FASD — 1921 Alumni Archives

Farrell High School was represented by the fastest Basketball team in Mercer County in the year 1920-1921, which was shown by the winning of the County Championship and bringing home the cup for good.

The sports and other activities have aroused more enthusiasm in the student body and townspeople. At various games, the gymnasium was taxed to its capacity. With the addition of the new gymnasium, the school will be able to hold a larger crowd and it will be the best equipped gymnasium for a High School in Western Pennsylvania. This will tend to promote better athletics in our High School.

Monday, March 15; Farrell High started to celebrate the third joyful victory in Basket Ball. The cup was ours, everybody happy and everybody gay and so throughout the day Farrell smiled its broadest and welcomed her heroes as were the old kings in a triumphal march.

At 2:30 the High School student body had a mass meeting in the Auditorium. The noise from the cheering would have awakened the dead. The players gave short speeches. Mr. McHugh, Mr. Eckles, Mr. Levine and Dr. Firestone gave short talks and then Mr. Stillings presented the members of the team with sterling silver basket-ball. After much noise the meeting adjourned.

At 3:30 several thousand grade and High School students started to parade the main streets of the town. It was a happy crowd, singing, yelling, cheering and making much noise. In the meantime several students started to build the bon-fire and they did not cease till it reached a height of thirty feet of very inflammable material.

At 7:30 at the American Steel and Wire Co's. playgrounds at the corner of Haywood and Spearman Avenue the crowds began to gather till about three thousand people were on the grounds.

The use of the playgrounds was donated to us through the kindness of Mr. McHugh: A word here for Mr. McHugh, one of Farrell High's most loyal rooters and boosters. He has done all in his power to boost athletics in our High School. He also donated the band for our use that night. At 8:00 o'clock the bonfire was lighted by the various players assisted by Coach Levine. The mass was soon in one large flame and at one time the flame reached nearly fifty feet in the air. For two hours the crowd cheered and sang and danced. The Steel & Wire Band gave several good selections and were well received by the people who gave cheer after cheer for them. Coahes Levine and Firestone were carried around on the shoulders of the supporters of the team. The members of the team were also cheered and congratulated by all, on their splendid victories and the girls were doing most of the congratulating. You may as well learn here as some place else, that not one of the basketball boys was lacking a girl that night.

In the year 1917 the class of ’21 entered Farrell High School as Freshmen. The class was “New” and therefore it “Knew” little about the tricks of the upperclassmen.

As a result of our ignorance the upperclassmen started their first annual initiation ceremony by having the boys of our class endure the punishment of having their heads shaved and in the course of a week the faculty had a class of shiny heads presented before them every day for some time.

But, as the old saying goes “Revenge is Sweet” so in our Sophomore year the class gave the second annual initiation ceremony by receiving the Freshmen of that year into High School in the same manner we were received the previous year.

The class of ’21 went little into society this year, but one bright day in May, with Miss Stewart as chaperon, the class took a “May Walk.”. It was the beginning of our social career.

Our Sophomore year was one of hard study, patriotism and the giving of a class “Bawl” (Ball). The class “Bawl” was the first entertainment of its kind to be given by any class in the High School.

A class meeting was held on the 23rd day of September and we chose, red, white and blue as the colors for the Sophomore class, but this patriotic step was small in comparison to what the class did in the latter part of the Sophomore year. About the last month of school the class bought a hundred dollar Liberty bond, the class of ’21 being the first and only class in the High School to take this step.

After a much needed vacation we returned as Juniors to Farrell High School. The class of ’21 featured in nothing else except hard work this year.

Very few social functions were held this term due to the fact that our class was preparing for the annual Junior-Senior banquet which was an elaborate success.

Then, too, our Junior play, to say the least was a decided success. Our Junior year ended by bidding the Seniors good-bye and taking upon ourselves the responisbility of Seniorship in the High School.

At last we entered the High School as Seniors, Oh what a relief! After three years of hard study we were about to gain the height of our High School education, but this meant more hard work and study for our class.

In our Senior year, we have had many new teachers but we soon became acquainted and we got along with our teachers just as usual. Our Senior year has been one of concentration, hard work and many business meetings.

The class of ’21 has some very good oratorical and dramatic talent and the members of the class have shown their talent in numerous “plays” and debates throughout their High School career.

More ardent supporters of High School athletics cannot be found than the members of the class of ’21. The class of ’21 has the distinct honor of being the only class in High School during the three periods the basket ball team has won the County Championship and it also carries with it the honor of graduating in the year the Farrell High School basket ball team has won the permanent possession of the cup for the Mercer Co. Basket-ball Championship.

The members of the class of ’21 have carried with them from the Freshman year their patriotic sentiment.

The girls in the class of ’21 have also shown their desire to economize by limiting the price of their graduation dress to $25.00.

The class of ’21 has been a hard working class and a class that has kept up with the times, although many of our classmates have left us year by year as we rose thru the educational ranks of the High School.

Our graduating class numbers thirty-four (34) yet the losing of our classmates did at times make us lonely.

But now the class of ’21 has just about finished its four years of joyous High School life and it goes forth into the wide world to bring honors to itself and the High School

We owe our success and our future success to our ever encouraging faculty.

Farewell Farrell High, Farewell Teachers and our dear Alma Mater,