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

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The Longlfogege Fgur years ago we leff elemenfary school wifh fhe laudable ambifion of furfhering our educafion. Wifh much frepidafion and liffle ceremony, we began our Freshman Year in High School. We were defermined liffle souls, defermined nof 'ro be green or naive. No des- picable upper fermers were going fo freaf us like dirf under fheir feef. P. S.They did! Relucfanfly, we submiffed fo our lof, and fook our places as fhe leasf and meekesf, buf like all Freshies we survived fo ape our beffers. Evenfually we found ourselves Sophs, pracfising fhe airs of superiorify which we ourselves had so much resenfed one shorf year before. lf was as Sophs, having a new found sense of imporfance, fhaf we began fo ioin clubs. Some of us wenf ouf for fhe Leaders' Club, ofhers became members of fhe Sfage Crew, sfill ofhers made fheir voices heard in fhe language or fhe science clubs. Junior Year found us a liffle more sophisficafed. lNo pun infended.j We fhoughf less of impressing fhe young, and we managed fo conceal our admirafion of fhe Seniors. Indeed, we fell' secrefly fhaf ours was now fhe mosf desirable sfafe. Seniors would be so soon forgoffen while we yef had fime fo win immorfalify wifhin fhe school's walls. Neverfheless, we yearned more and more as fhe year sped by for fhe final, if brief, disfincfion of being eighfh 'l'ermers. A summer inferrupfed our fourfh year, buf fhis inferval did nof allay our eagerness fo be addressed as The Senior Class. Vacafion over, we refurned fo school, anfici- pafing glory. Books, feachers, homework would no longer be humdrum. Everyfhing would be differenf. If wasn'+. Our friends among fhe lower classmen were infenf upon fhemselves. Neifher awe nor envy shown in fheir eyes. They chaffered away abouf fhemselves in posifively brufal unawareness of our new dignify. Our feachers were as maffer-of-facf as ever. To fhem, we were fhe same pesky kids we had been in June. We decided fhis busi- ness of being a Senior was much overrafed, or else fha-I' we were fhe forgoffen men of our generafion. We foughf for place wifh fhe World Series and we losf--of leasf, we losf unfil fhaf magnificenf confesf was over. No one cared whefher you were a Senior, fhe poinf was were you for fhe Dodgers or againsf fhem. Buf finally our day came. The firsf Senior meefing was announced. We suddenly found ourselves burdened wifh responsibilifies. Nof only did we have fo gef ourselves graduafed, buf we had fo see 'ihaf our Prom was a success, fhaf our Year Book was compiled, 'rhof our class officers were elecfed, fhafl. Well, lef's nof go info if. We were full of enfhusiasm, endurance, and eagerness, and wifh blissful ignorance, I8

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love. We have saf for hours in a cleff of a rock fhaf iufs ifs ragged wef snouf far ouf info fhe Sound: we have laughed wifh ioy fo feel rain upon our faces, cool fresh wefness of rain, we have known fhe fingle and sfing of new fallen snow, fragranf and clean, and we have known fhe dark aufumn promise of deafh. We have plucked from fhe fleefing hours some small group of memories, fen years hence: Do you remember fhe fime John wenf fo his firsf dance! . . . Ten years hence we shall re- member fhe fime John wenf fo his firsf dance, and we shall smile and be silenf, frying fo recall all our losf fever and simmering ioy. How fo forgef our firsf dafe? The nighf we sfood awkwardly on fhe corner of some forgoffen sfreef, shiffing our weighf from foof fo foof, feeling fhe eye of every passerby upon our foolishly shame-scorched face? How fo relive all our false bravado and bragging falk and boasfing words? To recall all of fhis, our burning youfh, fhe darfs of desire, fhe dreams of fhe fufure, our cherished secref broodingsf? Then we were free wifh a freedom of ioy and power: wifh an ache in our hearf and a cry in our fhroaf. Why? Because we knew fhaf we were young, and age is corrupf and roffen, and deafh comes fo age while youfh lives on. And fen years hence, whaf fhen, yes, whaf fhen? Can you ever forgef our firsf dafe fogefherl You were scared sfiff! Oh, if was a riof! Remind me fo fell you abouf if, Mary . . . why I never . . . ! Ten years hence we shall remember fhaf firsf dafe, and we shall be ashamed. The wind is whispering in fhe frees, and along fhe Parkway fhe fires of fhe passing au-romobiles make a ripping sound as fhe rubber clufches The hard roadbed. If is January, and fhe nighf is long and cold. Jameson . . . '42, wasn'f if? Oh, yes, if was in '42, wasn'+ if? Buf fhaf seems so long ago! There was a girl . . . a boy who wore fhick glasses . . . and fhe school was filled wifh our voices, fhe day was burning sun- shine and in fhe yard fhe girls ran abouf in fheir blue bloomer suifs while fhe boys wafched from fhe windows . . . Mr. Fonfaine is coming . . . and always fhere is a ghosf abouf fhe corridors and in fhe rooms . . . a ghosf of us? Did we make some mark upon fhe floors fhaf will never pass, some specfre of our creafing fo haunf for- ever +his sunlif building? We were one wifh fhem, you and l, wifh all fhose ofhers . . . and fha? was, oh, many years ago, and we cuf our classes fo lisfen fo fhe ball game. Remember how all fhe people falked abouf Owen's dropping fhaf ball in fhe Ninfh af Ebbef's Field . . . a long fime ago . . . lf is dark in fhe school naw. The rooms are deserfed. The cusfodian's assisfanf has locked fhe door and deparfed info fhe nighf. Oufside fhe school fhe nighf is cold and January, and fhe sfars above shine wifh a chill winfer radiance. ln fhe silence of fhe nighf, we sfarf and wake suddenly in our beds, and our vision is suddenly flooded wifh all fhe memories of our school years, of fhe day we fook leave of one anofher and wenf forfh info a biffer and ignoranf world, shining flames in fhe nighf, warming each ofher's hearfs wifh our parfing words, never fo meef again. Shining flames we were, fhaf lif up fhe darkness . . . and some flickered fainfly and died info an ash, and ofhers lif up fhe world wifh fheir lighf. Who knows . . . perhaps one of fhose flames will shine forever . . . and fhe nighf will pass . . . George Zifo I7

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we shouldered our load wifh delighf. Before fhe meefing was over, each of us had chosen his field of endeavor, social, liferary, or economic. For a few days affer fhis meefing, fhere were caucuses galore, elecfioneering, and polifical conclaves. Finally, fhe ballofs were disfribufed and we vofed in our Senior Officers. Lef if be said of fhem fhaf fhey deserved fhe honor and our confidence. Mundane, buf necessary, was fhe collecfing of dues and prom pledges. For a while, fhe prom sifuafion looked shaky, buf af leasf fhe froffers gof under way and we were assured of fhis opporfunify fo bursf our frammels and flaunf our high esfafe before fhe world. Rings and keys were almosf forgoffen in fhe excifemenf. When we suddenly learned fhaf we had only fhree more days in which fo place our orders, we besieged fhe G. O. sfore in such numbers fhaf fhere was a fhreaf fo close fhe bank which appeared fo be facing a major panic. We explained ourselves, however, and signed on fhe doffed line iusf in fime. Socials infervened and we gof fogefher in fhe Gym under soffly colored lighf fo look each ofher-and our boy friends or girl friends-over. Senior caps had fheir day in fhe sun. French caps for fhe girls, and forage caps for fhe boys. We insisfed on calling fhe laffer Confederafe caps despife fhe facf fhaf Lee's army would have shof fhe wearer of one on sighf. Affer fhe caps came fhe picfures. We had nof known unfil we received our proofs fhaf a Year Book is almosf synonomous wifh a Comic Book. We know now. A dash of cold wafer on our delirious brow was our midferm reporf card. The faculfy nodded sagely in an l fold you so manner. We had beffer come down fo earfh or else--. From fhe middle of fhe ferm unfil fhe end, fhe hard grind confinued. No pirafe ever frembled af The words Execufion Dock more fhan we did af fhe word Regenfs. There was only one brighf spof in fhis dismal period, buf fhaf was a flood-lighf- fhe Senior Prom. One Friday nighf in January, fhe damsels and dandies of Columbus High fook Broad- way by sform. Possibly Broadway was unaware of if, buf fhaf was Broadway's loss. Girl and escorf saunfered info fhe Asfor. Who says clofhes don'f make fhe man- or fhe woman? Could you believe 'rhaf you had saf in fhe same official class wifh HER for four years? How blind you were! Weren'f you sorry you hadn'f lef HIM carry your books fhaf fime? Too lafe now. Buf we didn'+ worry abouf such lack of insighf long. This was our gala nighf and we made fhe mosf of if. The band played on. The girls' dance cards were filled. We soughf ouf our favorife feachers, and infroduced fhem fo fhaf boy or fhaf girl -as fhe case mighf be-who was fhe real cause of our having failed fhaf quiz fwo weeks ago. We chaffered among ourselves. Some of our feachers were rafher sur- prising foo. We hadn'f known THEY could look like fhaf. So in a misf of wonder and music fhe evening passed all foo quickly. We found ourselves facing fhe realifies again-fhe REGENTS. Jusf one more fling was allowed, Blue Leffer Day. In grofesque cosfumes, we marched fhrough fhe halls I9