Princeton High School - Tiger Yearbook (Princeton, IL)

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EIWOH 'IOOI-IOS HFIO

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Page Sixteen THE FACULTY A few frail summers have touched them As they have touched us all, And many gray hairs seemed like gems As they came from Fall to Fall. Some have been sought and are gone But some are here to stay, Although the time does seem long There's nothing we can say. At times the grades are stiff Wfhen that belated Thursday comesg VVe can only stand around and snilf VVhi1e the teacher softly hums. But please do let them rest They might be worse, you know, And since you know we have the best Let's not impart our woe.

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First Township I-Iigh School in Illinois In the beautiful little city of Princeton, county seat of Bureau County, famed throughout Northern Illinois for its lovely residences, spacious lawns, well shaded streets and avenues, is located the first township high school erected in the state of Illinois. The idea of a high school was first agitated by the citizens of Prince- ton in the fall of 1865 and some of the iniiuential citizens of the community got together to devise plans for putting their ideas into some tangible form. lt was thought by the promoters of the movement that the township trustees had authority under the then existing laws to organize the township into a high school district and the trustees in accordance with the desire of the promoters acted upon this proposition. They organized the township into the High School District of Princeton and an election was called for April 23I'Cl, 1866, at which time a site of ten acres beautifully and centrally located was selected. A board of three directors composed of john H. Bryant, brother of the famous poet. XfVilliam Cullen Bryant: Rev. Iflavel Ilascom and Jacob Critzman, all of Whom have since passed fro-m earth, was elected to admin- ister the affairs of the district. This board organized April goth and imme- diately formulated plans for carrying out the scheme of its originators: a contract was let for the erection of a building to cost about forty-five thousand dollars and to be completed about June Ist, 1867. Money, the one great necessary item in such undertakings, was ob- tained by the issuing of provisional bonds guaranteed by the public spirited citizens of the township. These bonds were mostly negotiated in the east through the efforts of lXlr. J. H. Bryant. The first attempt at negotiating these bonds, however, met with some difliculty, growing out of the fact that con- siderable doubt was felt as to the legality of the proceedings of the school trustees and accordingly a bill was introduced into the legislature legalizing the action of the Board of Trustees and confirming all contracts made in pursuance thereof and this special bill became a law on january 28th. 1867. after which the bonds were negotiated. In order to provide for the future existence of the school and to make perpetual its Board of Education, a bill drawn by Geo. O. Ide of Princeton was introduced into the Legislature in january, 1857, after being submitted to the scrutiny of Newton Bateman who was then Superintendent of Public Instruction. This special piece of legislation which was and is today the original charter of the Princeton High School passed the Legisla- Pagc Eighteen