A B Davis High School - Maroon and White Yearbook (Mount Vernon, NY)

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lift Qooc! Q7TITLQ There is an old adage that says, Music is good to the melancholy, bad to those who mourn, and neither good, nor bad to the deaf. Never- theless, regardless of what mood we were in, even the most unmusical among us were com- pletely charmed by the harmonious renditions that were played by the Davis ORCHESTRA, un- der the direction of Mr. Nielsen. Davisites frequently had an opportunity to hear the orchestra in the weekly as- EA Q 'n semblies. Those ', lf M, xf who were privi- leged to attend the ,'-s 5 'rl.- M successful Davis musical, Trial by Qi? jury, heard, in ff, addition to a bril- Q liant violin solo by Vera Halleman, or x 7 ,,-,V a delightful piano 5-Li, rtev pf-Ce by Bob Mil- ler, the orchestra playing some of its best cultural music. The epit- ome of the orchestral season was reached in the inspiring, spectacular Christmas assembly. How- ever, for some, the recessional music, played by the orchestra at the june graduation, was by far the most pleasant. At the sharp command of Mr. Nielsen, Keep those drums quiet , the semi-weekly practice of the Davis orchestra would commence. With a shrill fanfare of trumpets accompanied by a solid drum-beat for an introduction, those musi- cal aspirants would begin to rehearse some en- trance or exit march. The musicians would fill in the remainder of their 45 minute time allot- ment, by working on overtures, other marches, The Star-Spangled Banner, and incidentals. Frequently, the student conductor, Davis's own high-stepping drum-majorette, Arlene Pruesse, took Mr. Nielsen's place on the podium and con- ducted the striving musicians. ln addition to be- ing the student-conductor, Arlene was the or- chestra's secretary. Other officers were Larry Tichenor, president, Sam Martley, vice-presi- dent, and Barbara West, librarian. ORCHESTRA Row l: A. Goldstein, R. Himmell, R. Miller, Row 2: Mr. Nielsen, E. Wolf, D. Kaye, S. Heyer, A. Knopf, D. Heller, S. Martley, W. Berquist, D. Goldberg, Row 3: M. Schmidt, C. Pappas, H. Seer, l, Moersh, V. Halleman, L. Barlow, A. Preusse, B. West, K. Lesser, l. Pomeranz, Row 4: L. Tich- enor, S. Garland, C. Copp, l. Buist, M. Bresnick, D. Cantrell, A. Kramer, M. Weiss, C. Farnsworth, R. Ellis, A, Sutty Page Sereiifceii

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CQZLQ Gfock Period One, you start full of pep, ln this math class you've got to be hep. Figures and theorems go tumbling past- You could catch 'em, if they weren't so fast. The period lags, the minutes crawl, Time hangs heavy, as if trying to stall. You wish they'd invented a much better ticker To make those clock-hands turn a bit quicker. But on to your French sans a moment of spite, Finding you ought to have studied last night, For the teacher decides to quiz all the class With a verb test you're sure you cannot pass. The clock ticks on and laughs at your pl ight As you pensively gaze at your paper so white. An obstinate tick-a refractory tock, As the minutes creep across the great clock. From third floor to first you leap in a bound, Rush into English--all fours off the ground. Gerunds and similes clash in the air, As the agonized teacher tears at her hair. But nothing compares to her anguish as some, For time on their hands, revert to their gum, And chewing in time to the second hand's beat Help pass the time by tapping their feet. Off to history where things never go right The date you recall is the cute one last night. Battles and treaties and Paul Revere's ride Get you confused-you wish you could hide. The clock proves no aid, and slowly does drag Till students and teacher are limp as a rag. Nation-wide problems just don't mean a thing, Patiently waiting for that bell to ring. l-lunger pains gnawing, you stagger to lab, With nitrates, potassium and sulphur you dab. Page sinqtccii. Food on your mind, you look at the time The way those hands creep is really a crime. lt's lZ:l5 now-half an hour to go, Never before has time seemed so slow. You look once again, for action you yearn, The harder you look, the slower they turn! Lunch! Food! Fodder! Grub! Yum! Crunch! Zoop! Blub! Oom! Crack! Ugh! Ahh! Rush! Crush! Times up! Blah! l-lot dog! A minute and a half to go! Mustard! Ouch! But these kids shove so! l-lash! What goes into this, nobody knows! Milk! You spilled it all over my clothes! Appetite dulled, you stampede to gym To hang from the bars and risk life and limb. But you don't mind, for bones are soon mended Time you don't notice while hanging suspended For, though we all know that exercise ls sure to make us well and wise, The fun in gym is practically nil Because that clock stands almost still! Reluctant feet dragging, you reach study hall Time spent gazing at the clock on the wall. l-lalf in a stupor, half in a daze, Your eyes take a strange fishy glaze. The second hand moves in slow, palsied jerks, Assured that George poured glue in the works. Time is now crawling on hand and on knee, You dream of the bell that'll make you free. Spirits are soaring, the weather is fine, But pity the one who stays in period nine! 4l

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'gfly IIS l.SClOI7'l, k 1.1718 CLI7, gI'lC!!QSS Oflg Year after year one of the main highlights of each Davis assembly was always the CHOIR. Opening devotions were enriched by their lovely voices blending in hymns. Once in a while they rendered a few extra numbers as part of the reg- ular program. This choir of mixed voices, under the direc- tion of Mr. Nielsen provided each year one of the most inspiring and beautiful assembly pro- grams of the year. This was the annual Christ- mas concert, which consisted of favorite Christ- mas carols, popular Christmas songs and tradi- tional yuletide songs. They were very beautifully rendered, The assembly hall was still, as sixteen members of the choir walked down the aisles singing. The auditorium was completely dark- ened except for the candles held by choir mem- bers. lt was a lovely spectacle. Not only did the choir contribute to the life CHOIR lTopl Row l: R. Miller, S. Harootounian, Mr. Nielsen, Row 2: D. Lehrbach, C. Di Rienzo, 1. King, A, Turner, I, Walsh, L. Hackett, M. Brown, D. Bell, R. Weiss, D. Ruffalo, B. Paige, E. Foster, S. Doshay, M. lacobsg Row 3: S. Waters, V. Lambrosa, l. Williams, E. Shaver, j. Shipley, L. Ceva, M. Kleiner, C. McClanahan, B. Schnoor, N, Paget, M. Mastran- drea, C. Chernin, D. Ragette, S. Vertun, Row 4: l. Prout, A. Longo, A. Fraioli, A. Carpenello, M. Grieve, C. Goldberg, M, Hyman, E. Van Annam, Y. Wernick, R. Puccio, A. Feld- man, E. Patulo, N. Graziano, Row SZ C, Braun, E. Kent, D. Cantrell, P. johnson, R. Fulton, B. Hassel. l. Donnell, R. Gazette, W. McCabe, D. Pizzaro, L. Tichenor, Row 6: E. Stein, P. Roth, E. Axelson, D. Ceva, E. Geoffrion, N. Mather- son Page eighteen of the school by its performances in assembly, but many of its members were instrumental in putting over the Dramatic Society's big success, Trial By jury. Several of the choir members had leading roles in this Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, and many more made up the able chorus which supported the leading characters so well. This past year the choir was able to boast of such able soloists as Mary Brown, perhaps a sec- ond Marian Anderson, Robert Fulton, Larry Tichenor and Robert Weiss. Robert Weiss, in- cidentally, had a leading part in College Days. The pianists who accompanied the large group this last year were Stella Harootounian and Rob- ert Miller. lf you were ever near the assembly during period three, you heard Mr. Nielsen and the choir diligently rehearsing. Yes, that's right, every single day. Having heard them but once, you realized that these long grueling hours of struggling with little black notes, meters, and rhythms, were well worth the trouble, for the choir was able to turn them into warm luring music. Their repertoire was large, ranging from Beethoven to boogie-woogie, and they performed each equally well. Don't think it was all work and no play, for there was nothing more satisfy- ing than to thrill others with your music when you liked music and liked to sing.