West Essex High School - Milestone Yearbook (North Caldwell, NJ)

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I-IOVV IT ALL BEGAN . . . The history of West Essex Senior High School begon in the fdll of 1951 when students from the District - Coldwell Township fnow Foirfieldl, Essex Fells, North Coldwell, Roselond - were occepted by Coldwell High School on o sending-receiving bdsis. lt soon become oppdrent thot other fdcilities would hdve to be found to serve the future educdtiondl needs of the dred. Rutgers University Extension Service, in 1956, suggested the fomwdtion of d regiondl school district for grddes 7-12 for Cold- well Township, Essex Fells, North Coldwell, dnd Roselond. Subse- quently in June, 1957, eoch of the four towns oppointed two citizens to serve on o study committee with the dssistonce of Dr. Willidm S. Twichell, then the Essex County Superintendent of Schools. The study committee recommended thot d referendum be held in the four towns to seek the opprovdl ofthe voters concem- ing the formdtion of o regiondl school district. By December, 1957, the referendum wds possed. The first Regionol Bodrd of Educotion wos elected by the voters in Februory, 1958, with Wolloce S. Jones of Essex Fells ds its PEP AND SPIRIT: Origlnol Wessex cheerleaders proudly display their new uniforms. 8 first president. ln July, 1958, voters outhorized S290,000 for d 73-dcre site, of which 60 dcres ldy in North Coldwell ond 13 in Coldwell Township. At this time, the Bodrd selected Dr. Wdlter D. Stille for the position of superintendent ond Dr. Rdymond lvl. Trdvis os ossistont superintendent of schools in chdrge of business offdirs. The Boord retdined Englehdrdt, Englehdrdt, Legett, ond Cor- nell ds educdtionol consultdnts ond Ddvid Ludlow ds orchltect. ln dddition, on December9, 1958, voters dpproved o 34,495,600 bond issue to findnce the building, This bond issue wds pdid off in full in 1984. Throughout 1959. detdiled plons were drown up for the new school building. Much time wds lost over d drdwn-out disdgree- ment ds to whether the school should be heoted by electricity or oil. By d 5-4 vote, loter upheld in court, the Boord of Educdtion fdvored electricity. lt wos decided ot the Februdry. 1960, election to tedch the 9th, 10th ond 11th grdders in 29 clossrooms rented from the Coldwell- West Coldwell school system for S75,000 during the 1960-61 We-.1 g T ' fic:-7-CX mon 9mm S1138 Uh6gfgq1QQx K . it WQLK' in xndtkfi S2 - z-. inward Siesta fr' L sogkcvf .AV 1 t....,, fQ o,.ofv,,.'fj'gQ,, 9 .24v:... IQ' X A D Us 5,,,':::L VW: , ' gf , Wu x-'Q 'QfZ .,. w- ' .S I , . .1-,V ,K ,wud . r FF' - 'Y ,g N

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school year. The rental was made possible by the just- completed James Caldwell High School. Also, the West Essex PTA was formed in March of 1960. Mrs. Henrietta Moran from Essex Fells was the first president. In May, 1960, Dr. Thomas P. Marshall was employed to serve as West Essex High Sohool's first principal. Also, at thattime, Superin- tendent Stille received about 1,000 applications from teachers all over the oountry. The first Wessex faculty had 32 members, 2!3 of which were men. Of the original 32 only A have stayed the full twenty-five years - Mr. Robert Everett, Mr. Charles Pagliert, Mr. Oakley Roark, and Miss Corielle Vogel. The first teachers' work- shop took place on August 22, 1960. Classroom instruction at West Essex High School began on September 8, 1960. As a result of the limited facilities, seniors continued in and were graduated from the Caldwell-West Caldwell system. There was no marching band that year due to a lack of uniforms: however, the band played at all home football games. Also, there was no orchestra because there was no violin section. THE FIRST VICTORIOUS FOOTBALL GAME: On Oc- tober 8, 1960, West Essex won its first football game 20-6. defeating Morris Hills. This year our football team ended its season with a 6-3 record. ln addition, West Essex did not have a varsity football team since there were no seniors enrolled that first year. The first pep rally at West Essex was held in the auditorium on September 29, 1960. The Bible was read, the flag was saluted, the band played The National Anthem, and the 6-girl twirling squad performed a routine. The West Essex Chapter of the National Honor Society was granted its charter on January 16, 1961 , just four days before John F. Kennedy was swom in as the nation's 35th president. September 6, 1961, marked the opening of the new multi- million dollar school in North Caldwell. That second year there were 1198 students. The high school was dedicated on Decem- ber 10, 1961. At the dedication, the choir sang Bless This House and all in attendence were given a tour of the building. Now, twenty-five years later, we can reflect back upon those first few years at West Essex Senior High School and realize that the excellence and high duality we pride ourselves in having today, actually began over a quarter of a century ago. THE SCHOOL EMBLEM: The school emblem lleftl was de- signed by Joan Butterworth in 1960. ,Ia A The Knight's head representing the school symbol is the basis of the L 4' I emblem. The first crossed sword sym- K 7 X bolizes school spirit in athletics, and K, in 'oh his AJ the second symbolizes the torch of ll teaming. The laurel leaves symbolize ef Q Q- I F Q 1 rrurn. 'X ' 'SLK ---- EXT RA, EXTRA. READ ALL ABOUT lTl The first issue of the school newspaper. the Wessex Wlro. was issued on September 23, 1960. This year the Wlro began distributing 10- page issues with color double-spread in- stead of the traditional 4 and 8-page issues.