This side of 60
Marie Snider
Saturday, July 19, 2008
When I graduated from Lowville Free Academy in 1942, I thought it was “my school.”
And in a way it was.
I had walked the halls with my friends and had Miss Foley as my homeroom teacher for all four years.
I rode the bus every day with driver Alec Monet, who always waited for me graciously when I was late. And I began my first business venture, buying candy bars wholesale and selling them on the bus for five cents each.
I had walked down the aisle of my school’s auditorium on graduation day and received a medal from Principal Leon Davis for receiving the highest grade in the New York State Regents in Economics.
That was the only academic honor I ever won in high school. For the most part, I was a slothful student, which I credit to the fact that I entered Lowville Academy at 11 years old and graduated at 14.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed my high school years immensely. Yes, it was my school!
Now this July, Lowville Academy has celebrated its 200th anniversary. And imagine my surprise when I read on the school’s website that I was only one of 9,000 alumni.
On June 9, 1808, the New York Board of Regents signed a charter creating Lowville Academy. It was only 11 years after the town of Lowville was settled and 10 years before Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Joseph arrived in Lewis County, bought almost 27,000 acres and sailed his gondolas on a lake now called Lake Bonaparte.
For the first century of the Academy’s history, it was a private school and charged tuition. Some students from a distance (9 or 10 miles) came by train because it was faster than stagecoach.
Others stayed in the dormitories of the boarding school with strict regulations, such as: “Students shall refrain from playing cards” and “No throwing water, rubbish or anything offensive from dorm windows.”
Surprisingly, the Academy’s first class of 37 students was evenly divided between men and women - 18 men and 19 women.
In 1905, the Academy became a public school. By the time I graduated in 1942, the school was housed in its fourth structure and was called Lowville Free Academy.
The beautiful brick building I remember was dedicated in 1926 and is still used today with some additions and renovations.
Lowville Academy is one of the oldest schools in New York State and one of the best.
During the four-day celebration of the 200th anniversary, Superintendent Kenneth McAuliffe said of Lowville Academy, “It has long been a leader in the state,” citing the excellent graduation rate and the New York Regents record.
State Senator Joseph A. Griffo and Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava corroborated. And a proclamation from Governor David A. Paterson was also read.
What a wonderful event it must have been! With speeches; a parade of alumni, current faculty and staff; an ice-cream social; and, best of all, a concert by the Lowville Village Band.
The nostalgic Village Band that I remember hearing downtown on Saturday nights 60 years ago.
What memories this special anniversary brought back! I’m glad that my life story overlapped for a short time with the interesting place called Lowville Academy.
Write Marie Snider at thisside60@aol.com or visit her website at www.visit-snider.com