OAK RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL OBSERVING 120TH ANNIVERSARY

Lillian Wills was a 1911 graduate of Oak Ridge High School. She eventually married Vest Smith, who was the Oak Ridge postmaster for many years.

A photo of a 1922 science classroom in Oak Ridge High School is part of the mementos that can be seen in an exhibit relating to the first 120 years of the schools.

Jo Ann Hahs, Oak Ridge sixth grade teacher, has inherited many mementos and old photographs relating tothe origins of Oak Ridge High School in 1874.

OAK RIDGE -- Oak Ridge High School will celebrate its 120th anniversary with several events this fall, beginning next weekend.

The school was opened Nov. 4, 1874.

A large birthday cake and mementos and old photographs will be featured during a stop here Saturday and Sunday of the Mississippi River Valley Scenic Fall Driving Tour.

The 120th anniversary will also be observed at the annual alumni banquet Nov. 5 and during American Education Week, Nov. 13 through 19.

Sixth-grade teacher Jo Ann Hahs is organizing the local observance of the anniversary.

Hahs, who is immediate past president of the Southeast Missouri District State Teachers Association, has inherited several large envelopes of material relating to the school's history.

A veteran of 29 years of teaching elementary school students, Hahs said after she retires she would like to document some of the material.

She plans to teach one more year.

One of her artifacts is a term certificate from Oak Ridge High School dated Nov. 3, 1882, on C.C. Wills. His brother was Henry Hugh Wills, who later owned and operated the former Central Hotel here -- a busy place around the turn of the century.

The certificate shows that C.C. Wills had eight subjects and his average was 91 7/8 in history, algebra, reading, grammar, geography, penmanship, orthography (spelling) and written arithmetic. His deportment was 100 percent.

Another artifact is a 1906 report card from Oak Ridge Public School on Lillian Wills, daughter of Henry Hugh Wills, when she was in the fifth grade. She had eight classes and attended school 115 days.

An interesting note about Wills' 1906 report card is that it shows "Miss Minnie Steele" as the teacher.

Almarinda Minnie Steele is known as the first student to enroll in the new high school in 1874.

Another report card on Lillian Wills showed she completed ninth grade at Oak Ridge High School on April 21, 1910. Since Oak Ridge High School only had two grades then, she graduated the following year. She eventually married Vest Smith, who was the postmaster here for many years.

Wills' ninth-grade report card showed she made high to very high marks in Latin, algebra, rhetoric, ancient history and civil government.

She attended school 40 days each quarter and ranked second in her class.

People in this area campaigned during 1873 to have the state's third Normal School located here. The school, which eventually became Southeast Missouri State University, was instead located in Cape Girardeau.

After that decision, many prosperous farmers and other prominent Oak Ridge citizens joined in incorporating a private high school in Oak Ridge that opened its doors Nov. 4, 1874.

It was one of the first high schools established in Southeast Missouri.

It was a two-year high school until 1924 when two more grades were added.

For the new school, the local citizens voted a tax of $600 and raised $2,000 by subscriptions. William Clippard donated the land for the school.

The high school was a two-story frame building with two rooms on each floor. The building committee was composed of President M.J. Hines, C.C. Clippard, Richard Swann and Judge John Drum.

The first superintendent of the school was D.T. Stanley.

At the end of the year, there were 80 students, and after 11/2 terms, the enrollment had increased to 100.

The superintendent solicited students in a radius of 20 miles. Each student paid a 20-cent-a-day tuition fee.

In 1875, the school district erected a large room to the high school building to accommodate the growing enrollment.

The lower grades occupied the first floor rooms, the upper grades were on the second floor and the high school was in the large new room to the rear of the building.

The superintendent was employed by both the elementary and high school and paid $100 per month by the district. He employed one full-time assistant, one part-time assistant and from two to four student helpers to teach classes.

The entire school was operated on the departmental plan. The superintendent taught 12 classes of 30 minutes each and met three young men for an hour after school to study Virgil and calculus.

The Rev. Nelson B. Henry was high school principal in 1876.

He was instrumental in organizing the Southeast Missouri District of the Missouri State Teachers Association.

George Cheney was among the early teachers. He was the son of the first president of the old Normal School, now SEMO.

Four young men were the first to graduate from the high school in 1878. The next graduates were also four men.

There were 40 pupils enrolled in high school and 64 in the primary grades when classes began Aug. 30, 1880

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