Palatine High School - Spotlight Yearbook (Palatine, IL)

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The name McElroy is synonymous with Palatine High, but it was a young history teacher coming from lowa in the fall of 1931 who be- gan the 39 year McElroy saga. For S1600 he was to teach history and math and supervise the Spotlight. Sports was an easy addition. An ardent sports fan, he turned into a fine coach. Carl Megel may have started the Palatine track invi- tational, but Mr. McElroy's adding the relays named the ann-ual event. He substituted softball for foot- ball in 1937, brought back cross country in 1940 and began golf in 1950. When he became principal in April 1944, he was to continue as coach. His S3500 salary the following year, he was told, was near the limit that could be paid by the district. Mr. McElroy was iwell liked, and students of the . 1930s sing the praises of McElroy, Megel and Vervloet. Although superintendent had been bandied about before, Mr. , McElroy was really 21 lls first. the first to match job to title. The 1957 Spotlight designated him superintendent principal, but in 1959 he was superintendent only. The McElroy saga covering 39 years saw Palatine grow from a school of nine teachers and 175 students to a district of 353 teachers and 6394 students. From a teacher gladly earning 51600, he retired at a salary of 327,000 From a dedicated teacher and sports devotee in one small building, he was in charge of three buildings and had built a fourth and was directing an S11 million budget when he left school work. His love of community has carried on in his work on the library board and in the book store, which he and Mrs. McElroy share. Nothing flashy, said school board member William Fremd of Mr. McElroy. He was a steady worker making Palatine known for student morale, good discipline and sound financial administration. Maybe he was best at teacher recruitment. There are still many teachers in the district who bear the McElroy stamp of approval. Adelheid Gieske came to Pala- tine High in 1944 when Mr. McElroy stepped up as principal. Her 23 years here were years of perfection in literature and composition. Meticulous was the word for Mrs. Gieske, and idealistic, enter- rising, well organized, proper, kind and generous also describe this gracious lady and scholar. A graduate of the University of Ghicago, her English scholarship as matched by that in German and music. Art and travel were other loves. All of these she used in teaching English. No teacher can measure how many lives she has reached, but there are many who speak in a softer voice when they name Mrs. Gieske. Mrs. Gieske developed an English department with a strong writing and grammar program that in no way took from the beauty and un- derstanding that is found in literature. From the pens of her students flowed creativity. They wrote poems they never dreamed were pxossible. Of er, Mr. McElroy said, Students found her strict, but a person with patience and under- standing. They also found warmth of personality. And Mr. Newen- dorp said at her retirement at age 70, Most noteworthy is the fact that she is a fine person whose high standards of personal conduct sometimes hide the fact that she is an unusually kind and generous person, who has come to the aid of many a student and young teacher. Many of those who benefited from her acts of kindness never knew from whence they came. This year Ray Mills closes 30 years at Palatine High, 30 years of guiding young people into their futures. His joyfu knowledge of the world outside the classroom enriched the lives of those he touched, and in the early years, he touched them all. Clarke Garrett, 1952 graduate, in writing of teachers who had made an impact said, . . . and Ray Mills, who drew out ideas and possibilities we didn't know we had. His memories of Mr. Mills are as a social science teacher, senior guidance counselor, direc- tor of student activities, art appreciation teacher, student council adviser, boys counselor, and explorer scout master. Although he never taught behind the wheel driver education, he taught the classroom course. As his adminis- trative duties as assistant princi- pal and dean of boys became heavier, his teaching load lessened. But in 1958 when guidance became a department of two with five part time counselors, he was still in art. Mr. Mills continued head of guidance until 1972. College night was one of his innovations. He visited many colleges, the better to help students choose well. History is rarely absolute. A yellowed piece of paper or an old notebook may change some of what we put down here, but we do know that the solid subjects, varied by teacher specialties, held forth I continued page 229j

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Charles S. Cutting starts Palatine High He always wanted a school, said Charles Sydney Cutting's daughter in law as she extolled the virtues of the man who began Palatine High. Charles Cutting followed his father to Palatine the summer of 1874. He taught the upper grades of the Public School so well that he was made principal for 1875. He started a program of studies beyond eighth grade, and in 1877 three students had completed his two year course. The following year five more. then eight, and in his last year as principal, three. Before Charles Cutting left teaching to become a lawyer and later a nationally known judge, he had taken 19 young people beyond eighth grade and ad started Palatine High. Born in Highgate, VT March 1, 1854, Charles Cutting received his high school education in Hastings, MN and his college education at Willamette Univer- sity, Salem, OR. The year before coming to Palatine, he had worked on the Cedar Rapids, IA, Times. In 1876 he married Annie Lytle, a school teacher Palatine born, the daughter of Myron Lytle and Anna Bradwel1.,Whi1e he taught, he studied law and passed the bar examination. A though he left teaching in 1880, his con- tinued interest in Palatine found him serving the school as its attorney free of charge, as amember of the school board, as dedication speaker in 1913 at the Palatine School, now the Joel Wood school, as dedication speaker in 1928 at the Palatine high school and as an almost perennial commencement speaker. Mr. Cutting died April 17, 1936, and school closed April 20 for the funeral. The flag flew at half mast, and the cortege formed in front of the school. Words spoken at a memorial service in Cutting Hall May 3 gave the measure of the man. A Man who stood for all that was honest and upright, a life of usefulness to mankind. No tribute will exceed the just recognition of his splendid and useful life. His fine character and brilliant mental attainments, his sense of civil responsibility and his unalloyed patriotism and his lon and exemplary career of public ifef' Qualities of mind and heart that made the friendship of this man so priceless. Will- ingness to give time and energy to others - honesty, sincerity, candor, mind clear and discerning, rare sense of humor. A many sided life is inevitable for any one so big in mind and heart as he. His personal charm equalled his distinction at the bar. H. H. Pahlman. 1894, friend of youn Robert Cutting, gave a glimpse of Mr. Cutting as a father. Bob Cutting had many books . . . Mr. Cutting built a toboggan slide. . . . He was a leading player on the village baseball team. Not only did Mr. Cutting give of himself and time to the high school, but monetary gifts have been recorded: S 150 for library books in 19243 S100 to the drive to furnish the cafeteria in 1928: S 1000 to the library in the new high school building. A Sunday outing in the 1930s would start with Judge Cutting saying. Let us go to see my school. Then the chauffeur would bring the car around, and he and his daughter in law would drive to Palatine from Chicago. Mrs. Cutting had died in 1920, and Robert died in 1930. Between Mr. Cutting's leaving and the April 18, 1914 vote to organize a township district, the school had 10 principals with the Smysers, young men from Pennsyl- vania, the favorites. W. L. served from 1892 to 1902 and M. L. from 1904 to 1912. Margaret Stroker Witt remembers M. L., He was so nice. He played with the children at recess. He went on to other area schools and into Chicago. W. L. coached the town football team, which gained glory by whipping the greatest teams of the middle westf' He later organ- ized the first Maine high school. Early 1900 pictures show one teacher and the principal. By 1912, two teachers were on the staff. Subjects taught were the solids. In 1894, Greek, Latin and German were being offered in the formal classical curriculum. Addie Filbert, 1900, wrote of three or four years of Latin, four of English and math, three of science and mentioned taking a year of German. She remembers educational activities in the assembly hall such as debating and reading student produced essays and poems. Elvira Schmidt Waseman, 191 1, took much the same classical curriculum. She said German was not being taught, but bookkeeping was offered her third year. She couldn't take it because she was on the other curriculum. There is evidence that bookkeeping might 8 have been offered in 1901. . A 1914-15 course of study listed the principal and two assistants tteachersl. Required subjects were four years of English. advanced arithmetic. algebra and plane geom- etry, hygiene, physical geo- graphy and American history, and civics the senior year. Electives were four years of Latin, music, ancient history, modern history, English history, bookkeeping. commercial geography and law, stenography and typing, zoology, botany, chemistry and economics. Reviews and pedagogy were offered for students bound for teaching. Spelling was important. The brochure read, 'tWeekly written lessons in spelling will be re- quired of every student. Credit will not be allowed for spelling, but failure to pass in this work will be sufficient cause for fail- ing the student in the English course which he is taking. Report cards also noted attendance, punctuality, recitation, deportment and application. The November 1913 Mirror men- tions aprons in chemistry class, and the January 1914 issue reads, Locks have been installed on all drawers in the chemical laboratory table. This same issue tells of an after- noon and evening poultry show at which music was furnished by the high school orchestra and quartet. The solid subjects moved to the high school building with princi- pal Butler and teachers Elizabeth Miller, Mercie Heise and Harrison Kincaid. Esther Smith was hired to carry on in the commercial department, and three new teachers were added: Pieter Vervloet for math, mechanical drawing and man- ual trainingg Gladys Schwartz for home economics and Verna Jumps, who would remain for 26 years in English and dramatics. Because the foods laboratory was not equipped, Miss Schwartz taught one history class and girls physical education. Harrison Kincaid joined the high school staff in 1925 as a science and math teacher and coach. He took on the Spotlight in 1926. Fair minded, he wouldn't cheat or hurt anyone, he set standards in scholarship and sports. He was a successful coach in basketball and track but left Palatine the spring of 1931 to teach and coach at Crane Tech in Chicago. He continued living in Palatine, where he was involved in many civic organizations and served the school board as president from 1935 to 1942, when he left as an air force major in WWII.

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Palatine graduate heads school system ABOVE: Dr. Richard Kolze. 1947. when he assumed the superintendency in 1970. RIGHT: Administrative assistants: Keith Shelton. top. is assistant ' superintendent: mustached Dr. Bruce Alter 'ott is associate su erintendent' E P - and Dr. Gerald Chapman is assistant to the superintendent. School board members number 63 from 1914 when district 211 forms Jody Albrecht Eugene Baker Daniel Bergman Carroll Blanehar John Bopp Willard Brown Carl Buehler Anna Countryman Frances Cornwell Robert Creek John Day Paul Engler Jean Fisler William Fremd August Hackbarth Glenn Hargrave Thomas Hart N. S. Heise Harris Helgeson William Henning Patil Hughes 1975- 1963-69 1923-47 Q25 yrsj 1952- Q3 mol 1948-54 1963-67 1965-68 1972- 1954-58 1969- 1949-52 1953-62 Q10 yrsj 1973- 1937-72 Q36 yrsj 1920-23 1972-75 1920-24. 1930-32 1914-20 1949-71 Q23 yrsj 1915-27 Q13 yrsl 1971-73 James Humphrey Lyle Johnson E. Erie Jones C. V. Julian Harrison Kincaid John Kreft J. M. Kuebler Alexander Langsdorf George Ledford Carl Lewin William Mair Charles Malody Leighton Mangels David Mann P. H. Mathie L. L. McMaster Emory Moore Charles Morris Wilfred Muller Carolyn Mullins William Neitz 1963-67. 1968-72 1967-71 1958-63 1924-28 1935-42 1925-34 Q 10 yrsb 1914-15 1970-72 1968-69 1958-61. 1962-65 1933-39 ' 1934-39. 1942-44 1948-58 Q1 1 yrsl 1960-63 1914-15 1929-30 1954-58 1918-29Q12 yrsl 1943-48 1969-72 1926-34 William Ost R. L. Peck George Pearson Edward Perry Martin Plate Arthur Plote William Reese F. J. Rohde W. F. Scherding Robert Seger Alvin Skibhe A. G. Smith William Stenstrom Howard Smith J. H. Toynton N. L. Thompson Donald Truitt Elmer Wente R.S. Williams Robert Williamson Elliott Woodruff 1927-33. 39-43 Q11 yrsl 1914-20 1958-60 1973- 1935-49 Q15 yrs? 1940-58 Q19 yrsl 1914-18 1914-23 Q10yrsl 1916-25 Q10 yrs! 1971- 1932-35 1914-33 Q20 yrs1 1972- 1938-41 1929-35 1923-39 Q13 yrsl 1960-69 Q10 yrsj 1947-53 1942-49 1958-62 1952-54