Springfield Trade High School - Beaver Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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FIFTIET: Two groups of boys, 25 each, were or- ganized; one in woodworking, the other in machine shop practices. These boys spent their regular school hours in the Howard Street School and the Chestnut Street School. After school hours, in the afternoon, they used the Technical High School shops. The year was 1909 and Dr. Wilbur F. Gordy was the Super- intendent of Schools in Springfield. Two years later, the School Board investi- gated the then new state laws regarding Voca- tional Education. State aid was offered to cities and towns of the Commonwealth who could and would meet the requirements set down. These requirements dealt with admin- istration, teaching staffs and the physical plants. On September 5, 1911, the Springfield Vocational infant was born, on the second floor of a factory building on Taylor Street. The staff worked hard to protect the new foundling. No fancy sterilized equipment pro- tected its health. No cure-all opiate was avail- able to protect the infant against the dread opinion of the populace. The School Board approved Mr. Egbert E. McNary as the infant's first principal; its first guardian of new ways and learning habits. He mother ed, and fathered his baby. He steered the infant away from harm and toward the good. He gave it Louis Albero ODM Ot ¥ Ay Mt wD) ) Class of 1912 Ralph Marshall Ernest Monahan Edward Ritter Edward Thompson F.- Warren Wells Raymond Woods Rupert Burnett Joseph Brown Earl Graves Harold Hitchcock Thomas Keating sound advice and taught it basic working habits, so that it may build for the future, when it could stand up and walk straight with the men of Commerce and Industry. But now, it was only creeping toward its objective and Mr. McNary favored his child with tender care and devotion. Soon, the child was a willowy sprig of a youth, who did not know which way to turn. He was getting out of sorts with his com- munity. His community did not know how to treat him. The war was on in Europe and Americans felt the need to do something. Our little infant of 1911 was pretty big now. He could move around a bit and with some skills. But he wanted to go work and his guardian allowed him. When the war was over, our youthful boy was assigned to Mr. George Burridge for guidance. The year—1919; the communities Mr. Egbert. E. McNary First Principal Mr. George A. Burridge Principal

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Administration p 2 if i a i 2 MR. DENNIS J. BRUNTON Assistant Principal MRS. TERESINA B. THOMPSON Assistant Principal

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FIFT Bt] of America hustled to house its citizens; indus- try rushed to reap its profits and just plain people pressed for pleasure. We had our few bad years, now we looked for light-hearted, well-fed and well-heeled years. In the turmoil something happened. Some got rich, very rich and the poor got poorer. There seemed to be some contradiction in whomever had charge of issuing events. However, our mere stripling of a youth was feeling the firm hand of his guardian. The good Mr. Burridge, with his far-sighted wis- dom, held his excitable, youthful charge in check. The right time had not arrived yet. His cultural cousins looked askance at this youth- ful upstart. We must advance with caution, advises the ingenious guardian. Your day is coming, he insists. Meanwhile, our youth grows. His muscles are beginning to bulge with new life. His phys- ical rainment of brick and mortar are stiffling his heart-beat. His pulse painfully pounds from constriction. He is well-fed with new children, but his energy needs boosting. He must get new expansion space. His various activities cannot be girded by a limited measure; he must grow in all directions. Arrangements are finally made for the growing boy to bellow out his erstwhile pleasure, when the Board, listening to his guardian, agreed to don him w.th a new suit of steel and stone. His strides became 7-league style as 32 Spring Street became his new home. So, at the age of 10 years, our child grows fast. His numbers mul- tiply, and his needs increase. The year is 2d Two years later, he changes his name from Vocational to Trade, and under this name and Mr. Burridge’s careful guidance, he is con- firmed for manhood. So, with maturity and grace, he accepts the responsibilities of the community. He continuously prepares his boys for the daily chores that bind a good com- munity together. No glamor comes his way. He does not operate spectacularly, but follows good old-fashioned ‘‘horse sense.’’ As his standards rise, so does the community's. As his enrollment increases, so does the community’s population. As he wisely equips himself and his charges for life's work, so does the com- munity equip itself for the future. By 1934 our youth has risen to great think- ing. Up to now, he has taken care of the boys of the community. His thoughts turn now to added responsibilities. How about the girls? His new home cannot house both boys and girls, so again the community responds to the occasion and appoints Mrs. Margaret Ells to assistant-principalship in charge of girls. The Old Hooker School again affords space for our youthful pioneer. All is not settled, how- ever, for no family can be separated and endure as a family. + e % Mrs. Margaret C. Ells Assistant Principal In charge of Girls’ Division Great minds of the community were shown by our erstwhile guardians, Mr. Burridge and Mrs. Ells that one family needs one home. Consequently, planning started on just that. The future home must be a pleasant home, have a homey atmosphere, and must have a natural and beautiful location. The site at 1300 State Street was finally chosen and con- struction began in 1938. By the-Fall of 1940, the new home was blessed with eager young- sters, ready to learn the operations of the trade of their choice. Again though, the shadows of war loomed overhead. Undaunted, our now ‘old’ man of experience accepted the challenge and before cheers returned to the world, had trained some 16,000 persons to take over the many jobs in the plants of the area involved in war production. The ‘old’ man doesn’t even want