Butler High School - Magnet Yearbook (Butler, PA)

Page 15 text:

Eagerly, hopefully, we turned our faces toward strange new experiences: we studied aeronautics . . . took up code classes at night . . . tried for higher grades . . . everyone rushed to get at least one semester of typing, and two noon-typing classes resulted . . . the musical curriculum was enlarged to admit music appreciation and harmony, and another music instructor was added to the faculty . . . the absentee office moved to a room of its own . . . Butler High joined the Buy-a-Jeep-a-Week Club, and War Stamps became a must for every Wednesday . . . service flags were proudly displayed in home rooms . . . lonely servicemen wandered through the halls peeping into old familiar classrooms ... a guest book” record was started to preserve their names for future reference. Our vision broadened: true, we were fighting a war but we were also planning a permanent democratic peace . . . post-war days were ahead ... we groped toward better things . . . boys joined the new aeronautics class . . . visited the Pittsburgh-Butler airport . . . talked with Air Cadets . . . diligently studied airplane models . . . planned for aviation careers, not just to be tail-gunners on flying fortresses but to make aviation a peacetime occupation . . . there was a new thrill in math, astronomy, and global geography. Girls were called on, too, to fill boys’ jobs . . . the government sent out calls for help, and Butler High responded . . . after-graduation plans to go to Washington became a reality when the girls signed up at unheard-of-salaries . . . the various women’s services were as yet out of reach because of the age limit, but many planned to enlist as soon as they were old enough . . . more girls enlisted as Nurse Cadets and thus added chemistry, Latin, and science to already heavy schedules . . . home nursing and first aid courses were given as Butler was left with fewer and fewer doctors—no longer did a mere scratch or sprained ankle bring a doctor on the run. An increasing manpower shortage was somewhat relieved when many of the boys accepted evening work in defense plants . . . girls and boys alike took on a new community responsibility when they became civilian defense workers and junior air raid wardens . . . a high percentage of boys qualified for further education, at Uncle Sam’s expense, when they passed the Army-Navy Special Training Program examinations . . . plastics emerged as a substitute for metal . . . synthetic rubber tires appeared . . . chemistry took on new significance ... a fabulous new world was arising from the scientist’s test tube. We had fun at after-school dances and noon hour movies . . . yet we accepted heavy re-sponsilibities . . . report cards became opening wedges into the business world ... a diploma was more than a roll of parchment . . . Butler High School, once a playground for a few, became a stepping stone for all, where new-found wings lifted toward new horizons.

Page 14 text:

Here in Butler High School, many changes have occurred since we seniors entered as wide-eyed freshmen. We went along from day to day following the same traditional paths as our parents and friends until suddenly, with a world-shaking blast, came Pearl Harbor. A global war reached into our classroom, and we watched eager classmates enlist to march off to unfamiliar fields. We saw teachers leave (one never to return), new faces take the place of old ones, new subjects introduced,—Butler High began its Flight toward New Horizons.

Page 16 text:

 1lte 9n KfzenAakleA, o Those of Butler High School who have made the greatest flight of all passed beyond the bright horizon of the Great Hereafter. am ★ Killed osi bied in Me aice ★ Hugh E. Allen, Jr. William Weed Bonner John Bugra Robert Joseph Domke ★ Alan D. Fennell Paul L. Flecken Robert A. McClymonds Jean E. Parker Clarence H. Rettig o Robert F. Shoup Rue Snider ★ William E. Staaf, Jr. Harry E. Wissinger ★ Those who hav been grounded for a while but who flights have inspired others to hasten forward. i William (Rip) Collins William Leroy Daugherty Theodore R. Gibson, Jr. Ralph A. Livengood Lawrence Martsolf William S. McClung William C. Ruffner Marshall Smith of John Abie” Abraham Albert Angert Victor Bianucci John L. Cihonski James W. Cunningham Larry Duffy Kenneth Fackender Forest E. Hoff George S. Kurtz, Jr. Thomas R. Dick” Lynds Paul J. Simmer Michael Slish