USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1941-1945 > Part 25
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Your Planning Board has held many meetings and con- ferences with the Seletcmen. Many subjects have been discussed, including the layout of a highway over the abandoned railroad site.
Members have often been asked as to the advisability of trying to do something in the way of steering the de- velopment of the town and preserving its natural beauty and attractiveness as a place to live. With this idea in view, the Board is preparing a set of by-laws which it will present, to the annual town meeting in March 1944, for action. The necessity for some action of this kind (which is enjoyed by over 80% of the people of this state) will be obvious.
The Board wishes to extend its thanks to the Select- men for their very prompt and full cooperation, both collectively and individually, in the activities of the Plan- ning Board.
The Board returns to the town $95.00 of its 1943 ap- propriation of $100.00 and asks that $200.00 be allotted to cover expenses in 1944.
BENJAMIN F. GOODRICH, Chairman OLIVER L. BARKER FRANKLIN BRETT MISS MARY N. GIFFORD, Clerk PERCY L. WALKER.
167
Report of Honor Roll Committee
To the Citizens of Duxbury :
The Duxbury Honor Roll was set in place in July 1943, and on Armistice Day at eleven o'clock in the morning a simple dedication service was held. Mr. Philip W. Delano, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen dedicated the Honor Roll assisted by the Reverend Father Morrisroe and the Reverend John H. Philbrick. The Roll now con- taines a total of two hundred and fifty eight names, with six more to be added as of January 14th, 1944. The fol- lowing seventy seven names have been added to the list published in the Town Report of a year ago :
Abbot, John Radford Abbot, John Radford, Jr.
Bates, Harry Cotting Bennett, Frank P., 3d. Blanchard, Lloyd C. Bradford, William Earl Bulu, Joseph Pina Burrows, George Carr, Frederick S. Carr, Samuel B.
Gifford, Stephen Wentworth, 3d. Glass, Velma Parker Grenquist, Earle Clifford Harrington, Frederic, Jr. Hayden, Charles Herbert Hayward, Forrest E.
Hill, Stanley E. Horsfall, Dorothy Jean Jenney, Frederick
Chetwynde, Harry Arthur
Jones, Ernest Albert LaFleur, Richard Harold
Loring, Donald Forrest
Clark, Raymond Charles Coffin, Dorothy W. Cornwell, Arthur N.
Lunt, Frederick William MacKenney, LeRoy Nelson
Cornwell, Clifford B.
Cornwell, Gordon Omer
Crocker, Richard Cushing Corrie, John M. Cushing, Roger Clifton Davis, Dudley Edgar
Davis, Frank Arthur DeWolf, John Hamilton Fernandes, Amancio Mendes Ford, Earl William Freeman, Henry Marshall
Marshall, Lawrence Martin, William Manuel Mayo, Walter Vernon McAuliffe, Lawrence Merton Means, Robert Harvey Mobbs, Cecelia Jane Mobbs, Philip Henry Mullaney, Charles Howard
Murphy, William Delano Muthig, Bernard H.
Peterson, Robert Wilbur
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Pierce, Nina May
Stetson, George Fobes
Pratt, Albert
Stetson, Warren Batcheller
Olsen, Richard Frederick
Stewart, Vernon Wadsworth
Putnam, Willard F.
Sumner, Frederick O. B.
Randall, Robert Lewis
Taylor, Thomas Willard
Rogers, Frank Clark
Ryder, Ralph L. Sampson, Clinton Roy
Teixeria, Raymond Harry Thomas, Cleveland Landgrage Thomas, Winsor Lord
Scholpp, Roy Frederick
Tower, Richard Wilson
Sinott, Frank Melville, Jr.
Verge, Arthur Everett
Stamper, Chetwynd Edward
Walker, William, 2nd.
Sollis, Roger Prior
Winslow, Richard Kenelm
Starkweather, Walter E.
Winsor, Daniel Loring, Jr.
Stetson, Frederick Winslow, Jr.
The appropriation requested at the last Annual Meet- ing was based on estimated costs which shortly after- wards were raised nearly fifty per cent. However, through the cooperation of several of our fellow townsmen, more particularly Franklin Brett, William B. Coffin, George W. Chubbuck, Parker B. Chandler, Rexford L. Randall and Albert L. Sprague, it was possible to keep within a few dollars of the amount of the appropriation.
Your committee feels that it is very important to keep the Roll in perfect condition so long as it is kept standing. Tentative plans have been made for a certain amount of landscape work to set it off from the white background of the building behind. The gold letters should be re- gilded and the board painted this Spring. In addition to this there is the cost of new names. Therefore, your committee recommends that it, or a similar committee, be continued for another year and that an appropriaion of two hundred and fifty dollars be granted for its use.
Respectfully submitted,
WALTER R. HUNT EDWIN M. NOYES JAMES T. O'NEIL
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN of DUXBURY
S
it :489
OR
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31 1943
170
School Committee
For the Year Ending December 31, 1943
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Joseph W. Lund
Term expires 1945
Kenneth G. Garside
Term expires 1944
Herbert C. Wirt
Term expires 1944
Term expires 1945
J. Newton Shirley Elizabeth P. Habicht
Term expires 1946
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held in the Duxbury High School building at eight o'clock on the evenings of the first and third Wednesday 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
Susan E. Carter, R. N., Telephone Duxbury 175
SCHOOL DENTIST Wm. O. Dyer, D. M. D., Telephone Duxbury 298
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ATTENDANCE OFFICER
Earl W. Chandler, Telephone Duxbury 358
EDUCATIONAL ADVISER
Margaret K. Elliott, Telephone Duxbury 46
STAFF
George E. Green Superintendent
Leroy N. MacKenney
On leave of Absence with the Armed Forces.
B. A., University of Maine ; M. Ed. University of Maine ; graduate work at Boston University; Columbia.
M. Abbie Baker Tarkiln Primary School Partridge Academy; Hyannis Normal School; State Extension Courses .
Mary A. Beals Latin and History
B. A., Wheaton College.
Ralph N. Blakeman On Leave of Absence with the Armed Forces. B. S., Boston University ; M. Ed., Boston University.
Genevieve M. Collins Commercial
B. S., Boston University.
Hazel M. Cornish Home Economics
Simmons, University of Maine, George Washington University, Harvard, Boston University.
Mrs. Rose Delano Fifth Grade Hyannis Normal School.
172
Mrs. Helen DeWolf Point Primary School B. S. in Ed., Bridgewater State Teachers College.
Ellen W. Downey Junior High School Subjects Partridge Academy; Boston University; Harvard Ex- tension Courses.
Edmond B. Gesiak Geography and Science A. B., Boston University.
John B. Hebberd Science and Mathematics A. B., and A. M., Harvard University.
Elizabeth O. Kelley Village Primary School Leslie Normal School.
Mrs. Ruth Kreuger Opportunity Class Bridegwater Normal School.
John B. MacFarlane Manual Training, Print Shop Fitchburg State Normal School.
Marilyn Miller French and Problems of Democracy A. B., Bates ; graduate work; Wellesley ; Middlebury.
Constance Lee Newton Tarkiln Primary School B. A., Smith College; graduate work at Boston Uni- versity.
Alice O'Neil Sixth Grade North Adams Normal School.
Sara E. Paulding Village Primary School Partridge Academy; Study at Columbia University ; Harvard; Hyannis Normal School Diploma; State Ex- tension Courses.
173
A. Kempton Smith
On Leave of Absence with the Armed Forces. B. A., Brown University; graduate work Boston Uni- versity.
Winthrop E. Jackson On Leave of Absence with the Armed Forces.
A. B., Colby ; graduate work Boston University ; Epis. Theo. Sem.
Robert A. Warfield English A. B., Rollins College.
Mrs. Ella B. Hebberd Supervisor of Drawing
May Blair McClosky Supervisor of Music
Margaret K. Elliott Educational Adviser Ed. M., Harvard; B. S., Simmons; A. B., Smith.
174
Report of School Committee
January 14, 1944
To the Citizens of Duxbury :
During the past year the Duxbury School Committee has devoted considerable time to the study of the report of the Harvard Survey of our school department, with the purpose of adopting those recommendations which we consider valuable in the development and improve- ment of our schools.
The Survey Report indicates much that is good in our school system and many ways in which improvements can be made. While present conditions act to delay adop- tion of some of the recommendations, others need immedi- ate action. The School Committee considers that the most urgent of these other items are:
1. Improvement of supervision.
2. Construction of a fully-developed course of study.
3. Improvement and modernization of teaching standards through training-in-service and through outside courses for the teachers and for the superintendent.
The Committee has instructed the superintendent to execute the above three items, which while not a complete educational policy are basic to any further improvement.
175
The Committee has considered other recommendations of the Survey at length. In the problem of school admin- istration we have reached the conclusion that supervision can best be obtained by some arrangement other than the present joint superintendency and principalship. We feel that pre-vocational education should receive greater emphasis at the earliest opportunity. We feel that the plan for the creation of a larger school district in the Duxbury area is probably the ultimate solution to many of our problems of secondary education and that the plan should be thoroughly investigated. A School Building Planning Committee might well consider this problem as well as the problem of edequately housing our growing school population.
Some additional expense will be incurred during the coming year, mainly for salary adjustments to compen- sate teachers for engaging in further study. Such ex- penditures are included in the amount requested at the annual Town Meeting for the use of the schools.
Respectfully submitted,
KENNETH G. GARSIDE, Chairman HERBERT C. WIRT, Secretary ELIZABETH PETERSON HABICHT JOSEPH W. LUND J. NEWTON SHIRLEY
Duxbury School Committee.
176
Report of Superintendent
To the School Committee of Duxbury :
I present, herewith, a statement covering operation of the schools during the year of 1943, together with such reports as have been presented by supervisors, special teachers, the nurse, the school physician and educational advisor.
Never have I come to the hour for writing a report with greater misgivings than those I have at the present moment. So many disturbing factors have influenced the efficiency of educational work during the past year that I fear the darkness of misfortune may tend to hide the bright spots of real accomplishment.
It is trite to say that the devastation of the war is not all on the battle fronts, but nevertheless, there is no place in America where the blight of the present conflict is more seriously evident than in the schools. Teachers imbued with patriotic fervor have rushed to the colors. Others seeing opportunities in more fertile fields have left for better teaching positions or for jobs in industry. To replace those who enter military service only limited contracts can be made. The boys and girls returning from the war must have the opportunity to return to their old jobs and those persons stepping in to fill the vacancies realize that their term of office is contingent upon that uncertain factor. The list of candidates avail- able to fill the openings caused by resignations for non- military service is very meagre. At present there are at
177
least three positions in our school system where properly qualified instructors are entirely unavailable. Boys of sixteen, lured by the high wages of industry and by the promise of vocational training, have left school in spite of advice of guidance counselor and teachers. In many homes both parents are employed in industry and in Duxbury there seems to be no agency but the schools to compensate for the resulting loss in parental guidance and control. Of twelve teachers in the high school build- ing only two have been with me more than a year when the fall term opened in September. The new teachers are industrious, loyal and intelligent but a certain amount of time must elapse before they become sufficiently ac- quainted with the community to prove their full worth. On top of all this, the survey, in my opinion, disturbed, and still is disturbing, the morale of both pupils and teachers.
Nine teachers out of a total of seventeen were new to Duxbury during the year 1943. Mrs. Helen DeWolf re- turned to teaching to fill a vacancy caused by the departure of Miss Florence Johnson from the Point School. Miss Elizabeth Kelley replaced Mrs. Vivian Homan at the Vil- lage School. Mrs. Ruth Krueger has been substituting in the work with the opportunity class since the resigna- tion of Mr. Bradford. Mr. John B. Hebberd is teaching science and mathematics in the absence of Mr. MacKenny who is on military leave. Mr. Edmund Gesiak replaced Miss Tobin as teacher of mathematics, science and geogra- phy. Mr. Warfield followed Mr. Homan as teacher of English at the high school. Miss Mary A. Beals is teach- ing Latin and history in the place left vacant by the resignation of Miss Manter, Miss Genevieve Collins was secured to teach the commercial subjects formerly handled by Miss Pittman. Mrs. Rose Delano was selected to teach grade five after serving there as a substitute following
178
the resignation of Miss Brooks early in the year. The loss of more than fifty percent of our teachers would be a serious blow under normal conditions but at this time with the shortage of replacements it is almost crippling.
Mr. Samuel Warner, for more than thirty years super- visor of drawing in the schools of Duxbury, reached the age of retirement in the spring of 1943. Mr. Warner through skill and devotion to his work has left an im- pression upon two generations of our children that has helped many of them to success in the field of Art. He has also contributed generously of his art treasures, of stage scenery and of signs and posters whenever the occasional need for them arose. While I seriously regret the loss of this devoted teacher, I am happy that he has established a permanent home here in Duxbury and will continue his painting and sketching along our beautiful highways and byways.
Mrs. John B. Hebberd has been selected to teach draw- ing in the public schools during one day each week of the present year.
Shortly before the end of the year ill health forced Mr. Glover from his duties in the High School. For six- teen years, as custodian of the building, he has been the first to arrive on the job in the morning and the last to leave at night. With a conscientious, discriminating eye he had kept our school almost spotlessly clean, he had detected every weakness in structure, and wherever possi- ble corrected the defects by his own skill and energy. He always attended to proper heating and ventilation, and he seemed always on hand to fill the many requests of the teachers or to run the innumerable errands that de- velop in a school building. But, Mr.' Glover was more than just a janitor. His strength of character, his keen
1
179
intelligence, his generosity, his gentle courtesy, veiled by a humble demeanor, brought to him the respect and admiration of every teacher and pupil who came into the school during the past sixteen years. He was the living example of what every honest person hopes, in his heart, to be. His influence was great, but it was always good. His absence has left a void that cannot be filled, and while we are happy that he is resting comfortably at home, yet we look forward to the day when he will have the strength to be with us again.
As was anticipated in my report for the year 1942 the school lunch program had to be reorganized. W.P.A. assist- ance ceased to exist on April 1st. and after May 1st, surplus commodities were no longer available. We did continue to receive a small subsidy on milk and on certain fresh vegetables used. With this subsidy, by increasing the price of each meal to twenty cents and with financial assistance given to the project by the Red Cross, the Yacht Club and the Community Garden Club we were able to continue to serve hot lunches to the children in our schools and close the books for the year 1943 with a small balance showing on the financial statement.
War time conditions seriously affected all extra-cur- ricular activities. The gasoline restrictions prevented an organized schedule of basketball games. Several games were played with nearby schools and we played games with teams from the Coast Guard and other military units whenever possible. For similar reasons and also because of the need of boys for farm labor in the spring our activities in baseball were confined almost exclusively to scrub games.
The Partridge was reduced to four issues and the size of the year book was markedly curtailed.
180
Student Council activities have increased, with par- ticular emphasis being placed on the sale of war saving stamps or bonds. We received the "Schools at War" flag and have retained the right to fly it almost continuously at both the High School and the Tarkiln School.
The Senior rClass play, "Summer Rash", met with unusual success this year. It was played before a full house on December 17th. and was a credit to the school, the senior class and to the teachers who did the coaching.
The Parent-Teacher Association gave the annual Christ- mas assembly to all the school children on Thursday after- noon, December 23rd. Mrs. Olive Gentry served as enter- tainer and gave most interesting interpretations of "Alex's Bear Story", and "The Blue Bird."
Shortages of material and labor prevented the carry- ing out of extensive renovations or repair during the year 1943. Some painting was done to the interior of the Point School and Venetian blinds were installed. At Tarkiln much difficulty had been experienced for several years in heating the north classroom. Additional storm windows were purchased and rock wool insulation was laid over the ceiling. The wood work of all classrooms in the high school building was given a treatment of wax stain for the first time since the building was constructed. Every square inch of every room in every school house received the thorough cleaning that has characterized the maintenance in the past.
In anticipating our needs for another year we must recognize the fact that we may still be hedged in by the wall of shortages. Fortunately all our buildings and equip- ment are in a good state of repair and may go on some time without further attention.
181
There is real need for better accommodations for both the home making and the manual arts classes. With the expansion of the lunch program, domestic science classes have been pushed out of the laboratory into the dining room. While this location affords sufficient space to work, it does not offer any other advantage so necessary for inspirational or enthusiastic interest of the girls. As a remedy for this situation I suggest that the building next to the cable office, once occupied by the Red Cross, be bought and moved to a place near the rear entrance to the present kitchen. The building could be refitted as a very practical domestic arts laboratory at comparatively small expense. There may be also a possibility of correct- ing the congestion in the manual arts department through similar treatment.
In conclusion I wish to quote two paragraphs from a book entitled "Liberal Education", by Mark Van Doren.
"The child knows when he is being bullied by the reason of his elders. It is something with which he cannot cope, although he understands that it is being used to force him unto unnatural roles. He is given the morning news, for instance, and asked what he would do if he were Winston Churchill, or he is elected to some imitation league, some mock conference, and watched to see whether he will be- have like the man he of course is not. For the teacher thus to assume in pupils experience which nothing could have given them is a crime against the very reason that is growing in them but wishes now to be left intact. The elementary pupil, quite as much as the liberal student, wants to do what he can do, and this is to advance the world's knowledge. It is to catch up with as much of it as can be understood. The child, even more than the young man, is set for permanent studies. His job is not to under-
182
stand whatever world may flash by at the moment; it is to get himself ready for any human world at all."
"The most painful thing about contemporary American education is the system of "vocational choice" which ex- tends down as far as the high schools. In college this would be an evil, and in fact it is ; but even the high school student is nagged until he declares what he wants to do when he grows up. The boy who knows that much about himself is one out of a thousand. The rest pretend they know; and from that moment are channeled towards a life which they may not discover to be the wrong one until they are middle-aged. All men are specialists at last, but there is a time for choice and it is not the time of youth. Youth wants to be all things at once, and should be given a go at it. When the experiment is done, a specialty will announce itself. Meanwhile there is not the hurry we suppose there is-and so supposing, threaten our society with a caste system of predestined trades and professions such as a democracy may find it difficult to survive."
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE E. GREEN.
183
ENROLLMENT AND DISTRIBUTION
of Children by Schools and Grades,
December 31, 1943
Grade
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sp.
Total
High School
36 33 44 27 31 29 16 16
7 239
Tarkiln
21 18 15 11
65
Village
-
29 32 23
84
Point
26
26
Totals
47 47 47 34 36 33 44 27 31 29 16 16 7
414
PERFECT ATTENDANCE 1942 - 1943
Albert Caron
Edward O'Neil
Nancy Soule
184
Financial Statement
December 31, 1943
General Expenses
$2,472.43
Salaries-Teachers and
Supervisors
28,119.95
Text Books
1,536.22
Wages-Janitors
5,748.04
Stationery, Supplies, etc.
1,321.60
Fuel, Lights, etc.
3,561.63
Repairs
1,391.16
.
Libraries
316.06
Health
931.97
Transportation
6,800.00
New Equipment
250.01
Miscellaneous
596.04
Total
$53,090.11
Appropriation
$54,053.03
Balance
$963.82
185 Duxbury High School Cafeteria
January 1942 - January 1943
Receipts
Expenses
January
$567.82
$395.85
February
627.52
574.85
March
573.73
364.74
April
433.13
768.97
May
675.09
661.04
June
694.84
774.24
July
146.39
..
August
102.54
. ....
September
380.04
385.77
October
591.17
823.39
November
937.26
978.28
December
585.23
800.35
$6,314.76
$6,527.48
Balance on Hand December 31,
1942
$229.74
$6,544.50
Balance on Hand December 31, 1943 $17.02
1
186
Report of Drawing Supervisor
Mr. George E. Green Superintendent of Schools
Dear Sir :
The teaching of drawing, to date, has been partly the problem of finding out what the children know about drawing, how observing they are of things about them, what skill they have in executing problems and how well they can follow directions.
The objective has thus been set up. I wish to get chil- dren interested in Art, to develop good taste in Art, so they will select the right lines, shapes and colors when selecting their own belongings and gifts. They should also develop an ability to create from their own minds drawings that express beautiful ideas of their own, in pictures or designs. They should learn to know why things are drawn in a certain way and to tell upon look- ing at a drawing, whether it is correctly drawn or not. They should also learn to use their Art at home and to help the community.
With these things in mind we have started in the 1st., 2nd., 3rd., and 4th., grades to know the six standard colors. Illustrations were drawn using the rainbow in crayon. Next they colored a sky in darker blue at the top than near the horizon, that blue and green make things look distant and red, orange and brown make things look nearer. They also learned that things are darker and
187
have more detail near us than far away from us. Next we put in roads and telephone poles and fences receding in the distance giving them an idea of perspective. Next came the trees and the way they grow, doing autumn trees in color last. Yellow flowers and autumn leaves were then studied and after that we drew flowers on the daisy type. These were used afterwards as a base for making conventional designs. We also designed stripes of differ- ent colors and widths suitable for difference of choice and uses, (dresses, awnings). By this time it was the week before Thanksgiving, so they learned how to draw turkeys, free hand, and in color,
In December we worked on Christmas cards and pic- tures (imaginary) of Christmas trees. They also learned how to paint Christmas greetings neatly and correctly. The Red Cross requested nut baskets for the hospitals where wounded soldiers were hospitalized. These were made in Christmas designs and the children also made them for themselves. Several hundred were made in the different grades as Duxbury's contribution. The last lesson was making the face of Santa Claus in crayon and cotton batting on a Christmas card.
Fifth Grade
Sky, land, roads, poles, fences.
Trees in pencil, elm, maple, apple. Autumn trees in color.
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