Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School - Mitre Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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1940 so we I: could flying Station ger to -necku nrrival, ibrary, iinated dea of Ih hon- every aching 'round en of hrough ack in Litho- lid, the e were iarded. to our d into ' heads s were led for Tomb great- 'Y POS' ron to 1, lived bything igh we frame. cherry ument. led out sternly luntless Whose melan- eft side lt from his ex- had to re sight ney to Hence 'er and fine of Fran- re be- ry are roam- oomy, ll por- le ter- 's sur- rr the e day e-odd Regin- Paul were SYm' was a JUNE, 1940 LAUREL PAGE 5 Redheads On Parade Though blondes may glory in their bril- liant halo, and brunettes be content with dark flowing tresses, it seems that the red- heads have their fingers in a comparatively large number of pies. And if they get in trouble, they can always blame it on their hair. Of course, they are vulnerable. An ex- pressive ffHi Red starts the mercury rising, and a volcanic erruption often re- sults. Thatls why they're dangerous and it is from behind locked doors that we fling a tentative f'Hi Redl' at: Mary Bisdale of the Hockey Varsity. Bis has the twinklingest eyes, busiest manner and the nicest flick of her skirt as she rounds the corner at sixty per. Where you were, Bis was, where you are, Bis is, where you will be-guess who! She's the reason why the little man who isn't there doesn't have to be. None the less prominent, and not en- tirely because of hair, is Margaret Crown. This President of the Glee Club, pianist and organist is awarded as a parting gift, a wreath of high do's never to be worn atop her flaming glory. Another in Memorial's blazing crop is Lorraine Slingland, veteran of the foreign wars, engaged in as the Inquiring LAUREL Reporter. While on the subject of our school paper, now is the time for intro- ducing Madame Editor, Frances McDon- ald. tAside from the LAUREL Room: Take a bow, Simon J. Two members of Memorial's R. Q. are also prominent in blazing a path in the I. Q. field-Virginia Fox and Gertrude Callaghan of the Bureau of Investigation in Education. Atlas Gaynor and Marie Gruninger, carrot-tops of the Commercial Department, are ready and willing to up and at the business world. The M. U. A. took on added color this term with the advent of Eugenia Schroeder as President. Kath- leen Smyth, whose fingers glide gracefully over piano and test tube, is among the pick of the crop. For four years an able Thespian, Ver- onica Laughlin has made her presence felt through the electrifying effect of her tresses and her performances. Among the gayest smiles in our halls is that of Ger- aldine Croft, also of flaming youth. And paradoxically, serenity is possessed by Eileen La Prenta and Marie Mark- samer. Red-headed senioritas may not be found in Spain, but Mary Gallaghan has been captivated by the thoughts of roses in pearly teeth, lace mantillas and tore- adors. Last in this parade of redheads, but, proverbially and otherwise, not least, is Grace Cox. And as the last strains of these notes die away, we leave you. P. S.-All you above-mentioned red- heads may form a single line outside room 201 to take turns in annihilating the orig- inator of this brilliant idea, Doreen Hardy. After all the suits for libel have been thrust upon Doreen we can guarantee that she'll be in the red for a while. ECHDING YEARS Many a footfall is heavyg many a foot- fall is light as legions travel the well-worn path that is Eastern Parkway. Through the brisk fall, the chilly win- ter, the balmy spring, and the broiling summer, crowds of Memorialites stream along the Parkway. Freshmen tear along at break-neck speed, a dreaded late slip haunting their minds and adding to the weight of those necessary school-bags. Lagging a bit, the Sophomores follow, minus the school-bags, until thoughts of undone Geometry prod them into a mild sprint. Then a junior dawdles by. Is that o-minous green tome a third-year Latin book? Ah, yes! Cicero has the floor. Time marches on. But wait! Here comes a Senior. Without books? Oh, I beg your pardon. That is another one of tho-se grass-hued volumes, isn't it? The same one? No, it's somewhat thicker, Fourth year Latin. Virgil has his say. And at the end of the trail stands a monument of Catholicity, our Alma Mater, towards which is directed the steady tramp, tramp, tramp. And even now, as we leave that marching column, we hear ech-oes in the distant years as the Ntramp, tramp, tramp, goes on. EILEEN M. SUTHERLAND, !4O. UDS AND DUWNS Exits Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, Memorial High School, June, 1940. To HTHOSE WE LovE'l: Why, oh why, are there s-0 many radi- cals in this world? Do signs marked UP and DOVVN mean nothing more than just: Do as you please? Itls so confusing to me. I never know quite which way I'm headed myself. Often have I pondered upon the uselessness of laws and labels. Memorialites spend their school days rushing frantically to basketball practice and lunch or sauntering sedately to a Math or Latin class. Damage to my im- maculate shirt fro-nt always impends and often results. tMy laundresses are ex- cellent, my dears. You really must try them.j In support of weary bodies, my arms are always extended. Must you con- stantly scratch my limbs with those rough school-bags? Will you forever chip my new coat of nail p-olish with those awk- ward rulers? When I'm freshly laundered, who pelts me with papers and spots me with ink? With a sigh, my bosom heaves in agony and a student suddenly finds herself gro-veling at my feet, instead of standing on her own. Revenge is sweet! Although my trials and tribulations out- number my comforts and consolations, somehow I feel that I'm worth the soap it takes to polish me. There must be someone somewhere, who, some day, will in some way remember me. Your obedient servant, THE STAIRS. EILEEN M. SUTHERLAND. Being Photographed and How Not to Do It We, as Seniors, feel it our duty to inform you about an experience which you, too, will be f-orced to undergo when you reach this exaltedt ?j stage. You may think that our existence is just a bowl of cherries, but sometimes itls more like cherry smash! Had we only known the ropes in the art of being photographed! But at least we are considerate enough to think of you even though we are floating away in the tears shed over our own pictures. So here goes. First of all, don't spend the night before the Big Day in front of the mirror trying to affect various poses and expressions. That sophisticated arched eyebrow looks like a question mark when photographed and that Hsavoir faire smile like a stage- fright grin. If you've walked around for four years with your hair long style, then leave it that way. Becoming glamorous overnight with an up-do never works and, anyway, it generally rains. Speaking of rain, we also advise yo-u to bring implements for curl persuasion. You may look like a tin soldier and people may stare, but donlt mind. You are going to have your picture taken. tEven the Faculty is indulgent if you explain. Anyway, you're a Senior.D Th-ose drapes you see about our necks were for the purpose of uniformity and grace. However, we think they ought to be wrapped tighter around some necks- especially those who wear turtle-neck sweaters on that day. Use a little com- mon sense. As to the actual photography- 'fPut on your face sparingly. This is no time to look like an Indian. As you sit down, hold your knees. That gener- ally helps to- prevent them from knocking. Then look at the photographer. He'll grin at you, go through a series of antics with bulbs and lenses, and tell you to look here and there. Do just as he says, even though you think you look better with your nose tilted that way. He's the photographer and he knows. The click mean youlre done and as you wobble out, don't trip over the wire! Turning the Tables If we had had mustaches, We would have twirled them with greater elegance and we would have grinned more mali- ciously than any theatrical villain ever did, for we felt justly triumphant as we surrounded Lorraine Slingland and bom- barded her with questions. Lorraine is the creator of THEY SAY, the inquiring reporter column. f'What have you done in your four years? That started something, for it seems that Lorraine is a veritable Jack Horner. She has done everything from writing po- etry to cheering on the Cheer Squad. She worked in the Hawthorne Room sang in 1 ns fC0Vlfin1l0d 011 page 23, column Zj

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l PAGE 4 LAUREL JUNE, 1940 Bates-Noires Sight translations, originals, and oral topics are among the commonest affiictions besetting Memorialites. Nine out of ten Seniors have suffered from these in vary- ing severity. Yet despite the prevalence and gravity of the tro-ubles, sufferers rarely receive the pedagogical sympathy and un- derstanding essential to the banishment of these trials. Raving Latin students, har- assed Mathematicians, and mumbling oral- topicers seek desperately for relief, yet for the most part their search is misunderstood and unfruitful. For further analysis, let us regard the crucible of sch-olars-the classroom. With our first lament-sight transla- tions-we begin. Carefree and unsuspect- ing, we enter the Latin class, we pick up our texts and seat ourselves comfortably and prepare to assist tas silent partnerj Sister, who gallantly wades through the translation. Then the teacher, unaware of the tumult she arouses in her pupils, se- lects a translation foreign to all. She suggests - nay, more emphatic - insists that we translate. This is a singular ex- cursion even for one who makes no claim to Latin distinction. We gaze helplessly at Sister, she smiles reassuringly tlike the dentist who murmurs, UNow that didn't hurt, did it? j. Can you understand now why the student body outlaws this nefari- ous practice? The Latin teacher is of pri- mary and powerful signincance in the abol- ishment of sight translations, but she ac- quiesces to the contention of this con- founduingl'-or Ned -ritual. We murmur a Hmiserere mihi and bow to the inev- itable. Now we will proceed to berate originals. Remember wresting the solution of a math- ematical problem from an already over- taxed brain? The absolute unsolvableness of originals promotes social, physical, and mental decline of those of even superior stamina. We might not have adopted this attitude of downright animosity if we had taken Geometry but once. Twice made it worse, but thrice-there is a limit! We remember one test in particular. We had three steps to our proposition while some of our neighbors had twenty. Afterwards, when all compared notes to discover the secret of brevity and prolificacy, the part- ing of the ways saw everyone enchanted with one another. To us, from victorious hands, was thrown the torch-burning with the bright fire of free speech. But there comes a time when we wonder if this privilege is not over rated. There are times when we consider silence golden, especially oral-topic time. When it is our turn, we tipsy-toe up the stairs wishing we might faint or do some- thing equally disastr-ous. We get lost in the curtains, but ultimately arrive safely on the platform and begin. The planned phrases elude us and, trying to wrap our- selves in the vanishing skirts of the topic, we continue. Our prodigal thoughts never return. Why, oh why, must we approach fC0ntinued on page 23, column 12 i The Graveyard , . . b Doctor: 'CI don t like to mention it ut the check you gave me has come backf' Patient: ffThat sure is funny Doc. So has my lumbagof' Pk Pk Dk Willie stole some maple sap- Tasted so deliciously! Spilt a little in his lap, Told his Ma iictitiously Got it from another chap. Mother spanked him viciously For she saw that the mishap Happened sirupstitiously. ff ff as Brown: f'Back to town again? I thought you were a farmerf' Green: You made the same mistake I did. :sf Pk wk Friend: f'Are you taking good care of your cold? Sufferer: ffI'll say I am. I had it six weeks and it's still as good as new? ' Dk lk 34 She: 'fAre you a relative of Captain Brown of Milford?,' He: HI am Captain Brown. She: That probably accounts for the resemblance. Pls Pk Pk Victim: My insomnia is getting worse. I canlt even sleep when it's time to get upoi ak :sf :nf Usher: 'fOpera glasses, sir?l' Third Balcony: No thank y-ou-a peri- scopef' as is bi: Hokus: UI wish that waiter would stop staring at usf' Pokus: 'fYesg I don't like his policy of watchful waitingf' Pl: vi: Ik Diner tto man making off with his over- coatjz Would you mind if I took a cigar from my pocket before you go?7' A Capital Jaunt Hasty good-byes were said,-and so we were off to Washington! Before we could quite realize how time and we were fiying along, we found ourselves at Uni-on Station in the nation's capital, ready and eager to see the sights. Our first experience on a rubber-neck bus occurred in the evening of our arrival, when we visited the Congressional Library. On the way, while passing the illuminated Capitol, someone had the lovely idea of singing 'fGod Bless America, which hon- estly sent a thrill through each and every one of us. We almost regretted reaching the Library, the Happy Hunting Ground of the shades of all book-worms, even of those who tunneled their way through Shakespearels first editions 'way back in sixteen hundred and something. Litho- graphs, stamps, jewels of Mary Todd, the original Declaration of Independence were all glass encased and carefully guarded. Finally collected, we were returned to our ho-tel, where we eventually tumbled into bed with nothing to worry our weary heads except to wonder how the Dodgers were getting on. After First Friday Mass, we headed for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Friday afternoon, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one of the great- est peace incentives that our country pos- sesses. From Arlington we speed on to Mount Vernon, which, strange to say, lived up to our great expectations. Everything was so perfect that we felt as though we had just walked through a picture frame. On our return trip, we passed the cherry blossoms and the Washington Monument. At the Lincoln Memorial, we tumbled out of our buses once more. Looking sternly down upo-n us as we climbed the countless steps, sat the Great Emancipator in whose stone eyes there gleamed a mute melan- choly. When we looked at the left side of his face, he app-eared to smile, but from the right and directly before him, his ex- pression was uncompromising. We had to be forced to leave the Memorial, the sight of which alone justified the journey to Washington. Friday evening was unscheduled. Hence we could stage a quiet riot whenever and wherever we so desired. On Saturday, we visited the Shrine of the Immaculate Co-nception and the Fran- ciscan Monastery, both of which are be- yond description. At the Monastery are the Catacombs, an imitation of those roam- ing Roman underground passages, gloomy, dark, eerie. One of the most beautiful por- tions of the Monastery grounds is the ter- raced garden with its gorgeous flowers sur- rounding countless shrines hewn in the rocks. We could have spent a whole day at the Monastery itself. .After a long drive of twenty-some-odd 131195, we steamed into Annapolis. Begin- ning with a visit t-o the tomb of John Paul Jones, the fath-er of the Navy, we were guided through the buildings, to the gym- nasium and the natatorium. tIt was 21 fC0ntinued on page 22, column 11

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PAGE 6 L A U R E L JUNE, 1949 ff ff ff SENIOR CLASS LEADERS D W ff MARY JERAY Blessings on thee Mary jeray! Where would we be without you? If things became dull, they'd just be dull, that's all-no little schemes of mischief to burst on the gloom. If things became + difficult, no one to sail in and lend a helping hand, or a soothing smile, or some bright bit of optimism. Where there was trouble, the trouble would hang over, if you weren't always ready for it with a wealth of sym- pathy and encouragement. You were born with a special talent of being at the right place at the right time. just keep it. It will Win you friends out- side, as it has done here. It will bring you confidence, the love and admiration of others. just keepon smiling, and you'll be the brightness of many dark days ahead. just be happy yourself and see how many others will be happy because of you. Always, Mary, just be yourself. MARY O'TOOLE Have you met Mary O'Toole-all around girl, chaser of blues, perfect friend and our beloved class prexy ? If not, here's a clue. If you should run into an at- tractive brunette miss, .4 with azure eyes and mag- L netic smile, you'll know you have the lady in question. Further- more, she's apt to be wearing a halo 'round her head. For four years we've admired and re- vered Mary and now she stands trium- phant on her presidential pedestal. She was our consolation and kindred spirit in times of algebraic atrocities, artistic di- lemmas, geometric nightmares, Pascal's Law troubles, ohms, amperes and 'fwhat have youf, But seriously, we expect great things of Mary. She wants to be an in- terior decorator. Already she has planned a sunken living room with a bookcase en- closed in glass Cso you wonlt have to dust the booksj. She dotes on horses, Mars' bars, ice h-ockey, raising one eyebrow and French Cquelle fillelj. And now, the inevitable good-bye. We'll miss the twinkle in her very blue eyes, the twinkle that won friendship in Me- morial. We'll miss the comradeship, the comradeship of a true 'fpali' but we know that the future will find her gladdening other hearts as she did our own. VERONICA T. BROWN When we were eager, frightened Freshmen just beginning the first of our four years at Memorial, we met Ronnie who crept into the heart of each and everyone of us. 1 Gladly we welcomed .Q f 5 1. 2 S her because her ever- ready willingness to help a fellow student, her unaffected charm and prettiness were irresistible. Her capability has been heraldediby her four terms as class President and her sparkling person- ality is rivaled only by her sweetness. Both faculty and student body have learned to love her and will miss her pleasant smile but in years to come, when Memorial is but a beautiful memory of the past to us, we will often stop and think of her-our own Ronnie whose every act of kindness is a carved image on the scroll of our memories. MARY BISDALE Mary is, undisputedly, Memorial's most popular Senior, and anyone who knows Mary, can under- stand why. Bis' in- gratfating grin alone would endear her to even the hardest heart. But it A goes deeper than that. Her apparently happy-go- lucky outer self goes hand-in-hand with a sense of responsibility and Unoblesse oblige. Any favor asked of Bis is sure to be granted, to the utmost of her ability. Besides being a class leader, Bis', is a leader in the field of sports. She has long been a familiar figure on the basketball court and hockey field. Well, it's june already, Bis, and time to leave. But we're not worried about you. Go through the rest of your life just the way you went through Memorial, and you'll come out on top. if 'A 5 . EILEEN SUTHERLAND We wish we c-ould find an appropriate quotation -one from one of the great masters - to de- cribe Eileen. But we have searched in vain. Not even the great mas- ters could capture her sheer niceness and put it - ' down on paper. f'The Ideal Girl is a hard title to live up to, but without a moment's hesitation, we give it to Eileen. Since her first day in Memorial, she's been making friends, and her presence in any group assures a good time. As Eileen has been Class President four times, it was only fitting that she be chosen for the last and highest office, that of Senior Class President, and chosen unanimously. She's been a good Presi- dent, we thank her and will remember her for it. But more than that, we'll remem- ber the warm friendliness in her gray green eyes, and her smile-quite the sweetest welve ever seen. ANNA MAE HAGENS There is nothing like a friendly smile, ahkind word, a helping hand to set things right. And there's n-o one who fills the bill like our own Anna Mae. With an en- gaging wit, a generous me A A heart, she's become the leader, the adviser, and the confidante of the girls of 201. With sincerity, kindness and tact she has man- aged to gather around her a host of friends, whose faith and trust are surren- dered to her as their President. And who better than Anna Mae co-uld perform her duties cheerfully, loyally, and efficiently? Who would work so tirelessly and persistently for the good of her class? responsibilities so Who would take on willingly? We owe all this, and more, to her. As grand as our girls are, she tops them all, So we have to say farewell. But in parting, our wish is a fervent prayer that if she is ever in sore need of a friend, she'll find one as true and encouraging as she has been to usp and that God will bless her, HS She justly deserves His blessing. WHEN WE WERE FROSH fContinued from page 1, column 21 panic flooded our hearts. Wouldn't you know thereld be a fire on our first day in high school? There was everyone rushing out laughing while we sat glued t-o the seats with terror. We were perplexed but so relieved to find our fears unfounded, .and, seated once more in the official, we proceeded to press a complete plan of Me- morial into our already overflowing brains. The next day lockers were explored, and, really! we couldn't even fit our' school bags in. Where were the dressing rooms for gym? The fifteen-minute periods were exciting and we conscientiously copied down our places in each class and the fire exit for each room. The UP and HDOWNW stairs were rather helpful once We gf21Sped the idea, but a large 2 or 3 really would have been appreciated to show us which floor we were reaching. We. listened sk-eptically to the tales of aquatic highlights in the fifth-floor swim- ming pool and indignantly refused to pay a dime for the use of the roof garden after school. Parting ourselves proudly on the back for this shrewdness, we took the I fcvfliimled on page 23, column 11