Category Archives: Articles

Time Magazine – “School Builder”

This short piece appeared in the Arts section of the August 24th, 1931 issue of Time Magazine. While it doesn’t offer much new factual information about JOB, it does paint a more rounded picture of his life than what we know so far. Hey, he was bald! Note: Updated to include the accompanying photograph and cover.

SCHOOL BUILDER

Time MagazineProud were the friends and admirers of Architect James O. Betelle of Newark, N. J., last week and proud was Architect Betelle. He had just sent out the plans for Newark’s new Weequahic High School. With that building up, Architect Betelle could say that his firm had designed and supervised the erection of $100,000,000 worth of U. S. educational structures, an all-time world record.

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The Betelle Home is Robbed…

It appears that the Betelle’s had a break-in at their home while they were away during the winter of 1941. The full account was printed in the June 6, 1941 edition of The Millburn & Short Hills Item:

$60,000 GEM THEFT HERE
millburn-item.jpg Gaining entrance through a first floor window thieves obtained more than $60,000 in jewelry from the home of James O. Betelle of West Road, Short Hills some time during the absence of the family who had spent the winter in New York.
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“Columbia High School, South Orange and Maplewood, N.J.”

James Betelle wrote many articles for educational journals of the day, most notably The American School Board Journal. This one is a brief look at the major features of Columbia High School, which opened its doors in 1927. The article was published in the January, 1928 issue of ASBJ.

COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTH ORANGE AND MAPLEWOOD, N.J.
Designed by Messrs. Guilbert & Betelle, Architects, Newark, N.J.

chs 1930

It may be recalled that in the special Building Number of the Journal for January, 1926, several of the new grade schools in South Orange and Maplewood were illustrated in connection with an article describing the community and the local point-of-view and objectives in the school-building program. With the grade school situation taken care of temporarily, attention has been given to a senior-high school building, which is located in the geographical and population center of the two communities. This school, known as the Columbia high school, is now completed and occupied, and is illustrated in this issue.

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