Weatherly Area School District - Home of the Wreckers

All information on these pages was obtained from the 125th Anniversary of Weatherly Borough Incorporation book. The 125th Anniversary committee members were: Joyce Weaver, Ruth Hinkle, Paula Thomas, Beverly Knepper, Gus Thomas, Jack Koehler, Rick Garber, Rev. Don Stump, Nancy Remaley, Rosebud Leppler, Mary Romano, and Phil Jeffries.

1822

First school in Weatherly area was erected in Packer Township near the home of Jacob Hartz along L&S turnpike. School was known as the Turnpike District. At one time three schools once stood in Packer Township with enrollment of 141 pupils.

1841

First school was opened in Black Creek in a two room log building on the site of the present monument grounds. A larger two story, four room building was built in 1855 for $1,000. A two story, eight room wood frame building was built on same site in 1869 at cost of $6,000 and became popularly known as Oak Grove Seminary. Another school was built in 1884 on the west side of town

to overcome crowded conditions at Oak Grove. Cost was $5,000 and was known as the Third Ward School. It was closed as a school in June, 1960, and the idle building was purchased by a sewing company. The Sandy Lou Mfg. Co. was using the old school building when it was completely destroyed by fire on April 2, 1981.

1901

Charles M. Schwab High School -- A surprise visit was paid to Weatherly by Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Schwab on May 5, 1901. They had not been in the community since their wedding day 18 years previous. They were given a personal tour of the community and Mr. Schwab was very pleased at the reception they gave him and his wife. He liked the town people and made a remark, "We would like to do something for the community. My wife is a native of Weatherly and I would like to remember the town that gave me such an excellent wife. You must decide what you want". A meeting was held by the local board of trade and interested citizens on May 13, 1901, and a committee composed of Frank White, M. D. Hooven and Percy E. Faust, were named to visit Schwab in New York.

Upon their return they notified the school board that Schwab wanted to give the community a new school. A site on the old school grounds on the corner of East Main, Spring and Pardee Streets was selected on June 24, 1901. A contract was awarded to Andrew Breslin of Summit Hill to build the school on September 3, 1901. The new school was a three-story brick structure, containing ten rooms, an auditorium and other class rooms.

Ground was broken on September 26, 1901. Breslin placed a large town clock in June, 1902, from the Seth-Thomas Clock Co. It was installed on top of the new building to fulfill an old promise made by David Weatherly to give the town a clock which he never carried out. Eurana Schwab fulfilled that promise. In July, 1903, the Schwab School was completed. It was 125' tall from basement to dome and a flagpole on top of the dome was 25' high. There were 106 windows and 76 doors in the building.

Never in the history of Weatherly was there such a demonstration given in honor of the new $75,000 Schwab School dedication on September 19, 1903. The Schwabs arrived at the local LVRR station in their private car. He presented Elmer Warner, President of the school board, the keys to the new school. Classes were started on September 22, 1903. The flagpole atop of the school was removed on August 29, 1911, by local contractor, F. A. Kunkle. The Mrs. C.M. Schwab School was used as a grade, junior and senior high school but by 1935, a need for more rooms to relieve over-crowding conditions was very evident. Plans were made to add a $30,000 annex to the school. Voters approved the bond issue by a 2-1 margin to build the annex with Federal Public Works Board paying 45% and Weatherly the other 55%. Ground was broken for the new annex on April 14, 1936 and completed on October 15, 1936.

1936

Weatherly High School -- Ground was broken for a new annex to the Schwab School on Spring Street on April 14, 1936, and completed on October 15, 1936. The new brick building had seven class rooms, art and music rooms, shop, and a combination auditorium-gymnasium, with playing court. It held 350 people. The gym was ready on January 8, 1937, and the first game played was against Fairview Township. Weatherly lost, 25-16. The new annex was dedicated on May 14, 1937. The total cost was $76,559, of which the U.S. government paid $33,673. The last high school game was played in the gym on February 21, 1975, against Marian Catholic. Weatherly lost, 75-60.

1952

Weatherly Area Joint School Board was organized on May 2, 1952, and was composed of the following school districts: Weatherly Borough, Packer, Lehigh and Lausanne Townships.

1955

Plans were made on March 21, 1955 to build a new elementary school. Available sited were inspected and on March 4, 1956, the school authority agreed to purchase 20 acres of ground from Lewis Knepper's farm on Sixth Street. The building project was approved on January 24, 1958 and the site purchased at $1,200 an acre on February 24, 1958. Architects Wolf & Hahn of Allentown, were awarded a contract in the amount of $26,046.13. On May 18, 1959, the joint school board authorized the Weatherly Area Joint School Authority to proceed with construction of the new school.

Ground was broken on April 4, 1960, by Frank Romano, president of the Weatherly School Board and George Whipple, president of the Weatherly Area School Authority. The new school was a one-story, brick building containing 15 rooms and included a multi-purpose room, with a stage, offices and library facilities. Cost of the School was $475,217. School opened for classes on November 7, 1960, for over 300 children from kindergarten to sixth grade. The school was dedicated on November 18, 1960.

1958

The Weatherly Area Joint School Authority was created when the six school districts of the jointure passed enabling resolutions to incorporate a municipal authority on October 21, 1958, and was made effective December 2, 1958. Nathaniel L. Kiser was elected its first chairman.

1973

Middle School -- Construction plans for a Middle School were made on March 1, 1973. The building would adjoin the elementary school on Sixth Street. Architect, Boyd C. Wagner, of Reading, and S. H. Evert, of Bloomsburg, were awarded contracts on August 8, 1973. Construction began in October, 1973, on 75,000 square feet. The structure included 17 rooms and gymnasium, with seating capacity of 1,650 to 1,850 people. The school was dedicated on September 7, 1975, and opened on September 8, for 240 students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, under the supervision of Charles Murray. Cost of the new school was $2,822,696.

1987

According to the Feasibility Study of the Schwab Senior High School dated October 19, 1987, the Weatherly Area School District was faced with two decisions: reconstruction of the Schwab Senior High School to make the building accessible to the handicapped, or build a new senior high school adjacent to the elementary/middle school.

1988

On Wednesday, August 10, 1988, the Weatherly Area school board voted 5-3 to build a new high school adjacent to the elementary/middle school. The new school will cost $4.9 million to build.

On December 2, 1988, the Weatherly School Board decided to construct a two-story high school. The Pennsylvania Department of Education objected to a previous plan, which provided for a one-story school at the complex. The projected cost of this plan was $ 5.2 million dollars. The board also voted to build an addition to the elementary school that will include six elementary classes, two middle school classes and two special education classes.

1990

April 2, 1990, Weatherly officials joined together as they broke ground for the new high school. Those in attendance were Rosebud Leppler, Peter McMonigle, Rev. Donald J. Stump, Nancy Pilecki, Clyde Blair, and John Hart. The groundbreaking ceremony actually was held on the lawn of the elementary/middle school, across the street from where the new school will be built.

1991

September 4, 1991, classes began at the new Weatherly Area High School with 184 students.