Central High School - Arrow Yearbook (Aberdeen, SD)

Page 27 text:

23 OPUS 1937-1939 By Donna Daulton Shyly WE MARCHED through the halls that day in September, 1936. Our downcast eyes appraised this monstrous building. We supposed we’d learn to love the thing. They all seemed to. Still we weren't sure. Soon various activities claimed our attention. We tried out for music. Many of us got into Glee Club, a few into A Cappella. Band and orchestra interested many of our class. Several joined. We soon began to hear great things of Betty Gerritson. Football came next. Our sophomore squad had a lot of pep. e were proud of it. Suddenly speech work rose into prominence. Annrita Dresselhuys won first in extemporaneous -speaking. Other fine speakers that year were Alvine La inc, Richard I)c Vcy, Betty Jeanne Butler. Doris Gorder. Several sophomores went out for declamation. Among them were Luanne Wells and Jane Knight. 1 he next strain was Word Craft, which featured solos from Rosemary Braunstein. Mavis Ryman. and Clementine Schwan. That winter Philip Belanger and Wayne Marsh played in the Centralians, Central's first dance band. Spring came. We found that we had gotten in the groove and were really fond of this institution. Mary I rish and Dick Noll, with the skill of maestroes, led us at the Court of Awards. Why, almost before we knew it. we had reached the first repeat sign. W e looked the whole school in the face. We were no longer “ickeys”, but we were full fledged juniors! We elected Billy Beers “maestro” of the class. Harlan Davis and Turell Van Petten “wowed the assemblies with their “Just A Habit They Have skits. Dick Haddow began swinging yells in pep assembly. We had a championship team in football. Tommy Donlan, Spence .err. Pete Becker, Russ Smith, Robert McKray, Robbin Stevens, Francis Gleick, and Paul Geno, were heard from on that team. The Blue and Gold, edited by Betty Jane Kettering. Donna Daulton, and Glenn Kelley, hit the top note of the scale when it won high honors. We were well represented on the championship basketball team by Dean Driscoll, Spence Zerr, and Russ Smith. In February, several deserving juniors were initiated into Keystone. The Courtesy League “kept with the tempo” with Marjorie Daniels as “director”. The band and orchestra won high ratings at the state contest at Yankton. That spring Central's composers wrote for and won the annual song and yell contest with that song hit. “We're From Central . Suddenly we had reached the second repeat sign, and were seniors! W e were soloists of the school! We held our heads up. The upperclassmen looked up to us. We found a re-organized “concert shell in which we were to play our last year of concerts”. We had a beautiful new library—and an immense auditorium with a new music room annex for all Central’s music bodies. We elected Gaylen Ferguson “concert master” of the class. Brunette Marjorie Daniels reigned over the annual Pageant Day with the Chief Marshall. W in ton Solberg. Central played host to over two hundred musicians during the three day band clinic. loo quickly an inspiring finale to a successful football season was over. We really swung into a fast allegro in speech work. In both declamation, and debate, our class literally “blasted out”. More seniors finally hit high “A” and the Keystone society. The class, unusually musically inclined, struck a major chord with soloists in band, orchestra, and A Cappella. The basketball squad paced by seniors did not “drop the basket , but dropped them into the basket to conclude a successful season. Soon the gym resounded with rhythm as Central’s juniors and seniors practiced for the grand march on Prom Night. The juniors were our hosts. The Arrow became Central's latest “popular hit”. We now began to realize that we would have to place all “music scores and books” aside and depart from Central. We knew we would leave it with the satisfaction of having played our three year concert well. We knew we had accomplished something. Our crescendos, diminuendos, allegrcttoes will all be long remembered in Central! The record of the 1939 class is one to be envied.