Deer Isle High School - Gatherer Yearbook (Deer Isle, ME)

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THE GATHERER 31 been built, there would not have been any money left to repair the grade schools, and a two story building is not satisfactory for elementary children. If a grade school were built, the schools on the outskirts could be brought in and that would cut the cost of running the schools some, because one less teacher would be employed. Mr. Ambrose Higgins, an architect from Bar Harbor, was engaged to draw up plans. These plans called for five classrooms and a sixth room, considerably larger than the others, to be used for a cafeteria and recrea- tion room. They also called for toilets, a principa1's office and teacher's room, and a kitchen. When bids for this building were received, the lowest was S90,167, which was higher than had been expected. There were two chances for revision of plans. First the quality of the materials to be used could be cut, and, second, the size of the building. The latter alternative was impossible because the one planned was the smallest size possible that would still do the job. The committee talked the problem over with the architect. As a result, by re- arranging some of the facilities and chang- ing some of the specifications, they produced plans for a building that could be built for about 380,000 After adding to this sum about 81,000 for seats, well, and land, 32,- 000 for the first year's insurance, 1951 inter- est, and costs of other expenses, the total needed was about 393,000 An alternative proposal to build a four room building which could be added to was considered. If this were done, the cafeteria would be in the chapel, there would be no recreation room, and some classes would be held in the old rooms down by the high school. A special town meeting was held to ask for enough money to carry out the original plan. An appropriation of more money was turned down. The committee met and decided, never- theless, to start the building. Mr. Emmons L. Shea of Ellsworth was hired for the actual construction, and Mr. Allston Wheelden of Stonington was hired for the wiring, heat- ing, and plumbing. They were both hired on the cost plus fixed fee basis. This means that the contractor bought the materials and paid for them himself. These bills were checked each week. After the job was done he got back what he had paid out plus eight per cent of that amount. The location of the school was chosen be- cause it was near enough to the other school to be convenient for the school lunch and because the land was already fairly clear. The well, which was drilled by Ira Christy, was almost done by the time the ground was broken on June 6. It is 136 feet deep and has a flow of three gallons per minute. After the ground was broken the work progressed rapidly, and four of the five class- rooms were ready to be occupied when school began in September. However, everything was not completed until Novem- ber 16. On this date the primary class and the cafeteria were moved up from the chapel, where they had been since school began. As work progressed the expenses were lower than they had been estimated. Some of the items tentatively eliminated were re- incorporated in the plans. Among these were ceramo shingles for sidewalls, painting and Hnishing, some of the insulation, and tack boards. The Board of Trustees elected at town meeting is made up of Frank Milan, pres- ident, Augustus Heanssler, vice-president, Clark Hill, treasurer, Alfred Colwell, secre- tary g and Elwood Eaton. Each of these men serve for a certain period of years, with one member going ofl' and a new one replacing him each year for a five year term. While

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THE GATHERER THE NEW SCHOOL The idea of building a new school was first considered two years ago, when at town meeting a committee of nine was appointed to look into the possibilities of having a con- solidated high school with Stonington. This committee consisted of Grover Small, Dor- othy Carmen, Elwood Eaton, Alfred Col- well, Augustus Heanssler, Clark Hill, Walter Pickering, Emily Haskell, and Frank Milan. With a committee from Stonington they looked into the situation and decided not to combine with Stonington. These were the reasons for the decision. After investigation they were of the opinion that the needs of the two towns were somewhat different, since Stonington was interested in providing a sec- ondary school only, whereas Deer Isle need- ed improvement in both secondary and ele- mentary quarters. They decided that the cost of building and maintaining a consoli- dated high school would be too great. They learned also that if a consolidated school were established, Deer Isle would be ex- pected to provide about the same amount of money as Stonington for support, but would have less control, since representation on the board would be proportional to stu- dent attendance and Stonington would have about three times as many pupils. At town meeting in 1950 someone moved the building of a new grade school. The vote was carried and a committee appointed. This committee, called the School Planning Committee, consisted of Frank Milan, Walk- er Pickering, Alfred Colwell, Elwood Eaton, Dorothy Carmen, and Augustus Heanssler. They made arrangements to introduce a school district bill into the legislature and, after this was done, it was accepted at town meeting. It was necessary to introduce this bill because there is a state law which will allow a town to go only so far in debt. Our deadline was S35,000, but the School Dis- trict Bill allowed the district to go in debt for S60,000, the amount required. The town had already put aside 323,500 toward the project. This amount came from a surplus excise tax which had been accumu- lating over a period of years. It was decided to build a grade school instead of a high school because the grade schools did not have very good equipment, or much of it. The buildings were much too crowded. If a high school building had

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32 THE GATHERER the building was being planned, these men met often, usually having one meeting a week. Later, they were called upon for al- most daily conferences with the contractor. They very generously gave their services to the town and received no payment what- ever for it. The trustees borrowed 860,000 in bonds, on which we'll have to pay 818,905 interest. This will take twenty-three years to pay back. The amounts paid each year will average about 83430.44 with the largest amount of 84,950 coming in 1974 and the smallest of 82,997.61 coming in 1961. The school building itself cost 865,000. The non-building cost such as land, well, furniture, drive, and insurance cost a little over 814,000 With a little money that re- mained a sinking fund was set up, because in twenty-three years when the bonds are paid and the building is turned over to the town, many repairs will have to be made. The money will then be available for that purpose. The building is a great asset to the com- munity. It can be used for public gather- ings, such as school socials and P.T.A. meet- ings, as well as for school sessions. It is a school building of which the people of Deer Isle can be proud. VIRGINIA BILLINGS '53 LITERARY ERUPTION About a year and a half ago, I was in Hawaii, on one of those storied, tropical islands in the middle of the blue Pacific. It was there that I had been raised from a small bow-legged babe until I was just past sixteen. These were the islands of my child- hood days, and I had come to love them as such. Hawaii is compozecl of eight major islands, seven of which are inhabited. The largest of the group is the island of Hawaii, which is larger than all the others put together. Situated on this island, and covering a good part of it, is the Parker Ranch, one of the world's largest cattle ranches, spreading over an area of about a million square acres. Besides the Parker Ranch, the island has many smaller ranches and several sugar plantations. This was the island on which I lived for the last five years before we departed from the territory. It was on this island that I saw some beautiful and awesome sights, the like of which many men will never see. It was the evening of June the second in the year 1950. The family and some friends were sitting around in the living room mak- ing some flower leis for the local high school graduation. The radio was on, and we were listening to some beautiful Tahitian music, when suddenly the program was interrupted with the announcement that Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii was erupting. I ran to the door, opened it, and looked to the south. Away in the distance, I saw the sky all lit up and glowing as if the sun had set in the South. Though unable to leave home that night, we started early the next morning to see something we'd remember for the rest of our lives. When we reached Kona, the southern coast of the island, we learned that two Hows had already gone the fifty miles from the crater to the sea, stopping traffic, and burn- ing several villages. We learned also that l.