Classical High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 16 text:

MR. PHILIP A. SWEENEY Our Assistant Principal To many of us perpetual vitality is a difficult achievement, but to Mr. Sweeney it is not only necessary, but natural. He is a man of unending energy. We have all seen him scurrying around the building at one time or another. Accompanying him in all his duties are his ever ready smile and wonderful Irish wit. It is a marvel that so busy a man has time to always smile and enjoy life. We have all gained a very deep respect for Mr. Sweeney. In all that he does he tries to make us beiter students and the school better scholastically. This, at times, demands that his Irish wit change to Dublin fire, but not for long. He has always proven himself fair and honest in his discipline. Mr. Sweeney can also be respected as a man of excellent grooming. It is always a pleasant sur- 14 prise to walk into his office in the morning and see one of his handsome ties. Intelligence is another virtue with which our assistant principal is also blessed. His mind is al- ways keen to new and old problems and ever ready with prompt and accurate answers. Mr. Sweeney’s entire attitude is one of business and pleasure mixed. He is always aware of his position and duty in the school and responds to it spontaneously, while never losing sight of life with its many bright sides. We shall all remember Mr. Sweeney and as the years go by respect and admire him all the more. He is a man of the high- est standards—a man to be emulated.

Page 15 text:

In Eighteen Hundred Fifty-Two Springfield was a sprawling country town, Proud that it was new-grown to be a city, With heavy wagons and blown dust in the streets And a white church spire above green elms in the Square. At one side of the Square stood the High School, A plain, two-story wooden building. ‘“Maenificent,” they called it. For the time, it was. And in the spring they had an “exhibition,” Spoke pieces, gave orations, read a poem, Said complimentary things for education; And then the boys and girls who finished school Quietly took their places in the community. A few of them, perhaps, went on to college; The rest just settled down and went to work. In Nineteen Hundred Fifty-Two The town has changed—in some things, not in all. Its towers are taller and its voice is louder, But ancient elms in the square still wave green banners in the spring, And above their tossing branches the white spire of old First Church Still holds aloft its golden weather vane As bravely as it did a hundred years ago. And youth is youth again when school is out Starting high-hearted upon its glorious voyage— The journey of mankind across the years. God speed! SPovmarte, 0 ahroers 13

Page 17 text:

Mr. Finn and Mrs. Bemis are well known to the eight hundred and fifty Classical students, and vice versa. These two are our guidance counselors. Daily they help students in their choice of colleges and in the choice of high school courses. They find part time work for students during the school year, and, by means of aptitude tests, help those who seek full time employ- ment after graduation. Mr. Finn and Mrs. Bemis also aid in settling the fric- tional encounters among students, and in settling any number of other difficul- ties which confront growing young men and women. Mr. William Finn and Mrs. Dorothy Bemis Mrs. Coleman and Dr. Bennett are confronted daily with students com- plaining of headaches, bruises, and a host of pains and illnesses. Most of these complaints are legitimate. Our Mrs. Coleman has a sharp eye for those few who, on the spur of the moment, think of a pain or two which would necessitate their immediate departure from school. Mrs. Anna Mary Coleman, Dr. Nathaniel Bennett 15