College High School - La Campanilla Yearbook (Upper Montclair, NJ)

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■ lianind f- roa roareSd Witli apologies to John Bntiyan Preface: After many hours of diligent labor fumbling with figures compiled for us by Mr. Fulla Falsefax, noted government statistician, we have made the dis- covery that 9,999 per cent of all the class histories printed each June contain fantastic overestimates of the merits and accomplishments of the departing Seniors, so instead of painting ourselves as gods and goddesses, who have swept blithely through High School, we shall, with customary ' 40 modesty, restrain our justifiable pride, and confine this saga of our struggles to a strictly factual basis . . . We got off to an auspicious start back in ' 34 by proving our stamina in surviving a long and strenuous hazing administered not too gently by the late lamented ' 39ers. This nerve-wracking period was climaxed by our appearance at the Hallowe ' en party dressed in baby clothes which erased any semblance of dignity that we had. Our major activity of the year was in the field of dramatics. The Ransom of Red Chief, The Courtship of Miles Standish, and the now-famous The Five Little Fingerkins were our principal contributions. Our ability did not go unrecognized as Mr. Bohn wrapped us up in cheesecloth, and sent us out to face the elements for the Seniors ' production of Midsummer ' s Night Dream. We did not, however, only give the school the dubious benefit of our dramatic efforts, but we endeavored to spread the name of College High by inflicting ourselves on Breyer ' s Ice Cream plant, the Natural History Museum, and Sheffield ' s farms. Our N.B.C. (No Body Cares) club remained a secret to all the school including ourselves for many a riotous meeting. We were in a clubby mood that year, and quickly organ- ized the Vikings of Citizenship which, was responsible for the sturdy maple which has flourished despite the football and baseball games waged around and over it. Inspired by the mighty Viking Ship that served as an emblem, we also showed our civic pride by spending an afternoon weeding the then overgrown pasture which served as a campus. Our interest in community betterment led us to take several field trips to New York and Paterson to observe working and living conditions. Aside from these diver- sions. Eighth Grade was one long frolic. Ever eager to reap practical benefits from our instruction, we planted what we optimistically termed vegetable gardens in front of the school. Tliough our crop consisted mainly of a handful of radishes and several carrots, it fattened the neigh- borhood rabbits for several months. A minor obstacle in the form of our introduction to French and the restrictions imposed on initiations served to slow us down to a gallop by the end of the year, but we swept undaunted into our Freshman semesters. This year ' s high spot was a trip to the nation ' s capital. Though the excursionists were properly impressed by tours through the Mint, White House, and Mt. Vernon, the memory of the cracker crumbs and onions will remain long after the view from atop the Washington Monument has been forgotten. As Freshmen, we also discovered Playwright John Wehncke, who demanded that, for a change, we present an original play. The Page Twenty-six

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I IHoments ff and On The gang ' s .11 here. Please don ' t feed the animals Feminine hypocrisy. Do I hear more? Gee! She ' s beautiful! Why don ' t you watch what you ' re doing, Nicky? Junior-Senior clambake ' 39. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. ' Where are we going to put that? Hope he doesn ' t call on me. Page Twenty-fiv

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class was willing, and generously gave John the job of rewriting an O. Henry storv in play form. Again we came through with the comedy hit of the year. When our home room periods turned into complete bedlam, it became evident that some solution must be found. After hours of wrangling, a constitution was finally drawn up by Dick Swift and his law-makers, and it was approved. Though not ultra- efficient in its operation, it has served satisfactorily, and has been used as the basis for nearly all the other classes ' constitutions since written. As Sophomores, we showed first evidences of our social tendencies by putting on a socially successful dance in the fall, which featured weird lighting effects. Extend- ing our desire for originality into other fields, we adopted a new and radical crest for the class rings, which shocked the upperclassmen, who immediately condemned the younger generation. The dramatic effort for the year was L ' homme Qui Epousa une Femme Muette, which was directed by Mrs. Cressey. Lawyer Dick Swift threw his law books at femme Charlotte Hilgert while Doctor John Wehncke sputtered lengthy and unintelligible medical phrases. Souvenir was another contribution to the school ' s cultural develop- ment. This was a book of original short stories and poems written in Mr. Conrad ' s English class. The final event of the year was the Commencement Dance, which we sponsored for the Seniors, and was (hold your breath) a financial as well as a social success. Athletics again claimed much of our time, and Monte DuVal upheld class honor by garnering a varsity letter in basketball. In other sports, we were equally active, though not so successful. Returning to College High as full-fledged Juniors, we started things off with a bang. Our first destination was Barnegat Bay where we took a deep sea fishing trip. The catch was decidedly on the meagre side, consisting of a basketful of crabs and one (1) eight-inch fish, species unknown. Dr. Partridge ' s movies of this voyage were included in the class ' s epic production More Fun! which has panicked audiences from Hoboken to Hohokus, thus effectively blighting any cinematic aspirations on the part of the fair sex. This thrilling one-reeler in technicolor also contains shots of the numerous canoe trips we took on the Passaic and the hike on the Appalachian Trail (featuring DuVal pursued by eleven girls). Mixing our fun with a little work, we put on a sport dance, distinguished prin- cipally by the substitution of bleachers for the usual folding chairs. Will we ever forget whipping them around in the W.P.A. truck next morning with Hawes at the wheel.- Our roving spirits could not be suppressed for long, however, and we were soon off on another ramble, this time to Stokes State Forest, where we spent a slightly terrific week-end. This was the final trip under the auspices of the Integration course, and though we were blessed with continual rain, it served as a fitting climax to the most enjoyable course of our career. Publication of the Crier was added to the growing list of responsibilities we Page Twenty-seven