By: Iris Naylor
One of the grave markers in the Mount Hope Cemetery is made of Scotch granite, brought over from Scotland to mark the last resting place of Alexander Potter Kerr.
Mr. Kerr was born in Scotland in 1842. He came to America in 1873.
To the good fortune of the children of Lambertville he located in this city and in 1874 was appointed first assistant to the principal, J.T. Ruth.
The school system in 1874 consisted of two schools, the hill school we know as the old Lambertville High School and the Coryell Street school. The two schools were supervised and taught by one male principal, two male assistant principals and seven female assistant teachers.
At that time, the principal of the public schools was entitled to a salary of $1,000 a year. The assistant principals were paid $600 a year each.
The superintendent of schools in 1874 was Dr. G.H. Larison. There were also nine trustees, and there was much controversy at the time as to the overcrowding of the schools and the necessity of building new schools. The Third Ward and First Ward schools were erected soon after.
Mr. Kerr did not come back to Lambertville right away. He spent time in Lewisburg, W.Va., as principal of the Lewisburg Graded School. A Lewisburg newspaper wrote in 1889 Professor Kerr of Lambertville was visiting.
The professor took such an interest in educational matters when he was teaching in Lewisburg that he was regarded as the "wheelhorse" among the teachers "and his departure from this field was much regretted." Their loss was our gain.
Professor Kerr returned to Lambertville to become principal of the high school and later supervising principal of all the public schools of the city. He still found time to teach Latin and mathematics and maintain a close relationship with the students and parents.
Wherever former students gathered in later years, there were sure to be many fond stories of their association with Professor Kerr. One in particular took place in 1892 when he stood on the platform at the Hill School and asked the children how many had read in the newspapers about the expedition of Perry in search of the North Pole. No one raised a hand so he asked how many had read the account of the Sullivan-Corbett prize fight in the same newspapers, and everybody admitted they had.
The graduating class of 1888 presented Professor Kerr with a gold-headed cane. The cane, engraved "A.P. Kerr from the Class of 1888," was discovered in 1935 in an outbuilding on the Coryell Street property of Welland P. Reading. Mr. Reading turned the cane over to the current principal, Beatrice Petrie. She presented it to a surviving member of the class of 1888.
In 1976, the cane was placed in the care of the Lambertville Historical Society by a grandson of the surviving member.
A cricket and athletic club was organized in 1888, and Mr. Kerr was the chairman. He was also one of the active team members. Games were played on the cricket ground on North Union Street. Twenty-eight members were enrolled in the club, enough to make up two 11-man teams.
One of the first matches was between the two local teams who were captained by Mr. Kerr and W.F. Hayhurst.
For the benefit of those who look for items of interest among their ancestral roots, we name the players: Boswell, Robinson, Case, Swope, Swartz, Wert, Knowles, McGill, Weliker, Hall,, Husselton, Whyte, Holcombe, Swallow, Coombe, Cook, Scott, Black and Pettee.
Professor Kerr had another abiding interest, Robert Burns. Every year on the anniversary of the birth of the poet he delivered an address or a toast in memory. The banquets were held at one town hotel or another and one, in Gymnasium Hall, was followed by a free concert and dancing.
Still, the school and its pupils were never far from his thoughts. He gave books, maps, pictures, even mineral specimens to the classrooms.
The Lambertville High School Alumni Association, organized in 1900, made him its first honorary member. He died in 1914 at the age of 72, having left his imprint on every school student who ever attended one of his classes.
There were still Beacon readers in 1953 who remembered "Pappy" Kerr, principal of the high school, who lived at the Lambertville House.
