By Michael Perna Jr., Contributing Writer
Photo/Michael Perna Jr.
Shrewsbury – In sharp contrast to today’s schools in town, the 1919 Shrewsbury Grammar School graduation consisted of exactly SEVEN students – five young ladies and two young men! The graduation ceremony itself was quite elaborate, considering the small number of students, which probably tells us something about the importance given to the event at the time. Conducted on June 6 of that year, the graduation exercises were held in the Town Hall, with the class motto being “More Beyond”. A play was held first, entitled “A Pageant of the War – To Arms for Liberty,” which, considering the date, was ironic seeing that the “Great War” was only a few years in the future. The play included far more participants than the graduation itself, with 45 students taking part! This graduation is a far cry from today’s grammar school graduation activities, where literally hundreds of students move on from the town’s four grammar schools to middle school.
