Perry High School - Clock Yearbook (Massillon, OH)

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Ferry Schrwls llrzzfy Krfrrzrrzurzity Ancestry, culture, heritage and a history- these exist here in Perry Township. The ex- ternal features have erodedg new things have been added, old things have almost been for- gotten or destroyed-yet there remains an air of the past, a typicality evident in few other areas of the United States in the past or in the present. Like the flavor of vintage wine the areas offerings have mellowed over the years. The roots are of the past and are still firmly planted in the fragrant spacious acres and rural furrows of the township. Never has there been a rural community more reflective of the tem- po, and the temperament of the times. And throughout its development, from infancy to young adulthood, one of the most unifying and typical elements has been the evolvement of the schools. The early history of schools in Perry Town- ship is nehulous, for records of school pro- ceedings are not available until the first school hoard was created in 1853. These records, with the exception of minutes of meetings at the turn of the century, are available at the Perry Local Board of Education office. TTL-fx! 7, XJ, Q 4, , ,fy ,Q-gT,, H are of lf fray 2 f lit ll, - 'f' 'N ' tix fylll-lx , f r rr V'-'l5l5l'lfl,rf2! if i ' 5 fy KW it ga ' - f f 'sss 1 611 wt. :rj-ff' , -W N it ff TF ,I11w,!' , fe'f1?5ZeemW11'f 9Jg7 e A ' ty!-is 4' yf, , - ff. Q y -t 1 I' '1 .. gx wj - ' K ' ,Z V ,X V Z. A ij f W , .AV t 5 .o o it llll lxll ' F' for 'cet -l ' I 5 I 3 gi' 5 , A, 'fy , -E. Q Vi Q' i N N H Q r 1 t 1: , rt .L t r if 'Wag gf .il f .tr .X 1- QE--. t'lld. '1:'T .,i......t I T , - I . 1 La.-is lil ll, rl Q is if ff K af- ryr- Qt 'rf 2 or Y ' mt ' r ' str ea a sian .g i -- 1 N it Q1 f ffff: , i , ' I '9l?l fl iltsldl' A ' iii' DZ , fmt - fe- Joel'-NG .. ' LW 'Q-. 'ff W w 1 Charity Rotch School, located in the northwest- ern section of the county, was the first vo- cational school in Stark County, and Ohio. Board records indicate that there had been at one time in the Township's history a segre- gated school for N egroes: where it was located is not indicated in the minutes.

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l V, Xa, ,,, az is 'lv-,1- -. A iii 1 f 'iaifgg' ,, z ,i Perry Coufnslzrv - ,ilu Stab J-fzstary A 5' -159' A A A JQZ LSKQ Although the reader does not realize it, he is 1 fl K s familiar with the names of many of theqearly y 4, is iw an . Q, V .V A ,..- settlers of Perry Township, for many of the gfflir ' 1 . A M Wi-Q ' , streets are named after them. Listed below are 'agarose f 'A y - - , -62133. rf ' ,.Lfi5i'23- ii some of the more familiar. P we U, -,E . 9 Name Settled Birthplace Occupation fi A A gg N . 1 li W 4 Q ' A Albright, Henry 1862 Germany Farmer X UI, if wh up p Bordner, Hamman 1844 Ohio fbi' if ' A .r . Doll, Benjamin 1857 Ohio U ' A itio f y Graber, Peter 1854 France H ,, in L-, T s f I4 Foltz, Ephraim 1856 Ohio Carpenter A Miller, William 1827 Ohio Farmer gj. 1. ix 'Y' Nave, Lester 187414 Indiana Teacher 51 s i 'A Snively, A. D. 1850 Ohio f bu- km . ' 'V Vi Shidler, U. W. 1859 Pa. Farmer iyccy Q, 3t p 552 1 , Shuler,,loseph 1852 France Saw Mill ' gow, H' tj' Whipple, Thomas 1840 Ohio Farmer A 5 fini? Ffii Ya 'r l 1 'rj , rk. Y X: 1- 2 1:22. Z .f-. N liwl A fri K Q gr s Q, Vfy E lg .41 3 -. .ga 1 J .X 5 fi, a.i. ? ' ,f ir 553 ,S N H 1 .Q 1 1 N is is , it i'ig5'f?ffi'l'A1Z1fE5fr5.,Q1- 4 . ' Y 'Y , ' iii rf' ,fil,f'C.!iiIx'l-j - , c eir'i is 'Sr f Cf ' 'O' , , l' ,Z f X gf, 1 5 fl ff? if if iafffb r Aw L 'l , 1' rg ' 4 ,f ' 5 if K 3 ' t A f , ' .5 A iff' ,, if fxlV,l.,i' ,X L,?j,fzf V g 'LQ 1 M , l. If ' ,, 2 ui A ' rufxktj, fi f j jf? 1' f fl 'J f r W 7 fy ' ' fp ,ffl 1 fb , fir A ef 1 'I fi fu' 5 fn: 'I' 1,7 K ihQ'- if i l,f, 1' ff' .J-. I,-A! M' af Q. I V 13' X 2 L!,V.,,!'fHJ 246112, Q e. ,my gi bln! xx, 'X' l' ' 'if A if .1 ll lv, 1 Q 1 it fin if 5 ,. ,swf U ' ff 'U tr 1 ,CEM ., ,I I f'1,1f le' L '11 'r fl -sw ,f ff I 35 ,V if l 1 , Levi Stump became one of the' most successful farmers in Perry Township. His home, built in 1871 still stands and is owned by the Stump family. Because of the many streams in the area, bridges were built. Toll bridges were common until free bridges were built. 1 F I , fr' l 'K if af A

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auf as Well as in Fas! 51715 However, sources state that the first school in Perry Township coincided with the organi- zation in 1813 of the first religious society west of Canton, the uKendall Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friendsf, The school was located in Massillon near the Spring Hill Farm area. Besides being the house of worship the Quaker meeting house was also to be the school. The first teacher was William Mott who was a young Quaker of limited education. Realizing this, he quit teaching and turned his job over to a Cyrus Spink, a very capable man who con- tinued at the profession until he was in his seventies. The schools were supported, not by taxes, but by tuition. Public, or common schools as they were known, did not come into existence until 1825. James W. Lathrop, a representative to the Ohio legislature from Canton, sponsored a bill which provided for free public education through the levying of taxes. The first tax levied was one-half of one mill and it met with great resentment on the part of the tax- payers. A milestone in the history of Ohio education occurred in 1829 with the opening of Charity Rotch School in Kendall which was still a part of Perry Township. When Charity Rotch died of dropsy in 1824, she left her whole estate for the establishment of a free school. The school was the first vocational school in Ohio. Its curriculum included courses in home economics, agriculture and regular academic classes. The school existed until 1924 when it was torn down. Funds from Mrs. Rotchas estate are still used for child welfare and edu- cational purposes, according to the dictates of her will. From the establishment of the Charity Rotch School until 1853 when Perry Local Board of Education was established, information of the schools are sketchy. But during this era, the one-room school came into existence. The town- ship was divided into sub-districts, and the sub- districts in turn were given the power to levy taxes to build schools or repair them, which- ever the situation demanded. Board minutes indicate that the schools were inspected, and reports were made. There were in 1859 eleven sub-districts and each had a school. Comments such as Malgebra was not taught, uschool in good conditionf, uorthography not taught, or Mifor Surugm ,taught for 356 .75 a day for two months and four months for 31.00 a day, uwere sprinkled throughout the early recordsf, ln 1875 the following one-room schools were in existence: Miller fsection 14 on mapj, Buz- zer's Glory fsection 22 on mapj, Murray fsec- tion 29 on mapj, Shidler fsection 36 on mapj, Freeman fsection 2 on mapj, Blue Clay fsec- tion 10 on mapj, and Charity Rotch School. Vinedale fsection 9 on map band Richville fsec- tion 27 on mapj were built at a later date. Still standing are Freeman, used by the Uni- tarian church, Shidlers, used as a union hall, Vinedale, used as a p1'int shop, and Buzzer's Glory, used as a residence. Buzzer's Glory falso called Buzzard's Glory and Perry Centerj got its name from a visitor who heard the students studying out loud and compared them to a buzzer for buzzardj. In 1925 a partition was put through one of the rooms at Richville school, and high school classes were held. But because of parental objec- tion, the students were transported fwith the purchase of the school system's first bus-pic- ture located in the board officesj to Murray School. In two years, the high school classes and the students were transported to Massillon. With the construction of the present Rich- ville, Reedurban and Genoa schools, the one- room school era in Perry Township came to a close. ln the fifties, Perry Township saw its greatest growth in schools with the constriction of Whipple, Perry High, Watson, and Lohr. The early sixties saw the emergence of a 6-3-3 plan in education with the opening of Edison Junior High. Growth of Perry schools is not over yet, pos- sibly its greatest growth lies ahead, since Perry Township, according to the Stark County Plan- ning Commission, is the fastest growing town- ship in Stark County.