Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

Page 8 text:

“This is Falmouth Town Book. Six shillings cost,” proclaimed the large scroll letters of the introduction to Falmouth’s first history, compiled over 200 years ago by an unknown clerk. At that time, Falmouth already had a century of history; records of births, marriages, and deaths since the first settler arrived in 1660. The fountain at the village green The early settlers realized the value of training minds as well as hands to work in this new, rough, sandy-soiled land. Public records, like those which had been kept in the old days in Europe, had to be made, and each At Nobska Point Falmouth grew in size yearly with the arrival of new families with children whose education had to be determined. The Katharine Lee Bates’ house Falmouth Harbor year, town meetings sat for proceedings which had to be set doivn on paper. Manual labor wrested a living from sea and shore, and mental labor recorded it — a silent witness to the works of man in Falmouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony. A roaring fire, Bibles, and hornbooks were the educational surroundings of the first Falmouth students. 4

Page 7 text:

, pubVic l arv fa l m °u,A ■ 0 25 0 ImoutK ■ ■ ”■ fa MR. MARSHALL’S MESSAGE . Mr. Russell B. Marshall, Principal In this country the task of preparing for citizenship is the foremost problem faced by every educational insti- tution. We have an ideal, the ideal of democracy. In practice we frequently fall below this ideal, but it serves its function nonetheless. Democracy’s ultimate safeguard is the enlightened conscience of the citizen. Being a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” it must depend for perpetuation upon the moral integrity of the people. The schools have helped each of you to form the right basic habits, personal attitudes, and emotional reactions required in good citizens. It is my earnest hope that through the years the graduates of L.H.S. will by their actions, interest, and cooperation hold precious the ideals of democracy. The young people of tod ay have a great responsibility, the responsibility of carrying on the ideal of democracy and applying it to the many problems facing the world. The dignity of humanity, one of the essential concepts of democracy, requires that racial antagonisms be mini- mized. Your school life has contributed to both your understanding and appreciation of the customs and habits of other peoples. Your faith and belief in the future of democracy, demonstrated by the inception of the AFS program for next year, must contribute to the cause of peace. These are the ideals of democracy. Your adherence to them can be your great contribution to a better life. SECRETARIAL STAFF Mr. Merson’s hard-working staff is composed of Miss Martha Tavares, Miss Alberta Donahue, Executive Secretary, and Miss Regina Peck. Not pictured, Mrs. Clough. 3 Mr. Marshall’s Secretary Mrs. Nancy Bullard i s as- sisted by Lois Smith.

Page 9 text:

Falmouth Town Hall Falmouth Community Center Hard ivork and large families were the order of the day for Falmouth, and learning out of a book in those days rarely went beyond the sixth grade, with only such individuals as selectmen and clerks continuing their education to assume the responsibility of putting quill to paper to record the happenings in the modest, little town. A small school house contained the extent of Falmouth education until the early 1880’ s when Shubael Lawrence, wealthy descendant of an old and respected Cape family, gave a parcel of land to the community , on which to build a school for students who wished to study beyond the sixth grade level. His only condition concerning this gift ivas that the new school be named after him. Thus, on March 7, 1885, Lawrence Academy was incorporated. Scarcely thirty students, and sometimes as few as ten, made up the student body of Lawrence Academy in the early years, presided over by a single teacher and principal. Under the direction of Mother or an older sister the flickering firelight was the setting for recitation of ABC’s from the hornbook, the Lord’s Prayer, hymns, and bible passages. Falmouth’s own Ichabod Crane arrived in 1 720 — a schoolmaster hired for the yearly salary of board, room, and meals. His material was basic, consisting of little more than an elaboration of the home-spun education which had flourished before his coming. L.H.S. across Shiverick’s Pond 5