East High School - Redjacket Yearbook (Pawtucket, RI)

Page 14 text:

vs flltig uf Qgafniurket oi' ' X 1 QR nba glslzmh 0 li X Gzmmfv 0Bffrce of the agar LAWRENCE A McCARTHY Mayo April 2 5 , 1955 Mr Gllbert F Curtis Editor in chief Redgacket East Senior High School Pawtucket, Rhode Island Dear Mr Curtis Through the pages of the Redjacket please permit me to congratulate t e students, the faculty past and present, and the alumni of East Senior High School upon its 100th anniversary Yet the occasion is not one to be enjoyed only by East High and its immediate friends It is a cause for celebration by the whole city of Pawtucket that East High in the one hundred years since its predecessor was founded on Summit Street has attained the eminence that it enjoys today The impact for good which the graduates of these one hundred years has had on our c1ty and state cannot be measured, but we all know it is tremendous If Mr William E Tolman and the other pioneers of high school education in our city could see the results of their handiwork I feel sure they would consider their every sacrifice repaid beyond their fondest hopes or dreams. The illustrious alumni of East High, and its predecessor in name Pawtucket High, were the leaders who founded our city and guided its subsequent growth. The story of Pawtucket is their story. What- ever measure of success we as a city may have had, we owe in large measure to them. On this glorious anniversary we salute East High School, its students, its faculty, and all its graduates! Our sincere wish is that East High may continue to grow in stature and in service to its students, and continue to be a strong force for good in our city. Yours sincerely, JZ Lawrence A. McCarthy Mayor LAMfmln O fx' .V 'wily wfsw. rf- 'V 35iQ.'Layf.I If Hx 5 i' X r . Y . . . . . ' : . l O 0 U C . Q

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IH93i'!,p4k I if STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 6' PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS EXECUTIVE CHAMBER PROVIDENCE DENNIS J Roaenrs MaI'Ch 3 1955 GOVERNOR Dear Mr Curtls I am happy to Join the people of Pawtucket, and more particularly the students, former students, alumni teachers, and parents, 1n the observance of the one hundredth anniversary of the Pawtucket East Senior High School During those years succeeding generations of students have benefited from the untlrlng work of former pr1nc1pals and teachers, and I am sure that your observance will be approprlate Please accept my best wishes for continued service to the community and extend my appreciation to your principal and teachers Sincerely ou s MQW Dennis J. Roberts Governor Mr. Gilbert F. Curtis Editor-in-Chief, Redjacket East Senior High School Pawtucket, Rhode Island DJR: MC vc xg

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1855 A CENTURY IN REVIEW 1 Cherished memories of high school days have remained an intangible treasure for Paw tucket citizens dating back to the Civil War years when Pawtucket then part of Massachu setts held its place on the map as a small town amidst wooded areas and farmlands Exactly one hundred years ago the first Pawtucket high school was established as an indication of the desire of the populace for better education higher standards of living and further progress in the future On April 9 1855 at a meeting of the Paw tucket School Committee a motion was enter tained and unammously 'agreed upon by its five members to establish a high school in the city of Pawtucket a high school that was to become a reality a beginning simply by the efforts of these five qualified persons who lived just a century ago Immediately a special committee empow ered with the task of procurmg a suitable teacher for the school set to work A month later it was voted that Mr William Tolman a graduate of Brown University be given the position as the first principal of Pawtucket High School The school was to commence within two weeks May 14 1855 classes bemg held in the Summit Street Schoolhouse The only entrance require ments for students entering from grammar school were Arithmetic as far as mterest Geography through Smiths Quarto English grammar discretionary with School Committee Reading and Spellmg good All prospective students were examined by the school committee and admitted to the High School with the understanding that should any of them be unable to keep pace with the majority of their classes they should be put back into the grammar school The school opened with an attendance of fifty pupils twenty six boys and twenty four girls from eleven to fifteen years of age The high school year was divided into three terms beginning the Monday after the first Wednesday in September The first term was continued for fifteen weeks followed by a vaca tion of one week The second term continued to the first of April followed by a vacation of two weeks The third term continued fourteen weeks followed by summer vacation the amount of school time somewhat similar to our present system In the succeeding year 1856 fourteen new students were admitted and an assistant prin cipal Elizabeth Ann Cleaveland was appointed at a salary of only twenty dollars per month From the original pupils six entered college and five became teachers Because of the loyalty and devotion of the first pioneers in the advancement of higher edu cation the first high school begun originally as an experiment proved its mdispensability , L , ... . ' I n qq , 1 Y Q s . . . . 4 ,, . 9 9 9 ' n - , 9 9 ' ' , - I , . 9 Q - V , - n v Q Q ' ' ' 3 1 , Q v ' - Q 9 , . . . ,, . . . . . 9 Q 9, - , . . . . 9 1 . , . . . . . . T 1 9