Page 10 - 1983 Wardlaw Hartridge

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ics, Karl Meyer — German, P. Alphono Perring — French, A.B. Dodge — penmanship, and Miss E.M. Martin — drawing.
In addition to their academic work, "boys should be taught while yet in school how they may intelligently perform the duties which will come to them as citizens," Leal wrote. "T o this end, instruction in Civil Government will be given to older pupils.”
The school year began at about the same time as it does for contemporary Wardlaw-Hartridge students, in mid-September. But it ran until mid-June. 40 weeks in all, with one week free at Christmas and another at Easter.
Tuition was $100 per year. German, French and drawing were $40 extra.
Early students were drawn from Plainfield. Netherwood, Evona, Elizabeth, Bound Brook, Scotch Plains, Westfield and New York City. There were also pupils from Dunellen, High Bridge, Raritan, Finderne, Bergen Point, Roselle, East Orange and Somer­ ville. One boy journeyed from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, another Havanna, Cuba.
The course of study covered six years of geography and history, English, mathematics, Latin, Greek, modern languages, science, and such "special studies" as bookkeeping and civil government.
The teaching was obviously successful, for when he was asked what school sent the best prepared graduates on to college, the president of Yale University cited Leal’s.
By 1886, Leal needed more space for his school and chose a building at 433 West Front St., coincidentally the property where The Academy had been erected in 1811.
It was also a location, at Front and New Street, on the trolley line from Netherwood, Dunellen and the railroad station.
In the beginning. Leal took boys at age 10.
The following year's directory shows that the Scribner 6 Newton private school, was located on La Grande Avenue. For any number of reasons The Miss Scribner &Miss New­ ton’s School was not advertised in The Constitutionalist until September II, 1890.
On that date the advertisement for the school was as follows:
Miss Scribner 6 Miss Newton’s
School for girls and Young Ladies 17 LaGrande Ave.
corner of Washington St. Will reopen Wednesday. September 17, 1890.
The regular course will include
Modeling, Drawing and Sewing
The school’s advertisement continued to run in the paper
until May 26. 1892. In the 1893-1894 city directory the school was at 303 La Grande Ave. (La Grande Avenue is now East Seventh Street and Washington Street is now Roosevelt Ave).
On September 15, 1897, Miss Newton married Mr. John M. Whiton, a widower with two daughters prominent in Plain- field society. The new Mrs. Whiton left the school to live on Central Avenue. As a married woman Adeline Whiton trav elled with her husband and taught Sunday School in the First Congregational Church.
For the year 1898-99 Miss Louise K. Green took over as the co-principal with Miss Scribner. Miss Scribner and Miss Green’s School admitted boys to the kindergarten and Pri­ mary Department. The Intermediate and academic depart
6
The Eighteen
Nineties
The onset of a depression brought about more revolts in which people de­ manded better working conditions, fewer working hours per day, and bet­ ter wages. Some people became violent in both their resistance and their ex­ ecution of discipline, while others re­ mained purely civil protesters.
The farmers created alliances to take the place of the Granges. They discussed tactics for obtaining better equipment and more governmental aid. As a group, they managed to ac­ quire the new equipment which mod­ ernized their work, but government aid remained a controversial issue into the next century.
Towards the end of the decade, as the nation prepared to turn the cen­ tury, the American people in general became more optimistic. President McKinley initiated the concept of ex­ pansionism, and the United States be­ gan to explore beyond the North American continent. With a new out­ look for a new century, the people also became more social. They enjoyed en­ tertainments as a release from their temporarily forgotten domestic prob­ lems, thus causing this decade to be later known as the "gay Nineties.”
(continued from page 4)
re-open at 21East Fifth Street (not Watchung Avenue), The 1886- 1887 Directory of the City of Plainfield and North Plainfield listed the school at the same location.
John Leal was born in 1849 at E. Meredith, N.Y. His grandfather had immigrated to this country from Scotland and later observ­ ers pointed to that Scottish heritage in the educator.
Leal graduated from Yale University in 1874, and devoted his entire working life to educating boys.
It was while teaching at The Pingry School in Elizabeth that Leal conceived the idea of founding his own school in Pfainfield, believing the 25 Plainfield boys who traveled to Pingry should have a school of their own.
That school, properly called "Mr. Leal’s School," opened in September, 1882, at 333 East Front St., near Sandford Avenue. There were 50 boys enrolled-
At the time, the population of Plainfield was 8.500 and the city was a rich community, often termed "a Wall Street suburb" with perhaps as many as 100 millionaires in residence.
Plainfield also had a rich tradition of education. The Plainfield School society had opened The Academy in 1811.
The first brochure for Mr. Leal's School noted that the institu­ tion was founded "to thoroughly prepare boys for College or Business."
According to an early handbook, Leal, the Principal, "is per­ suaded that boys can be fitted for and entered into any of our Colleges without conditions."
in the first three years, five-Leal graduates went on to higher education, two to Yale, two to Columbia and one to Princeton, another seven obtained "certificates of parital admission" — six to Yale, one to Columbia.
The first graduates received their diplomas in June. 1883. They were Louis K. Hyde and Howard C. Tracy. Hyde went on to be president of the City National Bank from 1906 to 1926 and the Plainfield Savings Bank from 1916 to 1945. The Hydewood section of North Plainfield — which he developed — carries his name. Tracy was a prominant attorney locally.
Within two years of founding, the Leal School boasted seven teachers and 61 boys. As well as being principal, Leal taught classics and English. He also took boarding pupils into his home.
Eugene H. Hatch, a Harvard graduate, also taught English and classics, Charles B. Willcox of Yale took science and mathemat-
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(continued on page 9)
IDays Absent
ITardy 1Deportment \[Arithmetic 1Algebra 1Geometry
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Botany Physiology
1History 1German
English Grammar
English Composition
English Literature
Spelling Penmanship