Blair History Old Blair
Login
Our Blair Alumni
| Views of Old Blair |
 |
 |
 |
| Saturday, 03 May 2008 19:40 | |
|
The above image was taken from the front of the 1953 Silverlogue THE EARLY DAYS ON WAYNE AVE. In March of 1935 the newly built Montgomery Blair High School opened, but since the new school consisted of only one building (the future “C” Building of the completed school) and was still in the process of being completed, some of the students and teachers continued to commute between the old and new schools. During this transition period, students, faculty and administrators started creating some of the new traditions that would be the foundation for the new school. One of those traditions was already underway several years before the move – the annual school yearbook, Silverlogue. One thing they didn't have was a name. Montgomery Blair While the students were allowed to select three final choices for the school name, the Board of Education made the final selection. They chose Montgomery Blair, because the Blair family had been prominent in the area for nearly 100 years. Montgomery Blair was a lawyer who was appointed as the first solicitor for the U.S. Court of Claims in the 1850's. He lost his post because of his anti-slavery views, but was later appointed Postmaster General by Abraham Lincoln. His father, Francis Preston Blair, was an intimate of President Andrew Jackson, and is the person credited with discovering the "silver spring" for which the area is named. The first students at Blair attended classes in what would later become "C" Building in the expanded school. The first cafeteria was in the attic of the building (as one early graduate said, "if you weren't hungry before climbing the stairs, you were by the time you got there"). B Building was added in 1940, followed by D Building in 1942. The first football team was fielded in 1944, and the War Memorial Stadium opened in 1947. When the Boys Gym/Fieldhouse opened in 1954, Blair possessed the finest football and basketball facitlties in the county. The first class to graduate was the Class of 1935, while the first class to spend all three years at Blair, the Class of 1937, gave Blair its school song. THE WAR YEARS World War II brought some real challenges to the school. In addition to the students who left early to join the war effort, there were hundreds who went through Blair knowing that the armed services awaited them after graduation. Many didn't come back, and a memorial to these students was established in the "Senior Corner" of the library. Perhaps the biggest impact of the war was on the teachers. With so many of them off to war, the entire school had to make adjustments. Several classes were taught by students from the University of Maryland, and there were even instances of Blair seniors teaching sophomore classes. Blair's patriotism was on display for the entire country, too, as Life magazine featured the school's Victory Corps close order drill team. Other students added to the war effort by assisting farmers in Montgomery County after school and on weekends. QuickTime is required in order to be able to view the following videos.If you do not have QuickTime , you may download a free version from the Apple Website
Old Montgomery Blair High School on Wayne AvenueParking vs PortablesSligo CreekMedia CenterCourtyardHall APorch B
|
|
| Last Updated on Saturday, 29 November 2008 15:14 |
