Harrold Junior High School - Herald Yearbook (Greensburg, PA)

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Through Twenty-F we Years . . . A milestone in the history of our school was the date April 5, 1929. On this date, ground was broken and construction for our school was started. By the Fall of the year 1929 the Har- rold School was completed, and a new era in educational advancement was made. A definite need for a new, larger school in the Harrold community of our township was felt necessary due to a steady growth of pop- ulation and other factors. At the time only one room was available for school purposes, and it was felt that school facilities, of necessity, must be expanded. Thus the stage was set for the structure which today bears the name of Har- rold School. Creation and erection of schools are not hurriedly done. On the contrary much thought and detailed work, financial considerations, lo- cation of site, transportation and other factors had to be considered. After numerous sketches, bids on contracts and other necessary details were brought into consderation, the School Board acted. On March 2, 1928, a preliminary sketch of our school was presented to the Board and then later approved. Actual construction started in April of that year. Successful bidder and builder was the Westmoreland Construct- ion Company of Greensburg. The architect was Charles Sorber. The site that was chosen was a portion of the old Eisaman farm on Route 71 near the old one-room Harrold School. It is interesting to note that the persons responsible for voting the school into existence was the School Board composed of the follow- ing members: President, J. K. Silvis, V. Pres- ident, H. C. Long, Secretary, E. Meek. Other board members were W. E. Shrum, C. G. Hall, and W. I. Davis. The words spoken on that memorable dedi- cation date of November 26, 1929 are well worth repeating: This building is dedicated whole-heartedly to the be'st interest of the boys and girls of Hempfield Township who are to help maintain and perpetuate the ideals of Am- erican democracy, and to the interest of their parents and teachers who are privileged to lead and inspire them in this service. May every child find here the opportunity to discover and develop those capacities through which he can best serve society. 3 Larry Six, Our President. In its beginning, the school set-up for Harrold was markedly different from today's training. Provisions were made for grades from one through ten. Pupil enrollment was large, though not nearly as large as our present enroll- ment. Five busses were able to transport the pupils to school. The remaining portion of the students walked. Supervising principals who have had much to do with the success of our school and other schools in the district were the following: James L. Spiegel, R. W. Robinson, E. S. Gard, Jesse ltltenour, and Theo Fullerton. The first prin- cipal of our school was Mr. Kieter. Council Officers

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4l Harrold Alma Mater Adopted Jan. 1952 Patricia McKee Watkins We sing our praise to Harrold Our Alma Mater true, We'll hail the colors red and white, , We'll always honor you. With courage strong and hearts so bold. N'er let her spirit die. We sing our praise to Harrold, Long may her colors fly. iw' 0urSclwol...

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f Mr. Kauffman at Ground- Breaking Ceremonies. Mrs. Smith teaching Art. We have progressed . . . The following years found these men as- suming leadership of our school: 1933-1934 Mr. Yakeg 1934-1942 Mr. Darrell Michaelg Mr. Emerson Kauffman, our present principal serv- ed from 1942-1943, then entered the Air Force, Mr. Paul Bowman, present Deputy Associate Superintendent, served as Principal from 1943- 1946. Mr. F. Emerson Kauffman, 1946 to the present time. The first faculty of the Harrold School list- ed fifteen teachers. Of these, the following are still actively engaged in teaching in our area: Miss Mary Brisbane of our own faculty, Mr. Scott Brisbane of our faculty: Mr. Quentin Kintigh, of Youngwood High School, and Miss Edith Waugaman of the Thomas School. The first full attendance for our school was 611 stu- dents. The iirst graduating class consisted of 97 students. As a Junior High School, Harrold is com- paratively new. In 1942 a major change was effected in the classes and grades. Grades 3 through 6 were eliminated, grades one and two, and grades seven through ten were retained. During these war years, the curriculum of the school was geared towards aiding the war ef- fort. With the restoration of peaceful times, the emphasis was reverted to peaceful activities. To provide needed classroom space and to in- sure full use of our educational facilities, the Wood Shop was moved from rooms 17 and 18 to the nearby original Harrold School. Another major change affecting our grades and classes was brought about in the year 1948, when grades one and two were removed and since then, the building has been .exclusively used for grades seven through ten. Since its beginning, 2,448 pupils have been graduated from our school. The present stu- dent body of Harrold is 735 pupils, of this num- ber, 142 are scheduled for graduation this year. Pupils are only a part of our story.