Talk:Saint Paul Central High School

I added links to our new CHS 1961 website, since Yahoo and Google seem unaware of it, despite the fact that I submitted the URL to both search engines, and included plenty of good and valid keywords. We do not have e-mail addresses for all 600+ classmates, so relying on the US Mail (expensive), handouts at reunions (we did that), e-mailed notices (we did that), and search engines, are the primary ways we have to communicate the existence of the website.

The reason for listing 2 links is that some people are unable to reach the shorter alias name (www.spchs61.org), for some unknown reason. The REAL name is accessible, but may be changed in the future.

So many people are out of the loop - despite years of sending out reunion invitations, it's pathetic. This should help. We also have some grade school pictures posted, since grade schools often generate more interest and allegiance than high schools.

Thanks!

Dave Morton --- CHS61 webmaster --- Sep 27, 2006 --- marspyrs@aol.com

I go here, so ill take a picture soon and add it to the article.

Enrollment figures
The 2201 enrollment was for the 2005-2006 schoolyear. Enrollment for 2006-2007 schoolyear not released, but we know it is less than 2150 (Harding's enrollment). --ScienceApologist 10:47, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

I added in 'aprox' in the enrollment box. While not correcting the problem, it does remove the incorrect data. Friedlad (talk) 22:10, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Yea, I was there both those years, I remember a lot of people I knew weren't there the next year. (Apart from the newly graduated seniors of course) But hey, that's always gonna happen. --Jjaapp18 (talk) 09:19, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

Snugging-up the Paragraphs
After adding more text and the first pictures (formatting polished by Uber), I added some white space to better align the text with the pictures. But now I think the article would look better if the extra white space were eliminated. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that. If someone could that, I think it would improve the appearance of the article.

Dave Morton —The preceding unsigned comment was added by MarsDEM (talk • contribs) 16:47, 24 January 2007 (UTC).
 * Yes, it's true—having (many images) with little text can make the article appear unflattering and even disorganized in some instances. To improve the appearance of how paragraphs are aligned with the photos and other paragraphs, more text is needed. ~ UBeR 18:54, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Minutemaids
As an alumnus of Central, I remember that boys from Central were the Minutemen, but the girls were known as Minutemaids. Does anyone have information about this? I'm not talking about the mascot, but rather the students. Larsroe 19:11, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

I hope this clears it up. It is about 3/4 of the way down the page. 67.40.171.203 21:50, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

I have yearbooks with pictures of the Minutemaids from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, although only one has been scanned into my computer.... They were a drill team that wore red and black outfits that included shorts and long socks, and marched with black, wooden guns. They did a good job!... marspyrs@aol.com MarsDEM 05:54, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Photo replaced and corrected
The photo previously used for the "7th and Jackson" location (Lindeke Building) was incorrect due to incorrect information supplied by an older version of the official CHS website. The photo I used had no description, but used a filename of "7jackson.jpeg". I have now confirmed that the the photo was of the old Franklin School building where CHS began on the 3rd floor - not of the 7th and Jackson building (2nd CHS). The photo on the old CHS website was also inexplicably REVERSED (a mirror image). The new photo I used is definitely not reversed as the text typed on it is readable and says "Franklin School, St. Paul.". Old photo deleted, better one uploaded, text corrected. I don't have any photos of the 2nd CHS - the Lindeke Building at 7th and Jackson.

In a previous edit, I also verified from 2 books written in the 1800s that the first teacher's name was Mrs. H.M. Haynes, and that her daughter's name (the first female pupil) was therefore probably "Haynes", not "Hayes" as stated on the old CHS website. The picture(s) and text for CHS1 and CHS2 are now correct. The I-94 freeway at spaghetti junction in downtown St. Paul runs over the property of the old Franklin School at Broadway and Tenth Streets per spps documentation and a Google map of the area.

If the first principal was known as "the Father of the high school", his name should precede the teacher's in the text. Changed the text.

Added a bit of info about Alvan Clark (famous telescope maker), who supplied the lens for Central's 1888 refractory telescope (not a mirror telescope).

Central was not renamed "Central High School" until 1888, according to a large spps PDF document on the history of St. Paul Public schools. Changed rename date from "1883" to "1888".

Also added info on the 1912 building, gathered from the original Building Permit (I have a copy), a book on the architect, and a large spps PDF history document.

The info on the stadium appears to be partially incorrect: It was built in either 1940/1941 or 1943 (depending on the source) - not shortly after 1912 as stated in an earlier version of the Wiki Central History page. Building permits show 1940-41 with the WPA as the builder - 28 years after the original building was built. There was no WPA in the 1910s or 1920s, the WPA having been established in 1935. If the placque in the stadium shows a date in the 1910s, then I stand corrected, and the stadium work in the 1940s must have been a replacement built by the WPA. Additionally, it was not called the James Griffin Stadium until 1998 - about 60 years after construction.

Note that some of the names involved in the history of CHS can be confusing: Alvan Clark's son, Alvan Graham Clark, took over his father's telescope company at some point. Additionally, Clarence H. Johnston's son, Clarence Johnston Jr. took over his father's architectural firm at some point. CH Johnston (the father) designed the Marshall/Lexington building. When searching for info, one must be careful that the correct "Johnston" or "Clark" is being referred to. This has not been a problem - it's just a note of caution and advice when researching CHS history, gleaned from personal experience.

MarsDEM 05:53, 6 May 2007 (UTC) Dave Morton —The preceding unsigned comment was added by MarsDEM (talk • contribs) 09:15, 5 May 2007 (UTC).

From the Wikipedia Manual of Style): "Images - Further information: Wikipedia: Picture tutorial Some general guidelines which should be followed in the absence of a compelling reason not to: Start the article with a right-aligned image. "

My comment: The recommendation to start images right-aligned makes sense unless it results in some confusion as to the identity of the image, or the image is more important than the text. As the FIRST Central High School, it made more sense to start the History article with its image since probably 99.9% of Central students have never seen it.

Thanks to P. Haney for fixing the citations. MarsDEM 07:48, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Notable alumni
I think Eddie Albert and Ann Sothern may have attended Minneapolis Central High School. There is conflicting information available so I'm not sure. ~ Eóin (talk) 16:25, 15 August 2008 (UTC)
 * It seems like the list of Alums is in no particular order. It seems like it would be easiest to make it alphabetical, because documenting year of graduation to sort chronologically would be difficult.--Larrybob (talk) 05:00, 3 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I think that the Minneapolis Central High School is a totally different school. The artist formerly known as Prince attended the Minneapolis school, and I don't remember hearing anything about him being known to attend ours. So I hope that helps clear things up a little. --Jjaapp18 (talk) 09:15, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

Telescope
I can't recall where I read it, but at some point I read that Central used to have an Alvan Clark & Sons Telescope. I'd like to put it back in if true. Info? Friedlad (talk) 22:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC).

True. The telescope with lenses ground by Alvan Clark was added in 1888 to the "10th and Minnesota" version of the school. MarsDEM.

central touring theater
Why no mention of central touring theater? was a big part of my highschool experience in the late 80's and early 90's (88-92) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.225.52.221 (talk) 00:42, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Current Photo?
You have three photos of the old schools, but why is the main picture not of the school as it looks now? The school symbol can be placed below in a more appropriate slot so people aren't confused. I mean, there are probably really stupid people who would believe that logo IS our school, and I can't have those poor people embarrassed. --Jjaapp18 (talk) 09:23, 24 May 2010 (UTC) (class of '07)

I haven't seen any photos of the new Central showing the ENTIRE building. A picture of a parking ramp might work, since that's pretty close to what it now resembles. MarsDEM —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.41.45.160 (talk) 00:42, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

Arts paragraph
is totally unreferenced... delete? Friedlad (talk) 19:07, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080708142147/http://choicecatalog.spps.org/All_High_Schools.html to http://choicecatalog.spps.org/All_High_Schools.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20061001234904/http://www.spps.org/sites/dd77441e-b117-423c-90a1-6fcbdcc68b6f/uploads/SPPSF.pdf to http://www.spps.org/sites/dd77441e-b117-423c-90a1-6fcbdcc68b6f/uploads/SPPSF.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080120191215/http://central.spps.org/home/history/halloffame.html to http://central.spps.org/home/history/halloffame.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20071201115502/http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1237/article12383.asp to http://citypages.com/databank/25/1237/article12383.asp
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