Central High School - Colt Yearbook (Paterson, NJ)

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V, ' ls, l- , ,WEP :,f V n ,V my-,il P' -2 Vfif sag, A ----WA HTFIEL A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour! --Byron. Krtrnaprrtinn ELL, lt's commencement night, - the long-awaited, long-anticipated commencement night. You are L ' seated on the platform, trying anxiously to pick out familiar faces from the sea before you, hoping fervently that your tie is straight and that, in spite of the heat, your collar is not wilting, or that your hair is keeping its curl, and your nose is not in need of powder, as the case may be. The speaker is addressing the class,--your class,-you, but your thoughts are far away. The faces in front of you become dim. They are no longer those of relatives, friends, strangers. You sit no longer on the platform, the beheld of all beholders, a Senior, for it is the opening day of school ln September, nineteen-fifteen, and you are one of Eve hundred Freshmen, awe- strlcken, bewildered Freshmen, anxiously awaiting your fate. Sorted out according to courses, with about thirty fellow- sufferers, you are dispatched to some mys- terious place, a section-room. You have, also, it appears, a section-teacher. At least, there is one comfort. There is a place where you belong. You proceed thither, and, after a, few words of instruc- tion and advice from teacher I you have not, as yet, learned her namej, you are dismissed for the day. How strange lt seems to remain in school until flve o'clock! You remember, these are the days when the A school enters at eight- ilfteen, and is through at one, while the B session begins at one and is dismissed K let out is a more exact expression! at tive. Then, full of news, you hurry home to mother. Can you ever forget those nrst few months in High School? The readjust- ment of ideas, the formation of new ac- quaintances, the flrst test, the tlrst report? Then, no sooner are you accustomed to your schedule, than there comes. in December, a change in sessions. You are told to report at ten-fifteen, and that your day will now end at four. Matters, how- ever, easlly straighten themselves, and things again move smoothly. At examina- tion-time, to be sure, there are a few weeks of intense excitement, but even the dred exams are not so black as kindly Sophomores have painted them. The time passed quickly until June, and vacation, 3

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THE SPECTATOR and then, behold, you yourself are a Sophomore! That you started a month behind time, you remember, because of the paralysis epidemic. tUnconsciously, perhaps, in the course of your reflections, you drop into the past tense. Impressions no longer seem as vivid as when you were merely a Freshman.J You enjoyed that -- extra month. but still you were glad to go back to your friends and to discover who your new teachers were. The term was short and busy, but seemingly uneventful. One event, however, stands out clearly. You went to have your schedule changed. That is, you tried to have it changed. You didn't quite know where to find the schedule-room, and forgot to ask before leaving the section. Therefore, you pro- ceeded to the office, a.nd thence were directed to the third floor. Entering that room, you of course stumbled over that treacherous little step and just escaped falling headlong. You blushed. When your confusion had cleared away, you saw Mr. Frazee chatting with his helpers, took heart, and began to state your request. He, however, interrupted the flow of elo- quence of your plea, to inquire for your program-card. It seems that you had for- gotten to bring it. Well, get out of here until you do get it, and don't come back until you do! You got out, and got your card, too, but you did not go back. Your request, after all, was not important, -not important enough, at any rate, to risk another trial. The scene changes to the fourth of April. Will you ever forget that day? Before this assembly meets again, the United States will have declared war on Germany! The war, to be sure, had not, up to this time, seemed very close at hand, though you knew it must come, nor did it yet seem,-well, seem wholly personal. There was something vague about it. Of course. you were ready to back up Uncle Sam, and to do your bit, but you didn't know just how. Soon, however, appeals for aid began to pour in, and how gladly you answered then1! Your country began to mean something real, and big, and vital. It means something, now, when you rose. and saluted the flag. And then, around came June again, and your high-school career was half pver. The work begun this term was carried on during your Junior- year: Now, too, you began to miss brother, relatives, friends, who had gone to iight for Uncle Sam. Your teachers, too, were answering the call to arms. Meanwhile, all of you were working. There were drives for War Savings Stamps, and for Liberty Bonds. The boys were working to fulllll their Y. M. C. A. pledges, and the girls were knitting. Do you remember how you used to ply your needles under the desk, during class, and then, growing bolder, you worked openly? And how many things besides knitting that big bag carried? The year, too, was remarkable for another thing,--the introduction of Phy- sical Training. With how much pleasure did you not look forward to those periods, and with what scorn did you not regard the few pessimists who were entirely un- enthusiastic over the prospect! How many lessons did it take to disilluslon you? Well, now that you are through with it all, and can look down from the lofty emi- nence of Seniordom, it was, certainly, a splendid thing,-particularly if you lived in the country, and found it necessary to run three blocksto the car each morning. year marked You had be- And then, your Junior the beginning of things. gun to know everyone, and people had be- gun to know you. Can you ever forget the proud and exultant feeling in your heart the day that a small girl, a total stranger to you, addressed you by name? ln your thirty-two term, too, you appeared be- fore the assembly in the capacity of speaker for the hrst time. That was a. truly terrible experience. Your knees trembled, you forgot your lines, you were