Fifth Avenue High School - Archer Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 9 text:

iii' FIFTH AVENUE HIGH SCHOOL .-1? 1, , , f 1-X ww Q3 . J jg Q z 5, H

Page 8 text:

X ,. isi. 6 FIFTH AVENUE LlFE A Quarter nf a Glrninrg Agn How WOL1ld you have liked to attend school at Fifth at its opening twenty-five years ago this month? Or if that were not possible, how would like to look back to that period and watch its early life? It is a scfientific fam' ihat, owing to the velocity of light-136,000 miles per second-if 3 person were on a star, say about a billion miles away, he could, by looking down on our earth, see what was happening there several hundred years ago, since it would take that long for the light from the earth to reach him. 1Vell, then, suppose we were on a star at some distance away, so that we could watch the happenings on our earth a quarter of a century ago? Since it can be done iso we thinky let us put the telescope to our eye and look in the direction of the earth. On December 10, 1895, the Central Board of Education enters into the focus of the lens. XVe can watch them discuss the plans for a new high school, and then decide to lease a lot on Fifth Avenue on the site of the market house. They lease the lot-200 feet front and 120 feet on the side- for a term of 99 years in consideration of one dollar. Wie notice nothing of importance until March 13, 1894 when Mr. Edward Stotz is selected as the architect. lt is not until another meeting that we see the board adopt his plans. On July 24, 189-l, the XVilson Construction Co. receives the job of erect- ing the school building, which they formally turn over to the board May 12. 1896. At the formal turning over of the building we can read editorials in the newspapers to the effect that this building was erected at a cost of 37,500 below the original estimate. Everyone is praising this efficiency. Follow- ing this outburst of favorable comment, we see through our glass architects and other notables, from all over the country, view the wonderful building- the last word in modern school structures. Bring the telescope nearer to your eye, for we are going to get thg first glimpse of the interior of the school. XYe,see that everything in the build- ing is modern, efficient, and beautiful. Starting from the basement, we see that Fifth is the first school in Pittsburgh in which the air is washed before it is sent into the rooms. Wlithin the space that now constitutes the ma- chine shops, is located the supplies for all the city schools. Coming to the first floor, where are now the shop and drawing rooms, there are five rooms used as a training school. Here is adequate accommodations for over two hundred small children, who are taught two weeks by each girl of the nor- mal department, who is in her last year. XX'here are now the cooking and the sewing rooms, we see the offices of the lloard of Education. They use the Special gnu-ance, which is beside the main one Know removedfl The two upper floors are occupied by the normal department, the rest by the com'- mercial department. Let us now point the telescope on the personnel of the school. First of all, we see Mr. C. B. Xkood, director of the three city high schools lFifth, s fl it

Page 10 text:

V fl, - ' ' ' . 'i ff 1. Y, :r75.g,gl - 'ff-.vi - ',,,,-- - r I -f1mqe.,::,....'y,,wMll .. .at , ,, V n., . 8 FIFTH AVENUE LIFE Central- alld SOUUUZ Mr. Samuel D. Everhart, principal of the normal CW' Paffment. Turning to the High School Journal, put out by the three high SC110O1s. lwhich, by the way also began its career this yearl, we notice ftlllfll-lg the faculty of Central High, the following teachers: Dr. Qgden, Bliss Lewis, Miss lloskinson, Miss Dougherty, Miss Xxiffldlllilll, fklrs. Tfillllllflflhlv Mr. Burtner, and Mr, Rynearson. rNow don't attempt to calculate their ages, or welll turn the telescope away.J .-Xmong those who came to Fifth during the first year are Miss Dougherty, Mr. Ogden, Miss Moore, Mf- fi. T. Stahl tdeceasedl. and Klr. McDonald lcustodianfl The number of Students during the first year is nearly 'JOO Know 13003 1 and those who thlllk that 150 is a large graduating class. ought to note that at the end of the first year fgraduations were held every -lunel 96 were graduated from Fifth. Let us concentrate our trusty telescope on the students themselves. AS we noticed before, the school is divided into parts, the commercial students and the normal. Neither group mingles or interferes with the other. They occupy separate rooms, and even separate floors. They use separate en- trances and exits. They use separate stairways-the normals using the east stairway and the commercials, the west. The incoming normals hear of the stringent rules which should govern their actions, such as receiving four demerits for speaking to a commercial boy, and a greater number for being seen on their floor. fklow would you like this now, girls?l Neither can they meet or mingle during the lunch period, for everyone eats his lunch in his respective room. 4The present lunch room is only about eight years oldj Suppose we watch a typical day. The students begin work at nine o'clock, :Xt the end of each period twhich lasted one hourij they assemble themselves in single file and march, as a whole body, to the next room. Re- garding the file, the students march in the order of their average in scholar- ship, i. e., the student making the highest average in a room, marches at the head of the line, and so on down to the last. Instead of the students of one room dispersing in all directions as they do now, each class as a whole marches to the next room, there being no elective system of studies. Of course OLII' method is more democratic: but you must admit that there was order in the halls during intermission. .-Xgain, instead of having an honor roll, we can see posted on the walls of the hall, the averages of each student in the school, lNew averages appear monthly.J School dismisses at 2:30. Those who are hoping that some day Fifth will have a gymnasium. can perhaps be encouraged t?l by noting that the first students also noticed the lack of one. Since the space on the fourth floor fnow occupied bv Miss Delo and Mr. lionhaml is merely an unfinished attic, the lloard tif Education con- gidel-5 equipping it as a gymnasium, but since the cost would be S5,0U0- mm, drop the matter temporarily Nj. 4 Do you think you have hard subjects to master now? U0 you notice, through the glass, that EVERYONE has to take algebra and geometry? And also elocution? Do you notice that besides teaching physics and physiogra- phy, Dr, Ogden teaches also geology and astronomy? That room t-lOOj that we now use for a study room, or for orchestra rehearsal, or for assembly, is 1 TNQ in