My great grandaunt Eva was exceedingly proud of the fact that she had attended and graduated from Wellfleet High School. At the time of her graduation, the school was located, I believe, on School Street in the center of town.
Eva’s diploma was framed behind glass, and generations that came after her found it on the wall of the parlor in what had been her house. The class she graduated from in 1882 was prolific and large. Class size began to dwindle after that through the end of the nineteenth century, mirroring the loss of population due to economic troubles.
Other attic treasures giving clues to her high school years: Eva’s autograph book, signed by the members of her class as well as by her parents, neighbors and friends. A well-thumbed Latin grammar book. Shakespearean classics. And many photographs of happy adolescents posing with one another.
