Columbia High School - Mirror Yearbook (Maplewood, NJ)

Page 14 text:

Cjreetlnc d to the daSA of 1936 You are graduating in an exciting and challenging decade. Never at Columbia has the interest in education beyond high school been higher. Never have opportunities for qualified young people in business or industry or the professions been greater. Never has our country been stronger or wealthier or occupied a position of greater prestige than it has in this decade. These are great years in which to begin one’s adult life. Among the more than four hundred young men and women who will receive their diplomas June 21, a large number will be outstandingly successful in whatever they undertake — whether it be college, a job, the armed services or marriage. Some will succeed moderately well; others will just get by”; and a small minority will be failures. Research on the factors affecting success and failure indicate that while high ability and good education are very important in achieving success, they share equal importance with strong purposes, readiness to work long and hard, and a capacity for getting along with other people. Generally speaking, the people who succeed are the ones who deserve to. Good luck or bad luck are largely superstitions. Most people make their own luck. Although your eyes and thoughts are focused ahead, do not forget that Columbia is and will continue to be your school home, and you are always welcome to come back to visit your teachers and your other friends here. Where- ever you go and whatever you do, you carry with you the affectionate good wishes of the men and women and of the boys and girls who make up Columbia High School. Page 10 Robert L. Amsden, Principal

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 Senior The time has come to say good-bye to Columbia High School. Our stay here has been rich in fun and learning, and we shall always cherish the memories of these past three years. As we approached Columbia for the first time, we felt apprehensive. The unfamiliar surroundings, the maze of halls, and the mysterious lunch schedule bewildered us. However, it wasn’t long before we blended into the school body and could no longer be distinguished as sophomores. We joined as many clubs and committees as our time permitted, and in April we participated in our first election. Excitement swept through the school; posters with flashing lights, noisy campaign rallies, and homemade campaign buttons added to the colorful confusion. Soon we were juniors, and the all important activity was the preparation for Time Out For Timothy, our smash-hit Junior Night production. What fun we had composing and rehearsing our own show! The school echoed for months afterward with the refrains of Neighborly Love” and I’m Brock.” Our junior year was packed with other new experiences. Club and school council meetings, and special teas and breakfasts were now held in the modern Peter Kasen Memorial room. We can remember many a party held there, complete with music from the spinet piano and entertainment from the hi-fi and television sets. The sports’ year was highlighted by the swimming team’s exciting victory over Trenton High School to capture the coveted State Championship title. The marking system was radically changed under the direction and planning of three committees; one composed of students, another of teachers, and a third of parents. A lettering system, including pluses and minuses, replaced the outmoded percentage system. Our parents came down with severe cases of writer’s cramp from signing eight cards, one for each subject! Steve Decter carried through one of the planks in his platform by establishing the sophomore orienta- tion committee, a group whose purpose is to clear away the fog that always hovers around new students. We are sorry that we could not have enjoyed the advantages of this assistance. How much easier our first days here would have been. The elections added to our list of firsts” when Richard Updike was elected in the primaries with a land- slide victory. This was the only time in fifteen years that a candidate did not have to go to the finals to be elected. In our class election, John Chappelear was chosen to preside at our graduation in 1956. We were surprised to learn that Miss Helene Smith, our esteemed guide, was to retire at the end of our junior year. She had ably served Columbia as an English teacher, head of the English department, and class guide during our sophomore and junior years. It was reassuring to learn, however, that Mr. Fleming was to assume the responsibility of class guide along with Mr. Thompson. The ink on our final exams had scarcely time to dry before we were returning to accept all the responsi- bilities and prestige that mark the eldest class in the school. Our class was very special in many respects. We fulfilled our responsibility as Seniors by demonstrating great drive and school spirit; never before had so many well-attended dances been held, and never before had so many spectators supported our athletic events. The 1956 swimming team won the State Meet for the second year in a row by a slim margin of one-half point. Chitranjan Kapur from India and Yoriko Konishi from Japan spent two short weeks with us under the Herald-Tribune Exchange Student Plan. We learned a great deal about the customs and ideas of their respective countries from these interesting people. Yoriko entertained us with a graceful, interpretative Japanese dance. The Ford Foundation added to our choice of academic courses for our senior year. We were the first class to benefit from the advanced courses in English, chemistry, and mathematics that were offered at Columbia under the sponsorship of the Foundation. We were also priviliged in that we participated in the National Merit Scholarship Examinations which were initiated this year. More than thirty percent of our students who took the exams passed the first screening. Manwoo Lee, a friendly Korean boy, was a welcome addition to our class. We enjoyed talking and listening to him and being with him in classes. We were very pleased to see him at our dances and football games. He became quite proficient on ice skates, too! Miss Mildred Bullock, a teacher of business education; Miss Cecelia Freeman, a French teacher; Dr. Helen Leech, class guide and Latin teacher; and Miss Marjorie Nichols, an English teacher, announced their decision to retire after their years of faithful service to Columbia. In the Veterans’ Day assembly, a set of clear-toned chimes was presented to the school in memory of Mr. Frederic J. Crehan, the late principal of Columbia. At this time, two plaques in memory of former faculty members were placed on the walls of the auditorium. Highlighting the year was the Senior Play production of George Washington Slept Here,” in which we showed our fine acting talent. The cast of this play was one of the largest ever seen on the Columbia stage. Mr. Browning, a new member of the faculty, directed the production with skill. The hilarious comedy was received with gales of laughter. Now all these events are behind us and exist only in memory. It seems as though the years have deliber- ately hurried by. Soon we shall graduate and our lives will follow many different paths. But each of us will remember well the work and fun we shared together, and the warm friendships we made at Columbia High School. ¥