High School of Commerce - Caduceus Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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Owe Wlechanical Rage Sometime during their final year, most seniors work in 216A, the duplicating room. At first, they are somewhat overwhelmed by the array of odd-looking machines, bearing such queer names: mimeoscope, dictaphone, electromatic type- writer, new-process duplicator, multigraph. However, within an amazingly short time they are able to learn the very essential and convenient duplicating tactics. As only five or six constitute a class, informality always reigns. At first the group clusters about each machine, learning the details of its operation. Then the students use the machines in rotation, working alone or with one another. Having successfully run a mimeograph stencil, or written letters via the dictaphone records, they can go on to the next machine, until all have become familiar. This individual- work method assures the fastest possible progress. At the conclusion of this brief course, the seniors usually feel that they have gained immeasurably valuable knowledge from the many spare hours they have spent working among the fascinating machines. [18 ] LEFT—Typical Typewriting Class. Ruth Laznovsky, Esther O'Connell, Mary Krumsick, Marion Holton in foreground. . . . BELOW—Duplicating Group. Louise Horney, Francis Burns Edna Nielsen, Marion Holton, Harold Cutler. Commerce Pride For thirty years, the friendly click! clack! of the machines in the typewriting rooms has permeated Commerce’s tradi- tionally industrious air. To each beginning class, type, as it is affectionately called, has always brought the thrill of experimentation. This unlimited curiosity soon dissolves when pupils’ fingers, unaccustomed to such activity, struggle to maintain control of each wayward motion that threatens to make mischief —and errors! After one or two years of type. training from Miss Hunt or Miss Walker, busy transcription students never relax from their goal of accuracy and increased speed. Although the chief problem of each Senior is to transcribe his mass of words and phrases, his resulting letter must be so perfect as to pass the eagle-eyed vigilance of Miss Clark, Mrs. Davis, and Mr. Campbell. Realizing all these facts, the transcrip- tion pupils apply every atom of energy in order to retain the national renown of the High School of Commerce for high success in its stenographic courses.

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a F e e avoute Poruod To visitors, the clamorous charge of students to the lunch- room must seem a startling, unusual occurrence; yet for years this ravenous surge has been a traditional incident in the Commerce schedule. The daily episode, characterized by the eagerness of the hungry mass, is made more humorous by the antics of third-floor occupants, who nearly jump the bell while trying to get a head start on lower-level speed demons. In fact, the sudden gust of energy shown by even the laziest boy always astonishes the most experienced teach- ers, who wisely tarry lest they be swept off their feet by unheeding pupils. Upon reaching the cafeteria, those who carry their own dinners immediately dash for tables; while the lunch buyers join the already too-long lines in search of essential vitamins. The ever-present confusion — jabbering, chattering, eating, giggling, punctuated by an occasional shattered dish or spilled milk bottle —rivals that of any Springfield lunch- eonette. Gradually, as swiftly as it darted in, the crowd departs, RIGHT — Lunchroom Workers. Mrs. Minnie Gam- ble, Mrs. Katherine Garneau, Mrs. Carline Li nden, Miss Theresa Hurley, Mrs. Wini- fred Smith. . . . BELOW— Lunch Line in Cafeteria. [17] leaving behind only the efficient kitchen workers, who daily draw a breath of relief as their domain settles once more into the unbroken hum of preparation for the following day’s onslaught. CULINARY JEWELS The successful management of the lunchroom can be ac- credited to the efhcient kitchen staff. Even during wartime, this busy group succeeds in supplying not only well-balanced meals but also cookies and candy — youth’s inevitable favor- ites —for lunch-time enjoyment. Each day these scurrying workers, directed by efficient Mrs. Linden, try to keep their student helpers on an even keel amidst a storm of inquiries and requests from hurried mobs. Despite the apparent difh- culty in satisfying the multitude of mouths, the staff always produces an enjoyable menu. Me Besides supplying meals for the hundreds of teen-age Com- merce students, the kitchen staff has been even busier since the establishment of the nursery school for the children of war workers. Under the motherly supervision of Mrs. Gamble, morning orange juice, hot lunches, and afternoon milk have been furnished to an average of forty nursery tots every day.

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CL Priceless Shill Even rival Springfield high schools concede that most Commerce students are better penmen. This traditional dexterity was established by the able fingers of S.O.S., whose nationally-known skill has inspired penmanship in- structors and their Freshman pupils. During the early weeks of training, cramped fingers, tired arms, and wavering strokes are inevitable. Many an inex- perienced Freshie departs from the engulfing penmanship room with ink-speckled hands, because he does not yet grasp the proper way to hold a pen. But by February a startling change shows the development of real skill. This achievement reaches its peak in time for the long- awaited certificate tests; then success greets most students’ efforts. With certificates tucked under their arms, proud Freshmen look ahead to the years in the business world when handwriting will play so important a part of their day’s work. Mr. Burtt. Bequest Except to Commerce students, the initials, “G. O.,” mean even less than the descriptive appelations of Washington’s famous bureaus! Our General Organization, however, was not formed by any bureaucrat, but by our former principal, Mr. Jerome Burtt. Since its establishment in 1931, the other three high schools have adopted the plan; thus Commerce instituted a Springfield tradition. From its subterranean depths, Room 28 efficiently tabulates the financial statements of the G. O. Student bookkeepers individually audit the accounts of their assigned homerooms, under the able direction of genial Mr. Walker. Such a business-like status quo advances the abilities of the young Morgenthaus, who, however, try to reduce, rather than increase the G. O. debt. Informality predominates: auditors scatter papers about their desks, hurriedly com pute figures on the book- keeping machines, and swiftly pen ledgers which always balance after an hour’s concentrated labor. This well-organized, if noisy, group is tradition- ally efficient, while the work provides valuable ex- perience in bookkeeping and accounting procedure for the up-and-coming Senior Auditors. LEFT—G. O. Accounting Room. Patricia Lawlor, Theodore Bamforth, Dorothea Madison, Marion Holton in foreground. Florence Dahlke, Louise Horney, Mary Crowley, Helen LaValley, Ellen Clark, Harold Cutler in rear. Mr. Walker, teacher. . BELOW—Miss Libby’s Pen- manship Class.