USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > The story of Worcester, Massachusetts (1934) > Part 8
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The thrilling story of McGourty reminds us of what Scott has written:
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Soldier, rest! Thy warfare o'er Dream of fighting fields no more, Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking, Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
On land, on sea, and in the air, Worcester soldiers played the game and played it well. Lieut. Warren T. Hobbs, a student at Dart- mouth College and great athlete, emblazoned his name in the list of heroes of the air when he was shot down while flying above the German lines, June 26, 1918. He was the first Worcester aviator to give his life in the air service.
While soldiers and sailors were driving the Germans from France and the sea, doctors and nurses cared for the millions of wounded. Many Worcester doctors served in French and English base hospitals. At the outbreak of the war in 1914, Maj. Howard W. Beal abandoned a lucrative practice to join the Red Cross unit sailing for France. Later he returned and opened a recruiting tent on the Common for the enlistment in the United States Medical Corps. When this duty was finished, he re- turned to France and on August 8, 1918, while standing in front of his tent near Montdidier, was mortally wounded. News of his death caused profound sorrow in Worcester.
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WORCESTER IN THE WORLD WAR
Three hundred and nine Worcester soldiers consecrated the soil of France. Twenty-six were lost from the navy.
Among the Worcester soldiers who received high praise for their soldierly qualities was Col. John F. J. Herbert, who after a long mili- tary record was commissioned Colonel on February 22, 1918, serving with distinction at Chemin des Dames, Apremont, Château Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse. Colonel Herbert was the ranking Worcester officer in combat divisions. The distinguished service cross was awarded to several Worcester soldiers in the World War.
While men risked life and limb on the battle- fields, citizens at home gave liberally of their all to "carry on." They furnished the power "behind the guns," and while there was no real danger attached to this service, it entailed much discomfort and sacrifice on the part of the donors.
Worcester raised the stupendous sum of $120,000,000, almost as much 'as the entire cost of the Revolutionary War. The Liberty Loan Committee of New England was per- mitted to name certain vessels to be used in war service for communities that made an unusual record in raising the fighting Fourth
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Liberty Loan. In one day Worcester oversub- scribed its quota of $15,000,000 and in honor of this achievement the New England Committee named one of the new vessels Worcester. The public school children contributed $257.00 in pennies to buy a bell for the new vessel.
Modern wars are not fought by military forces alone; the whole civilian population is engaged. Ten thousand patriotic Worcester women were engaged in Red Cross work. During the war, at their headquarters in the Salisbury mansion, nearly 1,700,000 knitted articles, surgical dressings, and hospital sup- plies were made. Fuel was so scarce that for some weeks during the winter of 1918 the public schools were closed.
Very early the school children of Worcester made their slogan, "save," and expressed their love of country in all phases of war conserva- tion, from observance of the gospel of "clean plates" to a garnering of pennies that resulted in establishing a Thrift Stamp record. The children of the public schools invested no less than $167,373 in Thrift and War Stamps and gave $23,893 for war relief. During the grow- ing season, under the guidance of the school department, seventy acres of land were culti- vated with an estimated value of $17,774;
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and much attention was given to the teaching of canning, preserving, and drying of fruit and vegetables. What may be termed strictly war activities of the schools are incorporated in the record of Junior Red Cross Auxiliaries, hospital and Red Cross supplies numbering in all 28,443 articles.
The war record of the parochial schools was equally creditable. Junior Red Cross Auxili- aries were formed in practically all parishes having parochial schools, and a large number of articles were made by tiny, nimble fingers. Besides many boxes sent overseas for the Yule- tide season, the children did considerable work in the "Tag Day" observances for the various war movements. They invested $48,223 in Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and raised $3,971 for the Victory Fund of the United War Work effort.
While the public and parochial schools were hard at work doing their bit, the private schools and colleges, which have so large a part in the city's activities, were shouldering their share of responsibility. From Holy Cross College, 450 students and alumni were enlisted, while 400 of the students in the school in April 1917, went out for duty on farms and in the shipyards. Sixty-three students went to Platts-
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burg to the Student Army Training Corps units. The service flag of Holy Cross College, which does not include the soldiers and sailors of the S. A. T. C., shows more than 700 blue stars and twenty-two gold stars. Three of her chaplains died in service.
The Worcester Polytechnic Institute con- ducted an S.A.T.C. camp on its campus, using fraternity houses for barracks and the gym- nasium as a mess hall. Thirty-seven men went to Plattsburg in the summer of 1918 and lists kept as nearly complete as possible show about six hundred of the alumni and students, exclusive of the S.A.T.C., actually in service in the army and navy up to November 1918. Of these, at least fifty per cent were com- missioned officers. With one hundred former students in the service of the railroads, nearly as many employed in one capacity or another by the telegraph and telephone companies, others distributed among the mechanical, civil, and chemical engineering industries throughout the country, it was the exceptional Tech man whose energies were not pressed into war channels during the struggle. Washburn Shops, with their excellent equipment, were engaged in research work for the Government, much of which was of a secret nature.
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Clark College's Ambulance unit was organ- ized in the spring of 1917 and equipped by popular subscription. It gave such an excellent account of itself that the war's end found it possessed no less than two distinguished service crosses from the United States, three French war crosses and one Italian war cross. The only casualty was Charles R. Livermore, class of 1917, who was killed in action on the French front the last of April 1918. Recital of the deeds of the ambulance unit, however notable, does not represent the entire man power contribution of Clark College. Practically every department of the service knew Clark representation. The S.A.T.C. of the college was one of the first to be organized. The Honor Roll of men in the service totals well over one hundred and twenty-five, and their contribution to the cause as well as the earnest endeavor of . the S.A.T.C. unite in furnishing a page to the history of Clark College of which the institution may well be proud.
Two of the faculty of Assumption College made the supreme sacrifice. Rev. Calixte Bouillon and Brother Girard Bourdin were killed in action on the fields of the same France that gave them birth.
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The war story of Worcester Academy is one of unstinted service. Not only during the months of the war was the spirit of patriotism rampant but "over there" and "over here" the alumni were attached to every branch of the service. Two hundred and forty-four grad- uates and four hundred and thirty non- graduates served in the war and those seeing service overseas numbered three hundred and nine. Commissions were received by two hundred and forty-eight and twenty-seven made the supreme sacrifice.
The Red Cross Auxiliary of the Worcester State Normal School was made self-supporting from the beginning of the war and, in addition, the students found ways and means of answer- ing many appeals for assistance. Large amounts of material for sewing and knitting were purchased and made into serviceable articles by the students.
On November 11, 1918, at 2.50 o'clock in the morning, a fire whistle pierced the stillness of the night, announcing to the citizens of Worcester that the war was ended. Church bells and factory whistles took up the refrain, waking heavy sleepers. Pandemonium broke loose. In an incredibly short time 60,000 people were packed tightly around the City Hall
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singing, "The Star Spangled Banner," "Keep the Home Fires Burning," "Over There," and many other war songs. War Mayor Pehr G. Holmes appeared above the crowd on the balcony of City Hall and, in a voice choked with emotion, said: "The city is yours. This is a most memorable day, a day which is yours in all the sacred ties of your noble heritage. .. " And it was. The crowds were delirious with joy. At half past two o'clock in the afternoon, a great parade, hastily arranged, started from Lincoln Square, witnessed by 100,000 people. Two hours were consumed by the parading hosts in passing a given point. In the midst of the rejoicing camera last crushing blow as the news was received of the death of Chaplain William F. Davitt, killed in the Argonne. On the morning of the armistice, near eleven o'clock, Chaplain Davitt climbed a tree and unfurled an American flag to the breeze. After descending, and while in the act of saluting the flag, he was struck and killed by a high explosive shell.
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WORLD WAR MEMORIAL Dedicated to those Worcester men who died in the World War.
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CHAPTER XIV
MODERN WORCESTER
LORD JEFFR ORD JEFFREY AMHERST was a soldier of the king with a soldier's eye for topography. When encamped on the Harvard Street ridge during the French and Indian war, he wrote in his diary: "the town is in a very pretty situation, finely watered, the improvements very great, the houses all built of wood, but this will probably change and I imagine in one hundred years the country will want wood." This impression was repeated by Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College about 1810, when he wrote, "few towns in New England exhibit so uniform an appearance of neatness and taste." Charles Dickens, in 1842, also found it "a pretty New England town." Today the surrounding country still remains much the same as in those early days, but the increase in population has been too rapid for long range planning and the heart of the city became crowded; business houses en- croached on lovely old residences, and the slopes of Harvard Street ridge, which with
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better planning might have become an Acrop- olis with splendid public edifices, are disfigured with commercial buildings. The area of Worcester . IS approximately 25,000 acres, but nine-tenths of the population is crowded into one-tenth of the area, or into 2500 acres. In the course of one lifetime the population increased from 25,000 to nearly 200,000. This rapid growth has been further complicated by the influx of a large number of foreign born who today comprise one-fourth the population of the city.
The following chart, prepared from the
IRISH F.S .- 7305
CANADA (FR) -4947
LITHUANIA-4549
NORTHIAN ILLAMO - 4 2 .
ITALY-4489
GREECE - 569
PALESTINE - 675
TURKEY-709
ARMENIA - 1029
SCOTLAND - 1224
FINLAND-1698
RUSSIA - 2543
ENGLAND-2914
(NON-FR.)
CANADA - 4199
POLAND- 3604
..
SWEDEN- 7579
GERMANY - 497
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Federal census of 1930, shows the foreign-born nationalities now living in Worcester.
Although the beauty of the center of the city was to some extent sacrificed by the rapid increase in population, public-spirited citizens and able park commissioners did bear in mind the need for keeping in reserve land for recrea- tion and for preserving some of the city's natural beauty. So, in keeping with the early mind of those who set apart the Common, about eleven hundred acres of land are laid out in parks and ninety acres for public play- grounds, including bathing beaches and play- grounds where, in summer, little ones enjoy supervised play. Where possible, as in Elm Park and Green Hill Park, the natural beauty of the location has been maintained and sug- gests the original, natural attractiveness of early Worcester.
Thirteen years after the founding of the town, the first school was opened in the home of Jonas Rice on Sagatabscot Hill. In 1731, the town was divided into four districts and the Selectmen were instructed to "provide a suit- able number of school dames, not exceeding five, for the teaching of small children to read, to be placed in the several parts as may be most convenient, and these gentlewomen to be
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paid such sums, by the head, as they may agree." Such was the beginning of a great educational center.
Until 1824, the schools were supported by voluntary contributions. In that year, the Legislature authorized the towns of the state to use the steady support of taxes for the main- tenance of the schools. . But for many years Worcester was unlike most other towns of the Commonwealth in the method of providing for the support of the public schools. By an Act of the Legislature, January 27, 1824, the inhabitants of the Center District were authorized to raise money in addition to the funds raised by the town to be appropriated for the support of the schools in the center of the town, which extended one and one-half miles in each direction from Lincoln Square. The schools of the Center District were, there- fore, supported by private funds and public taxes. They were governed by a Board of Overseers elected by the people of the district. The town School Committee had control of the outlying districts only. Thus Worcester had two systems of schools, one of which was prac- tically a system of private schools, partially supported by public money and controlled by its own Board of Education.
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There was constant friction over this system. The Center District, satisfied with the excel- lence of its own schools, was not anxious to increase the general town appropriation for education. The outlying districts suffered, so that for many years Worcester stood low among the towns of the Commonwealth in the per capita cost of public education. This dual system, however, came to an end when the town was incorporated.
During the year 1851 "the fine, new, commodious schoolhouse on Ash Street was occupied for the first time, and in this school- house the experiment of associating the sexes together in one of the primary schools was first instituted."
The first high school building was erected on Walnut Street in 1845. So proud was the School Committee of this schoolhouse that it made twenty-eight visits during the school year. Mr. Elbridge Smith, the principal, compelled the boys to remove their boots and put on slippers before going upstairs. The School Committee records tell that for a whole year not a spot nor scratch defaced the school- house. The boys and girls, themselves, were so proud that they waxed the desk tops and sandpapered the floors several times a year.
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By 1870, this building proved inadequate, and it was moved across the street, so that a larger school might be erected on the original site. In 1871, this building was completed and was known as the Worcester High School and later as the Classical High School. In 1892 the need for still greater high school accommoda- tion was felt and the English High School, now known as the Classical High School, on Irving Street, was built. The rapidly growing city taxed the resources of the school department and in 1901 a high school was built on Richards Street, known as the South High School. In 1931 an addition, including one of the finest high school gymnasiums in the country, was constructed at a cost of more than $500,000. When still further need was felt, the Salisbury Street Grammar School, built in 1889, was made into a high school known as the North High School, and in 1915 additions and re- modeling were completed which really made this old building into an entirely new one. Of the original grammar school, only the part nearer Lincoln Square was retained.
In June 1913, the School Committee voted to use the Classical High School on Walnut Street for commercial instruction only. Subse- quently two large additions have been built.
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In 1933, the High School of Commerce had an enrollment of 3600 pupils. These four high schools prepared five hundred students for thirty institutions of higher learning in 1932, and granted eleven hundred seventy-four diplomas. When the first high school was built in 1845, there were thirty-two school- houses, seventy teachers and 3000 pupils. In 1933, there are sixty-six schoolhouses, 1,246 teachers, 37,544 pupils.
Medical inspection in the schools was intro- duced in 1906. In 1911 the first school nurse was appointed, and in the same year the change from a nine-year elementary course to an eight-year course was made. The first school in the United States for adult women was opened in 1912 at the Ledge Street School in this city, under the direction of Principal Thomas F. O'Flynn.
As far back as 1888, President Eliot of Harvard College voiced the conviction that the nine-grade period of elementary instruction was too long. In 1913, a committee on the reorganization of secondary education ap- pointed by the National Education Associa- tion issued this statement: "We, therefore, recommend a reorganization of the school systems whereby the first six years shall be
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devoted to elementary education designed to meet the needs of pupils of approximately six to twelve years of age. The six years to be devoted to secondary education may well
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PROVIDENCE STREET JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
be divided into two periods which may be designated as the junior and senior periods. In the junior period emphasis should be placed on the attempt to help the pupil explore his own aptitude and to make at least provisional choice of the kinds of work to which he will devote himself. In the senior period emphasis should be given to training in the fields thus chosen."
The junior high school movement is the fourth consecutive stage of the evolution of secondary education in America. The first
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stage was the Latin grammar school; the second, the co-educational academy; the third, the public high school; and the fourth, the junior high school. The first junior high school in the United States was established in 1909, and in 1924 Worcester completed its first junior high school on Grafton Street. In 1931, a second junior high school was built on Providence Street.
Worcester is particularly fortunate in being able to afford supplementary education in the fine arts. The Art Museum, with its fine new addition, ranks high in the art circles of the world, and, besides its own rich collection, fre- quently offers for study and inspection art treasures borrowed from all parts of the world. Lectures by eminent artists and art critics are open to all interested. Connected with the Museum is the Art School with its splendid faculty and fine equipment offering oppor- tunity for study and training along these lines.
Worcester has long been recognized as a music center and the world's finest musicians are brought here. A reflection of this particular branch of the fine arts is found in the splendid choral and orchestral work recently developed in both high and grammar schools of the city. For two years the high school glee clubs have
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been a part of the very famous Worcester Music Festival.
Worcester is known abroad because it is the seat of Clark University, the Art Museum, and the American Antiquarian Society. The Ameri- can Antiquarian Society is a national institu- tion, its membership including distinguished scholars, authors, and statesmen not only of the United States but of various foreign countries. It was founded by Isaiah Thomas in 1812. The society has copies of nearly all the publications in the United States before 1700 and a large part of those published before 1800. It is rich in manuscripts. It possesses the largest collection of early American news- papers in the world. The centennial of the society was celebrated by the opening of the beautiful new building located at the corner of Salisbury Street and Park Avenue. The reading room is beautifully appointed. The alcoves around the main room are lined with books relating to American history. In the main room are genealogies. The resources of this great library are in constant use by scholars from all parts of the world.
The Worcester Historical Society was organ- ized in 1875 under the name of the Worces- ter Society of Antiquity. The present name
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was authorized in 1919. Its purpose is "to foster in its members a love and admiration for antique research and archeological science, and to rescue from oblivion such historical matter as would otherwise be lost." It gathers and preserves and makes useful to the public his- torical matter of all kinds, especially that
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WORCESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
relating to Worcester and its county. In order to preserve results of original study, the society encourages the writing of papers to be read at its meetings. It has published twenty- five volumes. Several numbers of a New Series of Publications have appeared. Its rapidly growing library numbers upwards of 50,000 bound volumes and pamphlets besides a well- organized collection of over 20,000 manu-
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scripts, maps, broadsides, and newspapers. A carefully arranged file of newspaper clippings, dating much farther back than the society's beginnings, is a valuable aid in the study of Worcester history. The Museum contains many thousands of objects and pictures of historical significance. Trust funds created by gifts and bequests to the society amount to about $30,000.
The building of the Worcester Natural History Society, at 12 State Street, was a bequest from the estate of the late Edward Conant in 1891. The object of the society is to instill in the minds of Worcester youths a love of natural history. To this end there are Saturday morning classes in natural history for the younger children and on Sunday after- noons, lectures for adults. From 1885 to 1913 the society's summer camp for boys was held on the banks of Lake Quinsigamond. This camp was the first of its kind in the country.
In addition to these broadening opportuni- ties, Worcester offers the advantages of college and university training in Clark University, Holy Cross College, the Worcester Poly- technic Institute, and The College of the Assumption.
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Clark University was founded by Jonas G. Clark, a native of Hubbardston, who provided an endowment of $2,000,000. It was the desire of the founder that the highest possible aca- demic standards be forever maintained and special opportunities and inducements be offered for research work. He chose Worcester because of its central location among the colleges of the East. The charter of the uni- versity was granted by the Legislature of Massachusetts in 1887. On April 3, 1888, Granville Stanley Hall, then a professor at Johns Hopkins University, was invited to the presidency. General Devens presided at the opening exercises held October 2, 1889. Special provisions were made in Mr. Clark's will for the establishment of a collegiate undergraduate division with its own president but under the same general control of the graduate division. In 1902 students were first received into Clark College and Carroll D. Wright was its first president. In June 1920, Wallace W. Atwood was elected to the presidency of both graduate and undergraduate divisions of the university. A summer school with a six weeks' session has been conducted each year, beginning in 1921. Many distinguished men and women in this country and abroad have received degrees
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from this university and it has a most enviable reputation in the educational world.
In 1843 Holy Cross College was established to further secular education and to inculcate its students with the principles of the Catholic faith. In 1840 Rev. James Fitton of Boston erected on Packachoag Hill, or Hill of Pleasant Springs, Mt. St. James Seminary. In 1842 he presented this building, with about sixty acres, to Bishop Fenwick. The building being unsuitable, another was built, the cornerstone of which was laid June 21, 1843; in 1852 it was destroyed by fire. Through the aid of friends, the college, enlarged and remodelled, was re-opened in-1853. In order to bestow the degree of Bachelor of Arts it was necessary to be incorporated by the Commonwealth · of Massachusetts. In 1849 the college petitioned for a charter but was unsuccessful in receiving one until 1865. Georgetown College, however, conferred the degrees of the first graduating class and all succeeding classes until Governor Andrew succeeded in procuring its charter. This was the first Catholic college in New England.
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