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Brief History of Cartwright High School Prior to 1922 students from Cartwright Township, who had finished elementary school and wanted to attend high school, had two choices. They could at- tend either a high school in Port Perry or Bowmanville and it was at their own expense. The start of a secondary edu- cation began in September that year when two classes were set up in the Blackstock Town Hall. Although this advance seemed to satisfy some, there were many who wanted a permanent high school in the community. Almost two years later, in July 1924, a vote was held, and by a slim margin of 45 ‘for’ and 42 ‘against’ a decision was made to construct a school. George McLaughlin was given a contract in 1925 to construct a school with two classrooms, a teacher’s room and basement. Thirteen years later, in 1938, local builder George Crawford added two classrooms, a shop, home economics room, office and library. The basement was also remodelled for washrooms. At that time it became a ‘Grade A’ Continuation School. In 1950 it became a high school with four regular teach- ers. In June of 1954 Mr. R.P. Allin, much beloved teacher and principal retired after 20 years in Cartwright. Gordon Paisley was appointed principal and held the position for 31 years. He retired in May 1984. In 1974, Cartwright High School came under the umbrella of the Durham Board of Educa- tion, after the Region of Durham was formed, incorporating Cart- wright into Scugog Township. Files from Cartwright Revisited 1983 Sesquicentennial by Doreen M. Van Camp 16 FOCUS - JANUARY 2013 O1.JANUARY. FINAL REVISED.indd 16 Cartwright High School, in Blackstock, was opened in the fall of 1925 as a school with two classrooms, a teacher’s room and basement. 40 YEAR FIGHT Cartwright has been fighting closure of their high school for four decades For the community of Blackstock, in the former Township of Cartwright, threats to close their beloved Cartwright High School are nothing new. In fact, the first rumblings that the school was on borrowed time came more than 40 years ago. “Cartwright High School will be closed by June 1973, and there is a pos- sibility it may be closed at the end of the present school year”, was the report published in an article in a February 2, 1972 edition of The Port Perry Star. That announcement was made at a meeting of the Northumberland- Durham County Board of Education, at the recreation centre in Blackstock, where more than 200 people crammed the hall to hear the news. Then director Frank Thorn, told the meeting that the Board of Education seriously questioned the future of the school. “It is not in condition to keep pace with the way educational trends are moving today,” he said. Sound familiar? Aletter to the editor of The Star, signed by 33 students of CHS, protested the possible closure and urged parents and the community to band together to stop any action aimed at closing their high school. This was the community’s first victory, but time and time again over the past four decades the subject of the closure of CHS has been discussed. In April 1974 a delegation of 25 residents from the Blackstock area met with the Durham Board of Education, convincing them to keep the school open. 121247 8:38AM