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DHSWest’s Senior Mantle is over
100 years old
Teddy Roosevelt was president in 1908, and Henry Ford unveiled the
first Model T car that year. That also was the year when the
tradition of a Senior Mantle was established.
The Senior Mantle is a graduation gown, plus accouterments, covered
with unique cloth patches designed by a member of each graduating
class at Downingtown High School for more than 100 years.
The emblems on the Mantle express the hopes and aspirations of each
senior class. Any member of the senior class can submit a design.
There are many design styles illustrated on the robe, abstract to
realistic. Some designs are very intricate and complex,
incorporating a variety of materials and textile techniques that
reflect the time period.
This cloak of honor is worn at the installation ceremony of each
senior class president. When the outgoing senior class president
removes the robe and places it on the shoulders of the incoming
senior class president, he or she is symbolically transferring the
honor and distinction of Downingtown High School to the next class.
In recent years, the robe has been transferred at an evening awards
assembly.
Records show that the ceremonies were first held in the early 20th
Century at the original high school on West Lancaster Avenue
(current site of Messiah Lutheran Church) in the borough and the
Downingtown Opera House, which became the Roosevelt Theatre in 1929,
on Brandywine Avenue in Downingtown.
In 1932, the transfer ceremony started being conducted at the new
Junior-Senior High School on Manor Avenue (where the Downingtown
Education Center is now located) until Downingtown West High School
was opened in 1960.
Since the original Mantle was getting fragile after 33 years, a
replacement graduation gown was purchased in 1941 by the Downingtown
High School Alumni Association for $9.50. By 1989, there was no more
room for patches on the gown; so a matching hood has been used to
accommodate patches done in recent years.
After a second high school was established in 2004, separate sashes
for each school were added to the Mantle to accommodate additional
patches. However, only a hood and a sash are worn at graduation
because the Mantle and its many patches are so fragile.
After graduation in 2008, the Mantle and its accouterments were
retired in a place of honor, protected from the elements which could
damage the fibers. And both high schools continue the unbroken
tradition by having their patches sewn on new hoods, according to
DHS West art teacher who has been responsible for the Senior Mantle
at the school for more than 25 years.
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