Barre High School - Barretone Yearbook (Barre, MA)

Page 6 text:

EDITORIAL Today, such phrases as togetherness , family living, and the crowd are commonplace. We are living in an age where it is the style to follow the crowd; anyone not willing to comply with these standards is looked upon as someone entirely different or abnormal . True, being a member of the herd does have certain advantages. Take security for instance; each of us knows that his own group will accept him for what he is, no questions asked. There are other advantages too, such as learning from others or being able to accomplish something together. The disadvantages, however, far outweigh the advantages. In a group there are people of all types; some with strong personalities, others with weak. Invariably these stronger dominate the weaker, making them conform not only to their every demand but even to their every whim. We are living in an age where people are followers. You may say, But everyone can ' t be a leader! This is so, but we have such institutions as democracy so that the people can bid the leader do as they wish. Individualism is a great thing, a fact that we don ' t realize until it is taken away from us. To keep America strong we must retain our individualism, not be afraid to think for ourselves and speak out against anything that we believe is wrong! Marcia Potter Assistant Editor

Page 5 text:

EDITORIAL As the world has progressed further down the road of time, man has found himself more involved with world affairs. He has found it necessary to draw himself away from his policy of isolationism. As man increased his contact with his fellow men, it became inevitable that he lose some of his individualism. Our country was built by the individual, by the rugged, sturdy pioneer who fought the wilderness and tamed it. Are we in our modern society of nuclear fission, space exploration, and communism losing tpo much of our individuality? Are we so imprisoned by our committees, organizations, and social activities that we are becoming as alike as blueberries in a pie? Individualism is a basic need for everyone, and is definitely one of the cornerstones to democracy. What a drab, uninteresting world this would be if everyone were exactly like everyone elseo Without individualism democracy would fall by the wayside. There would be no incentive to become better, or to separate oneself from the crowd in some manner. Individualism does have to be sacrificed to a degree in order to live in this modern society and to enjoy the benefits and luxuries of it, but we may be going too far. To say we should follow Emerson or Thoreau ' s footsteps and live by ourselves in the woods is going too far in the opposite direction, but we do need to be aware of the danger of losing our individuality. To retain our individuality we must pay the price of responsibility. We must be able to think and to make decisions. If we let ourselves become so routin.ized or irresponsible as to lose our individualism, it will certainly mean chaos and catastrophe. But certainly responsi- bility is not too high a price to pay for individual thought, freedom, and action. The greatest danger isn ' t that machines will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like machines. Roger Gariepy Editor

Page 7 text:

The Barretone otaff under the supervision of Iirs. G ' lieiil has «orked laboriously and painstakingly on the yearbook. The class of ' 63 would like to take this opportunity to extend its thanks to those - ho were on the Barretone Staff and especially to those who gave up their afternoons to prepare the pages of the yearbook. To Mrs. Messier and the typists also go special mention for their devoted work in faithful preparation of the proof. The class of ' 63 would also like to extend its gratitude to Mrs. O ' Neill for the many hours she spent proofreading the many articles for the yearbook, and for the time she contributed to insure a good-looking yearbook. 1st row. (L. to 3.; J. Trifilo, C. Tetreault, M. Potter, K. Gariepy, W. Whigham, ET“Raffier, J. Vaidulas, 2nd row . J. Watson, M. Mertzic, 1). kruckas, Mrs. O ' Neill C. Salvo, B. Kitzmeyer, 3rd row . A. .Vhippee, L. Benedict, T. Taylor, L. Valente, B. Lamacchia. Not present when this picture was taken, Mrs. Jacqueline Messier. Barretone Staff Editor Assistant Editor Business Manager Assistant Business Manager Class History Senior Bazaar Senior Social Junior Prom Senior Play Clubs Boys ' Sports Prophecy Class Will Senior Trip Personals Typists Art Roger Gariepy Marcia Potter William Whigham Elaine Raffier Mary Ann Mertzic , William Whigham ■Bruce Kitzmeyer .Joan Vaidulas ■Geoffrey Watson .Donna Kruckas .Richard Lamacchia •Lewis Valente •Larry Benedict •Josephine Trifilo .Barretone Staff .Olga Salvo Elaine Raffier Donna Kruckas •Geoffrey Watson Thomas Taylor Betsy Lang Advisors Mrs. O ' Neill Mrs. Messier