Lorraine High School - Yearbook (Lorraine, KS)

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the board to sell the old school building and site, and C10 to form a rural high school district. RURAL HIGH ORGANIZED On June 29, 1920, a meeting was called by H. Coover, the county super- intendent, for the purpose of electing a board of education for the newly organized Rural High School District No. 1. M. M. Rathbun was elected director, Oscar Wilkens, clerk, and V. H. Wagner, treasurer. Satan ,.....rcc ,T x-A-oo SESS? sl I E I 5 2 3 1 I A. C. Adams became the f irs t administrator of the Rural High School, serving three years, 1920- 23. On March 12, 1921, the new building was completed at a cost of 564,11-I-7.36 and was accepted by the board of District No. 26. DEDICATION OF NEW BUILDING The Ellsworth Reporter of March 214-, 1921, reports: IfOnI Thursday, March 17, fl92lJ, at rss: ...Wil S K 1 S 2 Y LORRAINE SCHOOLS - Dedicated March 17, 1921 High school and grade school shared building until 1951. . . . the new 565,000 building was dedicated with fitting ceremonies. School was dismissed for the day, and long before twelve o'clock autos and buggies unloaded their occupants, who had come to participate in the memorable affair. Promptly at twelve o'clock the doors of the building were thrown open, and for several hoursa steady stream of people passed 1 GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM - 1924-25 Champions of Central and Southwestern Kansas BACK ROW: Coach E. D. Meacham, Letha Schmidt Swanson, Alberta Weihe Thomas, Margaret Kruse Hunt, Maurine Hays Todd, Marie Weihe Ronan FRONT RCM: Thelma Hays Wilkens, Thelma Janzen Kinner-, Margaret Hays Campbell, Vada Wagner 4 Rolfs, Margaret Sullivan Andersen, Mathilda Heitschmidt Doyle

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Ed Roth became administrator in the fall of 1909 and served in that capacity for one year. Bernard Friesen then assumed the prin- cipalship and held that position for three years, 1910-13. In 1911 the state legisla- ture passed a law requiring all beginning teachers, after May, 1913, to have at least one year's training in a good high school before being certified, after 1915, at least two years' training, and after 1917, four years' training. Fred C. Mil 1 er served as the school's administrator from 1913 to 1915. He was fol- lowed by A. J. Voran, who held the position for two years, 1915-17. It was during this time that it was decided that a fourth year, beginning in the fall of 1917, should be added to the high school. As a result there were no graduates in 1917. It is believed that the fourth year was added so that grad- uates of the high school could comply with time above-mentioned law and qualify as teachers. This is further substantiated by the fact that the board of education on April 13, 1917, passed a resolution nto con- tract with andldre graduates of the Lorraine Union School if they qualify as teachers.u Fortheschoo1year19l7-18, Harry H. Haury annual school served as principal. At the meeting on April 12, 1918, a motion carried to hold a special meeting for the purpose of changing the school site. On April 22, 1918, SENIOR CLASS PLAY - April 29, 1920 Presented in a tent the year before the new school was completed. IN BACK: Ernst Schroeder, Irene Wagner Mollhagen, Mary Miller Craw- ford, Genevieve Sullivan Bell, Emma Miller Davis, Nellie Schmidt Schroeder, John Groth, Alva Steinberg Janzen, Horace Pfeiffer, Harold Froning, Mabelle Roskam IN FRONT: Ruth Peters Staeber, Julius Pfeiffer, Dorothy Brown, Edna Schmidt Janzen, Mildred Froning Smith I the question, HSha1l the schoolhouse site be changed?n was submitted to the voters of the district who passed the proposition by atwo- thirds majority. NEW SCHOOL BUILDING PROPOSED Charlotte Morton,the first and only woman to become principal of the high school, held that position for one year, 1918-19. At the annual meeting on April 11, 1919, the board presented descriptions of three proposed sites.Themotion carried that the board call a special meeting for the purpose of voting on the proposed sites. A motion to build a new schoolhouse also carried. The board was then directed to invite District No. 74 to join District No. 26. Thus, District No. 74 became the last school district in Green Gar- den Township to consolidate with District No. 26,making H.L. Steinberg's Hdreamn a reali- ty some twenty years after it was first pro- posed. On April 21, 1919, the board contracted to purchase Blocks 16 and 17 of the Groth estate for S2,325, provided the patrons of the district approved. On April 25, 1919, a vote on three proposed sites resulted in 66 votes for the Groth site, one for the Willms site, and three for the Heiken site, S. S. Voigt was employed as architect,and on June 30,l919, bonds totaling 550,000 were voted for the con- struction of a new school building. On September 2, 1919, the contract for. the building was let, the board ac ce pt irlg the Wichita Construc- tion Company's bid for general con- tractor. School began on September 8, 1919, arxd A. J. Voran, who was the admin- istrator two years earlier, again as- sumed the respon- sibilityfor a one- year term. At the annual meeting on ' April 9, 1920, it 3 was ,agreed C13 to have a nine-month school term begin- ning September 6, 1920, C21 to levy Sl6,000 for school purposes and ex- penses in connec- tion with the new school building, C31 to authorize 3

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before tables laden with good things to eat. . . . Nothing was lacking. The women were there seeing that everyone had all he could eat and that things were going smoothly . . . It is estimated that 1,000 people were fed at the noon hour, and nearly that many stayed for supper. - During the afternoon, the Lorraine girls' basketball team played the Geneseo girls, and the Lorraine boys played the Geneseo b o y s . Both lost to Geneseo. The evening exercises included an expression of thanks from the board, some vocal numbers, a short talk from the county superintendent, and an address by the principal speaker, W. E. Huesner. The new brick structure had many modern conveniences-rest rooms, showers, fountains, steam heat, and electric lighting. BUILDING SHARED BY TWO DISTRICTS The Rural High School, which began opera- tion in the old white frame building, moved into the new building, occupying the second floor and the basement. District No. 26 oc- cupied the first floor. It was agreed by the two boards that the Rural High School would pay an annual rental to District No. 26 for that portion of the building occupied by the high school, plus one half the cost of cer- tain other expenses. No rental was charged for the high school's use of the old building. In the fall of 1923, E. D. Meacham became superintendent of schools and served in that capacity forty years, 1923-63. During the early twenties there was a steady increase in enrollment, and by 1925, fifty-five pupils were enrolled in the high school. School cur- riculum and school activities were expanded to meet the growing' needs of the pupils. Aside from academic achievements, the h igh school received, during the late twenties and early thirties, many trophies, awards, and honors, especially in musical activities, girls' basketball, and track. Later in the thirties, the school received several base- ball trophies. Enrollment continued to increase, and by 1940, sixty-six students were enrolled in the high school. Boys' basketball began to emerge as the dominate sport, and in 191-I-5 the Lorraine boys, playing in state competi- tion, received second-place honors in the semi-finals. Some consideration was enlarging the gymnasium as it was small and inadequate. Since the west side of the gym- nasium and the stage formed an outside wall of the building, the possibility of making the length of the present playing court the width of a new one and extending the build- ing westward to accommodate a new gymnasium was judiciously considered. being given to .l ELWYN DEES Winner of the State Meet in shot in l929-30- 3l. Set a new state record in 1929 of 58 feet 3 l!8 inches. Set a new interscholastic record at the University of Kansas Relays in 1930 of 58 feet 10 inches. On April 12, 19145, a motion was made and carried to appoint a committee to circulate a petition for a new gymnasium and other rooms as needed for school purposes. The idea of extending the present gymnasium was abandoned in favor of a new gymnasium as a separate building with the possibility of a few classrooms, language and chemistry being considered. Bonds amounting to 575,000 were voted. FI FTI ETH ANNIVERSARY Fifty years had passed since the organi- zation of the Lorraine Union School, and on Friday, May 21, 19'-I-8, the last day of school, Mrs. Merle Rathbun, president of the P.T.A, , presided at the fiftieth anniversary cele- bration. Walter Steinberg, son of H. L, Steinberg, represented the f i r s t s ch o o 1 board, Johanna Janssen represented the first teachersg and Emma Mohney Murphy represented the first high school graduates. E. D. Mea- cham, superintendent of schools, challenged 5