USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wilmington > Town of Wilmington Annual Report 1929-1930 > Part 5
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Father William
Cloud by Day
Permanent Wave
Young Mrs. Greeley
Left in Trust
Illusion
Party of the Third Part
Bishop Murder Case
Young Woodley
Face in the Night
Gunman's Bluff
Murder Book of J. G. Reeder
Northing Tramp
Three Just Men
Twister
Murder at the Keyhole
Grey Mask
Rhinestones
Trail Eater
Fish Preferred
Soldiers of Misfortune
Dagger Summer Fruit
Dancing Beggars
My Brother Jonathan
J. R. Oliver® E. P. Oppenheim E. P. Oppenheim Viola Paradise Hugh Pendexter Roland Pertwee Daron Powell Milton M. Propper E. M. Remarque J. Rhode Alice H. Rice F. Riddell Mary A. Rinehart C. Ripley Arthur S. Roche I. E. Rolvaag A. G. Rosman Berta Ruck R. Sabatini A. D. Sedgwick S. Kaye-Smith Elizabeth Stern Donald O. Stewart Pauline Stiles Virginia Sullivan Booth Tarkington J. W. Tompkins Arthur Train B. Upright S. S. Van Dine J. Van Druten Edgar Wallace Edgar Wallace Edgar Wallace Edgar Wallace Edgar Wallace Edgar Wallace R. A. J. Walling Patricia Wentworth Margaret Widdemere B. Willoughby P. G. Wodehouse P. C. Wren Anthony Wynne Dornford Yates E. B. Young F. B. Young
Juvenile Fiction
Tom Swift and his House on Wheels Across the Pacific
Victor Appleton F. W. Dixon F. W. Dixon
First Stop Honolulu
Lone Eagle of the Border
F. W. Dixon
Over the Ocean to Paris
F. W. Dixon
Over the Rockies with the Air Mail
F. W. Dixon
Rescued in the Clouds
F. W. Dixon
88
Search for the Lost Flyers South of the Rio Grande Ruth Fielding Clearing her Name
F. W. Dixon
F. W. Dixon
Alice B. Emerson
Miscellaneous
Pilgrims, Indians and Patriots
R. G. Adams
Warpath and Cattle Trail
H. E. Collins
Art of Thinking
E. Dimnet
Hows and Whys of Human Behavior
G. A. Dorsey
Martin Johnson-Lion Hunter
Fitzhugh Green
Three Boy Scouts in Africa
A. B. C. of Aviation R. D. Douglas, Jr., D. R. Martin, Jr., D. L. Oliver
V. W. Page
Psychological Care of Infant and Child
J. B. Watson
89
REPORT OF THE WORK DONE BY THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY EXTENSION SERVICE IN THE TOWN OF WILMINGTON
The following is a report of the work carried on in the town of Wilmington under the auspices of the Middlesex County Exten- sion Service. .
In boys' and girls' 4-H club work 102 boys and girls were en- rolled in the food, garden, poultry, canning and clothing clubs. Miss Henrietta Swain, Mrs. G. Palmer, Mrs. Mary Meadows, Mrs. F. D. Butters, Charles Fish and Mr. Charles F. Perry assisted as local leaders. The Walker True Blue club, under the leadership of Miss Henrietta Swain has been a 100% club every year for six years. This means that every club member enrolled has com- pleted their requirements for the year. Francis McQuestion was awarded a Two Day Trip to the Massachusetts Agrcultural Club for doing outstanding club work. At the 4-H club rally held in Woburn, two sweepstakes ribbons wtre awarded to the food clubs from Wilmington.
Sixteen women in Wilmington attended the Living-room Im- provement meetings and reported 161 changes in Wilmington homes as a result of this project. The home demonstration agent met with the Nurses' Association and gave them a talk on "Food in Relation to Health". A talk was also given on a well balanced diet to the Wilmington Women's club. A group of women were also interested in the project as it was developed on Vegetable Pre- paration. Many home visits have been made by the home de- monstration agent in Wilmington to interest the homemakers in the work and help them with their individual problems.
In agriculture most of the work this year took the form of farm visits made upon request to assist individual farmers with their problems. A demonstration was established on the farm of Tucelli Brothers, North Wilmington, to show the value of lime in the production of vegetables.
County-wide meetings have been available to Wilmington people in poultry, fruit growing and market gardening, and many at- tended the county picnic held during the summer at Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Mass.
Respectfully submitted,
ERNEST W. EAMES,
Director.
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REPORT OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH
To the Citizens of Wilmington:
The Board of Health herewith submit its Annual Report.
The number of Contagious Diseases reported to this Board for the year 1929 is as follows:
Scarlet Fever 3.
Diphtheria
1
Tuberculosis 3
Measles
1
Typhoid 1
The Board of Health has seen that the garbage has been col- lected in the Lake District the same as in former years, and the rubbish collected behind the stores in Wilmington Square by the Highway trucks in the same manner as has been the practice for the last two years.
In accordance with the vote of the Town at the annual meeting $1,000.00, has been expended for public health work under the direction of the Board of Health Agent and the Public Health Nurse.
Respectfully submitted,
C. S. PETTENGILL, Chairman JEROME J. O'LEARY, WALTER L. HALE, D. T. BUZZELL, M. D., Agent
Board of Health.
Report of Wilmington Public Health Nursing Service
Year of 1929 Record of Visits Made
Nursing Visits
1,042
Infant Welfare Visits
115
Prenatal Visits
90
Tuberculosis Visits 10
Child Welfare Visits
134
Social Service Visits
170
Attendance at Clinics
12
Other Visits
93
Hospital Visits
28
Total
1,694
ALICE DOUCETTE, R. N.,
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Together with the Report of SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
For the Year ending December 31, 1929
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School Committee
Helen H. Buck
. Term expires 1932
Olivia H. Norcross
. Term' expires 1932
John W. Hathaway, Chairman .Term expires 1930
Harry W. De Loriea
. Term expires 1930
Alfred S. Allen
Term expires 1931
Howard Bedell
Term expires 1931
Superintendent of Schools STEPHEN G. BEAN
School Physician
DANIEL T. BUZZELL, M. D.
School Nurse MRS. ESTHER NICHOLS, R. N.
1930 School Calendar
January 2-Winter Term begins.
February 21-Winter Term ends.
Vacation-One week.
March 3-Winter-Spring Term begins.
April 26-Winter-Spring Term ends.
Vacation-One week.
May 5-Spring Term begins.
June 20-Spring Term ends for Elementary School.
June 27-Spring Term ends for High School.
Vacation-Ten weeks.
September 3-Fall Term begins.
December 19-Fall Term ends.
Holidays-Jan. 1, Feb. 22, April 19, May 30, Oct. 12, Nov. 11, Nov. 29-30.
D
93
REPORT OF WILMINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR 1929
To the Citizens of Wilmington:
Recently, school enrollment in Wilmington all but reached the 1000 mark. The gain of nearly 100 in a year is a 10% increase and suggests what the Town may annually expect in the way of in- creased costs and enlarged school accomodations.
During the summer of 1929, to meet this increase, two new portable schoolhouses were purchased and erected: one on Lowell Street, near Perry's Corner, which has been named the "Maple Meadow School", and another near Grove Street at Silver Lake, called the "Silver Lake School". These are two room buildings with hot-air heaters and modern toilet facilities. They were ready for use in less than a week after the begining of the autumn school term. They have been very satisfactory and are well loca- ted to serve their respective neighborhoods.
It must be borne in mind, however, that these new school-houses are on land which is leased to the Town only until September, 1931. Before long, action should be taken to acquire title to the lots of land so leased, or the buildings should be removed to such land nearby as the Town can purchase or take by eminent domain.
Using these new schools has somewhat relieved the crowding in the school buses and has saved some of the smaller children from long rides to school. Nevertheless, as long as we have only one High School and the higher grade schools are centralized, every part of the Town must be visited by the busses to collect the larger pupils and the transportation problem is still with us and the cost of bus service is still growing.
Having found a way to shelter the small children in out-lying parts of the town, the community should now consider the needs of the larger pupils in the High and Center Schools. These build- ings are now filled to capacity. It has been suggested that if there could be erected close by the High School, a large hall suitable for gymnasium work, games, parties, and public gatherings, the gym- nasium room and asembly hall in the High School could be used for purposes of instruction and then by some rearranging and dividing of rooms, the number of scholars that the building could accommodate would be doubled.
This proposed new building need have no basement and could easily be heated by steam from the High School boilers. Such a building need not be costly.
In spite of the increased number of pupils, the School Department has kept within its appropriation. This would not have been pos- sible if changes in the teaching force had not made possible some payroll economies. We have lost, with regret, during the past year several efficient instructors. Until we can pay such salaries as are paid elsewhere, we cannot keep our organization permanent. The new teachers are, however, without exception satisfactory.
94
It would be desirable to employ a third man teacher in the High School. The standard of the school is high. A year ago, we re- corded the success of several recent graduates in entering col- lege. Now we point with pride to the good business positions attained by young people who were trained in the High School Commercial Course.
Before leaving the subject of the High School, a record should be made of the passing of "The Wilmington Alpha", a weekly paper covering both school and town news and prepared for publication by a committee of the High School students. It ran for ten volumes and was discontinued only because it did not seem proper to run such a paper in competition with a local newspaper. The "Alpha" was said to have been the only weekly High School publication in the United States.
Recently, most of the interior of the High School has been painted. This work should be completed at an early date. Modern sanitary arrangements at the Walker and Whitefield Schools have not been provided because of the expense. Funds for this work should now be furnished. The West and South Schools have been repainted within, but should now be painted on the outside and the South School should be reshingled. The yards at all the small schools should be graded and fenced.
Seventy-five per cent of fires in public buildings start in base- ments. If sprinkling systems were installed in the basements of all our two-story school buildings, the menace to the lives of our scholars would be greatly reduced. An appropriation large enough to make this form of protection possible is asked for.
A substantial increase in the school appropriation for 1930 must be made to meet the school growth and to pay for these improve- ments.
To the Silver Lake Men's Club, Inc., which has let to the town rent free for two years the land occupied by the Silver Lake School, the hearty thanks of the School Committee are extended.
To all paid members of our school staff, a tribute of appreciation is due.
JOHN W. HATHAWAY, HELEN H. BUCK, OLIVIA H. NORCROSS, HARRY W. DELORIEA, ALFRED L. ALLEN, HOWARD E. BEDELL.
95
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the Wilmington School Committee,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have the honor to present my sixth Annual Report as Superin- tendent of Schools for the Town of Wilmington.
Since brevity seems a very desirable feature in the report, for reasons of economy, I shall outline very briefly the accomplish- ments of the past year, so that I may have the necessary space to set forth the very pressing problem of the coming year.
Review
The fact that parts of two school years are covered by this type of report makes it difficult to preserve unity of thought. Two suc- cessive years 'in a town which changes its school population as rapidly as Wilmington, produce very different conditions from the end of one school year in June to the opening of the next in Sep- tember.
Last June we finished what we thought had been a very successful school year. The majority of the children made their normal progress and were promoted to the next grade. Some rather drastic measures were taken in the seventh grade and an unusually large number failed of promotion. This was necessary in order to main- tain a decent standard of accomplishment. Something in the nature of a jolt was needed to awaken these youngsters from their state of lethargy. It has shown its justification since September.
Of course the Summer vacation brought some changes in the teaching force. Fortunately the High School staff was uneffected. All of the changes came in the elementary grades.
One vacancy occurred in the Center School and was filled by Miss Ruth Childs, a recent normal school graduate. Miss Ridlon also resigned her post in the Whitefield school and was replaced by Miss Genevieve Roberts, a graduate of Bridgewater Normal School. Miss Ellen Cannon was secured for the North School to replace Miss Dora Rimer who is now teaching in Chicago. Miss Cannon re- ceived her training in the South. The new portable buildings made necessary two new teachers. Miss Mildred Rogers, a Lowell Normal School graduate, was secured for the Silver Lake School, and Miss Ruth Maynard was placed in the South School in lieu of Miss Howlett who was transferred to the Maple Meadow School.
Several transfers occurred as a result of the increase in accom- modations. Miss Buckle was returned to her old room in the Walker School and her associate, Miss Mason, was sent to the Silver Lake School. Mrs. Patten was assigned to the new Maple Meadow school together with Miss Howlett from the South School. Miss Janes and her Opportunity Class were given much better accommodations in the Town Hall than they had in the Center School.
96
This miniature upheaval was the result of the enforced purchase of two portable school buildings of two rooms each which occurred during the vacation. Without these buildings conditions in Sep- tember would have been chaotic. That condition which we had dodged with more or less success for five years reached its climax. Had the Town heeded the advice of the several building committees who had labored to meet this situation we would have been ade- quately prepared for it. As it was. emergency action was forced and the two portables are the result.
It should not be thought that these buildings did not meet the immediate needs satisfactorily. In fact they are probably the best schools that we have from the hygienic standpoint. They afford the best light, the best ventilation, and the best toilet facilities to be found in the elementary schools of the system. They are but tem- porary however and will have to be replaced by permanent struc- tures sometime in the future.
How pressing was the need for these buildings can be shown by the fact that where the last report showed 902 pupils in the schools of the town there were in attendance on September 26th 1002 pupils. This increase of 100 children is in addition to the normal first grade entrants. The entering class was not much larger than usual. The increase came from without the town. They were children new to our school system, representing new families re- siding in the town. They were also of grades above the second for the most part.
Having the new primary school accommodations we were able to allocate the children so that none of the lower grades became overcrowded. In fact conditions in the lower grades were far better in September than they had been in June. In the sixth and seventh grades however a serious problem was present. At one time there were in the four rooms of the Center School 204 pupils some of whom were seated at tables in chairs borrowed from every available source. We were finally forced to form a class of 36 sixth and seventh grade pupils and place them in the rear of the High School Auditorium. Here with portable furniture and portable black- boards they were making a bid for promotion to grade eight in June. For them it was necessary to hire another teacher. Miss Ann McCarthy, a graduate of Salem Normal School, is in charge of this important overflow class.
All fifth grade children were placed in the Walker and White- field schools. The number in this grade is large. It will easily fill two rooms. If all are promoted in June, the Center School will again be crowded in the Fall.
All fourth grade children were transferred from the three rural type schools and for the greater part placed also in the Walker and Whitefield Schools. There are small fourth grades in the two portables however, made up of children who live within walking distance of these schools. This has vastly improved conditions in the North, West, and South schools, reducing both the number of children and the number of grades. This is a very large grade, numbering 117. If these stay with us they will present a problem two years hence.
Consideration of these large numbers in the middle grades with reference to even next September gives good cause for careful con- sideration.
97
Prospect
Here is the situation.
We have a high school building to accommodate not more than 200 pupils housing 234 at the present writing. Of these 79 are children of the three upper grammar grades. From the high school, 19 at the most can be graduated in June. This will leave 215 in the building with the possible promotion of 98 from the seventh grade giving a total of 313 seats needed in September to accommo- date them. It simply cannot be done with the plant at its present capacity. Add to this the possibility of another ten per cent in- crease next fall. The situation is hopeless. Something must be done at the earliest opportunity, We cannot wait until Septem- ber. Action should be taken at the Town Meeting in March so that preparations can be started promptly.
It must be recognized that Wilmington is not static in so far as school population is concerned. Each year there has been an in- crease of 25, 50, 75 and even 100 pupils. In no year of the last ten has there been a decrease. That the increase will continue seems almost inevitable. The location of the town within com- muting distance of a large city, and on two main railroad arteries, makes this self evident. The high rents and congested traffic con- ditions of the city and its nearer suburbs are bound to force people with families of children to seek comfort and safety in smaller towns within reasonable distance of the city. Ninety per cent of these children who come to our schools bring transfer cards from Boston and surrounding cities and towns, especially from those communities on this same side of Boston.
The tabulations which follow show in brief form the facts set forth in the two preceeding paragraphs.
High School Enrollment
1929
11930
1931
Grades
VI and VII
37
36
36
Grade
VIII
42
98
97
Grade
IX
47
42
98
Grade
X
54
47
42
Grade
XI
35
54
47
Grade
XII
19
35
54
234
312
374
Normal capacity of the High School building is 200 pupils.
Increase in School Enrollment 1920 to 1930
School year
Enrollment Increase Total Inc.
1920-1921
614
80
80
.
1921-1922
621
7
87
1922-1923
686
65
152
1923-1924
704
18
170
1924-1925
730
26
196
1925-1926
766
36
232
1926-1927
812
46
278
1927-1928
858
46
324
1928-1929
902
44
368
1929-1930
998
96
464
98
Average annual increase for ten year period, 46 pupils.
Average annual increase for last five years, 53 pupils.
A glance at the age and grade distribution appended to this re- port will show that the numbers in the first seven grades of the school system range from 97 to 139. It is therefore evident that we are not facing a temporary peak in the graph of school popula- tion but are rather on the incline of a fairly sharp upward curve. Temporary expedients are therefore of little avail. Permanent addition to the school plant is the only businesslike solution of the problem.
A Solution
The addition of the two portable buildings to our school plant makes it probable that we can adequately house the first four grades for five or more years in the future. If the Center School could be made available for the fifth and sixth grades, these also would be equally safe. This would leave the seventh grades, now partially housed in the Center School, without roof to cover them.
The solution is found in the recommendation made in the report Of Mr. Hood, principal of the High School. This is, the organiza- tion of grades seven through twelve in a six year high school unit. Where the numbers in these grades do not exceed 600, this type of organization is found very satisfactory and economical. It gives the seventh and eight grade pupils, especially the boys, contact 'with men teachers at the time when such contact and control is very desirable. It also serves as a substitute for the junior high school type of organization in a community still too small to sup- port such a school.
The present High School building can be made to accommodate such a school of four hundred pupils by a comparatively inexpen- sive expedient. This need involve only minor internal changes in the present structure. The large study hall on the second floor could be partitioned into two good sized classrooms. The audi- torium could be similarly divided and still left with its stage for use for small gatherings and for use in dramatizations by various classes. The laboratory could be removed to the present gym- nazium (so called) in the basement, thus leaving another large room available for home room use. Even the room called the library could be converted into a good sized classroom. These changes would add nearly two hundred seats to the capacity of the school.
If this were the whole of the solution we would have a High School with no gymnazium and no assembly hall. Even so, things would be not much worse than at present. The room now called a gymnazium is far from adequate for playing such games as basketball or indoor baseball. It offers no chance for indoor track sports at all because of its size and height. The assembly hall is also outgrown. Moreover it is already in use as a classroom for sixth and seventh grade pupils.
These difficulties would be removed by the construction of a very plain simple structure at the rear and to the right of the present high school building. Furnished with a new patented type of arched roof construction, and built with walls just adequate to
99
support the roof, using steel framed windows for the major part of the wall space on the sides, such a structure could be secured at a very reasonable figure.
Such a building would fill a long felt need in the town. It could be used for many community purposes and afford seating space for any gathering that the town could assemble, for a number of years to come. Here a Town Meeting could be held in comfirt with all voters seated and visible to the tellers. Here receptions and dances could be held with adequate room for spectators to be seated. Of course here would be found adequate space for the pupils from grade five through the high school to have their physi- cal education, games, assemblies, plays and all other activities which require more space than is now available. This, after all, is the main purpose of the structure.
This should not be regarded as a visionary, impractical scheme. It is very practical and economical. It is the most sensible solu- tion of the present emergency to be found. Not only does it pro- vide adequate room for a number of years of growth, but it at the same time provides facilities which would have to come eventually. A gymnasium and assembly-hall are recognized as necessary ad- juncts to any well regulated school. These facalities are even now inadequate in the present building.
A Recapitulation
The facts showing the need of a change and increase in the capa- city of the High School building are shown in brief below.
Capacity of present builning 200
Now housed in the building
2:34
Probable enrollment in Sept. 1930
312
Probable enrollment in Sept. 1931
337
Probable enrollment in Sept. 1937
396
Additional rooms required for 400 capacity
5
New rooms possible by changes in present plant
5
Present gymnazium not suitable for competitive games.
The auditorium is already outgrown.
The auditorium is in use as a classroom.
School population increasing by over fifty pupils a year. Enrollment has been past the thousand mark.
WILMINGTON IS GROWING.
A Few Financial Facts
The facts given below are taken from the latest report of the State Department of Education covering the school year ending June 30, 1929. They are rather conclusive proof of the economy with whilh the local schools are ron.
Rank in the state
Per pupil valuation of Wilmington
$4,639.00
92
Expenditure per thousand from local taxation
9.67 73
Total for support of schools from local taxation
38,911.40 109
1
100
Per pupil cost of schools from local taxation Average of state of schools from local taxation 87.81 Total for support of schools from all sources 56,164.31
44.88 109
Per pupil cost of schools from all sources
62.80
111
Per popil cost, state average from all sodrces
98.15
Per pupil cost, Tewksbury from all sources
86.85
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