Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

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Travelling along, we found a number of musically talented people with us. At various times, they provided entertainment while we sat around the campfires. In appreciation of such, money was obtained to purchase colorful maroon and gold uniforms for these entertainers. On oiu- join ney, we found sorrow occasionally interrujjling our happiness. Such was the case when death took Mr. Calderwood, who, lor a great number of years, had aided musical groups in our home sections. A short time l)efore, everyone had been greatly shocked by the loss of one of our aiUomobile mechanics leaders, Mr. Bryan. The first stage of oin- trip was broken by a ten-week rest stop, during which time fresh supplies were taken on and general repairs were made. Some desired to leave the caravan at this time. Among them were Miss Chase, Miss Jones, Miss Pray, Mrs. Oppler. and Mr. Matthews. There were a ninnber of people who had listened to oiu ' stories of adventiue and, as a restdt, wanted to continue along with us. Lack- ing facilities, we could take only a few, including Mr. Erwin, Miss MacDougall, Miss Salo, and Miss Ghiorse. Mr. Cleaves, who had been detained in protecting a section of our roiue against an Indian raid, rejoined us early in the year, followed a little later by Mr. Arlanson. STAGE 1 HREE The beginning of our third year found us just packing up to leave the Weymoiuh Hotel in Kansas City, Kansas. Some of us had been fortimate in being assigned to rooms freshly painted in rather unusual colors, rose, blue, ( r green. During our stay there, more changes took place with Mr. Loud, Miss Silverman, Miss Pearson, and Mr. Sherwood leaving us, biu in return. Miss Hill, Miss Gill, Mr. Stuart, Miss Fla- herty, Mr. Pieper, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rudolph, and Mr. Dwyer joined us. En route, the group, weary of the constant toil of travel, decided to take time out for recreation. The caravan divided into a number of different teams called Brock- ton, Weymouth, Quincy, North Quincy, Abington, Hingham, etc. to play a series of football games. Oiu spectacular Weymouth team under Co-captains Covency and Bicknell won by a score of 7 to 0, over the Brockton team. At other times dining the trip, brief encounters were held among the caravan groups and, at the end of the series of games, two tro])hies were awarded; one to John DiGravio, the other to Jimmy Coveney. To build up enthuiasm, three of our members, Barbara Weidman, Janet Melville, and Ann Russo, were selected to head a cheering section. In one town where we stopped, the people were experimenting with a newspaper called the Spectatoi , which was later discontinued because most of the townspeople moved westward with the gold rush. The carpentry and rej air crew stopped oft for a short time at the foothills of the Rockies to build a house for one of the caravan leaders, Mr. Driscoll, who had found the basis lor his dreams in one of the small mining towns we passed. During the Christmas season of our third year, the entire caravan was again deep- ly saddened by the accidental death of one of the outstanding members of wagon No. 223, Ethel Voigt. So again our wagon wheels rolled westward. On our way we elected officers. The outcome was: John Siieehan, jjresident; John Mclniosh, vice-president; Helen McGlynn, secretary: and John Chase, treasurer. The maintenance and repair crew chose Frank Colijy, president; Lawrence Raby, vice-president; and Edward White, secretary-treasurer. It was a stormy, rainy night on May 4, 1948 as we took lodging in Denver, Colo- rado. To relieve the strain of our hardships, a party was held. Fhe building was gaily decorated with marine decorations and sea growths. George McCue ' s orches- tra su])i)lied the nuisic . Joan Fieeman and Eddie DeLuc a were crowned king and Pa ' c Eighteen

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' JpiiK loUowing lew pages are lormally dedicated to the liistory of the Class ol and anyone not in that distinguished group (correction, please— anyone wlio reads it) is liable to be sentenced to a jjeriod of not more than (ilteen, nor less than live minutes ol boredom. Ol ' course, the above paragraph is written in jest. For in the following ])ages of black print, there are many words that help to recapitulate uidorgetful events that occurred during tlie lour, wonderful years that we, the graduating class of ' 49, spent together. It is not an easy task, as Mr. Kearns will testily, to express in an interesting way those events that will be forever dear to us. Our class history is written in an indirect way. The eventful parts of our four years at W.H.S. are written so as to coincide with a series of events that also took place in the year ' 49, one century earlier, 1849, when gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley of California. To California many thousands of people went by wagon across the plains from the North, the East, and the South, always subject to the attacks of Indians and death by starva- tion or thirst. Their journey to the West is not much unlike our four-year journey through Weymouth High School. While they had hoped to attain at the end of their long and perilous trijj a pot of gold , we dreamed of the great, now historical day, when we would receive our sheepskins. So remember as you read this class history, to try to synchronize the two expeditions. STAGES ONE AND TWO Notice was given by Mr. Mapes of a caravan forming for a trip to the gold country in September of 1945. All interested members were to report to rcxmis 101-206A of Weymouth High School for further information. A Maroon and Gold circular containing instructions and directions relating to the four-year journey to be tmdertaken was given to those reporting. The head coachman, Mr. Whittle, with his assistants, welcomed the pioneers, who were just starting on their perilous journey. Supplies were given to all, and the forty-niners who had assembled from the various sections were soon well acquainted. When the caravan began to move onward, various reactions were noted among the group. Most were extremely serious, being frightened by the size of the caravan and by the numerous rumors they had heard about all the impending dangers. Our first difficulty occurred when a group that had been sent out for food failed to return, so a scouting party had to be dispatched to locate them. They were finally safely returned to wagons No. 101 and No. 114. (Remember those split lunches?) However, after miles of walking, pushing, and ricling in those hard uncomfortable wagons, all became adapted to the routine of the trip. The first two years of the undertaking were rather uneventful. Each year fol- lowed more or less the same routine. To break the monotony, however, sports events were planned with a series of football games being played when other caravans were met along the route. Thanksgiving Day was celebrated by our team, coached by Paul Sweeney, playing a team from Cronin ' s Creek. To pep up the group and to cheer the team on to victory, a Booster ' s Club was formed under the leadership of Miss Toomey and Mr. Ghiorse. Once a week this group provided pre-game entertainment by a series of skits which were usually presented at some loclge along the route. The season closed by paying honor to the athletes by a banquet, at which awards were given to the most outstanding ones, followed a few days later by a Victory Dance which all who attended greatly enjoyed. During the winter season, a new group, the Chess Club, was organized by Mr. Matthews to provide entertainment for chess players and any interested spectators. The leaders were Bob McCarthy, Robert Marr, Allan Patterson, and Ronnie Bresnahan. Page Seventeen

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(juccil in llic c ' limiiial [Oil daiKc. Oilu r ciiU ' i laiiiiiic nl iiuliulc ' d soii s hy I ' cggy Miller, I ' hyllis Keimcy, Shii Icy Lync h, and l aul CHai k, skils l)y Eve lyn Iiir|)hy and Ann Slicchan, and solos by Mr. Lyndi, ihe janiior. Vcrna MacDonald and Barbara Nelson enlertained willi piano selec lions. One ol the inosi enjoyaljle num- bers was the taj) daiuins duel t;i en by Bai i)ara Weidnian and Lorraine Raymond. Living condil ions were aslly dilleicni in the Iroiilier lowns ihrougli which we passed. One da we gathered al ihe general store and listened lo stories ol the adventuresome people who had seltlecl in the region. I ' hey told us all kinds ol interesting stories al)oiU I heir lives, the possibilities ol making a living, the advan- tages and disad antagcs ol such a way ol living. It was not uniil we were moving along toward Salt Lake (iity that we lound theie were some outstanding in scholastic ability with us. Among these was a business student, Alice Akie, who had pas,sed the 12()-word Gregg Shorthand Certificate test given by Miss Noris. This was the first time in school history that anyone had ever past that test in the junior year. In f)ur caravan was a boy, Robert Marr, who had been presented a book trom a Harvard society lor his outstanding ability. To celebrate our rapid progress during the past year, a part of the group went on a scouting party to explore the surrounding territory, finally arriving at a place called Cirescent Park. After a long, dusty ride, the water looked most refreshing; so immediately a couple of the more rugged pioneers plunged in only to hear to their regret that the water was polluted. Then a long, dusty trip back to camp. STAGE FOUR 1 he s.nr.mer months Hew l)y anil fall was soon again with us. Since our wagons had to be repaired at this time, a small caravan including Mrs. Masters, Mrs. Ley- don, Mr. Annis. Mr. Carlson, Mr. Henley, Miss Pearson, Mr. Dicker, Mr. Whit- more, and Mr. Kearns caught ujj with us. While sitting around our campfire, we were entertained by stories of England as told by Mr. Dicker and Miss Pearson. Mr. Mitchell found a profitable place to settle; so he left the group before reaching the destination. Construction men were in great demand throughout this region of great opportunities so Mr. Rudolph and Mr. Pieper also decided lO leave us. Upon returning to our caravan, we were pleasantly surprised to find many new facilities, wliich made the remainder of our journey more comfortable, and to notice the attractive interior decorations. Early in November, we decided it was time for us to do some thinking about our future. We knew it would be wise for us to listen to the advice of those more experi- enced. So in the small mining town of Gutterson ' s Gulch, we gathered round our caravan while a group of experienced men from the town talked to us about the pos- sibilities which would present themselves after we had reached our ilestination. Mr. Kelly, one of our drixers, remained behind when the caravan moved on to help defend the settlers against the Indians. On November 17, another stop was made at Reffector Lake to replenish our sup ply of water. At this time, a feast was held for those members of our own and other caravans in this section who had managed the literary efforts. At various times, the work of the long, weary journey was somewhat lessened by pleasant athletic activities, provided by small units of the caravan. In honor of those participating in these events, a get-together was held at Victory Valley, during which awards were given to the most outstantling in these activities, Neil Russo and Bobby Hacketl. I he following night everyone enjoyed listening and dancing to the music of Art Jackson ' s orchestra, and, in the morning, we continued on our jour- ney. Because of the outstanding way in which we had performed these sports, we were informed while on our wav that we were now rated as CHass A. Page Nineteen