Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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’STUDY THE PAST IF YOU WOULD DIVINE THE FUTURE Our schools of today are built on the experience of yesterday. The first record of a school in Reading dates back to 1693, when the town voted that a free school be kept. The sum of four pounds was allotted for a three- months ' school. The first school master appointed was Nicholas Lynde, who had been graduated from Harvard in 1690. Eighteen years later, in 1708, the first schoolhouse was built. This small one-room building was located at the corner of the present Washington and Woburn Streets. The school master, Mr. John Webb, was paid thirty pounds a year to teach reading, writing, Latin, and Greek. In 1793 came the first appointment of a School Committee to care for all school business. It was not until 1856 that a high school came into being, when the Center School District of Reading purchased a building called Union Hall and rented it to the town for use as a high school. The first class, consisting of four members, Frederic Bancroft, Esther Emerson, S. Maria Parker, and Lena A. Wakefield — all possessors of old Reading names —- was graduated in 1863. It was very soon evident that a new building was needed, and in 1867 Reading dedicated as a high school the building which is now known as the Center School, located beside the Methodist Church, near the Common. Seven years before the turn of the century, in 1893, Reading appointed a Superintendent of Schools, who was to devote two-fifths of his time to Reading and three-fifths to Wakefield. As the town grew, the number of high-school pupils increased until, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the town had outgrown the facilities of the Center School, then operating on a two-platoon system. As a result, on March 7, 1904, the town meeting voted to buy land between Sanborn and Linden Streets for $8,000. Slightly less than a year later, $1,500 was voted for plans, and on June 28, 1905, came the major appropriation of $85,000 for the building itself. Ground was broken in August of 1905, and the first brick was laid two months later. On November 13, 1905, a metallic box containing the school reports, the course of study, a list of pupils and teachers, and pictures of Reading was laid in the foundation with great ceremony. The construction of the sixty-eight foot by one hundred fifty-seven foot building of Georgian design progressed rapidly, and on September 15, 1906, an open-house was held. An unexpectedly large crowd of between fifteen hundred to two thousand townspeople came to inspect this new, modern school, which fortunately was large enough to accommodate approximately two hundred more than the two hundred eighty pupils enrolled. Two days later the school opened its classroom doors to pupils for the first time. Typical of the many comments made was that written by Dr. A. E. Winship, editor of the Journal of Education. Th e new High School house is one of the best, and one of the best equipped and appointed in the state. Indeed, I know of none better for the size and wealth of the Town in the country. The money has gone for the latest and best for school purposes, rather than for ornamentation. It is as valuable for its purposes as some High School buildings that have cost $50,000 more. When the present high school opened, most students followed an academic program of studies. However, the new school contained both a typewriting room and a commercial room, providing improved facilities for instruction in typewriting and stenography, both of which had been introduced into the curriculum just before the turn of the century. In the same year that the 8

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THE PAST A student entering Reading High many years ago found a far different place from the R. H. S. of today. Outside, the building is much the same, but on the inside many changes have occurred not only because of rather crowded conditions and the ravages of time. The pupil of yesterday fol¬ lowed a less flexible program of studies, enjoyed a different variety of activities, and had fewer class¬ mates and teachers. On the next few pages, trace briefly with us the story of the beginnings of the Reading School System and of the infant days of the present R. H. S.

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Commercial Course was opened, the principal of the high school recommended to the School Committee a further modifying of our courses so as to offer a wider range of choice to differing tastes and capacities. ' It is evident from this recommendation that as the number of pupils attending high school increased, the more diversified were the pupils ' interests and abilities. Within two years the principal ' s suggestion had been followed, and students enrolled in the General Course had several electives from which to choose. In the 1910 School Committee Report, the group recommended a Domestic Science Course for girls, and the Superintendent recommended that the girls be included in the physical training program. In 1917, the Shop Course was finally inaugurated, and the classes were held in the room which now serves as the boys ' lunchroom. In the early 1920 ' s it became necessary to remove the Shop classes to the Highland School, where they remained until the Parker Junior High was built in the late I920 ' s. The beg inning of the present Home Economics Course came into being with the opening of the junior high, and since then many girls have made the daily journey to their classes. Extracurricular activities were a part of the school from the beginning and gradually increased in number. Language clubs, debating teams, musical organizations, school publications, dramatic groups, in addition to sports, helped to round out student life. It is evident that the present Reading High School has seen many changes during its forty- seven years of existence, a period marked by two world wars and the beginning of the Atomic Age. Only time can tell what changes the new school will see during its years as the center of high- school learning in Reading. When the construction of the latest Reading High School has been completed, the 1953 School Committee might well echo the sentiments of the School Committee of 1906, which in¬ cluded in its report to the Town the following words: Our present new High School building, with its splendid equipment and picturesque situation, is but another expression of the Town ' s devotion to the cause of education. Education, considered in its broadest and best sense, is of the highest importance to all — an education that appeals to the heart and soul, the mind and intellect, and the physical nature, leading to good health of body, mind and soul . . . We would in this connection suggest that in order to make the most possible use of our new building with its modern appliances, we must not forget that building, apparatus, books, and even excellent teachers in addition, cannot make a good school; this can exist only when and where the pupils are willing to do the necessary amount of hard work. In fact, it is but a truism to assert that nothing worth while can be accomplished, nothing of enduring good to the individual can come except by struggle and perseverance, self-denial and sacrifice. A perfect character, which is the end of all life, must be attained by persistent effort of heart, mind and body. We earnestly desire to make our schools bet¬ ter and better, more efficient in building stronger boys and girls, possessing keener minds, healthier bodies and higher moral characters. While we firmly believe that our children will compare favorably with those in other places in like conditions, yet we cannot state our desire too strongly for better results and a higher development. We, therefore, solicit the hearty cooperation of all parents to the end that the educational training which the pupils receive at our hands will not result in disappointment ard failure, but will show its fruitage in a life of never-ending usefulness and efficiency. ' 9