Before BASH had thousands of students, a turf football stadium, or even a campus, it was just a modest two-story grammar schoolhouse at 25 South Chestnut Street in 1862—a building later extended to house the school’s very first high schoolers.
While there were no official programs here, about 35 students attended this small schoolhouse. It was such a small class size that there wasn’t even a graduation ceremony.
Because there was no place for a graduation ceremony, district administration approved building a separate two-story house, which was located directly behind the Chestnut Street School. That batch of students was the very first graduating class in Boyertown in 1893.
The district eventually sold the Chestnut Street School in 1909 to use it as triple homes, as is currently being implemented.
They then built the high school in 1921, which is the current high school that students attend.
Now, in the 21st century, the physical structure as well as the education of BASH has tremendously changed over the years. BASH is now located on 120 Monroe Street and has done major renovations over the years, the last big one being in 2017.
There are now hundreds of different classes that students may take, such as various cooking classes, tech ed, and even preschool programs. BASH is no longer a small 2-story school, but a 4-story building with many advancements, such as elevators, open seating areas outside, and even a spacious library.
There have also been various new sports at BASH, such as flag football and golf. Some popular sports like track and field, baseball, and even basketball have been around in BASH for several years.
The first track and field team at BASH consisted of around 21 young boys and 3 teachers/coaches.
There are many teachers for different subjects and multiple sports, and outside of school activities, such as the school play, that many students now have the opportunity to participate in.
“The Class of 1921, Track and Field Team photos”.
I’ve asked some of the students here at BASH about their prior knowledge of the very first class of BASH, and how different it is from today’s school.
Hadleigh Breiner, a 9th grader at BASH, said, “I am still new to BASH, but I’ve heard about the scary ghost stories and can only imagine what the school may have looked like. I also like to watch the Good Old Days clips on BASH-TV news.”
Leah Buckley, 11th grader at BASH, said, “I can’t imagine not having many options for classes and having such a tight-knit class.”
Lillian Petrauskas, 9th grader at BASH has also said, “I can’t believe that our school is over 100 years old!”
Some fun facts about the old BASH: most of the classroom floor was wooden, and many of the hallways were concrete. Compared to now, where we have normal flooring all over the school.
The NJROTC room was actually an auditorium before they used it, which even contained a small stage.
There have also been countless activities and parades, such as the Halloween parade, that have been a tradition at BASH since 1912.
While the history of BASH continues to flourish and we discover more fun facts about what the old BASH looked like, students, staff, or curious individuals can watch the YouTube channel The Good Old Days to learn all about old BASH.
And always remember, “The good old days were not always so good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems” (BASH-TV News).
