Walkerville High School - Yearbook (Walkerville, MI)

Page 6 text:

6+ s 1 1

Page 5 text:

Dedzbaflbn We the seniors of 1956 dedicate this annual to the alumni of Walkervllle in honor of the fifty years that this school has stood as a great heritage to our cormunlty. We are proud that we are now a small part of the alumni. Hi, WHWJ 'NW elmo! fifkfo y I do not know when the first school was established at Walkerrllle, But according to the data I have been able to collect, it must have been early in the eigh een-seventys. A little schoolhouse was built one mile west of the village at what is now known as the cemetery corners, and the first teacher was a Mr. Hall. The first building soon became to small and a new one was built in 1883, the same year the village of Walkerville was platted. My first knowledge of the school was when I started to school there in September 1888. Mrs Cora Vaughan is the only other person now here that attended the school at that time. I do not know what the first teacher was paid, but I do know that at least one teacher taught for 818. a month, and when the teacher wages got up to 340. a month a lot of the people thought it was way tc much.

Page 7 text:

my first teacher was a Hrs. Stella Tilton. School was a vastly different proposition then, than it is now. We had four terms, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Ninter. I usually attended most of the winter term until my graduation in 1697. The school was crowded to the limit during the winter term. One winter there were Q4 enrolled under one teacher. The Pringinal district consisted of ' t t d to sections 5 L 7 and 8 and so continued until 190i when a movement was e ar e move the schoolhouse to Walkervllle. This movement met with a lot of opposition but district ho. 3 was finally split up the west half was added tc the Pine Grove and Sayles districts. District No. 8 was formed from the east half. In 1905 the district bonded for 85,000 and the present main building was constructed. The building was not ready the first of the year so school was held in the townhall until the lower story of the new building was finished and the committee was out of money. When the school was moved into the new building it consisted of 10 grades with 3 teachers including the principal. .John Fletcher was the first Prmoipal. About 1905 or 1906 81,000 more was raised to finish the upper story and install a furnace. I do not know how long it continued as a 10 grade school, but Kr. Dcrr Stacks was Principal when the llth and 12th grades were added. when district No. 8 was formed it only had 2 square miles which was a pretty small district, however, about 1914 the district adjoining on the east was annexxed and there old schoolhouse moved to walkerville and used for several years as the wesleyan Ye. Church. In the meantime the old schoolhouse of district ho, 5 had been moved to Walkerville and is now the I. 0. 0. F. Hall. The district continued with these same boundaries with now and then a single tract added until 1944 when districts Nos. l, 5, and 8 ln Leavitt township and five districts in Colfax township were consolidated and the present Rural agricultural High School established. In ls47the Huntly district in Troy township hewaygo County was added and In l952 the Peachvllle district ln Crystal township, Oceana County was also added. The Gowdy schoolhouse was moved in and used as the primary room with Miss. Christine Helm In charge. Miss. helm had the beginners and first grade and started the year with 48 pupils. Mrs. Rosanw4dGowdy had the 2nd and 3rd grades and Misses Alta and Theda Jummins had the 4th, oth, and sth. Mr. Ralph Fuller was the first Superintendent and started the year with Mr. Lester Trenary as principal and Mrs. anna Trenary and vacancy up stairs. Miss. Beth Jcle was hired to help out in the Junior High ani stayed until Mrs. Emma Krantz was hired for the balance of the year. After 5 weeds of school Br. Fuller was forced to resign on account of ill health and Mr. Trenary was advanced from principal to Superintendent and I want to say here, with splendid help from his mother Mrs. Anna Trenary, the then principal did an outstanding joo in a difficult situation. There have been many difficulties to overcome since the establishment of but every year has shown an improvement Rural Agricultural High School, the Faculties deserve a sot of the hardest to overcome was the so old ones were picked up any the and and sot. ommendation. About the worst difficulty transportation. New ousses could not be place they could be found. Th t with ma of the other difficulties have been taken care of and I 6 Y see no reason why the improvement should not continue. We would like to thank Mrs. Cora Vaughan and Mr . walter Jhildes for i ti to ather the preceeding facts Ior our School History. taking the r me . g