East High School - Eastonian Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

Page 15 text:

to us, too. The highlight of the spring was the T L diers were coming homernow, except those in thefoccupation forces. Thea atoinic bomb was being further de- veloped and tested. This question faced the world, '6Would the Bomb be fused to benefit or maim all manliindfw All the experiences of our last two years had formed a part of the pattern for our characters and personali- ties. The two years which we were entering now would almost seal the mold of our future lives. The question which faced us individually was, 'cWould our mold be marred or perfect? No matter how dark the night, the light of day always breaks through to us. It is not human nature to live in doubt and worry, when much happiness can be found in enjoy- ing life itself. Although we were teen-agers, we were still human, and this theory applied Junior Prom, which was held for the first time in five years. We entered our last year in school two weeks late because of the poliomyelitis epi- demic. This was our senior year in high school! The Four: Freedoms had been fought for again. In some cases freedom of speech and freedom of religion have been partially gained. How- ever, freedom from want has not been won. Today, many people are starving, and will be faced with more starvation. Freedom from fear has not been won. The question of atomic power hangs over us all. lt is up to us, who have Christian educations, to aid inhdeciding the questions in a way which will completely win the Four Freedoms. This Class of ,47 has made its historylin East High School and its members will help to formulate the history of the world to be. p Q56 Entry to East- The Setting for Our Story , . . 4 t 4 13 K M, L0 z-1 ff V Ip M-A3731 h w

Page 14 text:

jdid .96 Our Sfory rom eginning fo - - .7!1e gfaaa of 7 94 7 In September of 1943, Allied troops crossed the Messina Straits and landed in Italy. We had passed from grade school into our first year of high school. In a short while the Italian government accepted Allied surrender terms, and we resigned ourselves to school. General Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Allied Commander for the invasion of Europe, as we launched the attack on a new semester of school work. The devastation of war was brought closer to German soil when Berlin was bombed in its first big daylight raid. We ourselves realized that misfortune would fall upon us if those grades weren't improved. In the late spring of '44, the Germans abandoned Rome to the Allies, and we will- ingly gave up school books for baseball bats. During the summer vacation, we hoed, weeded, and watered victory gardens. We were not only helping to increase the food supply, but were benefiting ourselves by this healthful outdoor exercise. We entered our sophomore year in Sep- tember of 1944, as the British entered Ant- werp. The Finnish-Russian armistice was signed, and we stopped fighting the idea of another school year. In connection with our school activities, we were collecting scrap paper, metal, old clothes, and we were filling boxes to cheer our soldiers and the unfortunate people of other countries. We cooperated in all the jobs necessary for the all-out war ef- fort. The Big Four, Stalin, Churchill, Boose- velt, and Chiang Kai-Shek met in the Dumbar- ton Oaks Conference to draw up the first blue- print for the world security league. This in- ternational blueprint is now forming the pat- tern for the future of our individual lives. In the fall of I944, President Roosevelt was re-elected as President of the United States. He was the first man to fill this office for a fourth term, but the excitement caused by this was replaced by sorrow. President Roosevelt died a short while later, and the whole nation mourned his passing. He was the only president we could remember. When he left, something went out of our own lives. We were affected by a personal loss which made us realize that we were passing from childhood into a more serious world. Hitler and Mussolini were killed, but we didnit cheer. The world was rid of two men who symbolized the forces of evil. So many men had died to wipe out this evil that we could only be quietly thankful. The Russians took Berlin, and VE Day, Victory in Europe, was celebrated. Joy and happiness for the end of the war were mingled with tears and sor- row for those who did not see the victory. In early summer, Churchill resigned from the office of Prime Minister of England, and We departed from school to enter summer ac- tivities. During the summer of 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, and this was followed by the Japanese surrender on the battleship U.S.S. Missouri. Most of the sol-

Page 16 text:

- . tx,- . Xl ' ' l N NATIONA , ' HONOS sew .3651 ' ll Wafionaf .Honor lgocief A y an if - r It Top Row: Robert Graham, Jerry Griffith, Ruth Boles, Richard Simpson, Doris Lee King, Robert Loy. F ifthglowz Reggy Taylor, Norma Jean Cleland, Charles Leopold, Janice Austin, ,lacquelyne Lowery, ' A harleswfitimsey. Foaitht Row: Margaret Glad, Arla Bateman, Doris Lowe, Evon Thomas, Joyce Owens, Patricia Kramer. Third Row: Patty Lou Folsom, Fern Nelson, Virginia Miller, Doris Gerhardt, Donald Kudart, Charles Beed. 'S 1 fJ' Second Row: Phyllis Fensom, Norma Jane Heady, Louise Young, Houston Flournoy, Colleen Shepherd, Colleen Brown. Bottom Row: David Gutridge, Robert Flinner, William Schaefer, Junior Huddlestun, Carl Hicks, John Perry, Bill Fortune, Without a picture: Mary Aldrich.