Another resolution regarding a portrait of Thencanic Society supervisor Dr. Oliver P. Steves, this one dated. While it is possible that the two are connected, no decisive evidence links the two. This portrait has since been lost. Transcription included.
Thencanic Society (Model School (Trenton, N.J.))Shortly after the victory of William McKinley in the U.S. Presidential election of 1900, Thencanic member Russell Throp gave this messy, partisan, and occasionally off-base account of McKinley's life and political career. Less than a year later, Leon Czolgosz would assassinate McKinley in Buffalo, NY. Transcription included.
Throp, Russell R. (Russell Raymond), 1884-1949Transcription of Lists of Thencanic Society Officers, 1882-1899
Trenton Free Public Library (Trenton, N.J.)This card was likely sent to the Thencanic Society from the Normal Debating Society (NDS). It invites the Model School students to "an entertainment" that the NDS was hosting in the "Model Chapel." No other information available. No transcript due to this item's brevity.
unknownThis booklet came from the third annual debate between the Thencanic Society and Mu Alpha, the debate society at the Peddie Institute (today the Peddie School) of Hightstown, New Jersey. Though it does not include the year, it is most likely dated to around 1900-1904 given the presence of Kenneth H. Lanning (Model Class of 1904). In addition to several musical pieces by the State Schools Orchestra, the event featured a debate on restricting immigration into the United States. No transcription, as the booklet is typed.
unknownThis series of three resolutions/letters documents two private debates and one public one between the Thencanic and the Normal Debating Society. The resolutions do not include the topics for debate, nor the names of the debaters. The identities of the Normal School students cannot be conclusively determined. Transcriptions included.
Whitehead, Harvey F., 1867-1947This set of four documents details the history of the Thencanic memorial window, which sat in the "Chapel" of the Normal/Model Schools campus. Through Philadelphia glassmaker Alfred Godwin, the Society raised money from among its members and ex-members (nearly all of whom have been identified) to install a window celebrating philosophy and the Thencanic. The window cost $75.00, approximately $2,800 as of 2024. Transcriptions included.
Thencanic Society (Model School (Trenton, N.J.))These three finance-related documents have been grouped together, as they all date to the same academic year (1899-1900):
- The report of Treasurer J. Foster Post (served Fall 1899), shortly before the end of his term. This item has a full transcription included.
- An account book from the Trenton Trust and Safe Deposit Co., made out to the Thencanic Society in the name of Persifor Spilsbury, the Treasurer for Spring 1900. Following several withdrawals throughout the term, the Thencanic was left with $56.15; modern "inflation calculator" sites through the U.S. Department of Treasury do not cover the period before 1913, but this was still a few days' wages for the average industrial worker in Trenton. An impressive amount of money for a secondary school club!
- Two checks, from May and June 1900, representing a withdrawal of the $56.15 from the bank.
A record of the finances of the Thencanic Society, most likely from the start of Ryke Ely's term as treasurer (elected February 1895). Though not as complete as the financial records of 1900 (see related elements), it still provides some light into the goings-on of the Society. Transcription included.
Thencanic Society (Model School (Trenton, N.J.))This resolution documents an attempt by the Thencanic Society to regain some control of The Signal, the school newspaper that started in the Society. One of the signatories' names is known (John Muirhead), but he cannot be conclusively connected with anyone. The results of this committee appear in a report issued the following week, in which T. C. Hill advises that the Society cannot obtain an editorship, but could pursue reporter positions. Transcriptions included.
Hill, Thomas C. (Thomas Clifford), 1877-1948