on the old stage coach road. Mrs. Longyear from Brookline, Mass., in May 1906, bought the property and later gave it to the town for a school site. The school was then called Longyear High School. The buildings included in the Longyear High School consisted of the Administration buildings and classrooms, two main dormitories, the President ' s residence and small buildings on about seven acres of land. It is significant that this school was the first in Virginia to offer an agricultural course. Colonel T. Gilbert Wood of Virginia Polytechnic Institute was made principal and head of the Agriculture Department and Miss Charlotte Stoakley, director of school gardens. At this time, also. Miss Edna Horner was made head of the sewing and home economics division. This or¬ ganization made the school the first rural high school in Virginia to offer courses in vocational education. In addition to the practical arts, music was taught by Miss Jane Alley. During Mr. Green ' s administration (1917-28) the name of the school was changed to Burkeville High School. In 1922 the high school building was built. The dormitory was then used as a home for teachers and for boarding students. In 1937, the historic dormitory was torn down and the Home Ec. cottage was built on its site.

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Changes in rooms and facilities have been so numerous in the past few years, that exploring for the new has become customary at the opening of school. Among the improvements which have been added in the last few years are the electric water coolers in the halls, a record player in the cafeteria, a loud-speaker system in the auditorium, new stage props, and a new trophy case. When it became evident last spring that this year ' s enrollment would be larger, the administration made a foot-by-foot search of every nook and corner of the build¬ ings. As a result of this search. Room 210 has once again become a classroom. Mr. Gloubic ' s counter-desk, from which he issues excuses, was placed in the basement hall, and other supplies were moved to a storeroom adjoining Room 113. Plans call for the construction of another book and supply room in the basement of the Tyler Street building. This year, bright, clean paint and new fluorescent lights have changed the basement hall completely. The basement restrooms were also renovated, and new floors and fixtures installed. All of the old hot-air ducts left from an old heating sys¬ tem were removed also. Three hundred lockers have been placed in the halls near the high school classrooms. There should be fewer lost books and articles of clothing in the future. We might have said the improvements have been too numerous to mention, but then we would not have given a fair picture of the changes in Crewe High School ' s plant. A new look pervades the basement hall; lockers fulfill a long-felt need. 9 Venetian blinds have been placed in two sun-baked rooms as an experiment.