Tagged: schools, Shillington High School
- This topic has 10 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 months, 2 weeks ago by
Trish Ebert-Tyrone.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
May 28, 2019 at 10:35 am #2679
Alexa Freyman
KeymasterIn 1925, the new Shillington High School was constructed on East Lancaster Avenue on land that was part of the Berks County Alms House complex. An addition of twelve rooms was completed in 1930 and four more rooms were completed in 1936. The last senior class of the Shillington High School graduated in 1953, after which time the building served the newly organized Governor Mifflin School District. It served as Governor Mifflin High School until 1957 when it became Governor Mifflin Junior High School. In 1962, extensive renovations and a sizable addition were completed. The remodeled building served the community for 30 more years before it was demolished during the summer of 1992, to make way for the new Governor Mifflin Middle School. This building proudly displayed the motto, Learn To Live … Live To Learn for 67 years. The very same letters were saved and are proudly displayed today on the Governor Mifflin Middle School on the same site and nearly the same place. Source
As Shillington High School, it was notably attended by famed American author John Updike.
-
May 28, 2019 at 1:15 pm #2690
Tcjeff
ParticipantNot only did John Updike attend this school, his father taught there as well. The Updike family home, located at 117 Philadelphia Ave., backed up to the school property, separated by S. Brobst St.
-
May 28, 2019 at 7:35 pm #2691
Alexa Freyman
KeymasterInteresting! do you know what subject his father taught?
-
May 28, 2019 at 7:41 pm #2713
Alexa Freyman
Keymasteractually, I found him in the 1948 yearbook! Math
-
May 28, 2019 at 10:16 pm #2715
Tcjeff
ParticipantYes, Math. Wesley appears in a number of Updike’s works in a thinly disguised form (e.g., The Centaur). But then again, so does his mother.
BTW, there is a memoir Updike wrote called Self-Consciousness and the chapter entitled “A Soft Spring Night in Shillington” recounts an evening later in his life when Updike was visiting the town and, in his own words, walked the sidewalks of Shillington “searching for the meaning of my existence as once I had scanned those same sidewalks for lost pennies.”
He revisits some of the places which were significant to him in his early days and, on one of my returns to the area, I had fun retracing his steps around the town and trying to imagine what Shillington looked like from the time Updike was born (1932) up to 1950 when he left the area for Harvard after graduation from Shillington High School.
-
May 29, 2019 at 6:36 pm #2721
Alexa Freyman
KeymasterI haven’t read any of Mr. Updike’s work, but I live on this side of town now so maybe I should. Sounds interesting!
-
-
April 23, 2020 at 8:13 pm #3741
Alexa Freyman
Keymaster
Shillington Aerial 1953 -
April 23, 2020 at 8:15 pm #3743
Alexa Freyman
Keymaster
Shillington High School Aerial 1957 -
April 26, 2020 at 1:53 pm #3825
Tcjeff
ParticipantBottom photo labeled “Before”, does that mean top is “After”? Seems like same general time frame….?
Todd
-
April 28, 2020 at 9:57 am #3884
Alexa Freyman
KeymasterSorry I should have labeled them, the top is a 1953 aerial. The bottom is 1957, the “after” shot is of the new Gov. Mifflin High school building completed the same year. I’ll try to post that on the Gov. Mifflin thread
-
September 16, 2021 at 8:21 pm #7226
Trish Ebert-Tyrone
ParticipantMy father, Clinton C. Ebert was a 1944 graduate of Shillington High School. He passed away in 2019 and I came across his high school year book Hi-LIFE 1944, including including a copy of the commencement program from graduation on 05.29.1944 and class night program. Also a 40th reunion program from 1984. All are in great condition and I was wondering if there was any program in Reading that was taking items like this.
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.