The dedication exercises were held for this school when it opened in 1966 as a high school. The opening coincided with the city’s Golden Jubliee celebration marking fifty years as a city.
To start off, the ceremony featured some very nice opening songs by the Senior High School band under the direction of John H. Evans. Superintendent J. Henry Higgins made a nice, touching speech and led the audience in a salute to the flag by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. The school was blessed in an opening prayer by the pastor of St. Vasilios Church.
 After the people on the platform were introduced, the senior high school Glee Club performed some musical selection. The Mayor of Peabody, Edward T. Meaney, sent out greetings, which were followed by a prayer of dedication from the pastor of St. John’s Church.
Owen D. Kiernan, Ph.D., the state Commissioner of Education, made a dedicatory address on to the school.
Again, the Glee Club performed and the benediction was given by the rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom.
To end the dedication, the audience joined the Peabody Senior High School Band and Glee Club in singing the national anthem.
 
 
 
 
 
 
When was the fire in the Higgins Library? What or who caused it? What were the damages and restoration?
by Eric Maher

The fire started in the school library on a weekend in the late spring of 1976. A student of the school broke in and started the fire in a wastebasket. He tried to escape but he got locked in. Luckily, he did not die.
Architect David Anderson reported that the damage was superficial and that the building was not in structural jeopardy. The electrical system was completely ruined and the columns needed further investigation.
School officials thought that it would be economically cheaper to save the existing shell of the library than to replace the whole building. The library was boarded up for two years. Finally, the students at Peabody Vocational High School made it a project to re-do the Higgins library and it took a long time.
The final result was that the school board ordered that no locks or chains were to be installed on interior school doors. The board wanted all the doors to have an alarm and although that was approved by the board, the alarms were never installed.
Other rules were established too as a result of the fire. For instance, there would be no smoking by students or teachers. However, the Peabody Federation of Teachers filed a grievance regarding the no smoking policy, which they agreed to hold, while the fire department investigated establishing smoking areas for staff in schools.
Also, there would be no cars parked in the fire lane. If they did park there, the cars would be tagged. All fines were to be reported, even the small ones.
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX 1
 

From the Peabody Times, March 1968
 
Building Commission Reports
A Brand New High School To Ease Jr. High Crisis?
PEABODY - The $5.2 million senior high school which opened last September could become a junior high school to ease the junior high enrollment crisis facing the city over the next few years.
Another senior high school would have to be built at an estimated cost of $8.34 million to replace the present high school.
This would be cheaper than building two new junior high schools and another senior high school to meet the needs of students between 1972-73. The cost of this project is estimated at $8.71 million.
But the cheapest way out of the crisis would be convert the Seeglitz Junior High School and build a third junior high school and another senior high school. This project would cost $8.15 million.
These three suggestions are outlined in a 17-page report being made to the School Committee by the four-man Seeglitz Junior High School Building Commission.
The commission - Joseph Barbeau, Stephen Doran, James Liston and Norman St. Pierre - have spent the past 22 months on a fact-finding mission to discover the junior high school building needs in the city between 1972-73.
"It is our fondest hope that prompt action will be taken by those parties concerned so that the enrollment crisis will not arrive before we are prepared for it," said the report.
"Projecting construction progress is difficult at best, but our conservative estimate shows that any building program could not be completed and ready for occupancy before September, 1969.
"It is doubtful that even a conversion (of Seeglitz Junior High School) could be accomplished before this time, and therefore, we shall consider September 1969 as the earliest date that a significant increase in junior high classroom spaces could be achieved."
In May, the building commission was appointed and given the task of advising the School Committee about conversion of the old Peabody High School, now the Seeglitz Junior High, to a junior high.
On May 13, 1965, the request for bond orders to accomplish this conversion was received by the council but no action was taken.
Chairman of the council's finance committee then suggested a comparison of these conversion costs to the cost of building a new junior high school.
So the commission began the task of finding this comparison.
In Aug., 1965, commission members submitted a report to the School Committee showing it was more practical to build a new junior high than covert the old structure at Seeglitz.
On Sept. 21,1965, the committee voted to allow the commission to present its plan for a new junior high to the State Building Assistance Commission for approval.
 
 
 

 
 
APPENDIX 2
 

From the Peabody High School Yearbook, 1962
 
To the Class of 1962 we extend our sincere congratulations and best wishes on the attainment of a primary goal in your lives - your graduation from high school.
 
The twelve short years during which we were privileged to provide you with the basic foundation for your future endeavors are but one stage in the never ending quest for knowledge
 
As you go forth to pursue your separate ways, may you always be mindful of the devotion and sacrifices of your parents and the dedicated interest in you and your success on the part of your teachers, whose interest you may amply repay by leading lives of honor and integrity.
 
May I also extend to you the assurance that my office is always available to you for counsel and advice in whatever manner I can be of assistance to you.
 
 
J. HENRY HIGGINS
Superintendent of Schools
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX 3
 

Arthur Flanagan (1902-1968)
 
Obituary - Peabody Times, 1/17/1968
Principal Arthur Flanagan, 66
 
 PEABODY - Arthur Flanagan, 55 Gardner St., a member of the Peabody school system since 1925, died at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 16) at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, following a short illness.
 Flanagan, 66, was graduated from Salem State College and did graduate work at both Boston University and Boston College. He was elected as an eighth grade teacher and vice-principal of Wallis School in October, 1925, and from there became principal of Center School. In December 1948, he was elected principal of Thomas Carroll School and has been there since.
 He was a past president of the Peabody Teachers Association, chairman of the salary committee and a member of the superintendent's advisory committee. He was also a former (Peabody Institute) library trustee.
 School Supt. J. Henry Higgins said that Flanagan "was one of our dedicated and devoted teachers with a good understanding of youth."
 Before the school system had a youth adjustment counselor, Higgins said, troublesome pupils were placed under the guidance of Flanagan.
 "The school committee has lost a valued member who was completely dedicated to his task," Higgins said.
 Born in Peabody, son of the late Patrick and Anne (Duffy) Flanagan, he lived here all his life.
 He coached elementary school basketball and his teams received many honors He also organized the Center School Drum Corps, which participated in many parades in Boston and won many awards.
 He leaves his wide, Mrs. Sarah H. (Horgan) Flanagan; one daughter, Miss Jane E. Flanagan, a second grade teacher at the Samuel Brown School; twin sons, John A. and Arthur K. Flanagan, seniors at Peabody High School, and several nieces and nephews.
 The funeral will be from the P.M. Cahill & Sons Funeral Home, 20 Church St., Peabody, Friday at 8 a.m. followed by a High Mass of Requiem in St. Thomas the Apostle Church at 9 a.m. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Salem.
 Visiting hours will be Wednesday, 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursday, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
 
 
 
Letters to the Times, undated, newspaper clipping from his daughter, J. Pattison
Arthur Flanagan was warm, sincere, devoted, patriotic
 
Editor Peabody Times:
 After reading of the passing of Arthur J. Flanagan in your newspaper I thought of how nice it would have been for all of your readers to have known him.
 When I first met Arthur at the old Center School, I knew he was a man I liked. He was a warm and friendly man who was humble and knew humility. He proved that he was a real American in so many ways, through his participation in civic affairs and his kindness to and interest in the new citizens who came to our land. The drum corps which he organized at Center School was always led by him in all parades and patriotic observances.
 As principal, the welfare of his students was his first interest. I can still see him out in the front yard of the school in the morning, watching to see that his boys and girls crossed safely. And he would be out there in the afternoon to see they were safely off to home, regardless of the weather.
 Many a fine athlete got his star under the watchful eye and encouragement of Arthur. His basketball teams were always in contention and he gave many hours of his own time without a thought of monetary reward.
 He was a fine and devoted father, yet his family and pupils had felt his firm justice. He was devoted to the welfare of his mother until her last days.
 I hope that through knowing Arthur, I can guide my own life with some of his human qualities.
 I am sure that the beautiful memories that his family has been left by this man who was so enriched with God's blessings will help them soon forget their sorrow.
 
          Stuart Bell
          5 Pleasant St.
          Peabody
 
 
Letter to the Editor, undated, newspaper clipping from his daughter, J. Pattison
Arthur J. Flanagan
 
 Editor, Peabody Times:
 I lay in bed this night, feeling so much expression for a dear man that my whole family dearly loves. I say my prayers for his family and wish I could give them some word, or say something to console them for their loss.
 My writing this letter will hardly let anyone know or express how we felt about Arthur J. Flanagan.
 My children had him as their principal at the Carroll School. I, too, had him for a teacher when I attended Center School. He was not only a teacher, but a dear friend to all who needed a friend.
 He was always concerned with every child's problems, especially those children who had so much less than others. He let these children feel special in their own way.
 There was so much sincerity in this man, that everyone who had the privilege to know him knew he was a special gift to us. His amusing stories, and his strength when we needed it, there were so many things it would take this whole newspaper to write about him.
 It has been quite a while since I've been in school, but I will never forget this man and his kind and thoughtful ways. I will miss him very much, as so many others will. Bless his wife and children, who will be without him.
 Bless you, Mr. Flanagan, and bless your dear family. The people upstairs are awfully lucky to have you.
 I'm ending this letter feeling heartsick, but at the same time realize it was an honor and a privilege to have been one of your students and to have had my children know you.
 
Mary MacDougall
10 Mt. Vernon St.
Peabody
 
 
 
Undated, newspaper clipping from his daughter, J. Pattison
Memorial Is Planned For Flanagan
 PEABODY - The Carroll School PTA recently received permission from the School Committee to dedicate the gymnasium at Peabody High School to Arthur J. Flanagan, Carroll School principal who died in January.
 Mrs. Albert Roy, 18 Tremont St., Peabody, president of the PTA said that they area planning to commission an artist to paint a portrait of Flanagan, who had been principal of the school since 1948.
 Since funds are needed for the dedication, Mrs. Ray (sic) has asked for citywide support.
 
 
Undated, newspaper clipping from his daughter, J. Pattison
Flanagan Gym Dedicated
City Honors Its Mr. Chips
By Sherrie Somas
 PEABODY - The dedication of the High School Gymnasium [on King St. Ext., now the Higgins Middle School] in memory of the late Arthur J. Flanagan Tuesday night was not a dry long-winded eulogy to the former Carroll School principal.
 There were tributes with just the right words, there were tears with true sentiment, there were politicians not making politics, there were more than 150 friends of Arthur J. Flanagan giving just homage to the man "who made his friends by being one."
 Arthur J. Flanagan died this past January. He had been a teacher in the Peabody School System since the early 1920's and principal of the Carroll School since 1949. His wife and daughter today carry on his tradition teaching in the Farnsworth and Samuel Brown Schools.
 Those who knew him spoke of him as a man dedicated to his teachers and his students; they spoke as administrators and pupils.
 Rep. Philip J. O'Donnell said of the former principal: "He was Peabody's Mr. Chips."
 Those who read Conrad's "Goodbye Mr. Chips" know how high this tribute scaled. And as "Chips" was loved by his students, so was Arthur J. Flanagan as was evident in the unembarrassed tears shed by Suzanne Tarasuk, 14, as she sang "Climb Every Mountain."
 Introduced as girl "whose voice delighted Mr. Flanagan," the Kennedy School student gave a melodious compliment to her former principal and quietly hid her tears amidst applause from the audience.
 "He was the best principal I ever had," said the teenager, who had been a pupil at the Carroll School for six years. "He understood. He remembered the graduation, Memorial and Christmas Day exercises. He was really a friend and was never too busy to help anybody. All the students felt bad when he passed away."
(The article is continued on page 12; however, the continuation is missing.)
 
The [Salem] Evening News, 2/15/1968
Carroll School Gym Will Be Renamed
in Honor of Former Principal
 PEABODY - None who knew him will dispute renaming the high school gymnasium in honor of Arthur J. Flanagan, late principal of the Carroll School.
 Before the School Committee now is a Carroll School request to rename the gym in honor of the Peabody educator, whose name was synonymous with school athletics in his 42-year tenure in the Peabody school system.
 Spearheading the drive the past two months to honor Flanagan, who died Nov. 16, 1967, has been the Carroll School PTA, headed by President Mrs. Albert Roy.
 The PTA members are currently soliciting contributions to purchase a portrait plaque of Mr. Flanagan to hang in front of the gym.
 As principal of the Center Elementary School some 40 years ago, Flanagan organized the first pre-teen baseball and basketball teams in the city. His Center School teams repeatedly won the intra-city league crowns.
 Administrators who co-ordinate high school athletics can appreciate the tribulations of trying to establish a program on the elementary school level. This, however, Flanagan did - and with success as will attest many of his former student athletes.
 Flanagan's enthusiasm for children overflowed from the classroom not only in sports, but also into the drum corps for your musicians. Through the 1920s and '30s, his Center School drum corps participated in many parades and won numerous awards.
 Flanagan became principal of the Carroll School in 1946. He worked diligently with the non-English speaking students at the Carroll.
 Parents respected him as a strict but fair disciplinarian, who always considered the children first. The rapport he achieved with his pupils and their parents has rarely been equaled in the city.
 The following tribute to Flanagan was read into the School Committee record Tuesday night by his friend and fellow educator, School Supt. J. Henry Higgins.
 The tribute reads:
 "Whereas: The services of Arthur J. Flanagan as a teacher and a principal were terminated by his untimely death after forty-two years of faithful and diligent service, and
 "Whereas: The many who came under his guidance and jurisdiction have had imparted to them the respect for the virtues of truth, and honesty, as well as the skills of his labors in the field of teaching, and
 "Whereas: The example of his devotion to these ideals has imparted to many of our civic leaders, the successful members of our professions, and the upright solid citizens of our community, the true way of life,
 "Be it therefore resolved: That the School Committee of the City of Peabody hereby expressed its sincere regret over the loss of his services and offers this written testimonial of a grateful citizenry to a most deserving public servant, and
 "Be it further resolved: That these resolution be spread upon the official records of the School Department, and a copy thereof be forwarded to his bereaved family as an humble, yet sincere token of appreciation of a public servant who gave of himself in the cause of education.
 "So voted by the School Committee of the City of Peabody this 13th day of February, nineteen hundred and sixty-eight."
 NOTE:
 The gymnasium at the Thomas Carroll School was not renamed. It was previously named in honor of Elizabeth Quinlan, a long-time teacher at the school. The gymnasium at the Center School was named in honor of Lieut. Philip Dorgan.
 The portrait of Flanagan was hung in the gymnasium of the Peabody High School (now the Higgins Middle School). His daughter, Jane Pattison, said that the portrait was later vandalized and removed.
 When the Peabody School History Project was documenting the history of the Higgins Middle School, there was no evidence that the gym was dedicated to Flanagan.

 
Julianne McLaughlin, a Center School teacher who also attended the school as a elementary student, Interview - March 20, 1998
Mr. Flanagan "was at the Carroll Scholl when the Center School burned. I was at the Carroll because we did double sessions at the Carroll and he was principal. I remember because I fell in the yard and he picked me up."
"The high school coaches loved having anybody who played on the Carroll School team because they were wonderful and it didn't matter what nationality they were. Mr. Flanagan incorporated everybody into his teams, no matter what they were. It didn't matter to him, it only mattered that they played."
 
 
 
 

 
APPENDIX 4
 

From the Peabody-Lynnfield Weekly News, March 1998
 
by S.M. Smoller
PEABODY – A new bronze plaque with a handsome likeness of Walter A. "Buddy" Roche will soon be hung outside the auditorium named in his honor at Higgins Middle School.
On Saturday, the hall was filled with friends and colleagues who turned out to pay tribute to Roche for his thirty-two years of service to education in Peabody.
Seated in a wheelchair next to his wife, Mary, Roche was flanked at the head table by Mayor Peter Torigian and, in a rare public appearance, former Congressman Nicholas Mavroules.
"This has been a tremendous turnout and tribute," said Roche, after being greeted with two standing ovations, "I have mixed emotions – proud of the fact but I’m also humbled by it."
He reminisced about how fast his 32 years of public service had passed and that the event will be "long remembered in the Roche family". He also joked about whether he qualified for a "retroactive" pay raise, since the City Council recently approved a pay hike for board members.
A life-long resident of Peabody and a product of the Peabody public school system, Roche was a driving force in the expansion of the district’s physical education and intramural program and the long-time chairman of the school board’s Athletics Sub-committee.
Roche is a veteran of World War II and of the Korean Conflict. Formerly of Tracey Street, he is the son of Timothy (Darby) Roche, former deputy fire chief, and Mary Kondon.
He received many scholarships and furthered his education at Southeastern Louisiana State College and Boston College. He later was employed as a teacher in the Randolph school system and was a consultant on projects of the State Education Committee in 1969.
School Committee member David Gravel, who proposed the celebratory event to honor Roche, served as master-of-ceremonies for the ceremony which began with greetings and the posting of the colors by members of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. It ended with a special roll call of all school committee members beginning in 1966.
Attending the event was a veritable "Who’s Who" of the Peabody school community, including former school committee members who served with Roche through the years: Edward J. Dullea, Peter McCarthy, David J. Hallinan, Stephen L. Delaney, Francis Gill, John McGinn, William A. Welch, Jr., Carol Nee, Margaret McBreen, and current school board members: James K. Liacos, David C. Gravel, David McGeney, Suzanne Borin and Thomas Walsh.
"It’s like old home week", said Eleanor Dembowski, long-time Secretary to the Superintendent. Former Assistant Superintendent Gregory Theokas was in attendance as well as former Business Administrator Peter Roche.
Current and former principals attended, including: Louis Surman, Eugene Staid, Joseph Patuleia, Helen Apostolides, George "Ernie" Osborne, Maxine Edmunds, Michael Ryan, John Murtagh, Helene Skerry, Madilyn Caggiano, Peter Mooney, Dr. Mitch Afrow and Philip Kingston.
  Roche, who was voted to the North Shore All-Star Football Team in 1943 and 1944 and was an outstanding member of the Championship team of 1944, received almost as many compliments for his athletic ability as he did for his accomplishments on the school board.
He was a sports hero to Mayor Peter Torigian when he was a boy. Torigian, who has known Roche for 54 years, recited all of the names of the starting line up of the Championship team and paid respect to not only Roche’s athletic prowess, but his astute political acumen as well.
"He is a breed unto himself. I never met someone so loyal and dedicated to government," said Torigian. "During the time of Proposition 2-l/2 he never politicized the process. There has never been a more honorable public servant."
Torigian presented Roche with a framed, aerial photograph of the city including the Higgins Middle School site, where Torigian said that Roche "spent half of his life…There’s not been too many Mr. Peabody’s, but you’re one of them."
He also gave Roche a pewter Revere Bowl, identical to those received by retirees from the Peabody Public Schools.
Congressman Nicholas Mavroules was the back-up center for the 1944 championship team and he grew up in the east end of Peabody with Roche. For twelve years, Roche served as driver for Mavroules when he returned on weekends from Congress to visit the district. Mavroules complimented Roche’s "unyielding loyalty".
He said, "He was more than a chauffeur and aide. We were together almost every weekend for twelve years."
Mavroules’ warm remarks at the ceremony included stories of happy occurrences that the pair experienced. "He has the heart of a lion but when you really get to know him, like I do, he really is a pussy cat at heart," said Mavroules. "He is an outstanding human being, a great athlete, a great politician and a wonderful friend. I am more impressed with what a wonderful, wonderful person he is. His love of his community and his dedication to education and the educational process. Working with three mayors, his loyalties were not to anyone person, when he believes in something, he believes."
Senator Frederick Berry, who arrived just in time to take the podium, said, "As I grew up, Buddy Roche was an example of how a person served the good in the community. He is an example of what it meant to be involved and what it meant to do something purposeful."
In addition to the late entrance, Berry forgot his reading glasses so instead of reading the resolution from the State Senate that he brought for Roche, he said, "Believe me, Buddy, it says some wonderful things."
Remarked Mavroules, "Freddy, you haven’t lost your touch. You know when to walk in and when to walk out. As I made my way to the podium, he said to me, "You were his driver, weren’t you?"
Congressman John Tierney presented Roche with a certificate of special Congressional recognition. State representative Ted Speliots presented Roche with a resolution of the House of Representatives. City Council President William Toomey presented Roche, a "fellow East-ender" with a resolution from the City Council and said, "You are a legend in your own time, the positive direction you have given people…and the exemplary performance and total commitment to the youth of the city and the citizens at large."
Superintendent of Schools Louis Perullo read a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "The Thousandth Man".
Liacos, who has served for 18 years on the school board, read a certificate of appreciation from the Massachusetts Association of School Committee.
McGeney, read a message from school board member Gilbert Rosenthal and another from Michael Garabedian.
Borin read a letter from former Higgins Junior High School principal Edward O’Connor. Said Borin, one of the newest members of the school board, "I hope I can do half as good a job as you have done."
Recently elected school board member Thomas Walsh told Roche, "By this being named in your honor, each time I enter this auditorium I will be reminded of you and your accomplishments for the community and of how to be a good school committee person."
 
 

APPENDIX 5
 
 

Misc. Photos