Smith-Cotton High School was designed by local architect Thomas Bast and the William Ittner Company. When it was built in 1925, it cost $450,000.
The building’s large cafeteria served as a meeting place for several local organizations, including the Sedalia Council of Parent Teacher Associations.
A local PTA’s purpose is to involve parents, teachers, and school administrators in improving the ways the individual school functions. Its purpose on a national level is to work to improve all schools, often by encouraging legislation that would improve schools.
For example, the national PTA helped push for laws that eliminated child labor, thus freeing children to attend school. In more recent times, the national PTA has encouraged the establishment of the Federal lunch program.
They also advocated that kindergartens be part of the public school system, rather than private institutions attended only by children whose parents could afford to pay tuition.
Today on both a national and local level, the PTA works to insure “safe, equitable, and inclusive practices in schools.”
Local PTAs have worked to create better playgrounds for elementary schools and have purchased ceiling fans for buildings.
At 1:30 p.m. on May 4, 1955, the Sedalia Council of PTAs held its annual luncheon. Mrs. M.H. Green installed the new officers: Mrs. Howard Gwin, president; Mrs. Bob Kahrs, vice-president; Mrs. S. F. Swearingin, secretary; Mrs. John Owen, treasurer; and Mrs. John Kinney, historian.
Mrs. Green stated it was necessary that the PTAs of the various schools cooperate to achieve their goals.
After the officers were installed, Mrs. George Chamberlain gave a devotion on “Mother Love.”
For the third time, Washington School won a plaque for having the largest number of members present at the council meetings.
Each school made a yearly scrapbook. The blue ribbon for the best scrapbook went to Horace Mann School, whose scrapbook, made by Mrs. Carl Barr, was “exceptionally beautiful.”
The red ribbon for second place went to Jefferson School, and the white ribbon for third place went to Washington School.
The outgoing presidents for the PTAs at Smith-Cotton, Broadway, Horace Mann, Hubbard, Jefferson, Mark Twain, Washington, and Whittier Schools introduced their incoming presidents, who introduced their officers for the coming year.
Mrs. Gwin introduced the council members and chairmen and appointed Mrs. Oliver Thomas and Mrs. Sam Knapp to the auditing committee.
She announced a “School of Instructions” for new officers would start at 2.p.m. on Friday at First Baptist Church.
Mrs. John Murrell, school nurse, thanked the mothers who volunteered at the polio vaccination clinic. She said the next clinic would be on May 12 and hoped mothers would volunteer to help.
A sextet of Smith-Cotton students—Jane Ragar, Cay Carrel, Sandra Baker, Elinor Van Dyke, Cio Greer, and Linda Bradley—sang.
Guests were introduced. They included Superintendent of Schools Heber Hunt, Forest Drake and Pinkney Miller, principals of Smith-Cotton High, and the other school principals—Miss Bessie Perkins, Washington; Miss Catherine Garman, Whittier; George Thompson, Jefferson; P. A. Sillers, Horace Mann; Jack Delp, Mark Twain; and Paul Killion, acting principal of Broadway School.
The group discussed creating Parent Education groups that would meet once a month to help the council get the best speakers for its meetings. The group decided that the Parent Education chairman of each school would decide what that school would do.
Mrs. L. F. Sheridan, the new president of the Smith-Cotton PTA gave Mrs.Gwin a bar for her pin signifying a year of service.
Mrs. Gwin closed the meeting by encouraging the member PTA groups to cooperate and be good leaders.
From the Democrat report of this meeting we can learn two things relevant in 1955. One was important and one was interesting.
First and very important was that polio was a dreaded disease, but that a vaccine had been developed that would prevent the disease and that local schools were arranging clinics so the children could be vaccinated.
Second and interesting is that married women did not have first names. They apparently lost their own names when they were married and used their husband’s names instead.
Next week’s column will detail a 1908 train wreck.
Rhonda Chalfant is active in the Sedalia/Pettis County chapter of NAACP and the Pettis County Historical Society.
