Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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INTRODUCINC-5 MR SPECTATOR Mr Spectator comes to us a drstrngurshed frgure walklng rn a mrst of drgnrty and excellence from the essays of a small darly sheet of the erghteenth century He IS Wrth us today as rn trmes before he was wrth the 1obbers at Ionathan s and the polrtrcrans at St Iames Coffee House Slowly through the ages he walks retarnrng the un1que demeanor he was endowed wrth observant and medrtatrve an rmpressrve character rnstrlled rn lrnes of rrnmortal lrterature It rs from these lrnes we summon hrm to 1o1n us here and play the role of spectator once agarn To pay homage to hrs brrllrant creators and to enlrghten your mrnds or enhance your rnemorres as to the nature and pre ence of Mr Spectator we trace the followrng brret hrstory He rs the lrterary creatron of two men ol Englrsh letters Ioseph Addrson and Rrchard Steele who invented hrm to fulfrll the1r need of an unbrased person rnto whom they could rnject the1r own rndrvrdual crrtrcrsms and oprn ons Wrthout rncurrrng the drspleasure of therr readers In accomplrshrng th1s ta k they gafe us the Spectator papers rn whrch their character had a vorce that was to acqurre a vast audrence for soon all London was darly readrng the ob ervatrons and medrtarrons made on Mr Spectator s explorts rn socrety To carry on hrs task Mr Spectator wa equrpped wrth certarn srngular tra1ts and varrecl abrlrtres whrch we need mentron s nce they are reqursrte to the pre ervatron of hrs orrgrnal person and rn accountrng for hrs presence with us Hrs early lrfe rs of no notable srgnrfrcance and we shall drspense wrth rt sayrng only that at a very early age he was reputed years he was drstrngurshed by a profound silence and he tells us that although berng rn attendance there erght years hrs entrre conversatron scarce amounted to an hundred words He applred hrmself with much drlrgence to hrs studres and upon hrs graduatrorr had made acquaintance wrth all the celebrated books of hrs trme rn both the learned and the modern tongues Leavrng the unrversrty he sought knowledge rn other lands and broadened the scope of hrs learnrng After travelrng several years rn thrs manner he returned to London to assume hrs role of Spectator Probably the most remarkable aspect of hrs rntellectual genius rs hrs versarlrty hrs apparent abrlrty to grve a cross sectron of affarrs crrcumstances and condrtrons of drfferent natures Berng conversant with all the sub1ects of hrs day and expertly versed rn Latrn he IS well frtted for hrs task and he employs hrs perceptrons and abrlrtres to best advantage Out standrng among hrs characterrstrcs rs the strrct tacrturnrty he rnarntarns talkrng only wher' rn company of hrs select friends Hrs face IS Well known for he vrsrts all the places where people congregate and goes to the theatre and coffee house regularly He travels through lrfe a looker on a spectator content to observe rather than to partrcrpate So rt rs that we rnvrte hrm to vrsrt us to play the role of spectator once agarn and who knows perhaps a drssertatron on pork pre hats or costume 1ewelry wrll come from hrs pen He wrll possrbly poke fun at us Whrle he rs wrth us we must consrder hrm a worthy guest be mrndful of hrs peculrar drsposrtron and do nothrng to drsplease hrm If you see hrm strolling down our halls rn quarnt toggery peeprng behrnd doors or audacrously lrstenrng to your conversatron pay hrm no heed He rs only a spectre spectator Herman Lewrs I , , , , U E I . . . to be sullen and that he showed remarkable aptitude for learning. During his university , , . . . , . , I 1 - ' n

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APPRI Ll Xl IOY The members of The Spectator Staff and of the Class of 1940 Wish to express to the following their appreciation of the invaluable aid in producing thi book To Miss Iune Hoffman the Art Adviser for her skillful plan ning of the book To Miss Ruth Kantner the Photography Staff Adviser for her Work in arranglng individual photographs and the group pictures supervision of the editorial and business staffs To Mr Chalmer Hartman for the group p1ctures in the book To Mr Don West for his help in arranging the groups for the photographer To Mr Louis E Wise of Iahn and Ollier Engraving Com pany for his plans and suggestions To Mr Leslie Weigel of Weigel and Barber Inc for his cooperation in printing the book To Steve Lozanoff and other members of the Camera Club for the snapshots which they took of school life To those others who have in any way contributed to The Spectator but have not been mentioned here We offer our sincere appreciation and thanks -' I P Y C A I i To Miss Alice Gocher, the General Adviser, for her fine

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