Classical High School - Classic Myths Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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Class Histor jecume ilu-'zman Way back in the September of 1936, the sun was shining brightly on the boys and girls entering Classical High as students for the first time. lnside in the assembly hall they nervously seated themselves, eagerly anticipating the new adventure of high school. The older, more experienced upper classmen unashamedly stared at this new crop of students, and in turn were stared back at by these same awe-stricken and rather sheepish persons. But as we see now what has happened, why should they have been either awe-stricken or sheepish? If those lordly seniors, haughty juniors, and wise sophomores had only known, we were the Class of 1940. Proudly, yet with our customary modesty, we say that ours has indeed been an unusual class. lt was in our freshman year that we were called in the Argus by the upperclassmen ua class with radical demandsf' Although every class which has en- tered Classical in the last few years has suggested that the cafeteria be renovated, or that some kindly soul give us a new gym, we were not content to make these time- honored suggestionsg we went further, and asked that instead of the much-talked- about elevator for the over-burdened students, We might have escalators. And about this same time Haskell Grodberg first strode into the limelight by winning the C.H.S.D.A. Declamation Contest, in spite of the fact that he was a fresh- man in competition with experienced seniors, juniors, and sophomores. Joe Sherman early showed his great talent as a comedian and as a lover when he played the part of Sleepy in the uCount and the Co-edf, ln the field of sports Mariana Johnson was our chief bid to fame. She had the distinction of being the only freshman who played on the varsity basketball team. All in all, we had a very enjoyable and successful year. We patronized, as all Fourteen

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Pre ident, Address It is with a spirit of deep thankfulness that, in behalf of the Class of 1940, I bid you welcome to our Class Day. For two hundred young people to be assembled on a beautiful June day to commemorate the pleasant passing of their high school course means to be living in a land at peace. To our parents, grandparents, or more remote forebears to whom we owe our birth in such a country we are most grateful. To our principal and our teachers, who have taught us the ideals upon which America has been built and Whose examples, as well as instruction, has encouraged our loyalty to the principles for which Amer- ica stands, We are equally grateful. It is 1940, a year of world warg yet we in America can still partake of tradi- tional joys. We, Classical High School students, about to be graduated can, as every class for ninety-five years has done before us, spend a happy afternoon of remi- niscence. And so to our Class Day Exercises I welcome you, our friends, our faculty, and our parents. Thirteen

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-CQ assfc Oflflyfhs freshman do, the athletic events, the musical presentations, and the dramatic produc- tions. And as .lune drew on, our inner and our outer school spirits were flying high. Witli such a start, we began our journey to sophomoredom. This was the real beginning of our active part in school affairs. Robert Simonian won the first prize in the C.H.S.D.A. Oratorical Contest, the second member of our class in two years to win this honor. Then, too, Richard Stearns and Haskell Grodberg secured position as editors on the Argus, which from then on gave our class a share of the school publicity. Shall we ever forget the strange joy that Hooded our senses when we saw our names in print? Suppose the story as written up in the magazine was not correct, or even sup- pose it had never happenedl What did that matter when our names stood out in bold, black print for all the world to see? Then there came into the public eye a young man who showed unusual promise. This was Sid Stayman who tied the record for the 220 yard dash. Billy Connor for his splendid work in football was named a player on the inter-high football team, It was this year that we got our bearings. Now that there was another class of freshman, we lost our gaucherie and became more confident and poised individuals. This year we dared to say what we thought lit was Emersonis Nlfssay on Self-Re liancew that encouraged usl and we even saw the imperfections in the seniors and juniors. We were just beginning to know Classical at this period, to appreciate its traditions, and to love its comfortable antiquity when we passed to the eventful stage of jolly juniors. After a long and interesting vacation we returned to Classical, bent on making good records by zealously applying ourselves to our work. But before We had had much time to see our wishes fulfilled, Nature stepped in in the form of a hurricane. Thus it was that in the afternoons of September 1938 to April 1940 We took up resi- dence at North. Fifteen