Evening star., 1940-05-19
Miss Gardner, Eastern High
Pioneer, Retires in June
With School as
Teacher AZ of
Its so Years
BY JESSIE FAINT EVANS.

For Al years, all but three of the
Eastern High Schools half century
OF existence, Miss Bertha L. Gard
ner, who is retiring from the pub
lie school system this June, has
been member of its faculty as a
teacher of either history or Eng
lish.
This year Eastern High School
is celebrating its 50th anniversary
and Miss Gardner, who has COM
pleted the history of the school as
her contribution to this milestone
OF progress, is to be the guest of
honor at the annual faculty dinner
of the school on the evening of
May %.
When Eastern High School cele-
brated its Is anniversary, Miss
Gardner compiled the history of
the school from its beginning in
1890, in the attic of the Peabody
School where she first began her
own teaching career, through its
development on its former site on
Seventh street near Pennsylvania
avenue Sc. Her continuation OF
that cycle of growth on the schools
present site on East Capitol between
Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets
Sc. is in effect the graphic story
that is interviewer with Miss Gard
ner's own life history as a teacher
in the public high school system
of the District of Columbia.
Complies Personal Histories.
In the hearts of some 5000 East
ern High School graduates, literal
ly the world around, alma mater
and Miss Gardner are interchange
able terms. Her extra curricular
activities all of the Al years of her
connection with the citys public
educational system, have centered
about the compilation of the life
histories of the students and gradu-
ates of the Eastern High School.
This has been her labor of love for
the school out of her own leisure
time after her classroom duties were
over. Consequently. she has herself
become human directory of the
outstanding students who have been
enrolled.
She has also been the motivating
force behind the publication of the
Eastern High School Alumni Bull
letln, which bi-annually gives far
flung alumni news of each other
as we'll as the latest developments
in the continuing life-history of
their former high school.
Tall filing cabinets occupy almost
every available inch of extra space
in her classroom. They contain a
complete and up-to-date card index
Of all of the students who have
attended the Eastern High School
since it started. 1t had then ITO
pupils, six regular teachers and two
part-time assistants.
Graduates 400 Yearly Now.
Today its site alone occupies IA
acres, its students number $500 and
its teachers total more than 100.
with approximately 400 students
graduating each year.
So familiar is Miss Gardner with
the contributions of Eastern High
students to community and Nation
that her memory of their achieve
ments almost invariably tallies with
the records in her files.
Among them are the names of
such former students as Senator
Clark of Missouri. Maj Harry Leon
ard, hero of the Boxer Rebellion in
China, and Charles Augustus Lind
bergh. The latter was a student at
Eastern during the session of Con-
gress from December, 1915, to April
20. 1916. Miss Gardner treasures
the remark this world-famous flyer
made after his triumphal return
from his history-making flight as
he was passing along PENNSYLVANIA
avenue en- route from the NAVY
Yard: Il was glad to see my old
school again"
The achievements of Eastern High