Area History: History of Mahanoy City Public Schools Schuylkill Co. Pa. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Shirley Ryan sryan@enter.net USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. _____________________________________________________________________________ HISTORY OF MAHANOY CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS The following information relating to the public schools of the borough of Mahanoy City is condensed from the writings of Mrs. Thomas L. (Augusta Dillman) Thomas, and is taken from Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, 1863-1853, A History, written by Joseph H. Davies, Chairman, Charles H. Engle and Elwood M. Young. Shirley Thomas Ryan, Class of 1959, and President of the MCHS Alumni Association added updated history concerning MCHS. The first school board was comprised of five members representing both the town and township. It was organized before the incorporation of the borough. Serving on it were Dr. Louis Thompson, Frank Carter, Benjamin Walburn, David Klingerman and one other, whose identity is uncertain. These members elected the first school teacher. Oliver Bechtel, afterwards President Judge of the Schuylkill County Courts, was the successful candidate. The schoolhouse, a log structure, in which Mr. Bechtel taught, was located on what is now Spruce Street, near Linden Street. In 1863, a four-roomed brick building was erected west of the log school. The teachers who taught in this structure, in addition to Mr. Bechtel, were Harry I. Williams, Anna K. Wilson and Melinda Demmick. In 1864, Oliver Bechtel resigned and James S. Brunner was elected to succeed him. The schools, at that time, were graded as High, Grammar, Secondary, and Primary. Mr. Brunner was the first High School teacher and Mr. Williams the first Grammar School instructor. The Misses Wilson and Dimmick taught in the Primary Grades. In two years time there were between 600 and 700 names on the school roll. This was due to the opening of the mines which caused an influx of settlers from others parts of Schuylkill and adjacent counties and many Welsh, Irish, English and German immigrants. It became necessary to erect another school building, so in 1867, the “old” Pine Street building of brick was erected at a cost of $7,646.82. Solomon Faust was the contractor. While this building was being erected, the log school was used to accommodate the children and the basement of the “old” First Congregational Church, Seventh and Centre Streets, was used for the Primary and Secondary school children residing at the eastern end of the borough. Elizabeth Jeffries and Jennie Thomas were the first to teach in this basement school, while Mary McHugh taught in the log schoolhouse. The population of Mahanoy City at that time was about 4500. At midnight, January 9, 1867, fire was discovered at the Spruce Street School. Of incendiary origin, the blaze was extinguished with little damage resulting. After being closed four days while repairs were made, the building reopened for classes. It was the only occasion on which a fire necessitated local schools to close. In 1871, the first Centre Street building was erected at a cost of $20,000. Solomon Lutz was the contractor. It was a three-story brick structure. The east room on the third floor was used as the high school room until 1880 when the high school was transferred to the old Pine Street Building. A brick annex of six rooms was added to the Spruce Street building in 1875 by Jacob Rhoads, contractor. Because boys were given employment at the collieries as early as eight years of age, Superintendent William L. Balentine, in 1873, organized an ungraded day school for working boys in the basement of the first Pine Street building, of which Benjamin Scheirer was the first teacher. He was a disciplinarian as well as an educator. Another teacher of the Working Boys School was Moses Zweisig, who came from Berks County. During the 1880’s Night Schools succeeded the ungraded Working Boys Day School. Under Superintendent Balentine’s supervision, these night schools prospered, continuing under Superintendents Miller and Ehrhardt until 1907 when the benefits of the Free Text Book System and the Compulsory Education Law made the age at which children were permitted to work such that they received a fairly good education in the elementary branches. The last year that night schools were held was 1907. Miss’s Ethel Powell and Elizabeth Price were the last night school teachers. The Night School was followed by Continuation School, which was created by law. Boys and girls, at the age of 14 years, were permitted to enter industry, if they completed Sixth grade, provided that they attended school sessions certain days each week until they reached the age of sixteen years. The law had been in effect several years before the local school was established in 1921 with Mrs. Bina Ryan as instructor. The rapid growth of the school soon resulted in segregation of the boys and girls, the girls continuing under the tutelage of Mrs. Ryan until the project was abandoned in 1934, while the boys had the following instructions, in succession, Alphonse Stine, George Hohe and Frank McLean. Legislative measures, which made sixteen years the compulsory school attendance age, resulted in the closing of the Continuation School, which included in its student body pupils from Mahanoy City and Mahanoy Township. By the year 1884, the “old” Pine Street building was deemed too small, so it was torn down and a new eight-room structure erected on the site. During the erection of this building, the high school was held in the Armory Hall and the grade schools in the Hersker building, where the Morton Furniture Store is now located. This building housed the high school from 1885 until 1898. During the 1880’s the immigration of Poles and Lithuanians to the coal fields increased the school population making it necessary to erect another building in 1888. This building, erected on Mahanoy Street, in the First Ward, was completed in the fall of 1888. This was the last building erected while Mr. Balentine was superintendent. Three buildings and one annex were built while he held the position. The continued increase in school population made it necessary to erect the Twelfth Street school building in 1893, at the northeast corner of Twelfth and Pine Streets. This building was opened December 21, 1893. While this building was being erected, students were taught in the Lithuanian Parochial School building which was also rented when the D Street School building (now Newhard’s Hall) was erected about two decades later. Frank S. Miller was the superintendent during that period. The high school was organized in 1864 and the first class to hold Commencement exercises was that graduating in 1875. The Grammar School was organized in 1864 also and its first Commencement was held in 1892 under Superintendent Miller. The consolidation of the Grammar Schools, forming the Central Grammar School, was consummated in 1915 and in 1918 this became the Junior High School. The honor of teaching the greatest number of years fell to John Linton who taught 42 years- dying in 1914 while in the profession. The youngest teacher was Miss Mary McHugh, of Philadelphia, who began to teach at the age of thirteen years. The superintendents who have served the Mahanoy City School District are: Elijah Bull, 1865-1868; Channing Stebbins, 1868-1869; Eli S. Reinhold, 1879-1871; William L. Balentine, 1871-1890; Frank S. Miller, 1890-1896; William N. Ehrhardt, 1896-1915; Hiram W. Dodd, 1915-1916; Harry A. Oday, 1916-1935; Joseph F. Noonan, 1935-1937, serving also as superintendent of Mahanoy Township School District); Harvey S. Bolan, 1937-1942, and Joseph E. Boyle, 1942-1959 (Mr. Boyle was elected administrator of the Mahanoy Area Joint School System and served until his retirement in 1965). The Mahanoy City High School building was demolished in 1984. Today the site at 5th and Centre Street is Herman’s Community Park. On Memorial Day, May 28, 2001, the MCHS Alumni Association dedicated a commemorative stone and the Class of 1959, the last graduating class, dedicated a 20-foot flagpole to the “glory of MCHS”. The Mahanoy City School District became a part of the Mahanoy Area Joint School System on July 6, 1959. The other members of the jointure are Gilberton Borough and Mahanoy, Delano, Rush and Ryan Townships. The youngest student to graduate from the Mahanoy City High School was J. Arthur Jones, Class of 1876, who received his diploma when he was one month past his fourteenth birthday. Two graduates of MCHS, Howard Bensinger, 1875, and George Britz, 1893, served during the Spanish-American War. During World War I, 286 young men who had graduated from Mahanoy City High were in the service. None were killer and only three were injured seriously - Robert Evans, 1901, Charles Hagenbuch, 1904, and Arthur Schoener, 1916. Many were gassed and suffered from shell shock. The following graduates who made the supreme sacrifice during World War II are memorialized on a plaque at the High School: Jerome Szematowicz, John Shovlin, Albert W. Petcavage, Basil Kacamarczyk, Frank Barone, Francis Pieri, Bernard P. Silkowski, Joseph A. Litsch, Clarence Marshall, Edward Tomcavage, Theodore G. Sisak, Michael Kustra, William G. Berwick, John W. Foley, Joseph J. Zagorski, James R. Lakrin, Joseph A. Gonzales, John M. Sluzevich, Joseph C. Kubilus, Robert O. Stitzer, John Lowatti, Robert T. Lowe, Edward Kiselewski, Paul Petrucka, William C. Kaleda, Harold L. Reese, Nicholas M. Rich, Albert Pranis, John R. Lotwick, Mark A. Noona, Alphonsus Chiginsky, Francis Truskowski, Bernard Susavage, Leonard Matulavage, John A. Brocker, Wilbur L. Brill, Michael Hydock, William J. Blackwell, William J. Foley, James D. Haley, Joseph A. Urban, Harrison Fetterman, Anthony Miskavage, Edward R. Conrad and George J. Alberici. Space does not permit paying tribute to well-beloved teachers whose careers were devoted to training the youth of the community nor to list graduates who have achieved distinction in many walks of life. These deserved tributes must await the time when a more complete history is written.