By: Stephanie Prokop
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP "Anger she knoweth not, and a fair smile she hath for all."
That was the caption next to Anna T. Burr’s senior picture in the 1918 Bordentown High School yearbook.
And after 107 birthdays, she is still holding true to the sentiment. On Friday, the former elementary and secondary school teacher and administrator in the Bordentown area toured the new Bordentown Regional High School with a big smile on her face. Ms. Burr had been invited by the school district to visit the new facility.
As Ms. Burr, who wore many hats when she was a school administrator, looked down the hall in the main office of the new high school building, she glanced at the principal’s office, the guidance counselors office and other administrative offices and recalled, "I had to do this all myself!"
Just a few minutes earlier, she was greeted paparazzi-style with people taking her picture as she got out of the luxury sedan that had transported her from the Medford Leas retirement community where she lives.
The new Bordentown Regional High School, which opened its doors in September, is light years away from the comparatively primitive schools at which Ms. Burr used to teach.
Ms. Burr graduated from the New Jersey Normal School (now known as The College of New Jersey) in the early 1920s. After she obtained her bachelor’s degree in education, she went on to get a master’s in education from Rutgers University. Ms. Burr became a teacher but never married, saying she never found a person who suited her. She taught for 10 years at Bordentown High School, Bordentown Middle School and Bordentown Elementary School, and then served for 24 years as a school administrator in Bordentown.
Ms. Burr was keenly aware of any wrongdoings that her pupils tried to commit while she was principal, according to Bordentown High graduate Roy Parcels.
Mr. Parcels said that when he experienced Ms. Burr’s authority she was "tough but fair."
"She used to read the riot act for students who were late or cutting class," he said.
Charles Fisher, who used to teach science and physical education at the Clara Barton School (back when it was an elementary/junior high school), said that as a principal, Ms. Burr was "on top of everything," and that he started out in teaching with the "best in terms of principals."
Mr. Fisher said that one of Ms. Burr’s many responsibilities as an administrator many years ago was being the band teacher. When Ms. Burr left the band room on Friday she expressed her astonishment at the school’s impressive new facility. "I’m seeing wonders!" she exclaimed.
As two students wheeled Ms. Burr from classroom to classroom, Principal Fred D’Antoni introduced her to teachers and students.
Ms. Burr was accompanied by one of her former pupils, Jeanne Rockelle, who graduated from Bordentown High in 1940.
The two women marveled at how a high school could contain such fine amenities, and they especially enjoyed the auditorium.
"You’d think you were in a theater in New York," said Ms. Rockelle.
As the entourage strolled through the auditorium, Ms. Burr looked out onto the large number of stadium-style seats and couldn’t believe the capacity of the space.
"You could fit the entire United States in here," she said.
Also present were two aides, Joanne O’Rourke and Lorette Pothier, from Medford Leas. When asked about Ms. Burr’s regimen, they replied that she is adamant about doing exercise every other day, and normally eats whatever she pleases in moderation.
The day concluded with a reception in the library, complete with homemade desserts and coffee, and tea with lemon and sugar cubes for Ms. Burr.
When Christine Durling, librarian and media specialist for the school, brought out the 1918 yearbook, teachers, students and guests gathered around to catch a glimpse of what life was like at the early part of the last century.
