Agawam High School - Sachem Yearbook (Agawam, MA)

Page 13 text:

Glass 3hClstory S %o you believe in premonitions? I am beginning to have such a € JL jL feeling, for in my Freshman year a little bird told me that I might ✓uK Jr. be elected “Class Historian.” I am sure you will be interested in it J) this Scrap Book which I have kept. You remember the morning we walked into the study hall and found Miss Jaucb our room teacher? Here is a picture of her up in the right hand corner (just like a star). She hasn’t changed much in the four years, in spite of the worry we gave her. And here are pictures of Irene Costa with her long, golden braids, and Preston Leonard in short trousers. Don’t they look cute? We won’t forget Mr. Pease, our English teacher. By the way, I sup- pose you have all heard of the announcement of his engagement? How real he made Ivanhoe to us! Do you suppose Ellen Worthington remembers how provoked she would get when Leonard called her Rebecca? And here are the pictures of our first class officers. Here’s Gordon Wallace as president, shining as he did for three years in that office. Here’s our Titian-haired “Dot” Skinner as vice-president, Paul Cesan as secretary, and Paul Ferrarini as treasurer. Both of the Pauls proved very capable at their offices. I am sorry you cannot see these pictures, but my explaining them may help bring back memory. On the page marked “December” arc the details of our Freshman Christmas party. Just see, here’s Consolati all dressed in kid’s clothes and playing the role of Baby Larry in the Birds’ Christmas Carol. Here is a picture of Mary Holmes as she looked with her long curls, playing the part of Carol Bird. This is the brief line about the party, “A good time was enjoyed by all.” Now for February, 1924, here is a paragraph. “We all took our mid- year exams. Being new at it, we hope that we made no terrible mistakes.” And for the rest of the year, “Nothing very important happened dur- ing the next few months. Then came graduation and we could picture our- selves marching up for our diplomas.” That was three years ago — and day after tomorrow the deed actually takes place. We enjoyed that first graduation because it was all so new to us and ours seemed so far away. This picture is of Miss Sanderson, pardon me, Mrs. Cole, our home room teacher, our second year. If we did get unruly at times, we hope she has forgiven us. We trust she has. This snapshot is of Miss Button, our English teacher. Among other tasks, she had us take notes and write themes. Here is an extract from one. “Standing in the woods, birds can be seen singing and chirping in all direc- tions.” 1 hen she tried to make poets of us. Remember Vivian Brown’s famous poem, “The Plane that Flew Around the World”? A very appropriate title now would be “The Plane that Flew to Paris.” We expect to see many of her poems published in a book called “Golden Gems” bv Brown. [ ]

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Rachel H. Ward “Ray” Girls’ Glee Club i, 2, 3, 4; “The Windmills of Holland” 4; “The Charm School” 4. “Her voice was ever soft, Gentle and low — an excellent thing in woman.” John White “Whitey” Football 2, 3, 4; Basketball 2. Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time” Ellen J. Worthington “Little One” Girls’ Glee Club 1, 2, 3, 4; “Windmills of Hol- land” 4; “The Charm School” 4. “Is she not passing fairf ” [10]

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How well I remember those four intelligence tests we took in our Sophomore year. Here’s a clipping from the New York “Blatter” about them. “SOPHOMORE CLASS AT AGAWAM HIGH SCHOOL RATES AS HIGH AS COLLEGE FRESHMEN IN INTELLI- GENCE.” In this same year we realized through newspaper notoriety that mem- bers of our class were connected with celebrities. Here is a picture of the eclipse egg, owned by Edith Bessette’s grandfather. And here are the pup- pies which were so kindly treated by a hen, all of which were owned by Paul Cesan’s brother. All of these stories have been preserved for posterity in the Agawam Mirror of June, 1925. Here arc the class officers during this Sophomore year: Gordon Wal- lace, president; “Dot” Skinner, vice-president; Phyllis Letellier, secretary; and Paul Ferrarini, treasurer. In September, 1925, we came back, facing a hard year, one of hard studying as well as hard work in other affairs. In our Junior Class election Gordon Wallace was chosen president; Grace Pond, vice-president; Phyllis Letellier, secretary; and Paul Ferrarini, treasurer. It was at the beginning of this year that we welcomed Mr. Davenport as our new principal. So, of course, here is a picture of him. In May, 1926, our class shone. We were the first producers of a school cabaret. Needless to say, it was a great success. The idea originated with “Dot” Skinner. Here’s a picture of how the gymnasium looked all decorated as we had it. There’s Mr. and Mrs. Davenport with Mr. and M rs. Harmon Smith sitting at the table at the end, eating banana salads. May was the month of many important events, a gymnasium exhibi- tion at our school, and a typewriting contest conducted by the Connecticut Valley Commercial Teachers’Association at Springfield, which was attended by two members of our class — Marion Blair and Mildred Swarts. Then came the Junior Prom. That was the climax. What heated disputes we did have about the selling of ice cream! Had the ice cream been there, I am afraid it would have melted very quickly. The auditorium was prettily decorated with apple blossoms, laurel and toy balloons. At the end of the Junior year, Mr. Davenport announced in assembly that two of our class, Vivian Brown and Hazel Marsh, had been elected to the Pro Merito Society. After the close of the school year, we all journeyed to Congamond Lake for a picnic. Here’s a picture of Preston Leonard trying to be funny, as usual, and falling into the water instead of landing, as he should have done, in the boat he was pushing out. I can remember his saying, “Just heft that sweater. Heavy, isn’t it?” We were tired when we got home, but we had had a wonderful time in spite of the weather — it rained in the afternoon. We were very grateful to Mr. Duclos, Evelyn’s father, for the use of his garage as a girls’ dressing room. Then we all separated to meet again as the Class of 1927 in a Senior year. Fittingly at the beginning of the account of our Senior year is a photo- graph of Miss Smith, who was also our guide during our Junior year. And here is a picture of the Senior class officers: Grace Pond, president; Law- [12]