Eagle River High School - Northern Trail Yearbook (Eagle River, WI)

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THE NORTHERN TRAIL History of Eagle River High School THE schools of Eagle River have grown very rapidly in the past forty years. If we compare the first old log shanty built in 1884 to the modern high school built in 1924 we will have some idea of what a won- derful advancement has been taken to promote education. The first school house stood at a spot now in the street, just north of the Finn Lawlenhome. The use of the building was donated by John O'Connor. There were but a very few pupils. Miss Anna O'Connor taught the first winter, and in the spring was succeeded by her sister, Miss Mathilda. I The first school house is worthy of description. The log shanty was about 24 feet square, and had a -scoop roof made of halved and hollowed out logs from the ridge to the etaves. The space between the log wall and the roof was stuffed with sphagnum moss from a nearby marsh. There were but three small windowsand the room was very dark except on sunny days. A fourth' window was added the second year when the school got so large that nearly all the 1umbermen's bunks which filled the west end of the room had to be taken out to make room ,for the thirty- odd pupils who crowded in daily. The school furniture was made from pine boards by a local carpenter and was patterned after the forms in English schools 'at that time. The desks' were about sixteen feet long and three feet wide, with tops sloping to each, side so that thel children sit- ting on the long benches faced each other at about the right distance to kick shins under the desks. Two miserable years were spent in this rus- tic school. As a whole the pupils learned as much folly as they did good. The following summer a two-room school house, now the M. Frankel home, was built. Mrs. Hughes from Antigo taught the upper grades and Miss Tillie O'Connor the primary grades. This school made progress. Mrs. Hughes was a woman of many years' experience and reigned by tact and diplomacy. The school rooms soon became crowded, and a six-room building,-was built about 1887 on the spot where the present grade school now stands. In the fall of 1892 it was decided to erect a new school building in Eagle River, which was completed in 1893 and is the large school house which is now used as the grade building. Its construction cost S23,000. In the school year of 1897-1898 Eagle River had an excellent school with seven teachers. J. A. Walsh was principal. For a while the conditions seemed favorable, but as the population grew, more and more pupils strived for an education. The crowded con- ditions were terrible. Some classes had to be held out in the hall, from where they could hear the noise of the pupils downstairs at recess time, and the sounds of the classes passing back and forth. The high school had only four rooms to use-the English room, the mathematics room, the commercial room, and the assembly. Oh, yes! They had a library, too-a tiny room squeezed in between the English room and assembly, which served as reference library, text book library and office. Page seventy nine

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THE NORTHERN TRAIL An Ode to Teachers As we think of the past school year, Of all the fun We've had, Thoughts come of all our teachers dear, Whose leaving makes us sad. To Mr. Kracht our thoughts we turn, . The booster of our school, 5 And best of all from whom we learn 1 Our physics, he's a jewel. , In mathematics we all know How well Miss Austin taught us. She made us learn those rules just so, For she had patience and was ever thus. And Mr. Wolff in Latin, oh! At languages he really was a wonder. He could teach us all its irregularities And never once permit us to blunder. And next, our vocal teacher, Miss Strong, Whose fame in music is very well known. Miss Seim in typing is never wrong. Her skill in shorthand she has us showng With Bookkeeping the Sophs she does perplex, Which they must get if they desire a grade of Ex. Miss Walter in English is sure to shine, For slang is not at all in her lineg And Whenever we our duties shirk She comes back at us with some good hard work. In Civics Miss Walrath sure knows her stuff So- well that not a one of us can even bluff. Miss Bagnall, high in our esteemg It is most very easily seen Why we all think so much of her. And now again we hear Loud pouding and ia noisy whirr That seems to be quite near. Oh yes, that's Mr. Stuart's class Below in manual training. How they can work in such a mass Of hammering, sawing, planing! Of -all our teachers we are fond, We hate to see them go. Between us has grown the bond Of friendship true. And so For all that yo u have done for us For help, advice and time Spent in working over us, We write this little rhyme, To thank each one, to thank you all, And say good-bye to you. And so we part until next Fall With Wishes kind and true. -GRETA TETZLER. Page seventy-eight

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THE NORTHERN TRAIL At that time there were one hundred and twenty-five pupils in the high school division alone. They were packed like the proverbial sardines into an assembly which contained but fifty seats. Now the total enroll- ment in the grades is three hundred and sixty. In 1922 a large step was taken in the building of the present Eagle River High School. The citizens were anxious to give the best chance possible to the youth of the community to make a success under new and ever changing conditions that constitute life. No mistake was made when plans were drawn, for the big undertaking. The building is fitted with every possible convenience. It is beautifully located. From its windows one can see Silver Lake, Eagle River, and the Hirzel-Bond addition on Yel- low Birch Lake. The front part of the building has two floors and a basement which is used for class rooms and laboratories. The rear of the building is de- voted to the gymnasium and the main auditorium. The basement of the building is occupied by the fan room, locker rooms, showers and gymna- sium, Home Economics Department and Manual Training rooms. The gymnkasium of our school is of the very best. Its dimensions are 68x44 feet. Over the main floor is a balcony which adds seating capacity and beauty to the gym. The first floor is occupied by three class rooms, a main corridor and the locker rooms. On the second floor are the auditorium, library, oflice, Commercial and Science rooms, text book library, two class rooms and a chemical laboratory. The auditorium is 68x44 feet and was built to accommodate about two hundred and fifty pupils. ' It has' a stage and all the equipment that is necessary for a high school in a towrn the size of Eagle River. '33 An Appreciation To those who labored in behalf of this Annual, to make possible its publication, we set off a portion of this book to give appreciation. It hlas been our aim to give you a book of which you should feel proud, a book that is reminiscent of school days. The artistry was the work of Alex Pastor. Greta Tetzler, Elsie Gorz and Edith McIntyre had charge of that ,section which contains the literary material. Much credit is to be given to John Langille and Robert Thrun for their splendid record of the athletics of this year and last. We hope that you enjoy reading the spice as much as our editor, Wesley Smith, did in writing it up. The class editors, who were Violet Pecore, Bertha Smith, Helen Ad- ams, Freda Ahola and Jean Adams, receive credit for their splendid write-ups of their respective classes. The task of writing up the different departments in our school was in charge of Elsie Johnson and Adele Godlesky, land they have been so written that people may learn much of the history of our school. The Northern Trail of 1929 was splendidly' managed by Robert Radcliffe and his assistants. The .advertisements were in charge of Mar- tin Budde, Edith Mcllntyre and Virgil Thomas, while the circulation was accomplished by Irma Rand, Eva Surges and Gretla Tetzler. Ruth Rantz and Alice Hedberg acted as accountants. Page eighty I v