Humboldt High School - Red and White Yearbook (Humboldt, NE)

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The Cnty of Humboldt Humboldt the celestial city the nemesis of Richardson county per- haps not in terms of population for we 'are second only to Falls City in that respect but it leads by far in progiessiveness and prosperity Not only is Humboldt prosperous along the business line but it boasts of one of the most thorough yet practical schools in the county Old Humboldt High Oh! Many times have its youths sallied forth on the athletic field to match their prowess against that of other schools and uphold its traditional honor. Many times have they emerged from the fray with banners flying the smile of victorv lighting their countenances. Leaving the illustrious present and delving into the 'dark and mys- terious past, we find that not so long ago, sixty-one years, to be exact, the City of Humboldt was just about to come into existence. The country was at that time, as far as the eye could see, a huge rolling prairie. The gnlyii trees to be seen were the few straggling ones growing along the creek an s. O. J. Tinker, said to be the founder of Humboldt, came to Nebraska shortly before 1867. Tradition has it, that Mr. Tinker was brought down Long Branch Creek by John Scott, to the present site of the city. Mr. Scott is said to have received a dollar for his services. This led to the jocular remark that the fair City of Humboldt was founded for a dollar. I ll'Il4P.l':fl'4YIl4I.CG1l'lV,dWI'AlIl4U:l'ffl'l7Il4Y.C'1'l'lVI!AY:C llYI!Al:dr.fj-AVI! U4 4 i a r 1 . 9 o l ' r cc n 1 n V a v . e Mr Tinker, with several others, organized the town, set up one or two stores and gradually the town mcreased in size and importance. Thus be- gan the evolution from a paltry few who lived in sod or rough hewn cabins, to the hundreds that l1ve 1n the fine large comfortable homes of today These early citizens all of them hardy pioneers but possessing or in herltlng that desire or thirst for knowledge that characterizes the typical American accordingly organized and built the first school building of Humboldt So It was that in 1867 almost at the same time that Hum boldt was iecognlzed as a corporate body the first school was erected and instruction started The bulldlng erected for the sum of three hundred dollars now stands east of the James Poultry company and is occupied by Rlley O Keefe It was then known as the Grant school and there were ten pupils in the first class As time went on and pioneers settled in the town it became necessary to enlarge the building The second school was erected on the site of the present ward bu1ld1ng at a cost of five thousand dollars This later be came the Bohemian hall Humboldt was now fairly good S1Zed and conditions demanded a new and larger school In 1885 the present large building was completed at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars This too proved 1nsuff1c1ent to take care of the ever increasing number of students and 1n 1913 a new wing was bullt giving more spaclous room for classes dollars It contains the three lower grades and the gymnasium Page Seven 7 9 n ' y J ' ' . 9 1 I f ' ! u n I , , , . 1 1 ' ' , a . . u - . , I 1 - ' 4 , 1 n Q a c ! ! The ward school was constructed in 1923, at a cost of twelve thousand P I IIA Y 'Ad P 'I 'IIA I Ilia Dfl VIII F IM 9:1 VIII Y-II ,fliVfIA I lr, DJ I Ili D 'I VIII I lib I 'I VIII Y I I A S .

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THE NEW AND THE OLD

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If I l 'ffl A YIIA Us C fl I fl'lA U.-C 'alll YU 'IIA 'ui W-'I A YIXA P, 1 'N d 'IIA U- I 'ffl I 7114 U: 4 'ffl I YIXA U 1 The Humboldt schools now offer a well balanced course to its students, consisting of special courses in Normal Training, Commercial, Domestic Science, Manual Training, and Music, besides the regular College Prepar- atory course. The Humboldt schools have grown by leaps and bounds since 1867. There are now five or six hundred students on our roster. Along with the rapid development of our schools, we find that step by step, the other departments of the city's activities -developed in like pro- portion. The first store in Humboldt was owned and operated by the Nims brothers. It was on the outskirts of what is now Humboldt, but was later moved to the .south side of the present square. During this time other business and industrial enterprises were de- veloping. In 1875 O. A. Cooper built the first mill, which was Humboldt's first real industry. Later the ice plant and electric plant were started, an-d proved to be not only successes but gave added comfort and con- venience to those who were used to the old tallow candles and oil lamps. The brick yard on the west side of town is a later industry. It is said that the clay used in making these bricks and tile is unsurpassed in Nebraska. Then too, there is the Pop factory, which is also among the later de- velopments. Pop of a very good quality is made of pure spring water, bottled and shipped .to many points in the surrounding territory. Humboldt at this time supports three very fine churches, the Meth- odist, Christian, and Presbyterian, all of which are very progressive and have large congregations. The public library was established in 1884, through the generosity of Mrs. Lydia Bruun, who gave much that Humboldt might have a library up-to-date in every respect. Even today this institution retains her name in commemoration of the valuable way in which she served the townspeople of Humboldt. The first paper appeared in 1874. During the intervening years many others have appeared and faded until down through the years only one, The Standard, survives. The Standard has for many years served the people of Humboldt faithfully and readily. Up to a few years ago Richardson county had no fair or county gather- ing of any kind. It wa.s then in 1921, that the business men of Humboldt got together and inaugurated the first Fall Festival. A few years later the County Fair was organized and incorporated into the Festival at the suggestion of several neighboring towns. It too, has grown in vast pro- portions, the throng attending one day of the fair last year was estimated at fifteen thousand persons. The golf links north of town is another improvement that shows still more conclusively, that Humboldt is keeping pace with the world. Thus we find that after a relatively rapid development, Humboldt has sprung from a mere pioneer common-place, to heights undreamed of by our fore- fathers and, in parting, we wish to express our deepest affection for the many opportunities which she has offered us. -G. E. '28. Page Eight A I lllllruiflfllllUluPZIVIIIYUVA,:l7lIlYIruP3lVIIIYUIII-451171117'lui' VIIJUUIQP I ll