Morenci High School - Copper Cat Yearbook (Morenci, AZ)

Page 8 text:

Town and 6 mill in the early 1900's, site of the present high school building. Our alma mater under construction in Feb- ruary, 1949. Metcalf High School was in operation from approximately 1905 to 1921. After it closed, students were bused to the new Morenci High School. The brick building. Morenci’s first school, is located in the center of this picture of the town in the early 1900’s. !■ rl .A - it ' i % . . « H .V V • 'f. • i ' L AJffilLi . •: in mi mi nimir imim m i i i IlEi iiBK m i m tiimii b s e ii +WWWW wwwww m - — - -

Page 7 text:

Inside Front Cover: The entire high school complex, as seen in this aerial photo, will soon become part of Morenci’s history. Today’s typing students, Lisa Franco and Terri Anderson, work on modern electric ma- chines—quite a contrast to the typewriters used in the typing room in the first Morenci High School building. Being measured for a cap and gown is a long-standing requirement prior to gradu- ation. Helping to compile the figures for the class of ’82, Kathy Crotts measures fellow classmate, Karen Shupe. THE YEAR PARTICIPATION EDUCATION COMPETITION POPULATION FRESHMEN SOPHOMORES JUNIORS SENIORS COMMUNITY 26 50 72 106 108 111 111 117 130 ONE OF A KIND- 3

Page 9 text:

A GLANCE IB ACL In 1902, a budget of $1000 was allocated to edu- cate Morenci’s first high school student, Miss Merna Robison. Miss Robison occupied a seat in one of the grade school classrooms located in the one-story brick building, later to be known as the Longfellow Building. Graduating in May of 1906, Miss Robison was both the first and only high school graduate until 1908 when three students went through commencement exercises. A second story was added to the brick building in 1907 and a large classroom was set aside for high school use. The building continued to be used for both high school and elementary students until about 1918 when the high school classes were moved to the old Episcopal Church, which also housed the American Legion Hall on the bottom floor. In 1919, Morenci’s first high school building was completed. The structure was eight half-stories and was constructed in such a way that each floor had a ground level entrance. Ramps, rather than stairs, were used between floors. When fire drills were held, students enjoyed sliding down the spiral fire escape to the ground below. A machine shop, woodshop, and garage for auto mechanics were located on the bottom floor of the structure. An auditorium with a stage, which also served as a gym, was located on the top floor. A net was set up at the end of the elevated court to keep the basketball players from falling off and to prevent the ball from hitting the spectators. A large study hall was located on the main floor. The entire student body would gather there the first thing each morning for group singing before going to class. Due to the language problem incurred by the Mexi- can and Indian students moving to Morenci, students were often as old as 21 before graduating from high school. Separate primary grade classrooms were maintained and youngsters were often kept in first grade for several years until they learned English well enough to be promoted. Following the stock market crash in 1929, copper prices plummetted and the Morenci operations were shut down in March of 1932. Mining did not resume until the pit opened in the fall of 1941. School enroll- ment dropped considerably during the 30’s as many people packed up their belongings and left town. Undaunted, however, the community and its schools hung on. fflorenct $igfj Retool jHorrnct. 3n ona Chi» Certifir Chat 'Eloina “iB. Arricto toa fomplrteb Ibr Cotirsr of frfubtr» prrafribtb bp fljr BoarS of Cbucatton anb is ibrrrfotr atoarbrb this Bijilcma 6tbtn tb« nstnip-tourfb bap of JUjp. onr tbousanb mnr bunbrrb anb lbulp tibr. A diploma presented to Elvira Arrieta in 1935. The old high school, pictured in the 20’s, with it’s five-story slide spiral fire escape. We really should remember it It’s been a part of our life We’ve lived through it in happiness We’ve lived through it in strife But now we are all leaving It is time for us to depart And we’ll remember the memories deep, within our heart. Keven Sterling A GLANCE BACK-5