DeWitt Clinton High School - Clintonian Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

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CKCLJJ Kommiffee Cgnfon Commiffee mougfadfi Sociefg LeT us sTudy The ClinTon SpiriT which has also developed over These TiTTy years. LeT us look back To l897. Qriginally called Boy's l-ligh, The school opened in ThaT year and was soon accommodaTing over 500 sTudenTs. A public high school was a novelTy and an early Tailure was expecTed. BuT To The surprise oT all, Boy's l-ligh prospered. Under The direcTion oT iTs TirsT principal, Dr. John T. Buchanan, The school grew unTil an annex was opened. Boy's l-ligh soon made iTselT TelT in The Tield oT sporTs, Tor iTs baskefball guinTeT and TooTball Team romped To many vicTories over surprised opponenTs. The skepTics were a biT shaken and doubT was re- placed by respecT. Boy's High had won iTs place among high schools. A Torerunner oT The ClinTon News soon made iTs debuTg The TirsT ciTy high school paper was snaTched up by The sTudenTs. BuT The building was small and cramped condiTions resulTed as The en- rollmenT Tigures reached 2,000. ln l900 Boy's l-ligh became De WiTT ClinTon l-ligh School To avoid conTusion beTween iTselT and Boy's l-ligh oT Brooklyn. WiTh The new name came more and sTill more sTudenTs. Annexes were going up all over The place To Take The overTlow Trom The main building. Finally in l903, The Board oT Educa- Tion announced ThaT The old building, which was siTuaTed aT 60 WesT l3Th STreeT, would be replaced by a new and bigger school. People were shocked 22

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sembled a barn. BuT Cl-inTon grew: The building was changed, changed again: more sTudenTs and Teachers came and wenT unTil a new building was consTrucT- ed. This Time iT was a huge building, capable oT housing Thousands upon Thousands oT sTudenTs, spacious, Tully equipped, on a green rolling parkway. BuT The building does noT make The school. IT is The sTudenTs wiThin The building, iT is The TaculTy7 iT is The spiriT beTween boTh. And in This inTangible TacTor ClinTon has excelled. For The spiriT oT cooperaTion ThaT has exisTed in This school has always been iTs mosT admirable characTerisTic. Boys oT every race and religion came here and learned Their chemisTry, his- Tory, maTh, buT mosT imporTanT oT all, learned To live TogeTher. DiscriminaTion had no place in ClinTon, Tor CaTholic, Negro, or Jew, and boys oT every racial and religious group learned ThaT haTe comes wiTh ignorance, and They were here To dispel ignorance. Side by side boys oT every sorT oT background sTud- ied, lived, enioyed. Friendships ThaT lasTed ThroughouT The years were Tounded in ClinTon and The boys learned ThaT liTe is noT a one man aTTair buT an inTerlocking arrangemenT in which all have To cooperaTe. BuT leT us look Through The years and sTudy The evoluTion oT De WiTT ClinTon High School, an evoluTion which changed iT Trom a small box-like building oT TwenTy-Three TaculTy members and 586 sTudenTs To a modern sTrucTure Tilled wiTh Thousands oT sTudenTs and a TaculTy rosTer running inTo The hundreds. 2 I Senior Councif .gznior Cjommiffee Senior prom gommiffee

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when They learned ThaT The new building was To have I25 rooms, and The largesT high school TaculTy in The world. They said iT was a wasTe oT money, ThaT iT shouldn'T be done. BUT iT was done, and The new school was consTrucTed aT 59Th STreeT and lOTh Avenue. AlmosT im- mediaTely iTs classrooms were Tilled wiTh sTudenTs. Dr. Buchanan conTinued as principal unTil he passed away in IQO8, aTTer devoTing eleven years oT his liTe To De WiTT ClinTon. ln his place There came The principal oT Commerce l-ligh, Dr. John L. Tildsley. T-le musT have TelT relucTanT To accepT ThaT posT, Tor Commerce and ClinTon were sTrong rivals in aThleTics. IT a Clin- Ton Team wenT Through a season wiTh- ouT a vicTory and Tinally deTeaTed Com- merce, iT was considered a successTul season. Such was The siTuaTion as Dr. Tildsley arrived To Take reigns. BuT de- spiTe The biTTer anTagonism beTween The Two schools, The new principal was soon beloved by all. l-le perTormed his Task well Tor six years and many new acTiviTies were Tounded in ClinTon dur- ing his sTay. lvlr. ArThur A. Boylan Tounded The grandTaTher oT The presenT General OrganizaTion. The ClinTon News and The ArisTa SocieTy were Tounded. Many oTher new clubs, socie- Ties, and organizaTions were esTablish,ed during The period in which Dr. Tildsley was principal. I9 I4 and The TirsT red book appeared. Dr. Tildsley reTired To make way Tor Dr. Francis l-l. J. Paul. The greaT war had 23 lodgcizogrgy .gjguadl uernfieg .gjguacl l9an-AmWim C746 11 -1 u nw