Souderton High School - Unaliyi Yearbook (Souderton, PA)

Page 12 text:

2, 3

Page 11 text:

isforcy of ur SCAOOI On August 24, 1875, Samuel Godshall sold to the town of Souderton a lot which is now the site of the Chestnut Street School. The first school house was a one-room building erected in 1875. The Chestnut Street School was taken over by the borough in 1888 when the first School Board was elected. The first class to graduate from the Souderton High School was the Class of 1894 which consisted of only four members. From that early start to the present, the history of our school is a story of continuous progress, improvement, and development. The greatest step in that progress was taken when in September of 1932 the classes first met in what was then the new building on School Lane. In 1956 a Building Committee was appointed. What was its purpose? Well, since World War II, Souderton showed an immense growth including the five other districts. We had outgrown our present school and a new one was needed. This was the reason for the Building Committee. No- vember 20, 1957, the architect gave the signal and, after the ground breaking ceremony, con- struction began. With eager anticipation, we watched the new building progress through its various stages. On September 13, 1959, the Corner Stone Laying Ceremony was held. It was on the previous Wednesday, September 9, 1959, that the students first entered the school. We, the class of 1961, are proud and honored to be the second class to graduate from this beautiful build- mg.

Page 13 text:

n :x4PPreciafion The supervision of a high school is a pro- foundly complex operation. We of the Souder- ton Area District have been extremely for- tunate to have received the services of Mr. E. Merton Crouthamel, who for the past forty years. has been dedicated to the public service. Mr. Crouthamel's teaching career began as Assistant Principal in the Beccaria Township Schools in 1914 and 1915. During the follow- ing two years. he taught here at Sounderton, and from 1918 to 1919, he spent one year in the United States Army. After his military service was completed, he taught in Butler, Pennsylvania. In 1921, he returned to Souder- ton as Assistant Principal for one yearg and then assumed his present position as Super- vising Principal. succeeding Mr. A. L. Gehman. It was during his term as Supervising Prin- cipal that the Elementary School building at Summit Street was builtg the former High School building was builtg and our present building was erected. Mr. Crouthamel was re- sponsible for many familiar things around the school which today are merely taken for granted. He was responsible for the erection of the fence around the athletic field, the build- ing of the large stands. and the installation of the floodlights. All of these things made the athletic events more enjoyable to watch and participate in. One of his more recent addi- tions to the school was a set of driver training machines to promote better driving habits among the student body. With prudent frugal- ity, he procured more equipment of finer caliber for our new high school with the money ex- pended than many people thought possible. He has undertaken many jobs such as the super- vision of our athletic programs, which now re- quires the service of several people. Mr. Crouthamel has seen the faculty of Sou- derton grow from approximately ten to our present force of seventy-seven. These years of service which we have received from him are truly prolific, and we, the class of 1961, wish him many enjoyable years during his forthcom- ing retirement. We are deeply grateful for the many things that he has made possible for us.