Middletown High School - Cauldron Yearbook (Middletown, CT)

Page 9 text:

In the commercial course, emphasis was placed upon typing, stenography and basic arithmetic. There was no manual training of any kind such as there is today. The demands upon the high school were much less than they are today. Not nearly so many young people attended high school then as now. Our education level seems to have been raised substantially over the years, meeting the requirements not only of the so-called Ivy League Colleges, but of the Stale Colleges and the Community Colleges as well. The whole base of education has broadened tremendously over the last 50 years; a highly desirable thing. Over the years the school has produced some outstanding women and men graduates, not all of whom ever attended a college, but became leaders in the business and social life of the communities where they went to live.

Page 8 text:

When we were attending Middletown High School, it had a student body of approximately 500. That was before additions were built on the school the present additions to the south and to the west were constructed after we had graduated. The principal at that time was Bull Woolsey , who, as his nickname implies, was rather a rough character, but nevertheless a fine man and educator. The Vice Principal was Julia Brazos, who had a tre- mendous influence upon the lives of us both and on all of her students. A Distinguished Alumnus Remembers In those days not many people went on to college. The curriculum was much simpler then than it is today, and not as good. It could be divided in two categories; commercial course, which prepared young women and men for business life after graduation, and the classical course, in which great emphasis was placed upon English Literature. History and Mathe- matics. the latter being largely plane and solid Geometry and A Igebra. The Past Gives Way

Page 10 text:

Around 1835, Middletown is still emphatically a river town. Ships still come in from far away countries with exotic foods, silks and other riches, and trade has always been brisk here too. But manu- facturing boasts a strong foothold while people are agitating for more, bigger and better things. The steam horse” and steam ferry mean more manufacturing, more business, and more buildings. There is a boom spirit in the air. It is the beginning of a new age. From Humble Beginnings Public education hasn't always prospered here as rapidly as times suggest. The few existing public schools typically reflect New Eng- land and then there are private secondary schools reflecting their own uniqueness. Wesleyan, for one. is now an eight year old col- lege, apparently indicating a general interest in education.