Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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18 Till: QUiVKK classes in Geometry and Commercial Geography. The Me bee Memorial Fund, which is being raised under the auspices of the High School Alumni Association and the Woonsocket I eachers Association, will be used for equipping a reference library in the new building, to be known as the “McFee Library.” Already a large sum has been raised. Nearly all of the former classes of the school have contributed. These contributions have been very generous and have come not only from recent graduates, but from those who were graduated many years ago. The present students have added their share. The pupils of the grade schools and their parents have assisted. Recently a musical festival to raise money for this fund was given in Harris Hall by the Teachers’ Association, and was a great success. Many former students of the school generously gave their services for this good cause. It is intended that this library shall be, in many respects, different from any other in the city and that it shall be a worthy memorial to the man whose name it will bear. Such a library has been needed for a long time and will be a useful addition to the school. W ith all the advantages of the new building, we must not forget the old school, which has done so much for the educational life of Woon socket. There our fathers and mothers were educated and from there many of our friends have been graduated. Surely, we can never forget those periods in the study hall, nor the recitations interrupted by the whistles of trains and the cries of the street peddlers; nor can we entirely forget the dancing and singing at the long recess. We shall always remember the yard with its large elms where, during warm weather, many pleasant moments were passed. To those of us who spent so many happy years under its roof, the old building will still have its dear associations and memories. HIGH SCHOOL DEDICATION Morning Exercises. On the morning of April 5. 1915, a students’ dedication took place in the Assembly Hall of the new building. All the participants were pupils of the school, elected by their respective classes for the offices which they held. The audience consisted of teachers, pupils, and parents. Lorenzo Emidy, 15, acting as Chairman of the Building Committee, presided. Orrell Davis, ’16, as Mayor of Woonsocket, sp«ke of the city’s many fine buildings, among which is the new high school. Mary Murphy, chosen by the Seniors to be Chairman of the School Committee, told of the advantages of the new building, and pointed out the necessity of industrial training in a city like Woonsocket. Helen Kelly.

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EDITORIAL STAFF MARIE MEISTER, ’15. Editor-in-Chief. CHESTER J. COLERICK, ’15, Business Manager. HELEN KENNEDY, ’15 MARION SALLEY, ’16, T. BUELL CARD, ’16, FLORENCE GENEREUX, ’17. IRENE LONG. ’is. EDITORIALS The most important change in our school this year was the removal to the quarters on Villa Nova at the opening of the spring term. 1 he new structure is light, spacious, and airy. There is a large assembly hall where it is possible for the school to meet in a body. The class rooms are large and very conveniently arranged, and, besides these, there are several recitation rooms which are not yet iu use. The fine gymnasium affords a place where at recess pupils may gather and enjoy dancing or basket-ball. Next year basket-ball games will be held here. No doubt classes for gymnasium work will be started for both boys and girls. Miss Knox already has classes for girls in the afternoons, at which they play games The lunch period has been extended to half an hour so that the appetizing luncheons provided for the pupils may be eaten more leisureiy In the new building we are free from the whistling and the shifting of trains, which so mercilessly interrupted recitations at the old school; and here we can feel sure that mice will not intrude upon us as uninvited guests. In this larger and better school, Woonsocket High cannot but do better work. Next year cooking and sewing classes for girls will bo started. Other advantages will doubtless be introduced from time to time. Miss Eloise Knox, a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, was added to the faculty this year. Besides having charge of the girls’ gymnasium work, she has Freshman classes in Science, and Sophomore

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THE QUIVER v.) 16, as President of the Alumni Association, spoke of the interest of thar body in the school. Frank Seaver, ’15, Superintendent of Schools, gave an interesting history of the high school in Woonsocket, from 1840, when the first high school was built, to the present. Avery Davis, ’17, President of the Common Council, spoke of the financial problem of constructing the new building. Madeline Baxter, ’18, as Principal of the School, told of the aims and of the several courses of the school. Other pupils seated on the platform were Harold Howe, ’16, Anna LaFond, ’17, Frederick Brown, ’18, and Hyman Mayerson, ’18. Afternoon Exercises. Long before one-thirty on the afternoon of April 5, the many visitors, having first inspected the building, assembled in the hall on the second floor, where the exercises were to be held. Dr. William F. Barry, Chairman of the Building Committee, presided. After prayer by Reverend Thomas F. Winn, Dr. Barry welcomed all who had gathered on this day, so important in the educational life of Woonsocket, and introduced His Excellency, Governor Beeckman, who expressed his gratification at being able to be present at the dedication of the high school, which he declared one of the most beautiful and best-equipped in New England. Mr. C. C. Spratt, Principal of the school, spoke of the disadvantages of the old building and of the many pleasing features of the new one. He gave also some interesting facts concerning the growth of the high school in this and in other cities. Congressman Ambrose Kennedy congratulated the city upon the opening of its splendid edifice, dedicated to higher common education. Dr. W. H. P. Faunce, President of Brown University, gave an address on what the high school stands for. Mr. Wendell A. Mowry, Superintendent of Schools, was warmly received, and as an alumnus of W. H. S., spoke of the honored place the old building had held in Woonsocket for so many years. He urged the establishment of a trade school, which would fit boys and girls for various kinds of work. A large portrait of the late Frank E. McFee was presented to the school. This picture, a likeness of the man who, for twenty-nine years was our loved and honored superintendent, was the gift of his family. Letters were read from Mr. DavicT Snyder, Mayor of Woonsocket, and Hon. Aram J. Pothier, Ex-Governor of Rhode Island, who were obliged to be absent. The high school orchestra, under the leadership of Mr. Ervin Thompson, T3, rendered selections at frequent intervals during the exercises. Reverend George F. Beecher, pastor of the First Baptist Church, offered the closing prayer.