This is the first of the yearbooks for Newton High School. There were 141 students graduating that year according to the yearbook. Some interesting facts:
- Many of the students have surnames that Newton schools and streets are named after such as Butts, Fessenden, Greenwood, Judkins, Wheeler, Washburn, Mason, Merrill, Randlett, Shute, Wheeler and Weeks. Would be interesting to know if these are members of the founding families.
- There was only one African American student in the class – Lloyd Francis Marshall. Although I could not find his home address, he was born in Newton in 1890. He went on to become a Dentist in Worcester.
- Interesting to see the change in Fashion from 1910 – 1920. In these photos, all the women had very long hair, piled up in an updo. Fast forward to 1920 and most have short hair.
- Since I had to look them up in the Census to find their home addresses, I figured I also put their father’s occupation on the record so you can see what kind of jobs Newton parents had then.
- Many of the students were older when they graduated. 23 of them were 20 years old. 2 were 21. 1 was 23! I wonder if it was because they started later or had to take time off to help their families?
- Two students lived at 1136 Center St and one lived at 144 Hancock. These were both boarding houses for students who parents were away. 144 Hancock in particular was for the children of Missionaries. At least 3 students in this class had parents who were missionaries.
- A lot of the students did not have a picture with their entry because they did not get the picture submitted in time. I imagine it was a lot harder to get your picture taken back then.