Dupo Community High School - El Tigre Yearbook (Dupo, IL)

Page 11 text:

The election, held June 20, 1925, resulted in a vote of 441 for 155 against. The site selected by the board consisted of 8.91 acres, well situat- ed, just outside the city limits of Dupo, fronting on State Highway No. 3. The site was purchased at a cost of 51,000 an acre. When school opened in September, there was an enrollment of 66. The portable building was seriously overcrowded. ln order to meet the needs temporarily, an additional room had to be built. The time had arrived when a new, larger, permanent building should be provided. Upon petition of over 300 legal voters, another election was called on December 12, 1925, and a S125,000 bond issue for building purposes carried, 452 to 112. Plans were immediately put into effect. When school opened in September, 1926, part of the pupils were l housed in the new building and the remainder in the old one. However, by , , , , October 1, all were in the new structure, with an enrollment of 102. Frank Wildy, First Principal of DCHS On November 12, 1926, the dedicatory program was held. Dupo prac- tically declared a holiday the day the keys to the new building were pres- ented to the Board of Education. Secretary Schellhardt prophesied in his speech at the dedicatory services that school enrollment would have out- stripped facilities by 1931 or 1932. That prediction was well-founded for by 1931 , it was necessary to prepare plans for a vocational building to supplement the original plant. A bond issue election again was called and approval was given. The structure was completed that same year. In 1935, after 13 years as principal, Purl resigned. Charles Allen, well-known in educational circles throughout the state, accepted the position. Allen served the school until 1939, and Assistant Principal John P. Minier became acting principal. A special election was held the year before at which the voters reiected a proposal for a new field house and a swim pool. The field house was considered too elaborate, although a similar structure since has been added - minus the pool. ln the meantime, enrollment in recent years had grown by leaps and bounds. Again facilities became too crowded, and for the third time in its 20-odd years of existence, the highschool district again faced an essential building program. The result was todays fine gym- nasium. That building was completed in 1941. Allen returned for another year as head of the faculty, but again resigned, and in 1943, A. C. Daughtery was employed by the district. The school continued its growth with enrollment being 690 in 9 through 12. ln 1945, a bus garage was added with storage space for seven buses, a washroom, and a repair shop. In 1949, an athletic field was built with provision for night football and a quarter mile cinder track with a 220-yard straightway. Permanent bleachers are on each side of the field. Later a field house was built with two large dressing rooms, a storage room, public toilets, and a concession stand. ' R. K. Purl, Principal of DCHS for 25 Years

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An election was called for March 26, 1921, to vote on whether or not to issue i13l00,000 worth of bonds whose That day, an overwhelming majority cast in favor of the organiza- tion of the Dupo Community High School District, the tabulation being l6l votes for and-a mere 22 against. The district was duly organized and comprised approximately 25 square miles, with a valuation of about S3,000,000. An election to select members of the first Board of Education of Community High School District No. T95 was called on June TO. Elect- ed were H. W. Schwartz, president, Fred G. Fischer, secretary, L. J. Parrin, J. A. Wiselogel, and J. D. Schellhardt. Fortune smiled on the local area when large industries were estab- lished to the south of East St. Louis, and the founders of the school dis- trict exhibited great wisdom in incorporating the area which now in- cludes Sauget and ,Cahokia into the district. That wisdom paid off when D.C.H.S. remained as one of the best in the state and aloof from financial distress which had struck nine out of ten school districts in the state because of the post-war rise in operating costs. The rapidly growing grade school and high school soon crowded the eight-room building, erected in 1915, and it was deemed neces- sary to make further provision for housing the high school. iggwrt ,.,, 4 f' ' Esther Dyroff Barrett Class of l9l9 proceeds were to make possible the purchase of a site and erection ofa new building. It was then that the infant dis- trict received its first set-back, for the voters rejected the proposition, 527 against and 352 for. Hilda Dyroff Dodson Class of T919 lngenuity was called upon, and the board caused the erection of a four-room portable building for the high school, which opened in Septem- ber with an enrollment of 45 pupils and four teachers. The district faced its second major test in l 922, when quo warranto pro- ceedings were filed against it. However, this resulted in the court's decision that the district had been legally organized. Then an election in August, on the question of abandoning the district, failed of sufficient majority, and the district remained intact. Wildy resigned at the close of the T922 term, and his position was filled the next year by Williard G. Wright. However, when the board unani- mously decided that a fully-accredited, four-year high school should be established, Mr. R. K. Purl then filled the position as principal for the l923- 24 year. Owing to the already crowded portable buildings and the opportunity to purchase a suitable site, a legal adviser was employed, and plans were made and an election was called for the approval of the site and for erec- tion of a permanent building.

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.iw 1' ygggc . 1 C ..,.,., g Q. ' 'H .. .:.. .s f - . . M X , s :L 1 awe .Lg .1 , .. .X ' M ' . tif ' 5 is ' . ' ' . . - - ' ,' i l ,,,L ., it '1 3 - .-5 -' -, a In 1948 part of the district with- ZT4 . N g .,,,., s , . ,.,. 151: ' i: ,sf 'gig ff' Q if .f ax s . . 1 - .. J ,siv drew to form the present Unit Dis- C : f W T. 4' . ' 1 , ee e , 'gig - - - 1 ' 1 ' I 1 i' ' . Q IQ: 1.5.-'iff trict 187. This area contained the 72 j 1 as 1V bihyb, , M fmvisis --2' ' ' f m7ifi'S3Lzxff' ggrx M 4'-k larger part of the assessed valua- ff ii ti f ' . . I . Y 1 ' ' . . . 1 . ' s's' 1 s ' H 'r - i- .. ,- A tion so that District 195 immediate- is fl l img 1 U, , ,ffiiflf l ,lr -5. -K 'Y Chqnged, Tom, one O 1 e wealthiest districts in the state to ,..- ' '73 . ,',- r's' 'zi' -'1' Q 'A to - 5 I .- I one of 1-he poor-esf. S1-Udenfs ffom 3f'511'.s.Ji,Q4.:fwsfw14'tf.s ??Lr.r.?f? min 'f'- 5 W: Qfi-'V - f CT- ' ' '-,se District 187 continued to attend the high school under a tuition ar- rangement until 1951 when their high school was completed. ln 1956 Community Unit District 196 was organized from former Elementary Districts 193 and 54 and Community High School District 195. At this time, Mr. A. C. Daughtery resigned as principal of the high school to take the position as superintendent of the new district. Mr. Charles Faulkner then filled the position as principal of the high school for the next two years when Mr. J. R. Allen replaced him. To relieve crowding in the Elementary Schools, a Junior High School was organized and all seventh and eighth grade students of the area were brought together in the high school building. This same year, Mr. Hewey Tweedy was employed by the board as the new high school principal. As the enrollment increased, the building became overcrowded. A bond issue of S400,000 was noted to build a iunior high building, to remodel the vocational building, and to add on to the elementary schools. Junior High School students moved into a modern ten-room building in January of 1960. DCHS dedicated on November 12, 1926 Four years later, Mr. John R. Biby filled the position of principal after Mr. Tweedy resigned. At the close of the 1967-68 school year, Mr. A. C. Daughtery retired after 25 years of service to the district. Mr. . Patrick Mudd, U.S. History teacher, was hired as the new superintendent of the district. Mr. Biby also left the high school that year and Mr. Everett Parkhill, Math teacher, replaced him. Districts 196 and 187 now have formed a joint district tor Special Edu- cation. A certified staff of approxi- mately 71 teachers and administrators serve the Unit District 196. Vocational building completed in 1931