Waterloo West High School - Wahawk Yearbook (Waterloo, IA)

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Published by the srmion Cl Ass of WEST HIGH SQHOOI oF WATERLOO, IOWA in commemoration oF The Establishment oi: the Territory orc iowa and a Century orc Progress in Education in Our State EIGHTEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT NINETEEN HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT HIGH SCHOOL

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THE 1938 WAHAWK WEST WATERL00

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HE YEAR 1938 marks the centennial of the establishment of the Territory of Iowa. Immediate steps were taken by the territorial legislature to organize a system of public schools, and in no other field of endeavor throughout the century has there been greater progress in our state than in education. The first school kept in Iowa was near the head of the rapids a few miles up the river from Keokuk. The first schoolhouse built for school purposes was in Burlington in 1833. In Ianuary, 1838, seminaries of learning were legally established in Burlington, Dubuque, Mount Pleasant, Farmington, West Point, and Fort Madison. According to Hartman in his History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, As the home of the modern public school system, Black Hawk County is the lead- ing county of Iowa in education and educational facilities. There are larger schools in the state, but taking the whole school system into account, the county's resources are great. The first schoolhouse in the county was at Cedar Falls in 1846. The first schoolhouse in Waterloo was a log building, 16 X 22 feet, located on Iefferson Street. It was built in 1853. From the time of the inception of the first schools, the march of education has gone steadily for- ward, and education in the modern world is constantly growing in importance. The century of change and growth in our system of schools was accomplished only by the constant efforts and devotion of educators and citizens whose influ- ence still lives and whose lives are an inspiration to greater service. The students of West I-ligh School acknowledge their debt of gratitude to those who have gone before and have provided almost unlimited educational opportunities for them. As a pledge of their loyalty to their high school, and as a challenge to the ones who follow, they would strive to prove themselves worthy of the great heritage of the past. FORE ORD