History of Doe Run Schools

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elvins_lstgradclass.jpg (16799 bytes)
Eula McGuire, Leon Richards, Viola Elvins
First Graduating Class - Elvins HS

ELVINS SCHOOL SYSTEM STARTED ABOUT 1912

Early history of the Elvins schools seems not to be available. Buildings in use at the present include the Central building, which was erected in 1918, and the high school building, which was erected in 1921. In 1924 a six-room addition was made to the high school building.

Prior to 1936 one of the ward schools of this district was the Loughboro School. In 1936, however, use of this building was discontinued and the children have since been transported daily to the Central school.

The first high school graduating class of the Elvins schools was in 1918* and consisted of three: Leon Richards, Eula McGuire and Viola Elvins. Since that year the number of graduates each year has been as follows: 1919, 4; 1920, 4; 1921, 5; 1922, 8; 1923, 4; 1924, 9; 1925, 19; 1926, 14; 1927, 20; 1928, 14; 1929, 25; 1930, 31; 1931, 22; 1932, 24; 1933, 27; 1934, 24; 1935, 24; 1936, 23; 1937, 31; 1938, 33.

A perusal of the above will show a healthy increase in the high school graduates year by year. This year the enrollment of the junior and senior high schools numbered 340, and the enrollment for the entire Elvins school system was 940.

The high school building has 16 class rooms, including two study halls and four rooms used for high school vocational industrial arts in the grade school building. The combined auditorium and gymnasium seats 1000 people.

In 1938 three acres of ground were added to the playground, making a total of six acres devoted to that purpose. This year, with W.P.A. assistance, the playground was leveled off, and last year, with W.P.A. assistance, the east ward school playground was improved. During the year 1938 all of the buildings have been painted and this also is a W.P.A. project.

Basketball teams have ranked high in the Elvins school. In 1936 the team took second place, and in 1937 it did the same.

Faculty members are as follows:

Superintendent Fred Miller received his B.S. in Education degree in 1925 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College at Cape Girardeau. He received his A.M. in Education degree in 1930 at the University of Missouri and has done some graduate work above his A.M. degree at the same university. He has been superintendent of the Elvins schools for four years and was formerly superintendent at Dexter, Mo.

The high school principal, A. O. Hardy, received his B.S. in Education degree in 1928 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College and his A.M. degree in 1938 at the University of Missouri. He has been principal of this district for 15 years. Mr. Hardy teaches history.

J. F. Murphy, teacher of vocational industrial arts, received his B.S. in Education degree in 1924 from the University of Utah. He has done graduate work at the University of Missouri and also at General Motors Polytechnical Institute at Flint, Mich. Mr. Murphy has taught in the Elvins schools for 12 years.

Cave Barrow, teacher of social science, received his A.B. degree in 1930 at Westminster University, Fulton, Mo. Mr. Barrow will complete his work for his A.M. degree at Missouri University this summer. He has taught in the Elvins schools for two years and formerly taught in New Bloomfield.

Miss Edith Gunther, music teacher, received her B.S. in Education degree in 1925 at Central Missouri State Teachers College at Warrensburg. She has done graduate work at Kansas State Teachers College and also at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has taught in the Elvins school system for 10 years.

Miss Bernice Howard received her B.S. in Education degree in 1927 at Northwest Missouri State Teachers College at Marysville. Miss Howard has taught mathematics in Elvins for 11 years.

Dubart Byington teaches social science and received his A.B. degree in 1931 at Central College at Fayette, Mo. He has done graduate work at the University of Minnesota and has taught in the Elvins schools for 12 years.

Miss Ethel Wall, mathematics teacher, received her B.S. in Education degree at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College and has done graduate work at the University of Missouri. She has taught in Elvins for 15 years.

Miss Bobbie McClanahan received her B.S. in Education degree in 1929 at the Central Missouri State Teachers College and has done graduate work at the University of Missouri. She has taught vocational home economics in the Elvins schools for nine years.

Miss Essie Huls, teacher of commercial subjects, has been in the Elvins schools for nine years. She received her B.S. in Education degree in 1926 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College and has done graduate work at the University of Missouri.

Miss Margaret Archer teaches English in the high school and has been with the system 16 years. She received her B.S. in Education degree in 1933 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College and has done graduate work at Peabody Institute.

Miss Erma Waggener received her A.B. degree in 1925 at Washington University in St. Louis and has done graduate work at the University of Missouri. She has taught English in the Elvins schools for 10 years.

Mrs. Grayce Sutton teaches English and social science and has been teaching in the Elvins schools eight years, seven of which were in the grades. She received her B.S. in Education degree in 1938 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College.

J. L. Butts received his B.S. in Education degree in 1928 at the University of Missouri and has also done some graduate work there. He has taught Industrial arts and science here for eight years.

Robert Smith, science teacher, received his B.S. in Education degree in 1936 at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College. He has done graduate work at the University of Iowa and has taught for two years in the high school.

John McCrorey and Ralph Black, study hall teachers, have been with the Elvins school system for four and three years, respectively.

Mrs. Dorothy Barrow, assistant music teacher, who has been with the Elvins schools two years, received her B.S. in Education degree at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College.

The grade school principal, Franklin Pierce, received his B.S. in Education degree at Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1932 and has done graduate work at the University of Missouri. He teaches mathematics in the 5th and 6th grades, has been principal of the Elvins grade schools for three years and was formerly principal of grade schools at Ironton, Mo.

Other members of the grade school faculty, with their years of service in Elvins are: The Misses Lucy Kenner, 33 years; Ruth Sutton, 19 years; Bess Boswell, 14 years; Bernice Evans, 8 years; Grace McCrorey, 11 years; Myrtle Nicholson, 6 years; Margaret Alexander, 6 years; Vera Moyer, 6 years; Bernice Neidert, 6 years; Trixie Moore, 4 years; Ann Langdon, 1 year; and Ray Crabdree, 3 years; Roy Clemons, 3 years; Morris Allen, 3 years; Robert Horton, 2 years.

Published by THE LEAD BELT NEWS, Flat River, St. Francois Co. MO, Fri. June 10, 1938.

*Note:  The original of the above photo of the first graduating class of Elvins High School has the date of May 1914                 hand-written on it. 

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