Tecumseh High School - Savage Yearbook (Tecumseh, OK)

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EDUCATION, TECUMSEH’S BIGGEST BUSINESS Education in Tecumseh dates back to the spring of 1892. Then Miss Lela Henry brought 32 pupils together, set them on box seats and started the first teaching of funda- mentals in Tecumseh. For $3.00 a month she rented a frame building on West Main Street, near the present football field. Her pupils paid $1.50 a month tuition. Pupils gathered their ABC's from whatever books mother and father had saved. Early summer heat soon ended this first school. By the fall of 1893, Tecumseh had grown immensely in popula- tion. A new high school was built where Krouch School now is. It burned to the ground a few years later, and another magnificent three-story high school was built on the same site. It too, burned Feb. 10th in 1916. The present temporary high school was quickly erected in 1916 by the same architect who designed the Oklahoma State Capitol. Barnard Elementary School, built in 1909, is the oldest struc- ture still used. Two modem additions were built adjacent to LIST OF SUPERINTENDENTS 18 -1902 Mr. 1903-1908 Mr. 1909-1911 Mr. 1911-1913 Mr. 1913- 1914 Mr. 1914- 1914 Mr. George Patrick Virgil H. Durham Payne Harry Hooper Richards Clarence Robinson (one semester) 1914-1915 Mrs. Lola Durham (one semester) 1915-1917 Mr. H.L. Allen 1917- 1918 Mr. B.A. Bridgewater 1918- 1919 Mr. E. L. Bryant Tecumseh High School today. The new portion of the school, built in 1963, is in the foreground. Also as part of the school complex is a new gymnasium considered the finest in Pottawatomie County and Central Oklahoma. The county tournament is played at Tecumseh. it in the 1960's. Krouch Elementary School was built in 1961. The Junior High School was built in the 1960's, as well as the new part of THS, completed in 1963. Recently, the forward-looking Tecumseh School Board purchased a substantial number of acres for a new high school complex to be built north of the new Tecumseh City Park area. Farris E. Willingham, who came from Francis School District in Pontotoc County, served longer than any other superintendent, from 1927 to 1955. He was suc- ceeded by Ralph Spencer, who resigned to become Pottawatomie County Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Alva Melot succeeded James K. Krouch in 1967 and is presently superintendent. Dean of the THS faculty is Miss Helen C. Taylor. She served 51 years as a teacher and princi- pal, before retiring in 1959. She 1919- 1920 Mr. L.P. Evans 1920- 1925 Mr. G.S. Dowell 1925-1925 Mr. Luther Mays (one semester) 1925- 1926 Mr. R.L. Clayton 1926- 1927 Mr. A.W. Dagley 1927- 1955 Mr. F.E. Willingham 1955-1961 Mr. Ralph Spencer 1961-1967 Mr. James K. Krouch 1967- Mr. Alva Melot Present lives now in a Shawnee nursing home. Education is Tecumseh's lar- gest business. Since the 1890's, kind and generous citizens, who put civic pride and community pro- gress above the emoluments of personal credit or material gain, have fortified the physical struc- tures of Tecumseh Schools. Educa- tion is rich in this communitv. The fabric of school social re- lations has the pattern of mutual concert extending the length and breath of the Tecumseh School District. Supt. H.L. Allen as he looked in the first THS yearbook-- The Black and Gold --in 1915. He also was principal, band director, and coach of football, basketball, track and taught physics.

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THIS SPORTS HERITAGE PROUD ONE My, how cute THS girl basketball players looked in 1915! And how about those hats. They had a 4-3 record. McLoud beat them three times, 23-12, 30-4, and 5-4. Players are, Left To Right, Ward, Arrington, Grimes, Longstreth, Cot- ton, (captain), McKinney and Coach F.R. Pauly. The uniforms didn't match. But the 1916 Savage baseball team went to the state playoffs in Norman. They beat Ana- darko 7-5, then lost to Hollis, who went on to win the state championship. Coach was G.R. Bridgewater, in rear, a former OU pitcher. Archie Clark, All-State center on the 1917 football team, believed to be only player ever to reach that coveted position from THS. SAVAGES' TEAMS CHANGE STYLES OF UNIFORMS, BUT NOT FOR VICTORIES Down through the years, Tecumseh's fighting Savages have displayed a rich tradition in sports activities. There have been great teams, such as the only undefeated football seasons in 1936 and 1952. There have been magnificent basketball, baseball, wrestling, boxing, and track teams. Individual stars such as Aubrey Buzz Barton '32, who won the national high school 440-yard dash. And all-round star Ralph Star Crane '48. It would take pages to list them all. One of the all-time season records was held by the football squad of 1926. Lexington beat Tecumseh 7-6 the first game. They played Lex- ington again and tromped them 72-0! Farris Willingham was the coach. The photo- graph at Bottom Left shows the Savages kicking off to Lexington. Here's how devastating the football team was that year: SEASON'S RECORD—1926 Tecumseh 6 Lexington 7 14 Konawa 0 19 Maud 0 42 Wanette 0 58 Cromwell 0 46 Konawa 0 21 Seminole 0 24 Maud 0 34 Stroud 0 40 Chandler 0 72 Lexington 0 376 TOTALS 7

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THS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OBSERVES ITS 73RD REUNION IN 1976 TECUM SEH High School is unique among all high schools in Oklahoma. It has the oldest active alumni asso- ciation in the state, and possibly the entire Southwest. More than 2,755 graduates belong to the unusual group. About 175 alumni members are now deceas- ed. The idea of forming an alumni group came in the fall of 1903, and in the spring of 1904, a Miss King issued a hand-written invitation to the four seniors graduating that year. Through through four wars and a depression the THS Alumni Association has met from its birth to the present. Early teachers Lola Durham and Helen C. Tay- lor help keep the infant association going. Others who assisted were Emmett Klapp, retired druggest now living in Tecumseh; his brother, John, living also in Tecumseh, and Mrs. Mittie Cotten Sweet, of National City, Calif. The first alumni meetings were held in private homes. Among those first hosting the event were Mrs. Mayme Henderson Newell and Mrs. Bessie Dic- kerson Clark, both deceased. As membership gained, site of the gatherings moved to the Opera House, where 5-Star Milling Company is now located. The last Saturday of each May, THS Alumni members single and renew old friendships at City Hall. ASSOCIATION IS . . . Photo Above shows part of the huge crowd that attended the Bicentennial Alumni Banquet. Below, three women who have served as Alumni Association presidents the past three years pose for the yearbook cameraman. Left To Right are Jerri Robinson Wolfinbarger, Peggy Harwell and Sharyl Tarbox Patten. Roy K. Tor Hays was elected president for 1976-77. (Continued on Next Page) The last Saturday of each May, THS Alumni members mingle and renew old friendships at City Hall. Above are some seniors of the historic 1976 class of Tecumseh High School. It appears they're having a good time and will attend again.