Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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across the Delaware the night be- fore the battle of Trenton. “Old Ironsides,” — the “Constitution” — was built in 1797, and oak timbers for her stout beams were cut and hauled from Georgetown. Theo- polus Parsons, one of Essex County’s most prominent politicians, had much influence in rejecting the con- titution of the colonies as it was first framed, and also in its rejuve- nation under President John Adams. Essex County has been a leader also in the development of public schools and other great educational movements. Dummer Academy, in Byfield, established in 1763, is the oldest academy in the country. One of Dummer’s famous graduates was Commodore Preble, or “Peppery” Preble, as his friends called him — the outstanding figure in the Amer- ican navy during the war with Trip- oli, when the “Schoolboy Captains” — Decatur and Bainbridge — made history with their naval exploits. Mary Lyon, a pioneer in the field of higher education for women, who founded the Ipswich girls’ seminary in 1806, and who was also the founder of Mount Holyoke College, attended the Byfield Seminary, which was the first one of its kind in America. At the present time, Essex Agricultural School is one of the finest in the country. In the field of literature, Essex County has two famous poets. Anne Bradstreet, the first woman poet to gain recognition in this country, came to Ipswich with her family in 1635, and lived here for eight or nine years. It is pleasing to note that she did practically all of her writing during her residence in Ips- wich. She was typical of the pion- eer women of America, and though her poems are not read today, they stand out from the stilted, pedantic writings of her time as expressive of true poetic instinct. The other poet whom Essex County can claim is John Greenleaf Whittier, whose pastoral “Snowbound,” is familiar to nearly everyone. He was a na- tive of Haverhill, and lived much of his life in Amesbury. His simpli- city and sincerity rank him among the foremost poets of America. Per- haps our greatest pride in literature is Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose novels, particularly “The Scarlet Letter,” will undoubtedly live for ever in the annals of literature. He was born in Salem, “the witch city” — and the greater part of his life was spent there. No American au- thor excels him in character analy- sis. In 1623, three years after the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, there was a small but flourishing settle- ment at Cape Ann — a settlement of people who lived by fishing. Fish- ing was the first industry to be es- tablished in New England, and Gloucester and Rockport at Cape Ann, are today great fishing and ship-building centers. Later the textile industry began to gain a foothold in New England. The first textile mill in America was built at Rowley in 1643, and here the towns- people took their homespun cloth to be “fulled.” This process smooth- ed and straightened the fabric and took off any loose threads. For contrast, we might compare the mills at Lawrence, which, at one time, were turning out 500 miles of cotton cloth a day. The manufac- ture of shoes has long been an out- standing industry in New England, and Haverhill and Lynn have long been leading shoe centers, employ- ing hundreds of workers. The first machine for making wooden shoe pegs completely revolutionized the industry, and pegs were then sold at the amazing price of two dollars a bushel. Salem, in the time of the clipper ships, was a large seaport, and many a square-rigger would leave old Derby wharf, never to be heard from again till it returned, laden with teas, silks, and spices from the glamorous East, nearly a 17

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matter how great the distance sep- arating them. These inventions are the major inprovements in communication in the past century. There are count- less minor ones that are of value but which are too numerous to men- tion. The importance of these in- ventions is made vivid by looking into our own lives and seeing how some one invention has become a necessity to us. The rapidity in growth and popularity of some of these inventions is also remarkable. The radio for instance; there is probably not a person in the class of twenty-nine who cannot remem- ber the first murmurs of an instru- ment called the radio, and the thrill exp erienced when first hearing one The world is moving on ; new inven- tions are brought to light every year. It is, therefore, up to all of us to be alive to present day pro- gress and to encourage new and greater achievements. ESSEX COUNTY, ITS PLACE IN HISTORY Dorothy Dunn The town seal of Ipswich bears this inscription : “the Birthplace of American Independence, 1687.” Although, perhaps this statement might be disputed, sufficient proof for it can be found in the town rec- ords. In fact, Essex County as a whole, though but a very tiny part of the United Stattes, can claim an important role in the development of our country. Here, in 1629, came the settlers from England, sent by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Here lived the Agawam Indians, whose chief was Musconominet. This fa- mous Indian chief, who was buried on Sagamore Hill in Hamilton, could claim as his domain all the land south of the Merrimac River. The original deed by which Musco- nominet transferred the territory of Agawam, now Ipswich, to John Winthrop is preserved in the Essex Institute at Salem. Here, in 1687, occured the first real protest in the country against tatxation without representation, and it is on this in- cident that Ipswich bases her claim as the birthplace of American Inde- pendence. Sir Edmund Andros, the tyrannical governor of Massachu- setts, who sought to carry out the often unreasonable demands of the king, had laid an unjust tax on the people of this and neighboring towns. A town meeting was called on August 23, 1687, and here. Rev- erend John Wise, pastor of Chebac- co Parish made a stirring speech in which he enforced the doctrines la- ter embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Rufus Choate, a well known lawyer and a native of Essex, spoke of this opposition in his lecture, in 1834, on the two hun- dredth anniversary of the founding of Ipswich. He said : “In this, the darkest day that New England ever saw, it is grateful to pause and com- memorate an act of this town of Ipswich: which deserves, I think, an honorable place in the universal history of liberty.” We always think of the first bat- tle of the .Revolution as taking place at Lexington on the nineteenth of April, 1775. But, in the February of that year, the first armed resis- tance took place at the North Bridge in Salem. A company of British soldiers sought to cross the bridge. They were warned that if they tried to cross, they would be fired upon. Incidently they did not cross the bridge, but went back the way they had come. Thus, though not a shot was fired, the first vic- tory of the war was won, — in Essex County. When the harbors of Bos- ton and New York were blockaded during the war, Essex County fish- ermen furnished the navy. When, in 1776, Washington called for vol- unteers, Essex County sent her quo- ta, and fishermen from Marblehead rowed Washington and his men 16

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year and a half later. What a wealth of old romance lives in the history of New England, — and especially Essex County. Vis- ions of grim, painted Indian war- riors, stern, dark-cloaked Puritans, blue-coated rebels and red-coated British ; the first law-makers of our country — the signers of the Decla- ration of Independence and draf- ters of our Constitution — all these are brought to the mind of him who would delve into the early history of our country — and a surprisingly large proportion of this history can be attributed to our own part of New England — Essex County. In the words of Joseph Hodges Choate, himself a famous lawyer and son of Essex County — “He is an unreason- able creature, who, having Ameri- ca for a country, Massachusetts for a state, and Essex County for a home, is not satisfied.” CLASS PARTS CLASS HISTORY Frank Raymond In June of the year 1925 about seventy pupils, the majority of which now constitute the class of ’29 were informed by the teachers of the Junior High School that they would enter Manning High in the following September. Upon entering high school, we were given programs to fill out up- on which were stated the subjects and the recitation room of each. These programs were of little aid to us, but we managed to arrive at class even though a little late. After a few weeks had passed and we had adjusted ourselves to our new surroundings and acquaint- ed ourselves with our new class- mates from Rowley, we held our first class meeting. We elected tem- porary officers and in January elect- ed our officers for the year as fol- lows: Stanley Machaj, president; John Roper, vice president; Barbara Damon, secretary; and William Marr, treasurer. Our first event of note as a class organization was a social in Novem- ber. Everyone had an enjoyable time being initiated into the intri- cacies of seven-in and seven-out and other games, except for those who took refuge among the settees and behind the doors. Stunt night be- ing the next social event of inter- est, we decided to show our talent by putting on a doll show. The dolls may have been there, but the talent was missing. Time then passed uneventfully until one June day when Mr. Whip- ple, in accordance with a time hon- ored custom, read points in chapel. Those of us who had weathered the gales of the freshman year heard with elation our names read for three points. Thus were we reas- sured of our dignified status as sophomores. Upon returning to school in Sep- tember, we took our places as such and turned with eagerness to see the freshmen initiated, forgetting that it had been only a year since we had submitted to the mysterious and solemn rites ourselves. Of course, we took no part in the ad- ministration of these rites. Our class officers — Dorothy Dunn, president; Norman Baxter,vice president: Ruth Beals, Secretary ; and William Marr, treasurer, were elected, and the first weighty problem which presented itself was whether or not we should invite the junior or senior class to our annual social. The girls seemed to have more friends among the senior boys. Consequently, the seniors were invited. This social proved more enjoyable than the previous one had been, mainly be- cause there were no wall flowers. Following mid-year examinations we once more contributed our bit to stunt night by performing in a pro- fessional manner, “The Waterloo of Bluebeard.” It was indeed a 18