Bubblers were a strange lot, they went to a school that at that time (ane even now) was unlike the ones around them. When I attended in 1949 through 1961 the school had 1200 - 1500 students in 12 (and later 13) grades. The building was overcrowded for quite a few of my years there, it almost became a fact of life to be crowded. My class was 103 in first grade, 64 of us graduated. The rate of graduaiton was neither impressive or bad for its time. The class of 1961 was a larger class than the class of 1960, there was a lot of growth in the early 50's, but this slowed in later years.
The school was smaller (in graduating class) than most of the neighboring schools, but rarely had loosing seasons in sports under coach Purcell B Ecker. Its band was frequently distinguished in the early 50's under Lynn G Brenneman. Mrs. Alice Malone in the Home Economics had the distinction of having the national cherry pie baking champion, Leah Witmer come from her class in 1953. In succeeding years the school several district and state champions in the cherry pie and the apple dessert contests. My older sisters June (Showers/54) and Joan (McNew/55) were among these winners.
There were many long term teachers there, Doc (Craig) S. White in Physics and Chemistry, Miss Lewis and Carl Guerrierro in Math, Miss Sally Briner in Social Studies and Mr. Rhodes in Earth Science, Mr William Hartman in Shop, Mr Robert Whitecomb in Bio and driver training. Some shorter term ones remain in memory because they made an impact, Mrs. Love, Merris, Birch, and Shetter are among the list. I would like to hear from anyone who is aware of the whereabouts of any of these people.
South Middletown Township Consolidated SchoolI don't know when the South Middletown Twp. Consolidated School (SMTCS) came into being, but I do know that my dad, Ralph R. Brandt started his schooling in a one room school along route 94, about a mile north of Mt. Victory Church on the corner of 94 and what is still called school road. He would have started there in the 1918/19 school year. He would have graduated in the spring of 1930 but quit school late in his senior year because of the family finances. I know that during his time in school, the SMTCS was built, I somehow remember the year on the cornerstone being 1928. I believe this building was build in two sections, the eastern end first in 1928, then the western portion possibly ten years later. It was at least ten years old in 1949.
The original building consisted of only about 30 classrooms including labs, and band/music room. The "auditorium" was located over the gymnasium near the southeast end of the school but the audience portion of it consisted of several "classrooms" that could be divided by folding doors. The stage also doubled at times as a small classroom. The cafeteria had food service space only, elementary school students returned to their classrooms to eat, the high school students ate on tables that were set up in the halls during the lunch time. The senior high school students were allowed to go to the "combo" across the street to eat as this helped alleviate the space shortage. I am not sure of the location of the library at this time. My sister, Joan Brandt McNew, 1955) and I were discussing this one evening recently and I asked if the library was behind the stage. That has been affirmed. In addition, she confirmed that the stage was used as a classroom, Mr. Orris' math classes were frequently held there.
In 1949, when I was a first grader, this building housed grades 1-12, the kindergarten did not exist, it began two years later in 1951 -- my younger sister was in the first class to attend kindergarten. This was held for several years in the back room of the "Combo" restaurant across the street. In 1948 the school board realized that the building was inadequate and started construction of what was known as the 49 wing. It added about 12 classrooms, and a small library. My class moved during the year from a below grade level room in the old building to the 49 wing.
During these years the school had active parents groups, there was a regular 2-3 evening event held at the school called the Bazaar and Carnival. This event found each classroom in the elementary school doing some event for the parents to see, the events were less than 20 minutes and ran several times a night, so parents could see not only what their children did but what other rooms were doing. The high school did other events in the auditorium and food was sold in various areas. The money raised went for books in the library. The parents had the idea that some money could be raised for the school without raising taxes.
This practice ended some time after my year in fourth grade. During the summer a band fair was held to raise money for the band. Also, the band was a year round organization, we marched and played for firemen's fairs to provide money for uniforms and instruments. The school board did provide support but generally this was limited to space and the director.
By 1954 there was need for expansion again and a building was added that provided for a full library, adequate shops, better labs, a good music room, (the old band room became the Physics and Chemistry Lab, the risers were removed from about 3/4 of the room for the lab, the lecture seating was on the remaining risers at the one end of the room, a really good idea.) The new building had a new gymnasium, albeit the space was also the auditorium with a stage at one end and moveable basketball nets. With the opening of the 54 wing, the old auditorium was renovated and became the kindergarten. The old sunken gymnasium was filled in and became a multi-purpose room, this would only last till a space crunch in 1959 caused it to be partitioned off into 4 classrooms. I took driver education in a room created by one quarter of this room. The old cafeteria became a couple of classrooms. For the first time the students ate in the cafeteria.
My sister June Brandt (Showers) graduated in 1954. At her graduation a man (name unknown) talked about atomic energy, and discussed one of the atomic bomb tests that he had seen. Just after he finished his talk, a photographer stepped up to take a picture. I'm not sure exactly what happened here, but the flash bulb (one of the old #5's for those who know photo history) ejected upon firing and exploded on the floor. Many dived for the floor.
The old building was razed some years ago, I have no idea how much of it stands yet, I am sure the 28 and 49 wings are gone. It was solidly built and probably was a challenge to demolish. Some day I will have to go back and look, but the era of the consolidated school is gone. SMTS now have buildings scattered hither and yon, every time you go over a hill in the township, you find a school. This fragmentation has increased costs. Why do these things happen? Because School administrations help decide how to build buildings and they benefit from having more junior administrators to administrate because the more there are, the higher their salaries. And the more buildings, the more junior administrators. It is self serving at best.
The new high school is on the hill behind the old school, located in an area so rife with sink holes that it appalled me when I learned a school was being built there. Hopefully it will not someday sink into the ground.
Boiling Springs, PA
Named for the "boiling" lake on the edge of the town it is located in Pennsylvania near Carlisle. Allenberry Playhouse is also near the town.
The lake is cold (normal stream water temperature) but it appears to boil because of springs that feed it from under its bed. One area near the edge of the lake neareest to the town bubbles more profoundly than others. The water only comes up a few inches above the lake surface, it is said that in years past the water came to a height of several feet. The area was inhabited by indians, local lore tells us that the caves in the limestone area running from Boiling Springs to Carlisle to Shippensburg was so extensive and so well known to the indians that they could travel from Boiling Springs to Shippensburg without coming out of the ground. That is about 25 miles. I was a member of the Shippensburg State College grotto club in 1964/5 and spent a lot of time in caves in the area. Cleversburg Sink, Nicewander, Hershey, Coy, just to mention a few located as far west as St. Thomas. There are probably nearly a hundred of them. I know the caves, I doubt the statement that they could go from Boiling Springs to Shippensburg without coming out of the ground, but I do not doubt that the Indians could transverse so much of the distance underground that it would have been easy to travel the route without being seen.
The area is steeped in Revolutionary war history, there was an iron works there about the time of the revolution. The Egge cemetary on the hill just out of town (toward Allenberry) dates to the revolutionary war.
Iron was dug there (as well as smelted) during the revolution, but in the 40's during World War II there was intense interest in a deposit of manganese in the same area. Test holes were drilled and the deposit mapped. The end of the war came before the deposit was actually tapped, I would guess that some day the deposit will become economically feasible to mine. But for now there are only a few signs of the activity. My College Geology class explored this area during 1963 and found evidences of both the iron mining and the manganese exploration.
Today an anti aircraft weapon sits near the lake, next to a clock tower that shows the names of those from this little community that gave their lives for freedom. Allenberry Playhouse is about 2 miles from town, well knowns have made appearances here -- before and after they were well known.
But the town is more than that. It has some firsts, the first dial telephone exchange in the area was sited there by United Telephone. The exchange was built when the phone company still used two letters and 5 numbers for a phone number. The letters for Boiling Springs was CL (CLinton). I have tried to come up with the year, it had to be in the mid fifties, after 1954 because the training was done in the gymnasium/auditorium of the 1954 addition. United Telephone brought a large display with a dial and noisemakers that made the "dial tone" and the "busy tone" and displayed it for the student body in small groups. What an idea, they put trainers in over half of the households in the area, with a couple of showings! How much did this save the phone company in problems? I can only guess but when they brought on Mt. Holly Springs (Exchange name HUnter) about three years later they did it again and my sister and I were the trainers on the use of the dial phone in our house.
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