Parker High School - Parker Pine Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 16 text:

1 zz. :Z A number of teachers have left Parker since its establishment. Among these are Mr. Bachrach, who, upon his departure from this school, was made head of the com- mercial work in all the Chicago high schools, Mr. Fast, who left us in April, 1917, to join the army, received a commission as first lieutenant, was placed in charge of the Personnel and Insurance Department of the 86th Division, was promoted to the rank of captain and has again been promoted to that of majorg'Mr. Roberts, who took his departure from Parker in November, 1917, to assume the leadership of the corporation school conducted by Swift and Company at the Stockyardsg and Miss Fitts, who, in June, 1917, abandoned the teaching profession and entered that of married life. The death of Miss Leila Barkley in February, 1917, ,was a terrible shock to her many friends at Parker and a most unfortunate impairment of the efficiency of the teaching force. Parker felt a great loss in 1917 when Mr. Owen, who had been the principal for nearly seven years, felt it necessary to sever his connections with the school. He was respected and admired by all and it was with genuine sorrow that we saw him go. But we were more than fortunate in being able to secure as his successor a man of such ability, broad-mindedness and fine personality as Mr. French, whom we have always found a loyal and true friend. Parker was never meant to be a away in three or four rooms in the sulting the records or any senior who the study hall is not large enough to 1912, the size of the school being at institution was forced to expand into small school of a few hundred pupils, tucked Practice Building, as may be proven by con- has been sent to 'room in the basement because accommodate all the students. ln September, that time too great for its allotted space, the the College Building, much to the delight of the high school students and the distress of those of the Normal school Even this room, however, proved insufficient in a short time, and, when the new Arts Build- rng of the Normal College was ready for occupation in the winter of 1914-'15, Parker High School moved westward along the parallels of latitude and founded a colony there, too, which has assumed such large proportions that the Arts Building is now more truly a high school than a Normal institution. There has, for a number of years, been talk of the erecting of a new building at the west end of the campus, to be used by Parker alone. Such a measure would, needless to say, be highly grati- fying to all of us, and there is no doubt about its ultimate necessity, for the enroll- ment in February, 1919, was thirteen hundred, the largest it has ever been, with a faculty of about forty-five, and all indications are that we shall continue to grow at a rapid pace. This remarkable expansion is brought home to us clearly when we consider that the first graduating class was in 1912 with two, two year graduates, while this June there are one hundred four year graduates and about forty-five two year graduates. With the increase in size has also come a more extensive set of school activities. It might be well to trace briefly the story of the development of Parker along this line. . One of the most successful phases of activity in this high school has been its dramatics. During the first years of our existence several outdoor pageants were presented, by the students, on the College campus. With the arrival of Miss Baker in 1913 this form of entertainment was superseded by indoor plays, and sev- e'ral remarkable productions have been presented to the public in the College audi- torium since that time, among them being The Pageant of Troy, Twelfth Night, The Merchant Gentleman, The Rivals, Nathan Hale, The Fasci- nating Fanny Brown, and The Schoolmistressf' Under the able direction of Page I2

Page 15 text:

I M M P iiaisturp uf the Barker iiaigh bthnul In September, 1910, the doors of the Parker High School were opened for the first time. The enrollment for that semester was one hundred and fifty, all 1B Freshmen. Mr. Owen was the principal, by virtue of being principal of the Normal College, and llflrs. Dillan was made his assistant. The size of the faculty was in proportion to the enrollment. Nlrs. Dillan taught the languages. Latin and German, Nliss Dopp the sciences, physiography and physiologyg Mr. Smith, draw- ing and mathematics, Miss Camenisch, English, and Mr. Palmer, the commercial subjects. The entire school was accommodated in the rooms in the west end of the Practice Building, those now -occupied by the commercial department. In September, 1911, the enrollment had increased to three hundred and fifty, and Mrs. Lovell, then lliss Kathryn VVeber, Mr. Helbing, and Miss Wentwforth were added to the faculty. During the following year, 1912-'13, Nliss Daly, Miss Dunlap, lVliss Doyle, Miss Fitts, Miss McDonald, Mr. Peacock, Mr. VVigger, lyliss Denton, Miss VVal- bridge and lvliss Deming came to the school. ln September Mrs. Dillan left Parker and Miss Bednar became the assistant principal. The next fall, 1913, the enrollment had risen to five hundred, and more sub- jects were offered and more teachers added, Nliss Baker, lyliss Laird, Miss Lowell, Miss Sherman, Miss Truscott, lVl'r. lllaysack, Miss lVlcAllister, and Miss Stebbins. bliss MacArthur and Miss Frake came the next year, 1914-'15. ln the year 1915-'16 Miss Collins, lkliss Gahl, Mr. Hill, Miss Hotchkiss, Miss Koehne, Miss Stillman, Miss Sinsheimer, and Mr. Townsend found their way to Parker. Since then Mr. Geilen, Miss McCredie, lylr. Coon, Mr. Post, Miss Grill, Miss Potter, Miss Buhlig, Miss Austin and Miss Wincher have been added to the faculty. Page II LM, , M, L , M,

Page 17 text:

I Miss Daly two very fine operettas have been given, Bulbul and L'The Nautical Knot. In athletics, too, Parker has done remarkably well during the few years of its existence. In 1914 our heavyweight basketball team won the city championship. In 1916 and 1918, the Parker lightweight football teams were city champions, and during three other years we have had teams which fell short of such a glory by the loss of only one or two games. In 1918 our baseball team lost the city champion- ship by one game. We have always had good soccer teams, and it was largely a case of hard luck that we failed to win first place in the city in 1918. The success of our athletics has been due to efficient coaching, hard work on the part of the players, and the loyal support of the student body. Parker publications have been among the best in the city. Our Parker Weeklyf' and its successor, the 4'Parker Daily, were shining examples of what high school journals can be at their best. A Parker Annual has been published by the senior class of the school every year beginning with 1914, and has always been successful. Ever since military training was established in the Chicago High Schools in the spring of 1917, Parker has had a well drilled and disciplined cadet Corps, which, with the advent of compulsory training in September, 1918, assumed the proportions of a full regiment, the activities of which are related in another article of this Annual In the matter of organizations Parker need bow to no high school of similar size and circumstances in the city. A few of our institutions, such as the Boys' Club, the Camera Club, the Architectural Club, the Golf Club, and the Aero Club, have come and gone. But at the present time there is a remarkable set of organ- izations in a lively and prosperous state, including the Girls' Club, organized in 19135 the Civic Industrial Club, started in the fall of 1914 by the' Chicago Associ- ation of Commerce, the Glee Club, founded at the same time, the orchestra, one of Parker's oldest institutions, the band, organized in September, 1916, the Undertak- ers, established in October, 1916, the Senior Dramatic Club, organized anew each year by the graduating classg the Hi-Y Club, established in September, 19183 the French Club, organized at the same time, the Commissioned Officers' Club, founded in the fall of 19183 and the Chess Club, Parker's newest organization, dating only from February, 1919. Surely Parker may well be proud of all these institutions, which extend to students of every sort of talent and taste a splendid opportunity to join one or more organizations consisting of congenial people and undertaking projects with which they are in sympathy. There is no need for anyone who desires to make friends and to engage in school activities to be left out. Such has been the history of the Parker High School,-a remarkable story of steady development from a very small beginning to what we believe Parker to be today,-the best high school in Chicago. Page I3