Bulkeley High School - Class Yearbook (Hartford, CT)

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DR. GUSTAVE A. PEINGOLD, PHD Our Principal

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DEDICATION WE, THE CLASS OF 1944, sincerely dedicate this, our Class Book, to E. HAROLD COBURN, M. A. with genuine gratitude tor his prudent guidance and genial interest in us all.

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OUR PRI NCI PAL'S MESSAGE At long last we are marching steadfastly up the road which leads to the rescue of the citadel of civilization. For five long years that citadel has been threatened with utter destruction by political gangsters who through lies, threats, murder, and assassination, seized control over their peoples and hurled them against the democratic nations of the world. These false leaders boasted that if they won, they would build a world to suit their own taste. If they lost, they would slam the door on civilization so tight that it would take a thousand years to pry it open. They are losing the war. Of that neither they nor we have any doubt. So now they are endeavoring to shut the door forever on manis precious heritage. They began to do this even when they were at the height of their merciless campaign of devastation in Poland, in Russia, in Yugoslavia, and in Greece. Through the mass murder of men, women, and children. they were already destroying those cardinal principles of religion and ethics, of justice and mercy, of decency and sanctity for human life, which are the very keystones of our civilization. This utter disregard for human rights and the fundamental laws of mankind is all the more grievous because it comes at the end of centuries of education. There were similar brutalities in ancient times, but never on such a large scale. Then, too, the victims had a better chance to escape their tormentors in those days. Nations were separated by great distances and provincial cultures and, therefore, had more reason to be suspicious and mistrustful of one another. The present calamity, however, was launched against the freedom-loving people of the world five hundred years after printing was discovered. It came when communication and travel were at their height. It came centuries after the amalgamating influences of the arts and sciences, of religion and learning, had supposedly united the peoples of the western world in friendship and understanding, if not in brotherhood. This state of human existence bore many hopeful signs of still greater advancement prior to 1933. From that year to the present, the world has been kept in a state of uneasiness and chaos because of the vaulting ambitions and savage cruelties of a small number of individ- uals whose genius for destruction lies in their diabolical contempt for truth, religion, and human life. But the task of rescuing the citadel of civilization is nearer to completion now than it was at any time in the past five years. This task calls for the reconstruction of human values no less than for the destruction of the enemies of democracy. Because of the peculiar character of modern warfare, youth is called upon to bear the brunt of battle. But also because of the sacred mission of this war, educated youth has the special responsibility of preserving the ideals for which he is fighting. even while engaged in battle. In this respect, the youth of the democratic nations are participating in as holy a crusade as was ever launched in the history of mankind. It is expected that this year will bring victory to the armies of the United Nations. In the fulfillment of this hope, the class of 1944 has been designated as the Victory Class. As such, I hail you, and as such I wish you God's speed and a safe return to the blessings of peace. GUSTA VE A. FEINGOLD