Remembering End of the School Year in Callaway

As we celebrate commencements in Callaway County, we reflect on the secondary and higher education institutions from the past and the end of the school year celebrations. Today Callaway County boasts five high schools and two colleges. In years past, Callaway was home to high schools in Auxvasse, Hereford, McCredie, and Mokane and secondary or higher education institutions of St. Mark’s Episcopal School for Boys, Fulton Female Seminary, Floral Hill and Synodical colleges.

We enjoyed researching the end-of-the-year activities held at these schools, including graduation, prom, a trip, or field day. In looking through KCHS’s collection of Hi-Life, Fulton’s school paper, some interesting facts were uncovered about these end-of-the-year events.

We found 1927 to be a good year to be a senior at Fulton High School. Activities for the last week of school started with a Junior Reception for seniors at the high school. The following day, Senior girls were guests at a special dinner hosted by Synodical College. Commencement ceremonies consisted of Baccalaureate at the Methodist Church and graduation at Pratts Theater, with the week concluding with an all-day picnic at Bellamy Springs.

The Junior Reception evolved to the Junior/Senior Banquet in 1937. No banquet was held in 1943 because it was considered unpatriotic and next to impossible to accomplish because of World War II.

Over the years, Senior Day evolved into a Senior Trip. For Fulton students, this event has varied greatly. In the 1920s, it was an all-day picnic at Bellamy Springs, in the 1950s a day trip to Lake Taneycomo, three classes in the early 1960s rode the train from St. Louis to Chicago to spend four days touring Chicago, and in the 1970s, it was a day at Six Flags.

We would love to hear about your end-of-the-school-year memories — comment below how your class celebrated graduation.

An interesting note — the first prom in Fulton High School history was held in May 1939 in the new high school gymnasium, which is the middle school today. Orvid Baker and his orchestra provided music.

Synodical College, an all-girls school, hosted the 1927 dinner for the senior girls of Fulton High School. Pictured here is Synodical College’s 1898 graduating class. They don’t look quite as happy about the end of school as students today, do they?