ETHS founding fathers

ETHS founding fathers

“Go to Bacon.”

Francis L. Bacon, first superintendent of ETHS, would be offended if he knew the current connotations of his name.

ETHS was founded in 1883, with H. L. Boltwood as the first principal. The original ETHS had 4 teachers and only 107 students. ETHS is known for its large student population, so many students can’t believe that ETHS was ever that small.

“I really like going to a big school because I have many opportunities to meet new people and I have a better chance to have real life experiences,” says sophomore Olivia Kaminski.

In 1906, Wilfred F. Beardsley became principal after Boltwood died. You can thank Beardsley for introducing summer school and gym classes. Beardsley also pushed for the school to be moved to its current location at Church and Dodge. The current building was inaugurated in 1924, but still had only 1,600 students, much less than the close to 3,000 students that we have today. Beardsley was such a prominent figure in the school’s history that he has a gym and a whole wing of the school named after him.

“My favorite place at ETHS is probably Beardsley Gym because it holds a lot of sentimental value to me,” says Sam Maltezos, senior. “It is where I perform for PomKits and at pep-rallies.”

In 1928, Francis L. Bacon became the first superintendent of ETHS. While Bacon was in charge, he added a field house, a greenhouse, some football stands, and more gyms to the school. Bacon added many different courses to the ETHS curriculum. Students could take home-nursing, navigation, and even gunnery courses.

In 1948, Lloyd S. Michael became the superintendent of ETHS. Michael introduced advanced-placement courses and other programs for gifted students to the school’s curriculum. Michael was responsible for major additions to ETHS, including a new library, auditorium, music facilities, and a pool.

“One of my favorite places in ETHS is the Michael Research Center,” says Carl Klamm, junior. “I like it because Ms.Figel is there and I can get my work done… sometimes.”

Michael was also in-charge when the school underwent a huge expansion project that created the building structure that exists today: 4 wings all connected by the H-Hall. The wings were named after the first 4 principals (Boltwood, Beardsley, Bacon, and Michael), and the expansion cost more than $14 million to complete. The school was large enough that it needed a school district all to itself.

“ETHS is a unique one-district high school. Those are rare in urban and suburban areas,” says Dr. Hill, AP U.S. History teacher.

Without the founding fathers, ETHS wouldn’t be the one-of-a-kind school that it is today.