Mantua Grammar School Class of '31

Eighty-five years ago this week the year was drawing to a close at the Mantua School. Twenty-three of Mantua's finest youth readied themselves for 8th grade graduation, which took place June 9th at the Methodist chapel. Their names are listed below the photo.

Row 1 (l-r): Helen Geiger; Beulah Hillman; Beatrice Thurlsin; Dorothy Sharp; Edna Jones; Beverly Reese; Louise Carbone; Doris Foster. 
Row 2: Unknown; Bill DeCesari; Margaret Roy; Gertrude Pope; Tillie Mueller; Margaret ?; Bernard Gallagher. 
Row 3: Lester Bates; Henry Staubach; Unknown; Winfield Smith; Lewis Bailey; Robert Harris; James Mulvenna; Morris Haslett. 

In a way, this generation was riding the crest of an educational wave. Most already had as much formal education as their parents would ever have. But by 1931 in New Jersey, the law requiring children aged 6 through 16 (which had existed for decades) to attend school was starting to be enforced. Most of these teens would enter Pitman High School in the fall. 

An accomplishment of this type called for recognition. Below is one of the impressive diplomas handed out on that long-ago day. It belonged to Morris Raymond Haslett, the last boy on the right in the last row.

  

Morris had been born in Philadelphia in 1917, but when he was still a baby his parents Raymond and Margaret bought a home in Mantua Heights on what would later become West Elm Avenue. Neither Raymond (a house painter) nor Margaret had studied beyond 8th grade. 

Morris would go on to complete high school. He became a plumber, volunteer fireman, and served in a Coast Guard air crew during World War II. He married, raised a family, and lived a long, useful life in Mantua. He passed in 2003 and is buried in Eglington Cemetery. 

If you're interesting in learning more about the 8th grade class of '31, Mantua Township school history, or anything about our community's past, come visit the museum June 18th between 10 AM and Noon.