At the turn of the last century (1900 era) a high school education was NOT a common situation as it is at this time in this country. Only a small fraction of the population even had the opportunity to go to high school and an even smaller percentage were able to graduate.
A spoon to celebrate the graduation from high school was limited to the wealthier part of the population, because the cost of a typical sterling silver hand engraved spoon often would represent an entire days worth of labor for a skilled employee. These spoons represented a significant achievement and were treated with a great deal of respect.
Residents of big cities had more opportunity for education than did rural inhabitants, but we often find spoons from large schools as well as small one-room schools.
All of the spoons shown have a building hand engraved. Most of the time a city and state is given, but in some cases, only a city or school name is available. The handles range from simple patterns through complex symbolism.
A list of available high school spoons is at the bottom of this page.
Female Graduate full figural with engraved picture of Oklahoma City High School
"Symbols of Education" handles State Souvenir Handles
Examples of Flower Handles Examples of Pattern Handles
High School--Cando, North Dakota High School--Rapid City, South Dakota
High School-- Carthage, Missouri High School-- David City, Nebraska
De
Kalb,
Illinois