Boston Latin School - Liber Actorum Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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CLASS CHRONICLE Prize Declamation — Registration Day — final exams — bingo! On June 23 we dashed out to die trolley for the last time that year. A few who took the trouble to glance back could see a lonely figure in an Arab headdress mak- ing his painful way on crutches across the back yard. We were freshmen now. CLASS IV 1960-1961 Joined by a fresh draft of replacements, the B di- vision, in Class IV we added civics to our curriculum and gained the dubious privilege of having phys-ed with the aromatic upperclassmen in the sacrosanct big gym. As usual, the Assembly Hall was busy during the entire academic year. The National Honor Society Revue was a hit in its customary style, while the school play, Time Limit, was truly outstanding — a pleasant change from the surfeit of comedies in other years. Gerry Hillman ' s re- markable performance in the main role of Major Harry Cargill was unforgettable. A shower of awards fell on the different school organi- zations that year. The Register and Liber Actorum won the Boston University Journalism Award, while the Register also won the Columbia Scholastic Press Associa- tion ' s Medalist Award. Our band, though, was the pride of the school and of all Boston when it marched up Penn- sylvania Avenue past President Kennedy ' s reviewing stand in the Inaugural Parade on January 20, 1961. In world politics, there was much talk but little action toward peace in our time. In fact, the hot-spots seemed to multiply as the year went on. In the Congo, the U.N. police forces were involved in an incomprehensible struggle to preserve the newly-created republic from sectionalism and Communism. Massachusetts ' favorite son, John F. Kennedy, defeated former Vice-President Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in history. The newspapers were filled with Polaris Missile tests, a Communist inspired war in Laos, and a terrible airplane collision over Brooklyn, the worst disaster ever to happen to commercial airlines. January found our band in Washington for the Inaugu- ration, missiles shooting off from Cape Canaveral with astonishing regularity, and a dashing group of Portuguese pirates who, in an act of rebellion, stole the S.S. Santa Maria and sailed it undetected to Brazil. April was rather inauspicious for the United States, heralding the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion and Russian Yuri Gagarin ' s orbit of the earth. May fifth was a really memorable day. The members of Class IV were in the assembly hall, listening to a fine concert by a university choral group, when Colonel Kelley entered hurriedly and announced the successful sub-orbital flight of commander Alan B. Shepherd. We all went half- mad with delight, and with the choir on stage, we sang the national anthem. In June. President Kennedy and Premier Khruschev met in Vienna in a series of talks that were more like con- frontations than conferences as no fruitful result was accomplished. The Pirates ' Bill Mazeroski became a national hero when he smashed a last inning home run in the seventh game of the World Series to beat the Yankees. The Celtics tore through all opposition during the season and the play-offs to retain the world championship. It was an extremely successful year in school sports also. Mr. Lambert, in his first year as head coach of foot- ball, almost had his gladiators win the City Champion- ship. A few plays in the two B.C. High games relegated the Purple to second place, however. Against English, the gridiron warriors came from behind 8-0 to win 20-16. the Bookstore Opening

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Our trials became less and less frequent towards the end. Perhaps it is because it was our first year that we have so many memories of sixie life. There was the hard- ship of conditioning ourselves to the morning bump and grind at the Briggie. Once we got to school, new prob- lems arose. The eternal question. Should you carry your lunch or buy it? was argued many times. We felt that the risk involved in taking a fragile paper bag to school by M.T.A. was more than compensation for the folly of standing in the apparently endless lunchroom lines for the greater part of the period. We wasted a lot of time wander- ing in the corridors, trod upon by nearsighted seniors. These same seniors seemed to get much sport from s ending us sheep to a mythical Mr. Meanor in Room 313 or selling us tickets to a somewhat inaccessible swimming pool. Spring came and ambition went. How hard it is to study when the weather is warm and the end is nigh. After pass- ing the small hurdle of final exams, we charged down the stairs for the last time that year on June 27 — except for Bob Sabbag of course. In his customary mode of travel, he was hobbling painfully up the street from school on his usual crutches. CLASS V 1959-1960 Towards the end of summer once again we anticipated, this time with a bit more certainty, the start of school. With the knowledge that nothing could ever be as hard as class VI, we eagerly set out on the first day. We immediately encountered Mr. Sullivan and his 7 projects and Evangeline ( ' This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks, and so forth). Soo n we found that writing up science experiments was not much fun at all. We got back at the nasty science masters by thoroughly showering them with paper airplanes. One occa- sion of extreme delight was the extra-curricular trip to the nurse ' s office ( Can you see the apple on the table 9 What table? ) In current affairs, we learned that our minds had been corrupted into believing phony quiz shows were real. The seeds of distrust were now firmly planted in the minds of the public. In professional sports, the Celtics once again won the World ' s Championship, and the Bruins tumbled to last place. The Red Sox were to be admired for their effort, but could only garner fifth place. In schoolboy sports, our genius of the football field, Pep McCarthy, guided a fantastically talented squad to an undefeated, untied season, a city championship, and a 22-6 victory over the Blue and Blue and Bluer oppon- ents. That 16 point margin, incidentally, was the closest any team came to parity with the Purple. Outstanding players were: Bilodeau, Frame, Mulcahy, the Costellos (E. and J.). Tank Andronica and junior Paul Barringer. After going through their first five games without a loss, the hustlers of the hockey team suffered so many injuries that any hope of first place was lost. The team did have a winning record of 6-5-3, and an excellent junior goalie, Smigliani. The basketball team was a pleasant surprise. The boys lost their first game and lost their last game, but took everything in between to win the City Championship for the first time in five years. In baseball, the batsmen had to settle for a tie for second place. Bob Butkus, only a sophomore, was a shin- ing light all season (so bright in fact that to this day his mother calls him sonny ). Our first Sports Night was held this year to raise scholar- ship money for the seniors. Another endeavor in that direction, the N.H.S. Revue, was a sellout. The play that year was a feather-light comedy. Archie Andrews. The school ' s 325th anniversary was observed on April 25th. It was a rather hectic day for the upperclassmen. with Prize Drill in the morning and Class Day in the after- noon. The alumni held a huge celebration at the Hotel Somerset. That day also marked the 100th anniversary of Prize Drill. Our own grand old man, Max Levine, announced his retirement after 45 years as a teacher. In his final year here. Mr. Levine established the Charles S. Fitzgerald Scholarship with $5000 dollars from his own savings. This award honors Mr. Fitz. who had himself retired the previous year after 38 years of teaching and coaching. On May 25th, Latin marchers took f irst place in the Schoolboy Parade in all three categories: marching, drum and bugle, and band. Dr. Spector Frank Gilbert Lawrence Jackson 23

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last time the Class of ' 64 would enjoy a winning cause on the Turkey Day. The Latin hockey squad, highest scorers in the city, took second place with a strong 9-4-1 record. Pete Treska and Mike McLaughlin made the all-city squad, while young Bobby Walsh was an outstanding freshman skater. As the only team to beat Trade, the hoopsters took a respectable tie for second place with seven wins and five losses. Butch Chardavoyne, playing as if he had springs in his feet, bounced his way into the all-city team. Our indoor track team placed third in the city meet. The soccer team was 4-2 for the season. Under Mr. Fielding ' s guidance, the strong-backed crew stole the city championship. Mr. Powers ' swimmers, with their standard finesse, won six meets in high school competition, while losing one. All in all, it was a very successful year in sports. The usual spring sights were in evidence as the school year drew to a close: the trees in the Fenway covered with new green buds, Gardiners Palace choked with bright blossoms . . . Bob Sabbag on crutches again. We underwent the usual spring experiences, too. Prize Declamation, the freedom of Registration Day and last obstacle — final exams. Then is was real freedom — freedom from the cares that go with school, freedom until Sep- tember. CLASS III 1961-1962 We had seen half our Latin School career go by, the carefree half it seems. Health took the place of civics on our report cards. It also created embarrassing situations at times. Also in this year, we began the elective study we had chosen at the end of Class IV. Whether we had chosen Greek, another modern language, history, or physical science, we had made our individual decisions, and as individuals we would have to stand behind them. Berlin was in the autumn news — a bad situation which might erupt into war. American and Russian troops glared at each other over the makeshift wall. The President called up thousands of reservists and put our draft-shy seniors in a quandary. Another Russian cosmonaut, Gherman Titov by name, orbited the earth for a full day. Eating a meal, and having a good sleep while in flight, Titov returned uneventfully to earth. Dag Hammerskjold, who had done more for peace than any other world leader, died in an airplane crash in the Congo while investigating the situation there. Led by Russia, the Communist members of the United Nations took the opportunity to place in jeopardy the effectiveness of the world body by attempting to substitute the so-called troika plan for the present office of secretary-general. This concept, which would have assured the Soviet bloc an opportunity to step around the decisions of the General Assembly, was fortunately defeated. In major league sports. New York ' s Roger Maris had little public sympathy as he overtook Babe Ruth ' s record by hitting sixty-one home runs over the new extended 162-game schedule. The rest of the Yankee team ground out regular-season and World Series victories with their usual workman-like attitude. The Patriots put out every- thing they had to place second in the Eastern division of the American Football League, a mere half-game behind the first place Houston Oilers. The incomparable Celtics with Bill Russell and Bob Cousy leading the way, dribbled their way to the NBA championship for the fourth year in a row. In school sports, the football season started off with a bang that unfortunately died to an echo by Thanksgiving. After overwhelming Charlestown (19-0) and Dorchester (26-0), the team suffered seven injuries to the first-line in a game with Trade, while the game officials put their telescopes over their blind eyes. This utterly ruined what might have been a favorable season and led to a subsequent 39-0 loss to English. We fared poorly in basketball. The team ' s 1-1 1 record was caused mainly by the large number of inexperienced youngsters on the squad in this year of rebuilding. Hockey was a much happier story, as the squad glided to a first place with B.C. High. Pete Treska took scoring honors in the entire city with a high of forty-four points. Furthermore, the sextet beat the Maroon and Gold 3-2 in the season ' s crucial rubber game. The traditional school functions kept the assembly hall filled all year. The National Honor Society and the Fashion Show packed the house. The school play. The Man Who Came to Dinner, was exceptionally humorous and very well received considering its previous exposure as a Broad- way play and a motion picture. Time Limit— 1961 Latin-English Rally. November 1962