Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Merrimac 1937, Part 6

Author: Merrimac (Mass.)
Publication date: 1937
Publisher: Merrimac (Mass.)
Number of Pages: 158


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Merrimac > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Merrimac 1937 > Part 6


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HERMAN F. DAVIS,


HARRY KINNEY,


Merrimac Finance Committee.


1.17


TOWN REPORT


VOTE FOR OFFICERS, ANNUAL ELECTION


MARCH 1, 1937


770 Votes Cast (359 Women, 411 Men)


Moderator, for One Year


*Clifford R. Howe, Forest Street 1 602


Blanks 168


Town Clerk, for One Year


*C. Howard Phillips, Church Street


664


Blanks 106


Selectmen, for One Year


Hazen M. Emery, Judkins Court 307


Kenneth E. Haskell, Highland Road 186


*Fred T. Hopkinson, Locust Street 360


*Harold C. Lord, Grove Street 482


John K. Sargent, Merrimac Street 240


*Albert P. Wadleigh, Church Street 419 Blanks 316


Board of Public Welfare, for One Year


Maurice A. Buzzell, School Street 214


*Fred T. Hopkinson, Locust Street 443


John K. Sargent, Merrimac Street 315


William S. Tuckwell, High Street 204


*Albert P. Wadleigh, Church Street


440


365


*Ellen M. Wallace, Central Street Blanks 329


Assessor, for Three Years


*Roscoe Child, Union Street


375


Clifford R. Howe, Forest Street 344


Blanks 57


118


TOWN REPORT


Treasurer, for One Year


: *Roy C. Journeay, Prospect Street 677


Blanks 93


Collector of Taxes, for One Year


*Fred C. Twombly 673


Blanks 97


School Committee, for Three Years


Raymond J. Bagley, East Main Street 311


. * Willard T. Kelly, Birch Meadow 379


Blanks


80


Trustee of Cemeteries, for Three Years


*Wilbur W. Colby, Winter Street 379


Richard A. Sargent, Main Street 294


Blanks


97


Trustee of Kimball Park, for Three Years


*Alden B. Morse, Main Street 572


Blanks 198


Library Trustees, for Three Years


*Alvin F. Heath, Lincoln Street 559


*John B. Judkins, Grove Street 508 Blanks 473


Light Commissioner, for Three Years


Edgar J. Davis, Main Street 232


* John Marshall, Main Street 456


Blanks 82


Water Commissioner, for Three Years


Edgar J. Davis, Main Street 220


*John Marshall, Main Street 458 Blanks 92


Constables, for One Year


Joseph Work Bray, East Main Street 216


119


TOWN REPORT


* James P. Donahue, Lincoln Street 598


*Leon L. Dow, Mechanic Street 591


*George W. Goldsmith, School Street 509


Blanks


396


Surveyors of Lumber and Measurers of Wood and Bark,


for One Year


*Ralph L. Buzzell, School Street 366


*George R. Hoyt, Birch Meadow 346


Edgar P. Sargent, Bear Hill Street 178


Richard L. Sargent, Bear Hill Street 166


Harold M. Waterhouse, East Main Street 301


*Edson C. Walker, Birch Meadow 444 Blanks 509


Tree Warden, for One Year


Wilbur W. Colby, Winter Street 279


*Samuel C. Doust, Church Street 391


Blanks


100


Playground Commission, for One Year 1


*Raymond J. Bagley, East Main Street 413


Herbert F. Bailey, Locust Street 198


*Willard T. Kelly, Birch Meadow 349


*Burton C. Lafaver, Lincoln Street


373


Henry S. Lay, Winter Street 250


Chauncey D. MacKay, Locust Grove Avenue 305


George K. Nicol, Pleasant Street 185


Robert H. Stewart, Prospect Street 116


*Clayton Turner, Church Street 345


*Herbert E. Whiting, Church Street 375


Blanks 941


ANNUAL REPORT


OF THE


SCHOOL COMMITTEE


OF THE


TOWN OF MERRIMAC


1937


ERRI


TOWN


MASS


INCO


1876.


ORATED


3


SCHOOL REPORT


SCHOOL REPORT


To the Citizens of the Town of Merrimac:


In accordance with custom and with the Acts of the General Court, 1859, Chapter 57, we herewith submit to you the 68th Annual School Report.


HOWARD L. DeLONG, Chairman WILLARD T. KELLY,Secretary ANNIE L. TUCKER


School Committee.


SCHOOL CALENDAR


(Continued from Calendar in 1936 Report)


All Dates Inclusive Third Term:


February 28, 1938 to April 22, 1938 for all schools 8 weeks Spring Term:


May 2, 1938 to June 17, 1938 for elementary schools 7 weeks May 2, 1938 to graduation for high schools 8 weeks


Fall Term:


September 7, 1938 to December 16, 1938 for elementary


schools 15 weeks


September 7, 1938 to December 23, 1938 for high schools 16 weeks


Winter Term:


January 3, 1939 to February 17, 1939 for all schools 7 weeks June 20, 1938, Monday, Junior High School graduation. June 22, 1938, Wednesday, High School graduation. September 6, 1938, Registration Day for all entering pupils and Union Teachers' Meeting.


4


SCHOOL REPORT


All schools will also be closed on the following days:


Patriots' Day, April 19, 1938.


Memorial Day, May 30, 1938.


Columbus Day, October 12, 1938.


Essex County Teachers' Convention, November 4, 1938. Thanksgiving recess, November 24 and 25, 1938.


NO SCHOOL SIGNAL


7:15 a. m .- 11-11-long pause-1. No school in grades only. 7:15 a. m .- 11-11-11. No school in high schools and grades. 11:20 a. m .- Same signals. One session.


12 .. 30 a. m .- Same signals. No school in afternoon.


SCHOOL OFFICERS


John C. Page, Ed. D., Superintendent of Schools


Address: West Newbury Tel. W. N. 52


Margaret R. Sawyer, Secretary


Address: West Newbury Tel. W. N. 52


Alexander M. Sullivan, Supervisor of Attendance Address: Locust Street Tel. 238


A. Frances Davis, M. D., School Physician Address: 16 Main Street Tel. 154


Jean Badashaw, School Nurse


Address: 5 East Main Street Tel. 52-11


DIRECTORY OF SCHOOL STAFF-OCTOBER, 1937


Training


Total years experience


Years in Merrimac


High School


Prin., math., science English


Chauncey D. MacKay Isaiah Chase


Harvard, A. B. '30, A. M. '32


3


2


French and Latin


Mary B. Fullerton


A. B., Brown U. '35


2


1


History


Roberta. C. Annon


B. S., Univ. of N. H. '31


6


6


Commercial


Florence I. Bradley


B. S., in Ed., Salem Normal '30


7


8 mos.


Junior High School Prin., soc. studies


Howard G. Patchett Vera Dealy


B. A., Union Col. '14, M. A., Clark '26 B. L. I., Emerson Col. '33


15


6


English and math.


1


1


Centre School


Prin. Grade 6


Louise E. Hardy


Framingham Normal, '28


9


4


Grade 5


Marion E. Journeay


Portsmouth (N. H.) Training Sch. '12


24


0


Grade 4


Elaine Blackden


Aroostook State Normal, '23


11


1


Grade 3


Sarah B. Titcomb


Salem Normal, '05


23 1/2


16


Grade 2


Helen K. Manning


Bridgewater Normal, '18


13


101/2


Grade 1


Mary L. McDonald


Framingham Teachers Col., '35


1


1-7mos.


Merrimacport School


Edith A. Gillen


Bridgewater Teachers Col., '34


3


3


Drawing Supervisor


Annie A. Kelly


Mass. School of Art, '06 & 3 summers


271/2


11


Music Supervisor


Doris C. Currier ·


Institute of Music Pedagogy


151/2


6


B. S. E., Boston U., '24


13


9


SCHOOL REPORT


5


6


SCHOOL REPORT


BUILDINGS


There was considerable need for general repairs and upkeep in 1937. For the purpose of getting lower insurance rates certain changes were made, such as thicker panels (or new door) to the basement doors at High and Junior High, a hold-back with fusible plugs at Centre, and an electric fire bell at Port. At the High the major item was the installation at the beginning of the year of the new toilet seats and bowls which had long been needed and had at last become imperative. At the same time the sewers were cleaned out and the flushometers repaired. A new Weil-Mclain boiler with covered pipes was installed during the spring at the High School, with much-needed radiators in the laboratory and language room and in December a 28-section radiator on each side of the hall. In the boys' basement a washbowl and soap dispenser were installed. The room was whitened by Mr. Potter. At the Junior High a Celotex bulletin board was added in each room. At Centre a sheltered entry was built at the north en- trance, and all entrance doors were repaired and adjusted. The plumbing was repaired in the two upstairs toilets, two bookshelves were built in sixth grade room, the first grade seats were rubber- tipped, and the seats and desks in the fifth grade room were turned to face the Town Hall, for better lighting effects. At the Port, re- . pairs were on the window casings and the front steps. Throughout the buildings there was the usual upkeep such as curtains, desks, and other details.


TIME CHANGES


It is generally recognized among educators that the choice be- tween a one-session and a two-session day in high school is not pri- marily an educational matter, but rather one of transportation ar- rangements and of local convenience. When, therefore, it was deter- mined, by a survey, that a majority of parent opinion supported the long-standing request of the student council and student body of the Merrimac High School for a one-session day in place of the two- session day, it was decided to hold a hearing or discussion of inter- ested citizens, parents, teachers and school officials for the purpose of presenting the facts pro and con, hearing different points of view,


7


SCHOOL REPORT


and taking a straw vote. This hearing or discussion, which was held at the Merrimac High School on the evening of March 18, was at- tended by thirty-five citizens and parents, three committee members, and nine members of the school staff,-forty-seven altogether. Facts obtained from the office of the state supervisor of high schools con- cerning the practice in various Massachusetts municipalities were presented. The chief difficulty locally seemed to be that the cost, at best, for a one-session transportation arrangement in which high school pupils were taken home earlier than elementary school pupils would be $400 more than the two-session transportation, as shown by a careful survey made by Mr. DeLong in 1932 and published on page 105 of the report of that year. A compromise plan, which passed the straw vote with only two objectors, was to adopt a one-session . plan with no special bus transportation at the end of high school, and therefore no extra cost. Pupils who live at considerable distance, and who desire to do so, are at liberty, under the plan, to remain in the high school to study, under a teacher, until the bus leaves at the closing time of the elementary schools.


In deference to the straw vote, the school committee, at a meet- ing held later that evening, voted the compromise plan, to become effective Monday, March 22. Under the vote the new time schedule of the Merrimac High School became: 8.30 to 1.45, instead of 8.45 to 11.45 and 1.15 to 3.15, as before. The Junior High, upon the re- quest of a majority of parents, was allowed to try the same time schedule. To meet the needs under the new schedule, and at the sug- gestion of Mrs. Kingsbury, the Centre School on the same date began fifteen minutes earlier and shortened the noon recess by fifteen min- utes. bringing the new Centre School time schedule as follows: 8.30 to 11.45 and 1.00 to 2.45.


ENROLLMENT


In October the enrollment in the public schools was 446, dis- tributed as follows: At Centre 223, at Port 13, at Junior High 91, at High School 119. Further distribution was: At Centre, Miss Mac- Donald (Grade I) 34, Mrs. Manning (Grade II) 36, Miss Titcomb


8


SCHOOL REPORT


(Grade III) 35, Mrs. Blackden (Grade IV) 31, Miss Davis (Grade V) 44, Mrs. Hardy (Grade VI) 43. At Port, Miss Gillen (Grade I-2, II-4, III-7). At Junior High, Grade VII-46, VIII-45. At High School, Grade IX-44, X-38, XI-18, XII-19.


JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL


The 1937 report at union teachers' meeting of the 1936 spring survey of the progress of school subjects announced the very satis- fying fact that the class median of Merrimac eighth grade achieve- ment in all subjects was well beyond the national median, and second only in the district to that of the eighth grade in the Woodbridge School, Newbury, which has been consistently accelerated. This is a most excellent, in fact, an unusual, record. Data for 1937 will not be available until well along in 1938, because it requires the better part of a year, with the other work of the district, to compile and study properly the results of a survey.


During the year, under Miss Dealy, there has been considerable - athletics (including "soft ball") for the girls, with a "play day" at Town Hall, with basketball.


On April 20 the Public School Dramatic Guild of the Junior High, under the direction of Miss Dealy, sponsored by the P. T. A., broadcasted over WHDH, Boston, a pupil-dramatized play, "The Careers of Cynthia."


At the graduation exercises of the Junior High on Friday eve- ning, June 22, Dorothy Flynn was valedictorian and Reed Manning salutatorian. Five others among the eighteen girls received scholastic honors: Priscilla Choquette, Dorothy Hall, Virginia Peaslee, Phyllis Wilkie, Frances Weeks; and three others among the twenty-three boys: Raymond Anderson, John McMahon, and Clinton Piper. The speaker for the evening was Mr. Edward W. Eames, Principal of Governor Dummer Academy in Newbury.


Under Miss Dealy the school staff has a dramatic club. Pupils have adapted and produced plays like "The Legend of Sleepy Hol- low", "Romeo and Juliet", "A Man Without a Country", and "The


9


SCHOOL REPORT


Merchant of Venice". On November 10, in celebration of the Horace Mann centennial, the pupils produced "Horace Mann, the Great Educator", and "Horace Mann at Antioch". For Christmas they produced "The Truth about Santa Claus" and "Three Christmas Eves".


A report by Principal Patchett will be found later in this report.


CENTRE SCHOOL


At the Centre School in June, Mrs. Wilma B. Kingsbury re- signed as principal and sixth grade teacher. The testimonial festivi- ties in which teachers, school committee, and superintendent partic- ipated told eloquently the story of appreciation of her thirteen years of service. The principalship and sixth grade position was filled for the fall by the election of Mrs. Louise E. Hardy of Merrimac. The fifth grade position, in turn left vacant by the election of Mrs. Har- dy, was filled by the election of Miss Marion E. Davis of Merrimac (Mrs. Roy C. Journeay after Thanksgiving recess). Mrs. Journeay is a graduate of Kennebunk (Maine) High School, 1910, and of Portsmouth (N. H.) Training School, 1912, with a summer course at Columbia. She is a teacher of twenty-four years experience. At the time of her election she had taught for eleven years with excellent success at the Tilton School, Haverhill.


Under Mrs. Hardy's direction the Centre School has been mak- ing excellent progress. There have been many conferences with the staff in which problems have been faced. On Monday, October 4, under the auspices of the Centre School teachers, all elementary teachers of the district through sixth grade met at Centre School with Miss Pansy Smith of Boston to discuss the Cordts method of- reading, in its relation to spelling.


A feature for the fall in the sixth grade have been World Letters. These have been sent weekly directly from overseas by Mr. George F. Pierrot, former editor of American Boy and Youth's Companion, during his present around-the-world tour. The World Letters have ". brought geography down to date in 1937, and have stimulated much interest in it.


10


SCHOOL REPORT


In grades four, five, and six an exchange arrangement for certain subjects among the teachers has given the pupils a touch of the more specialized instruction of the high schools, and has added variety. Mrs. Hardy has been the assistant in music in grades four, five and six; Mrs. Blackden has taught penmanship in grades four and six, and Mrs. Journeay literature in grades five and six.


At the beginning of 1937 an epidemic of colds hurt the attend- ance in the second grade, in spite of the seasonably warm weather.


The 1937 compilation of the 1936 scholastic survey showed that spelling was coming up, that reading was excellent, that the first two grades were considerably ahead of the nation's median in the funda- mentals of arithmetic, and that five out of the six grades were ahead in arithmetical reasoning.


MERRIMACPORT


In the fall of 1937 there were three grades-Grades one, two, and three. The seven fourth grade pupils of 1936 who had to be transferred to Port on account of the size of the fourth grade room at Centre, were readily able to enter the larger fifth grade room un- der Mrs. Journeay, although it made a Centre class of forty-four.


On April 15 the pupils at the Port presented a playlet for the P. T. A., on the stage in the room over the classroom.


TRANSPORTATION


Throughout 1937 Merrimac pupils have been transported by the Northeastern Street Railway Company. The service has been very satisfactory. Parents should remember that a bus is due to leave a given point at a given time, and children must be there. A bus driver is always prepared to tell children or parents the time schedule which is necessary in order that the bus may arrive at school on time, with- out undue haste.


Of the 446 pupils enrolled in the Merrimac schools at the be- ginning of October, 116, or about 26%, were transported regularly


11


SCHOOL REPORT


by school bus,-28 from Birchmeadow district, 49 from Bear Hill and Lake Attitash, and 37 from the Port. This 116 includes 30 to the high school, 27 to the junior high, 55 to the Centre, and 4 to the Port.


ART AND MUSIC


In art, under Miss Kelly, there has been a continuation of the many-sided classroom art activities, with exhibits on classroom walls and in public places. At the Junior High, first prizes for the M. S. P. C. A. contest went to Myrtle Young and Marcia Wilde, second to Ruth Franklin and Allen Seymour, and honorable mention to Alice Crosby and Kenneth MacDonald. Miss Kelly's report will be found later in this report.


In music, under Mrs. Currier, there has been intensive class- room instruction, and graduation and other special occasion chorus work, with and without the Merrimac-West Newbury orchestra, also under her direction. Public presentations included the operetta "Tulip Time" in Grange Hall on May 14. The small second-hand upright piano at the High School which replaced in December the old square, will help the high school music. The old square pianos at Centre and High were condemned by the representative of the Division of the Blind as not worth tuning. Under Chapter 69, Section 25, Acts of 1935, the Division of the Blind must do all our tuning, if tuning is done by appropriated public funds,-just as under Chapter 252, Sec- tions 1 and 2 (approved 1934) school furniture and certain other janitorial materials must be purchased from the Department of Pub- lic Correction, unless a release is obtained.


· GENERAL


On April 5 Dr. Flora M. Remillard conducted the clinic required under Chapter 71, Section 46.


The usual joint Memorial Day exercises of all the schools were held in Sargent Hall on Friday afternoon, May 28. Invitations were sent to representatives of local patriotic organizations. Addresses were by Mr. James Schiavoni, Mr. Arthur Gosselin and Mr. Edward


12


SCHOOL REPORT


Germane, representing Stanley F. Wood Post 134, American Legion.


On Thursday, June 17, in Sargent Hall, the Haverhill WPA Choral Group of fourteen male voices, under the direction of Mr. H. Wilfred Zink, presented to Merrimac pupils for forty minutes a well- chosen program for music appreciation.


During the summer Mr. Patchett, Mrs. Manning and Miss Gillen continued their training by taking the University Extension Course given at Haverhill under Professor Herman H. Brase on Principles of Education.


On Thursday, October 7, during Fire Prevention Week, Mr. Irvine G. Burbeck, Mr. Alvin F. Heath and Mr. Howard L. DeLong responded to the invitation to the Merrimac Fire Department to in- spect buildings, witness drills and make recommendations. The total time of exit at High School was 35 seconds, at Junior High 30 sec- onds, and at Centre 1 minute 24 seconds.


Throughout 1937 the Merrimac Grange and P. T. A. have con- tinued their friendly and helpful interest in the schools. The annual open meeting night with the Grange was held Sept. 22. The P. T. A. has helped with twenty-five dollars for baseball equipment for the high school, and also furnished swings at the Centre School.


FINANCIAL


The state report of November 30, 1937, shows that only three small towns in the state in Merrimac's class (Sutton, Bernardston, and Williamsburg) raised less per pupil out of local taxation for schools than Merrimac; the remaining 106 raised more. The average out of taxation for the 110 was $70.65 per pupil; for Merrimac $42.09.


MERRIMAC HIGH SCHOOL


During 1937 there were changes in the teaching staff of two of the high school positions. In June, Mr. Frederick A. Small resigned his position as English teacher to accept the principalship of the Spalding School, Salisbury. For the fall we were fortunate in being


13


SCHOOL REPORT


able to fill the English position by the return of Mr. Isaiah Chase, whose work was already well known here, since he had left the same position in the middle of October, 1936, to accept a position in East Bridgewater. In the commercial department, Miss Florence I. Brad- ley resigned on December 3 to accept a commercial position in New- buryport High School. The commercial work was taken over for the remainder of December by a substitute, Mrs. Rosamond G. Greeley of Merrimac. During December, Miss Everdene Wiley of Roxbury was elected for the remainder of the school year, to begin the third of January, 1938. Miss Wiley graduated from Lawrence High School, 1932, with "great distinction", and from the commercial course of Salem Teachers College, 1936, with the degree of B. S. in Ed. After nine weeks of practice teaching in the commercial department of Cambridge High and Latin School, she was commercial teacher for one year at Huntington (Mass.) High School. From July 1, 1937, to the end of the year, Miss Wiley was a stenographer and clerk at the State House, Boston.


The graduating class of 1937 was the largest since 1933, but a shadow hung over the exercises because of the death of Frederick Harrison Bailey. The class motto was: Cognoscamur agendo, Let Us Be Known by Our Deeds.


The federal allotment under the National Youth Administration continued during 1937, with great reduction in the fall.


During the year there were two senior plays at Grange Hall: On January 15, "The Dead of Night", by class of 1937, coached by Mr. Frederick A. Small, and on December 3, "Chintz Cottage" by the class of 1938, coached by Mr. Isaiah Chase.


In the fall a plan was worked out, upon request, whereby a lim- ited number of units can be accepted in the case of a former pupil who has established a sufficient number of units at Merrimac High School, provided the added outside units, together totaling the num- ber required for graduation, are taken under an approved organiza- tion and cover the same number of hours, and are followed by tests


14


SCHOOL REPORT


made out, corrected, and passed by the staff of Merrimac High School. One candidate for 1938 graduation is at present working under this plan.


· Several recent graduates of Merrimac High School are now at- tending higher institutions. From the class of 1937, Myron Kelly is attending Wentworth Institute, F. Gilbert Lafaver the Bently School of Accounting and Finance, and Muriel Wallace the State Teachers College at Bridgewater. From the class of 1936, C. Lester Sweeney, Jr., is attending Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute and Mary E. Water- house the University of New Hampshire. From the class of 1935 Howard L. DeLong, Jr., is attending the Bently School of Account- ing and Finance and Paul E. Morgan the Wentworth Institute.


The story of the march of general school events at Merrimac High School during 1937 is told in the report of Principal MacKay, to be found later in this report.


-


REPORT OF DRAWING SUPERVISOR


Dr. John C. Page, Supt. of Schools


Merrimac, Mass.


Dear Sir:


The art work in the Merrimac schools during the past year has followed the same general course as in the previous year.


There is more correlation with other subjects and an encour- aging improvement in the work of all grades.


High School classes in commercial art, fashion illustration, craft, and mechanical drawing are showing satisfactory progress. The craft classes work with plastics, wood and leather.


Several times during the year artwork has been displayed at the library. Occasional exhibitions of school work are helpful in that


15


SCHOOL REPORT


they (1) stimulate pupils to better work and higher standards be- cause there is a goal to work for. (2) Familiarize, the parents with the activities of their children and (3) create in the children more interest in their studies because their parents are interested.


I feel that the art work is progressing well and I wish to express my sincere thanks to all teachers, superintendent and committee for their splendid co-operation.


Respectfully submitted,


ANNIE A. KELLY.


SCHOOL REPORT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE


Number of school visits 349


Number home visits 104


Number children visited 298


Number pupils examined


431


Number pupils examined by Dr. Davis (school physician)


nurse assisting 431


Number defects teeth 267 Corrections 107


Number defects posture 128


Number defects nutrition


107


Number defects heart (slight)


59


Number vision 12 Corrections 7


Six pairs of glasses have been given six children by the Red Cross.


The follow-up of the T. B. clinic sponsored by Essex County T. B. Association was postponed from October until early spring, as some changes were made at the Middleton Hospital and they were unable to send examiners.


In April the immunizing for the prevention of diphtheria was again started, three treatments of toxoid was given at three week in- tervals to 35 children, 14 being pre-school children, the immunizing


16


SCHOOL REPORT


was done by Dr. Davis, nurse assisting, and only to children of parents giving their consent in writing.,




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