Grant High School was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression. Students came from Fox Lake, Grayslake, Round Lake, Ingleside, Lake Villa, Grass Lake and Volo to attend class. Prior to 1930, students would have to go to Libertyville or Antioch for high school. The school opened with a capacity of 250 students with 110 students enrolling.
Below is an aerial view slideshow of Grant through the years.
Front view of Grant High School 1938
In 1941, a shop wing was added, and in 1949, a north wing was added. By 1953, there were 570 students enrolled at Grant which had to have double shifts to accommodate this many students. A bond was issued to add an additional 24 rooms and remodel the old structure. In 1956 the new wing opened at Grant. The first section in use was the library, followed by the home making department, music and science department. The library opened with a three step descent below the main hall to the reading room. The reading room had a seating capacity of fifty. The check-out desk was located near the entrance.
In 1957, Grant’s curriculum offered students seven different options: 1) College Prep, 2) Fine Arts, 3) Industrial Arts, 4) Household Arts, 5) Physical Education, 6) Business Education 7) General Education
In 1958, the second floor was completed, giving the school expanded business and art departments. Grant has added many additions on since it has opened. The original enrollment of 110 in 1930 increased to 1,152 by 1982 and 1,796 in 2018.
Below is the floor plan of the first floor at Grant High School in 1972
Below are a few of the first graduating classes of Grant. The first yearbook came out in 1938 that showed all the previous graduating classes. This time was during the Great Depression. Money was scarce and many children had to leave school before they turned sixteen in order to help support their family. Many went to school hungry. There were major budget cutbacks for schools. My grandmother was a teacher in Chicago where for many months they did not pay the teachers, and when they finally started paying, it was in scrip. The teachers could take these paper IOUs to The Fair Store, where they were accepted at a discounted rate. The Fair Store was ownd by Ernst J. Lehmann and you can read more on Lehmann on the History of Lake County tab.
The Bulldog Bark is a school newspaper that was typically printed out bi-weekly but some years was printed out weekly. The latest sports scores, editorials and fillers would be published every two weeks. Below are a few articles from the 70's and one page front page from 1951. The Bark is now out digitally at the following link :Bulldog Bark
I have always considered The Bark as a reliable source of information when I was in school. The paper may not have built a reputation for scrupulous accuracy as seen below when they state a student is going to medical school at Market University, when I am sure they meant Marquette University. In any event, at least at that time, it seemed the news tried to be truthful.
Grant did really well in sports in the 70’s with their 75 football team going undefeated in their conference and meeting up with Zion Benton for the state 4A playoffs. In 1976, the basketball team played in the Class AA sectional basketball tournament in Rockford.
Back in the good old days, homecoming began with a bonfire to welcome back all the alumni.
My favorite donkey basketball game involve the Chicago Cubs. I do not remember if they played at Grant or Gavin, but I do remember Bruce Sutter taking half court shots.
There are many clubs at Grant and many more that have come and gone. To name a few, there was the International Club to help promote cultural awareness, there was the Science Club with field trips in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, the Math Club for the love of math, the Hobby Club with shop teachers to guide individual hobbies, the Library Club to study library practices, the Press Club to publish the Bulldog Bark newspaper and the Latin Club that had varied activities such as watching educational and entertaining movies such as “Quo Vadis”.
I enjoyed working at Great America, as did so many other students from Grant. My first one hundred hours were at the high wage of $3 an hour, which then went up to $3.35 after that. Tickets to get in the park were priced at $7.95, or if you were in a student group of 25, it was only $5.95. Working there, you never had to pay to get in the park.
The choices we make in our youth are those that most often define us. Finis origine pendet- The end depends upon the beginning. Grant High School helped to determine my future and put me in a position to succeed. I thought all of my teachers were very capable who inspired me to study and learn, but six of my favorites at Grant were Mr. Seiler, Mr. Spasojevich, Mr. Smith, Mr. Baron, Mr. Atkins and Mr. Garlanger. Their influence on me has lasted a lifetime for they truly knew how to educate, entertain and motivate. With their encouragement, I developed a strong interest and curosity in learning
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