Streator Township High School - Hardscrabble Yearbook (Streator, IL)

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COLONEL RALPH PLUMB 1816 1903 CCKQWWQ HARDSCRABBLE No record IS knovsn of a ullage 1n th1s locatlon prevlous to the Clul War although settlements had been made as far back as 1821 The first sxgn of development toward a buslness settlement came about 1860 when a store was erected along the rlver bank near the present locatlon of the gas plant at the foot of Cedar Street Other bulldxngs soon At thlg tlme a blacksmlth observlng a team m 1ts struggle to ascend from the rn er ford up 1ts banks to the hlgher ground commented as to the hard scrabble follovsed lt mth a slgn on hxs place of business read mg Hardscrabble and thereafter for sew eral vears the settlement vsas knovsn as Hardscrabble The name of th1s settlement was changed to UHl0HVlll8 and later to Streator The settlement changed too from a vlllage to the modern c1ty of today but there IS a DIC turesqueness about the llttle settlement of those olden days that cannot be demed the llttle settlement 1n a beauty spot of Ill1no1s on the banks of the Vermllllon where the blacksmlth could stand 1n hls doorway and watch the teams strugglmg to ascend the banks from the ford a Hardscrabble To the ullage ln 1866 came Colonel Ralph Plumb tlreless mdustrlallst first maxor and great benefactor of th1s com munltx He 18 rexered because of hls re markable planmng and the establlshment of mam of the mdustrlal and buslness assets of Streator and because of hls achlevements for oul c1t5 E 1 lc, V so 0 lt , . . Y 7. . . K , . . . 7. G Y , . . a W , . - , a u b. . , N . I . Li L V n n VI l 1 . 1 . , , u S9 followed. ' ' ' Y K Y . . W w . W 1 ' N ' .1 . . . , ,. . . , , L L, , N, v . K , 1 ' v ' v ' - . , , . . ' H - v v ' ' .' s , . K L L L L V ' 1 I 1 .W 1 1 I . v

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-ll-up x . , A FAMILIAR PLACES- FAMILIAR FACES School . . . Seniors . . . Underclassmen . . . Administration . . . Faculty . . . Main- te-nance JI' -'Ei' Q . . V . , f 1 A u K ,.. , . - .4 JI.. , 'I , ,-:- 4 ,I gl- ,r.j- 1

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SCHOOL HISTORY Hlgh school educatlon was llmxted 1n the earlx dax s to a few classes held 1n the grade school bulldlngs In the fall of 1840 Colonel Plumb took adxantage of a new state law and estabhshed the new Streatox Townsh1p Hlgh School the thlrd one 1n the state establlshed under the townshlp ss stem The school occupled xar1ous locat1ons such as a blllldlllg on South Bloomlngton Street where Garfield School now stands Mr Samuel Plumbs bank bulldmg and the 'Vlethodxst In 1881 Colonel Plumb had plans drawn for a permanent school buxldlng Th1s buxld mg was Colonel Plumb s glft to Streator The s1te the present locatlon was purchased bs the cltlzens of the communxtx The day of dedlcatlon September 1 1882 was a memorable one Colonel Plumb sald ln hls presentaton speech It IS mx cheerful contrlbutlon to the a1d of that svstem of popular educatlon controlled and conducted under state laws on whlch the people of the lepubllc must lalgelx depend for the per manencx of our lI1St1tlltlOI'lS Thls bulldlng was constructed to accom modate 400 students It conslsted of two storles a basement and an observatory 1n the tower It contamed an assemblv hall a llbrarw and varlous classrooms and 1n 1887 the museum was begun ln the hlgh school The students occupled th1s blllldlllg untll the late mnetxes when the enrollment lncreased to such an extent that the fac1l1t1es proved madequate and lt became necessary to add more rooms to the Oflglndl structure 1882 'I902 v vw v ylwv 1 . Q D '1 1 v Q . . ,.- t V . '. . ,, v 'w w 1.1 Y 1 1 1 7 9 1 , . . . , 1 1 1 ' 11 ! v7 ' 9 v ' v f. ' ' ,' . . l . 1 . v l ' 1 ' 1 ' church. , - -, v - ,, . . A ' . I vvl 1' 1 l ' I1 I lv V . , . , . . v A. ' v 1 ' Y l 1 I V wr. ' '1 U ' v , 7 1, .