Thursday, January 21, 2016

The Old Reese School

The notation at the top of all four of these negatives was Reese School - House.  Fred House was the superintendant of Warrensburg's schools in the 1940s and may have been using these photographs to convince the school board that they needed to rebuild Reese school.

This picture shows a classroom where students are bundled up in coats.

Buddy Baker, who attended Reese school in the 30s reports that the building was heated by a coal furnace. A wagon delivered the coal which would slide down a shute into the basement.  According to him, "Dern right it was cold in there. That furnace didn't do much heating.  They'd make us go outside for recess and all we did was play jam-jelly." (Pack tightly together to try to get warm.)

Here students share desks in an overcrowded classroom.

Students pack together in a tiny hallway.

Finally, here's a picture of the students.

Does anyone know the year these pictures were taken?  Or can you identify any of the people in these photographs.

The old Reese school was torn down and rebuilt in the early 1950s.


5 comments:

  1. Thank you again, Peggy Nuckles for bringing these old negatives back to life !!!! Beautiful. There are some photos from the newspapers at the time they tore Reese School down. The classrooms were so full that the seats went clear up to the chalkboard and it looked like the teacher's desk was completely surrounded by students.

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  2. I have one of my class photos at Reese. I don't recognize the kids in this one, but I believe the woman in striped blouse might be the Principal (and 3rd grade teacher), Miss Crane (Dora).

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  3. I thought the same thing, that it was Miss Dora Crane.

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  4. I went to Foster Elem. for grades 1 through 4 (there was no kindergarten). I went to the new Reese school for 5th grade and was so excited to have hot lunches in the cafeteria. Ms. White was my teacher. Then for the 6th grade we went to the OLD Reese building (first floor Southwest corner)taught by Ms Galloway,whose son was also in the class! It was very crowded.

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    1. I attended the 5th & 6th grades in both Reese buildings from 1953 - 1955 and returned to Jr Hi at WHS, graduating in 1961. I know the old Reese building was torn down shortly thereafter, but they operated simultaneously for at least a couple of years

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