Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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College got off to a beautiful start the fall of ' 41. We were the sophomore class and we didn ' t let anyone forget it, least of all the unhappy freshmen. We were able to look down upon them with a genuine air of superiority. They did dis- cover after that first week that we were human. Old friendships were revived and new ones were made. We were more or less familiar with the college now. How we enjoyed our new seats in the auditorium, the drugstore snacks between classes, and dancing in the gym at noon! None of us will ever forget Decem- ber 7 of our sophomore year — nor the noon of December 8 when the whole college sat stunned in the auditorium while over the radio President Roosevelt formally declared war, after the treacherous attack on Pearl Har bor. A new seriousness enveloped the college. Boys who had given little thought to fighting enlisted and in less than a week ' s time our own sophomore class had proudly lost some of its members. After Christmas vacation we were besieged by a myriad of activities. Basket- ball games claimed the attention of Bridge- water fans for several exciting evenings. On February 13 Mardi Gras, the colorful biennial celebration of the French Club, was held amid gay surroundings at Boyden gym. In March the orchestra concert took place in the Horace Mann auditorium, and on May 1 the Women ' s Glee Club presented its concert in the same hall. Bridgewater can do it! and Bridgewater did it. Who can forget the days we spent at 200 Newbury Street straightening out the broken, disarranged packages of gasoline rationing cards which reached the State Department in such a state of upheaval. W. A. A. held its annual banquet on May 20 with Miss Priscilla Nye, a former faculty member as guest speaker. On Fri- day evening, May 29, Bridgewater night at Pops was enjoyed. We existed through exams that first beautiful week in June, and then before we realized it, we were juniors. This September we tripped gaily back to B. T. C. to see what the junior year had in store for us, to see our new schedules, and to view in the casual man- ner so characteristic of juniors the new freshmen — quite an inspiring sight to be sure. The rumbling of furniture being moved from its old location by the rotunda to the new office, formerly Mr. Durgin ' s old math room aroused our curiosity. We soon discovered that the old office was to be a reception room donated to the college by the Plymouth County TrO-JAi fe School

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t ULat f ate a { 1944 It was an eventful experience, that first day in Bridgewater that terrifying day of new faces and angel robes. Were the bewildered freshman at Waterloo so soon? Not we! We soon became acquainted with such personalities as only a sophomore class could possess. Initiation week under their kindly (?) guidance was pretty hectic. Who has forgotten the popular rag-curl hairdo, the varied signs which gave each of us identity, and the midnight walk of the freshmen boys! Upon our return to a more normal life, we discovered that our class was com- posed of outstanding individuals which made it an outstanding class! It was during our freshmen year we received our introduction to speech- making in the auditorium! We can ' t forget the pounds we lost « while waiting in the pause between the Miss — or Mr. — and the fortunate name of the one who was to give his speech. Sincere appreciation of this course came later. Time passed quickly. The night before the Christ- mas vacation we attended the most beautiful banquet of the year, the Christmas dinner. After a restful vaca- tion we came back to face the inevitable grind, prepa- ration for mid-years. Who of us can forget the red- letter day in Miss Pope ' s social usage class when she presented us with our first report cards and we in turn breathed a Thank You followed by a question mark! With April, however, came spring and with spring, spring fever. We freshmen recovered in time to finish the year successfully. We arose, our arms laden with oak boughs in trib ute to the seniors. At last we were sophomores!

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Teachers Association and the Alumni Association. A program was planned for alumni weekend with juniors giving their all. The highlight of the traditional Christmas banquet was the novel gay nineties revue. We still laughingly recall the rendition of Der Feuhrer ' s Face and the carol singing led by Phyllis Jenness during a 20 minute blackout! Our junior prom anticipated for so long was limited to an informal dance and party in Tilly but wasn ' t it fun! What one of us doesn ' t look back upon our days at the T. S. with a fondness understood only by those who have sur- vived that interminable 8-week period? The return to B. T. C. in the spring was different to say the least. With only two exceptions we were a 100% female class. Little did we ever dream of such happenings when we were freshmen. With spring came elections which saw many of our capable girls chosen to be leaders for our senior year. They included Elaine Clapp, president of the senior class; Phyllis Jenness, president of S. C. A.; Mary Campbell, president of W. A. A.; Evelyn Whiting, Dormitory Council presi- dent; and Claire Lonergan, president of Day Students. President Kelly rounded out 25 years of service with Bridgewater Teachers College and we rounded out our junior year at the same time. The daisy chain replaced the oak boughs and then we were seniors. We were seniors! The traditional cloak of dignity brought to our minds with meaningful significance the knowledge that our immediate objective had been reached — graduation, the culmination of four years work at Bridgewater. We returned from senior training with a new outlook on our profession. That eight weeks was a challenge, which we met, and from which we emerged with our philosophies of education more clearly defined. We are proud of our place in the war effort. Lives have been saved because of the blood we donated. We have brought victory just a little bit closer with our time and money given to the Red Cross. We have made the lives of our boys a little bit more bearable with our cheerful letters. We may not have had so many social activities as other graduating classes, but we cherish our few just as deeply. We will not forget the happy time we had at the Day Student supper. Our senior banquet will be remembered as a wonderful close to our social calendar. We have learned to meet exams with the fatalistic attitude that only seniors can successfully portray. This calm atti- tude did not mean indifference, however, as was proved by those of us who were elected to the national honor society, Kap- pa Delta Pi. Graduation we faced with mixed emotions. There is always sadness in the thought that four years of happy comrade- ship have come to an end. In our hearts, we vowed that graduation would not separate us. We were proud of our four years at Bridgewater, proud now to take our places in the world, and out of the corner of our eye, we could see this pride reflected in the faces of our faculty and our loved ones.