USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1936-1940 > Part 51
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In closing the Trustees wish to express to the Superin- tendent and the men in his employ, their appreciation of the manner in which the work has been carried on in the Cemeteries.
Respectfully submitted,
EDWARD S. SOULE, Chairman, THEODODRE W. GLOVER, Secretary ERNEST H. BAILEY, ARTHUR W. WRIGHT, WILLIAM O. DYER,
Trustees.
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Report of the Superintendent of Cemeteries
To the Cemetery Trustees :
I submit my report for the year of 1940. At Mayflower Cemetery the general work was done. The leaves were raked and the avenues edged and cleaned. The fence fac- ing Tremont Street was painted. Some of the old fence on the back of the Cemetery was painted and a few rails fixed.
The egg clusters were creosoted and the trees were sprayed by the Moth Department.
The general work was done in Ashdod Cemetery. The avenues and walks were edged and cleaned. Dingley Cem- etery was raked and cleaned. The fence was painted and a few rails put in. At Standish Cemetery the grass was cut, the leaves raked and a few rails fixed and the sign painted.
All Perpetual and Annual care lots had fertilizer or top dressing on them and they were cared for. Twenty five new lots were built and ten old lots rebuilt. Forty three foundations were built. There were sixty two in- terments this year. Twenty Two Perpetual Care Funds were added this year.
The Ladies Union Fair Association did a lot of work this year and in the past in the Historical part of May- flower Cemetery. The work they had done was putting in foundations and straightening the old slate stones. At Standish Cemetery they repaired and relettered a number of the old slate stones.
Respectfully submitted,
LAUREL B. FREEMAN,
Superintendent of Cemeteries.
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Report of Duxbury Town Historian
Your Town Historian has been busy since the last re- port collecting pictures and photographs of old Duxbury scenes. These have been taken and printed by Mr. E. C. Turner and will be in albums with the proper captions. Finally, the collection will be indexed and placed in the new fire proof vault in the Duxbury Free Library for ref- erence and safe keeping. When completed, the collection will be unique and very valuable from an historical stand- point.
The historical marker this year commemorates the Nook Gate erected in 1634 across the narrowest portion of the Standish Shore peninsular whereby cattle were prevented from straying and the Indians were kept out. The marker, made as usual of Acton granite, was inscribed as follows :
Site Of The Nook Gate Here A Palisade Was Erected Across The Nook In 1634 This Palisade Was A High Fence To Prevent Cattle From Straying And Probably To Keep The Indians Out Town of Duxbury-1940
To be assured of the registration of future buildings with the Town Clerks a bill has been introduced into the State Legislature by Representative Nathaniel L. Tilden of the Second Plymouth Representative District. This will be of great assistance to future historians.
Respectfully yours,
REUBEN PETERSON,
Duxbury Town Historian.
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Plymouth County Extension Service
During 1940, the Plymouth County Extension Service has performed its usual function of helping rural, village, and city people with the problems of farming, home making, and 4-H club training. Each year ever-increasing demands are being made on this organization to organize, administer, and teach programs of national, state, county, and town importance.
The agricultural department has a wide range of ser- vices for commodity groups in dairying, poultry husban- dry, fruit, and vegetable culture, cranberry growing, gen- eral livestock management, forestry, and many other sub- jects. In each of these, special emphasis has been placed on marketing in recognition of this need with production problems more completely solved than those of merchand- izing.
Close cooperation and collaboration have been main- tained with local organizations and other federal agencies. Some of these are as follows: Plymouth County Farm Bureau, Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, Ply- mouth County Poultry Association, Bristol-Plymouth Fruit Growers' Association, Satucket Dairy Herd Im- provement Association, and Brockton Cooperative Egg Auction Association. The Federal Land Bank, Taunton Production Credit Association, Farm Security Admini- stration, and the Agricultural Conservation Program.
The Home Demonstration Department held meetings in every town in Plymouth County during the past year. Emphasis was placed on home beautification, food pres- ervation, nutrition, health and recreation. In addition to
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meetings, other help was given by letters, phone calls and home visits.
4-H club work not only develops agricultural and home- making ability among its boys and girls, but trains them also in self reliance, good sportsmanship and good citizen- ship. Clothing, home furnishing and food projects teach girls a greater appreciation of good home and community living, while in the stock and crop raising projects boys are shown the value of modern methods as well as getting a knowledge of business.
4-H club work is a truly American idea, for all of Ameri- ca's youth.
The course which the Extension Service follows is large- ly determined by local people. Your board of trustees, town directors, women's advisory council, and commodity committeemen, have by a majority approved these pro- grams. The service of all departments is available to everyone. The Extension Service has its place in bring- ing to the attention of Plymouth County people the princi- ples of good farming, good homemaking and good citizen- ship.
Briefly, some of the accomplishments for Plymouth County in 1940 which may be shown statistically, are as follows :
Number of meetings conducted 877
Attendance at these meetings 26,650
Farm and Home Visits made 2,233
Number of different circular letters 293
Total circulation of these circular letters 95,656
Number of 4-H clubs 101
Number of 4-H members enrolled
1,881
No. Home Demonstration Clubs 115
No. women enrolled
2,171
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The financial assistance and moral support of Duxbury is greatly appreciated by the people the Extension Service assists. A continuation of its support is justified on the record it has achieved. Its influence can not be measured by monetary values, but its educational programs and in- dividual assistance constitutes one measure in the first line of national defense.
ERNEST W. CHANDLER,
Town Director.
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Report of the School Building Committee
February 10, 1941
The Committee appointed under Article 26 of the An- nual Town Meeting of Duxbury, held on March 2, 1940, submit the preliminary plans and specifications for an elementary school building designed to provide space for the first six grades.
Your committee, after interviewing various architects, engaged the Sturgis Associates, Inc. of Boston, Massa- chusetts, who have designed the building and prepared the preliminary plans and specifications under the super- vision of Mr. William B. Coffin of that firm, a resident of Duxbury.
The School Committee has been consulted and their recommendations given careful consideration. We have been informed that the present plan meets with their ap- proval.
The plan calls for the erection of a two-story brick building. It contains eight class-rooms with a capacity of from thirty to thirty-five pupils per room, and a max- imum capacity of two hundred and eighty pupils. The plan provides for a future addition of two class-rooms of the same capacity as the other rooms.
In addition to the regular class-rooms, your committee has provided for a combined recreation and lunch room, with kitchen facilities for serving hot lunches to the pu-
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pils. Space has been provided for a medical and dental clinic. A principal's office is on the first floor convenient to the main entrance. The teacher's room is on the second floor. Space has been made available for the special train- ing of such pupils as may find it difficult to adjust them- selves to the regular class-room work. Basement exca- vation has been limited to the space necessary for a boiler room, electrical compartment and storage room, all situ- ated at the Westerly end of the building.
It is proposed to locate the building on a knoll on the South side of Train Field, approximately five hundred feet from the present High School. The building has been so planned and oriented that all class-rooms will receive sunlight from either the East, West or South sides, thus insuring a maximum amount of sunlight to each room. The location affords sufficient elevation for proper drain- age. The exterior of the building is of Colonial design and, while somewhat simpler than that of the existing High School, will nevertheless harmonize with its appear- ance.
Since the plans and specifications are preliminary we cannot give a detailed and final estimate as to the exact cost of the building. Estimates submitted by the archi- tect after consultation with reputable engineers and con- tractors indicate that a building of this general type and size can be built under present-day conditions at an approximate cost of 33 cents per cubic foot. With cubage of 258,000 cubic feet, it is estimated this building will cost approximately $85,000, excluding architects' fees, costs of furnishings and other moveable equipment, and of finished grading.
Under the vote authorizing the work of this committee, the sum of $1,500 was appropriated for necessary ex-
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penses. Disbursements from this fund have been made as follows :
Architect
$1,375.00
Survey of site
69.75
Photastats
7.37
$1,452.12
Your committee calls attention to an arrangement made with the architects whereby it is agreed that (1) if the Town of Duxbury authorizes the erection of the proposed elementary school building, and (2) if the Sturgis Associ- ates, Inc., are retained as architects for the actual con- struction work, then (3) the payment already made for services to the Sturgis Associates, Inc., under the direction of this committee shall be considered as a partial payment to apply towards the total compensation due them for the completed project.
Respectfully submitted,
JOSEPH W. LUND,
KENNETH G. GARSIDE, LeROY M. PETERSON, SIDNEY C. SOULE,
ROY F. WHITNEY,
GEORGE K. ZIPF.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Duxbury
MASS
TS 289
TED
J
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31
1940
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School Committee
For the year ending December 31, 1940
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Joseph W. Lund, Chairman
Term expires 1942
Mrs. Ethel S. Wyman, Secretary
Term expires 1941
George M. Mayers, Term expires 1941
J. Newton Shirley, Term expires 1942
Walter G. Prince
Term expires 1943
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held in the Duxbury High School building at eight o'clock on the evenings of the second and fourth Friday of each month.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS George E. Green, Duxbury, Massachusetts Office Telephone: 346
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Dr. Connie H. King, Telephone: Duxbury 212
SCHOOL NURSE Miss Annie L. Williams, R. N., Telephone : Duxbury 175
ATTENDANCE OFFICER Earl W. Chandler, Telephone: Duxbury 358
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STAFF
George E. Green Superintendent B. S., Bates College; graduate work at Boston Uni- versity. .
Leroy N. MacKenney Submaster B. A., University of Maine; graduate work at the Uni- versity of Maine.
Kenneth O. Macomber Manual Training, Print Shop Gorham Normal, Bates College.
Nancy Horton French
B.A., Elmira College.
Ruth K. Manter
Latin and History Director of Orchestra Coach of Girls' Basketball
B. A., Pembroke College; graduate work at Brown; Harvard.
A. Kempton Smith English B. A., Brown University; graduate work at Boston University.
Anna T. Cussen Commercial B. S., Boston Teachers College; M. Ed Boston Teachers College; graduate work at Boston University.
Jane E. Schopfer Home Economics
B. S., Massachusetts State College.
Ellen W. Downey Junior High School Subjects
Partridge Academy ; State Extension Courses.
Dorothy Cushman Sixth Grade
B. S. in Ed., Bridgewater Teacher's College.
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Jennie A. White Fifth Grade
Bridgewater Normal; Boston University ; State Exten- sion Courses.
M. Abbie Baker Tarkiln Primary School Partridge Academy ; Hyannis Normal School ; State Ex- tension Courses.
Constance Lee Newton Tarkiln Primary School B. A., Smith College; graduate work at Boston Uni- versity.
Sara E. Paulding Village Primary School Partridge Academy ; Study at Columbia University and Harvard; Hyannis Normal School Diploma ; State Ex- tension Courses.
M. Dorothy Rust Point Primary School Salem Normal School; Study at the University of Ver- mont ; Boston University.
Helen Snider Village Primary School B. S. in Ed., Bridgewater State Teachers' College.
Robert A. Girardin Opportunity Class Keene Normal School; Springfield; Pennsylvania State College.
Ralph N. Blakeman Physical Education Athletic Coach
B. S., Boston University; M. Ed., Boston University.
Samuel Warner Supervisor of Drawing Boston Art Club; New England Conservatory Art De- partment.
May Blair McClosky Supervisor of Music
-185- SCHOOL CALENDAR 1940
Winter Term: Begins January 6.
Winter Vacation : February 22-March 2, Inclusive.
Spring Vacation : April 19-26, Inclusive.
Memorial Day: May 30.
Graduation : June 19. Reception : June 20.
Fall Term: Begins September 3.
Teachers' Convention : October 24.
Armistice Day: November 11.
Thanksgiving Recess: November 27-30, Inclusive Christmas Vacation: December 24-January 4, 1941 Inclusive.
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Report of School Committee
To the Citizens of Duxbury :
We submit, on the following pages, the reports of our superintendent, supervisors, and the teachers of special activities.
The Duxbury School Committee has examined and ap- proved the plans, for the proposed new grade school build- ing, which were submitted to it by the building committee appointed at the Town Meeting last March.
The plans call for a two-story building, of Colonial architecture, containing eight class rooms, proper recre- ational and lunch room facilities, and other features which are common to modern primary school buildings. The building would be located southeast of the high school, on the knoll where the Fourth of July bonfire has been. There is adequate room for 240 children of the first six grades, as against a present population of 229 in these classes. The new building will have a maximum capacity of 280 in crowded rooms, and provision for two additional rooms if they become necessary at a later date.
We request that the Town take immediate favorable action on this building project for the following reasons :
1. The present buildings housing the first four grades are antiquated, crowded, and have no proper recreation facilities.
2. The equipment and lighting in old buildings is un- satisfactory.
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3. The fifth and sixth grades are now in crowded rooms in the high school. These rooms can well be utilized for the students in the upper grades. Should these grades continue their gain in population, there would be no possible way of taking care of them in their present quarters.
4. School hours for the fifth and sixth grades would and should be decreased.
5. Proper lunch room facilities will be provided for those children who will benefit most.
6. The younger teachers will have the advantage of more frequent consultation with and supervision by older and more experienced teachers.
7. The whole program for the six lower grades can be made more flexible and the students grouped on a better basis when more than one teacher is available for each grade.
8. Maintenance, janitor and heating costs can be re- duced when all the grades are housed under one roof.
Building costs have risen somewhat, from their extreme low levels of the past decade, but they are still well below the average of the ten year period from 1920 to 1930. We feel that they are apt to rise substantially, due to the de- fense effort, and that further delay in completing this project will add materially to the cost.
Interest rates are at the lowest point in the history of this country so that the cost of borrowing money is far less than ever before. Most people feel that this situation will change in the near future, and we urge that you take advantage of the present situation. There is an actual saving to the Town of about $12,000 in interest at present rates as against the rate paid on the High School loan.
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Since the High School building was built in 1926 our school population has increased from 355 to a high point of 425 in 1939-1940. It now stands at 405. In spite of this our appropriation for school operation was substantially lower in the latter year. Our cost per pupil has been re- duced from $124.61 to $116.90 in this same period. In the peak year of 1930 the cost was $147.55.
During the same period the total assessed valuation of all the property in town has increased from $6,049,757, in 1926, to $7,400,000, in 1940. The tax per thousand of valuation for all educational purposes has been reduced from $10.97 to $7.33. The project as outlined above will increase the cost in 1941 to about $10.00, in 1942, to $8.50, with a gradual reduction thereafter as the high school and grade school bonds are paid off. This assumes, of course, that the total valuation of the town will stabilize instead of increasing annually as it has been during the last fifteen years.
It is the recommendation of this committee that this job should be done now and not later. The tax will in- crease, above present levels, about $2.80 during 1941 and about $.90 each year thereafter during the next 14 years.
For our regular operation during the coming year, we request an appropriation of $45,500 and the dog tax. In addition to this we understand that the school depart- ment will receive about $1,200 from the Hathaway Fund.
Respectfully submitted,
JOSEPH W. LUND, Chairman ETHEL WYMAN, Secretary GEORGE M. MAYERS J. NEWTON SHIRLEY WALTER G. PRINCE
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Report of Superintendent
To the School Committee of Duxbury :
I present, herewith, a statement covering the operation of the schools during the year 1940, together with such reports as have been presented by supervisors, special teachers, the nurse, and the school physician.
May I call to your attention an interesting comparison of figures taken from the Reports of the State Department of Education for the years 1929 and 1939. Assessed valu- ation of the town, 1929-$6,438,955; 1939-$7,289,596, an increase of over $850,000. Number of teachers 1929-15; 1939-17, an increase of two. Total expenditures for support of schools 1929-$48,201.03: 1939-$46,912.32, or a decrease of more than twelve hundred dollars. The tax rate per $1,000.00 for support of schools was $6.77 in 1929, but dropped one dollar and twenty-eight cents to $5.49 in 1939. In 1929 the average cost to the town for each child in school was $132.58, but by 1939 this aver- age had dropped to $107.24. During this ten year period the school enrollment increased from 354 to 410.
The housing of the elementary grades continues to be the most acute problem confronting us at the beginning of the year 1941. The rapid increase in school population of last year slowed somewhat. This prevented a serious over-crowding for the time being. However, the large enrollment in the lower grades seems to indicate that the problem will be with us again in another year or so. The school census shows that we should have about 52 children entering the first grade next September. Even now, we cannot hope to put on a modern educational program with
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present facilities. In a few years we will hand on to our children tremendous responsibilities. Do we not owe them every opportunity to prepare themselves adequately for carrying those burdens ?
Miss Dorothy Colbath, who taught at the Village School did not renew her contract and in June left teaching to be married. Miss Helen Snider was secured to fill the vacancy. Failing health, over a period of several years, forced Miss Amelia Hausman to withdraw permanently from teaching. Miss Hausman had taught French at Duxbury High School for a period of nine years. The graduates from her courses, who went on into other schools, always showed an excellent foundation. Miss Nancy Horton has been secured to take her place. Miss Dorothy Fogg resigned from her position as teacher of Commercial subjects in the high school, to accept a po- sition in Sandwich. Her place was filled by Miss Anna Cussen. At the end of the school year Miss Winifred E. Sanders was elected to a position in the English Depart- ment at Northampton High School. To fill the vacancy caused thereby, Mr. A. Kempton Smith was transferred from latin and history to the teaching of english. Miss Ruth Manter was selected to take over the work which Mr. Smith had formerly done.
These resignations represent a change of nearly twenty- five per cent of our teachers. Some withdrew from Dux- bury to accept positions at salaries far above anything which we could hope to offer. Others could have been retained had we the money to make the positions slightly more attractive financially. With industrial employment steadily increasing it will become even more difficult to retain our teachers or to secure replacement of those who resign. I urge that this situation be given serious con- sideration immediately.
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Mr. John Fletcher, janitor at the Tarkiln School, died on February 28. His place has been filled by Mr. Raymond Bennett.
The policy of starting the study of French in the eighth grade and continuing without interruption through the four years of high school, although providing a strong foundation in the language, was decidedly difficult to ad- minister in a small community. A large majority of high schools do not start this course until the sophomore year. So many children come to us from other towns that there was continual difficulty with our different curriculum. By replacing the eighth grade French with an Introduct- ory Language course and not starting the French until the more orthodox, sophomore year, we seem to have over- come the difficulty without loss to our pupils.
Cooperating with the Registry of Motor Vehicles we inaugurated a course in the operation of automobiles. Pupils who complete this course and pass an examination are exempt from the usual test on the rules of the road at the time of their driving tests.
Orientation, which was started in September, is a course which attempts to adjust a child to his surroundings. In it he tries to discover and adapt his talents to ways which will bring greater success and happiness to life.
Late in the fall a request was received from a group of people wishing an adult evening school which would provide training in citizenship. Mr. Girardin offered to secure the necessary state certificate, and he has been elected to plan and carry on the work for the rest of the school year. There are about twenty-nine adults who have indicated a desire to attend these classes. The meeting place is Fernandez' Store in Ashdod. One half the cost of this work is returned to the town by the state.
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The extra curricular activities have been about the same as those of last year. The "Frog Pond", added to the recreational equipment through a W. P. A. project, promises to be a source of beneficial enjoyment. The Physical Education Department has used the skating facilities whenever the ice has been thick enough to be strong and safe. Through the N. Y. A. we hope to keep the snow removed from the ice throughout the winter.
Our school newspaper, the Partridge, appears as usu- al about twice a month, but this year there are plans for an occasional magazine supplement. In competition with the papers from the other schools of south eastern Massa- chusetts, this paper again received honorable mention.
Basketball teams representing the school were very successful during the winter of 1940. In the spring, be- cause of continuously stormy weather, the baseball team met with only mediocre success.
The High School presented an operetta on May 24, which was so much of a success that a demand for a sec- ond showing was heeded. Entire proceeds for the second show ($60.00) were given to the Red Cross. The senior play, "Nothing But The Truth" on December 6, 1940, was well done and well received.
The orchestra continued its good work of years past. The annual concert was sponsored by the Parent Teachers' Association at its regular meeting in May.
The Student Council has gained in influence and in power. It is celebrating the 100th anniversary of student government, which originated in the Powder Point School in Duxbury. This group has made many rules governing the social life of the school and by solving many problems, has made our school a better community in which to live.
.
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As the year comes to a close we are just putting into effect a plan to secure lunches for every school child in town. The plan is little more than a theory at present and may have to be modified greatly as practice and experi- ence show up its weaknesses. To date the application has been confined to the high school building where there is a well equipped kitchen and where we have been serving lunches for several years. As we overcome the difficulty of administration, we hope to expand so that the younger children may benefit from a hot well-balanced noonday meal.
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