Last Graduation Day

“School’s Out for the Summer, School’s Out Forever…” as Alice Cooper said in his song. (See the video blog). In the case of Rockland District High School and Georges Valley High School, it’s forever. No more Rockland Tigers. No more Kippy Karnival. There will be a new school called Oceanside awaiting high school students next fall. I’m not sure what building this school will occupy, nevertheless, a new era of education will begin in Knox County.

This picture comes from one of my graduation cards. It best pictures our emotional feelings as we marched into the light in the auditorium at the Community Building on June 9, 1959. I believe the boys were on the left however and the boys' gowns were maroon. (See the separate blog, “Scrapbook Memories”).

I understand they had a memorial service for our beloved Rockland Tiger mascot at the Lincoln Center recently. The tiger was our mascot from 1947 till the present at RDHS.

The Lincoln Street building was the site of the original Rockland High School, opening in 1868. In was renovated in the 1920s to twice its original size. RDHS opened in 1962. My sister’s class was the first to graduate from that school. The Class of 2011 will be the last.

Here are some pictures I’d like to share with you of the three schools:

Georges Valley High School in Thomaston

Rockland High School on Lincoln Street as it appeared originally in 1868.

Rockland High School on Lincoln Street after it was expanded in the 1920s.

Rockland District High School on Broadway, opened in 1962.

This is a classroom at Rockland High School in 1899 showing the staff at that time. Notice the picture on the wall. My research says it is of President Garfield. He only served for approximately eight months in 1881 before he was assassinated. Why didn't they put up the president at that time, President McKinley? Maybe they were still honoring Garfield's memory. Ironically, McKinley was also assassinated, although he got to serve a full term. 

The president at the time the school opened in 1868, was President Andrew Johnson, sworn in in 1865, after the assassination of yet another president, Abraham Lincoln. 

When I went to school at Rockland High School I believe we always had a picture of President George Washington on the wall. Maybe they just got tired of trying to keep up with all the assassinations.

So we have five teachers in this photo. One is probably the principal who also doubled as a teacher. Let's guess at what they taught. I say it probably was English; Math; General Sciences, which was probably heavy on Geography; Latin; and History, which probably included Ancient History, World History, and American History.  The Latin teacher may also have taught German, French, or Greek. So all of you who keep up with the history of our school system in Knox County, how close am I?

This is the Rockland High School I attended on Lincoln Street. Here you see our beloved principal, Hamilton Boothby hard at work at his "computerless" desk. He left us not long ago. We miss him.

As far as the history of Rockland high schools go, this year will wrap up 192 years of education; 143 at the original Rockland High School on Lincoln Street; and 49 at RDHS on Broadway. Almost 200 years!

One thing's for sure. Georges Valley High School; Rockland High School; and Rockland District High Schools will always exist as long as there are alumni alive to keep the memories intact. I wish the new school, Oceanside, all the best in the years to come.

My hope is that this story will serve as some obscure reference for some future student doing an historical term paper about local education. Maybe it will even be an Oceanside student. Imagine that.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks to the Rockland Historical Society and to Tim Sullivan for some of the pictures in this piece.

(See the accompaning blog, "Scrapbook Memories.")