Commentary: The evolution of Mahomet-Seymour’s yearbook, and its impact in community history
By FRED KRONER
Studying our history allows us to learn about – or in some cases, remember – events that otherwise might be lost forever.
It also raises questions when we discover that what we now know isn’t the way it always used to be.
Surprise!
My recent history lessons have been courtesy of a small assortment of high school yearbooks in my possession, the oldest is now in its 110th year of existence.
The 1911 yearbook is special because – nearly a quarter century after the first students graduated from Mahomet High (in 1887) – the first yearbook was printed.
Those of us who qualify as long-time Mahomet residents – for the sake of argument, let’s call that a minimum of 50 years – see a number of recognizable names in the class lists from that first yearbook.
The Mahomet student body of 45 in 1911 (covering all four grades in high school) included last names such as Dale, Gilmore, Hazen, Jones, Murphy, Primmer, Rayburn, Rittenhouse, Stout, Stover, Warner, Williamson, and – yes – even a Kroner.
More than a century later, people with many of those names still reside locally or are ancestors of students who were in school in Mahomet in 1911.
The first name to study is the one on the cover: “Retro.”
The yearbook name has stood the test of time, even though the book was not always released on an annual basis.
Editors in 1911 offered a brief insight on how the appropriate name of Retro was selected in what is essentially a look back at the recent past.
“To the Mahomet High School, under whose loving care, protection and instruction, we, and hundreds before us, have spent the years of preparation necessary for higher education and for life’s real work. To the old school to which we, and those who have gone before, all turn with a filial reverence, we, the Class of 1912, lovingly dedicate this, our first volume of The Retro.”
Yearbooks were published in 1911 and 1912 and then not again until 1919. There was another lapse until 1925 and another lull until 1928.
That was followed by a 15-year void before the sixth issue of the Retro was printed in 1943.
For the past 79 years, however, the Retro has annually been filled with memories, pictures and highlights.
In 1945, the editors tried to fill in some of the gaps by listing the names of graduates and National Honor Society inductees from the previous decade.
***
The first unexpected development when perusing the 1911 yearbook came on Page 24, when the words to the school song were printed.
The words and melody have been embedded in my mind for decades. The Notre Dame fight song is a pleasant remembrance as we hear the familiar words.
Apparently, that is the modern-day school song.
In the 1911 yearbook, the words to “Mahomet High” were published with the note that the tune is the same as ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’
It goes like this:
“This song about our dear old ‘High’ we ever gladly sing
And with a swelling chorus we would make the welkin ring
And may the years, as they go by, new triumphs to her bring
As she goes marching on.
(Chorus)
Hail, all hail, our Alma Mater
May misfortune ne’er o’ertake her
May she thrive and e’er grow greater
As she goes marching on.
Her teachers are the very best, her students ‘loyal blue’
To all that’s noble, brave and good, she ever would ring true
By each and every ‘hopeful’ she would e’er her duty do
As time goes marching on.
(chorus)
When school-days shall be over and we come to say good-bye
It will be with mingled feelings that we leave Mahomet High
Though we’re eager for life’s battles, yet we fain would heave a sigh
As we go marching on.
(Second chorus)
Mahomet High, our Alma Mater
Sing from Pole unto Equator
Mahomet High, our Alma Mater
Hip, hip, hip hurrah!
—
When and why was the school song changed?
I have no definitive answer, but a speculative thought.
When the school was started (the first graduating class was in 1887), it was known as Mahomet High School.
That name was altered following an election in September, 1919, when a change was made to Mahomet Community High School.
That remained the name until 1950 when the consolidation with Seymour took place and created Mahomet-Seymour High School.
My guess is that when it became Mahomet Community High School, district leaders advocated to sever some of the connections to the past and, thus, rid themselves of the school song.
***
I particularly enjoy seeing the evolution of the yearbook.
The 1911 yearbook devoted one page to sports. The page consisted of a picture of the baseball team as well as two paragraphs.
One sentence noted that “in the fall, we have a very good football team,” but there is no mention of the record or the players.
The same sentence continues, “while in the winter, basketball is played.”
Again, there are no other details, including the name of the coaches.
Mahomet offered one other sport.
“This spring material was collected for a baseball team, which bids fair to be exceptionally good for a school of our size.”
As a former sportswriter, another line caught my attention.
“The school is now a member of the Amateur Athletic Association.”
We can only speculate why the district wasn’t a member of the Illinois High School Association, which was officially formed in 1900.
The IHSA even conducted a boys’ track and field state meet in 1893.
By 1908, an IHSA state tournament series was organized in basketball.
We know that Mahomet Community High School eventually joined the IHSA.
It happened by 1925, for sure, because Mahomet had its first IHSA state-placer that spring in boys’ track. Roy Hinton earned medals in two hurdles races as well as the high jump.
The limited attention to sports in the 1911 yearbook wasn’t the only point of interest for me.
The 52-page yearbook featured one short story, which was about 1 ¼ pages in length. While many items in the yearbook provided commentary on various students at the school, this appears to be a piece of fiction.
The byline caused me to raise my eyebrows. The short story was written by a sophomore, Fred Kroner. My grandfather.
I knew generally of his interest in the arts. He once told me that he attended Mahomet schools through his junior year, but transferred to Champaign High as a senior.
Still living in Mahomet, he commuted every day as a senior. He made the decision, he told me, because Champaign High offered a debate team, which was unavailable at Mahomet.
My grandfather passed away in the summer after my sophomore year of high school. By that time, I had been submitting articles to the local weekly newspaper for three years, but there were never any conversations about his interest in writing as a teen-ager.
In the 1945 Retro, my grandfather surfaced again. He was pictured with the members of the school board. (There were five back at that time.)
He was the Board President and was listed as a 12-year school board member.
What was more startling was the picture of the newest board member, who had served for two years. It was my grandfather from my mother’s side, Lewis Hillman.
I’d be curious to know how many people have had two grandparents on the board simultaneously.
***
Before I explored the contents of the 1945 yearbook, I stumbled across a clipping from the 1944 Retro.
The article discussed the yearbook returning from a 15-year hiatus the previous year with the Class of 1943 thanks to the urging of then-Mahomet principal Karl Massanari.
The story went on to pay tribute to the students who helped bring the yearbook to life, including co-editors Carol Kroner and Naomi Hillman.
I didn’t know whether to feel elated or despondent as I read the names. Carol Kroner was my father’s only sibling. Naomi Hillman married my father in 1945 and gave birth to me a decade later.
Since my teen-aged years, I have been active in the media, starting with my hometown weekly newspaper before ultimately spending nearly 35 years in Champaign as a News-Gazette sportswriter.
For the past four years, I’ve been fortunate to continue my musings on an assortment of topics for the Mahomet Daily.
I would have given anything to have known about my family’s background, albeit on a smaller scale, with the printed word. What discussions we could have had if the opportunity had presented itself while they were still living.
Am I to blame? Was I so disinterested as a child that I simply failed to ask the question to my parents and relatives, “Were you ever interested in writing when you were in school?”
Were they to blame? Did they want me to make my way in the world without the pressure of following any passions they might have had in their youth?
All I have are questions. No answers, not today nor tomorrow.
As for the 1945 yearbook, it was splendid in terms of documenting the complete history of the school year.
If there were any details which were overlooked or omitted, they are not obvious.
We know, by studying the class pictures, that there were 72 students in the high school. They were taught by seven teachers with an eighth adult, Massanari – the principal – handling band and American History.
My fellow Class of ’73 graduates might find it interesting that one of the faculty members in 1945 (Isabel Swan, home economics and general science) was still teaching in the district 28 years later.
For every student who graduated in 1945, there’s a listing of activities throughout their high school years.
I’m virtually certain the yearbook editors were not going for humor when they abbreviated Student Council as Stud. Council, but nonetheless, the notation provided a reason to smile.
We know that 39 of the students were in band during the 1944-45 school year because the complete group was listed by the instruments they played. At least one of them was considered outstanding by her peers.
The comment under senior Alma Mohr’s name read, “’Tis a rare soul that plays a cornet so well.”
We find a complete recap for the sports teams. Scores and individual statistics are listed as well as some lineups.
We also know that there were a total of two cheerleaders that year.
The sports focus wasn’t entirely on interscholastic competition, but intramurals were also featured.
Some of the information that can be gleaned is the repeat winner of the school ping pong tournament (Virginia Deener) and the school record-holder for rope jumping without a miss (524 times by Lois Smith, who eventually became my mother-in-law).
Not interested in sports?
There’s a page devoted to the Future Farmers of America, with all 15 members listed. We know who the 25 members of the Home Ec Club were and the activities they were involved with during the year.
All 10 people who had parts in the senior class play were mentioned as were the 12 who had parts in the junior class play.
On the page devoted to the Student Council, we learn that “this marked the third year that the Student Council participated in the administration of the school.”
The article gives a few examples, including, “Norman Brown and Lois Smith helped to choose educational films which were shown to the student body throughout the year.”
Another section documented records of the academic variety.
Four students were recognized for typing 10 minutes or longer with no mistakes: Ruth Crowley, Marilee Dean, Estal Hillman and Peggy Shell.
Ruth Crowley was pictured for having perfect attendance for the third consecutive year.
Three students earned straight A’s for both semesters: Frances Bird, Wylma Kelley and Lois Smith.
The 88-page paperback volume was literally jam-packed with information along with a few anecdotes and a calendar that noted memorable days from each month.
I’m sure it was a keepsake for those students who were enrolled at the time and it’s a treasure decades later for those who want to gain insight to what was happening at the local high school during WWII. (Three seniors left school early in 1945 to join the Navy, Robert Elkins, Kenneth Hazen and Charles Lindsey.)
The 1973 yearbook includes an index, which was missing from the other annuals I studied. When looking for a particular student, it’s much easier when an index can be consulted. The table of contents upfront is also a valuable resource.
The 1973 book has 190 pages and more “snapshots” of school life at various moments of the year. The senior class that year consisted of 93 graduates, which at that time was the largest in M-S history.
Thanks to keeping my graduation program with my yearbook, as I reviewed all the contents, I learned that four of my classmates were actually known by their middle names. I had no idea.
It’s fun to review and to reflect.
I just wish there was someone around to answer the many questions which arise.
