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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to honor the faculty, staff, and
4 administration of Traughber Junior High for their many years of
5 dedicated service to the citizens of Oswego Community Unit
6 School District 308; and
 
7     WHEREAS, On May 31, 1946, voters in Oswego High School
8 District 300 approved the construction of a new high school by
9 a vote of 426-65; the new school was to be located on land
10 already purchased and being used as the high school athletic
11 fields at Franklin and Washington Streets in Oswego; post-war
12 delays and the need for more funds delayed construction of the
13 main building until 1949; and
 
14     WHEREAS, In April of 1951, Oswego's new large, modern brick
15 high school building opened; the size of the school was
16 strongly criticized by many in the farm community as being too
17 large and too lavish; the school, however, saw rapid growth of
18 the combined grade and high school districts' 1951 student
19 population of about 590 students as it grew threefold over the
20 following 10 years; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Oswego's high school had been built to allow for
22 the addition of a junior high school wing to the south; in

 

 

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1 March of 1952, voters turned down a proposition to add the new
2 wing by a 2-1 margin; the following year, the grade and high
3 school boards brought a similar proposal back to the voters,
4 which was approved by a margin of 480-300 votes; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The new wing of Oswego's high school, designed to
6 house seventh and eighth graders, was opened in 1954; the
7 opening proved timely, with school enrollment on the first day
8 of classes in 1955 totaling 775 students, an increase of 90
9 students above the previous year and a new record for the
10 district; and
 
11     WHEREAS, As early as 1962, it was obvious the existing high
12 school on Franklin Street was far too small for the district's
13 growing student population; after a site was obtained from the
14 Gerry family across Route 71 from East View School, voter
15 approval was received to build a new high school, with
16 construction beginning in 1963; after the opening of the new
17 high school, the old high school on Franklin Street had its
18 name changed to Oswego Junior High and became home to seventh,
19 eighth, and ninth graders; and
 
20     WHEREAS, In 1976, Oswego High School District 300 added one
21 more building to the district, a junior high school, to handle
22 the slow yet steady growth in the school district; construction
23 began on the new school on a site at Boulder Hill Pass and

 

 

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1 Lombardy Lane near U.S. Route 34 in 1975; in addition, a large
2 addition, including a new learning center and several
3 classrooms, was added to the old Oswego Junior High at the same
4 time; before the new junior high opened, the school district
5 decided to name the old junior high after long-time school
6 superintendent Thomas Lloyd Traughber; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Traughber Junior High was home to nearly 800
8 students in sixth through eighth grade; beginning in the
9 2008-2009 school year, the building will begin to be used as
10 the district's administration center and as a special education
11 center, enabling the district's oldest building still in
12 service to continue to serve the students of the Oswego School
13 District for many years to come; and
 
14     WHEREAS, A closing ceremony for Traughber Junior High will
15 be held in June of 2008 to commemorate this venerable school
16 and its place in the rich history of the Village of Oswego;
17 therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
20 honor the faculty, staff, and administration of Traughber
21 Junior High for their many years of dedicated service and wish
22 them continued success and happiness in their future endeavors;
23 and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Oswego Community Unit School District 308
3 Superintendent Dr. David Behlow as a symbol of our esteem and
4 respect.