New London High School - Whaler Yearbook (New London, CT)

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Class $ropljeq 'I'he brilliant rays of the sun shone resplendent upon the thriving metropolis of New London. It was ten years since the c lass of 1924 had graduated from that now famous institution of learning, Bulkeley School. This was our first visit to the old town since that far distant day when we bid farewell to our classmates to take up a position with Tom Z. Sock-a feller. One glance at State Street convinced us that the class of 1924 was there with the goods. The second hand clothing store of Ulanoff and Ulanoff was having its weekly lire sale and the proprietors chatted with us between sales. They were doing a rushing business. A little further up the street we came upon a sad sight. A broken creature, once a man, was sitting- in front of the Five and Ten selling safety pins and pencils. It took more than one glance to assure us that it was none other than our friend “Red Sullivan. Sadly we tossed him a nickel and turned away. Then a flaring showbill arrested our attention. It read as follows: •I). K. I H'W AND COMPANY. AT THE CAPITOL, SUNDAY NIGHT ONLY. A GALAXY OF YOUTH AND BEAUTY, SCORES OF PRETTY GIRLS HOT FROM BROADWAY 1 ! !” Poor lad! If he had not been kicked out of Oxford he might have gone far. Thus musing upon his sad fate we were nearly run down by a limousine which was tearing down State Street with a fine disregard for human life. The oaths and imprecations of the crowd testified to the esteem in which the owner was held. We gathered that it was that blank, blank guy, Davis. Made his pile back in the twenties, bootlegging. Wife left him when he took to opium . Now we decided to have a look at the seventy-five story Kilburne building. The Class of 1924 seemed to have a monopoly on the place, for many office doors were lettered with familiar names. We talked of old times with Mr. Hamlen, the elevator boy, grown grey with years of faithful service. “Yes boys”, he remarked as we left, “I’ve made lifting my life work.” The first office we entered was that of P. J. Boras who owns a string of restaurants as long as a bread line. We learned from him that our old friend Oscar Rutman is expected to graduate with the class of 1938. He is certainly to be congratulated on his perseverance. Suddenly in breezed Romeo Cleveland. He is to be complimented on his success in the forging business, at which he has made more money than Ponzi. He was taking up a collection to build a suitable memorial at Cedar Grove for George Cohen, whose suicidal attempt at lion taming

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ulkeley Annum, 9 24 4% GTije Cla$£ of 1924 INCH everything has its beginning it was only natural years ago we should have come to Bulkeley School. that four Nineteen Twenty-four seemed a long way off then and the pleasant prospect of four years in high school faced us. Short trousers seemed the accepted garb for most of us in those days, a fact which afforded the upper classmen, and especially the Sophomores, the opportunity ol making some pointed remarks upon the decreasing size of Freshmen. Our first day in Bulkelev was a sorrowful one for some of us, and many a Freshman wend- ed his way homeward minus his necktie or some other article of apparel. Freshmen were less than nothing at Bulkeley four years ago but such have been the changes wrought by time that some of us are beginning to wonder who will be the first Freshman Football Captain—or Manager of the Baseball Team. It was with unalloyed confidence that we assumed the role of Sophomores at the beginning of our school year at Bulkeley. But alas! A bit ol disappointment was ours. A new regime was in order and our fatherly advances toward the entering of class were looked upon dissaprovingly by the Powers that be. It is sad but true that the ancient Bulkeley tra- dition concerning neckties was last exercised on and not by the Class of ’24. But every cloud is lined with greenbacks, as the saying goes, and we suddenly found ourselves in the'limelight as the result of the track meet. For our remarkable efforts we were presented with a suitable trophy, a-ward by the Head Master himself. It was not until we had attained the dignity of Juniors that individual merit, hitherto lying latent, asserted itself. We had men in every branch of athletics, on the debating team and engaged in literary pursuits in connection with the Bulkeley Annual. We refrain from mentioning the names of these distinguished members since modesty forbids it. The big social event of our Junior Year was the Prom which we can in all humility say has never been equalled in merit by any previous class in the history of Bulkeley School. Incidentally there was no necessity for presenting us with a special trophy after the track meet. As usual, our high scholarship men took several prizes at commencement. In spite of the universal shortage of bananas during the summer we were back strong in the fall of 1923 anil while somewhat diminished in numbers we proceeded to make our Senior year a memorable one. Our accustomed large percent of men were out for football and contributed in a great measure to make the season a success. Sail to relate, Bulkeley had no basketball team this year and a great many excellent players in the .Senior Class failed to get an opportunity to display their skill. The tryouts for the debating team brought out a large number of men as did the competition conducted by the business department of the Bulkeley Annual. In short, what appears to have been a highly successful year has been completed. However, we shall not sing our praise too loudly for we are not out of the woods yet,—not while Mr. Falconer teaches Math, at Bulkeley, any- how. In conclusion the class of 1924 is glad to have been at Bulkeley these four years in spite of a few misunderstandings now and then, and it is with a feeling of sadness that we accept our diplomas and leave the friendly portals of our Alma Mater to set forth on life’s long journey.

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reaped its inevitable reward. We gladly subscribed the two cents required. News of our arrival, spread rapidly. Clarence Lund, whose sensational divorce scandals have graced the front pages of every newspaper in the civilzed world, was another caller. He told us confidentially that he was planning a book to be entitled 1 low to be Happy though Married.” The happy reunion was interrupted however, as the notes of a mournful dirge echoed beneath our window. A funeral was passing. It was that of our former class president “Bugs” Silva. We learned that he had been killed the evening before in a friendly dispute about seven or eleven. Snatching our hats and coats we rushed out and raced the procession to the cemetery where we gave “Begs” a hearty send-off, Senator Freeman Elder telling some anecdotes which brought tears to the' eyes of many. The whole gang then adjourned to Cooper’s Undertaking Parlors, in Jim Main’s Car which reminded us of the good old days. At Cooper’s place we made a night of it. “Bootleg” Davis furnished the stimulants and “Blue” Hetherington’s Syncopated Jazz Babies the Rythm. “Sour Dough” Lshenfelder, whose disillusioned sex plays are privately produced, and whose love scenes are considered more passionate than those of F. M. Hull, delivered a four hour talk on the “Evils of the American Home.” As he has been married and divorced once every year since leaving high school he is in a position to speak with authority. Mr. Eshenfelder’s speech was broadcasted in place of the usual bed-time story from station WHAM. The pleasant gathering broke up early the next morning. The agony quartet, composed of Greenblatt, Lubchansky, Bitgood. and Ames closed the session with the strains of that stirring melody “If you Haven’t had Your Breakfast, You’ll Want Your Dinner.