High school students sit at long wooden tables, practicing operating wireless telegraph keys, in this 9 1/2" x 7 1/2" black and white photograph. Most of the students are boys, but there are a few girls. A male teacher stands on one side of the room, watching the students as they work. The classroom has a hardwood floor and two windows at one end.
Omaha Public School Archive Collection / Educational Research Library
Local Accession/Call Number
Archive Files: School of Commerce File
Historical Notes
The High School of Commerce was housed in the old Leavenworth Elementary school building at 17th and Leavenworth streets. This telegraphy class and other business classes originated as a program in the basement of Omaha's Central High School. The program was meant to accommodate those students who chose to pursue a career in business. The response was so great that within a year classes were moved to the re-opened Leavenworth Street School. The school quickly became overcrowded and was replaced in 1922 by Technical High School. Students in the telegraphy class learned Morse code and how to operate the telegraph key. The keys used in this photograph were most likely Marconi "Roadmap" wireless keys, first produced in 1912 by the Marconi Telegraph Company of America.
