Morse High School (Maine)
Encyclopedia
Morse High School in Bath
Bath, Maine
Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...

, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, draws on the communities of Bath, West Bath
West Bath, Maine
West Bath is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,798 at the 2000 census. A sub-locality of West Bath is Winnegance...

, Phippsburg
Phippsburg, Maine
Phippsburg is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Kennebec River. The population was 2,106 at the 2000 census. It is within the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical rea...

, Woolwich
Woolwich, Maine
Woolwich is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,810 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area...

, Georgetown
Georgetown, Maine
Georgetown is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,020 at the 2000 census. Home to Reid State Park, the town is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and Arrowsic, Maine
Arrowsic, Maine
Arrowsic is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. During the French and Indian Wars, Arrowsic was site of a succession of important and...

. The original school building, a gift to the city from Charles W. Morse
Charles W. Morse
Charles Wyman Morse was a notorious businessman and speculator on Wall Street in the early 20th century.-Early life:...

, burned down March 24,1928 and was later rebuilt in 1929. A large addition was made in 1969, and an expanded vocational center was added in 1996. As of 2011, Morse's population is 654 students, 94% Caucasian. The student/teacher ratio at Morse is 14:1.

Morse's mascot is the Shipbuilder, because of Bath's shipbuilding legacy at Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works
Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, United States. Since its founding in 1884 , BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, most of which have been ordered by the United States Navy...

, and the school colors are blue and white.

Rivalry

Morse High School has a long-time rivalry with the neighboring town, Brunswick High School
Brunswick High School, Maine
Brunswick High School is located at 116 Maquoit Rd in Brunswick, Maine.The school has slightly under 1,000 students and a ~14:1 student to teacher ratio. The school's proximity to Bowdoin College and the local medical centers help to promote an academic atmosphere. Brunswick High School offers a...

, dating from the early 1900s. The Morse/Brunswick rivalry is one of the oldest in the state.

Athletics

Morse students participate in many athletic and social clubs. The students take pride in the school's proud tradition of championships, including six state championships in boy's basketball (1956, '62, '63, '87, '88, and '89), two state championships in baseball (1953 and '88), five state championships in football (1968, '69, '70, '71, and '72), and one state championship in Boys' soccer in 1988. Morse's boy's swim team won the state championship in the 2005–2006 swim season. The girl's swim team has also enjoyed recent success, winning the 2009-2010 state championship after finishing runners-up or third for several years. Morse is a member of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference
Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference
The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference is a high school athletic organization, featuring schools from the towns that surround the Kennebec River in the state of Maine...

.

The Morse football team has not been a contender since its last state championship in 1972. In 2006, Morse finished 3–5 and gained the 8th and final seed in the playoffs before suffering a 63–12 loss to unbeaten Gardiner in the quarter-finals. Morse was the surprise team of the 2007 season, when it defeated previously unbeaten Gardiner in week 7 and finished the season 7–1 as the second seed. Morse went on to its first post season victory since its '72 state championship season by beating Oak Hill High School
Oak Hill High School (Maine)
Oak Hill High School is a high school located in Wales, Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. This regional high school serves students from the towns of Sabattus, Litchfield, and Wales...

 of Wales, Maine
Wales, Maine
Wales is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,322 at the 2000 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New England City and Town Area.-Geography:According to the United...

, 35–6 in the quarter-finals. Morse faced their biggest challenge of the season in the semi-finals when the Shipbuilders played host to the defending Class B PTC Champion, Winslow. Winslow has been a perennial contender since it moved to Class B in 1989. Morse shocked the Pine Tree Conference by entering the locker room with a 22–12 lead at half time. In the second half, Winslow held Morse scoreless and was able to win the game 28–22. In 2008, the Shipbuilders avenged that loss with a 27–0 win over Winslow, and went on to win the PTC Championship allowing just 7 points in three playoff games. They went on to play Mountain Valley in the Maine Class B State Championship game. The schools first appearance in the football state championship game since 1972.

The Arts

Home to the Montgomery Threatre, Morse High School has long had an active drama club, which took the district title in the One Act Play competition two years in a row in 2004 and 2005.

Each November for more than 75 years, Morse has held the MOHIBA (MOrse HIgh BAzaar), a talent show where students can perform individually, or in acts with their class, club or team.

From 1981 to 1983 MHS students ran a 5 watt radio station whose call letters were changed to WMOS 98.3 "The Rock and Roll Clipper."

Alumni Association

The Bath High School Alumni Association is one of the oldest in the country. In 1891 a small group of graduates met to form the association. One hundred graduates attended first Alumni Banquet on June 22, 1892. The Alumni Banquet on June 10, 2011 was the 120th such banquet. The objective of the B.H.S.A.A., according to the 1982 bylaws, is "to encourage sociability among the graduates and incidentally aid in promoting the welfare of Bath High School."

Miscellanea

Morse High is one of the few high schools in the state which does not have its own gym for basketball games, instead using Bath Middle School's gym. Morse does have 'The Pit', a gym used now for phys ed, wrestling meets, and as a place to practice for other teams. The Pit is more than 80 years old and was voted the "Nicest gym in the state of Maine" when it was first opened in 1929. The pit caused many issues being dug out when the school was built due to ledge under the foundation.

MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

's Made
Made (TV series)
MTV's MADE is a self-improvement reality television series broadcast on MTV. The series follows teens who have a goal and want to be "made" into things like singers, athletes, dancers, skateboarders, etc. The teens are joined by a "Made Coach", an expert in their chosen field, who tries to help...

was filmed at Morse High School in the fall of 2005, starring Jackie Buck, a then junior wanting to "step out of her sister's shadow" and have a part in the school's talent show, MOHIBA.

Sources


Morse High School was filmed briefly in the video "Where's My Mind" by the Pixies.

External links

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