Palmer High School - Terror Trail Yearbook (Colorado Springs, CO)

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Colorado Springs High School is proud of the many trophies which it has won in the various sports throughout the years. Many of these trophies were won in the years from 1914-1942, when Coach Joseph W. Erps was physical director of the school. Coach Erps built up an unbelievable record, especially in basket- ball. His remarkable 1923 grid team won the mythical national football cham- pionship. The oldest trophy of the Terror collection is a 1912 cup for an inter- scholastic track meet held at C.C. The latest addition to the trophy case is the 1953-1954 hockey championship cup. In the future C.S.H.S. will undoubtedly add many more trophies to its already bright and shining collection. 6.5. 5. Qlelehrates 75tlJQtIt1ibzrSHtp On June 19, 1879, the first graduates of Colorado Springs High School proudly received their diplom- as. ln commemoration of the 75th anniversary of that important occasion, we present the 1954 Ter- ror Trail with the hope that you will enioy the comparison of school life in 1879 with that of 1954. First of all, you will be amazed at the way C.S.H.S. has grown, for the first graduating class consisted of only five students: Mamie Reynolds, Mabel Wiley, Walter Wiley, Crayton Wheeler, and Flora Andrews. All of them were outstanding schol- ars and the class grade average was 902. At the graduation ceremonies, which were held in the school building, all of the graduates gave speeches. These farewell words by Mabel Wiley were es- pecially impressive: Teachers and students, we cannot thank you as we would. We have longed for this time, and yet now we almost wish it were not. We have met only to part. From her simple words we can see that, although the graduating class has increased from five to nearly five hundred, the sentiments of seniors have not changed. In the early days of the Colorado Springs school system the subjects which high school students stud- ied were somewhat different from what they are today. Latin and Greek were emphasized in the language department. What we call speech to- day was at that time given the imposing title of rhetoric. Of course the standard subiects of Eng- lish, history, and mathematics were required of all students. They also took some subiects which are no longer taught at C.S.H.S., such as astronomy and political economy. However, our present subjects of shorthand, typing, stagecraft, window display, and the like were unheard of in those days. Burning the midnight oil for final examinations was probably a common practice in 1879. Not only high school students but also grade school students were required to take finals The examination schedule was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette. Sometimes even students' grades were published in the newspaper, no doubt to the dismay of those who received a low grade. Discipline was certainly stricter in the schools during the good old days. A student who de-

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iililnbern Sgdjunl illlustrates Rrngress dBi Qilnlnrahu bprtngs The first permanent Colorado Springs school building, located at the corners of Biiou Street and Cascade Avenue, was built in January, l875. lt was in this little school that the first graduating class of five spent their high school years. Fire struck the building on the night of January l3, l89O, and destroyed the school which was the pride of the residents of Colorado Springs. Some, however, didn't have the heartfelt concern for the building, for it was thought that it was old fashioned, and there was a suspicion that its walls were unsafe. This event left the students without a place to hold classes, but for a while sessions were held at the Congregational Church on East Biiou Street. Since classes couldn't always be held at the church, it was inevitable that a new school be built to accommodate the increasing number of students. Thus, in February, l890, the northwest corner of Platte Avenue and Weber Street was purchased for the sum of S20,000. The new high school which was built to replace the destroyed one, was open for classes in January, l893. As Colorado Springs grew in prominence and population, it was soon noticeable that an addition of rooms would have to be made on the high U school building, The issue was put to an election by the f ' townspeople, and in l9l3, it was voted that two ' additional buildings be erected for the high school. Construction of the buildings b e g a n almost immediately. I D u ri n g the following P years hundreds of A ' K' passed through the doors of this fine school. By the end of the l930's again there was a growing need for a new building. Reluctantly the old building was torn down, but it was not forgotten by those who had fond memories of school life in its halls. The new building, facing General Palmer's statue on Nevada Avenue, was started in May of i939 and completed in May of l94O. May 26, 1940, the new C.S.H.S. was open to the public, and for a whole week visitors swarmed around the campus. As we all know, the high school building is one of the most beautiful and most modern in the entire state. The T953-54 en- rollment was over 1600. In future years, an even larger student body is expected, as the con- struction of the four room addi- tion so well illustrates. graduates 3

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QBf Zlts jfirst Qrahuatitig 451555 P W ' ' TSTMS PM P served punishment could be whipped by the teacher lwith the approval of the principall. Anoth- er example of the strict discipline was the school regulation which stated: Students shall at no time converse in passing in or out of the building. As for the matter of hooky, these statistics speak for themselves: For the month of April, l879, there were 680 half-day absences. Of these 199 were unexcused. Perhaps the students had spring fever! There weren't such things as hot rods parked around the school grounds in I879. Most students walked to school. On the way, they amused them- selves - according to one high school girl ofthe '80s - by iumping back and forth across the ir- rigation ditches which supplied water for the young shade trees. During recess the girls walked up and down the gravel sidewalk in front of the little school and planned their good times. You are probably wondering what sort of good times they had. The cool cats of those days didn't do the Bunny Hop nor did they iitterbug to the latest records on Friday nights. At the dances, lwhich were attended by the entire familyl, the popular steps included the waltz and the schottischel Another social activity which the high school students enioyed was a pic- nic supper in Stratton Park, where open air band concerts were held during the summer. Even though extensive extra-curricular activities such as sports and various types of clubs didn't come into exist- ence until later, we fancy that the high school stu- dents enioyed themselves iust as much then as we do today, for fun-loving teenagers don't change much throughout the years. Colorado Springs High School - from the time of its first graduates in l879, down through the years to the present 4 has certainly played a vital role in the growth of our community. Through its doors thousands of young men and women have stepped out into lite well prepared to become fu- ture leaders in the Pikes Peak region. As we cele- brate the seventy-fifth anniversary of our first grad- uating class, we look to the future with the hope that the progress of Colorado Springs High School dur- ing the next seventy-five years will match that of the past. x YV --1--'E ' - --rf?-jf'-'QQ 1 pf ,'1'::',f1 it ., - - C i f ':f2i'i 'i T C ,Q 1 5 - 45.11 , . 'P ' . Q 'l f i ,, .. , -v-,H:ezxZE-r. 5...:'.,..gi- . V I . r i U -V V lsr: -, 12.171 -. N Z Ai-A ! f , .. 4-,...-.-1:-es ' , f 52 . ' .T --4- 'i ' ' V Wt5'75i'?2 ' 2- W.. , l f:fN-M51 ' f . ' ' --- ' - -' 11, -- - - . '- - ..f:.. ,t--ur ' 1 ..- .. J- -.-W , .. .1 ' ,,,.' 1 3 is .f ' T' ' if '- ' f i 5211:-F ' 15?E-1'-if-'.-:1.111.-sffleiif 1 f s:.1ilf: -g1 :t'-g:,,-2-- A - ' -' -Lug?-, I ., 3:3 ' ' H The inscription on the bell which stands in the center of the C.S.H.S. patio W eil: reads: This bell was hung in the clock tower of the original high school building erected on these premises. Inscribed by the class of i897 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its graduation. Even before this bell, which was hung in l893, it seems that there was another bell - in the first school building. Records show that a bell was bought and put in place in the stone school house in March, 1878. The price paid for the bell was 5690, Even though no bell hangs in our present school, we have the bell in the patio to remind us of the traditions which have been built up throughout the years at Colorado Springs High School. fl .