Rochester High School - Mirage Yearbook (Rochester, PA)

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- Hisfoful 06 gclzools ' 1849 not only brought into being a new borough, but the same year, on May 22, a meeting was held in the old frame school house flater to be the parsonage of the Evangelical Associationj, and a permanent organization of schools was effected. The first school board was composed of William Martin, Pres., Dr. T. Chandler, Sec'y., John Berryhill, Treas., R. Smith, G. C. Speyerer, and McClung. On May 31, the first teachers were elected, Philip Grim, principal, at a salary of S28 a month and Miss Rice, Assistant, at .514 a month. The first term of school began the first Monday in June and was to continue for four or five months, or as long as the money lasted. As the town increased in population it became necessary to build another school and in 1862 the Jegerson Street School was built. Gradually the school term was changed, until by 1865 they had a term be- ginning in the fall and lasting for eight months. In 1885 the Adams Street School was built, and the next year a night school was established for those who could not attend day school. This continued in operation until 1897 when the compulsory attendance law went into effect. Under the date of June 2, 1890, the fol- lowing resolution was adopted by the Board: That we establish a high school, the prin- cipal of our schools to be the principal of the high school, and that we elect a teacher to be an assistant to the principal in this branch of our school workf' W. F. Bliss was the first principal, and Miss Mary Stone was elected to be the first teacher of the new high school. At first a two year course was offered and this was later in- creased to three years, and in 1905 we had the first class graduating from a four year course. The high school met in the Jefferson Street Building until the Pinney Street School was built in 1902, and then classes were transferred to the second floor of that building, the first Hoor being used for an elementary school. Classes continued to meet here until February 24, 1914 when the building was destroyed by fire. The various churches then donated the use of their Sunday School rooms for school pur- poses, and classes were held there until the fall of 1916. By this time the Pinney Street School had been remodeled and made ready for use as an elementary school. Because of crowded conditions, a high school was also built at this same time on Adams Street, and grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve were transferred there in the fall of 1916. School continued that way until 1926 when a junior high school for the seventh and eighth grades was organized at Pinney Street, and by 1933 the entire ninth grade was taken to that building, and the three- three plan established. Finally the grades

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fJ,,FJ fb T ' 1 X , ff 1 Y Aff ffl -: x , A sv- f ma-- eg .., . I .: T- 1 + hxix -T- +2- vance the business interests than he did. Even today titles to property are traced back to the map he made of this section, called Pinney's Plan of Lots. With the passing of the canal and the advent of the railroad, Rochester still had an advantage of position. The first rail- road track was built here in 1851, and with it came untold possibilities. The next thing necessary for the material advancement of the town was manufacturing. In 1854 the Rochester Manufacturing Company was or- ganized on Water Street and at first, bar- rels were made here, and a short time later cars for railroads. One of the earliest in- dustries was the fire brick works started by the Pendleton Brothers. In 1872 the Roches- ter Tumbler Company was organized and became the largest company of the kind in the world with a factory extending one- half mile along the river and eventually employing as many as 1100 employees. An outgrowth of this company was the H. C. Fry Glass Company in North Rochester. Once started, factories seemed to spring up over night, including flour mills, bottle works, lumber yards, stove works, marble and granite works, etc. Rochester was incorporated as a bor- ough by an Act of Assembly on March 20, 1849. Ar this time there were two hun- dred twenty-eight taxable persons who met for an election of borough officers. A11 persons who had resided within the limits for one year and who were entitled to vote for members of the State Legislature were given the right to vote at the first election. The first town clerk was W. Boyd, and the first council was composed of R. G. Parks, Boles, I. Gray and Dr. T. C. Chandler. The town continued to progress' and in- crease in population, and the churches and schools became the very center of com- munity life. The first church to be erected was the Trinity Episcopal in 1852, which still stands today, and two years later the St. Cecilia's Roman Catholic and the Grace Lutheran were built, both of which have been replaced by other structures. As we look at Rochester now we note many changes that have taken place in the last century. Paved streets have replaced the old dirt roads, brick and cement side- walks have taken the place of the old board- walks. People no longer have to carry oil lanterns at night. The old ferry boat was replaced by a bridge between Monaca and Rochester at the lower end of Brighton Avenue and when this became unsafe for the extensive travel caused by automobiles and trucks a more substantial one was built in the present location which is now in use. In 1892 the Peoples Electric Street Railway Company was started, but this, in turn, has been done away with in favor of buses. One of the early pioneers, if he could look at Rochester today would not recognize it because of the many changes and the ad- vancement made during the last century and we feel sure that our town will con- tinue to progress as the years go by. 44N w-ijt , ,lx Q . fEflTZ,lE--'l'ib5i5,jLfgYQf.-3521:-2 3- . X Aki ' f5Lt 1+ Hrs-set. e-wr.--I fs QFLT 5 W , ,,'.-i-T .wp--7 . - -.-.1-rg sa. ,A 1, -fi' Z Awe-in-' v Q ' ian iff? -i . . . .. ,434 , , .- , ' I I f w abs f ff-eff 'P . - 4 1m . f -ff df.- ,grae f--eq fe -2- ' Xia ng , f , . ,ggseig X ,, k Wayan' if f A-iff' t , I '45 , f ,ff . , W , -i- R --'. f ,f -I. .:-- X- f - 21,57

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were all removed from the Pinney Street Building, and shop classes for both junior and senior high school held there. During the years we have seen many changes talce place. As early as 1899, blue and white were chosen for our school colors. The first football team was or- ganized in 1906 with Orin Lester as coach and played at the old W. Washington Street field, but some outsiders were on the team. However, the first team, composed entirely of high school boys, made its appearance in 1908 with the late Col. Joseph Thomp- son as coach. In 1912, the business course was added to the course of study with Mr. Fritz as in- structor. The following year, 1913, the Board of Education opened the first play- ground on W. Washington Street which in- cluded, along with other equipment, a swimming pool. The first high school year- book was published in 1911 and was called the Nic-Nacv, the following year the 1V1agpie',, the next year the Spider-Web , and in 1914 the name of Mirage was giv- en to it. A school paper dated 1895 and edited by Eugene Guyer, called The Seniors was in existence but was short lived. In 1922 another paper The Blue and White,' ap- peared, edited by Jack Malone. But not until 1927 did The Oracle come into ex- istence and it has been published ever since. In 1916 the first courses in home eco- nomics for girls and industrial arts for boys were organized. Both courses were taught on the first floor of the high school, but shop classes were later transferred to the junior high school. A Basketball was introduced when the new high :school was built and we find the hrst team appearing in 1917 with Alex Pearson as the coach. Girls, basketball was also organized the same year with Edith Hunter as the coach. During the turbulent times of 1917-18 the high school was turned over to the U. S. government for instruction in military train- ing. Boys over twelve were permitted to work on farms when needed, and in 1918, due to the influenza epidemic, the State De- partment of Health ordered all schools closed and the building was used as a com- munity kitchen. In 1921 the school board purchased the present athletic held for about .S8,000, which was equipped and made ready for use. That same year saw the opening of summer school for the benefit of both ac- celerated and retarded pupils. This prac- tice has been abolished. Gradually we have added other courses to our curriculum, the band, the chorus, art, and driving. We feel that our schools have kept pace with the industrial and social developments of this and adjacent communities. We may not be as progressive, so called, as schools are in some areas, but we believe that our schools are comparable with others in sim- ilar communities in providing adequate edu- cation for the youth of the present. Also, we feel that we give, for the money ex- pended, the best educational facilities that our dollars can buy.