Freeport High School - Voyageur Yearbook (Freeport, NY)

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GREETINGS TU THE ELAS5 UE TQEU REQUENTLY we hear the expression, uBack in the good old daysfi and we all enjoy listening to the stories of former times. There is real value in an 'LAnniversary Yearbook be- cause it serves to emphasize that progress is a gradual process, that most of the fine things in our high school life have been established step by step, each graduating class strengthening and expanding the traditions and standards of the past. The last fifty years of world history have been outstanding in their import. This period is marked with two world wars, it has been a half century of the greatest constructive development of mechanical marvels. Part of this period has been called the HAir Agevg another, the uAtomic Agef, Educational growth and advancement have been the most encouraging signs in these times. Today a high school education for all the chil- dren of all the people is accepted as a necessary basis for everyday life. Boards of Education adopted innovations of sound educational value even in the early days of Freeport. For example, in March of 1894, the Board of Education established the first kinder- garten, and in June of that year, a teacher was engaged to supervise and teach music and art in all the grades. ln October, 1894, physical edu- cation, or calisthenics as it was then called, was established as part of the curriculum. Here we see the foundation of the emphasis placed today on broad education and the health of children. The roster of school board membership at the turn of the century included names of men who were pioneers in our community: Hiram B. Smith, William Foreman, Lewis H. Boss, Wil- liam C. Miller, H. P. Libby, and W. S. Hall. They established our school system on a firm foundation. In every decade since, Freeport Boards of Education have had to meet and solve the problems of expanding enrolments. In 1906, there were six graduates from our high school, today the graduating class numbers over two hundred and fifty. Youth is the finest asset of this community, and the education of youth is its soundest investment. Wfe are all proud of the growth and expansion of our school system, which is, in a large measure, due to the leader- ship of our superintendent and principal. This leadership has been recognized too by their State colleagues: Dr. Dodd as president of the N. Y. S. Teachers, Association and of the Council of City and Village Superintendents: Mr. Mansperger as coordinator and vice-president of the N. Y. S. Association of Secondary-School Principals. As citizens, we too accept the responsibility of keep- ing standards high. The Board of Education extends to the Class of 1950fCongratulations and Best Wfishes. LEO F. CIBLYN President, Board of Education Q Y 'IK

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BOARDS UP EDUCATION 1912 1936 8

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l DR. JOHN W. DODD REETINGS to the Class of 1950 and con- gratulations on this fine yearbook with its impressive theme-Education in F. H. S. 1900- 1950. The story of Freeport High School through the years moves as a panorama of changing events- scholastic, athletic, and social. Years ago in our school, I first heard the statements: HSaccess is a habit in Freeport High School and its corol- lary, 6'Scholarship is the main plank in the edu- cational platform of F. H. Sf' The success habit and scholarship have been two important factors in making the history of F. H. S. so interesting and worthwhile. Freeport High School, past and present, has made itself a part of the life of each person who has entered its portals. The story of Freeport High School is the story of achievement, ability, and growth. Whether the classes met in the old Freeport Fire House, the Methodist Church basement, or the present-day modern building, whether the school prom was held in the old Plaza Hall or the Carden City Hotel, whether football and baseball were played on the Sea- man Sand Lot or in the Municipal Stadium, whether basketball was played in what is now the Columbus Avenue boiler room or in a mod- THHU GH THE YEARS ern gym, there has been one constant element evident and always present-that fine compelling school spirit of the student body of Freeport High School. ln twenty-five years of observation of the progress in Freeport High School, 1 have seen the development from a simple course of study to a modern curriculum including industrial and fine arts, home economics, and a college pre- paratory program which admits our students to all the best colleges, from an athletic association of about one hundred members to a General Organization of over twelve hundred, from uThe Studentw publication to FlasHingS and the uVoyageur,'g from group assembly singing to a complex musical organization including glee clubs of over one hundred members, Junior and Senior orchestras, and the finest marching band in the country, from a local consultant health program to one with a health staff of three doc- tors, three nurses, and a dental hygienistg from a small student body to one numbering about seventeen hundred, from a graduating class of about forty to one of two hundred and seventy- fiveg from a ,lunior-Senior High School faculty of thirty-three in 1925 to seventy-nine in 1950. These are but a few illustrations of significant changes. Our objective aim through the years has been toward more education in the spirit of everyday life-progressive, practical, dynamic, friendly, and idealistic. ln its broadest sense, Freeport High School has always aimed to stimulate the greatest all-round development of each student. Congratulations and best wishes to a fine class fthe Class of 1950. JOHN W. DODD Superintendent of Schools