Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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n°ke ou e Qo£dfen (Rac5 Prize Award Story by BARBARA MERRILL Before looking at tlie back issues of Golden Rod, I was fully prepared, upon glancing through them, to find an ade- quate supply of material to ridicule. But alas! my fond hopes of a good laugh melted entirely away upon my examina- tion of one of the first numbers. True, our magazine of today is a remarkable publication for a high school and in com- parison the early Golden Rods were a rather skimpy, stuffy, and unattractive lot, but what impressed me in skimming their pages was the apparent earnestness and determination which showed in their writing. There seemed to be a more serious note prevailing in the whole issue, while ours now maintains a humorous style throughout, treating things more lightly and breezily. To account for this can we say that the modern boys and girls are a shallow, short-sighted generation, caring for nothing but the frivolous side of life with no consideration for the future or for the serious problems with which life will confront us? No, I hardly think that! By way of explanation, however, I do believe that the rapid pace of modern activity has contributed to freer thinking and less conformed customs, naturally leading to a more diversified and less stilted style of writing. In short, taking into considera- tion the rather somber literary style customary in those times, I really think that the early Golden Rods were fine magazines and each page seemed to bear out the fact that effort, hard work, and much thought had gone into their publication. In contrasting the joke sections of today s and yesterday’s Golden Rods, I would say that to appreciate the humor in any magazine of this type it would be necessary for one to be acquainted with the prevalent fads, conditions, and customs of the school at that time. Consequently, we tend to underestimate the humor in the early issues because we don’t understand the implications made, while to one aware of the facts or the persons connected with them, the jokes would probably Nine

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Qofcftn 1891 -1936 Eight (PubtiAked! by tke AtucJent Quincy J-fu k Sckoo£ Quincy, TTla ackuAett

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appear very comical. We can apply this observation to the 1936 edition, in which humorous references are made to various students and events, which to future readers not in the know will mean nothing. On the other hand I discovered several witty poems and short sketches in the early copies which were exceptionally clever, and a few excellent cartoons, thus eliminating any excuse for smugness on our part in thinking that our humor greatly surpasses that in preceding issues. In the very early part of the 20th century, sports appeared to be as prominent in school activity as they are now considered. Approximately half of the majority of editions was devoted to the various branches——accounts of the games played and members of the team. In reference to pictures in the first Golden Rods, their scarcity, of course, dimin- ished as the years progressed, but the few early photographs there were are espe- cially interesting to note. The pupils look perhaps slightly older than the modern senior class members, though I imagine that is partly due to the style of clothes worn. I particularly noticed the seemingly obligatory costume of all girls—the muslin blouse and dark skirt—and even the boys’ high collars tended to impart an air of worldliness to their wearers. Perhaps it was the fashion in those times, but I observed that the majority of girls and boys in their pictures wore a serious expression, while in the 1936 editions smiles seem to be quite in vogue. Is this another instance of the comparison I drew in the first paragraph between the high school students of yesterday and today? While turning over the pages of the various copies, my eye many a time picked up the name of some teacher still helping Quincy’s younger generation on to bigger and better achievements, and, in another light, I also saw the names of several Quincy teachers themselves included in the graduating classes. Even the Thalia Club can trace its existence back to pre-war times, and Orchestra and Band are not such recent contributors to Golden Rod news. Also, the Exchange and Alumni departments of the magazine have been a standing feature almost since the first issue. Thus, much of the material contained in our magazine of today has formed a basis for comments in many preceding years. We must not fail to remember that the high school referred to in, for instance. Golden Rod of 1912 is not the building we know, but rather the present building known as Central Junior High. In some of the earlier numbers we see mentioned Ten