Lockwood building is typical of modern school architecture

Lockwood building is typical of modern school architecture

The new Lockwood school will begin its first full year of service when 218 youngsters return to its modernistic classrooms Tuesday morning.

The kids moved in for the second half of the last school year, abandoning the old Central and Pine Hill schools and an emergency overflow set up in the Schools and Arts building at the Fairgrounds. This fall they will find a number of major Improvements.

The sea of mud has been replaced by extensive areas of black top and the first lawn plantings. New playground equipment installed this week, includes a slide, swings, “monkey climb” and bike racks.  In the library are $1,000 worth of new books. New kitchen equipment is in place, ready for Lockwood first hot lunch program. A home economics room equipped with electric ranges and sewing machines and a woodworking shop full of new power equipment, both located in the old Central School next door, will be ready for the first day of school.

Another new feature, an ice skating rink, makes Lockwood unique among the schools of this area. A large rink has been graded behind the new buildings, and will be flooded from the deep well which serves to school.

Lockwood is an ultra-modern luxury plant which resembles to other Cushing & Terrell designs in Billings - Washington and Highland.  It’s eight classrooms, gymnasiums, kitchen, library, offices and service rooms make up a sprawling L-shaped structure of brick & glass, as handsome as it is safe and practical.

And intercommunication system enables the principal to make a general announcement from his office to all the classrooms, or to communicate with an individual teacher. The system is also used to bring outstanding radio programs to the school.

Last year the ringing of the Freedom Bell in Berlin and General MacArthur's talk to congress broadcast to all the rooms, from the principal’s radio.

Each classroom has an electric clock, and special clocks in the automatic of class bells and even the heating system, which is the pride and joy of janitor Jake Rudolph. The gas fired steam boiler works up to daytime temperature in the morning, drops to the night level in the late afternoon, and automatically takes into account of weekends. Besides this, the temperature of every classroom can be controlled individually.

Classrooms are severely modern in every respect except for the traditional pictures and gadgets hung up by the teachers.

In one room ancient penmanship samples still march across the top of the chalkboards. Another has the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington, and another the Victorian hero, Sir Galahad. Voters of District 26 overwhelmingly approved a $195,000 bond issue for this building in the spring of 1950. Their vote was the natural consequence of the Carter Oil company’s  fateful decision to build its refinery in Lockwood District, which made it the third richest District in Yellowstone County, with the taxable valuation this year of $2,718,834.

Lockwood School, standing beside the old two-room Central School which it replaced, is a very good example of what new industry means to a community.

The district had needed a new school for a long time. Aside from the temporary influx of Charter construction workers and their school age children, Lockwood was changing from a rural to a suburban community. Farms were being subdivided, new homes were being built and new children were being born.

By last spring, Lockwood had a school census of 1,078 and was reclassified from a third to a second-class district.  Marvin Klampe, principal of Lockwood Elementary school became superintendent of District 26 besides. And the Board of Trustees was enlarged from three  to five members, with R. A. Wright, C. A. Farnum, F. L. Sturdevant, Major Vermandel and Ben Spencer taking the chairs at election time.

On the teaching staff this year are Margaret Macheldt, first grade; Jean Eller, second grade; Mary Beckert, third; Mabel Holly, fourth; Virginia Green, fifth; John Bowers, sixth; Edith Mondt, seventh ; and Eunice Peterson, eighth.

Klampe  who is beginning his second year as Lockwood principal, got a two-year diploma at Eastern in 1932 and a bachelor of education degree there in the spring of 1950. He has 19 graduate credits at Montana State University, where he plans to take a master's degree 1953. He taught two years at Hysham, was grade principal at Worden four years, and coached and taught mathematics at Huntley Project Junior High School in Worden eight years before taking the Lockwood job.

TOP PHOTO CAPTION

Little Red School - - the mid-century version of the “little red schoolhouse” would be unbelievable to a pupil or teacher of a generation ago. Shown above is the modernistic entrance of Lockwood Elementary School East of Billings.  Cushing & Terrell designed the building. Wallace - Koenig were general contractors. Christensen did the plumbing and heating job and Archie Howe had the wiring contract.

MIDDLE PHOTO CAPTION

Modern classroom - - The fifth grade room at Lockwood contains the school's new piano, which can be roll to the gymnasium for assemblies. At the head of the room are green chalkboards, which are generally replacing the glaring black ones in today's schools. On the right-hand wall is a cork  “bulletin board” for displays. Light ceilings and indirect lighting fixtures are standard, but rooms are individually decorated with pastel walls and colorful asphalt tile floors. Not shown in the picture are bookshelves on the left wall under the windows, Lockers in the back of the room and the drinking fountain and sink in the left rear corner.

BOTTOM PHOTO CAPTION

Latest and Best -- This corner of a Lockwood classroom contains four of the most attractive Innovations of modern school design. Each room has its own drinking fountain and wash sink. On the towel dispenser above is the motto “Clean Hands”, which isn’t hard to live up to in such a school. At left is an open locker for used by two pupils, showing ample bookshelves and built-in clothes hangers. Lockers are ventilated by a special blower system, and are centrally locked. Over the conventional window shade at right is a black shade, provided for every classroom window. By means of these extra shades the room can be darkened for movies and slides, increasingly used in modern teaching methods. Desktops in foreground show the 10 and 20-degree adjustments which hold books at the desired angle for reading.