Mercersburg High School - The Jester
Mercersburg High School 1921-1954
Reflections in The Jester
Joan C. McCulloh
The new high school brought about increased student activities, including the publication of works by student authors. In the 1926 - 1927 school year the Mercersburg High School Literary Society published The Jester, volume, number 1, a booklet of student and faculty writings. This publication contains not only poetry, biography, and news of sports and other student activities but also the history of the local school district, essays and poetry about the school, and notes about the newly formed Parent-Teacher Association and the Mercersburg High School Alumni Association.
The title pages states that this is a “publication issued semi-annually at Mercersburg Pa. by the High School Literary Society in the interests of the High School, Alumni, and Patrons. The Jester is sold to High School Students, alumni, and patrons” and notes that the price is 35cents. The editor-in-chief was Stanley R. Rinehart, and the business editors were Margaret Fisher and Virginia Bosserman, all students. Faculty members who served as advisors and contributed some articles were listed as follows: editorial, Mr. Strine,; essays, Miss Keller; poems, Mrs. Grove; sport news, Mr. Smith; high school news, Mrs. McCormick; alumni and parent news, Miss Givler; and jokes, Mrs. Heffner.
The first essay, “Our School Board,” whose author is unidentified but probably was Huber D. Strine, the high school principal, is a statement of gratitude and praise for the construction of the news school, the wisdom of the members of the School Board, and the expertise of the teachers. It ends with a listing of the members of the School board: President, J.M. Drumm; vice-president, Mr. C. E. Grove; Secretary, Mr. H. S. Waidlich; Treasurer, Mr. D. Emory Meyers; Dr. H. B. Krebs. Following this essay are a number of student writings. Virginia Bosserman, class of 1928, wrote “Pictures in the Fire,” in which she looked into the future and saw her classmates. Ethel Cook ‘27 wrote “Billboards and Beauty,” in which she spoke of the blemish of billboards along the roads. Sara Myers ‘29 wrote a biography of John L. Finafrock, Mercersburg resident, former high school principal, and in 1926 the Superintendent of School in Franklin County. Mary Brewer ‘27 wrote about the beauties of horse named Maud. A two-page biography of Huber D. Strine, the high school principal, whose author is not identified, follows.
The next six pages are devoted to sports and note that Mr. Strine was the football coach and the girls’ basketball coach and that Mr. Smith (Thomas), who was the assistant principal, coached football and boys’ basketball. The first two pages contain a full page photograph of the baseball team with a full page account of its recent season. It includes references to the players, minus their first names, Zeger, Grove, Lightner, R. Selser, W. Selser, Bryan, Lytle, C. Brant, and explains their various skills on the field. The article states that the baseball team had been organized in 1923. Those pages are followed by two pages devoted to the football team with a one page photograph of the team and full page report upon the team’s season with its joys and sorrows. Again the players are mentioned, but their first names are not given. The players were W. Selser, Nelson, J. Garner, Stoner, J. Grove, Metcalf, Reidout, C. Brant, Glaser, H. Grove, and Lightner. The team had not had a successful year in scoring, but the article stated that this team was the first local high school team made up entirely of high school students and that it was playing teams from schools with a larger student population “…because most schools our size do not play foot ball [sic] at all.” The next two pages focus upon the boys’ basketball team with again a one page photograph and a full page reflection upon the recent season. The members of the team were Grove, Zeger, Lightner, Bryan, Lytle, Nelson, R. Selser, and Grove. By the time of the writing of the articles the boys’ team had won nine games and had lost four. Last in this section are two pages devoted to the girls’ basketball team with one page featuring a photograph of the team and a full page recounting its record. The returning team members were Ellen Curran, Betty Selser, “Joe”(Josephine) Taylor, Sophie Miller, Virginia Bosserman, and Virginia Bishop with Florence Weller and Natalie Selser as new members. By February 21 the girls’ team had won six out of eleven games.
But sports were not the only interests of the students in 1926-1927. Other students enjoyed writing. Beulah Miller ’27 wrote “Ode to the New Schoolhouse,” and Sara Myers wrote “Winter Thoughts.” Mrs. McCormick, who taught history, wrote “Ode to the Faculty,” and Mary Brewer wrote “To the Literary Society.” Josephine Taylor ’27 wrote “Our Flag,” and John H. Miller ’29 wrote an imaginative essay, “Sir Roger at the Movies.”
The following pages, written by students whose year of graduation is not given, focus upon the many and various student activities of the current school year. School was a busy place. Giving was important. During one week in December students collected “canned fruits, potatoes, apples, and numerous other things” for the Children’s Home in Chambersburg. Virginia Bishop wrote a short article called “Near East Relief” in which she stated that at the Christmas Canata and Hallelujah Chorus the audience had given $22.83 for an orphanage in the Near East. During another week in Decembers all of the twelve grades of the school collected money for the Red Cross.
The students exhibited both energy and school spirit. Gladys Martin wrote about the “Junior Carnival” held to “raise money for the seniors.” At the carnival Miss Keller, English teacher, had told the futures of students so that “Many people went away enlightened….” Mary Brewer, who became a music teacher, wrote a review of the Christmas concert given by the various grades in the school on December 23. She stated that the Senior High School Glee Club’s presentation of the cantata “Childe Jesus” and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah” was the highlight of the evening. The articles about student activities continued. Betty Ott wrote about the sophomore reception which the members of that class held for the freshman class in October. After the program that included a short play and stunts by the freshmen and refreshments the author stated: “After everyone had eaten they left for home, remarking what a fine time they had.” An article by Margaret Rinehart stated that the seniors had had a food sale in October and were pleased with the results. The evening before the sale the seniors met at the home of Elizabeth Hoffeditz and made candy and “other delicacies” The next day the seniors went to the gymnasium to set up tables for the sale and discovered that other people had brought “vegetables and chickens and all kinds of baked goods….” The class had a successful sale. Margaret Fisher wrote about the senior class play, “The Little Clodhopper,” which had been presented in December. The play, directed by Miss Keller, and with a cast comprised of Dorothy Bishop, Stanley Rinehart, James Garland, Mary Brewer, Hugh Grove, Josephine Taylor, and Margaret Fisher and songs sung by Carl Brant and Bonalin Stevens was so successful that the cast was asked to repeat it and did so in January 1927. Between the acts Junior High School girls and some fifth grade girls directed by Mrs. Grove presented a dance. Also Ellen Curran, a high school senior, “gave an aesthetic dance.” An unidentified author wrote about the school’s debate team consisting of James Garland, Dorothy Bishop, and Gladys Martin as the affirmative team and Stanley Rinehart, Virginia Bosserman, and High Grove as the negative team. The question for the debate teams in the competition in the county schools was Resolved, “That the Direct Primary of Pennsylvania should be abolished.” The team had already participated in two debates and was in third place in the county. Interspersed among these articles about student activities are gentle jokes each featuring a teacher’s question and a student’s response.
The next article in the booklet is a comprehensive, important history of public education in Mercersburg. In writing about the history of the public schools in Mercersburg The Jester states: “For a number of years the schools of Mercersburg were under the control of the directors of Montgomery Township. On April 14, 1857, the people of Mercersburg and surrounding community applied to the court of Franklin County to be incorporated into a separate district from Montgomery District. In August of the same year the grant was obtained. The earliest school house definitely known to be used for the “common school” system was a one-story brick building on the Presbyterian Church grounds, not to be confused with the Old Stone Academy that had stood on these grounds earlier. It stood east and west almost directly opposite the right wing of the new high school building, the 1922 - 1954 high school. It contained two rooms, and the door faced south. The funds for the construction of this building were realized by general subscription. The permission to build on the church grounds was granted by the congregation providing that it be allowed to store fire-wood in the basement and $24 was contributed for the work of excavating.
“In 1862 the Mercersburg Independent School District erected on Seminary Street a one-story, two-roomed brick building, now a residence beside the Presbyterian Church. It was used for primary purposes, and at one time the enrollment for one room was 84 with an average attendance of 78.…Goethean Hall was then purchased for the small sum of $2500 for the purpose of accommodating the advanced grades. Goethean Hall was one of the two beautiful buildings of classic style which stood in the southern part of town and was the property of Marshall college [The buildings housing the two literary societies of Marshall College, the Goethean and the Diagnothian, were on the west side of what is now Linden Avenue. In 1853 Marshall College was moved to Lancaster to join Franklin College to become Franklin and Marshall College]. This hall was used for public school purposes until 1878 when Henry Waidlich accepted it and grounds in part payment for the erection of a school building on West Seminary Street.”
The first class to be graduated from this new school was the class of 1880. Only four of the original ten members of the class completed the course and received diplomas. On October 23, 1925, fire destroyed this building. Fortunately because of the over-crowded conditions in the 1878 building the School Board had begun to plan for a high school. Fortunately also was the fact that in the November election of 1920 women for the first time throughout the nation were permitted to vote in all elections, local, state, and national. For the school board the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution was advantageous as it went to the local Woman’s Club and asked its help in mobilizing people, especially women, to vote for the new school.
The School Board purchased property on the corner of West Seminary and Park Streets, tore down the Cornelius Lauderbaugh building, and awarded the contract for the new high school to Quigley Hafer of Chambersburg. The first class to graduate was the class of 1923, and the class of 1926 was the first class to spend all of its high school days in this building that served students in Mercersburg from 1922 until 1954.
During the 1925 - 1926 school year because of the fire two shifts of classes met each day in the new building as it had to accommodate all of the grades. The Jester explains: “The regular program had to be rearranged. The junior and senior high school pupils and one section of the third grade assembled in the morning at eight o’clock finishing their work at 12:15 noon. In one half hour all of the other grades were at work in the same rooms just vacated by the first student group and were in session until 4:45. Every inch of space available was converted into classrooms even the principal’s office, and, for a short time, the Presbyterian Sunday School rooms were used until the two rooms at the back of the old building which had not been destroyed were fitted up for work again. Thus it was possible to continue school with little delay.“
“Ode to the New Schoolhouse” by Beulah Miller ’27, was, therefore, an appropriate poem for a student to write in the 1926 - 1927 school year. When Miss Miller wrote the poem about the new schoolhouse, she undoubtedly remembered the fire and the rearranged schedules and was appreciative of the fact that in 1926 - 1927 the school was serving only the high school students as the School Board immediately after the fire had begun to build an elementary school building on the site of the one that had been destroyed.
In writing about the newly formed alumni association The Jester reported: “The Alumni Association of the Mercersburg High school was organized on June 9, 1922. A group of about fifty persons assembled at the close of the commencement exercises held in the local theatre that evening. Mr. J.L. Finafrock, superintendent of the public schools in Franklin County, acted as chairman. He explained the needs and benefits of such an organization.
“An executive committee of the following members was appointed: Miss Ella Bradley, chairman, Mrs. C. I. Selser, Mrs. Cleone Wagner, Mrs. J. E. Highlands, W. F. Shaffer, and H. L. Wolfe.
“The preparations that are being made to erect on a concrete base the bell which was formerly in the bell-tower of the old high school building are proof of the loyalty and interest in Mercersburg School
“If every alumnus school says to himself, ‘If all alumni were just like me, what kind of a school would our school be?’ they would join the organization and do real active service for the school.”
The booklet also features “Alumni Notes” that list the members of the following graduating classes: 1880, 1886, 1900, 1909, 1915, 1922, and 1926. The articles in the booklet conclude with the valedictory speech given by Mollie Patterson, later Mollie Patterson Dickey, in the first class that graduated from high school in Mercersburg, that of 1880: In the last paragraph of her address she reminded her listeners: “The past is behind us. Let us tread these paths with hopeful hearts, with honest purpose, with earnest zeal, unhasting, unresting diligence.” Her words, important then, are important now.
This small booklet of sixteen leaves, each nine inches long and six inches wide, with its faded yellow paper cover that cost thirty-five cents in 1927 is today a treasure given to us by the teachers and students of that year.
Note: The article explaining the history of public education in Mercersburg is outstanding.
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