Riverside Brookfield High School - Rouser Yearbook (Riverside, IL)

Page 11 text:

c, the students ot' Riverside-llrookI'ield High School, take this oppor- tunity to thank .ludge Clancy t'or his sincere interest in our high school. llc saw the school's need t'or additional space and gave his t'ull time and cooperation to sec that that necessity was niet. XYithout his leadership and hard work we inight not he looking forward now to the benefits we are to receiyc. Thus we wish to express our sincere appreciation to Judge Clancy for his whole-hearted enthusiasln and leadership in this enterprise. BOARD OF EDt'CA'l'ION Much credit is due to the lloard ol' Education for their devotion to the cause ot' lt. IS. H. S. Through their combined et't'o1'ts the realization ot' the necessity for niore space was brought before the voters and the bond issue passed successt'uIly. NYith the interests ot' the students at heart, this l'ar- seeing group of citizens helped to realize a project which will benefit not only the present generation, but also serve the young people ot' this connnu- nity for inany years to conie. Left to Right: Mr. Ross Ilinkle. Mrs. T. H. Ludlow, Mr, E. M. Trone, Mrs. C. B. Allen, Judge D. Clancy.

Page 10 text:

f- . Building Progmm Bv .IoHN D. Cinxxev Presidelzf of Board of 1f!flllTl1ffOlI Six years ago we were keenly aware of the crowded dangerous conditions in our building. Two conditions at that time prevented any immediate improvement. One of these was the fact that we did not have any available land to lay out a plan, as the land which the high school then owned, exclusive of that which would be occupied by the building additions, was 11ot suf- ficient for a full-sized football field. The second was the tremendous load of debt which had been accumulated. NVQ then started out with two objectives: 1. To acquire some new land. 2. To reduce our indebtedness and build up a fund for building operations. Continuous work has been done on those two projects ever since. There has been a decree entered by the Superior Court of Cook County issuing us most of the block of land to the east of us. We have on hand sufficient cash to complete our new building operations. Our building plans fall into four classes: 1. Alterations and rehabilitation of our pres- ent building. XYe hope to correct some of the present evils by clearing tl1e corridors of steel lockers, furnishing more and bet- ter light, providing conveniences for per- sonal cleanliness and better and safer stairways. 2. A Manual Arts Section approximately 100 ft. by 130 ft., which when completed will be one of the best in the country. 3. A ten classroom unit. This statement of necessity will not permit a detailed dis- cussion, but l want to mention plans underway for a new library. 4. Plans for the future. The one which we hope will be first accomplished is the building of light, clean, airy gymnasiums, one for boys and one for girls, with ade- quate bathing and other modern conven- iences for the physical well-being of the students.

Page 12 text:

N, . 'lvjfg-,sg.5 , ' r i vmw amz. Me ew ' OH the third time in its history Biverside-Brookfield Higl1 School has reached the breaking point in supplying the needs of a maximum number of students in a minimum amount of space. For the third time, that space is being provided. Never since 1917, when the first section of the present building was completed, has tl1e enroll- ment decreased by so much as one pupil. Quite on the contrary, in those twenty years it has increased from 127 to 941. ln 1895, under the guidance of Mr. Lane, principal, and Mr. A. F. Ames, superintendent, nineteen students en- rolled in the Town Hall in Riverside. Later the high school moved to the east wing of the then newly-completed Cen- tral Grammar School building. The grad- uating class of 1900 was composed of three girls and one boy. Mr. E. L. Hardy succeeded Mr. Lane as principal in 1901, and in 1906 Mr. T. H. Zeigler took his place. Standards were raised, and the twelve graduates in the class of 1908 had to have at least sixteen credits. During this time high school students who lived in Brookfield came to River- side to school, and their district paid their tuition. In 1909, breaking away from the township of Proviso, Districts 95 Clirookfieldl and 96 CRiversideJ unit- ed to form High School District 208. The new township high school was known as the Riverside-Brookfield High School, and had an enrollment of 67 and a faculty which numbered four. Two courses of study were offered and there was a library valued at six hundred dollars. Mlithin seven years, however, the quarters in the Grammar School became cramped and the facilities inadequate. The state threatened to remove the school from its accredited list if the con- ditions were not remedied. Accordingly, the original section of the present build- ing was built and was ready in April of 1917 for occupation by 127 students and twelve teachers under Principal George Mueller. Mr. Otto C. Haack, today head of the Industrial Arts department, was one of those teachers. Then came the Great VVar. Six stu- dents enlisted: Mr. Mueller was called to serve in the Navy and VV. P. Yvyatt became principal. During the winter of 1918, because of the coal shortage, high school classes met afternoons in the Brookfield Grammar school, w h i l e younger brothers a11d sisters occupied the same rooms during the morning sessions. The war over, R-B finally settled in its new home and began the rapid ex- pansion in academic, athletic, and social fields which has yet shown no signs of slackening. Five new courses of study were offered, the high school attained the maximum accrediting, the library was enlarged by gifts and donations, a Girls' Dramatic clubvnow Masque and XVig-and a Boys' Debating club were formed, an evening dancing class spon- sored school and social spirits , a six- man squad, coached by Mr. Haack, won the heavyweight basketball champion- ship of the Suburban League, and lost the Cook County championship to Carl Shurz High School with a score of 7f6, the campus still mostly prairie, was being landscaped. In 1920 the graduating class numbered twenty one. The school had an eight- piece orchestra, and fifteen boys made up the football squad. Subjects offered included public speaking and oral read- ing, Palmer method, and parliamentary procedure. Civics and economics were part of the commerce department. The next few years saw an Art Department added and the Home Economics, General Science, and Physical Education divi- sions enlarged. A Student Council was elected, a baseball team formed, and more clubs organized. A newspaper, the Sentinel,,, was published weekly. In 1925, for the second time, the rapidly-increasing enrollment, which had grown from 127 in 1917 to 403, warned that the building, with a capacity of 350, already overcrowded, would soon be entirely inadequate. Several subjects had necessarily been dropped, several more would have to be dropped within the next year because of congestion and lack of classrooms, these conditions being especially acute in the Art, Home Eco- nomics, Commerce, and Manual Training departments. The Lunchroom, then in what is now the print shop, had over- flowed into the gym, some teachers were