Page:Brunswick 100 Years of Memories.pdf/85

From Brunswick MD History
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has not been proofread

to crumble. BHS - 1913-1928 became a memory.

as the Greenfield house just off Second Avenue. It is easily recognized by its square shape and "A"gabled roof, with four chimneys at the center of the roof. The professor owned much property during his lifetime, most of it being in the Frederick area near Possumtown Pike. He and his wife were both killed in the "twister" of 1929. In recent times the seminary building was entirely gutted and rebuilt into a duplex house. On the 1896 Directory of Brunswick, Professor J. J. Shenk is described as "the popular, talented, and cultured Principal - Brunswick Seminary." His picture projects a slender, serious-looking, heavily mustached man with high forehead and wavy hair. The advertisement on the same directory, a 22" by 26" single-sheet flier, states that the school was established in 1890 and accepts both male and female. A housewid th banner on the building proclaims BRUNSWICK SEMINARY, yet all references heard around town refer to "Shenk's Seminary." The principal's name is followed by A.M. (Master of Arts), while his wife's name, "Mrs J. J. Shenk," has no attribution of academic degree. She is listed as music teacher. They are "assisted by an able Faculty." "TUITION AND BOARD AT REASONABLE RATES" is also proclaimed. The facility is described as "A progressive Preparatory School for college and the active affairs of life. The Session consists of Nine calendar months, beginning September 1 and closing May 31. The courses of study include Primary, Intermediate, and Academic Departments. Vocal and Instrumental Music a Specialty." In June 1901 (Editor Ed) Shafer praised Professor J. J. Shenk for the "good work in the cause of higher education in this town." Professor Shenk had decided to move farther down town. During the next two months a new "Brunswick Seminary" was to be erected by Shenk in the heart of town at First Street and First A venue where St. Francis Catholic Church now stands. A September 27 article showed the Shenk's Seminary opening with the greatest attendance in history; maybe the closer-in location was responsible. Within two weeks more room was necessary, and he planned to build another addition. (The late L.B. Darr, who attended Shenk's Seminary, stated that no more rooms were added.) Carolyn Compton moved to Brunswick in 1894 and studied a term at Shenk' s Seminary, then transferred to East End School. One person recalled when the Shenk' s building was empty during 1913-14. Children of the neighborhood used to explore it and play around it.

A NEW HIGH SCHOOL

At the time of planning for a new school, the town of Brunswick held rights to Scheer Stajium, where the adjacent farm provided adequate acreage for a school and necessary grounds. After years of requesting and planning, the citizens of Brunswick had a state-of-the-art school that their children entered in the fall of 1965. · Twenty years later, visitors are struck by a plant that retains its fresh appearance, a tribute to the care, devotion, and sense of responsibility of the staff, the custodians, and the students. If past is prologue, half a century from now another local editor will stir the citizenry, as Mr. Shafer did, to seek the best for its children, and that first tenacious editor and Mr. Wright, the "Father of BHS" will continue to rest in the knowledge that the school's patrons place their students' welfare high on their list of priorities. W-MMM

ELEMENTARY EDUCATIONPRIVATE SCHOOLS In addition to the public schools, educational opportunities were offered by some private schools. Emma Jordan operated a private school in the Pumphrey House on South Maple Avenue according to the Maryland State Gazetteer of 1909-10-11. This was a kindergarten in the latter 1920's. In 1901, the Catholic parish opened a parochial school on East "B" Street, behind the present St. Francis' Church, which school, operated by Ursuline nuns, offered grades one through eight. Mr. William Schnauffer, with his wife, Mary West, opened a private school at Grace Episcopal Church on"A" Street in 1905 to relieve the crowded condition of the local public school. Shenk's Seminary was another local private school. It is the subject of a separate article in this chapter. W - WHH

SHENK'S SEMINARY" Shenk's Seminary on "Brick Yard Hill" was a private school founded and operated by Professor and Mrs. JohnJ. Shenk in 1890. Today this is known

86