Roosevelt High School - Sagamore Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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The first yearbook pictured student organizations which were also much the same as today, including a football team, basketball team, volley ball. G.A.A.. Zenith Literary Society (whose members had the privilege of exercising their “literary. elocutionary, or musical abilities at weekly meetings). LeCercle Francais. Radio Club, and Girls' Reserve. A sophomore class play, an allschool May Day Festival, and weekly auditorium programs were presented by this first group of ambitious students at R.H.S. fifty years ago. As the years passed by. the school continued to grow. The number of students increased to 2.704 in February. 1926. The building of Sanford Junior High in 1926 and of Nokomis in 1929 helped relieve this congestion. However. Roosevelt was still over-crowded with 2.400 students and a third junior high school. Folwell. was erected in 1931. Since then, the enrollment at Roosevelt has been limited to the upper three grades. Additions have been made to the Roosevelt physical plant several times. In 1933 the athletic field was improved with additions of gates, ticket booths, fences, etc. (Padlocks were purchased for $15.02.) A greenhouse was added in 1951. class rooms and choral rooms in 1958. fire towers in 1963. and the last addition in 1966-68 included an entire new north wing for art. science and home economics, an addition for industrial arts rooms, a large auto shop and a double gymnasium. Organizations, sports, and other activities for students grew in number during the years. Dedicated athletes and coaches have collected championships. For example. Roosevelt won the state football championship in 1935 and in 1956. the state basketball championship in 1956. state golf championship in 1960. city hockey championship in 1958. etc. The trophy cases are bulging with mementoes won since 1922. Roosevelt students have earned honors for themselves and for the school in all other activities, such as. speech, debate, music, drama, etc Historians have not recorded these honors, but one of the outstanding speech and debate students later became a judge of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Roosevelt has graduated approximately 27.000 students, beginning with the first class of eight graduates in 1924. These thousands of graduates have participated in every area of human endeavor. If the original students and faculty who entered the building on that bright September day in 1922 could return, they would be gratified to find how much each succeeding class has contributed to the community. In fact. Roosevelt graduates tend to remain in this area. A survey taken of the students now attending Roosevelt revealed that about thirty percent of them are from families where one parent or both parents also attended Roosevelt High School. And what of the future? In the words of Philip Carlson, the first principal, who wrote in the 1932 “Sagamore. It is safe to predict that if the spirit of Roosevelt will continue to prevail in the next decade as that spirit has prevailed during the ten years now drawing to a close, this institution of learning will exert a powerful influence for good in the years that lie ahead. In a salute to those who have contributed to the growth of Roosevelt High School, pictures from former year books have been included in this Golden Anniversary Edition. Though fashions and styles may change, modes of communication and transportation may improve, examination of the history of Roosevelt High School shows that basically students participate in the same kinds of classes and activities designed to assist them in assuming adult responsibilities in our society.

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GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY Fifty Years at Roosevelt High School A golden anniversary is a splendid time to review highlights in the past, to assist us in appreciating the present, and to guide us towards a better future. Roosevelt High School was built on land which originally was owned by Milton Brown, a farmer. In 1887 the farm was sold and the land divided into city lots. During the years the community grew and the need for a new school became a great concern. Finally, twelve energetic citizens made a neighborhood canvass in March. 1921. They secured 7.000 signatures petitioning that a school be built on 40th Street and 28th Avenue South. There was some controversy about the name for the new school. Several names were considered. including “Nokomis. but eventually the name “Roosevelt was chosen. Construction was begun in the fall of 1921 and doors to the new building were opened on September 4. 1922. with a student enrollment of 1.384. The building had cost $714,786.25 and was designed for about 1.500 students. Roosevelt began operating as a junior and senior high school, with no seniors that first year. “Roosevelt High School soon gained a reputation for excellence Sixty teachers, churning with ideas and energy, staffed the young building. The students were charged with zest and determination. which made school life vitally productive. The parents gave encouragement and support. This united effort reflected what was a new spirit in the land a sense of purpose and the need for building strong foundations. This period was a construction sequel to the tragedies and divisiveness of World War I. There was a real promise of the future. 1 The first yearbook. The Mirror. includes reports from academic departments at the school which sounds much the same as it might today, fifty years later. Even then, committees existed, and a special faculty scholarship committee writes, in 1923. It is this committee’s duty to notify parents of their children's failure in school, to find the reasons therefor, and to secure better work If students do not succeed, they are placed on probation and they face dismissal. They have proved they do not want an education. They must not waste the taxpayer's money. 4 l Dr Mercedes Nelson, commencement address. Roosevelt High School. June. 1972

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Student Life ....11 Sports .........53 Activities .....83 Clubs...........86 Seniors .......138 Juniors .......176 Sophomores .. 188 Index .........200 6