Ashland High School - Echoes Yearbook (Ashland, ME)

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Eclmes of A. M .Si 1949 . . in Ashland as in every community, because ECIIICOTICIIS our most precious asset is our children and young people. They will, in a few years. be the men and women who will carry on WHY WE NEED ,A PARENT-TEACHERS the work of the world. The kind of educa- ASSOCIATION IN ASHLAND, tion that they get will determine the kind Of all the institutions devoted to the wel- fare of children and youth there are two which stand high above all others. These are the home and the school. For parents as well as for teachers the needs and ambi- tions of the young people rank first among all interests. What would be more natural than that an organization of parents and teachers in our community should join forces to work together for their common good. This organization would be a Parent- Teachers Association. Alice McLellan Bimey founded the Na- tional Congress of Parents and Teachers, and to her memory there is erected a me- morial ,on the high school grounds at Mari- etta, Georgia, her girlhood home. This me- morial was erected in nineteen hundred and forty-two and serves as a perpetual tribute to the vision of a great parent-teacher leader. Alice Birney realized that chi1dren's needs will not wait and that many heads are better than one in determining those needs. She also knew, as do we, that the world needs to learn exactly what demo- cracy is, and the best way to learn this is to see it in action in our own small communi- ties. The objects of this association are to pro- mote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, church and community: to raise the standards of home life: to secure adequate laws for the care and protection of our youth: to bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and teachers may co-operate intelligently in the training of the child: to develop between educators and the general public such united efforts as will secure for every child the highest advantage in physical, mental. social and spiritual education. We need a Parent-Teachers Association of world we will live in. In this Atomic Age it is more important than ever before that people learn to -work and live together to understand each other's problems. What better way is there for such an understand- ing to begin than .in an organization that is linked with the National Congress of Par- ents and Teachers whose voice is heard in counties, states and in the nation. Charles Coffin NEW EQUIPMENT During the school year Ashland High School has acquired some new equipment. This includes a new screen to go with the movie machine, a recorder and an inter- communication system. This recorder is a very interesting and valuable addition to our equipment. The teachers use it in speech classes to record speeches and to correct speech defects. The eighth grade presented a recorded program for assembly. We think more classes should use the recorder. Recently an inter-communication system has been installed. There are loud speakers in Mrs. Tilley's room. the main room, eighth grade room, Freshman room. the Agricultural Building, Mrs. Bartlett's room and the basement. Any of the teachers who are in the rooms where these are, can talk with Mr. MacLaugh1in in the office. Mr. MacLaughlin can talk to the teachers in just one room or to all the rooms at once. lf he needs anyone in the office he can call them and not have to leave the office. This system is a great convenience in giving notices and in announcing other information.

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1949 ' P Echoes pof 14. fl. 5' r SPORTS Ashland 14-Washburn 10 This year Ashland High School initiated two new sports-cross-country and track. With the coming of the promised gym- nasium, basketball will be reinstituted to round out Ashland's athletic activities. 'I'hese five sports will give every interested boy a chance to participate in at least one activity. In building our athletic program, the girls have not been forgotten. Last year Mrs. Burton Coffin graciously donated her coach- ing abilities and girls' softball was initiated in the school. This sport will be perma- nently continued under the coaching of a faculty member. BASEBALL Ashland High School's baseball record in 1948 marked a vast improvement over the record of the previous year. The 1947 record, three wins and nine losses, was forgotten and the 1948 baseball team de- veloped into a winning team under the spirited coaching of Fred Parker. When the high school baseball schedule had been completed, Ashland had a record of six wins and five losses, and had captured third place in the Aroostook Central League. Although six wins and five losses does not represent an outstanding record, the team played games which were well worth watching. Games such as Ashland's win over Easton, the league champions, in which Leach allowed but one run is worth watching. Our 1948 schedule was as follows: Ashland ll-Fort Fairfield l. V. 14 Ashland 24-Bridgewater 12 Ashland 5-Easton 6 Ashland 5-Mapleton ll - Ashland 9-Fort Fairfield I. V. ' 8 Ashland 9-Bridgewater 5 Ashland 1-Lirnestone 4 Ashland 4-Easton 3 Ashland 15-Mapleton 3 Ashland 2-Limestone I5 Members of last year's squad who are with us again this year are Albert Searway. Forest Ayer. Ralph Chase, Edward Martin. Philip Cunningham, Carlton MacLean. Ralph Baxter, Charles Coffin, Roger La- Belle, and Clifford Cunningham. GIRLS' SOFT BALL The organization of the girls' softball team ended the boys' monopoly in the athletic field. The organization period in an activity is always difficult. So it was with soft ball. The athletic fund of the school did not warrant the purchase of uniforms and equipment. Generous donations by in- terested citizens soon solved this problem. Our first game was at Presque Isle, Wednesday, May 26. Through inexperi- ence and nervousness we lost the game 23-10. Following this defeat we practiced intensely for the return game at Ashland. As a result on Thursday, Iune 6, we de- feated Presque Isle 31-18. In honor of this victory we held a food sale. With the profits we enjoyed a ban- quet at the Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle. Late in the season our pictures appeared in the paper. As a result we were invited to play an exhibition gameywith the ALL- STARS of Sherman Mills on August 20 during their Farm and Home Week. Rein- forced by two of the town girls we won the game 8-2 and lost a return game at Ashland 7-5. Early in the fall we played a game under the lights in Caribou. We won 15-0. The retum game at Ashland was also a victory 14-9. During the season we played seven games resulting in five wins and two losses. We are looking forward to an even better season this year.

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1949 Etboes of A. lf. 6' L THQ SUMMER ,. When I get up in the morning. The dew is on the grass: I stand in a doorway crooning- For summer has come at last. Cows are in the meadow, Trout are in the stream, Deer feeding in the forest, ' Is it all a dream? When evening shadows are falling And there is nothing else to do, The whip-o-wills are calling , For the long, long day is through. Betty Howe DAYS I'D LIKE TO LIVE OVER It was the beginning of a perfect day- no clouds, a happy atmosphere, and plenty of sunshine. As I looked' out across our small and happy city I could see people hustling about and greeting each other with smiles. Smiles that seemed to say, l'm glad to be alive, aren't you? Yes, it was going to be a nice day and I kind of hated to get up out of my nice warm bed. Looking arounduntil my eyes came to rest on the foot of my bed I saw where my feet should have been. To my amazement, as you can imagine, they were missing, but they were soon found, snuggled closely against my wann and happy body. Again as I looked out of the window I could see places that I had often gone to as a boy. I could even see the corner lot. The corner lot: does that strike a familiar chord in your mind? It doesn't. Well, I should have known better than to ask you a question you know nothing about. As I was saying, the corner lot does strike a familiar chord to me because the corner lot brings back mem- ories of days that I'd like to live over. It was a bright sunny afternoon, the same . 5515515 . .4 11554. A as this afternoon will be, and we were all playing football on the corner lot. I was the quarterback that day and I called a play that went something like this: Myself: Let's try a quarterback sneak. I'll take the' ball' from lim, who'll play center. and he can go charging through the line and clear a path' for me. ' lim: What if I can't clear a path? Those boys are big and they play rough. you might get knocked for a loop. Myself: You worry about getting the path cleared and I'll worry about the rest. lim: Okay. you're the boss, count me m. y Myself: Good enough, let's go, gang. Signals-62. 85. 36. Hikelf' And there goes Iirn right ahead of me, how to mow 'em down, Jimmy boy. Oh, Oh! There's one he missed. He's coming right at me. I can't dodge him. We're going to hit. Oh, my side! What makes my side pain so? Where am I? I-I can't see. What's happening to me? There I can start to make things out now. They're sort of hazy but they're getting clearer all the time. Mom! Dad! What are you doing here? Why are you looking at me in that way? Where am I? 1 . lt was this question that started me look- ing at my environment. I wish now that I had never looked around me then, for what I saw-nearly made me cry. A small, desolate room with four bare walls, one of which had a large bay window overlooking the city. And those people, all dressed in white looking at you as if to say. It's all over now. son. death is coming. Death! That word struck me like a hammer striking a bell. It rang in my ears until I thought my head would split and I think that it would have if my father hadn't spoken up