East Rockaway High School - Rock Yearbook (East Rockaway, NY)

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FOREWORD We of this modern generation envy the people of the Gay Ninety” days, days when precious pictures, each telling a different story, were stowed away in the family albums, and later brought out and dusted off, to illuminate the owner’s memories. Consequently we have chosen as our theme the old-fashioned album, that we, too, may bring out this yearbook from among our school day collections, and refresh our minds with these glorious memories. As wc sit next to Mary in study hall or Tom in English, we think we will never forget the day her chair fell through or the humorous talk he gave on women’s hats. But, memories arc elusive and the incidents and faces we think we will never forget, will gradually become dim and tarnished with age. That calamity shall not be ours, for here in these pictured pages are the means of recollection. What a joyful, tingling feeling will envelope us as we turn back the leaves of this album and £4 ] suddenly sec before our eyes the very expression on Mary’s face the day .. . What sincere laughter shall peal forth as we recall Tom’s unconscious wit and Johnny’s comical antics. Let no skeptic say that wc of today arc lacking in a love of sentiment, for under that oft heard pretentious remark, I’m too old for that,” there isn’t one of us who doesn’t experience a happy emotion when we receive a valentine or singing telegram. Yes, the so-called sophisticate of the 1940 period of ’Gone With The Wind,” Glenn Miller, wedge heels and the Lindy Hop, are all as openly sentimental as were their grandparents in the 1890 era of antimacassars, tintypes, stereoscopes and lambrequins. And so as we advance to that lavender and old lace” stage, and tenderly glance through this cherished book, you will hear us query, Do you remember the time ... ?” Will you ever forget that day in History . . . ?” Ah! these reminiscences are yet to be ours; ours to capture and relive; ours to laugh over and cry over; ours to be locked in our hearts as vivid, vital memories!

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A RECORD DF FOUR YEARS AT EAST HDCKAWAY HIGH SCHUUI. THE ROCK FDR 1940

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DEDICATION A person who impresses others with her strength, her knowledge, and her understanding usually has character as the source of that personal attractiveness. To us, Miss Elizabeth Gordon, our class advisor and instructor in Senior English, is the epitome of that thought. Miss Gordon has made manifest to us her aptitude in the English and dramatic field. In October, 1939, she was awarded the degree of Master of Arts by Cornell University, a result of continued work in dramatic structure and history. An example of her ability and interest in this field is shown by an active dramatic club which she has sponsored for four years, each year presenting a successful play, Queen’s Husband”, The Late Christopher Bean”, The Royal Family”, and then Growing Pains”. In the same four years, each literary staff of the ROCK has felt the essential support and capable guidance that she so readily gives. As Miss Gordon gracefully stands before her class reading a passage from Shakespeare in her soft, expressive voice, we see a person whose love for books is genuine. Her enthusiasm for good authors of any and all periods of writing — Burns, Millay and Anderson — is often transmitted to her students to a marked degree. This enthusiasm so diligently carried out is one of our most valuable inheritances from four years in high school. Among Miss Gordon’s treasured volumes is a variety of titles; Ogden Nash’s, I’m A Stranger Here Myself”; Hudson’s, Green Mansions”; Pearl Buck’s, The Good Earth”, and Mary Webb’s, Precious Bane”. These books lying invitingly about, frequently urge apathetic people to make new acquaintances or delight practiced readers looking for fresh inspiration. Diversified interests make the well-rounded individual. Our clever mentor may at times be heard discussing the back-hand stroke in tennis; an animating experience with her favorite mount at the Hempstead stables, or a thrilling polo match she attended. Her long hikes are often made more companionable by the company of Jill, a thoroughly pleasant embodiment of the best Irish Setter traits. Miss Gordon’s fine personality is revealed by her own philosophy of life in which she believes that tolerance, sympathy and the beautiful things in the world take the major lead. . . . And so to the teacher who is never too busy to nod and smile when we pass her desk, we dedicate our 1940 yearbook!