Chester High School

Class of 1921

Chester Schools

Chester High School

Chester High Reunions

Many thanks to Dorothy Collman, Concordville, PA, for spending the time to key in the lists and share them with us!

CHS CLASS of 1921

Ora Cook Kunkel, d. 3/4/1918

Class Officers:

Spencer Ray Keare, President
Lillian Thompson Craig, Vice Pres.
Margaret Anna Haddock, Secretary
John Barton Sheldrake, Treasurer
John Barton Sheldrake, Historian
Jacob Soifer, Poet

Miriam Wallace Armstrong - “Mim”
Esther Watson Atcheson - “Es”
Clarence Cornelius Ayres - “Ayrsie”

Elizabeth Bartleson - “Betty” “Libby”
Eugenia Gray Beatty - “Genie” “Benny”
Leon Blumberg - “Bluming”
Mildred Irene Bonawitz
Albert Ross Joseph Boudart - “Boudart”
Clara Kerr Bowen - “Clare”
Florence Rosabelle Burke
Margaret Howarth Burn - “Peggy”
Thomas Butterworth - “Tommie”

Sara Jane Clark
Florence Mildred Collins
Mildred Morton Conn - “Milly” “Conny”
Catherine May Conrad - “Kitty”
Lillian Thompson Craig - “Lil”
Isaac Parker Crowther - “Ik” “Duke”
Helen Myrtle Cullis

Lena Davidowitz - “Len”
Margaret Veronica Doyle - “Peggy” “Pegeen” “Peg”
Adelaide Merrill Drew
Virginia Maude Duncan - “Virgie” “Jinny” “Jinger”

Catherine Coe Eggleston - “Kitty” “Kit”
Bertha Hetherington Elliot
Mabel Ewald - “Babe” “Kid”

Frank Band Francis - “Benny”

Helen Eliza Gest
Theodore Elkton Gilbert
Lloyd Goman - “Goman”
Margaret Elizabeth Graham - “Peggy”
Henry Warner Grant, Jr. - “Grantie”
Mary Ella Grasty - “May”
Lillian Estelle Ida Gray
Oscar A. Gray - “Chewing Gum Artist”
William D. S. Grayson - “Bill”

Margaret Anna Haddock - “Peg”
Margaret Lillian Hagerty - “Peg”
Dorothy Scott Hall - “Dot”
Ellwood Harvey - “Ell”
Hubert Wilmer Henley - “Hubie”
Robert Howarth, 3d - “Bob” “Runt”
Anna Eva Howley - “Ann” “Anner”
Margaret Eugenie Hutton - “Hutton” “Peg”

Joseph David Jefferies - “Jeff” “Duffy”
Theresa Marcella Johnson 

Spencer Ray Keare - “Spoof”
Hubert John Keenan - “K. O.”
Florence Mildred Kershaw - “Floss”

Samuel Herman Leibowits - “Sam”
Preston Charles Lilley - “Lilly” “Press”

Andrew MacBeth - “Andy”
Margaret Frazer MacFarlene - “Maggie” “Jiggs”
Herbert Smith Malany - “Herb” Spike”
Martha Pratt McClosky
Bessie Croft McFadden - “Bess”
William Morrison McMonegle - “Bill” “Senator”
Clifford Grant Miller - “Cliff”
Robert Leonard Mills - “Bob”
Harry C. Molitz - “Moliks”
William Mosser - “Bill” “Bull”

Joseph Anthony Nacrelli - “Yellow” “Farmer”
William Harry Nethery - “Bill”
Samuel Hendrixson Newsome - “Sam”

Mary Miller Ousey

Lillie Mae Padgett
Dorothy Grace Park - “Dot”
Ralph Weston Parkinson - “Parky” “3 Q J”
Jennie Paul - “Paul”
Charles Russell Peck - “Pecky”
Mary E. Petriken - “Pet”

George Leonard Rappold - “Bismarck”
G. Tilghman Redden - “Ick” “Oswald”
Henrietta Thomson Redmond - “Hen”
Alice Garfield Rice
Flora Lillian Rice
Burton Clarence Roan - “Burt”
Elizabeth Everett Romans - “Lib”
John Joseph Roney - “Jack”
Elizabeth Ann Rowles - “Lib”
Emma Frances Rutter - “Pud”
Theodore (Roosevelt) Ryser - “Ted”

Nicholas Charles Sanbe - “Nick”
Mollie Savitsky - “Mollie”
Edith Dorothy Schofield - “Dottie” Schof”
Louis Schwartz - “Louie”
Nina Marie Shannon
John Barton Sheldrake - “Butch” “Bart” “Farmer”
Mary Iva Sidwell - “Ive”
Dorothy May Skillman - “Dot”
Anna Catherine Smith - “Kitty”
Theodore Clegg Smith - “Teddy”
Jacob Soifer - “Jake”
John Edward Spitz - “Spitzie”
Lillian Marie Stott
Pearl Geneva Summers
Dorothea Winona Sweet - “Dot”

Frederick Chester Taylor - “Chess”
Edward Creery Thompson - “Ed”

Ruth Helen Valentine - “Ruthie”

Warren B. Walls - “Mutt”
Lottie Rebecca Whaley
Mildred Hadgins Wilkins
Mabel Ellen Wilson - “Benjamin Franklin”
Robert Spencer Wright, Jr. - “Bones”

Class History:

Four years of learning, friendship and happiness has ended, and the Class of 1921 has been graduated from Chester High School.
Just as though it were last week, we recall the ninth day of September, 1917, when about 240 “green” Freshmen entered Chester High. Very soon after our entrance we learned what it meant to “push the penny” and “pray for rain.” However, we all fell in line with our leaders, and we were given an informal reception by the Seniors in our school auditorium. Following the custom in C.H.S., the Freshman Class presented the Flag Day program, and before long our Freshman year came to a close.
Space will not permit telling of every member of our class, and what each one has accomplished during his four years in school. However, the officers for all four years were:
Freshman year — Spencer Keare, president; Amelia Uff, vice-president; Abraham Eisner, secretary; Lloyd Goman, treasurer.
Sophomore year — Robert Mills, president; Esther Long, vice-president; Clarence Ayres, secretary; Thompson Palmer, treasurer.
Junior year — Hubert Henley, president; Clara Bowen, vice-president; Margaret Burn, secretary; Frank Francis, treasurer.
Senior year — Spencer Keare, president; Lillian Craig, vice-president; Margaret Haddock, secretary; Barton Sheldrake, treasurer.
At the first meeting in our Senior year Charles Kessler was elected president of the class, but in the latter part of February, 1921, he was very unexpectedly called to California, and Spencer Keare was elected to succeed him. A farewell party was given to him by the Senior class, in the Young Women’s Christian Association one Saturday night in the latter part of February, and Kessler left early the following morning for his future home in “the wild and woolly west.”
During our Junior year plans were made to complete the work on the Athletic Field which the School Board purchased for the Chester schools. This field was named in honor of a man whom very few of the members of the class of ‘21 knew, but because his name is so indelibly stamped upon Chester High, we can realize what a character the late Joseph G. E. Smedley was. This new field, which is located at Seventh and Lloyd streets, has been completed during our career in High School. The aim of us, as Seniors, was to carry on this great work, and, if possible, complete the work. I have told you that this was done, but only through the very kind assistance of the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs of Chester, who decided to have a baseball club in the city. They graded our field, put stands on it and put it in first-class condition for the rent of the field for eight years. The schedules of the High School team and Chester team will not conflict. The Chester High School now has an athletic field to be proud of.
We found that our Senior year was a most enjoyable one. Yes, there were many lessons and other school activities to attend; but, with some good hard work the year rolled around in a very short time. Many social affairs and athletic events brought the pupils into better friendship and we spent the best days of our life.
Our last two years in Chester High were under the direction of a man who graduated from this school and later became a teacher in Chester High. He was elected principal in the fall of 1920. This new principal we all know as J. Homer Rennie.
The debating teams which represented our class in our Junior and Senior years are worthy of mention. When Francis, Henley, Keare and Mills were Juniors, they defeated the Seniors. In our Senior year Francis, Goman, Keare and Soifer debated the Swarthmore College Freshmen and defeated them. In addition, Henley, Mills, Francis and Ayres defeated the Juniors. Our girls, Catherine Conrad, Clara Bowen, Dorothy Schofield and Frances Rutter won their debate.
Spring soon came around and the busy days we spent preparing for our class day and commencement soon brought us to the middle of June. Our class went to Willow Grove to spend a day and on June 23 we held our commencement in the Edgmont Theater.
J. BARTON SHELDRAKE.

ANNUAL ISSUED BY THE SENIOR CLASS OF 1921
CHESTER HIGH SCHOOL
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VOL. VIII
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JAMES HOMER RENNIE
The Class of Nineteen Twenty-one takes great pleasure in dedicating This Annual to you, in recognition and appreciation of your help and guidance during our stay in Chester High School.

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FACULTY
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JAMES HOMER RENNIE, A. B.
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
Principal

GEORGE W. PEDLOW, PH. B. 
Dickinson College, University of Pennsylvania
Assistant Principal

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EVELINA D. CALDWELL
Chester High School, Swarthmore College
University of Pennsylvania
Mathematics

CAROLINE M. JACKSON
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
History and Civics

J. DE WITTE JOBBORN
Danville High School
Head of Commercial Department

JOHN J. MATTHEWS, A. B.
Swarthmore College
Director of Industrial Education

LAURA E. REANEY
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
Head of Science Department

M. LILLIAN ROSS
Upland High School, Cornell University
Coomb's Conservatory of Music
Director of Music

FLORENCE WILLIAMS, B. S.
Chester High School, Boice School of Expression
University of Pennsylvania
Head of English Department

MARTHA W. DOYLE
Chester High School, Boice School of Expression
University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University
Head of Public Speaking Department

DAVID M. BAKER
Pennsylvania State College
International Correspondence School
Pattern Making

MIRIAM R. BARNET, A. B.
Ursinus College
Public Speaking

ALICE BIRTWELL
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
Spanish and Latin

ARTHUR BREWER
Williamson School
Machine Shop Practice

MARY G. BELIG, M. E.
Bloomsburg State Normal School Post Graduate Course
Commercial Arithmetic

LEE F. CRIPPEN, B. A.
Richmond College, University of Pennsylvania
Ancient and American History, Civics

FLORENCE E. CROWTHER
Drexel Institute
Lunch Room Supervisor

RALPH M. DYER, B. S. C.
Bucknell University
Algebra

ELIZABETH T. DOHERTY
Chester High School, Banks Business College
University of Pennsylvania
Bookkeeping

HILDRED A. DICKINSON
West Chester Normal School, Taylor's Business College
Commercial Subjects

MABEL EDWARDS
Lock Haven Normal School, Valpariso University
Pennsylvania Business College
Bookkeeping and Penmanship

HELEN M. FERREE, PH. B., A. B.
West Chester Normal School, Ursinus College
English

ROBERT C. GATES, PH. B.
Dickinson College
Mathematics and History

J. HOMER GRABER, B. S.
Pennsylvania State College
Trade Mathematics

ALBERT DEMSEY HARTLEY, B. S.
Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania
Algebra and Geometry

BERTHA BROOKS HEPWORTH, A. B., M. A.
Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania
French and Spanish

BERTHA A. HELMS
Chester High School, Drexel Institute
Secretary

MARY JONES [Biography]
Peirce Business School
Bookkeeping

J. D. KROUSE, B. A.
University of Pennsylvania
English

WILLIAM H. KRELL, A. B.
Pennsylvania State College
French and Spanish

LAURA LAMB, B. S.
University of Pennsylvania
Biology, Household Chemistry

GRACE F. LEE, A. B.
Swarthmore College, New York School of Fine Arts
Free-hand Drawing

SARAH D. LEEDS, B. S.
Mount Holyoke College
History, Chemistry, General Science

HELEN D. MAXWELL, PH. B.
Bryn Mawr College, University of Chicago
English

S. S. MOHLER, A. B., A. M.
Dickinson College, Harvard College
Latin

MARY L. MORROW
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Summer School of Methods
Commercial English

ELIZABETH ORTLIEB
Peirce Business School
Commercial Subjects

MARTHA L. PANCOAST, A. B.
Swarthmore
Latin and Algebra

CLARA M. PARKS
Columbia University, West Chester Normal School
Peirce Business School
Commercial Work

EDNA POWELL, A. B.
Swarthmore College
English

ELLA W. RENNIE
South Chester High School, South Chester Normal Course, 
Gregg Certificate
Typewriting, Stenography, Calculation, Business Practice, 
Spelling, Office Training

STEPHEN G. SOKOLOFSKY
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania Museum and
Industrial Art School, Pennsylvania Academy
of Fine Arts, New York Art League
Industrial Drawing

CHARLES R. SMITH, JR.
Member A. S. M. E., Williamson School, Drexel Institute
Machine Shop Practice

MARGARET C. STETSER, B. S.
Chester High School, University of Pennsylvania
Temple University
Economic History, Industrial Geography, Social Sciences

ELIZABETH TELFORD
Temple University
Commercial Subjects

LILLIAN TROUT
Temple University
Typewriting

LYDA TURNER, A. B.
Dickinson College
English

A. G. UNGERLIEDER
Drexel Institute
Science, Shop Mathematics

CAROLYN N. UNDERHILL, A. B.
Swarthmore College
History

EDNA WAGNER, A. B.
Ursinus College
English and Latin

MARION WERNER
Temple University, New York University
Commercial Work

FRANK FORSTBURG, B. S.
Franklin and Marshall College
Director of Athletics

MARTHA D. HELMS
Chester High School, Drexel Institute
Domestic Arts

MRS. IRMA MCLEAN PARRY
Chester High School
Assistant Secretary

MRS. M. E. PEDLOW
Librarian