Highland High School - Iris Yearbook (Highland, IL)

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B0 RD Ihr. lilltlltlllllll, Mr. lim-11, Mr. Siexrist, Mrs. larry, Mr. Aninnmn, Mr. Tibbt-tts ll1 1 Wltvn school distritt I5 was organized i11 1837, tl1ree men served on tlic Board of lC:l11c:1tio11. .xntong those who served in early times we find the naincs ut' Solonion Koeplii, Adolph Bandelier, and Garrit. Crownover. I1: 1ST-1 the lllllllllvl' ol' lloard members increased to six and by 1887 there v.'c1't- SKJYUII. Several who served on the Board ill early years held the position t'or many years. Among these were .loseph Animann tfather of 1.1-o Allllililllll, l,l't'SitlPlli, ot' tl1e Board todayi who served from 1882 to 151112, and Selniar Pabst, who served sixteen years all told. Other Board llll'lllllt'l'S who have served many years are .IOIIII Hoerner tl!lt12-19211. lmuis Kulinen tltltlll-111271. Dr. Edgar Merwin t1913-19301, Edward Slot-1-kiln 1111151-111351. and C. F, Rawson tlivlil-151351. lloth i11 the past lllltl today HiglIlklllti'S Board of Education has bee11 made llll ot' lllk-'ll Dl'0lllillPlli in the COI11l1ll1Ilily and devoted to its welfare. It is ot' interest to note tl1at our present Board is comp-osed of one banker. one doctor, one dentist, ,and four others engaged in business, This is fairly representative of many Boards of the past and accounts for the t'act that our school has always been run efficiently. Few communities are so 1'ortunate as to have a Board which is professional in its dealings with both faculty and community. Une task ol' the Board ill early times seems to have been to sell the idea ot' a public school education to the community. Many people were content to have their children taught privately in the early days, and tl1e .xinerican idea of a common school education for all was slow i11 taking root, Later. the Board n111st have had trouble in justifying the establish- ment ot' a high school, for the secondary branch was established late and git-w to a t'o11r-year school very slowly. As late ,as 1900 the Germanic lllfillt'llt't' was still strong and there was much emphasis on German in- struction. Une problem i11 the last two decades has been to Americanize the instruction Ellld provide a broader and 111ore modern ctirriculum. The HtHll'ti may take pride in the fact that o11r school now has an excellent t'lll'I'iC'llllllll t'or a town of this size. The seniors ot' 1937 wish to voice their appreciation to the Board for the excellent educatioizal opportunities provided for them during their years i11 the Highland Public Schools.

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THE STORY OF l-IIGHLA D and monument business: Samuel Krebs, photographer and musician: Thomas Korrlnk, founder of a carriage factory: Selmar Pabst from Saxony, a stockholder in Kinne and Company, director of the First National Bank, and President of the Board of Education: Dr. Gallus Rutz, physician, teacher, editor, and postmaster. Highland has always been interested in music. The first orchestra was formed by Charles and Frederick Kinne, Edward Hammer, and Joseph, Melchior, David and John Suppiger in 1840. The first singing s0Ciety was formed in 1850 under the direction of Julius Hammer. In 1855 the grand singers' festival of the Western Saengerbund was held on Koepfii's hill, and in the next year the Highland singers won first place when the festival was held in St. l10lllS- The present Harmonie dates back to 1867. Several other early Organize-il0nS Should be n1enll0hed- A Literary or Library Association was organized December 9, 1859. LeCt11I'eS were given by eminent scholars. When the society dissolved in 1369. it Save H valuable collection of books to the Turnvereln, and later the books were given to the public school. The Helvetia Sharpshooters' Society was organized in 1860. Lindendale Park was donated by Joseph and Solomon Koepfii to the group. Many festivals have been held there- Highland is the cradle of organized sharpshooters in the United States. The Highland Gymnastic was built in 1869. It was well equipped A regular teacher was employed by the has waned. There were no churches in Highland schools. In 1845 the German Protestant the school the stone building on the site Society was organized in 1866. A Turner Hall for its time and the center of many gatherings. organization. In recent years, this organization for some time. Services were held in the first Congregation was organized and took over from of the present Evangelical Church. Another hllilfllng WHS e1'eCied in l373- It WHS remodeled in 1921 and 1935. The longest pastorate in the history of the church WRS that of Rev. C. E. Miche from 1916 to 1931. The present pastor is Rev. O. C. Bassler. The German Catholic Church was organized in 1843 and in 1846 a frame Church WHS C0n1DleIed- After the erection of a brick church in 1856, the old building was used as a school and iS now part of St. Paul's Hall. Father Marogna was the first priest who held regular services. A convent building housing a young ladies' seminary as well as an elementary school, was completed in 1866. The church group now has remodeled its church, built a new rectory in recent years, and maintains a twelve year school. St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital was built in 1879 and enlarged three times, the last in 1927. A German Methodist Church was organized in 1847. It lasted about sixty-five years. The Congregational Church grew out of a French church started by a Rev. Francis vuuiet, a political exile from Switzerland in 1848. The French Evan- gelical Church was built on Methodist Hill. In 1876 the group joined the Southern As- scciation of C0ng!'egational Churches. Another building was constructed in 1887 at the corner of Eighth and Washington. It was remodeled in 1917. A parsonage was built south of the church. About 1930 it was replaced with a modern home. Now a new church is being constructed under the pastorate gf Rev, Wm, Steele, The fiI'St heWSD21De1'S in Highland were German. Der Highland Bote was published by Stradtinann and Karlen beginning 18 58. C. H. Seybt edited Die Union in 1863. Dr. Gallus Rutz later took over this paper and it became the Highland Union. John Hoerner edited the paper many years. The first English paper was the Highland Herald, estab- lished by business men in 1881. The Highland Leader was published after 1900 by Mr. Kurz at the Union office. The News was started by Drum and Hoffman. In 1913 A. P. Spencer bought the Leader and later the News. Today he and Edgar Hoffman edit the combined News Leader. The Highland Journal began in 1893. It has been edited by Weiss, Weiss and Utlger, John Stokes, and Vernon Ittner since 1933. Highland was incorporated as a village in 1865 and Jacob Eggen was first president of the village board. In 1867 the town voted a sum of money to get the railroad from Vandalia through Highland. The road was completed in 1868 and eight years later the debt was paid. Highland became a city in 1884 with Fred Suppiger as first mayor. The city has been economical but progressive. It was one of the first towns in the county t0 have electric lights. Since 1901 the plant has been owned by the city. A city hall was built in 1884. The town has its waterworks, its sewage disposal plant, In 1928-29 all the streets were paved. Many industries established in Highlands first fifty years have now disappeared, but others have taken their places, One of the most outstanding is the Helvetia Milk Con- densing Company established in 1885, Under the presidency of Louis Latzer this company expanded into a big organization, In 1921 the offices were moved to St. Louis. The small brewery started by John Guggenbuehler passed eventually into the hands of Martin Schott under whom it made remarkable development. It was incorporated HS lhe High' land Brewing Company in 1884, Mr, Schott's sons carried on the business after his death. Prohibition closed the plant, but in 1933 under the name of the Schott Brewing Company it was reopened. The Highland Embroidery Works was founded in 1881 by John Rush but it was soon taken over by J. J. Spindler Sr. and others. Its products ranked very high and were known all over the nation. About 1930 the plant closed but it has opened recent- ly on a small scale. The Wicks Pipe Organ Company started in 1908. It is now well known Kcontinued on Page 811

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SUPERI TE DE P. L. Ewing Highlands first public school principal was A. G. Doyle who served in 1837. Other early principals were John Baer, William Florin, Adolph Suppiger, Theodore Adelmann, W. A. Stille Ph. D., W. M. Valentin, and O. F. Weber. The name of C. L. Dietz, however, is the most closely assoclatcd with the early development of education in High- land. Mr. Dietz became principal and eighth grade teacher in 1886 after serving one year each in grades three and seven. He acted as superintendent and high school teacher from 1894 to 190-1 and from 1919 to 1927 .Though not college-bred, Mr. Dietz was an alert school man and a capable administra- tor. A strict disciplinarian, he inspired the best in his pupils. Three generations of Highland children grew up under the influence of this well-read, deep-thinking, cultured gentleman. Another name which will be written large in the story ot' Highlands educational development is that of our present superintendent, Parmer L. Ewing. Under his administration our curriculum has been lIl0d6l'lliZ9d, the standards of our teachers raised, our high school made a member of the North Central Association, our present junior high system organized, and our new school planned, built, and put in smooth running order. To Mr. Ewing and to Mr. White, our principal, the seniors of 1937 express gratitude t'or careful guidance during our four years in high school. J. J. White