USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Norwell > Town of Norwell annual report 1940-1949 > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
It is recommended that School houses and other public buildings be sprayed with D. D. T. every six weeks or two months during the season of the year that flies and other insects, carriers of disease, are prevalent.
It appears necessary that a milk inspector be appointed by the Board of Health for the purpose of insuring that milk delivered to citizens of Norwell comes up to standard prescribed.
The Board has issued the following licenses:
3 Infant Boarding Houses Cabin licenses to 2 proprietors 1 Pasteurization of milk
2 Funeral directors 1 Peddler of milk
During the year the water in 11 wells has been tested. Of these, the water in 9 wells was declared unfit for use. It is obvious that the time is not far off, when the State will demand something be done regarding water in Norwell.
MINOT F. WILLIAMSON, Chairman WILLIAM O. HENDERSON JOHN D. R. WOODWORTH NELLIE L. SPARRELL, Clerk for the Board Board of Health
68
NINETY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FOR 1945
Mr. A. Lester Scott Chairman, Board of Selectmen
Norwell, Mass.
Dear Sir:
Following is a summary of work done by me for the year 1945.
Sealing Fees Collected $ .80
Adjusting Charges Collected .00
Total turned over to Town Treasurer $ .80
WORK PERFORMED
Number of Calls Made 16
Devices Sealed
8
Trial Weighing of Produce for Office of Price Administration.
Articles Weighed, 10. Correct 7. Overweight 1.
Under Weight 2.
Trial Testing of Gasoline Pumps for Office of Price Administration. Tested 3. Correct 1. Shortage 2.
Received for Services, Supplies, etc. : C. H. Baldwin $ 21.16
Margaret Crowell (Insurance)
19.84
W. & L. E. Gurley (Supplies)
14.46
Total Expended $ 55.46
Appropriated $150.00
Expended 55.46
Balance
$ 94.54
Respectfully submitted, CHARLES H. BALDWIN, Sealer of Weights and Measures.
P. S.
I investigated two (2) complaints of short measure on delivered wood. Could not determine shortage, as in both instances parties had used some of same before reporting shortage.
C. H. B.
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS
Board of Selectmen,
Town of Norwell.
Gentlemen:
I herewith submit my report as Animal Inspector for the Town of Norwell, for the unexpired term of Dr. R. E. Cugnasca in 1945.
Number of dogs quarantined 0
Number of calls 0
Number of investigations of Interstate
Shipment Permits 0
Respectfully submitted,
D. ROBERT CURRIE,
Inspector of Animals
69
TOWN OF NORWELL
ANNUAL REPORT OF SLAUGHTERED ANIMALS FOR 1945
Board of Health, Town of Norwell:
I herewith submit my report as Inspector of Slaughtered Animals for the Town of Norwell for the year 1945.
TOWN OF NORWELL
Steer 1
Sheep 4
Hogs
20
BROUGHT INTO NORWELL
Steer
Sheep
Hogs
2
2
10
Respectfully yours,
BERTRAM H. JOSEPH, Inspector of Slaughtering
REPORT OF THE DOG OFFICER
To the Board of Selectmen:
I wish to submit the following statement as Dog Officer for the year 1945.
3 stray dogs that had to be killed.
1 dog that molested livestock and had to be killed.
I wish to remind the townspeople that dog taxes are due April 1, and must be paid.
Respectfully submitted,
LLOYD B. HENDERSON,
Dog Officer
REPORT OF THE ASSESSORS
Due to lack of building, little change has taken place in the assessed valuation.
An increase in population was found as of January 1, 1945 that brought the highest figures on record, a total of 2147 persons. This figure will probably be less as of January 1, 1946, as many who came to live with their folks in Norwell during the war months will have left.
A change in the ruling of the State that the Assessors must value each parcel of land with all buildings, if there be any on said parcel, and figur- ing the tax on each such parcel has added greatly to the amount of clerical work that must be done this coming year. The result of such a ruling will mean that any person owning more than one parcel will reecive a bill for each parcel owned instead of one bill for all parcels as in the past.
1945 RECAPITULATION
TOWN
Raised at Annual Town Meeting $ 113,811.52 21,875.00
From Surplus Overlay
$ 135,686.52
70
NINETY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
STATE
State Tax
$ 2,652.00
State Parks and Reservations
84.32
State Audit of Municipal Accounts
832.25
$
3,568.57
COUNTY
County Tax
$ 4,612.10
Tuberculosis Hospital Assessment
2,468.15
$
7,080.25
OVERLAY of current year
$
3,187.52
Gross Amount To Be Raised
$ 149,522.86
ESTIMATED RECEIPTS
Income Tax
$
8,290.99
Corporation Taxes
3,507.55
Motor Vehicle Excise
3,000.00
Gasoline Tax Under Acts of 1943
4,570.99
Licenses
500.00
Fines
50.00
Moth Assessments
242.50
Town Hall Rental
350.00
Charities
150.00
Old Age Assistance
9,500.00
Old Age Tax (Meals)
579.82
Schools
5,000.00
Soldier's Benefits State Aid
200.00
Interest
800.00
$ 36,741.85
OVERESTIMATES
Taken From Surplus Overlay $ 21,875.00
Total Available Funds
$ 21,875.00
Estimated Receipts
$
58,616.85
Net Amount To Be Raised By Taxation
$ 90,906.01
Tax Rate per $1,000-$38.00
TAXES FOR STATE, COUNTY AND TOWN PURPOSES, INCLUDING OVERLAY
Committed to Tax Collector:
Personal Estate $ 8,462.41
Real Estate
81,023.60
Poll Tax
1,420.00
Total
$ 90,906.01
Value of Assessed Real Estate :
Land, exclusive of buildings $ 412,060.00
Buildings, exclusive of land 1,720,140.00
Total
$2,132,200.00
Value of Assessed Personal Estate :
Stock in Trade $ 27,375.00 150,075.00
Machinery
71
TOWN OF NORWELL
Live Stock
All Other Tangible Property
31,420.00 13,825.00
Total
$
222,695.00
Total Valuation of Assessed Estate
$2,354,895.00
MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE
Number of Cars Assessed
950
Value of Vehicles Assessed
$67,190.00
Excise Committed to Collector
2,470.50
TABLE OF AGGREGATES
Number of Persons Assessed :
Indiv.
Corp.
Total
Personal Estate Only
39
4
43
Real Estate Only
844
17
861
Both Personal and Real Estate
148
5
153
Total number of Persons Assessed
1,057
Number of Dwelling Houses Assessed
838
Number of Acres of Land Assessed
12,208.61
Respectfully submitted,
RALPH H. COLEMAN, Chairman JAMES A. LIDDELL A. LESTER SCOTT
Board of Assessors
REPORT OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE To the citizens of Norwell:
The town is facing a vital and pressing problem of properly housing and educating its school children. It has reached the point where further delay in providing a solution to the physical and educational needs will mean an immediate deterioration of the quality of education we provide for our children.
When your Committee organized, it soon realized the need for a plan or procedure to guide their efforts. Such a plan was developed which cen- tered on the problem of determining the present and future educational needs of Norwell. Such studies are now in progress on the part of the present school staff and will determine the size and kind of rooms, their equipment and layout. This report, then, cannot be a report of a finished task, but rather of work in progress.
Why does Norwell need a new elementary school?
Your previous committee to investigate the need for a new elementary school reported at the last Town Meeting and gave you many of the answers. The studies of your present committee reveal the following facts.
1. Overcrowded Conditions.
The present school rooms in the town are jammed to capacity with the exception of grades one and two that are housed in the Center Primary and Ridge Hill buildings. The third through the twelfth grades are housed in the High School. The result is that the little children are using rooms and space that seriously hamper the work of the High School. At the present writing (December, 1945) there are 109 pupils enrolled in Grades nine through twelve, but there are only 53 regular classroom seats
72
NINETY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
for these people. This means that the Art, Science Laboratory, and Com- mercial Rooms must be used as home rooms and general recitation rooms. A geometry and a physics class are being held in one end of the cafeteria while children are studying in the rest of the room. The sixth grade is lo- cated on the same floor as the Junior and Senior High School grades.
Every educational authority in this country agrees that the consolidated school-one that. houses all grades of a school system under one roof-is practical only when the various age groups can be completely separated. This is impossible to accomplish with Norwell's High School building.
Even assuming that it were possible to separate the little children from the big ones, the present High School can accommodate very few more pupils. The size and design of the classrooms do not lend themselves to elementary school needs, for they are too small for elementary school ac- tivities, even if the number of pupils in these elementary grades averaged 25 rather than the present 29 in grades three to six. Next September's 38 third graders will constitute a serious problem.
2. Predicted Growth of School Population.
The growth of population and the rise of the birth rate in Norwell will bring an increase of at least 25% in the elementary school enrollments in the next five years. The average enrollment per grade in grades one through six last year was 311/2 pupils. In five years time it will average better than 39 pupils per grade. The last two entering grades have aver- aged 40 pupils per grade.
During the early '30's birthrates were down all over the country. The average school enrollment decreased around 30%, but Norwell slacked off only 15% during the years that followed. Part of this slack was due to boys of military age that went into the service before they finished Norwell High School. The higher birth rates of the late '30's and since then makes it clear that Norwell's enrollments will soon grow beyond any previous size. On top of this we may expect new homes and new families, with children to be educated, who will swell our enrollments. Unless a new school house is built within three years time, Norwell will be forced to run classes in build- ings not designed for school purposes.
3. Primary Schools Inadequate.
The present primary schools, Center Primary and Ridge Hill, are woefully inadequate as measured by standards for good school buildings.
On the McLeary Scale for measuring the adequacy of school buildings, the Center Primary School rated 253 points and the Ridge Hill School rated 248 points out of a possible 1,000. Ralph D. McLeary, the author, is as- sociated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and made the sur- vey of the buildings in August. The following table should be helpful in interpreting the results.
1,000 - 700 Excellent 700 - 600 Sub-satisfactory, but can be fixed up 600 - 500 Borderline, some question as to whether remodelling could make it serviceable
500 - 400 Unfit Below 400 Definitely unfit, obsolete, inadequate or even danger- ous and should be replaced at the earliest opportunity
The Center Primary building is a fire hazard, as the smoke pipe from the furnace on the west end of the cellar runs under the floor of the down- stairs room to the chimney located at the east end of the building. The play area is little more than a rock pile. A dump, well infested with rats, lies just behind the school. For years the teachers have prepared hot soup for at least 60 children and heated the water for washing the dishes on one
73
TOWN OF NORWELL
hot point plate. Ventilation and heat have left much to be desired. In times past the School Committee has been forced to suspend classes in this building because of the complete breakdown of this equipment.
Ridge Hill School was reopened this fall because the first and second grades were too large to be handled as a single unit. Over $800.00 (not provided for in the 1945 school budget) was spent on overhauling the heat- ing system, putting on a new roof, and painting the interior. This has also meant the addition of another teacher (1/3 of a year's salary also not provid- ed for in the school budget). But the Ridge Hill School is little better than the Center Primary so far as its general layout and facilities are concerned.
4. Better Educational Opportunity.
A centrally located elementary school will mean a far better school experience and training for our children than the present accommo- dations.
"Today it is much more clearly recognized than in the past that the school plant is a controlling factor of extreme importance in the develop- ment of the educational program. An inadequate plant serves to confine, limit, cramp, and warp the program of activities which it houses. The ex- pert teacher can sometimes develop an excellent program in spite of lack of proper facilities but the average teacher, and in the long run the better than average teacher, becomes resigned to the inadequacies of the school environment and her program tends to extend only as far as the physical facilities of building and equipment permit." **
Page 2 "A Survey of The Norwell Primary Schools" by Ralph D. Mc- Leary.
If we accept Mr. McLeary's statement as true and sound, then we must build our new elementary school around a predetermined school program and such a program means that we must decide ahead of actually construct- ing the building, what, when, and how the elementary school subjects shall be taught. This report cannot answer these questions in full at this time, but it can point the way to some of the answers.
We believe the town wants a kindergarten. A new school will provide a room for this purpose. The advantages are many and will include a bridge between the home and the first grade, learning to get along with other children (more necessary with rural than city children), finding and correcting any physical difficulties that would lead to failure in the school work of the grades, developing and training the use of the child's hands, body rhythm and poise, and laying the ground work for learning to read in the first grade.
A new school located near the High School would enable the School Committee to set up a far better school transportation system than is now possible.
A centrally located school would provide adequate hot lunch facilities for all elementary pupils, and indoor play room for recesses, group gather- ings, and physical education suitable for little children, (such facilities would lend themselves to use by adult community groups as well). The schools of tomorrow will make much more use of the radio, motion picture, and film strips in classroom work than in the past, and a new school would provide for these things that are now out of the question.
Science in the elementary school is now well established in Norwell. But the present school rooms have no provision for seed beds, benches for constructing models, or aquariums that are all essential if such a program is to be anything more than reading out of a book. A new schoolhouse would make proper provision for these needs.
74
NINETY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
5. The Future of Norwell Demands Better Schools.
Norwell is one of the few towns within comfortable reach of Metropolitan Boston that has been little altered by the times. In its early days when its people were building ships and making shoes it was the cen- ter of many thriving industries. But the concentration of industry in our cities has left it with all its rural charm and few of the blights that indus- trialization brings. However, the outward flow of population from the cities seeking more desirable residential facilities means that the period of isola- tion is at an end. Today almost every house in Norwell that is fit to live in is occupied.
But what of the future? While the present lack of town water will prove to be a check on new building, we may expect to see new homes and new families in Norwell. If the town is to attract the best kind of families, good schools will be imperative. Otherwise only people who have no children or whose children are grown up will choose to come to live here. Norwell's citizens must think in terms of competition from their neighbor- ing communities that, with few exceptions, are making their plans for better school buldings. Teachers are no different than most people for whom working conditions are important. Norwell will find that a modern elemen- tary school will make it easier to hire and hold good teachers.
What Has Your Committee Done So Far?
1. Studied the characteristics of the community which have a bearing on the school. house problem. The accompanying tables should be of in- terest.
2. Taken the position that any building program must be based on an adequate educational program, and has asked the Superintendent to study the present School Program with a view to the future so that your Com- mittee may determine the kind of school building the town should construct.
3. Brought in Ralph D. McLeary, School Building Consultant, to sur- vey the primary buildings and to make a report and recommendations to us.
4. Applied to the Federal Works Agency, Bureau of Community Facilities, for an advance of $3,000.00 for the purpose of preparing plans for the proposed elementary school. This money is made available under the provisions of the War Mobilization and Reconversion Act of 1944. It is advanced to the town without interest and is to be repaid as and when "the first funds become available to the town from any source for the con- struction of the specific public work so planned." (Quote from Regulations P. 7, Sec. 12). If this building is not built the town does not have to repay the Federal Government.
5. Surveyed the old high school lot.
6. Between the time of writing this report and the Annual Town Meeting of 1946, your Committee hopes to engage an architect. It also plans to bring in outside Educational and Building Consultants from the State Department of Education as well as from out-of-state sources.
Recommendations
1. We recommend a new elementary school to house a minimum of 280 pupils equipped with a kindergarten, and eight rooms for grades one through six. We also recommend the construction of facilities for a cafe- teria, small auditorium and indoor exercise room for physical education purposes, as well as for indoor recesses in inclement weather. Any plans drawn should contain definite provision for future expansion. We recom- mend the use of the old high school lot as a location.
Your Committee has carefully considered the possibility of adding
75
TOWN OF NORWELL
wings to the present High School and does not recommend this for the fol- lowing reasons.
a. The elementary and high school children cannot be kept properly separated.
b. The playground is not large enough to accommodate the needs of all the children.
c. Future growth and expansion of the plant would be definitely blocked by the architectural limitations of our present fine appearing Hign School.
d. By placing the new elementary school near, but not as a part of the High School, the advantages of central location, with the simplification of the transportation problem, will also bring about a return of the High School to the job it was originally designed to do, namely: house grades seven to twelve.
2. Your Committe considered the possibility of solving the elementary school problem through the regional high school. Some of Norwell's neigh- bors have been considering this idea, and it seemed to your Committee that such a plan might be practical if the present Norwell High School could be converted, through alterations, into an elementary school. Seeking an answer to this question, John E. Nichols, the outstanding authority in New England on school building construction, spent a day in Norwell, ex- amined the high school and its blue print drawings. On the basis of his study your Committee does not recommend any further consideration of the regional high school at this time because:
(a) Norwell's present high school building does not lend itself, under any circumstances, to elementary school purposes.
(b) Even if the Norwell High School could be altered to serve ele- mentary school needs, the predicted growth of the town and its schools again will create crowded conditions in the not too dis- tant future.
(c) If the predicted growth of the school population is further in- creased by a growth in new homes with new families, Norwell's schools will grow to the point where we shall see a high school of such a size as to largely overcome the present limitations of smallness. Aside from the present abnormal crowding of the high school building, Norwell High School's greatest shortcom- ing at present is that enrollments barely exceed 100 pupils in the top four classes. A far better program of studies could be set up to meet the needs of all the children if this enrollment were 200 or more. Time, with the attendant growth of school popu- lation, will bring this about.
3. Your Committee has had constantly in mind the question of costs and the financial ability of the town to meet the bill. At the present time, it is futile to discuss costs because we have no plans on which costs can be estimated, and because any estimate at this time would be unreasonably high. Assuming that present conditions of prices and costs find some stable level within the next year or two, that level is bound to be higher than pre- war levels. This being our conviction, your Committee believes that the town must seek Federal Aid in any building program that it undertakes, otherwise the kind of a building that the town can afford without outside aid will not meet the needs of the community. We believe that in the long run the cheapest building is not the best building, even though the best means a greater original investment. Finally, we believe that the com- munity wants the best.
At the present writing, Federal Aid is uncertain. There are several bills pending in Congress that provide help to local units based on the finan-
76
NINETY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT
cial need of each unit. One bill provides up to 40% of the total cost to be defrayed by Federal money. Until this help becomes possible your Commit- tee does not propose to ask the town for authorization to build, unless other- wise instructed by the voters.
Summary
Norwell faces a housing shortage for its school children that is hurting its educational standards. We must have a new elementary school because :
1. The present high school is housing grades three up, and is seriously overcrowded.
2. The elementary school population is going to increase a minimum of 25% in the next five years.
3. The present Center Primary and Ridge Hill Schools are obsolete, inadequate, and even dangerous.
4. A centrally located elementary school will afford better educational opportunities for our children.
5. The future of Norwell demands better schools.
Recommendations
1. That the Committee be authorized by the Town Meeting to go ahead with plans for a new elementary school with a minimum of nine classrooms, cafeteria, small recreational room and assembly area, and the usual administrative and supplementary facilities with an advance of Fed- eral money, or with an appropriation of the town. And that the Commit- tee shall obtain plans and specifications and solicit competitive bids at such time as general conditions warrant, and after the bids shall be received a printed report with detailed information be published and distributed to the citizens of the town with final action to be taken at a special or regular town meeting.
2. That the Committee has considered the idea of a regional high school and converting the present high school into an elementary school, but does not recommend it. 3. That Federal Aid is essential if the town is to construct the kind of elementary school that is needed.
FACTORS AFFECTING SCHOOL PLANNING
1930
1935
1940
1945
Total Population
1466
1666
1871
2147
Number of Dwelling
602
613
692
831
Table Showing Number of Children by Ages in Norwell
in January, 1945
Ages
No. Children
Ages
No. Children
Ages
No. Children
0-1
39
7-8
33
14-15
31
1-2
42
8-9
21
15-16
33
2-3
44
9-10
29
16-17
34
3-4
44
10-11
25
17-18
36
4-5
34
11-12
36
18-19
32
5-6
34
12-13
36
19-20
31
6-7
36
13-14
31
20-21
23
Average No. up to 6 years old
39.5
Average No. 6 through 17
31.4
JOHN B. KENERSON, Chairman
MARGARET H. McMULLAN, Secretary
EMILY S. RIPLEY
ARTHUR MERRITT
JAMES P. HALL
NELLIE L. SPARRELL
THOMAS S. CANN
77
TOWN OF NORWELL
NORWELL SCHOOL DIRECTORY
School Committee
JAMES P. HALL, Chairman Tel. Hanover 136 Tel. Norwell 76-W Tel. Rockland 521-R
MRS. NELLIE L. SPARRELL, Secretary THOMAS CANN
Superintendent of Schools CLIFTON E. BRADLEY Office, Salmond School, Hanover, Mass., Tel. 172 Residence, Broadway, South Hanover, Tel. 239
Supervisors GERTRUDE REYNOLDS, Music H. RODMAN BOOTH, Art RINEHART SYSTEM OF WRITING
School Physician RAYMOND G. VINAL, M. D. (on leave) J. D. R. WOODWORTH, M. D. (acting)
School Nurse CATHERINE A. ROE
School Dentist WILLIS B. PARSONS, D. M. D. Janitors
ALFRED PROUTY BERTHA BALDWIN FRANK LIND
Ridge Hill School Center Primary School High School
SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGULATIONS
Children who become five years of age on March first may enter school the following September.
No child under seven years of age will be admitted to school for the first time after October first of any year.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.