McAlester High School - Dancing Rabbit Yearbook (McAlester, OK)

Page 9 text:

Q, 19111121111 Mag The founder of the lVlcAlester Publlc School System to whose untlrmg efforts and scholarly attalnments the McAlester schools are lndebted for what they have been for much they are and wlll be m the future we the members of the Class of l9l l ln lovlng remembrance of hrs past kmdness and efforts for our welfare dedlcate th1s book txgf 4 Qt gt A tsl tk Lutsiits Im hi! 'n 6 O f lf a Q' N Q X J! lll' I Fl If e 1 f 1 ,. QQ, ll HX A tl X A H'-ul Q ' SJ fr K5 . in 09541 J sffll 1 '

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Elnrvmnrh ln the year V900 the flrst publxc school system of lVlcAlester was inaugurated wrth Wllllam Cray as superxntendent and prmcrpal Prror to thus trme there had exrsted only lndlan schools from whrch the whrtes were excluded lVlcAlester was one of the first towns rn Oklahoma to endeavor to remedy thrs great evll by establlshmg a system of publlc rnstructlon As there were no funds whatever for school purposes the burden of supportrng the schools fell entrrely upon the clty taxpayers But the crtrzcns of lVlcAlester were not to be daunted by any undertakmg however onerous and wrth true cmc prrde they organrzed a publrc school system They secured a large frame burldmg on Adams avenue and Second street for tem porary school quarters and there ln September of l900 the hlgh school had nts humble begmmng The Hrst class was graduated from the lVlcAlester Hrgh School rn 1903 when twelve students succeeded rn obtaxnmg therr dlplomas But the people proud as they were of thelr crty and wlth therr love for hne bulldmgs could not long be contented wrth such a structure as was the old burldxng on Second street Wrth the rapxd Increase of the populatron and wxth the growrng prosperrty ofthe crty there came an argumented lnterest rn school aflaxrs The questxon was soon rarsed whether lVlcAlester should erect modern school bulldrngs lmmedrate steps were taken 1n regard to the matter but as all buslness pretarnmg to lndran lqerrrtory had to pass through the hands of Secretary of the lnterxor Hrtchcock there followed a long perlod of delay Fmnally after the crtrzens of lVlcAlester had almost despa red of ever possessrng a sultable school burldmg for thelr chlldren permrsslon was glven for the xssuxng of the necessary bonds The work was carrled rapidly to completion and with the dawning of statehood and the entrance of Oklahoma mto the glorrous slsterhood of states the chrldren passed out from the rtckety old burldlngs mto modern up to date edrhces that would do credlt to a much larger city than lVlcAlester The especral delrght of the puplls were the large assembly hall the sclence laboratorles the well equlpped gymnasium and the convenient reference llbrary Only those who had suffered from the IDCODVCHICHCCS of the old structure could fully appreciate the new Too much praxse cannot be gxven to the teachers who labored so farthfully dunng thus perrod Some of these instructors haxe been excellent and xnspmng hgures rn the development of the school Among these rs MISS Lrlllan Lee vsho came to the school rn l902 and served as prrncrpal for two terms It IS prrncrpally through her xnllucnce that the hrstory department has attained its present standard Another lmportant hgure ln the development of the school IS Mr B H Locke who became connected wrth the school rn l905 as prmcrpal The school had mcreased so raprdly rn numbers that a spmt of drsobedlence had arrsen To lVlr Locke belongs the credrt of rnfusrng mto the school that sprrxt of orderlmess and good wrll whrch has for the last few years been so promment a feature of the hrgh school llfe A half year later Miss Eleanor Stratton became assocrated wrth the school rn the Englrsh department She made the hrst dnstmctron between the grammar department and the regular four years Englrsh course rn the hrgh school Mass Stratton worked out an outlrne for the regular four years work xncludrng the classic readmg and composrtlon work and the school rs now grven credrt for four years of work by all the colleges and umversrtles of hrgh standlng ln 1907 Mr Gay reslgned as superrntendent of the schools on account of rll health and Leslre T Huffman of Galena Kansas was elected to succeed hrm Durmg the same A v - r - v y - Q r v u v , . 1 V , . y v -- , - s y v - , , 1 r. , . . . , , . . . . , , . . . u v . , , .