Abington Friends School - Outward Bound Yearbook (Jenkintown, PA)

Page 27 text:

Hisiory ally we never failed to make some contribution, but as far as we were concerned it was all one big joke. Perhaps one thing that caused great commotion throughout the entire school was the rain of crushes which we all seemed to have. The objects of our affections were either faculty members or 1946 seniors. In order that we would be ready to enter ninth grade, we found it necessary to begin using lipstick. Of course this was sometimes used as a war weapon, and there were many times when we slightly resembled an Indian tribe on the warpath. Even though there were many troubles, we somehow managed to complete eighth grade. Ninth grade made us a real part of the A.F.S. high school, for we were now freshmen. Bobbie Herzog entered our enterprising class just in time to help with Freshman Day. The writing of our play and poem, and the composing of our song took quite a lot of time and energy. It was here that our famous discus- sions really began. Naturally, there were the good old cooking and sewing classes with their same type of creations. We also had science with those flying shoes of Margie's. Two things which greatly endeared us to the teachers were our premeditated fits of sneezing and coughing. We found, upon reaching it, that tenth grade was to be a year of deinite achievement, with a few minor catastrophes thrown in on the side. We had four new class members in the persons of Helene, with her talk about Young People's, and that laugh, Dottie and her knitting, Claire and her unusual opinions, and quiet Ginny with her remarkable ability of concentra- tion. An important problem faced us almost immed- iately: the choosing of our class rings, and what a problem it was. After weeks of bickering, one pattern was finally chosen, in two sizes no less,-will our class never be able to make up their own minds? Our sophomore play added more laurels to our crown. Our overactive brains had been searching endlessly for a sensational and devastating project that would put some money into our treasury. We Hnally decided upon A.F.S. pencils. Despite our enthusiasm, we ended up by making all of eight dollars. As usual, we were having trouble with Latin. Could it be that that portable radio concealed behind a mound of books was more interesting to us than the famous All Gaul is divided into three parts ? It was in tenth grade that, in the midst of a softball game, a piece of glass was broken in the history room door. Will such days as these ever be seen again? With the gfamor of being juniors went class rings and junior Prom! On November fifth, in the John Barnes room, whose solemn atmosphere was broken by our grinning '50 pumpkin, we were presented with our class rings. Almost immediately after the first bell rang in September of '48, discussion began on the Junior Prom decorations. A decision was finally made, but only because we had no veto power, and work was begun. That stardust in our eyes wasn't from dreaming, just the opposite: putting sparkle on our notes. It was worth all the effort though, for our Prom was quite successful. Prom work wasn't the only way we used up our energy. There was the class project, and for once, we chose something worth while, to the tune of one hundred dollars. In our junior year we were introduced to that early morning sleep robber, math refresher, in preparation for those easy College Board exams. Lynn and Barbara Ruch were the first to get driver's licenses. By the end of the year most of the others had theirs, too. Our junior class party was at good old Medford Lakes, where we had one last fiing before assuming the dignified air of full-fledged seniors. We had reached the top at last, and strangely enough, we didn't feel any different. We soon found that the senior year was one of work, work, and more work. There were, of course, our regular studies, but also, such things as preparation for Arbor Day, Class Day, and Graduation. The Senior Prom was an im- portant and hard job. Never before had there been so much discussion or argument concerning anything. When a final decision was made, the actual preparation was begun. We were found with calloused hands and snowflakes in our hair, but wonder of wonders, we made money on the Prom and everybody had a won- derful time. We were soon slightly snowed under by our newly ,assumed responsibilities, wondering what had happened to those hilarious spare minutes we'd once had. Of course we did find them, and they were crammed with all sorts of odds and ends, like Stef's death scene in the chem. lab., jeanls terror when con- fronted with that lizard, our pollyannas, especially the pigeon, that I-Iallowe'en caterpillar, and those well remembered current event speeches such as, Pope Pius XII Has a Cold. Two things which we cannot forget are the class meetings which were held almost every time we turned around, and those mile long minutes with their The twenty-third regular Thursday meet- ing of the year . . . Jean's fiashing camera, the hours spent in the dark room, Saturdays spent setting up picture pages, mad frustration--all these phrases bring memories of this yearbook, a yearbook which shows better than anything the history of the Class of 1950. Tlwenly-lhree

Page 26 text:

Class Our history began'iii 1937 when Lynn Davis became a member of the A. F. S. kindergarten. Life was diffi- cult then with the building of all those block houses. The round tables, blue chairs, dripping easels, and music-mad trips around the gym all made kinder- garten a wonderful new adventure. The only member who survived to be a senior made the grade and was promoted. Oddly enough, the first grade room was in the present study hall. The little blue tables and chairs were still our stand-bys. In this grade we got a slight glimmer of the three R's, and added a fourth R, which we soon came to regard with honor. The founth R was recess. Second grade was a year of travel. We made more trips than Admiral Byrd and definitely learned a great deal more than he. The dairy, the Zoo, and the Academy of Natural Science are just a few of the places we honored. Of course we did spend some time in school, our major achievements being clay plaques with our hand prints on them. We had several argu- ments with the boys of the class as to the comparison of A. F. S., G. A., P. C., and G. F. S. In third grade two more girls entered A.F.S.: Barbara Ruch and Stefannie Todd, with pigtails no less. Competition among the girls was strong, for there were only three boys. These boys gave us up as hopeless, and retired to G.F.S. Stefannie became noted for her friendly smile and that unique white snow hat. Barbara Ruch showed her creative genius in signifying completion of a test by introducing her method of slap it down. Her pencil drooping act was also quite amusing. Joan Geiger joined us in fourth grade. She showed us what an athlete should be and proceeded to win the hop-scotch tournament for that year. We were proud to claim the title of being the first class to have Miss Ducker. We'll never forget what she taught us about Aida and Egypt. Our arithmetical ability was practi- cally 0 and, strangely enough, that was the mark we got for most of our math work. Fifth grade added Elinor Trautvetter to our group, and she began solving our problems at the ripe old age of ten. School was harder, and we especially had trouble in following those so called directions in our readers. We found ourselves members of Miss Ritz's music class, and we honestly tried to learn the art of singing. Whether we did or not is still questionable. No matter how much trouble we had with school work, we let loose during gym, playing such games as Come, Kick the Can, and Red Rover. Sixth grade was a year to be remembered, for it brought our mischievous actions and stored up feelings to a crisis. Our teacher and class just didn't see eye to eye. There were many times we felt the world was coming to an end, such as the time Miss Wagonhurst spilled water on a map we,d worked on for hours and then reprimanded us for being so careless. We slaved over a Mexican play and were ready to present it when as punishment we weren't allowed to. That was the end! We spent the entire gym period in tears, with a prayer at the end just for a dramatic climax. Through the help of Miss Erdman, on whom we had made a righteous impression, we were finally able to give the play. This was the year that Stef got locked in the closet and nearly suffocated. Some of the girls took piano lessons from Mrs. Hauser, ending the year with a recital. We made our first money by the eventful sale of Little Afcarm. Truly the year was one we'll never forget, as it was the end of lower school life, and high school was the next step. In seventh grade we got three new members. Jean, Minnie, and Barbara Hartman. Jean proved to be a joker, and her antics have kept us smiling over the years. Minnie,, brought with her a strange liking for our fellow primates, the monkeys. Barbara, admitt- ing that acting was her passion, demonstrated by spouting forth such gems as The Waltz. The first half of the year was strangely calm, its climax coming when we decided to cut math class. We realized that the attic would be the best place to hide, so we climbed the attic stairs. Of course, in our usual naive manner, we left our books in plain view, and it didn't take the teachers long to find us. Getting us down was another story though, for we had barricaded the trap door, and nothing less than a bulldozer could have forced it open. After much persuasion, we decided to come down. We all took it as a big joke, and more than likely the faculty members did, too. The P.C and G.A. dances added much to our seventh grade, for it was here that we first met many of our future beaux. In eighth grade we really let loose. We had only one new girl, our future quiz kid Gwen Mahle. She showed us how the piano should be played. Our year was once again spiked with argument. The cooking classes, if they could be so termed, were something that we'll never forget, especially when Elinor, in separating a dozen eggs, put six in one bowl and six in another. The creations turned out by the sewing classes would definitely have made news in Horror's Bazaar. It was no doubt the behavior of our class which finally caused the faculty to become rather drastic. ln the fall of 194-5, that famous check system with its detention period was first introduced. Natur- Twenty-lwo

Page 28 text:

5 s 1 3 s I 3 1 1 4