Luther L Wright High School - Hematite Yearbook (Ironwood, MI)

Page 26 text:

MANUAL TRAINING. Manual Training has been a regular course in the public schools of Ironwood since the year 1908 when regular work was begun from the eighth grade up. During the last two years the boys of the sixth and seventh grades have been instructed in the simpler courses. The Manual Training course consists of bench work, cabinet-making, woodturning, patternmaking, foundry work, machine shop work, and blacksmithing. 1 he Manual Training building is a large two-story structure containing numerous rooms for the different kinds of work. The basement is used for foundry work and blacksmithing. The equipment is of the best kind to insure satisfactory work. In the foundry room which is on the right are materials for casting and molding. In one corner is a cupola that is used for the melting of iron when casting. The room across is the forge-room. 1 his room is equipped with forges and anvils for blacksmith work. The forges are provided with a very convenient blast and exhaust system. Besides these rooms there are also several storerooms and a boiler room. On the second floor are the machine shop and the wood-turning rooms. The machine shop contains six large lathes for metal turning, a planer, a milling machine, a shaper, two drills, a saw, and two grinders. All these machines are run by electric power. This room also has a tool-cage where all tools are kept. A check system is used to keep track of all tools given out. Time and job-cars on which each is given the time and cost for doing a certain job have been used this year for the first time. The wood-turning room which is right across from the machine shop is larger than the latter. There are eighteen wood-turning lathes in this room to each of which is attached a work bench with all necessary tools for carpenter work and cabinet-making. The larger pieces of machinery in the room are saws and planers. The upper floor is used for bench work and mechanical drawing. 1 he bench-work room has a set of twenty-two work-benches each with the necessary tools. The drawing room is larger and is equipped with twenty-four desks each containing a drawing set. The courses in Manual Training are divided according to the grades beginning with the sixth grade. The bench or carpenter-work is begun in the sixth grade and continued through the eighth. The ninth grade boys spend a semester at cabinet-making and one at wood-turning and the tenth grade boys have wood-turning one semester and foundry work the next. The machine shop and blacksmith work are also divided in the same way. The drawing classes are from the seventh grade up, each successive grade taking a more advanced course. 21

Page 28 text:

John Somppi, the valedictorian of the class of 1913, is a fine type of student. He is a good example of what the Ironwood school system develops when a boy with industry and spirit avails himself of its opportunities. John has become what he is, a noble, manly fellow with any amount of ability, by virtue of two distinct forces; first the one of inheriting from his parents splendid qualities of mind, and heart and body, the other of attending the Ironwood schools through the twelve grades, thus having the advantage of a system so flexible as to meet the individual needs of each and every student and to insure the highest development of every faculty. Surely this school was the agency that brought his many talents to the light. It has proved him to be a most versatile fellow. Any student of the high school can tell you of his prowess on the grid- iron, of his talent as an artist, of his skill in the use of machinery; but his most impressive characteristic is his utter trustworthiness. People will put their money into his bank, or will feel safe in riding behind the locomotive of which he is the engineer, or will tell him their troubles, knowing that he will not abuse their confidence. We predict for him a career of noteworthy achievement and we will not be disappointed if he keeps his present vigorous health. His average for the four years is 94.7. DOROTHY Snavely, the Salutatorion, was a close second for the highest honor of her class, receiving an average of 94.2 for her four years’ work. That she richly deserves the place, is beyond question. The school is fortunate in being able to bestow an honor upon one so worthy. She, too, is a product of the Ironwood schools. From the time she entered the kindergarten up through the present year, she has joined heartily in its activities. In the recitation room she was ever alert, ever ready, and the uniformly excellent standings of her class, have been due in great measure to the inspiration of her leadership. But more than that, her enthusiasm has pervaded the entire school and quickened the spirit to a marked degree. She has had free scope for the exercise of her abilities and she utilized it in such a way as to leave the impress of her personality upon the school. We need not detail the things that she has accomplished, nor the many talents she has exhibited. It is enough to say that students and teachers alike, keenly regret that her connection with the high school, is to end in June. However, much of the credit of her success is due to her parents, for in addition to endowing her with superior mental equipment, they have given to her work, intelligent supervision and to her teachers cordial co-operation. 26