Bridgton High School - Corona Yearbook (Bridgton, ME)

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THE CORONA 5 IF I HAVE LOST, I HAVE ALSO GAINED The contest tempted me. I entered it with the greatest of hopes, but the results were unsatisfactory for I lost. Yes, lost. I was disappointed, perhaps a bit sulky for what had I to be glad about after I had lost? A team of hockey players lost their most important game. They, too, were downhearted, and some were angry, and still others were quarrelsome. VVhat did they all say? We lost. Yes, of course, but hadn't they forgotten something as I had ? Forgotten something? Yes! They for- got that although they had lost they had also gained. I, too, forgot. You perhaps wonderingly inquire, But, if you lost, how could you possibly have gained? Let us consider the explanation. The con- test appeared simple and, glancing at it, I made up my mind that surely it would be easy to win. It said that entries must be typewritten. I did not heed the instruc- tion. There were doubtless other reasons, too, for my failure. I gained in the knowledge that I must not underestimate the difficulties of a task. I learned that rules must be applied if favorable results are to be attained. Let us now consider what the hockey team gained. The dem- onstration of a weak spot in their defense showed them where to apply their atten- tion to prevent further defeat. The coach, through their dissatisfied grumbling, found that each thought another respon- sible for failure, and he held up to them the standards of true teamwork. If I have lost. I have also gained. It is a' good thought in time of failure when efforts and hopes seem fruitless. Anger. wrath, or sulkiness will tend to fade to a realization of all the points gained. Les- sons from previous experiences will serve as guidance in future attempts. RUTH STILES, 45. Qizinrg nf the On September 8, 1941. we, the Class of 1945, a fine group of boys and girls, gathered at Bridgton High School. We were somewhat bewildered- under the stares of the upperclassmen, but hopeful of the future. After we had finally settled down to be- ing a class, there were sixty-one of us. Of this number, three were from Sweden, eight from Naples, and six from Harri- son. Also, we had several members from North Bridgton, West Bridgton, and Sandy Creek. Should a teacher have called the roll, the following persons would have responded: Iona Barker, Maurice Blake, Maybelle Blake, Wilfred Bowley, Katherine Bre- Qlleum nf 1945 sette, Melvin Briggs. lYilliam Cannell, Harry Chapman, joan Chandler, Adri- enne Crabtree, Roy Crosby. Harry Cross. Diana Davis. Eulalie Davis. Laura -Dris- kell, Carolyn Edgerly, Mary Edson, Kath- leen Emerson, Virginia Fogg, Kurt Frier, Clifford Harmon. Walter Hewson, Myrtle Higgins, Albert Howard, Albion Irish, Richard Johnson, Lois Kimball. Benjamin Knight, Florence Knight, jack Knight, Owen Knight. Thornton Knight, EliKroot, Gwendolyn Leavitt. Clorie Leighton, Bar- bara Libby, Dean Libby. Frank Libby, Shirley Libby, Ralph Linscott, Reginald Mains, Marie Meserve, Ralph Moulton. Hazel Moynihan, Robert Peary, Charles Pelletier, James Porter, Selma Porter,

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4 THE CORONA from getting into the hands of juveniles will never solve the problem. The solu- tion requires careful consideration by the perso11s that have the power to remedy such a situation. Perhaps the war could be blamed for some cf these delinquent conditions. A useful illustration of this would be the immoral conduct at most public dances. The induction of older boys and men into the service has created a vacuum into which the younger boys fall, mostly teen- agers, who feel that they can easily hll the vacant spots left by their predecessors. The idea I wish to express is that the young boys are freely exercising the greatest ambition of youth which is to imitate their elders. VVhen a youth has free access to this type of action he is bound to lack good judgement and the result is one form of juvenile delinquency. This is only one of hundreds of ex- amples that form our country's greatest problem. l could easily name more that would not only involve teen-age boys but also give the feminine sex an equivalent status in the situation. So far I have stressed only the amount of trouble boys cause but records could prove that girls cause a better half of the delinquency. Une means of developing the solution is to form a social center, a center in which the boys and girls can meet, under good supervision, other persons of their own age, and a place where their hobbies and ambitions c.ould be unfolded. A place like this would neither be expensive nor difficult to supervise, but in the end, no matter what the expense. it would pay. It would pay the townspeople for the better standard of living they would be creating: it would pay the younger people by exer- cising their ambitions for future develop- ment, but most of all it would be a credit to the country by giving it a more intel- lcctual and free-minded type of citizen, because the youths of today are tomor- row's citizens. VVYVERN SMITH, '45. IT'S OUR WAR, TOO The war isn't over yet, by far, so why start slowing up on all the things you've been doing to aid the war? People aren't buying their regular quotas of war bonds anymore, or saving their waste kitchen fats, waste paper, and cans. The people in Germany and japan are now. more than ever, giving their all in this war and we're giving our least. If that old saying the best man wins were to come true right now, I'll wager we would be losing rather than winning this war. Our boys can't stop fighting until they have really Finished their job, why then should we be able to stop just be- cause the final victory is in sight? The trouble with America is that We have had it too easy in this war and in the last one, too. VVe've kicked about gas. tires, food, clothing, and shoes. Have you ever gone hungry, cold, or without shoes? Of course you haven't, at least not to ex- tremes. Have you ever been bombed, or been in any danger of being bombed? No! But ask those questions of people in lfngland, France, Greece, and China! Ask it and see what the answer is. Then Gnd out for yourself if they are slacking up now that Germany and Japan are get- ting the worst of it. You'll see that in- stead of forgetting their jobs, they are remembering them more than ever, be- cause they believe that the best they can do to make it tough for the Japanese and Germans, still, isn't quite enough. CONSTANCE CRossMiAN, '46,

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5 THE CORONA William Potter. Patricia Sanborn, Allan Saunders, Thomas Skelton. Dorothy Smith. YX'yvern Smith. Ruth Stiles. Richard Taylor, Beatrice Unnold. Gordon VVeyniouth. .-Xlgier Milton XVoodbury. Dorothy Vlwiiiaii, and Helen York. Soon following our entrance to Bridgton High School we were initiated and a Freshman Rec fption was given. Thus, we were introduced to the faculty and upper- classmen. Our first important business was the election of class ofhcers, and here let me say that we have been very conservative in our choice of Presidents. In four years. we have had only two. Patricia Sanborn was president during our Freshman and Sophomore years, while Eli Kroot held the office during our junior and Senior years. As for the other officers, the Freshman year our Vice President was Roy Crosby. Secretary was Dorothy Smith. and our Treasurer was Katherine Bresette. VVil- fred Bcwley represented the class in the Student Council. In our Sophomore year. the officers were: Yice President. Marie Meserve: Secretary, Dorothy XVynian: and Treas- urer, Virginia lfogg. This year, we, as Sophonlores, were allowed two representa- tives in the Student Council and we voted that Alice Knight and Wilfred Bowley should have the honor. When hluniors, Marie Meserve was again elected Vice President, Alice Knight was elected Secretary. and Virginia Fogg served a second term as Treasurer. Still advancing we now had three representa- tives in the Student Council: Laura Dris- kell, Wyvern Smith, and Maurice Blake. Now it is 1945. One might say that we as a class are Usanforized shrunk. for there are only seventeen of us leftz Here we are: Maybelle Blake, Adrienne Crabtree. liulalie Davis. Laura Driskell. Mary Ed- son, Kathleen Emerson. Richard johnson. Lois Kimball, Eli Kroot, Gwendolyn Leavitt, Clorie Leighton, Hazel Moyni- han. Patricia Sanborn. Thomas Skelton, Dorothy Smith, Wyvern Smith, and Ruth Stiles. This year our class officers are as follows: Eli Kroot, as already mentioned. Presi- dent: Yice President, Patricia Sanborn: Secretary. VVyvern Smith: Treasurer, Richard Johnson. Senior members of the Student Council are Dorothy Smith, Lois Kimball, Patricia Sanborn, Thomas Skel- ton. and Ruth Stiles. Through the four years the enrollment of our class has steadily decreased. A great many of the boys are now in the armed forces. some of the girls are mar- ried, and still other students have trans- ferred to other schools. Now our gradua- tion is speedily approaching but we still think back to that day in 1941 when we all met' for the first time. To those who have left us we say that we wish they were still with us. Good luck to them and all of us.