Brattleboro Union High School - Colonel Yearbook (Brattleboro, VT)

Page 10 text:

8 T There be many shapes of mystery: And many things God brings to be, Past hope or fear, And the end men looked for cometh not And a path is there where no man thought So hath it fallen here. -EURIPEDES. HERE does your hobby path lie? Is it in your mind, in the laboratory, or out of doors? A hobby is a system of connected ideas with a high emotional tone, and such emotionally toned ideas are tech- nically called complexes. Psychologically speaking, the action exerted on conscious- ness by a complex is analogous to the con- ception of force in physics. A hobby is that thing in which one takes an extrava- gant interest. In this interest is found a vent for self-expression. The machine age with its brother, speed, necessitates a recreation as relief from mo- notony and hurry. Physicians today pre- scribe an avocation with its accompanying diversions for the so-called tired business man. Only a few years ago an evil-tast- ing tonic was ordered, but now experiments have proved the value of relaxing the mind and body in a complete change of occupa- tion. Vtfilliam Gladstone, the British states- man, was a famous collector of Leeds pot- tery. He once said that the joy of being able to pass from the turmoil of politics and the anxieties of Parliament to quiet contemplation of cream-colored ware was a source of great solace and rest to him. Hobbies are classified in three types: ac- quiring knowledge, acquiring things, and creating things. The choice of kind re- mains to you since a hobby is to be one of your favorite topics of thought and action. As in all phases of life, the amount of pleasure and real benefit derived from this hobby is in proportion to the amount of time and energy directed toward it. The most generally popular seems to be the second group of interests, acquiring things. It pertains to accumulating things tangible and things intangible. Collecting is cer- tainly not a new habit acquired in recent years, but dates back to the time when pre- historic man collected stones and shells for no apparent reason other than diver- sion. Collectors have a wide range from which to choose: autographs, stamps, IVY l-IE T Hail to thee, Cov'ring thes brightg Tiring not, 011 DIAL ESSAY is YOUR HOBBY? A A A IVY ODE .ine One Day 'y, with life fully blooming, walls with thy mantle so thy path lookingupward, 'Till thou hast reached to the uttermost height. CHORUS Climbing higher, sturdy and strong, May we, like 'ou, never waver nor fear, Passing our li e in one ceaseless endeavor To reach the goal which we all hold so dear. Thou in the midst of life's turmoil and trouble, Steadily upwa Teach us, Teach us plain. oh ou Strive, then, u beginning, Strive, then, N goal 5 Show us, oh I' By thy ex amp d the height can attain, vy, the source of thy living, duty, our pathway make e must while our life work's ve must 'til we come to our fy, the source of thy courage, e ' ' 1 well hte clean and whole. -PALINIA GOODNOUGH. VVV prints, china, furniture, etc. In all these hobbies there is a definite amount of study and attention to details in order to receive the greatest satisfaction. Here is an illus- tration. There has been incessant demand from collectors of authors' signatures for those of Thackeray and Dickens. Dickens, especially, varied his signatures a great deal from year to year. In each year be- tween l830-1837 he added a loop under his name, so that by 1837 there were seven loops under his name. Each year from that time to his death the position of the loops changed. A collector must be very alert to detect the authenticity of these sig- natures. In contrast to this, book collec- tors have the advantage of discovering odd bits of information and sometimes profit- ing by them. A collector once read that Alexander the Great was embalmed with honey. During the war, glycerine, one of the principal constituents in the process of embalming, was needed for the manufac- ture of explosives. The collector con- ceived the idea of producing artificial honey from sugar for use in embalmingg thus a large supply of glycerine was released for war purposes. Now let us consider in more detail a hobby from the first type of interests, ac- quiring knowledge. Do you ever think about the words you utilize every day in conversation, in transacting business, or in study? NNords are tools without which other tools are utterly useless. Wie would have no need for books, paper, pencils, telephones, or radio, if we had no wordsg in fact, we could not have these, there would be no foundation for them. XX-'ords make civilization. Our lives are guided by wordsg we are their victims. 'With words we create worlds, heavens, nature, in spite of the fact that we are told that we can neither create nor destroy matter. VVhere did we get our words? This, the study of etymology and philology, is a fascinating hobby for some people. The Greeks and Romans were excited by word lore. Ro- mance and Germanic etymology began seri- ously in the nineteenth century with the work in comparative philology by Jakob Grimm. He was the originator of the fa- mous Grimm's Law pertaining to the reg- ular interchange of consonants between CCoutinued on page 431

Page 9 text:

LBERT COATES, an English con- ductor and composer, stated recently in a newspaper interview: Had I been an American, I'cloubt if I'd had a chance, in this country at least. The American public rebels against such a statement which di- rectly suggests that our nation does not ap- preciate or understand music which is thought worthwhile in European countries. NNe consider ourselves well advanced in the field of musical art. The growth of musical culture is mani- fest in three ways: the understanding and discriminating appreciation of audiencesg development of interpretative musicians, production of characteristic national com- positions. Our many opera houses'which are filled with people who are anxious to hear beautiful music is proof in itself that Americans do appreciate excellent composi- tions of noted artists. john Philip Sousa, Ameriea's March King, is a splendid ex- ample of an interpretative musician who has produced some compositions symbolic of our country. John Philip Sousa, successor to Gilmore, who was the conductor of the first Ameri- can concert band, was born in 1854 in Vifashington, District of Columbia, the son of a Portugese father and a Bavarian mother. This young man was destined to lead a very remarkable career. At the age of ten, he took violin lessons with John Esputa, a local teacher. Later Sousa studied theory and composition with a Mr. Benk- lert. After he had become skillful at play- ing several band instruments, his father had him enlist in the Marine Band. At this played in civilian orchestras. being discharged from the time he also Sousa, after Marine Band in 1872, became at the age of eighteen, the WVashington's director of the orchestra at Theatre Comique. Later he lead an orchestra in a comedy company and also for' Morgans' Living Pictures. In 1876, Sousa went to Philadelphia where he played under Otienbaeh, and- at several theatres. In 1880, he was appointed director of the Marine Band, and in the twelve years following, he served under tive presidents: Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison. Sousa constructed a new band out of what had previously been mere routine organization. He built THE DIAL IVY ORATION JOHN PHILIP SOUSA up its library, changed its instrumentation and raised its morale. Sousa formed his own band in 1892, which gave its first concert in Plainfield, New Jersey. The first season was not suc- cessful financially, owing to the manager's poor judgment in selecting towns that the 'band was to visit. After the first season, the band was a success because of the fact that the enthusiastic Sousa insisted that they keep on. They made annual tours through the United States and Canada, four to Europe and one around the world. The citizens of Brattleboro have been honored twice in recent years by a visit of the Sousa band, and have shown their ap- preciation, by the assembly of large audi- ences at these concerts. Sousa's band has been engaged for almost all important ex- positions in the past years, starting with the Chicago W'orld's Fair in 1892. Sousa was a man of distinctive per- sonality and character, thoughtful and gen- erous. His musicians were always unfail- ingly loyal to him. Every man gave his best at all times uneomplainingly and with spirit and vigor. Sousa displayed great pride and affection for them, which they returned with the same enthusiasm. Sousa has carried the concert band to heights never achieved before. He has de- vised an instrumentation that allows effects as soft and fragile as those of a symphony orchestra. Sousa strove in every way to improve the quality and variety of the in- struments. He suggested to a manufac- turer that he have an upright bell of so large a size that the sound would diffuse over the entire band. The manufacturer designed a horn after that description, which has been used ever since by many bands under the name of Sousaphone. Marches have earned for Sousa the title of March King, for he has been to the march what Johan Strauss was to the waltz. Stars and Stripes Forever, The Vtfashington Post, The High School Cadets, and The Gladiator are only a few of thc many that bear the indelible Sousa trade-mark. Sousa wrote ten comic operas the most successful of which were: The Bride Elect, El Capitan, and The Free Lance. He also composed many other musical 7 varieties, lyrics and a few librettos for some of his operas. As well as being a musician, Sousa was an author. He wrote three novels and Marching Along, one of the most readable memoirs in American literature. In 1917, when America entered the NNorld XfVar, Sousa became a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve. His last important public appearance was at the NVashington Bicentennial Celebration for the Nation last February 22. He directed the massed Army, Navy and Marine Corps bands, when they played America, while thousands of people sang that hymn in a chorus which was broadcast throughout the world. They also played the George Wlashington Bicen- tennial March written by Sousa for the oc- casion. Sousa died when he was in his seventy- eighth year, March 6, 1932, at Reading, Pennsylvania, following a heart attack. He was buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington. This great composer was often asked reasons for some of his conducting methods. He considered it the business of a conductor to publish in its dramatic form the central idea of a composition, and that he could not convey that idea successfully if he didn't enter heart and soul into the life of the music and the tale it unfolded. The movements he made could not possibly be repressed, for at the time he was ac- tually the idea he was interpreting. Sousa pictured his players and audience in one accord with him. There were clever musicians in the Sousa band, but if their interpretation of a phrase did not agree with his, they subordinated their idea. His men realized that the en- tire elfect was better if they submitted to one dominating spirit-their leader. Sousa, however, believed that he should watch for outbursts of genius among his players. If he considered that one of his men inter- preted a passage in a manner superior to his, he was glad to lead it in that way. VVith Sousa, thought came sometimes slowly, sometimes with ease and rapidity. Ideas gathered force in his brain, and took form not only melodically but harmonieally. The theme was'always complete before he tContinued on page 433

Page 11 text:

'l'il'lE DIAL 9 CLASS HISTORY Freshman Year HE fifth day of September, in the year nineteen hundred twenty-eight, was the memorable time when one hundred forty- fonr freshmen of rather a verdant color walked importantly up the high school steps. The squirrels in the near-by trees, satisfied with only the best of quality in their foods, did not molest them. Heroic efforts on the part of the teachers to ini- tiate them into their new life was a par- tial success. Needless to say, at first we were the butt of many unkind remarks and actions. It has been estimated that if all the steps taken by wandering Freshmen who have been sent by kind upperclassmen to the wrong rooms were placed end to end, they would reach to Nova Scotia. However, very soon we thwarted the attempts of the vain rulers of our destiny and were able to reach our classes in time to receive the assignments for the next day. Kimball Barber and john Latchis soon became so dexterous in chasing each other that they did not even upset the trattic otlicers or break up the student traffic. Our first assembly was an entire success, although it has been stated that we did not seem exceptionally moved by it. NWC were well received by the amused body of up- perclassmen although our cheeks plainly showed our discomforture. If all the color exhibited on our shy, blushing faces could be preserved, there would be enough rouge to color the cheeks of Allethaire Smith and Eveline Murray for the rest of the year. About this time it was decided that a strong leadership was needed to guide our class. Accordingly, the following were elected: President, Leonard Ryang Vice- President, Bianca Newellg Secretary, Bar- bara Leach: Treasurer, Burns Robinson. Neil Briggs and Eleanor Tarbox were sent to the Student Council to add the necessary dignity to that body. Thus we were ready to push on. The subject of the animal rope pull we will pass over lightly. Because of our natural kindness we allowed the Sopho- mores to pull us through the pond. VVe permitted this also because we could not bear to separate them from their new- born dignity. Now to more pleasant topics. In football our class was ably repre- sented by Hob O'Bryan and Pat Ryan, two mighty men. Their manager, Tiny Mastalcr, protected them from the opposite sex exceedingly poorly and seemed to en- joy it. These men represented us also in basketball. Other members of our class, however, received training that was to benefit them later. The cheering sections were decidedly improved as far as volume was concerned as some of our commuting friends from the country had powerfully- trained voices said to be used in calling cattle from pastures two or three miles dis- tant. Music classes and orchestra were quickly filled by eager members of the class of '32, Our first social event was the Freshman Blowout. Those who attended will testify to the appropriateness of the name. The members of our class who were more ad- vanced socially showed their appreciation of the party. Some of our hosts and hostesses seemed greatly amused by watch- ing the dancing, although we conldn't un- derstand why this should be. Of course, as was expected, some of us were not too expert in dancing, and so a few pairs of shoes were sadly in need of refinishing by the end of the evening. However, we were entertained royally and enjoyed it im- mensely. It was here that our recognition as members of Brattleboro High School started. Midyears were passed successfully both in time and in marks. Then the sailing was easier. Scholastieally, we did fairly well for the year. NNe had a good percentage of our class on the honor roll. Bernice Boying- ton and Charles Crane were the victims of brainstorm and wrote their names on the maximum honor roll for the whole year. As our school year rolled to a close we had much about which to think. Vile had learned that: two and two were four, that three's a crowd, the ditiference between principle and principal, that P. M.'s were not a product of the lunch counters, and that most seniors were not members of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. But seriously, we were given a new train of thought. Wie were taught new and dif- ferent subjccts. Vile had come upon a new era. One of the final stages in preparing to be good citizens of life and of our country had ended. VVe were able to look back with satisfaction on the first part of our new training and to look forward eagerly to the next. -VX 1NsroN S1nsoN. Sophomore Year Wie, the class of 1932, entered B. H. S. with a much happier spirit because we were sophomores. This is especially true of Tiny Mastaler, who, much to the astonishment of his fellow students, pro- claimed loudly the fact that he had grown a quarter of an inch during the summer vacation. Verne Putnam, on the other hand, tried to console us by stating that he had stopped growing, and that the doors need be raised only half an inch. Our class elections were as follows: President, Verne Xvatsong Vice-President, Bernice Boyington: Secretary, Bianca New- ell: Treasurer, Pat Ryan, Assistant Treas- urer, Celia Morse. VVe greatly appre- ciated the service of these classmates, as they helped us over many rough spots. XVe need not recall the shameful inci- dent at Richardson's Ice Pond, when all those big husky Freshies pulled their weaker upperclassmen, including Ben Blodgett, Robert Du Buque and John Latchis, through the muddy water. Our star football players, Pat Ryan and Hob O'Bryan, certainly worked hard trying to ward off the beautiful dam- sels who insisted on congratulating them on their victories. Honorable mention should also be given to Neil Briggs, James McKechnie, Fletcher Blodgett, Donald Fairbanks, VVilliam Bond, Farrand Mc- Durfee, and James Fitzgerald. VVe were represented on the Student Council by Bianca Newell and Charles Crane, whose work and willingness to help at all times were greatly appreciated by the members of our class. Elizabeth Fairbanks and Eleanor Tarbox represented us at the Girls' Conference at Vlfindsor, January 31 and February 1. It is said they brought home many helpful hints about how to do general housework, how to care for animals, and how to keep sex appeal. This information proved of great value to the Junior VVoman's Club. The basketball games started with a suc- cessful seasong and if Pat Ryan and Hob O'Bryan had a dime for each basket tContinued on page 441