Odessa Montour Central High School - Odessanean Yearbook (Odessa, NY)

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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM 1854 - 1954 Odessa School, about 1877 mt Odessa Central, 1954

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This year, 1954, Schuyler County celebrates its Centennial, It was on April 17, 1854 that our county came into being with the county seat at Havana fnow Montour Fallsj. ln 1867 the county seat was relocated in Vlatkins. thus ending years of political strife. Today, one finds that agriculture is still one of its leading industries Alon b th 'd ' g o si es of Seneca Lake we find grape vineyards and orchards. Around Qdessa, The Little City on the Hill, we find a very prosperous poultry bus- iness. In other, parts of the county are farmers who raise cattle a d h Add'- n s eep. 1 tional industries within the county are two salt plants: one a branch of the Internatio al S l C n a t ompany, and the other The Watkins Salt Company. ln Montour Falls is located the Shepard-Niles Crane 8 Hoist Corporation This corporation is one of the largest manufacturers of cranes and h ' ' h oists in t e country. It provides employment for Montour Falls and adjoining areas. In Odessa, w fi d l - ' ' e n a arge and ever expanding lumber business - Cotton-Hanlon. Schuyler County has been called The Switzerland of A ' S merica, eneca Lake, the largest and the depst of the Finger Lakes, is thirty-six miles long and fro t fi ' ' ' ' ' m Wo to ve miles wide. Along its lovely shores, on either side, are grape vineyards and orchards, which are at their loveliest in the springtime. What follower of Isaac Walton has not heard of the famed Cathari C k d ' ne ree an its famous Rainbow trout? The opening day of trout season each year brings thousand f l ' ' ' ' s o ang ers to this creek and lake, Seneca Lake is also ideal for swima ming and sailing. Every summer Watkins Glen welcomes the many tourists, who come to view the famous Watkins Glen This was first o ened t t ' . p o ourists in 1863. ln 1911, it became the Watkins Glen State Fark. This is the hiker's paradise. Cam ers a d ' ' l p n picnic overs find this a perfect spot. Septemberf School Days, soon followed by the famous Watkins Glen International Grand Prix Road Race of America. This race for its first Eve years was held partl in th y e streets of the village. Last year it was held outside the village. for greater safety on a new course. TO SDIIGA FALLS 9 -.7 J sd X if 1 ilffag 0 f ,z 1 N f' ,' 'N lui 1,4 X E 9 SENEC' ff! ,1- 7 BURDETT Q' A7T- B 5 14 5 ix fi 6 ' 3 if 4 ,' 6 4 u .0 X warms GLEN N MONTOUR lltv 1: , WI FAL if G Z 0z7 'vigil SSA 5 ' J 2 TQ S 0 Q ' -ro 00 L

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This is the story of our educational strides from 1854 to 1954. Looking backward, we find that Odessa's first school was built in 1825. Schools of this period were primitive log structures, Only a few students were able to take advantage of their educational opportunities. The students followed paths or trails to attend classes. These early schools were heated by stoves, set up in the middle of the room. Students sat about this room on benches. The school-lboy of this era quenched his thirst at the dipper and pail fountain, The year 1838 found a new school built on the brow of Baptist Church Hill. In this school one might hear the spirited debates of the Odessa Lyceum. In 1877, a third building, a new two-room schoolhouse with primary and advanced grades, was erected, This school occupied part of the site on which our present school is located. Two teachers took charge of the school's seventy- six pupils. The following tells about teacher qualifications of these early days: Acquirements of the teachers are rigorously investigated before they are engaged to discipline the minds of the youth for the great life struggle. the basis of which lives in the period of school-day life. By 1854, the first state educational board in the Nation, the Board of Regents, was already one hundred years old. Today this Board is still in exis- tence and is rated as the most powerful of all state educational boards. In 1854, the State Department of Public Instruction was established. 1867 saw the passage of the free school law. 1904 saw the merging of the Board of Regents and the State Department of Public Instruction into the State Education De- partment, headed by the Board of Regents. The Commissioner of Education holds the top executive office of this department. In 1906, due to increased enrollment it was necessary to enlarge the 1877 building. This was accomplished by raising the entire building and adding three rooms beneath it. Four years later Odessa's school became a Union school with a two-year high. By 1912, Odessa was a four-year high school. Odessa's first graduation took place in 1911. This class had five members, one boy and four girls. The years sped by! the United States entered a war and came out victorious. In 1938, a big change took place - the students of Odessa Central moved into their new modern building! Ten years later an addition had to be added, be- cause of the ever-growing student enrollment. 1954 finds the student enrollment of our school at a new high of eight hundred eighty-seven pupils with forty-one teachers. Our school district covers an area of one hundred twen miles. Our fifteen buses travel a total of five hundred miles daily, transporting students to and from school. ty-five square 5