SUNY at New Paltz - Paltzonian Yearbook (New Paltz, NY)

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1 923 Our School L. H. van den Berg Njuly, 1923, Dr. van den Berg took up his duties as principal of New Paltz Normal. Perhaps Normal students received a thrill from the idea of a change of regimes. The Jazz Age had burst about their startled ears, John Held, jr. was beginning to draw pictures, and Prohibition was no longer worrying the country much. From all this the Girls of N. P. N. had been sheltered. Dr. Bliss had stood like a rock in the torrent, frowning upon the gradual elevation of the skirt and even announcing in Chapel the exact date on which the Normal maidens were to don their winter woolies. It should not be inferred that the Bliss administration was tyrannical nor that the new leader was one of ultra-radical tendencies, but with the coming of Dr. van den Berg the present day arrived in New Paltz. The three year course had supplanted the two year program in 1923, but en- trance requirements had remained virtually unchanged. Any person presenting a high school diploma was admitted to a state normal school. Things are diH'erent now, though. A selective admissions program is in effect, comprising a scholarship record of 72727 Regents average, the passing of a series of examinations of the psychological and general intelligence type, and the satisfactory completion of a personality test. The growth of the school since 1923 has been continuous, from less than 300 students in that year to over 800 in 1928. The Practice School, the village High School, and the Normal were all in what is now called the main building. Crowding was in- evitable, and the need for a separate Practice School was felt. The state, however, refused to erect a new building as long as the High School remained a part of the Normal and continued to be supported by the state. Opposition to the establishment ofa High School in the village was intense, but eventually the progressive spirit pre- vailed and the New Paltz Central High School came into being. The state granted an appropriation of 2l56oo,ooo and the construction ofthe new school was soon under way. Ready for occupancy in 1932, it was not dedicated until 1933 when, with suitable ceremony, the building was given the name of the Lawrence H. van den Berg School of Practice. The Central High School draws pupils from a consolidation of thirteen Thirgf-two

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1923 fi? if, The QE!! john Carlton Bliss was born at Ovid, New York, April l8, l868. Comell University gave him his A.B. degree in 1889 and he received an honorary Pd.D. degree from the StateATeachers College, Albany, in l908. He taught in Fairfield, New York, and was later Superintendent of Schools. From l900 to l904 he was Inspector for the State Edu- cation Department at Albany, and from l904-l908 he was in charge of teacher examination and certifi- cation. New Paltz Normal claimed him for its principal in 1908, a position he held for fifteen years. At the end of this time he retired to his home in New Paltz, where he died in l924. Principles and History of Education, School Economy, Logic, and Methods Courses in Eng- lish, Literature, Vocal Music, Arithmetic and Algebra, American History, Drawing and Handwork, Geography, Reading, Spelling, Phonics, Nature and Elementary Science, Manual Training or Household Arts, Penmanship, and Physical Training. Then as now the importance of extra-curricular activities was recognized, and students had many opportunities for membership in school clubs. These organizations were: Arethusa Sorority, Clionian Sorority, Delphic Fraternity, Philalethean Fraternity, Knights of King Arthur, Y. W. C. A., Girls' Glee Club, Boys' C-lee Club, junior Literary Society, Athletic Association, and the Alumni Association. Life in New Paltz was peaceful then. Movies were not a distraction, and the radio was not in use as an accompaniment to the evening's homework. The motorized age was not yet upon us, and the few commuters were hardy souls who arrived by train or trolley. Board and room could be had in the village at from 34.25 to 55.00 per week. The Normal continued to grow, and in l9l3 the State Legislature voted SI00,000 to provide for enlarging the school to meet the need for more room. The governor vetoed the bill on the ground that treasury funds were too low to stand so severe a drain. Two years later the school was obliged to refuse entrance to ninety applicants for admission. Eventually the necessary funds were raised, and in 1917 work was started on the wing which includes the auditorium and the library. The thud of marching feet mingled with the sound of hammers, for America was in the war in l9l 7, and in the gym high-school boys were drilling and marching with wooden guns. Attendance dropped off, school activities slackened, and Red Cross work and patriotic endeavors were paramount in student interest. When the tranquil days of peace returned, the Normal course was again altered and a summer session of six weeks was instituted. The new course marked another advance in the requirements for New York teachers, and the class of 1923 was the first hopeful group to graduate after receiving the more advanced training. The year of l923 also marked the end of an epoch in the life of New Paltz Normal, for then it was that Dr. Bliss, whose health had begun to fail, resigned his principalship and retired to private life. Thirly-one

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'w', Lawrence H. van den Berg was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1898 with a B.L. degree. He became principal of the High School in Grand Haven, Michigan, and later held a similar position in Owosso. He returned to Grand Haven as Superintend- ent of Schools in 1907. In 1912 he became Director of Training in the State Normal School at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and, in 1916, in the State Normal School at Oswego. .He accepted the prin- cipalship of New Paltz Normal in 1923. Dr. van den Berg received his M.A. from Columbia Uni- versity, and the honorary degree of Pd.D. from the New York State College for Teachers. districts, from which also come the children from the School of Practice. The registra- tion in the latter numbers about 550 pupils. Several years after Dr. van den Berg's arrival other important events occurred. In 1925 a revival of the student urge for selflgovernment was felt in New Paltz. The traditions of older days made the move a natural one, and the present government by Student Council, with few modifications, is the result. With the coming of Miss Margaret Fletcher, the office of Dean of Women, for which there had been a real need, was established in 1927. Miss MacArthur is the second person to hold the position of Dean, having come to New Paltz in 1931. Four years ago, because of continued growth of attendance at normal schools and the slow placement of graduates, the Board of Regents established a quota for attendance at all State Normal Schools. The quota assigned to New Paltz is 650 students. To keep pace with the increase in the number of the student body, the faculty has been enlarged from twenty-six members including High School instruc- tors, to forty-three. Even the course of study has undergone radical changes. New subjects have been added to the curriculum in the effort to improve the preparation of the future teachers. It is probable that the four year course of study for the perma- nent certification of elementary school teachers will become effective in 1937. The state gained control of the Hasbrouck Memorial Park, the property directly west of the School of Practice, in 1933. The park is to be developed into a general playground and athletic field for the children of the Practice School and the students of the Normal. Perhaps in a few years some of us of the Class of '36 will return to our old haunts. Perhaps children will be playing on the field under the watchful and nervous eye of a practice-teacher, and maybe the road in front of the school will be paved, and ivy may even be starting a precarious growth on the walls. We shall look at these changes with a jaundiced eye, and shuflle off, muttering about the good old days and trying to pull in an ever-so-slightly increasing waistline. But whatever happens to us, the school gives promise of being able to last through another long fifty years. Thzrgy three