Pratt High School - Osage Yearbook (Essex, CT)

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left by Captain Pratt were not sufficient to support the school, that some arrangement might be made between the town and the school whereby the town would appropriate a certain sum of money to the school each year to supplement the school treasury. In return for this financial aid the school would agree to accept as students, free of any tuition charge, all children whose parents were citizens of the town of Essex. In this way PRATT HIGH SCHOOL would serve as a town high school, although still under the jurisdiction of its own Board of Trustees. Mr. Libby, during his years at Pratt, developed this plan and was able to convince enough people of its benefits so that at a town meeting the plan was finally adopted and PRATT became the high school for the town of Essex, although in- corporated as a private school. Under this arrangement the enrollment increased rapidly and in l9l2 there were seventy-five students with a faculty of five. 1912 was an eventful year for PRATT: not only was its enrollment nearing the one hundred mark, but it was also in that year that PRATT had its big fire. The fire was caused by some defect in the heating system and the wooden second story of the school was completely destroyed. While the building was being repaired, school was held, iron- ically enough, in the old Hill's Academy building. During the principalship of Mr. Burdick, Miss May Ingham came to PRATT as the head of the English and Latin departments. She soon became a very important part of the school and was leader and advisor in many of its activities until her retirement in 1933. Miss Ingham was much beloved by all those who knew her and her many years of service to the school will long be remembered. After the World War the school steadily increased in size and it became apparent that in order to accommodate all those who wished to come to PRATT, the school would have to be enlarged. Mr. Richard Tiley, who was the president of the Board of Trustees at that time, was very much interested in modernizing the school and due largely to his efforts and influence a sum of 380,000 was taken from the endowment funds left by Cap- tain Pratt and used to rebuild the school. Upon the completion of these additions in 1925, PRATT had the best equipment of any school in this section. The new combination gym- auditorium not onlyg made possible an athletic program but also became of service to the town for various activities. This use of the school by the townspeople helped them to re- alize how important the welfare of PRATT was to the well-being' of the community, thus they voted that further yearly appropriations be given to the school for maintenance and other expenses. For the past fifteen years PRATT has grown immeasurably, not in enrollment, but in the courses that are now offered, in an extensive athletic program and extra-curricular activities. The curriculum has expanded from the English, Latin, history and algebra which were taught fifty years ago to the well-rounded college-preparatory, business and home economics program we now have. Athletics have come to be one of the most important activities in the school. Over the period of years in which PRATT has participated in inter- scholastic sports, not to have a championship of some sort has become the rare exception. But even more important than the victories are the grand sportsmanship and school spirit this program has developed at PRATT. In the field of extracurricular many clubs have been organized in which the students may further their interests in a variety of subjects. The present high standing of PRATT among other schools of its size in the country has been achieved primarily through the hard work of the Trustees, and the present principal, Mr. Alexander A. Mackimmie, not only in their selection of an excellent faculty but also in their planning of an educational program designed to prepare the young people of Essex for life in a democracy. 5

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A History of Pratt High School f 1892-1942, Fifty years ago in Essex the rivalry among the various churches was much more pro- nounced than it is today. The chief participants of this conflict were the Baptist and Con- gregational Churches. So keen was the competition that its influence .extended beyond re- ligious concerns and affected, among other things, the educational system of the town. The only school in Essex at that time which could be placed in the secondary class was Hill's Academy, owned and administrated by the Baptists. That the Baptists domi- nated anything, let alone a school to which they sent their children, irked all the Con- gregationalists and Captain Isaiah Pratt in particular. Captain Pratt decided to remedy this situation by placing an additional clause in his will. It was not until his death in 1892 and the subsequent probation of his will that the townspeople became aware of the Captain's action. He had left a trust fund for the erection and maintenance of a school of higher education which was to be called PRATT HIGH SCHOOL. A board of trustees was also named to administer the fund under the chairmanship of Dr. Hubbard, the leading doctor in the community, and one of its ablest citizens. And last, but not least, the will stipulated that only those children whose parents were members of the First Congregational Church of Essex might attend this school. Upon learning of this clause, Dr. Hubbard told the court that unless the terms of the will could be interpreted Very liberally he would have nothing to do with it, because he felt that any enterprise of this sort should be for the benefit of everyone and not just a select few. The local court appealed the case to the State which said that in interpreting a will, the court should only suppose that the maker had it in mind to make the best possible use of the means at his disposal. As only four OT five children would have been eligible to attend such a school, the state ruled that the clause under contest should be disregarded, but that each student whose parents were not Congregationalists must pay tuition. With this matter settled, Dr. Hubbard felt free to carry out the terms of the will. The first problem was to select a site for PRATT HIGH SCHOOL. The Trustees finally chose the lot at the corner of West Avenue and Grove Street, which had formerly been owned by Captain Pratt. The architect for the original building is believed to have been Charles E. Pratt, whose father was a member of the Board of Trustees. The plans specified that the school was to be built entirely of granite, but due to unforeseen additional expenses the second story of the building was made of wood. The two rooms which now comprise the Homemaking department were the main part of the original school. Later on, the second floor was finished off and rented to the town to be used as a grammar school until the completion of the town's own grammar school building in l907. Mr. Walter Foster was engaged by the Trustees as the first principal and teacher, and PRATT HIGH SCHOOL held its initial session in September, 1892 with a total enroll- ment of ten students. During these first years it was not easy for the new school to keep going partly be- cause of the general lack of interest in the town for high school education and also be- cause many townspeople did not wish to send their children to a school whose founder had been a bit narrow minded. It was due to Dr. Hubbard's able direction of the .school finances in those first years that PRATT is still in existence today. In 1903 Mr. Ernest M. Libby, who is now the president of the Board of Trustees, ac- cepted the principalship at PRATT. The Trustees had long had it in mind, as the funds 4

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OSAGE Osage Board lst Row-Marguerite Young, Sally McCallip, Mrs. Ford, Edla Gannon. 2nd Row-Marian Daboll, Robert Nihill, Frank Bump, Henry Hollewedel, Allen Iewett, Donald Sangster, Lloyd Scholes, Mr. Mackimmie. The seniors of Pratt in 1930 desired to leave something worthwhile to the school as a lasting remembrance, Through the efforts of Mac and their own hard work they succeeded in publishing a year book tor the whole school to enjoy. The first issue was dedicated to Mac because oi his assistance in making the book possible. Dedications have since been made to other members of the faculty and this year we are proud to dedicate our book to Dr. Hubbard who gave so generously ot his time and goods to Pratt. The book was named the Osage in honor of the ship burned at Essex by the Eng- lish in 1814, the remains of which are still in the North Cove. OSAGE BOARD 1942 Asst. Photography Editor . . Robert Nihill Editor-in-Chief . Asst. Editor . . Business Manager Asst. Business Mgr. . Photography Editor . Sally McCallip Henry Hollwedel . . Frank Bump . . . . Robin Starr . . Allen Iewett Typist ..... Art Editor ....... Edla Gannon Asst. Art Editor . . . Lloyd Scholes Girls' Sports Editor . . . Marian Daboll Boys' Sports Editor . . Donald Sanqster Marguerite Young