Technical High School - Tech Tiger Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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CLASS PROPHECY Con't we were in the year 1950. We decided to slow up, and regulating our pace till we were creeping through the air at the rate of one hundred miles a second, we were afforded an excellent view of Mother Earth. Suddenly a balloon loomed up in the distance. Coasting up to it, we found it contained Charlie Moriarty, who had now fulfilled? his ambition to rise high in the police force. He was directing aerial traffic. We asked him where we could find our old school-mates. After veto- ing his suggestion that we investigate the Sunday Schools and Public Libraries, we decided to visit Springfield. We were both equipped with lad pair of powerful binoculars which we proceeded to focus upon our Alma ater. In one corner of Room 23 we could see Johnney Hayes delivering his famous talk: Why Students Should Study Hard in High School. Looking through the sky-light of the Assembly Hall we saw an assem- bly going on. Adjusting our glasses more finely, we perceived that it was an honor assembly for the purpose of decorating Frasier Acker for con- ducting himself like a gentleman on the field of battle. l Next looking in the gym we saw that Les Roberts had become physical director, in which capacity he was instructing a Freshman Class in social e iquette. We next glided to the outskirts of the city where we saw a mammoth new factory being constructed for the purpose of putting on the market Harold Hoag's tennis racquet that is guaranteed never to miss the ball. Floating close to the scaffolding we asked a couple of masons, whom we saw to be Wesley Dearborn and John Welch, if any other Techites were en- gaged in this enterprise. They told us that Jimmy Goldenberg and Billie Bettigole had refused the positions of night watchmen because their mothers would not permit them to remain out after eight o'clock at night. Focusing our glasses on a speeding object below we were surprised to see Bob. Towne in his new seven cylinder roadster with cardboard top and celluloid windshield on his way to his summer home in the Berkshires. Still feeling rather shaky about leaving our home city we turned our glasses toward Main Street where we saw Leland Shaw playing tenor banjo in the Salvation Army band. He was ably supported by Kenneth Worcester and George Shine at the drums. Robert Gordon was passing the hat. Near by was a large establishment with a sign over the door bearing the inscrip- tion: Gordon and Messier, School Supplies and Garden Tools. Then we beheld a large crowd assembled in the Auditorium listening to the Hon. Quincy Heindl, now Mayor of Springfield, who was lecturing on: Shall we move the First Church. Loud protests were being voiced by the wealthy church members who proved to be none other than Harold Bock, David Wing, and Miss Ednah Wade of the Ladies' Sewing Circle. On the platform were seated Harold Childs, City Treasurer, and Senator James Benedict of Massachusetts. Sitting at the reporters' table was Clyde Hill of the Morning Onion. J From the Auditorium we turned our eyes to the courthouse where we saw Lillian Vaughn, first woman judge of the United States, who was presiding over the case of Merton Bowman against Egbert Walker. The former declared that the latter's geese had awakened his cows before three o'clock in the morning. Going back to the outskirts of the city we saw that Gordon Allen had K2-42 THE TECH TIGER

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Class Prophecy The room was hot and stuffy.. The silence was broken only by the restless shuffiing of feet and our futile champing on our Eversharp ends. What were we to do? We were class prophets and yet we could not see into the future. At least there seemed no possible way. We were at a standstill-frustrated before we started. You can easily imagine our fix. We finally had hit upon the desperate scheme of having one of us hyp- notized and having his spirit communicate with the other prophet. We decided to shoot it out with dice to see who should gain the doubtful honor of playing the spirit role. We were shooting even, and to get out of our dilemma we decided that the best way to be would be to use the Ouija board. We had taken it down from the shelf and were about to commune with the spirits. Suddenly our task was interrupted. Bang! Bang! went the door as someone knocked insistantly for ad- mittance. Come in, cried we, with jaded voices. The door was thrust open and there entered Bob Towne. He plunged right into the subject of his call. Well, boys, he said, I understand you're the prophets. I suppose you're having some difficulty working up something realistic ? We admitted that such was the case. Very well, , he continued. I am going to lay at your disposal a device which will open the vistas of time to your eyes not merely for a few decades, but for centuries. We fell on his neck with whoops of joy, and eagerly begged him to lead us to this wonder-working bit of mechanism. Nothing loath, he led the way to Mr. Goodrich's laboratory where the invention, which he modestly admitted was his brain child, was sheltered. Pulling aside the canvas that covered it, he revealed its intricacies to us. To our untechnical eyes it looked like nothing more than an enlarged stovepipe hitched to a generator. Bob told us that the machine was in- tended to be used to project lightning bolts into space. He, however, had obtained more speed by greasing the lightning. Each lightning streak was fitted out with controls to regulate the speed and direction. If pas- sengers were to be carried by the lightning, seats and provisions could be added, but these were hardly necessary, so fast was the streak. He said that in numerous experiments he had journeyed a million years into the future so much faster than time was this strange vehicle. By this time we were all eagerness and demanded that he immediately fit us out for a ride. Accordingly, he started in to cover us with a coating of axle grease to cut down the resistance of the air. He then smeared the nozzle of the gun with petroleum jelly to give the streak the necessary slippgriness. He then told us to creep out on the window ledge from which the nozzle was pointed and instructed us to jump when we heard a faint click, and to grab hold of the straps provided on the lightning for this pur- pose. We could then pull ourselves up on the streak at our convenience. D With these instructions in mind we strained our ears. We heard a click-we jumped. We sailed through space for what seemed an eternity until we saw the lightning streak issue from the mouth of the cannon. We immediately grabbed hold of the strapsiand pulled ourselves up. The earth flashed beneath us at an incredible rate of speed. Truly we were piercing the veil of futurity. We looked at the dial and saw that THE TECH TIGER 5239

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'J'- CLASS PROPHECY Con't. risen to the high position of President of the Longmeadow Interurban Traction Company. Flying over the river we saw Bill Blodgett steaming up to the Sylvia dock in his craft the Resolute. The Resolute was the first steamboat to come to Springfield up the newly dredged Connecticut River. Upon tuning in the wireless apparatus on our streak, we heard the voice of Theron Loose who was announcing for Station XYZ which is broadcast- ing Sporting News from Rabbi Berk's Tabernacle. After much consultation, we decided that our next stop would be New York. Pointing our prow in the direction of the metropolis, we increased our speed and reached New York almost immediately. Hovering over the Union Station, we saw Charles Haatanen, the famous Boy Scout leader, assisting David Schimmel, a busy umbrella salesman, who had just been knocked down by a passing truck, to arise. As we passed over Columbia Stadium, we saw Si Converse coaching Columbia's star football eleven. We next heard a ticking overhead. We saw a reindeer and sleigh passing over us in the ether. The driver was none other than Stanley Fillion. To satisfy his benevolent tendencies, he was already starting deliveries for next year. His chief agent in the good work was Bill Kenyon, the renowned community worker. Securing a newspaper from a balloon news stand, we saw on the first page that Harold Doolittle and Charles Decater, the world-famous finan- ciers, are about to sail for China to serve as advisers to the new president, Me-No-No. We also read with interest of the lecture scheduled to be given by Benjamin Bushey on: Why people laugh when I speak, and shed tears when I stop. Soaring around the top of the Woolworth building, we looked down the elevator shaft. The first thing that met our eyes was the sight of Jimmie Culverhouse, the financier, coming up to his fortieth story offices. Sweet strains of music next attracted our attention. Careening in the direction of the music, we perceived that it was being generated by a roof garden orchestra. The conductor of the orchestra was none other than Raymond Sacenti. Listening delightedly to the dulcet strains were Felix Julian and Joseph Gentile, noted art connoisseurs. We next directed our flight in the direction of Central Park. As we passed over Broadway, whom should we see but Hilding Lindstrom, the re- nowned Chatauqua leader in earnest conversation with Mae Hutchinson, the young operatic prima-donna. It seems that his only rivals are John Wallenius and John Spencer Read commonly known as the two Johns, We next passed over a large stadium built especially for the purpose of housing the people who will hear the debate on Should American sol- diers be allowed to carry water-pistols '? Fred Borgeson was supporting the affirmative side, Herbert Wiese, the negative. Looking down upon Fifth Avenue, we saw Stuart Cowles, the sombre hero of the silver sheet, who has just appeared in the latest Prizma film, Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. He had just finished a satisfying meal at Kramer's Restaurant. We now took a spin around Central Park. The first thing that at- tracted our attention was Lester Treat, the great hunter and trapper, fish- ing in time park frog-pond. At his side was Donald Bronson, the eminent scientis . THE TECH TIGER T251