Hammond Technical Vocational High School
Sometime during the 1950's, the Hammond School Board became enlightened to the fact that there might be a link between education and employment in the Calumet Region. Many of the local high school graduates needed skills if they wanted to join the industrial community and keep the City of Hammond running economically. Thus Hammond embarked on establishing Hammond Tech.
My good friend and freshman locker mate at Hammond High School, Bill Funk, left HHS to attend Hammond Tech. He wanted me go join him. Believe me, it was tempting. I could learn about cars and machine shops and tools and refrigeration... all skills that could get me a good paying job after high school. At Hammond High School we had courses like Latin and Geometry and English Literature. Other than Miss Work, our Latin teacher, I didn't know anyone who made a living speaking Latin. But I decided to stay at Hammond High School in the "College Prep" course.
During my sophomore year at HHS, however, I built a 6-foot robot that walked and talked and had about 5 miles of wire that made him work. I entered it in the Hammond Science Fair and won First Place, General Physics. The Science Fair was held at Hammond Tech and it was a good feeling to win a technical science award and still be a student a Hammond High.
PS: Three years ago I gave this post card
to my cousin, George Leu of Waterbury, CT, a graduate of Hammond
Tech. I had to borrow it to add to my photo album of Hammond and
promise to return it to him. It is one of his nostalgic treasures
of Hammond.
Thanks, George!