USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Oakham > Town annual reports of the officials of the town of Oakham, Massachusetts 1948 > Part 2
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Oakham 11-12
JANITOR
Winthrop H. Boyd Oakham 5
SCHOOL CALENDAR
Fall Term - 16 weeks September 7 to Dec. 3, 1949
Winter Term - 7 weeks January 3 to February 19, 1949
Spring Term - 7 weeks February 28 to April 15, 1949.
Summer Term - 8 weeks April 25 to June 17, 1949
HOLIDAYS
May 30, October 12, November 4, November 11, Thanks- giving Day, and the day following. Other holidays come during the vacation period.
38
ANNUAL REPORT
Report of SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee and Citizens of Oakham:
This report is the forty-ninth in the series. Thirty of these have been written by my predecessor, Mr. James R. Childs. Mr. Childs had served this town as its superinten- dent very efficiently all those years. I found the books and supplies and equipment in excellent condition, and the mo- rale of the school on a high plane.
Also, may I pay my respects to the efficient principal, Miss Florence Bothwell, who was appointed in Oakham in 1897. It is a great privilege for a new superintendent to have the opportunity of associating with such an outstanding leader.
In September we secured Miss Charlotte Kaminski to direct the art instruction, and Leonard Maher to supervise the music. Both have had experience and are well trained for their respective positions.
The school building needs some changes. The toilet facilities are inadequate. If possible, they should be on the first floor of the building. A room for a hot lunch is needed, more artificial lighting should be added, and a modern heat- ing system would improve the physical conditions of the building. I trust the appointed building committee will recommend these and other changes in the near future.
I have found pupils and teachers very much interested in their work. The fundamental subjects are being effici- ently taught, and the related subjects are well directed by the supervisors.
May I express my appreciation to the committee and all who have assisted in making the writer's position pleasant and conductive to a constructive administration.
Respectfully submitted,
William H. Buker, Superintendent of Schools.
39
ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE ART SUPERVISOR
To the Superintendent of Schools:
In accordance with progressive educational ideas the art course throughout the elementary grades has been based upon the following objectives:
1. To develop the visual memory and creative imagina- tion through the use of drawing.
2. To develop the power of discriminating observation.
3. To develop the skill necessary for the free use of tools.
4. To cultivate the enjoyment of the best beauty in nature and art.
I've looked forward each week to teaching here where both children and teachers show such an interest and apply themselves so earnestly.
Respectfully submitted,
Charlotte W. Kaminski.
December 31, 1948
REPORT OF THE MUSIC SUPERVISOR
It is difficult at this time to give a complete analysis of the Music Department in the school system. Several changes have been attempted this year but at present they have not been in operation for a sufficient length of time to provide sufficient returns.
The most important work we hope to undertake is the giving to each student a complete knowledge in the funda- mentals and mechanics of music. Only in complete and thorough mastery of these points can the student be expect- ed to understand and thus enjoy music. In this regard we must express our gratitude to the teachers in the classrooms for their complete cooperation and hard work.
The help and cooperation of the Superintending Com- mittee has been most welcome and we solicit the continua- tion of this as a vital help to our program.
Respectfully submitted,
Leonard L. Maher
December 31, 1948
40
ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL NURSE
To the Superintendent of Schools:
The yearly physical examinations of the school children has been completed by Dr. Mayo. Defects have been re- corded on the individual physical record cards of each pupil. The predominant defects were diseased tonsils and carious teeth. The parents are urged to have corrections made.
The Visual and Auditory tests were made. Most of the defects have been corrected.
A pre-school clinic was held in May. The parents pres- ent at these clinics gave the doctors an excellent opportunity to explain the defects found.
Throughout the year routine work went on, such as home visits, personal interviews, weighing and measuring, inspections, first aid, excluding sick children, planning with the assisting the school physician in clinics
Field visits 6
First Aid
16
Physical Examination with Dr.
60
Pupils weighed and measured
109
Clinics
1
Hearing examinations
60
Eye examinations
60
Defect notices
20
Urine examinations
58
I sincerely wish to thank everyone who has helped throughout the year to make my work pleasant and effective.
Respectfully submitted,
Brenda T. Sullivan, R. N.
December 31, 1948
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL PHYSICIAN -
To the Superintendent of Schools:
The school physician submits the following report for the district for 1948.
Diptheria clinics were held in all the schools of the dis-
41
ANNUAL REPORT
trict with the exception of Oakham. Permission was re- quested from the parents to administer toxiod to children in three doses as recommended by the State Department of Health. Booster injections were given to immunized chil- dren who had not had toxoid within three years.
Diptheria, once almost as common as measles and much more fatal, has become a rare disease only because of toxoid immunization. The disease has shown a slight increase throughout the state in the past two years. It is very im- portant therefore that every child be immunized.
Pre-school children were examined and vaccinated at clinics held in each school last May.
Physical examinations were completed early in Decem- ber. This year an experiment was tried in Oakham; each child brought a sample of urine which was tested for sugar.
Respecfully submitted,
Leroy E. Mayo, M. D.
December 31, 1948
ORGANIZATION
Year Ending December 31, 1948
School
Teacher
Appointed
Grades V - VIII
Florence E. Bothwell
1897
Grades I - IV
Helena K. Rutherford
1946
Music Supervisor
Leonard L. Maher
1948
Art Supervisor
Charlotte Kaminski
1948
SUMMARY of REGISTERS, Year Ending December 31, 1948
Grades
Total Mem.
Ave. Mem.
Ave. At.
% At.
I - IV
36
32.02
29.43
91.98
V - VIII
24
19.89
19.29
93.92
Totals
60
51.91
48.72
92.95
ENROLLMENT, December 31, 1948
Grades
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 Total
Boys
7
4
5
2
1
1
2
22
Girls
5
1
4
5
6
3
1
25
Totals
12
5
9
7
7
4
3
47
42
ANNUAL REPORT
REGISTRATION OF MINORS, October 1, 1948
Boys
Girls
Total
5 to 7 years of age
14
6
20
7 to 14 years of age
17
27
44
14 to 16 years of age
4
1
5
Totals
35
34
69
GRADUATES - JUNE 1948
Howard Bechan
Ralph E. Mann
Phyllis R. Bechan
Carol Riffenburg
Junice Dean
Richard L. Wilbur
Ralph Dwelly
Sylvia Wilder
Fred H. Lane, Jr.
Raymond B. Wells
Albert Lucier
Eleanor Cory
12-17.96 43
ANNUAL REPORT
Report of SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Appropriation for the year Expenditures
$ 14,000 00 13,910 80
Unexpended Balance
$ 89 20
Expenditures for the year
$ 13,910 80
Receipts for the year
12,679 41
Actual cost to Town
1,231 39 $
Receipts
Supt.'s salary ('47
$ 143 28
High School Transportation, ('47
2,054 16
Chapter 70 Part II ('48
2,533 67
Tuition, State Wards
247 39
Chapter 70, Part II ('48
2,533 67
Chapter 11, Sec. 7a Transportation
4,928 00
Prop. State Tax
293 18
Prop. Corp Tax
480 62
Supt. salary ('48
145 00
High School Tuition
1,439 11
$ 12,679 41
24/2007
Expenditures
1
Teachers:
Florence E. Bothwell
1,800 00
Helena K. Rutherford
1,760 53
Mary R. Arms, substitute
40 00
Elsie Havens, substitute
80 00
Cecelia Hall, Drawing Sup. 94 50
Charlotte Kaminski, Drawing Sup. 75 00
Leonard L. Maher, Music Supervisor
71 91
253367
3921 94
1
1781440
44
ANNUAL REPORT
70
Health:
Miss Brenda T. Sullivan, nurse
168 00
Leroy E. Mayo, school physician
26 25
Holden Pharmacy
8 16
Superintendent:
James R. Childs, salary
201 25
James R. Childs, Travel
17 50
William H. Buker, salary
129 35
William H. Buker, Travel
11 25
Office Clerk and supplies
49 47
Janitor:
Winthrop H. Boyd, salary
460 00
Janitor's supplies
37 29
Repairs:
James E. Heaney Co.
5 00
Central Supply Co.
5 71
W. H. Boyd, labor
42 20
Ralph I. Daniels, labor and supplies
114 90
Wm. F. Fullam Co., lumber
14 91
182 72
Fuel:
Victor Smichinski, wood
54 00
Mabel E. Conant, wood
5 00
Michael De Marco, sawing wood
12 50
Percy F. Wilbur, handling wood
43 50
115 00
Miscellaneous:
Books
188 91
Supplies
56 56
School Census
5 00
Book Case
5 00
Music
27 00
202 41
408 82
497 29
ANNUAL REPORT
45
J. R. Childs
5 03
Pearl A. Towle
13 00
W. A. Henning
3 50
Gardner Electric Light Co.
12 16
316 16
School Committee:
Mary P. Crawford, chairman
10 00
George W. Dean
10 00
Leone B. Daniels, secretary 1 25 00
L. B. Daniels Postage and Telephone
2 75
47 75
High School Tuition:
Town of Barre
1,439 11
1
1,439.11
High School Transportation:
William Bechan
268 00
Fred Bechan
57 60
Eunice Brennan
85 60
Howard Corey
59 20
George W. Dean
59 20
John Dogul
150 40
Robert Dwelly
199 20
Van French
124 00
Haven Goodwin
142 40
Everett Mann
58 40
Dorothy Morse
275 20
Worth Parsons
141 60
Andrew Riffenburg
201 60
Ruth Shepard
135 20
Clarence Smith
123 20
H. Grace Wells
184 00
Percy F. Wilbur
53 60
Mrs. John Wilder
58 40
$2,376 80
46
ANNUAL REPORT
Transportation of State Ward to Elementary School: Eunice Brennan 57 60
$57 60
Respectfully submitted, Mary P. Crawford, chairman George W. Dean Leone B. Daniels, Secretary
47
ANNUAL REPORT
Report of LIBRARIAN
To the Trustees of Fobes Memorial Library:
53 books have been added this year: 16 were purchased and 37 were gifts. 1 set of Encyclopedias have also been pur- chased.
Donors were: Mrs. Minnie Newton, Ralph Mann, Chris- topher George, Gail Wells, Rev. Harry Roberts, Grace Wil- bur, Charles Presho, Miss Laura E. Snay, Mrs. Alice Sperry, Mrs. John H. Neelley, Robert B. George, Mrs. Belle Daniels, Mr. Fred Lane and the Estate of H. B. Wright.
Circulation of Books
1165
Circulation of Magazines
350
Cash received from fines $19.90
In the Reading Room the following magazines are to be found:
Advance
National Grange Monthly
American
Open Road for Boys
Our Dumb Animals
Better Homes and Gardens Etude
Popuar Mechanics
Good Housekeeping
Reader's Digest
Holiday
Saturday Evening Post
Ladies Home Journal
Time
Woman's Home Companion
Respectfully submitted,
Vera P. Dean, Librarian
NEW BOOKS ADDED IN 1948
Men and Volts at War
Metropolitan Life Life and Epistle of Saint Paul Little Swiss Boy
National Geographic
Old Fashioned Revival Hour
Patty at Home Diddie, Dumps and Tot Paul Revere Square
48
ANNUAL REPORT
Submarine Boys and the Middies Little Russian Train Your Garden Chronicals of the Schon- berg-Cotta Family Diary of Kitty Trearylyan Early Dawn Men of our Times
In What Life Consists
Lone Ranger Traps the Smugglers Lone Ranger at the Haunted Gulch
Lone Ranger Rides Again
Ghost of Blackwood Hall Mystery of the Tolling Bell Nancy's Mysterious Letter Bobbsey Twins in the Great West
Bobbsey Twins in Mexico Bobbsey Twins and their Schoolmates
From Boston to Boston
Secret of Red Gate Farm Bulwark
Our Protestant Heritage .
Eames-Erskine Case Lantern in her Hand Hidden Years
Do Not Disturb
Pollyanna Grows Up Bulldog Drummond on Dartmoor
Clothes Make the Pirate
Adventures of Blackshirt
Other Bullet
Grapes of Wrath
Little Women Lucky Lawrence
Manhattan Love Song
Marching Sands
Mildred's Married Life
Sparkling Windows
Clouded Moon Let's Call it Love Settlement and Story of
Oakham, Massachusetts. I
Settlement and Story of Oakham, Massachusetts. II Gandhi's Autobiography
Remembrance Rock Crusade in Europe Big Fisherman
49
ANNUAL REPORT
WARRANT
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Worcester, ss.
To either of the constables of the town of Oakham in the County of Worcester.
Greeting:
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the town of Oakham qualified to vote in elections, and in town affairs, to meet at the Town Hall, known as "Memorial Hall," on Monday, the seventh day of February next, at 12 M., at which time the polls will be opened and will be closed at 8 P.M.
Business meeting will open at 8 P.M., then and there to act on the following articles:
Article 1-To hear the annual report of the several town officers, and act thereon.
Article 2-To choose one Selectman, one Assessor, one member of the Welfare Board, one member of the School Committee, one Library Trustee, one Cemetery Committee, all for three-year terms. A Collector of Taxes, Treasurer, Auditor, Tree Warden, six Constables, three Fence Viewers, and Moderator for one year, all on one ballot.
Article 3-To choose all necessary town officers and committees for the ensuing year, not required to be elected by ballot.
ยท Article 4-To see if the town will vote to fix the salary and compensation of all elective officers of the town as provided by section 108 of chapter 41, General Laws, as amended: 1 Town Clerk, 3 Selectmen, 3 Assessors, 3 Board of Public Welfare, 3 School Committee, 1 Moderator, 1 Tax Collector, 1 Treasurer, 1 Auditor and raise and appropriate a sum of money therefor.
Article 5-To see what compensation the town will al- low for men and trucks in repairing highways and opening roads for the ensuing year.
Article 6-To see if the town will raise and appropriate a sum of money to bond their Treasurer, Collector and Town Clerk.
50
ANNUAL REPORT
Article 7-To raise such sums of money as may be nec- essary to defray the following town charges: SCHOOLS, TOWN OFFICERS, PUBLIC WELFARE, OLD AGE AS- SISTANCE, TOWN OFFICERS' SUPPLIES, STREET LIGHTS, BOARD OF HEALTH, INSPECTION OF CAT- TLE, INSPECTION OF MEATS AND PROVISIONS, PO- LICE, PRINTING, MEMORIAL DAY, DOG OFFICER, SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, MISCELLAN- EOUS, LIBRARY, CEMETERIES, FIRE DEPARTMENT, INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, MILITARY AID, MOTH SU- PRESSION, EMPLOYEES' INSURANCE, RESERVE FUND FIRE INSURANCE, OPENING ROADS, ROADS CHAP- TER 81, AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN, CARE OF HALL, TREE WARDEN.
Article 8-To see if the town will authorize the Treas- urer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow during the current fiscal year, in anticipation of the revenue of said year, such sums of money as may be necessary for the current expenses of the town, giving the note or notes of the town therefor, these notes to be paid from the revenues of said finanical year.
Article 9-To see if the town will appoint some person as agent, to prosecute and defend all suits that may be brought for or against the town in the ensuing year.
Article 10-To see if the town will employ some person or persons to care for the Town Hall and Library Building for the ensuing year.
Article 11-To see if the town will raise and appropri- ate one quarter of the insurance on Old Town Hall.
Article 12-To see if the town will vote to transfer a certain sum of money from the Machinery Fund to the Machinery Account.
Article 13-To see if the town will raise and appropriate a certain sum of money for Chapter 90 Maintenance.
Article 14-To see if the town will vote to accept any Trust Funds that may be left to the town for the care of cemeteries or other purposes.
Article 15-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from unappropriated available funds in the treasury, a sum of money for Chapter 81 Highways in anticipation of revenue from the State, or take any action in relation thereto.
51
TOWN OF OAKHAM
Article 16-To see if the town will vote to let the Assessors use what free cash the Commissioner will allow to reduce the tax rate.
Article 17-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to care for the Town Common or take any vote relative thereto.
Article 18-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money for the 4-H Club or take any vote relative thereto.
Article 19-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to improve the South Road or take any vote relative thereto.
Article 20-To see if the town will raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to be used with any alloted by the state to continue the improvement of the New Braintree Road between Mr. Wilbur's and Mr. Gray's or pass any vote relative thereto.
Article 21-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to improve the Turnpike Road Chapter 90 Construction, said money to be used in conjunction with any money alloted by the State or County or both for this purpose or pass any vote relative thereto.
Article 22-To see if the town will vote to raise and ap- propriate a certain sum of money for the improvement of Spencer Road Chapter 90 Construction, said money to be used in conjunction with any money which may be alloted by the State or County or both for this purpose or pass any vote relative thereto.
Article 23-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to improve the Scott Road or take any vote relative thereto.
Article 24-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to oil Lincoln Road from the Macomber place South to Lincoln's barn or take any vote relative thereto.
'Article 25-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to improve approxi- mately 500 feet of road at the bottom of Stone's hill by re- moving the stone walls on each side thus raising the road and eliminating the snow from drifting or take any vote relative thereto.
52
TOWN OF OAKHAM
Article 26-To see if the town will vote to transfer the Ethel Braman legacy of $100.00 from Available Cash to the Library Trust Funds for use of the Library Trustees, or take any action thereon.
Article 27- To see if the town will vote to accept the sum of $284.06 from the Henry Wright Estate to establish a Trust Fund the income of which shall be used for the upkeep of the Ball Park, or take any action thereon.
Article 28-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to paint the outside of Memorial Hall or take any vote relative thereto.
Artice 29-To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate a certain sum of money to cement the floor in the Highway Department Garage or take any vote relative thereto.
Artice 30-To see if the town will vote to appoint a committee to draw up a set of by-laws according to the sta- tutes of Massachusetts.
Article 31-To see if the town will vote to organize a volunteer Fire Department or take any action thereon.
"Article 32-To see if the town will vote to appoint a committee to organize the Volunteer Fire Department .
Article 33-To see if the town will vote to give the Vol- unteer Fire Department the use of the old Hearse House or take any action thereon.
And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting up attested copies in public places in said town seven days at least before time of holding said meeting.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of meeting, as aforesaid.
Given under our hand this twenty-fourth day of Janu- ' ary, in the year one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.
JOHN M. MORAN, WILLIAM N. WAREING, WILLIAM ZUKUS,
Board of Selectmen
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