Chelmsford High School - Yearbook (Chelmsford, MA)

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CHELMSEORD HIGH SCFHOOL has grown so it has a few leaves, the ob' jectionable weeds must be removed, for they tend to choke its growth. Finally, aff ter much care and trouble, the seed blosf soms and bears fruit. As with the plant, so it is with people. The home into which we are born is like the soil in which the seed is planted. Books, teaching, and all patient instruction are our water, sunshine, and air. Eventually, if we grow well, life blossoms for us into some' thing fruitful and fine. This is the end of life, and to this end our efforts are bent. GEIIRCIE MERRILL '47 BUSSES Convenience and comfort, is a famous slogan of bus companies. Sure, that is a good idea, I decided. Con' venience and comfort, why not? Since it was necessary that I go to Lowell, I def cided to take the bus instead of arguing for the family car. So I started down to the bus stop, wondering how long I would have to wait for comfort and convenience to come along. I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally after twentyffive minutes of standing, first, on one foot and then on the other, the bus jolted into view. I was tired from standing, and my feet ached, and I thought to myself what a welcome relief a nicely upholstered seat would be! Imagine my surprise and chagrin when I turned around after paying my fare, to discover that there were no vacant seats! I lurched to the back of the vehicle and clung desperately to one of the hangers that dangle so deliriously from the roof of every bus. We went our uneven way, around dizzy corners and over holes and bumps. It seemed as if we dropped off a cliff every time we hit a frost heave. We stopped at every door step to pick up passengers. We started, we stopped, we started, we stopped all the way until we got into the city, and every time we stopped, we stopped with a jerk, and every time we started the bus was more crowded than before. I was pushed, trampled upon, kicked, and elbowed all the way. When at long last I reached my des' tination, a lot of pushing and shoving, which I now secretly enjoyed, won for me an exit. No, I won't try to explain how it was coming home, for that would be too much, but if this is what the bus companies refer to as comfort and convenience I would much prefer to walk, thank you. LESTER FLETCHER '47 THE DENTIST AND I After sitting in the dentist's office for more than half an hour, my turn has final' ly come! I now find myself seated in a large, roomy, black leather chair above which hangs a huge light extending from the ceilf ing. Placed on a white tray in front of the chair are the various odd looking instruf ments to be used in the approaching or- deal in which I am to play a major part. There at the left is the instrument that the dentist holds dearest to his heart. This is called a drill, and what a bore that thing is! Suddenly I wish I had taken an aspirin, two aspirins, morphine-anything! I have never been able to account for the pictures every dentist has tacked up on his wall. Why he selects humorous subjects and enjoys looking at decayed and def formed teeth is too much for me to under' stand and personally I have never found anything either soothing or encouraging in displays of Xfray irregularities, or in exhif bitions of false teeth. Here comes that man in the white coat now and he seems to be in quite a hurry. I must be cool, and collected, and I am to keep my eyes closed. Peeking out under halffclosed eyelids, I see the long needle he has made ready for me. You just can't imagine how this makes me feel! The man apparently gets a big kick out of punching holes in people's gums with it! I seem to be the only one who feels reluctant about the whole affair. Well, what a relief, that's over with! Now for the drill! I can see where I'll be here for hours. There's something about the noise of the fiendish contraption that fascinates its operator. Too bad he isn't privileged to try it on himself once in a while. I am really growing quite vicious. I truly wish the dentist were in my place, and I in his. I The fellow even proves to be quite a chemist! He is now putting some silver

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1947 YEAR BOOK CONCERNING PIANO LESSONS Maybe some of you intellectual and clever people from Chelmsford High would like to take up music for a hobby or some other reason. Well, l'll tell you a few of the things I know about it that might enf courage you a bit. In the first place it helps to have a pi- ano, or need I mention that. It's usually better for you if half the notes don't play, so you can blame something for the poor lessons you will present each and every week during your period of instruction. In the second place the teacher is very important, vital in fact. Be sure you get a good one, the fatter the better, for the fat ones fall asleep more often and don't hear as many mistakes. If hy good luck you are successful in engaging such a one, make sure the piano bench is extra sturdy please, as I once had a teacher who had a tough time with ours. He sat down a wee bit too hard, but I needn't go on about that-it's beside the point anyway. Just draw your own conclusions. In the event that you're allergic to fat people, go to the other extreme and get a young, handsome, and slender young man, unmarried naturally. Then one day while you are resting after a strenuous workfout with the Warsaw Concerto, he might ask you what you're doing Saturday night. Usually this won't happen, for you'll prob- ably never get beyond the scales in D, but you can dream anyway. After you procure a teacher, he sure to arrange a good day for your lesson, prefer' ably one a year hence, for scales are ter' ribly complicated to learn. I can still ref member all the times I had to untie my fingers. They knot so easily! But the best part of the piano lessons is practicing. I can still recall my happy child' hood when I used to spend my happiest hours at the piano. There's nothing quite so nice as practicing when the day is simpf ly beautiful and all your friends want you to come out. It's astonishing that you real' ly want to practice! What else can you do when your mother is standing over you with a firm expression about the mouth and a fierce glint in her eyes? Probably by now you are ready to push right home and announce that you would simply adore taking piano lessons. If things shouldn't turn out as well as I have said, by all means don't blame me. The only thing to do is quit and take up something else, the violin, perhaps. I'm sorry I can't tell you about that, but you won't mind, l'm sure. My only advice is tuck it under your chin. VIRGINIA BILLINGTON '47 HOW TO COME IN LATE AT NIGHT Of course your boy friend's car can be heard for miles down the street. Let it rum' ble to a stop with aloud screech on the sidewalk in front of your house. Shout uproarious goodbyes to the crowd just to let everyone know what a good time you have had, and make sure you bang the car door. By this time every light in every house on the street is lighted. Be sure to drag your feet up the sidewalk, making plenty of clatter. Open the front door noisily, and if it is stuck, just kick it a few times and slam it shut when you get in' side. - It is next in order for you to storm into the kitchen. It's only 2:30 A.M. by the clock, and since the evening is young, you open the refrigerator door, and rattle the dishes and milk bottles freely. You eat your little snack and clump up the stairs to bed. The end of a perfect evening is also the end of all your perfect evenings. Mother awoke-how could she?--Ato find you were two hours late! MAR,IoRIE WIIITE '47 PURPOSE The purpose of life is growth. A seed is so strong it can split boulders and push up concrete walks, but like all living things it thrives best under certain conditions. The first requirement for flourishing seed is good soil, in which there must be includf ed all the essentials of growth. In this nourishing soil the seed is placed. If it is planted too deeply, it rotsg if it is planted too close to the surface, it will be burned by the sun. It must be placed at just the right depth. Once the seed is sown, it starts to grow. Now it must have care. It must have water, sunshine, and air to combine with the elements in the soil to make food acceptable to its growth. When the plant

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1947 YEAR Book crystals into a small machine that grinds the crystals into powder. As you can see, there's no end to his abilities! Now that he has his substance prepared, he proceeds deliberately and forcibly to fill the man-sized cave that he has dug out of my back molar, and I mean forcibly! The job is now complete, except for some nasty tasting mouth wash. Boy, what an experience! ' And to think that after my going through all this, the man has the nerve to ask me for money in return for his services! And more than all else, he says cheerfully as I leave, I'll see you next Thursday at 10 A M IVIATILDA CAPuANo '47 MY GREAT FEAR People talk about fears. Most people have many apprehensions, and most of them are quite silly. My fear is my one and only, and it is far from being silly. Every two months we get our report cards, and there is never a sadder day at my house than that. Well, anyway, last marking period I got my card, and what I saw! Not one, not two, but three of the most beautiful F's you ever laid eyes on! That's one thing the teachers can do, make beautiful F's. They're always so-o-o neat and so-o-o well written. All I could think of was what my parents were going to say when they saw my card. I knew that they wouldn't appreciate the teacher's hard work to make those F's as I did! Wheii I got home, my father said, Hand it over, so that I did, unwillingly of course. One look was all that was need- ed. If you haven't guessed what my great fear is by this time, I'll tell you. Oh, you guessed? Yes, that's right. It's my father's right hand. LURRAINE Boucrisa '47 I LATE ARRIVAL lt was the night of the Senior dance. I had left my partner of the evening at her doorstep, after having observed all the formalities to which young gentlemen are heirs. I had danced all my duty dances, held her coat, helped her over two inch steps, stuffed my pockets with the customary lip- stick - handkerchief - rouge - powder puff - mascara - comb collection, fed her refresh- ments, and paid the proper number of usual compliments. It had been a wonderful eve- ning, and I drove through the town in an agreeable and hazy state of reminiscence. I was definitely pleased with myself. Sud- denly and without warning I was awakened from my happy retrospect by a single mel- ancholy note of the village church bell. One o'clock! and, in the midst of my recol- lections, growing to such dimensions that it overshadowed all else, loomed the memo- ry of my own voice saying, Yes, Dad. I'll surely have the car home by twelve. Although I had already exceeded the al- lotted time by an hour, I stepped on the accelerator. Luckily the house looked as peaceful as Grant's Tomb as I coasted noiselessly through the yard and in breath- less silence slid the car into the garage. Then, as luck would have it, alighting, I planted my large foot squarely on the cat's tail. Why felines always stick out their tails directly in the way of my advancing size tens, I never could guess. Fortunately, in spite of all, the house remained quiet and dark. My key slipped cautiously into the lock, and slowly and gently I pushed open the door. Oh! How I wished I had oiled those hinges the previous week as I had said I would! Climbing up the creaking stairs in stocking feet and with shoes in hand, and quaking at every stealthy step, I passed the closed door of Father's room and sneaked furtively into my own. No lights cast brightness on the familiar objects of my sanctum. In total darkness I dropped my clothes to the floor and crawled between the cold sheets, leaving even the windows undisturbed. Boy! that bed felt good, but I lay there wondering if I had succeeded in my burglar-like entrance, until, unknowing- ly, I fell into a deep, fitful sleep in which l was chased up and down innumerable stairways in my stocking feet by an out- raged bob-tailed cat! Now I know how Mickey the Dip or Mike McGurk feels when he has com- mitted some crime which goes undetected. Mother beamed at me the next morning. Father said pleasantly, Have a good time son? but at about that time son was feel- ing pretty small and saying with fervor to his innermost soul, Never again! ROBERT MORRISON '47 9