by Antonia Mazzilli
For this issue of the Harwood Underground we decided that our focus would be Harwood itself. Harwood now has many dedicated students and teachers who make up the Harwood community.
History is something that has always interested me but I never really thought about Harwood’s history until now.
Harwood is a union high school meaning that it is used by people from multiple towns and places, and it was named after a notable Dr. Charles Harwood. Dr. Harwood was a well-known local physician who witnessed the births of many of Harwood’s original students. The school board had voted to name the school in Dr. Harwood's honor and their choice was approved by the State Board of Education in June in the early 1960s.
On September 29, 1961 it was decided that a union school was not needed at the time and instead a new elementary school was suggested. The new building was supposed to be built behind the Waterbury library and would consist of eight classrooms and a multi-purpose room. But when a bond was suggested to the Waterbury area they refused and the elementary school was never built. In october of 1963 “Plan A” was set in place, “Plan A” recommended that the current Waterbury high school would be renovated and the gym would be replaced with classrooms. After this they would build a new cafeteria and gym behind the school. “Plan A” passed with a vote of 510 to 441.
Soon after the vote was passed, a group of people from Waterbury started a petition to revoke “Plan A.” The group brought this up during a town meeting when the vote was rescinded to a 463 to 353 majority. It was obvious that many of the towns-people had misgivings about the renovations to the high school. Several other plans were suggested but they were all refused. Shortly after this there was a committee formed to specifically consider a union school with nearby towns and the Harwood plan was erected.
The construction of Harwood began in 1964 and was to be built on a 20-acre plot of land. It cost about 1.6 million dollars to build and underwent renovations in 1997 to modernize it and keep it up to date. When Harwood was renovated a middle school wing was added so that more students could learn there. Another one of the renovations that Harwood underwent at this time was adding the curving white roof over the front door; this was put in place to give the illusion of a turning book page.
Harwood’s faculty members were chosen in early spring of 1966 and their names were shown at an annual meeting on may 10th. By August all the teachers were ready to participate in meetings and were prepared to meet students. The school was supposed to open in early September of that year but because of the railroad strike in Canada the school’s opening was postponed by six days from September 6th to September 12th. The rail strike in Canada prevented school furniture from arriving. Although most of the school furniture had arrived by this time, the library furniture didn’t arrive until January and instead the library was used for band rehearsals, PE classes, and more.
In 2011-2012 Harwood began its composting program for its student body in hopes to help the environment.
Unfortunately, though there are dark spots to every piece of history, Harwood is no different. In October of 2016 students passed away in a head-on car collision which created the slogan “Harwood strong.” The Harwood community never forgets any part of its history and supports its students in any way they can.
Comments