Columbia High School - Mirror Yearbook (Maplewood, NJ)

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 JAMES P. AARON Jim” 385 Hillside Place South Orange Electronics Club 2, 3; Secretary 4; Football Usher 3; Air Raid Rescue Squad 3, 4; Senior Play Tiiet Committee 4; Visual Aids Committee 2, 3, 4. Remembered for: his interest in electronics, his love of cars, and working so hard at Gruning’s. ANITA R. ALERCIO Nit” 60 Fairview Avenue South Orange Future Teachers of America 3, 4; Personality Club 4; G. A. A. 2; Junior Night Cast 3. Remembered for: her quiet manner, her skill in square dancing, and her desire to teach kindergarten. JACK ALPERT 9 Burr Road Maplewood Bioradiology Club Vice-Chairman 2, Treasurer 3; Chess Club 2, 4; Forum Romanum 2, 3; Mathematics Club 4; Homeroom Vice- Chairman 2; Homeroom Treasurer 4; Intramural Basketball 3; In- tramural Touch football 2. Remembered for: his extreme quietness in class, his good looks, and being a lot of fun once he gets started.” STEPHEN AMES Steve” 100 Baker Street Maplewood Electronics Club 4; Band 3, 4; South Side High School: Latin Club 2; Science Club 2; Band 2. Remembered for: his freckles, his little boy” grin and his avid interest in Math and Science. TOM R. ANSELMI Chico” 1975 Springfield Avenue Maplewood Homeroom Secretary 4; Homeroom Treasurer 2, 3; Baseball Team 2, 3, 4; J. V. Football 2; J. V. Baseball 2; Intramural Basketball 2, 3. Remembered for: his bright blue eyes, his good looks, and zooming around town in a Plymouth. DANIEL B. ARON Danny” 357 Montrose Avenue South Orange Bioradiology Club 2, Vice-President 3; Le Cercle Fran ais 2, 4; Jazz Club 3, 4; Platform Club 2, 3, 4; Parnassian Society 2, 3; Homeroom Chairman 4; Cross Country Track Team 2, 3; Nomi- nating Committee 2, 3; Junior Night Cast 3; Junior Night Chorus 3; Pre-Junior Night Committee 3; Columbian Staff 2, 3, 4; Columbian Columnist 4; Columbian Sports Editor 4. Remembered for: his interest in Gilbert and Sullivan, working so hard on so many extra-curricular activities, and being a great tramp” in Junior Night. CHARLES ASARNOW Chuck” 19 Ball Terrace Maplewood Eligibility Committee 2; Intramural Basketball 3; Intramural Touch Football 2; Basketball Manager 2, 3, 4; Junior Night Ticket Com- mittee 3; Senior Play Scenery Painting 4. Remembered for: being such an enthusiastic?’ basketball manager, his clownish antics, and living up to the saying: Laugh and the world laughs with you.” JAMES G. ASHER Jim” 380 Harding Drive South Orange English Guild 2, 3, Treasurer 4; Pan American Club 4; Platform Club 3, 4; Sophomore Dramatic Club 2; Junior Night Cast 3; Junior Night Properties Committee 3; Columbian Staff 2, 4; Columbian Subscriptions and Collections 3. Remembered for: his seriousness, his hard work in the English Guild, and his great performances behind the footlights.

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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. ¥

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KENT ATKINS 359 West End Road South Orange Chess Club 2; Chemistry Club 4; Forum Romanum 2; Platform Club 3; Swimming Team 2, 3, Captain 4; Mirror Circulation Com- mittee 4. Remembered for: being such a good captain of the swimming team, his easy-going manner, and his dry humor accompanied by a poker face. BILL ATTERBURY Red” 50 South Ridgewood Road South Orange Remembered for: his nickname Red,” being the first to leave at 2:46, and his seemingly reserved personality. HENRY E. AUER Stretch” 88 Harding Drive South Orange Bioradiology Club 2, 3; Chemistry Club 4; Chess Club 2; Platform Club 3, 4; Eligibility Committee 2, 3, 4; Tennis Team 2, 3, 4; Intramural Basketball 2, 3, 4; Junior Night Cast 3; Junior Night Chorus 3. Remembered for: being head and shoulders above all others,” his shy but friendly manner, and having one of the highest l.Q.s in the Senior Class. PAUL AULISIO 165 Academy Street South Orange Remembered for: his characteristic walk, his cool red Ford, and not wanting to be remembered for anything. JAMES AURIEMMA Jimmy” 6 Eder Terrace South Orange Football Team 3, 4; J. V. Football 2; J. V. Football Captain 2. Remembered for: being the first in his crowd to get his license, his fugged good looks, and being a big little package of dynamite on the football field. GEORGE AUTH 32 Field Road Maplewood Remembered for: being so very quiet, his smile, and his friends from Union. ROBERT BAIME Bob” 118 South Wyoming Avenue South Orange Pan American Club 3, 4; Platform Club 3; Homeroom Chairman 2; Homeroom Vice-Chairman 3, 4; Assembly Committee 2; Intramural Basketball 4; Intramural Touch Football 2; Intramural Bowling 3; Junior Night Cast 3; Senior Play Advertising Committee 4; Mirror Advertising Committee 4. Remembered for: his interest in sailing, being sought after by many girls, and his crazy antics. ROBERT E. BALL JR. Bob” 13 Lancaster Avenue Maplewood Swimming Team 4; Basketball Team 4; Intramural Bowling 4. Remembered for: his carefree attitude, playing the trumpet, and working at the A P.