The Early Years of Whiting High School 

 John Kertis
July 2026

Every school has its history. On Oliver Street is a school that has a rich history of 125 years. In that time, Whiting High School provided its students with the education needed to contribute to their community. It has also helped generations of students from immigrant families, from Slovaks in the 20th century to Mexicans today, develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Whiting High has had a huge impact on the lives of Whiting students and on Whiting.  

Founded in 1898, the high school was housed in an existing building that was already in use for elementary school students. It was small, two-stories tall, but with only eight high school students in its first year not much space was needed. There were four juniors, three sophomores, and one freshman in the first high school, and there were three teachers.

The building had one large room on the first floor used for assemblies, as well as for the seventh and eighth grade classes. Inside, the room had bookcases and a reading table, set off in a small area, for students to study. Later, books, periodicals, and a piano were added. On the second floor, there were eight small recitation rooms, one for each grade from first to eighth. 

To graduate, the high school students had to earn thirty-two credits to complete the four-year course. But, since there were no seniors, there were no graduates in the first year of school.

During that time, the School Board of Trustees received a petition requesting a kindergarten building. The Standard Oil Company owned a sixty-foot frontage on Oliver Street. Once an agreement was reached with the company, construction of the kindergarten began there.

The building was two stories tall, twenty-eight by forty-five feet. After some debate about funding, and salaries for the teachers, a teaching staff was hired for the kindergarten: Ms. Marguerite Ascher, teacher, and Ms. Minnie L. Bloomhoff, kindergarten assistant. Inside, the kindergarten building was described having “Large, airy rooms, and they were properly ventilated, unlike the high school.”  

That left one question for the School Board: “Should a new high school building be built?” The building was just nine years old, yet many felt renovation was needed because the work environment wasn’t beneficial for the students. The School Board decided that an impartial assessment needed to be made of the existing building to properly judge the condition of the high school’s classrooms.  

In March 1900, the School Board of Trustees found that person. The Board asked Cecil Ingham, editor of the Whiting Sun, to visit the school and then tell them about his impressions about the building. He wrote that the classrooms “were poorly ventilated,” walls and ceilings were discolored by smoke and gas” and “a large amount of plaster had fallen from the assembly hall.” In other words, for the older and more numerous high school students attending, the high school rooms were far too small and decayed compared to the kindergarten classrooms. After reading the article about their school’s conditions, the School Board decided that a new high school should be built where the original stood, so the students and staff could have a comfortable and adequate place to learn and study.  

In September 1910, the new high school opened, with the first graduates from that building being the Class of 1911. The next several years, graduating classes increased and many new plans for the students were created. 

In 1913, The Reflector, the high school yearbook, was published for the first time. Another publication was Whiting High’s school newspaper, The Tattler, which began in 1921, when the school’s print shop was built. Both publications still entertain, as well as provide memories for the students.   

Sports, like swimming, basketball, and football, were brought to Whiting High and the teams had much success. Football was such a favorite at Whiting that, in 1934, a stadium was built on the Lakefront. In 1951, the Whiting High Memorial Gymnasium was built to honor the school’s alumni who lost their lives in World War I and II. The school also initiated a Special Education Class for those who have intellectual disabilities, with enrollment consisting of eight students from ages five to fifteen. The remedial teaching techniques included identification methods, diagnosis, and therapy.  

Despite every challenge the school had been through, it has always had a revolutionary effect on the lives of Whiting students and their environment. Students and staff alike have made this school a more comfortable place to learn and develop their knowledge on the topics they love to learn the most. Thanks to Whiting High School, Whiting students gain the knowledge needed to live more productive lives in Whiting as well as the rest of the world.