English High School - Blue and Blue / Record Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Foreword War seemed very far away from us on that happy day in September, 1941, when we hurried forth from heme in eager anticipation of registering at the English High School . . . New freedom, new responsibilities, new experiences, new associations claimed our attention all through those first thrilling weeks during which as freshmen we underwent our indoctrination course in the service and traditions of the oldest public high school in the United States. . . . Autumn and those crisp afternoons, with early dismissal for those boys who planned to attend the football games . . . the crowds at Braves Field . . . the cheering practice in the Gym in preparation for the next game . . . the surge of satisfaction at being part of a grand school with championship athletic teams . . . the climax contest with Public Latin . . . the wonderful assembly at which the players were awarded their letters . . . and then. . . . Pearl Harbor . . . December 7, 1941 ... a date that will live in infamy. . . . Things changed a good deal after our country recovered from the initial shock . . . Home life changed, too, as relatives left for training camps; as fathers grimly settled down in the war plants of Greater Boston to give the boys in the Armed Forces the tools with which to begin the job ... At school, we had air-raid precaution, military drill with a new meaning, the V- program, and a greater emphasis on mathematics, the sciences, and the languages. . . . Long days and nights of waiting . . . Then came military sweeps in North Africa, hard fighting for footholds in Italy and on the isles of the Pacific . . . Upperclassmen leaving school to enter the service . . . Decorations and citations as the Air Force battled for the skies over Europe, and the carrier squadrons waged a war of attrition against the fleet of Japan . . . Ocean- spanning letters from Head Master Walter F. Downey to Fighting English all over the world. . . . D-Day in Europe . . . the prayerful solemnity that pervaded our American cities as families sought help and strength to carry on . . . The dramatic smash through France by Pat- ton and Bradley and their fellow-commanders . . . The capture of Paris and many another enemy-held city . . . On to the Rhineland! to the heart of the Reich! to the island outposts of Japan, with American bombers over Tokyo. . . . Senior year . . . against the backdrop of war . . . But it ' s a victorious war now . . . We too carry on in the victory spirit . . . Remember the Stadium game? . . . Senior prom, rings, committees, commissions in the E. H. S. regiments . . . extra-curricular activities, meetings, assemblies, and after-school jobs ... It has been a restless year, but with victory on every breeze. . . . There is a victory of idealism as well . . . the ideal of service to the school, the ideal of getting along together in the American way, the ideal of doing a good job for oneself and for one ' s instructors . . . the urge to prepare thoroughly and conscientiously for whatever is to come. . . . It is our earnest hope that this idealism will shine forth from between the lines as we write . . . that this Yearbook will somehow reveal the true E. H. S. spirit of the Class of 1945, courageous even in those dark days of the past four years when our fellow-Americans had to fight their way through mine fields in the shadowed valleys; courageous now, as we join the onward march of our nation ' s manhood along the heights to Victory. s I. FACULTY Pages 13 to 18 II. THE CLASS OF NINETEEN FORTY-FIVE Pages 19 to 86 III HIGHLIGHTS IN ATHLETICS Pages 87 to 100 IV. MILITARY DRILL Pages 101 to 108 V. ORGANIZED FOR SERVICE TO E. H. S. Pages 109 to 128

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William H. Ohrenberser, PkB., Ed.M. Assistant Director of Physical Education Boston Public Schools

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onstant as the Stars T URING the last four years we have traveled along together, attempting many things. Some have succeeded, and others have failed; but out of these victories or defeats have come, tested in the forge of experience, ideals and attitudes that will serve us through life. Time, in its onward sweep, is relentlessly carrying us toward a new portal that will open to us the lists of life and at the same time close upon us the period of carefree high school days. We must turn in different directions, some to enter the world of business and industry, others to continue their educational activities. All groups, however, are bound together by the strongest of ties, their loyalty to Alma Mater. English High has not only nourished us through these formative years, not only strengthened us in mind and in body, but above all it has imbued us with its spirit — a spirit constant as the stars. This feeling has no sudden birth. It is the result of long exposure to English High aims and traditions. Through the years this loyalty has attained an almost legendary reputation. To us of English it is a source of pride; to others, a cause for wonder. Each class, as it returns year after year to renew its pledge of fealty, gives evidence of the vigor of the love that fills the heart of every English High man from his entrance as a freshman to his departure as a senior and far beyond. Our introduction into the world of endeavor initiates us into the body of alumni whose principles become ours and whose example we cherish. The new dignity will test our worthiness to uphold the honor of our school. Whether in business or in education, the ideals of manhood must be those taught us in our youth. Conditions may differ, and no definite rule for the conduct of our class- mates can be laid down ; but he who follows the guidance of English High has a firm basis for future success. As our predecessors have been models for us, so too do we become ex- amples for those who follow. We, who have but lately learned the truth, have become teachers. Thus it lives on, in a never-ending cycle, this elusive something with which old English endows her sons. Because of it, we will go on planning and building until the world is a better place for living, and until Honor is the goal of every man ' s Achievement. JOHN H. CRIMMINS June, 1937