Central High School - Blue and White / Pnalka Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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V O L U M E I V Senior Class History BY STANLEY F. WITHE September 4, 1906! Who of us do not remember that day, so mo- mentous in the history of our class and so illustrous in the annals of the school! How indelibly imprinted in our minds are the memories of that day which first looked upon the'Class of 1910. Since that morning in the fall of 1906, four long years have passed-and quickly. During those four years many changes have taken place. We hope they are all for the better. Cer- tainly, as a class, our infiuence has been exerted upon the affairs of the school, but how much have we really accomplished? Together let us review the events of our high school days. Our Freshman year was far from eventful. The first occurrence of interest was an address by our Principal, intended apparently to instill in our minds while in a pliant and unsophisticated condition, a wholesome fear of the conse- quences of such horrible breaches of school discipline as skipping periods, going out of bounds and tardiness to classes. But judging from the later conduct of certain of our class, this warning must have been taken with a considerable quantity of saline deposit. For soon did we learn the less frequented highways leading to downtown drugstores and in spare moments did our best to carry out the motto of our school annual, patronize our advertisers. Strange to say, this practice was not to the liking of the powers that be, and as a result a close blockade was laid on all means of exit. But, although many of us, through longer experience, were able to elude the enemy's cruisers, and in some instances to successfully conduct parties through the enemy's lines, yet the school archives testify but too well to the fate of many of your classmates, who in a moment of carelessness were pounced upon by the Dreaded One or his hirelings and haled before the Great Tribunal. May their souls rest! Because of the high intellectual attainments of the class, it was the unanimous sentiment of the school that the election of officers would be unneces- Page 17

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'C' 'i5..-12!Lfik5.4. sary, so in our first year this ceremony was dispensed with. During the entire year the spirit seems to have been Each man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. When we returned the next fall it looked as if his satanic majesty had had his hands full. Some unseen power had thinned our ranks, but the gaps were filled and we plodded on towards our ultimate goal. Soon the time for our class election arrived, and Arthur Lines was elected President, with Mae George as his running-mate. Francis Hicks, after an exciting campaign, won the treasurership, and Robert Nye was elected Secre- tary, with Kenneth Collins member-at-large. At a later date the Recorder election was held, and Arthur B. Lines was elected Editor-in-Chief and Fay Williams, Manager. A class dance was held in our Sophomore year, and although not a money- maker, this, the Hrst undertaking of our class, augured well for its future efforts. In our March vacation many of the boys, accompanied by Mr. Knapp, went to the Capitol and had the time of their lives. Room 21, because of the pleasant view it afforded, was in great demand during our stay at the Oxford. Collins and Fuller were to be found here most of the time. After a week full of sightseeing the party returned home, tired but happy. Nothing else of interest occurred in our Sophomore year except the selection of our class colors and pin. Here the class showed its usual good judgment. Green and Gold were the two colors selected. It may be well to say here that at every opportunity we have endeavored to raise these colors to the highest pinnacle of the school, especially in our junior year, when this work was undertaken by a special committee, of which Collins, Patterson and Bugbee were the most daring members. Before carrying out its work, how- ever, this committee was forcibly adjourned sine die. Returning to school for the third lap, our first act was the election of officers. Chandler Bennitt captured the presidential honors, and Mae George was returned to the Vice-President's chair. Fay Williams was elected Treas- urer, Kenneth Collins, Secretary and Robert W. King, member-at-large. By this time our class had dwindled to such an extent that we occupied only three rooms, Rooms 13, 16 and 21. Those of us in 16 and 21, at most times enjoyed a comparatively commonplace existence, but in Room 13 vaudeville performances were given daily to delighted audiences. In these attractions Mr. McDuFfie invariably played the stellar role, and usually the Healy twins had prominent parts in the cast. It was with the utmost longing Page 18