Christopher Columbus High School - Anchor Yearbook (Bronx, NY)

Page 20 text:

cultured wit, Therefore- Information, Please and other quizzes depicting experts, or just plain people, in the act of sharpening their wits, The entertainment world was divided into two parts in the sum- mer ot 1940: The World's Fair and the all-year-round movies and theatres. With a day of record attendance, the Fair-a great show lor a great people about to undergo a great trial-closed in autumn 1940. The movies, as well as many plays at the beginning of the winter season, were largely musicals, constituting apparently needed escape entertainment. Others- The Ftamparts We Watch being a good example-reflected current events. Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator -a gibe at Fascism and Walt Disney's Fantasia - a bold adventure in the art of filming, held the spotlight on Broadway. Grapes ot Wrath, the film version ot the book by the same name, was also conside-red one ol the best pictures ot the year, and its director, Iohn Ford, who succeeded in capturing the few essential elements in the sad life of the Okies, was awarded the best-direc- tor-of-the-year prize by the New York film critics. In an era when popularity was being scientifically established by polls, America admired: Its greatest star -l'.D.R., W.L.W.-a good and spectacular fighter, Winston Churchill-even more so than Will- kie, Mrs. Roosevelt-symbol ot modern, emancipated womanhood Charlie Chaplin-the sublime and melancholy comedian of two generations. Polls-since we're speaking ot polls-were taken of everything, really without discrimination. Movies, personalities, desirability of double-features, etc., etc. Every now and then-- particularly at election time-a couple ot polls were counted among the victims of crude reality and were never heard of again. But the well-established ones, such as the Gallup and Fortune polls, held their own even it-once in a while-the wrong candidate got into the White House with the wrong number of votes. To sum it all up, we lived a hectic life and, between breath-taking events and many another unimportant but thrilling happening, we hardly had time to gather our thoughts. But somehow we smelled it in the air that we were the end of something and the beginning ol something new. And somehow, too, we felt that whether that some- thing new would be better or worse depended entirely upon our- selves and upon the fight that we were willing to put up for things that had so far served us well and made our lives worthwhile. And, possibly, it was that teeling that weighed down on us and made us think that ot all graduations ours should be a most solemn one. ALEX BICKEL

Page 19 text:

whelmingly important happenings of that period. What did we read, what movies did we see, what music did we listen to, what radio- programs, what humor did we enjoy, what dances did we do, what were our moods? Well, it was a political year and so we read books analyzing cur- rent events. Records of the journalistic experiences of Pierre Van Paassen and Iohn'Gunther had many a buyer. Books with titles as intriguing as Why France Fell were nervouslybought. To satisfy the public clamor for the clarification of bewildering events, popular magazines published frequent articles by political and military ex- perts. As for fiction-rsorne of the popular novels were cruelly real- istic, like Iohn Steinbeck's Grapes of W-rath or Richard Wright's Native Son. Ernest Hemingway wrote Por Whom the Bell Tolls, a powerful story about the recent Spanish Civil War. In the New York Times Magazine, Edna St. Vincent Millay plblished a series of sonnets inspired by modern war. 5 Events here and abroad had an impact not only'5'h literature, how- ever. Music, too, was influenced by them. Thus, God Bless America, a song written by Irving Berlin 'and made famous by Kate Smith, fit right into our patriotic mood, while nothing could better cryiQa1lize ous pan-American-tseiings than Carmen Mirand and Don Ameche riding across the continent on a wave of Soni -American music twtth Harlem flavorl, accompanied by the Conga Cone, two, three- kickl and other adventures in rhythm. Hot swing music, on the other hand, was still going strong with young jitterbugs who danced to it vwh spasmodic fury, but who-with the rhumba against them-:were now almost termed conservatives. fSame did not go for their pegged pants, however, nor the Indian feathers of their partners.J qi In the intervalrbetween Glenn Miller and Benn, Goodman, Amen! ica let the good-natured smiles of well-meaning comedians such as Fred Allen, Eddie Cantor and lack Benny flow into their homes via the air waves. More serious radio entertainment included Arturo Taoanini, Helen Hayes and a host of commentators, among whom mah like Raymond Gram Swing spoke to audiences reaching the nine million mark. ln moments of great tension news broadcasts took priority over almost anything else radio had to offer. And, indeed, so did the conventions ofrthe two major parties held in Chicagb and in Phildelphia, as well as the avalanche of campaign oratory which followed. In its own way, this testified-refreshingly enoughTto the interest of the American public in its destiny. At the same time there was developing a taste for wit, supple, refined, a

Page 21 text:

Feb. 3 I5 28 Mar. 6 n fflnclergractfualfe 2 dar? My first day in Evander. I feel like a little frog in a big pond, who was once a big frog in little pond. The place is immense. I could hardly find my rooms today. Mom says I can wear long pants all the time now. Maybe the fellows won't play tricks on me anymore when they see me with long pants. I got on the traffic squad today. I hope to be a lieutenant some day. I can hardly wait until I get early session. It's pitch black when I get out. Besides, I can't join any teams. I want to get on the football, the basketball, and swimming teams. I7 My midterms come next week. It seems ages since I was in public school. I wish I were back. 30 Whoopeel I passed all my examsl I feel as if I'm walking on air. Apr. 16 I visited Lenny today. He's the fellow in my civics and general science classes. I-Ie's a nice guy, but I think I'm smarter than he. I think we are going to be close pals. Mr. Werblow says I'd make a good scientist. I like Mr. Werblow. May 6 Saw dirigible Hindenburg flying over city today, six hours before it crashed in Lindenhurst. lune 13 The Prince of Wales gave up a kingdom for an American today. Maybe he's got a fairy book complex. I7 Monday is regents week. I think I'll go up to the Public School and talk with some of the teachers. I've been promoted. Lenny is going to the country. Wonder what I'll do this summer. 26 Iuly 2 Amelia Earheart is lost over the Pacific. Hope they can find her. Sept. 15 Gosh it feels good to be back in school. Never thought I'd miss it so much. I met all my old friends. Lenny has grown an inch and a half. He is almost as tall as I. 27 No fooling around this term. I'm going to work and get good marks. Oct. 3 Please God, why, oh, why did you have to include French in the curriculum? 13 Discussed Saturday's game with the guys. I wish I could get on the team. I'd love to get my major Nov. 15 Downtown all day buying clothes. Mom says I grow out of them faster than she can buy them. Dec. 15 Iapan's apology for Panay incident accepted. I-'rom the boos in the movies, it seems many would have liked us to fight them.