Critic's Report, 21 September 1900

William Hartwell Blackwell was born in 1882. He was a member of the Thencanic Society in the 1890s and graduated from the Model School in 1901. In 1905, he married Bertha Allen (1883-1968) who was also a 1901 Model School graduate. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly and State Senate. He died in 1963.

A literary and debate club at the Model School from 1882 to 1917. The members (only young men) focused on improving their oratory skills, personal appearance, and general comportment, with one member serving as "Critic" to evaluate the boys' behavior during each meeting. The literary aspects of the Society led to the publication of "The Signal" in 1885--while it started as a literary magazine through the Thencanic, it quickly escaped the Society's control and became a general Normal/Model School periodical. This club ended when the Model School closed in 1917. This version of the Thencanic should not be confused with the later revival in the 1930s with college students.