School
History
Named for writer-poet Eugene Field, Field Elementary
School was built in 1959, on 5.10 acres in the southeast
corner of the city. The school opened with two hundred
students in six rooms, but quickly grew, requiring occupation
of additional rooms during the second year. Principal
Gladise Hallam presided over the dedication ceremony,
which took place during American Education Week in November
of 1959. The architectural plans and drawings received
considerable attention at the national convention of
the American Association of School Administrators in
Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Eugene Field
was a prolific writer, composing more than 7,000,000
words of prose and poetry during this short
life-time. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended
three colleges, including the University of Missouri.
Field worked on newspapers in St. Joseph, St. Louis and
Kansas City as well as in Denver and Chicago. His best
known books are “The House (1896) and “A
Little Book of Western Verse (1889) and his best known
poems are “Little Boy Blue” and “Wynken,
Blynken and Nod.”
