Plainfield High School - Milestone Yearbook (Plainfield, NJ)

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[12] LOOKING BACK AT OUR CHARTERED COURSE As the Good Ship PHS pulls into the har- bor to dock for the annual summer vacation, we crewmen, occupying the “Senior Deck,” realize that all too soon our four year journey has come to an end. On a sunny September day in 1948, fol- lowing Joyce Popovitch, our captain; Bill Luce, Nancy Joy and Ruth Borsuk, our faith- ful officers, we marched up the plank, amazed at the size of our new home, fascinated by the older passengers, yet looking forward to our promised Freshman Party. Pete Lawson, Marty Sinteff, Diane Young and Ruth Borsuk commanded our crew in our second year at sea. By then we had learned the ropes, even down to sponsoring a sopho- more square dance. And it was we who were respcnsible for the PHS stickers and decals that decorated the many books and cars around school. In Our junior year, with our pilot crew consisting of Ted Bremble, Gene Herman, Ginny Zieman and Anne Guiness, we became more active in clubs and showed our promi- nence by presenting our own class play, ‘Out of the Frying Pan.’’ The year would not have been complete without the successful presen- tation of cur annual dance, ‘Stairway to the Stars... Outstanding in memory, though, was being able to share Jr.-Sr. Prom responsibili- ties. Then with Jim Berrier, Cathy Stubits, Mimi Seltzer and Georgiana Goerz taking charge, we began our last trip with the addi- tional guidance of commander-in-chief Joseph Passarella It was only November when our dramatic members had conquered a Norwegian accent and presented ‘| Remember Mama.”’ We were equally proud when Bill Luce, David Rice, Joyce Popovitch, and Larry Bartlett, as Student Council officers, guided representa- tives to solutions of many school problems. The first half of the year slipped by quickly and we were soon involved in college board exams or desperately trying to decide our plans for the future. Then came June. Instead of the ship's familiar whistle that blows as it prepares to deck, we hear strains of “Pomp and Circum- stance’ and the rustle of diplomas. As we retrace our steps down the plank, we intrust to the class of ‘53 the care of the Good Ship PHS, but carry with us fond memories of a journey we shall never forget.

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“THE END IS BUT THE COMMENCEMENT...” It has been a real pleasure and a singular honor to be the classmaster of the distinguished Class of 1952. | hope that by your humility, your competence, and your integrity you merit the recognition and trust your diplomas represent. | hope, too, that by your example and leadership you prove worthy additions to that long line of illustrious and loyal sons and daughters of PHS. | wish for you what you wish for yourselves... all the happiness life can give. How can happiness be attained? | believe happiness comes as a by-product of worthwhile achievements, the fulfillment of noble aspirations. As you grow in understanding, by continuing your educa- tion and by observing human beings in action, perhaps you will glean that the good life includes a generous measure of aspirations and some successes. You have already begun to ask your- selves, ‘What kind of a life do | want to live?’’ As you work out your answers include all the wholesome and worthwhile goals and experiences that seem reasonable, and then set yourselves to their fulfillment. You may not attain them all, but you are most likely to attain a goodly measure of them. Out of these attainments, | believe, will come your happiness. In the process of working and reaching toward your goals, may | remind you never to for- get one truth: that the means are a part of the ends. How you live, or work, or play, or attain your aims, is as important as the things, the positions, the wealth, the ends, for each end is but a commencement. You take your leave, but you leave a part of you with us, and you take a part of us with you—our hearts, our hopes, and our prayers. Sincerely, J, E. Passarella [13]