Emporia High School - Re Echo Yearbook (Emporia, KS)

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THE Emvonm - Rc-60110 1935 - HIGH scHooL 7 When Supt. L. A. Lowther completes his work at the end of the present school year, he will have served the Emporia public school system for near- ly four decades. Superintendent Lowther came to Emporia as head of the city schools thirty-eight years ago-in November, 1896. His announce- ment of retirement this spring, was made because cf his health. There was a political atmosphere in Emporia as well as in the meeting of the school board that November evening in 1896, Mr. Lowther recalls, as he was elected on the same night that the news came in announcing the election of William Mc- Kinley as President of the United States. And to the young West Virginia school man, the action of the Emporia Board of Education was of greater importance than the result of the voters of the country. 1 fl Superintendent Lowther followed John Deit- rich, who went from Emporia to Colorado Springs as school superintendent. Coming to Emporia from Cottonwood Falls, where he had been the head of the schools and had organized the high school, Mr. Lowther immediately began a reorgan- ization of the Emporia school system, and he has seen it grow from a small beginning to one of the largest and most efficient in the state. Looking back 38 years, Supt. Lowther recalls that James Barnett was principal of the high school and Miss Mary Maynard was assistant prin- cipal when he came to Emporia. There were only 125 students in the high school and just six teachers. Prin. Barnett taught mathematics in the new assembly room which had just been built on to the old Garfield building, then used Superintendent owther Reti res for the high school as well as for Grades 6, 7 and 8 which were housed on the first floor. No school buildings are standing today which were here in 1896 except the Riverside school, then called the Central Avenue. It since has been moved to another site and has been remodeled. In 1896 there were eight grade buildings: The Stone school which stood on the northeast corner of the present Senior high block and which in early days was the old State Normal building. Miss Frances Riggs was principal. Other schools were the Fourth Ward, Miss Sadie Andrews, prin- cipalg Union, Miss Margaret Tytherleigh, princi- pal, Kansas Avenue, H. E. Peach, principal, Third Ward, Miss Mary Smith, principal, Central Ave- nuc, T. S. Gallagher, principal, Walnut, Miss Hannah Bunbury, principal, and West Sixth Ave- nue, later the Lincoln, Miss Mary McCreary, prin- cipal. Most of these were two or four-room frame buildings, heated by stoves and with no modern conveniences. In the past 38 years all have given way to modern school buildings of brick construction. Grade school buildings erected while Mr. Lowther has been superinten- dent are Century, Union, Maynard, Walnut, Kan- sas Avenue and Mary Herbert. Emporia High School likewise has grown in great strides since 1896 when a 3-year course was offered by a faculty of only half a dozen instruc- tors. W'hen the State University standardized Kansas high schools, Emporia was modeled after the university standards, a 4-year course was offered and more teachers added. QContinuecl on Page 81 2 . , , W., U ., .,g ,WAH1 1 s . I A 3 The Old Slam' School

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8 Q THE EMPORIA - Re-Ecko 1935 - HIGH SCHOOL The people of Emporia voted bonds in 1912 for the present Senior high building and it was erected on the school block just to the north of the old Garfield building. Completed in 1914, it was a 4-yearhigh school and with the passing of the Barnes school law it expanded rapidly. Rural school graduates were permitted to attend without paying tuition under the new law and soon the new school was crowded. Atthis time the high school course was divided into Junior and Senior schools. It was necessary to divide the days-the Senior high classes meet- ing in the mornings and the Junior high in the afternoons. This continued for several years until the present Junior high building was completed in 1925. Supt. Lowther has supervised introduction of many of the present changes in curriculum be- ginning with a manual training department under Miss Anna Cron in 1903. Home economics, commercial training, enlarged playground and athletic training, art, library and music courses have kept pace with changing times. High school principals who served under Mr. Lowther, following Mr. Barnett, are: F. W. Allin, 1901, J. H. Sawtell, 1902, W. L. Holtz, 19053 C. Howard Lyon, 1906, Charles A. Wagner, 19085 S. U. Pett, 1911, R. R. Cook, 1915, and Rice E. Brown, since 1918. Today about 1,500 students ++ A TRIBUTE TO This year's Re-Echo will be the last in which our beloved Superintendent Lowther's picture will appear as Superintendent of the Emporia schools. The realization of this fact causes me real sadness. I have had the privilege of being associated with Mr. Lowther in three capacities: first, as a high school student, second, as a teacher, and third, as a principal. When a student in Emporia High School, I always thought of him as a kindly gentleman: a superintendent who was always fair to the stu- dents. We all respected him, and regarded him as an educational leader. It was as one of his teachers that I learned of Mr. Lowther's ability as an educational leader. The Emporia teachers sometimes attended the su- perintendents' meetings, which were held in Em- poria. Some of the superintendents talked long and often. Not so with Mr. Lowther. When he arose to speak, a hush always came over the audience, because they knew he had something worthwhile to say. He would make his point. and then sit down. I found that he was always willing to help me C are enrolled in the high schools as compared with 125 in 1896. A like number in the grades brings Emporia's school attendance to over 3,000. L. A. Lowther has watched and guided the constant growth of the Emporia schools all these years, so that to two or three generations of Em- poria boys and girls, his name is closely associated with their memories of school days. His promo- tion cards, given to pupils when they passed which read: You have reached another mile- stone. Accept my congratulations -are among the treasured momentoes of thousands of Empor- ians and former Emporians. He has signed his name to thousands of diplomas given to E. H. S. graduates. Mr. Lowther attended the University of W'est Virginia, the University of Kansas where he grad- uated in 1894, and has studied at Clark Univer- sity and at the University of Chicago. He is a member of the state Schoolmasters Club, the Em- poria Rotary Club, the Current Club, the Masons in Emporia and is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. He was born in Tyler County, West Vir- ginia where he attended school, worked as an ap- prentice in a print shop, had a job in a tobacco factory and taught country school. He taught his first school before he was 18 years old.--E. T. L. + MR. l.0WTHER with any problem which might arise in my work as a teacher. Our association has been very close for the last seventeen years, during which time I have served under him as High School Principal. I have found him to be a superintendent who was ever striving to improve his school system. He Was very careful in selecting his teachers. He has always been an idealist, but broadminded enough to appreciate the practical things of life. I have found in him that beautiful trait of unselfish- ness, always thinking of the other person rather than of himself. He always thought of the Wel- fare of those in his school system, teachers and students, rather than of his own. A number of years ago, he suggested to the Board of Education that I accompany him to the winter meetings of the National Educational As- sociation. The Board granted his request, and the first meeting we attended together was held at Atlantic City, New Jersey. On these trips, I found that Mr. Lowther was held in very high esteem by his fellow superintendents. One super- fContinued on Page 581