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

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

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Dedication ith admiration for his many superlative qualities, and with appreciation for his outstanding contributions to the success of The English High School athletic squads during the past thirteen years, the Class of 1945 dedicates its Yearbook to Mr. William H. Ohrenberger, recently promoted to the position of assistant direc- tor of physical education in the Boston Public Schools. Graduated from The English High School in 1923, our former mentor ma- triculated at Boston College, where he distinguished himself in his studies as well as on the athletic field. It was but natural that after being awarded his degree in 1927, Mr. Ohrenberger should choose teaching and coaching as his vocation. At St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Jamaica Plain, and at Georgetown Preparatory School, Washington, D. C, he taught mathematics and directed the athletic prograyn. Having secured a master ' s degree and having qualified for appointment as a teacher in the Boston Public Schools, he became a member of our own faculty in 1930. When Mr. D. Leo Daley, now head master of Boston Technical High School, relinquished his duties as coach of the Blue and Blue in 1932, he was succeeded by Mr. Ohren- berger. During the years that have followed, our football, baseball, track, and hockey squads have maintained arid even enhanced the famous traditions ofE. H. S. athletics. Coach Ohrenberger ' s teams have won many City championships arid several State titles, as well. But, apart from his outstanding record as a coach, Bill Ohrenberger has been an incalculable influence for good in our school. His class room work has always been superior. His cheerful and capable handling of couritless extracurricular assigriments has dotie much to facilitate the administration of the largest school in Boston. Above all, the wholesome example of his splendid character has been an inspiration to every English High School boy. We congratidate him upon his well-merited promotion. We wish him happiness and success in his new position. We assure him that to the Class of 1945 and to every other member of The English High School, the name of William H. Ohrenberger will always symbolize the finest attributes of a coach, a teacher, a gentleman.

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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