Bellows Free Academy - Alpha Omega Yearbook (St Albans, VT)

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THE MERCURY 11 known to you all, but with our future yet to be revealed. Let us all hope that Whatever the future brings to each of us as individuals, We may meet with the enthusiasm and the undaunted spirit that characterizes the Class of 3 32. ELIZABETH DEWART ,32 Class Historian. Class Prophecy The hot Mediterranean sun woke me as it peeped over the top of Mt. Parnassus and looked into my state- room. In an inconceivably short time I was up on deck and discovered that the steamer on which I was cruising as a guest of Isabelle McCann, now mar- ried to a big business magnate, was an- chored in the Gulf of Corinth only a short distance from the shrine of Apol- lo at Delphi. The very closeness of the ancient Greek temple turned my thoughts back twenty years to my high school days when We had studied about the oracle either in our Greek History or Latin classes. My thoughts were interrupted as the other guests came trooping up on deck, but to my satis- faction they suggested a visit to the shrine that very morning. It was not long before we had dis- embarked and were travelling on the road to Delphi. Soon we were on the very spot where Aeneas had implored permission to visit the lower world. Despite the fact that there was no longer any priestess or any mystic va- por, I could not long remain prosaic in the proximity of a place of such romantic associations. My thoughts immediately wandered back to my schooldays when Delphi had seemed such a fantastic place. I pictured my- self as a faithful believer of Apollo, almost breathing aloud a fervent prayer that I might know what the years had done for my fellow-classmen. O Apollo, greatest of the gods, protector of youth, fosterer of flocks and herds, lord of oracles, patron of art and music, most admirable prophet, shatter time and space for me, your most humble servant, and let me see my classmates of '32 as they are today. Let me see them in their various walks of life. Let me know that they have prospered and are happy, O great Apollo. I felt a queer numbness come over me. I groped with a frightened feel- ing and, in vain, for reality. A gray mist appeared before my eyes and I heard a voice saying: Time and space are of no avail. You shall travel wherever you wish, and return without having departed. The mist disappeared as suddenly as it had come and I found myself in a huge convention hall. It was a place of restless activity. A constant stream of people were pushing in and out its wide doorsg small groups were gather- ed here and there in earnest conversa- tion, others were listening to speeches which were being delivered from a plat- form in the center of the room. Ban- ners hung from the ceiling read: 'fMore speed and greater ease For dictator Kenneth Donnelly. I was to all appearances in the midst of a political meeting. I approached the platform where a woman was speaking. The people of this country won't have it, she said. We want stability and strength, and We will have it. VVil- liam Dempsey, as boss of the Macalsey party, has failed his countrymen. Let

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10 THE MERCURY Club Rooms. Between courses of the supper, several members of the class entertained with musical numbers, and a number of the teachers demonstrated their ability to act as comedians. After supper, music was furnished by the Albanians, as usual, but this time, although many of the young peo- ple enjoyed dancing, there was a large number who seemed more interested in playing cards. The most important event of the year was the long awaited Senior Play, Come out of the Kitchen, by A. E. Thomas, produced under the direction of Miss Barton. We sympathize With Miss Barton because of her difficulty in choosing the cast. As I have said before, this class has unusual talent for acting, and Miss Barton certainly realized this When it come to tryouts for the play. When at last a selection was made, the fol- lowing people had places in the cast: Olivia Dangerfield, alias Jane Ellen Isabelle McCann Elizabeth Dangerfield, alias Araminta Dorothy Deso Mrs. Ealkner ..... Elizabeth Corliss Cora Falkner .... Persis Start Amanda ...... .... D olores Cvuay Burton Crane ...... William Renaud Thomas Lefferts ..... Robert Derick Solon Tucker .... Joseph MacDonald Paul Dangerfield, alias Smithheld James Lorimer Curtis Charles Dangerfield, alias Brindlebury John Larry Randolph Weeks George Trudell The characters proved their ability to please When, on the evenings of May 26 and 27, the auditorium of Bel- lows Free Academy was filled to its capacity. We Wish to thank the undergradu- ates for their hearty cooperation in selling tickets, and also to thank Miss Barton for her untiring efforts to make this play a success. It is needless to say that this was the best play ever given by any Senior Class. The school paper, THE MERCURY, Which was so successful in its first year, has been equally successful under the direction of the following capable seniors: Editorial Staff Marvin Courtney ........... Editor Joseph MacDonald . Managing Editor Elizabeth Corliss .. . Literary Editor Dolores Guay ....... French Editor Edith Daily ......... News Editor Marjorie McKenney . . Alumni Editor Business Staff William Renaud .. Business Manager Persis Start Circulation Manager John Larry Advertising Manager It must not go unsaid that the faculty advisors have been exceedingly valuable in making THE MERCURY a success. In these pages, We have traced the activities of the Class of '32 from the beginning of its high school career to the end. We have seen how a scat- tered group of care-free freshmen has developed into the best and the most dignified class that has ever graduated from this academy of learning. Al- though We leave with smiles on our faces, it is not Without aches in our hearts. We shall miss the advice of our kind and patient teachersg We shall miss Mr. Dickinson's snapping fingers and funny stories, We shall miss our books and lessons, these quiet and pleasant classrooms, and this beautiful school where our class has thus far made most of its history, and above all, we shall miss the happy gatherings that this class had. For is it not probable that we shall, after this Week, never be together again as a class? We leave this school with our past

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12 THE MERCURY us elect for a second term our present dictator, Francis O'Connel1, and his most competent assistant, Betty Cor- liss. I looked at the speaker again and again as she was completing her speech. Surely enough, it was Adele Laselle. I did so want to speak to her, but Apollo had willed that I should be present in spirit only, so I had to be content with seeing her. I then noticed that around the room were stationed desks Which seemed to be the headquarters of various trade unions and professional organizations. Over the one which I was facing was a sign, Aviators' Welfare, and be- hind the desk sat Ruth Little, the rep- resentative of the aviators' union. Ira McDonough was sitting at another desk, looking after the interests of civil engineers. I heard a delegate say that he was one of the country's best. The presence of Leonard Sweeney, as the choice of the Undertakers' Union, took me somewhat aback. It consoled me, however, to picture how well he must look in a swallow-tail coat and silk hat. Separated from the others was a desk around which a large crowd was continually revolving. There sat Eli Greenfield, a lawyer of exceptional talents, whose services seemed to be in great demand. Frightened away by the great activity at this desk I turned to the next where I saw Robert Derick, whom we had all believed would be a great musician. He was the envoy of the World's League of Beauty Ex- perts. Somehow the sight of Robert turned my thoughts towards Joseph MacDon- ald, and the scene shifted. I was in a hospital room. Joseph lay there rather wan but still smiling, and by his bedside sat Marjorie Hodge, a de- mure Salvation Army lass. Joseph was telling Marjorie how he had been en- ticed by his own advertisements to smoke a special brand of black cigars, and as a result he had been obliged to spend a few days in the hospital to re- cuperate. Their conversation drifted to Edith Daily and her matrimonial bureau. This made me wish to see Edith, and immediately I was transported to her office. Edith was talking with Dorothy Wells, who obviously was her secre- tary. They were complaining because people married without consulting them. For instance they said: Hildreth Russell has married and gone to live on a ranch and we have had nothing whatever to do with it. Charlene Moffatt, whom we had consid- ered a good prospect, has married her employer without even asking our opin- ion. Paul Garey has become a hermit -a queer idea. If everyone took such fancies we should soon be among the unemployed. James Curtis, however, will soon be visiting us, since he is now securing a divorce on the grounds that he is always spoken of as Lady Whal- en's husband instead of as Mr. Cur- tis. If Billy Renaud hadn't started that expedition to the moon we might be working to insure his matrimonial happiness. That last remark made me wish to see Billy. In a flash I found myself in a lunambulator-which you know is the motor vehicle newly invented for trips to the moon. Here I found Cap- tain Renaud. Norman Phelps was going along as a surveyor and Ernestine Best as a missionary. Robert Fitz- gerald was also going to the moon, but his aim was by far the noblest. He wished to redecorate the moon so that