Williamsburg High School - Tattler Yearbook (Williamsburg, MA)

Page 8 text:

Dedication We, the class of 1957, miss the presence of our former classmate, Malcolm Heath, more and more keenly as we approach our day of graduation. when our names are called and we rise to receive our diplomas, each one of us will remember that someone who belongs with us is not present. That you may be a part of our graduation, Malcolm, as you were a part of our lives, your class dedicates to you this issue of The Tattler. 4

Page 7 text:

l I Prologue Traditionally, a yearbook has a specific themeg ours has a very general theme, but a theme as big as the school itself--our theme is 'Our School . What is it like today? What will it be like in the future? What was it like in its early days? The pages of the Tattler will serve as your guidebook through the Williamsburg High School of today. However, only your imagination fplus some common sensel can tell you what the Williamsburg High School of tomorrow will be. But the past? Well, a prologue is an introduction--a preface. So let me introduce you to school life as we knew it this year by first telling you a little about the background of Our School. Where the Helen E. James School is now located, once stood one of the first schools in this area, described as a two-room structure at the junction of Main and South Streets opposite the watering trough. The smaller children were in one room and the larger ones in the other. Boys were on one side and girls on the other with Schoolmaster Ambrose Stone--stern and terrible fon a raised platformj at the head. The next step forward was using what is now Grange Hall as a school. The school went only to the eleventh grade: those desiring to continue went out of town to do so. If you found your high school course rather difficult, this is what an 1886 School Committee suggested as a course of study: Grade nine--Latin, algebra, grammar and reading, physics, physiology. Grade ten--Latin fCaesarj, geometry, physics, physiology and hygiene, chemistry, Englishg grade ele Jen--Latin fVirgilj, geology, astronomy, natural history, civil government, American authors, commercial science. Of course there was one compensation--the class periods then were only twenty minutes long and since there was only one teacher, it wasn't possible to get all those subjects inl And, noted this same school committee, education was expensive: it cost 37.14 per pupill 'The year 1914 saw the dedication of the Helen E. James School, which consisted of Rooms 6,5,4, the office and the rooms below these. lt was a proud class of five that graduated from here in 1914! For twenty-four years this building served the school needs of Williarnsburgg then, in 1938, its inadequacy was remedied by the addition of the Spelman Annex, given by Miss Elizabeth Spel- man. Thus we have the school of today. Despite the changes which have naturally occurred since these early years of our high school, in at least two basic ways it has not changed, Williamsburg High School has always been -rated a Grade A school and, in our opinion, it is now as it was called long ago, 'The gem of the small high schools of Massachusetts . 3

Page 9 text:

I r In Memoriam It is with a feeling of deep gratitude for his devotion to us and pride in his accomplishments on our behalf that we remember Lucius A. Merritt, our soft-spoken superintendent, who died on September 26, 1956. He was the dear and respected friend of all who knew him as student, teacher, or neighbor. We are proud to feel that we may Xnumber ourselves among those educated under his guidance. rf'- Lucius A. Merritt Superintendent of the Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Worthing- ton School Uniou, 1920-1953 Superintendent of the Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Worthing- ton, Southampton, Westhampton School Union, 1953-1956. We could not conclude these pages of dedication and remembrance without expressing our sincere thanks to Anne T. Dunphy, our be- loved principal who died last year. She set for us an example of leadership and wisdom we hope to follow. J