West Division High School - Comet Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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Spirit of West Side! lt our marvel- ous new school is to mean in the years to come what the old house, at present so nearly gone, has meant to the community, the city, cmd even the world, then we must ever keep in our minds what con- stitutes the true spirit of West. This is a spirit not evinced solely by exultation over athletic victo- ries, fine dramatic productions, and the like, but one that is most evident through our eagerness to learn whatever is good, our de- sires to serve others, and our honest attempts to form a more peace-loving world. By our con- stant striving for these shall we show the true Spirit of West Side and insure that, sixty years from now, our present home shall be venerated like the old. CLIFFORD V. WHITCOMB Vice Principal It has often been said, America is a land where free men have made a habit of doing the impos- sible . A free man, however, must be an educated man. Give a young man or a young lady the opportunity to acquire wealth from the world's storehouse of knowledge, and his or her dreams will never really be out of reach. Former students of West have proven this philosophy many times. Milwaukee, your parents, and your teachers are dedicated in their ambition to having each ot you become a free American. ARTHUR H. WILL Principal

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' I X P' ,, .si Joseph Bonfiglio The marching band broke out its repertoire of patriotic American and West Side songs and has been practicing continually since the news came. With Mr. Bonfiglio at the head, the band marches up and down all corridors, in and out of the build- ing all day. This adds to the feeling of disorientation, but some of the faculty suspect all students in West Division do not always study every minute anyway. The library is having the best business it has had since 'The Martian Invasion', by Orson Welles, says Miss Barnett, school librarian. She continued, Books have been coming in and out of this library like missiles off the launching pods at Cape Canaveral. Everyone is reading science fiction books and using the encyclopedia to find information on astronomy. ,... flfh ,, .V 0 0 e 0 ' Mrs .lean Ralph Cin, Emil Rucktenwold Mrs. Myrtle Hyman Michael 13

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The tall, slightly stooped figure of Erwin Gerboth, beloved coach, is to be seen no more stamping up and dawn the football field, encouraging and exhort- ing his players. He passed away De- cember 26, l958. He had been with West Division as a star track and football man, and returned, atter a brilliant athletic record at college, to coach sports at his alma mater for twenty years. He liked coaching, for it made him feel closer to the boys, in return, the boys gave him their respect and friendship. Mr. Gerboth was the guiding light behind the teams, and this spirit has inspired and unified the school in all endeavors. He has left us as coach, athletic di- rector and teacher, but the spirit he brought is still maintained. WE REMEMBER For twenty-two years the West Division bookstore has been man- aged by robin-like Miss lda Duden. Her bright, clever eyes, energetic and exacting activity kept her boys running about doing an efficient and helpful iob for the school. This same energetic and efficient characteristics were apparent in the way Miss Duden motivated her classes to do excellent work in preparation for secretarial posi- tions. Miss Duden will now go to Coli- fornia with her sister and enioy her retirement. Perhaps flowers will respond to her nimble touch as well as have her many grate- ful students. 15 Miss Mary Ellen Shields, our commercial teacher for many years, has left us. Only death could take this dedicated woman away from her creative work. During her teaching career she held high standards for her students and their reputation for good work was city wide. Miss Shields often personally helped her students find work. Many students were helped financially through her unselfish efforts to bring to light the good in all of us.