Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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no child under fourteen years of age should work fo)- a living-. Be- cause of this increase it had been found necessary to add to the Win- throp Building- and to use the Man- ning School exclusively for the use of the high school students. This increase was partly due also to the fact that ideas had changed con- siderably and a high school educa- tion was no longer considered a special privilege of the rich. Since that time, the number of students entering Manning each year in- creased by leaps and bounds, until in 1928 the building was condemned as unsafe by the Board of Public Safety, and although a fire escape was added, it has never yet been approved. This means that if a per- son should receive a serious acci- dent while in Manning such as fall- ing down stairs (a misfortune by the way that happens all too fre- quently) he or she could sue the town of Ipswich for a considerable sum of money. Another result of the increased population of Manning was the need for a good manual training de- partment. Although there had been such a department in operation for a number of years, it had always been considered as rather a hap- hazard and ill conducted course be- cause of the cramped quarters in the basement of the Winthrop building. However, last year the town donated part of the Green Street property to the use of this department, and under the leader- ship of Roderick MacDonald who came here from Leominster a few years ago, the “shop” has grov n in- to a clean and sanitary building which contains many of the latest inventions connected with this work. Two of its latest acquisitions are a printing press, given by the late Arthur Dow, and a turning- lathe, purchased with money earned by the boys themselves. Though the shop is very import- ant to the boys, of no less import- ance to the girls is the domestic science department. There, under the careful tutelage of Miss Whit- ney, the young housewives of to- morrow learn all the secrets of those arts necessary to the comfort and the neat appearance of a mod- ern home. Since for many years there had been felt the need for some sort of music other than vocal, in the spring of 1928 the Rotary Club, which has always shown a keen interest in the school and has con- tributed much to its welfare, decid- ed to organize a school band. They v ent to work and, by obtaining con- tributions from the alumni and many local organizations, they were able to purchase enough instru- ments to start a band. Under the expert guidance of Mr. Tozer the band flourished and at the present time there is not only a band but also a concert and a dance or- chestra. Because of these increasing ad- vantages to be obtained at Man- ning, the number of students has increased to 360 this year which number exceeds the capacity of the school by 160. There are thirteen full time teachers and three part time teachers, which you will notice is an increase of nine more pupils per teacher than in 1920. However, in spite of these cramped conditions each study is carried on with as 24

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Progress in Manning High School Since 1895 By Charles Sayward I N glancing back over the last forty years, one can observe the many changes which have taken place in Manning, not only in the size of the student body and in ath- letic interest but also in the type of subjects taught. In 1895, John P. Marston suc- ceeded Sharrington H. Baker as principal of Manning High School. It was in this year that a four year course was first introduced into the school. Formerly, it had been nec- essary for a student, desiring to enter college, to spend at least one year at a preparatory school after graduating. At the time of Mr. Marston’s appointment there were only fifteen pupils in the graduat- ing class. Indeed, there was so much feeling against a higher edu- cation, that the two rooms on the second floor provided ample space for the high school student body, the rest of the building being given over to the grammar school. There were two teachers besides Principal Marston who taught such subjects as Greek, Latin, botany, geology, astronomy, etc. Such subjects as economics, shorthand, bookkeeping, and mathematics were either disre- garded entirely or taken up for one year only. However, about the years 1915 a gradual change began to make itself felt throughout the schools of the nation, and. Manning, along with many others, cast away such subjects as astronomy, botany, and geology in favor of more practical subjects, such as economics, short- hand, and mathematics, which are considered to be of more direct value to the youth of today. Many people considered this as a symbol of the degeneration of the high schools from institutions of learning to commercial or industrial institu- tions. However, I feel that this way of looking at the change is not a true one, because I think that these people have disregarded the great change v hich has come over our economic world. The security of every person is threatened unless he has a background which enables him to cope with the severe com- petition which he encounters at every turn. This change in the policy of the schools called for an increase in the importance of athletics, so that when Robert Conary, a young grad- uate from Colby, came here in 1921 to teach chemisiry and science and offered to coach athletics also, his offer was gladly accepted. Since then with the aid of Mr. Burke, he has kept athletics up to a high standard in spite of many draw- backs which a lack of funds and lack of interest on the part of many of the townsfolk have created. When Mr. Whipple succeeded Mr. Marston in 1920 the student body had increased to 152 with eight full time teachers and three part time teachers. During Mr. Marston’s time the student body had increased rapidly. About the year 1916, a law was passed which decreed that 23

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much observance as possible of the standard set by the larger schools of the state. After observing this progress which has been accomplished in spite of the lack of interest by many of our townsfolk and oftentimes the lack of necessary funds, I think that we may now have a more com- plete comprehension of the grati- tude that we owe to the few execu- tives and various organizations which have made this progress possible. CLASS DAY PARTS. Class History 1935 By John Mackerron and Raymond Klinger O NE brilliant September morning the class of ’35, one hundred strong, entered Manning in a gay and carefree mood. Even now as one glances about there still re- mains evidence of this spirit on their shining faces. The exclusive freshman “tramp” social was one of the highlights of the year. “Billy” Poor, by the way, won the prize as the toughest look- ing tramp present. So popular was the social that Tilton, as I remem- ber, made a motion for a second, but although the class supported the measure, our faculty advisor dampened our ardor by informing us that it was customary to run only one social a year. However, an historical “pageant” helped to further liven up the year. Miss Robicheau played the piano at just the wrong moment, David Claxton forgot an important bit of his part, and to top it off, 1 forgot my cue and tried to make myself heard while Kendall Tilton was playing his trumpet. When we returned as sophomores we conducted a social with a touch of the true “sophie” sophistication. Even at this late date I have a vivid picture in my mind’s eye of the masculine sex standing sheepishly in the farther corners of the hall. On November 1, our husky males, together with the rest of the mascu- line element of M.H.S. marched to the Green Street property to labor with pick and shovel towards the completion of our athletic field. We can still laugh at the memory of “Howdy” Merry doubled up over a shovel much loo short for him. After lunch, a vicious rain squall drove even the strongest of us home. During our junior year the great question of the times was “rings” or “prom”. We decided on rings and chose a gold ring set with black onyx. However, grave doubts en- tered our masculine minds as to the durability of the stones which form- ed the setting. “Stan” Mason waxed eloquent on the subject but was finally convinced that the rings could stand the “gaff”. Some of us. 25