Society looks back on history of Rochester schools
Some students can’t imagine attending classes without a smart phone, but a generation or two ago, when social media was just a telephone call; indoor plumbing was a luxury not available in some Rochester schools.
Much has changed in the past 200 years. This week, students start a new school year while Edyie Johnson focused on school years past.
Johnson was on hand at the Rochester Historical Society’s Aug. 21 meeting. A society member, she used facts, photographs, and memoirs to look back. The talk was a primer for the society’s 14th annual Grammar School Reunion set for September.
Johnson said the first local schools were built in 1770. Eleven districts could be found in the town’s modern-day borders. At the time, Marion and Mattapoisett had not been incorporated. In total there were 25 districts, she said.
Until 1869, town officials managed school affairs. That changed when state legislators gave control to school committees, who then wrote new rules for teachers.
Johnson read a few rules drafted in 1872 for Rochester teachers. Some were practical: “Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils,” read Johnson.
Proper behavior was a concern: “Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, integrity, and honesty,” she read.
There was no mention on how barbershops threaten personal integrity.
And back then teacher pensions were “do-it-yourself.” One rule said educators must save a “goodly sum” of earnings so “that he will not become a burden on society.”
Former Waterman School students shared stories about the lack of plumbing. The school, built in 1883, operated until the Rochester Consolidated School opened in 1954. Audience members said the outhouses were used without complaint. However, they were very cold in winter.
By 1930, Johnson said a debate began to construct a new, consolidated school. The debate lasted 22 years as residents weighed the pros and cons.
“And we think things take a long time now,” she said.
Rochester was debt free at the time, she said, and some residents wanted the town to remain that way. On the other side, parents of school-age children wanted modern facilities.
In 1952, 120 people voted for a new school at Town Meeting defeating the 30 who voted against. Rochester had 624 registered voters then.
The Rochester Consolidated School (now the Rochester Memorial School) was built in 1954 at a cost of $250,000 and housed 315 pupils, she said.
By 1990, a $7.1 million addition was built to accommodate 550 students. The 2011 renovations cost $26.5 million for 725 students.
Until 1961, Johnson said, students in 9th grade and above were bussed to Wareham, Fairhaven, or New Bedford for classes.
In the late 1950s, tri-town leaders decided a high school was needed. Old Rochester Regional opened its doors in 1961 with Johnson graduating in the first senior class.
“So in the past 200 plus years there have been many changes in Rochester and its schools. One thing has remained constant, the relationships made while attending these schools,” she said.
The Grammar School Reunion will be held Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Rochester Council on Aging. Tickets cost $20. For more information, email sash48@comcast.net or call the Council on Aging 508-763-8723.
