Pittsfield Massachusetts Schools 1897

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pittsfield Schools - 1897

My ancestors first came to Pittsfield in ~1848 and that has lead to much “research” into their lives and has revealed many interesting facts about Pittsfield’s past.

1908 post card “Pittsfield in the near Future"
Pittsfield High School Class Reunion
Pittsfield Massachusetts High School Class Reunion
PHS Class Reunion
Pittsfield MA Massachusetts

Back home: http://www.phs1968.com

This page may take several minutes to load, be patient, many photos....

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pittsfield Schools 1897

Pittsfield High School - Burned March 6, 1895
Located on South Street where the War memorial is today.

Pittsfield Schools in 1897 here as part of the Municipal Register of the City of Pittsfield, 1898

Photos of Pittsfield High School on Second Street (1898-1931) taken in 2011 here

MUNICIPAL REGISTER OF THE City Of Pittsfield for 1898

CONTAINING:

City Officers and Committees, Mayor's Address/Reports of the Various Officers and
Committees; also the Receipts and Expenditures for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 1897

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

SCHOOL PROPERTY.

BOOKS AND SUPPLIES.

While it has been impossible with the appropriation given us to furnish books and supplies with the liberality shown in many places, we have been able, I think, to fairly meet all urgent demands. We have not been obliged, as in some former years, to wait until January for books and supplies needed in September. We have placed in severa1 schools new encyclopedias and in a number of schools maps and globes. Considerable new reading matter has been supplied and a fair addition made to the High School library to supply the places of the books burned in the old building. The High School has also been supplier! with such chemical and physical apparatus as was required for a beginning in laboratory work. The Committee has adopted during the year Scudder's New History of the United States, the New Franklin Advanced Arithmetic, and the first and second books of the Educational Music Course.

REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Jan. 26, the Fenn Street School was closed by order of the Board of Health, on account of diphtheria. While there was no evidence that the school building was at fault, it was thoroughly renovated and disinfected. It was at the same time kalsomined and thereby greatly improved in appearance. The pupils' desks on the lower floor have also been rearranged to secure better hygienic conditions. The roofs at Morewood and West Pittsfield were shingled during the summer vacation. The steps at Stearnsville have been relaid and the basement cemented. Near the beginning of the fall term the boilers at Fenn street, Redfield, Center, Pontoosuc and Orchard Street were repaired and changed to meet the requirements of the State District Police.

The fuel house at the West Part School which burned since this term began, will be rebuilt at once. The grounds at the Redfield School have during the past season illustrated what our school grounds should be, although the Committee had not fully executed its plans there. The sidewalk on Elizabeth Street in front of the premises has added much to the comfort of the pupils and the appearance of the grounds. At the Solomon L. Russell School the grounds have been graded and provided with concrete walks. At this school, as at the Redfield, the space between the schoolhouse and the street is devoted to lawn. The grounds at the Briggs School have been graded, seeded, and provided with walks by the Building Committee, and the grounds about the High School are to be left in similar condition. The School Committee have graded and seeded the Fenn Street lot and laid concrete walks where needed. Concrete walks have been laid from the street to the Morningside building and about the entrances. A concrete walk has been laid from the street to the entrance of the Pontoosuc School. The grounds at Stearnsville have been enclosed. At Stearnsville and Pontoosuc the space between the street and the schoolhouse has been devoted to lawn. The planting of trees on the school grounds has been continued. These improvements have almost entirely changed the appearance of the school grounds of the city from desolate and forbidding wastes to pleasant and attractive spaces in harmony with private premises on the streets where they are situated. Excepting Linden Street, Orchard Street, and Morningside, none of the main schools of the city will be next summer, as they have been heretofore, conspicuous for the unattractive condition of their grounds. The grounds about the one-room schools are now rather attractive than otherwise.

Storm windows have been put on the west windows of the four western windows at the Redfield School. The eight schoolrooms at Redfield were kalsomined in carefully selected colors during the summer vacation by the generosity of the children of Mr. Redfield, after whom the building was named, and at the same time the School Committee decided to complete the tinting for the entire building. Picture moldings have been provided for the Briggs School, Fenn Street, and Pontoosuc. Pupils' desks have been purchased for the lowest room at the Solomon L. Russell School and for the corresponding rooms at Redfield and Briggs. Closets for books and materials have been provided for the second-floor rooms at Linden Street.

THE BRIGGS SCHOOL.

The new school building at the corner of West and John streets built to take the place of the old two-room John Street building and named in honor of Governor George N. Briggs, was opened for school purposes at the beginning of the last fall term. It contains six school rooms, three on each floor, a principal's room, and two other small rooms for the use of teachers and such other purposes as occasion may demand. On each floor is a toilet room for each sex, and suitable provision is made for pupils' wraps. The closets are automatic and the fixtures are of the best. The urinals are of slate and the closet floors of concrete. Faucets and bowls are also placed in the halls. Each school room is provided with a closet for books and materials. The basement contains large play rooms in addition to the rooms devoted to the heating apparatus. The building is heated by steam, indirect in the school rooms and direct in other portions of the building where the effect is likely to be more satisfactory. The system of heating and ventilating is aided by a fan in the attic, and is controlled by the use of the Johnson temperature regulating system. There is a main entrance from West Street and two pupils' entrances on South John Street. The exterior is of red brick, trimmed with light stone. The interior is finished with southern pine, the walls being tinted in tasteful colors. The pupils' desks in five of the rooms are of the combination pattern furnished by the U. S. Furniture Co., one room being seated with Chandler adjustable chairs and desks. The blackboards are of slate throughout. The frontispiece cut shows the general appearance of the building. For the following sketch, I am indebted to Mr. Linnehan, of the School Committee

GEORGE NIXON BRIGGS.

Governor Briggs was born at South Adams, among the hills of Berkshire on the twelfth day of April, 1796. He was a member of the United States Congress for twelve years and declined a re-nomination. He was one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas six years, and Governor of the Commonwealth from 1844 to 1851, also declining a re-nomination. He died at his home on West Street, within a few rods of the new Briggs School, September twelfth, 1861.

A President of Williams College said of him:—"Governor Briggs comprehended most fully and sustained most earnestly the fundamental principle of free education, and it may be added of republican freedom—that the children of the State shall be so far educated by the property of the State as to be qualified for the duties of citizenship."

THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL.

The new High School is a beautiful and commodious structure, situated between the Common and Second Street, planned for the accommodation of six hundred pupils but capable of receiving a larger number if necessary. There are five entrances, two from Second Street, one from the Common upon which the building fronts, one on the north, and one on the south. A main hall connects the north and south entrances, and from this extend halls to the Second Street entrances and to the rooms west of the main hall toward the Common. The same arrangement of halls is followed on the second and third floors, and with some modifications in the basement. The building is thus in a sense divided into east and west sections. East of the main halls and occupying the middle of the building is the auditorium reaching from the first floor to the roof, having a small stage on the end toward the main hall, and a gallery at the east. This room is lighted from the east and by a sky-light. It is seated with opera chairs of excellent design from the factories of Northville, Mich., and seats 702. Its artificial light is from the sides. The room is almost perfect in its acoustic properties, and is admirable in many ways. North and south of the auditorium, on the first and second floors are class rooms, accommodating 48 pupils each, with closets for books and materials. On the third floor the space south of the auditorium is occupied by the physical and chemical laboratories, and a dark room connecting with the chemical laboratory. On the north is the drawing room, provided with cases for materials, a set of sliding blackboards, and with adjustable drawing tables from the Washburn Shops at Worcester. The northeast room is reserved for future needs. The basement has a room for gymnastics or manual training under the auditorium, bicycle rooms on the southeast and northeast, and connecting rooms on the sides.

The northwest and southwest corner rooms on all floors are class rooms or suitable for that use. West of the north and south entrances on the first and second floors are toilet rooms for the pupils, and over them on the third floor are teachers' rooms. Opening from the halls running west from the main hall are recitation rooms on the first and second floors, and on the third floor above them apparatus rooms connecting with the lecture room between them. Opening from the western or main entrance, are the Principal's office on one side and the reception room on the other. Above the entrance hall and these rooms is a large library and above that the lecture room. The cloak rooms adjoin the class rooms.

The auditorium, the library, and the halls are finished in oak, and the class rooms and laboratories in southern pine. The walls are tinted in pleasing colors. The pupils' desks are of cherry, partly the Chandler Adjustable, and partly the Orion, The teachers' desks are of oak. The tables are of oak and furnished by the Derby Desk Co. The recitation rooms are to be seated with opera chairs like those in the auditorium, with the addition of folding writing tablets. The electric light fixtures are simple in style and are designed to be as unobtrusive as is compatible with satisfactory service. The cases, laboratory tables, and in general all the workmanship, fixtures, and furnishings are intended to be the most perfect and suitable that were obtainable.

The building is heated by steam, indirect in most of the important rooms but supplemented by direct radiation. The two boilers are placed under the front entrance, the air being tempered on its first admission to the flues and carried to the several rooms by fans in the basement and in the attic. The temperature for the individual rooms is regulated by supplementary coils connecting with thermostats according to the Johnson temperature regulating system. All the rooms are well lighted, the laboratories and the drawing room on the third floor having sky light wholly or in part.

The building is 135 by 137 feet in size, of stately and graceful architectural appearance. The material is light brick trimmed with marble and terra cotta. The general effect is singularly harmonious and suggestive of artistic ideals.

SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS.

The old Silver Lake building, which has been used for a number of years past only because of necessity, was abandoned when the new High School was occupied. It will be useful for storage purposes. The Redfield and Solomon L. Russell Schools are now fully occupied, and the same will be the case at the Briggs School at the opening of the next term. It is now apparent that the Briggs School should have had eight rooms instead of six. There is some available room at the Center and there are three unoccupied rooms on the lower floor at the High School. It is evident that the time is not distant when the demand for additional room will become imperative.

The Orchard Street Grammar School is now the only one of our large buildings that is not in good condition. It is probably not worth repairing, and if repaired would probably prove as inadequate for the needs of that part of the city as the old Russell's and Elizabeth Street buildings would now be had they been repaired as was urged by some. The Morningside School is full and before long the growth of the Morningside region would make it desirable to transfer a portion of the Morningside pupils to Orchard Street, were there a building at that point large enough to receive them. A new building begun now would hardly be ready for use before the beginning of the twentieth century. Is it too early to ask that a new building in place of the present one be undertaken without much delay? The inconveniences to which the schools have been subjected for the want of the new buildings recently occupied should teach us the folly of waiting until all our available room is crowded before the first steps for relief are taken. The distribution of the Center School in attics, unventilated and crowded offices, and distant buildings has formed an instructive climax to the disorganizing experiences of the past three years. The value of the new buildings would have been still greater had they been ready for use when the old buildings failed to answer the city's needs.

THE HIGH SCHOOL.

Between six and seven per cent. of our pupils are now in the High School. This is a somewhat lower proportion than the average for the State, but is easily accounted for by the conditions under which the High School has been placed for nearly three years past. It will no doubt increase in numbers and in efficiency in its new and elegant building. Our greatest hindrance during the last three years has been the entire absence of laboratories, and the work in science has suffered much on that account. Had it been known from the first that the new building would be delayed so long, this omission would have been blameworthy. Under the circumstances, no one should be blamed.

I think the school has made distinct progress in the care given to a better training in spelling, the correct use of the English language, arithmetic, and geography. While these are entirely subordinate to the general aims of the High School, they are nevertheless so fundamental that no pupil should graduate from the school without a creditable knowledge of them. I think the attention given to these subjects has helped rather than hindered improvement in the general work of the school.

At the end of the second term, Mr. Warren T. Cole, a graduate of Williams College and for several years a student in Germany, was appointed instructor in German, in place of Miss Thurotzy, resigned. This places the school in the somewhat unusual position of having five male teachers, or seven counting the special instructors in music and drawing, and only three female teachers.

The teachers and pupils are to be congratulated upon the improved record of attendance over the previous year. The attendance increased from 95.76 to 96.16 per cent., while the number of days absence decreased from 1778 to 1622, and the cases of tardiness from 663 to 491. Considering what the school has been called upon to endure since the old building burned nearly three years ago, we may congratulate ourselves that it has suffered so little in its work and its standard. It is probably a better school now than it was then.

It has not seemed feasible to make permanent changes in the curriculum under the conditions which have existed, and very likely changes thought desirable may wisely be deferred until the effect of the new surroundings upon the management of the school and the details of instruction become apparent. The present course of study is not such as to call for haste in determining upon changes.

THE TRAINING SCHOOL.

Four young women completed the course of work at the Training School last June, and began teaching in September. While the Committee does not recognize any obligation to employ graduates of this school as teachers, it has happened for several years that most of them have been regarded as desirable additions to our teaching force. At the present time its graduates constitute a considerable majority of our teachers. Although its course of training is a year less than that required by the normal schools, attention is centered upon the acquirements most needed in the school room. We have also endeavored to insist upon the standard for admission prescribed in the rules of the Committee and required by the best normal schools. This has required the rejection of many candidates, but it has increased the efficiency of the school and made graduation from it a reasonable assurance of fitness to begin the work of teaching. Whatever excuse there may be for retaining incompetent teachers long in the service, there is much less for starting on so exacting and responsible a career anyone of doubtful scholarship or undoubted lack of scholarship. A person who is learned may be a poor teacher, but one who is ignorant can not be a good one. Bather than lower the standard of the Training School, I would raise it so that something more than ordinary acquaintance with the common branches would be necessary to secure admission. The sooner it is understood by all that good teaching requires first class ability, broad and exact scholarship, thorough training, continued study, high character, and unselfish devotion, the sooner complaints about overburdened courses of study, overworked pupils, and unsatisfactory results will cease. So important are the interests committed to our Training School that the course might well be extended to two years. I believe that the school has made progress steadily toward these ideals. In her special report, Miss Roach speaks highly of the qualifications of the present class of eight members and of the earnestness with which they devote themselves to their duties. To a considerable extent the examinations for admission to the Training School measure the thoroughness of our High School, and I am glad to report evidence of increasingly satisfactory results.

ART AND PATRIOTISM.

Good behavior is a required subject of instruction in the schools of Massachusetts, and refinement is at least as desirable and valuable as a knowledge of arithmetic. The life for which our children are trained in our schools should be something finer and richer than a mercenary struggle for bread and butter and money and official position. It is evident that a beautiful picture upon a tinted wall suggests a better and happier existence than a patch of shattered plastering in the midst of dismal dinginess. There is no less reason for artistic schoolhouses and school rooms and school premises than for artistic homes. The prevailing attractiveness of our schools and the works of art upon their walls are as truly educational as the books in the hands of the pupils or the apparatus in our laboratories. The main additions to the works of art acquired by our schools during the past year are as follows:

Center Grammar.—Napoleon's Farewell to Josephine, presented by the heirs of the Learned estate.

Linden Street.—Large picture of the Acropolis at Athens and a relief cast entitled The Choir Boys, purchased by the teachers and pupils.

Redfield.—Eight large and beautiful pictures, one for each school room. Subjects: Mother and Child from Sistine Madonna; Angels' Heads, Joshua Reynolds; Halt in the Desert, Schreyer; Aurora, Guido; Sea View off the Cornwall Coast; Jungfrau from Interlaken; Statue of King Arthur, from the group about the tomb of Maximilian at Innsbruck; Lincoln Cathedral, England,—presented by Mrs. Charles B. Redfield.

Russell.—Crayon portrait of Mr. Solomon L. Russell, for whom the building is named, presented by Mrs. S. N. Russell; casts of Thorwalsden's Night and Morning, presented by the teachers and pupils.

Briggs.—A marble bust of Governor George N. Briggs, executed by Henry Dexter of Cambridge, Mass.; a portrait of General Henry Shaw Briggs, a son of Gov. Briggs and for several years a member of the Pittsfield School Committee; a portrait of George P. Briggs, also a son of Gov. Briggs and a prominent citizen. of Pittsfield; and a portrait of President Garfield, all of which were the gifts of Mrs. George P. Briggs.

The teachers and pupils of the High School have managed with conspicuous success a series of three high class concerts for the purpose of purchasing for the school a grand piano. They have thereby contributed to their own artistic improvement not only through the use of a beautiful musical instrument but also through the means by which it has been obtained. The diploma and medal awarded the High School at the World's Columbian Exposition have been appropriately framed and placed in the new building, a similar diploma and medal awarded to our elementary schools being framed and placed in the Superintendent's office. Additional works of art for the High school have been promised. An informal exhibition of High School drawings and sketches in water colors at the Superintendent's office last summer indicated that, as the result of the training they have received, the pupils of our High School also produce works of art.

At the opening of the High School, Dec. 27, a large and beautiful American flag was presented to the school by Mr. William H. Chamberlain, Mr. Oliver L. Wood, and Mr. James Kittle, with the request that it be committed to the care of a committee of scholars of the school.

At Christmas Mrs. Mary J. Brewster presented to the city for the use of the High School, through Mayor Walter F. Hawkins, the very valuable set of official records of the Rebellion. The letter accompanying the gift is made a part of this report, that it may remain as a record and explanation of the nature of the gift and for the interesting biographical information which it will preserve.

To His Honor, the Mayor of Pittsfield:

I herewith present to the City of Pittsfield for the use of the High School and to be retained in the school department, a set of volumes, being "The War of the Rebellion, a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies." They were originally received by my husband, through the courtesy of the Hon. Henry L. Dawes, United States Senator, in appreciation of the services of Mr. Brewster in aiding in the collection of the names of the soldiers of the Union which appear upon the soldiers' monument in Pittsfield.

This gift I make as a memorial of my late husband, Henry Badger Brewster, who was greatly interested in the welfare of Pittsfield. He enlisted on Nov. 19, 1862, in the 49th Mass. regiment, and shortly after received his commission as quartermaster with the rank of lieutenant, serving under Col. W. F. Bartlett in the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Brewster was born in Lenox April 14, 1824, the son of Dr. John Milton Brewster, and died in Pittsfield, Oct. 14,1888. He received his education at the Lenox and Westfield academies, afterward teaching at Hadley and Pittsfield. During his residence in Pittsfield his services as a singer were greatly appreciated, and he was a member of the choir of the First church for years. He was also a member of the Housatonic company of the Pittsfield volunteer fire department. This disposition of these volumes, I believe, would be in harmony with his wishes, and in accord with his great interest in the educational privileges of Pittsfield.

Very respectfully,

MARY J. BREWSTER.

Pittsfield, Mass., Dec. 25, 1897.

In accordance with the recommendation of Governor Roger Wolcott, March 4, 1897, was made the occasion for explaining and impressing upon the pupils the significance of the ceremonies attending the inauguration of William McKinley as President of the United States and for commemorating the life and services of John Adams of Massachusetts, the successor of Washington in the presidential office, the day being also the centennial anniversary of his inauguration in 1797. These exercises undoubtedly added to the enthusiasm with which President McKinley was received when he visited this city Friday, Sept. 24, 1897.

March 9, 1897, at the Methodist Church was given a concert in aid of the Home Work, under the direction of Supervisor E. 0. Smith, in which the pupils of the public schools took a prominent part. The pupils also furnished, under Mr. Smith's direction, the singing for the exercises of the G. A. R. on Decoration Day.

DEDICATORY EXERCISES AT SOLOMON L. RUSSELL SCHOOL

Dedicatory exercises were held in the lower hall of the school at 2 p. m. Friday, May 28, 1897, and were of great interest to the large audience present. The following was the program, together with singing, recitations, and other suitable exercises prepared by the pupils:

Historical Sketch—William B. Rice, Chairman of School Committee.

Remarks—Rev. C. J. Hoylan, Member of School Committee,
Solomon N. Russell, Pres. Russell Manufacturing Co.,
Ex-Mayor John C. Crosby,
Mayor Walter E. Hawkins.

In the absence of Mr. S. N. Russell, Mr. H. S. Russell of the Common Council gave an account of the connection of Mr. Solomon L. Russell with the early development of the public schools of Pittsfield. In the absence of Mayor Hawkins, President George W. Smith, of the Board of Aldermen, spoke on behalf of the City Government. Upon request, interesting remarks were also made by Mr. F. A. Smith and Mr. P.P. Read, representatives of the School Committee on the City Building Committee, and by Mr. John R. Feeley, of the building committee under whom the construction of the building was begun. For the following brief sketch I am indebted to Mr. W. B. Rice.

SOLOMON L. RUSSELL.

This name has been given to one of our principal schools to honor one who was a fast friend of public education, and worked effectively for it. He came to Pittsfield in 1827, residing here till his death in 1882. He came from Northampton where free schools were liberally supported to Pittsfield where public education received but meagre support. He was a public spirited citizen, taking an active part in all questions of public interest. His manifest interest in public schools led to his being chosen as prudential committee. The money and influence of the community were then largely given to the support of private schools. Even the money raised by taxation for the support of public schools was regularly distributed among the patrons of private schools to be used in paying the tuition bills of their children.

Mr. Russell set himself squarely against this misuse and abuse of public funds. His attitude provoked the hostility of many who had profited by this abuse. He insisted, in spite of vigorous opposition, that money raised by taxation for the support of public schools should be applied to support public schools. As the most feasible and ready way to effect his purpose, he agreed with the management of two private schools, (one located near the place where Coogan's Tannery now stands, the other at the West Part) that the money should be divided between them, on the express condition that these two schools should be made free to all comers to the limit of their capacity. For this distinct service to the cause of public education, and for his uniform and effective services generally in the same direction, the School Committee has chosen to honor him in the manner above mentioned.

DEDICATORY EXERCISES AT REDFIELD SCHOOL.

These were held in the lower hall of the school building, Friday, June 11, at 2 o'clock p. m. The program consisted of the following papers and addresses interspersed with recitations, singing, and other school exercises by the pupils. Historical Sketch—William L. Adam, Member of School Committee.

Remarks—Harlan H. Ballard, Member of School Committee, Franklin A. Smith, Member of School Committee, William Nugent, Secretary School Committee, Ex-Mayor John C. Crosby; Mayor Walter F. Hawkins. After the interesting program had been completed Mr. W. B. Rice, Chairman of the School Committee, Mr. John R. Feeley and Mr. H. W. Partridge, members of the original building committee, Mr. F. A. Smith, and Mr. F. F. Read of the School and Building Committees and Dr. W. M. Mercer of the School Committee responded to the call of the Superintendent with interesting and profitable remarks appropriate to the occasion. For the following outline of the life and services of Mr. Redfield, for whom the building was named, I am indebted to Mr. Adam's paper.

CHARLES B. REDFIELD.

In 1867 Charles B. Redfield came to Pittsfield to make his home here. In September 1876 he died. Of these less than ten years of his life, more than six were spent in public service as a member of the School Committee. He made an ideal committee man. Not only was he punctilious (Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior) in his attendance at the meetings of the committee, but he visited the schools, knew exactly what was being done in them and informed himself of the qualifications of the teachers by personal acquaintance with them. Fortified with this knowledge his suggestions for the constant bettering of the work done in the schools met with deserved attention.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Plans of the new Pittsfield High School - 1897

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

PittsfieldHighSchool01

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

PittsfieldHighSchool02
First Floor Plan

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

PittsfieldHighSchool03
Second Floor Plan

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

PittsfieldHighSchool04
Third Floor Plan

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Grammar School Graduations, 1897 (appears Grammar School went through grade 9)

My Grandmother, Clara Winthrop Pierce (PHS class of 1901):

Note that my Grandmother graduated from the Orchard Street Grammar School and Charles W. Whittlesey (of the Lost Battalion in WW1) graduated from the Center Grammar School that same year.

Eva Oatman is a relative also through my GGGrandfather's sister's branch. Oatman brothers were editors of the Sunday Morning Call newspaper at that time.

The Gimlichs owned a brewery in Pittsfield.

Many notable surnames here!

GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRADUATION.

Grammar school graduation exercises were held at the Center School and at Stearnsville, and were both interesting and profitable. The programs are given below and show the kind of work to which the exercises were devoted, the special subject being American history. There were no special exercises at Linden Street and Orchard Street, and there was no graduating class at Morningside. The number completing the ninth grade was somewhat smaller than for the preceding year on account of the more rigid requirements insisted upon for two or three years past, but the present ninth grade is much larger in consequence and will probably form much the largest class that has entered the High School. It is gratifying to know that our grammar school graduates show in the first year of the High School the beneficial results of stricter requirements and that they seem rather encouraged than otherwise to continue their studies.

CENTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
Motto: "A Thing Well Done is Twice Done"

Charles Z. Adams,   Don F. Backus,   Harold G. Brown,   Fred D. Butler,
Mariette Z. Francis,   Janie E. Harte,   Hattie S. Haight,   Mary E. Jahn,
John H. Jenks,   Ruth Kellogg,   Byron W. Kittle,   Ella L. Rees,
Lawrence W. Rockwell,   Bessie M. Rowe,   Louisa M. Rowe,   Alice F. Sargent,
Isabelle W. Strong,   Florence A. Williams,   Charles W. Whittlesey

LINDEN STREET SCHOOL.

Kittie Brodhead,   Ethel Crandall,   Minnie Evans,
Mary Foy,   Bessie Frisch,   Carrie Gimlich,
Miriam Gray,   Florence Grippen,   Rose Nelligan,
Eva Oatman,   Alice Payne,   Blanche Qua,
Louis Brace,   Lula Reed,   Florence Rice,
Arthur Crandall,   James Downs,   Arthur Hill,
Owen Hogerty,   William Larkin,   Harry Meyer,
William Prentice,   Charles Silvernail,   Francis Walsh,

ORCHARD STREET SCHOOL.

John A. Corcoran, Arvilla J. Benedict, James F. Fahey, Ellen G. Curtin,

John A. Fitzgerald, Mary E. Farrell, Christopher S. Martin, Clara W. Pierce,

Benjamin F. Mills, Sadie B. Plumb, Dennis F. Quirk, Bessie H. Smith,

John F. Reid, Lina A. Stapleton, Lester Shepardson, Edith A. Waite,

Harvey C. Wellington,

STEARNSVILLE SCHOOL.
Class Motto: "Peace and Union."
Marguerite M. Kimple, William J. Ryan, Grace C. Musgrove, Charles S. Shaw,

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

GRAMMAR SCHOOL GRADUATION.

CENTER GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
Friday Afternoon, June 25, 1897 at 2 o'clock.
PROGRAM.

Song of the Gypsies - School
Map Recitation, "Burgoyne's Invasion" - Bessie M. Rowe

Essay, "Historic Boston" - Mary E. Jahn

Webster's Supposed Speech of John Adams in Support of American Independence - Lawrence D. Rockwell Reading and Declamation, "Occupation of Philadelphia" - Don T. Backus

Declamation, "Valley Forge" - Louisa M. Rowe

Song, "Wanderer on Moor and Wildwood" - School

Map Recitation, "Concord and Lexington" - Isabelle W. Strong

Recitation, "Dorothy Q" - Ruth Kellogg

Debate—The Declaration of Independence says: "That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Resolved, That the Civil War did more than the Revolution to establish these principles.
Affirmative - Lawrence D. Rockwell, Alice F. Sargent, Charles W. Whittlesey
Negative - Ruth Kellogg, Fred D. Butler, Harold G. Brown

Declamation, "Patrick Henry's Speech on the War with England" - Charles W. Whittlesey

Song, "Ringing Cheerily" - School

Declamation, "Selection from an Oration on Valley Forge" - Harold G. Brown

Presentation of Diplomas - Frank R. Strong

STEARNSVILLE SCHOOL.
Thursday Afternoon, June 24, 1897 at 2 o'clock.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.

Song, "Columbia,"

Early Discoveries of America - Grace C. Musgrove

The Indians - Amelia M. Goodrich

Song, "Landing of the Pilgrims" Colonial Days - Grace E. Thickins
War for Independence - William J. Ryan
George Washington - Elizabeth M. Connors
Song, "Mount Vernon Bells", The War of 1812 - Marguerite M. Kimple
Abraham Lincoln - Catherine M. Mullen
War of the Rebellion - Charles S. Shaw
Song, "Marching through Georgia", Historical Selections - Grades VIII., IX
Presentation of Certificates - Committee, William Nugent

Song, "Flag of the Free."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

www.phs1968.com Home

Photographs:

Pittsfield Schools

Berkshires Historical Photos

Website courtesy of Clark W. Nicholls, PHS 1968 CWNicholls@aol.com

cwn

History of Pittsfield High School buildings will be added.

----------

View My Stats

----------

Last edited 12/21/2013 11:26 AM GoDaddy webhosting