West Pittston High School - Caravan Yearbook (West Pittston, PA)

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fbecw UM 'lf' ' irifiif' -4-,Q ' r 5 .ig 'L' , no wif fi' '. 0 o ov 0 0 J i o O ., A X X, , - Ay' t f f Qi --.-I s.,,NN OUR MODERN was originally a part of the Peter Polen farm and is now the present school site. The land had been bought in 1851 by the West Pittston Land Association, and was later taken by one of the members, E. A. Coray, who then sold it to the founders of the academy. Although the latter was opened with a student at- tendance of over 300, its existence was a precarious one, and the owners of the property made a proposition early in 1873 to sell it to the school district for 32,800 After much controversy, the academy was formally purchased in Au- gust, 1874, and the Vine Street property was disposed of at public auction. The records of the board tell us that in 1876 the high school was established and a course of study adopted. A class was organized and plans were made to complete the course in 1878. The six members of the first graduating class were: Gertrude N. Griffith, Clara Hiscock, Laura B. Lance, Anna L. Meade, Jessie Sax, and Wilbur Stevens. The first and second Commencement exer- cises were held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and the third, in 1880, was held in Music Hall. As the school population continued to grow, new buildings kept pace with it: first, in 1882, a four-room brick building on the Warren Street corner cf the property 9 eight years later, the Linden Street building, and, in 1897, a two- story brick building at the corner of Washington Street and Exeter Avenue. Ten years later, the school board saw the need for new classrooms, Two lots 8

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THE OLD ACADEM Y HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH THE YEARS West Pittston Public Schools have grown steadily and successfully from a modest beglnnxng in a town which in 1852 contained but three houses and in 1878 fthe year of the first high school Commencementl but 3 000 lnhabltants The present admirable system had its mceptlon in 1859 twenty five years after the Free Schools Law was enacted The first board elected that year con slsted of Theodore Strong president fwho retained that office until 18645 O H Dounce secretary E A Clark treasurer Imlah Drake Amos Stroh and Simon Rltter Secretary Dounce who reslgned at the second meetlng was succeeded by G M Rlchart Soon after the organlzatlon of the board Mr J A Wisner offered to sell a private school and the lot on which it stood for S1 200 This propertv was located on Vme Street now called Race Street Despite the protests of many citizens who considered the price too hlgh the purchase was made and William Jeffords was elected the first teacher As llttle by little the population of the town grew ln April 1861 the number of school rooms was mcreased to three and two women teachers were added to the force at a salary of S20 a month The prmclpal Augustus Loomis recelved S32 50 a month In 1870 the board erected a two story frame building on the Vme Street plot Two years later the school term was extended to ten months A movement that had a great influence on the future of the school district was lnaugurated IH April 1873 It seems that in 1868 a number of West Pitts ton gentlemen establlshed a rather pretentious academy on a large area that I

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quam we :LW XX xx SCHOOL BUILDING on Luzerne Avenue between Parke and Spring Streets were accordingly pur- chased, and construction begun. Although, before it was completed, the entire area was affected by a mine subsidence, the new high school was finally opened in 1909. The 1910 class, housed in the new building, was graduated from the Strand Theatre, on Broad Street, adjacent to the Gazette Building. In 1924, the district was reorganized on the 6-3-3 planfsix years for the elementary grades, three for the Junior High School, and three for the Senior High School. Previously, the 8-4 plan had been used. This year, the enrollment was so large that the Senior High School occupied the building in the morning, and the Junior High School held their sessions in the afternoon. This was the last year in which Commencement exercises took place in the Strand. The school auditorium was to become the scene of graduation activities henceforth. After a study of conditions that fall, the board decided to erect a modern J unior-Senior High School on the present site, rather than to enlarge the Lu- zerne Avenue structure to accommodate the increasing school population. The Warren Street and Wyoming Avenue buildings were abandoned. The new building was placed in operation at the beginning of the 1927-8 school term at a total construction cost of ?'p325,000. Double sessions were resumed at that time. In June, on the occasion of the fiftieth Commencement, baccalaureate services were held in the new auditorium. 9 Oo 00 fir! A M2 42 'ff s