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

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History of the Class of ' 46 By Robert W. Egan As everyone leaves behind him a record, so our great and glorious class has left behind it a record long to be remembered in the annals of English High School. After being requested to write this saga of education, the author decided to keep in the style of English High and so record the more riotous and humorous aspects of our history rather than just the dull ordinary facts. Freshman Year To start with, we must go back four, or maybe more years depending on our various stages of devotion to this citadel of higher education. On one September morn, altogether too summerlike to be a school day, we toddled up from Dover and way-stations in short pants and smoking father ' s best pipe. Then, suddenly, Mont- gomery Manor loomed up ahead, almost as big as the seniors, and there we were. After a brief struggle with those tremendous doors that barricade the various en- trances to the Manor — we were later to learn of doors more easily accessible at various times of day — we finally entered, gasping for breath. We were inside at last I Now to the homeroom, oops, pardon me, but that big fellow with those pearl buttons on his shoulder said, To the cafeteria. Freshman! So, ignoring the disdain in his voice, what else could we do? We went in the general direction of the basement. Then, for the first of many times, did we learn that more than a gen- eral direction is necessary at English. When you give anyone general directions here, a compass, map, and direction finder should accompany every word. After discovering that the cafeteria was not hidden among the lockers; no, it wasn ' t in the courtyard; no, keep out of the boiler room; oh, yes, there it was dead ahead. Dead ahead, at English — that means around the corner to your left; then take the second right. Yes, after a bewildering ten minutes, we were royally welcomed to the cafeteria by the nicest man who politely said in quiet tones: Hey, you! Over there, stupid, don ' t ya listen? Then things really quieted down. To a dull roar, that is. The usual red tape was widely distributed, all having a little stamp bearing the symbol Aw, and then we were off to our homerooms. Yup, now we ' ll see what this joint is really like. Those were our thoughts, but we never really put the necessary emphasis on the see. See? We almost found the third-floor cross corridor before we arrived at our homerooms. But when we got there, the fun really started. Although we had all been briefed on the evils of the rotating block system, we were totally unprepared for the detailed instruction ' that followed. This was a Thursday so we started with, um — let ' s see now — oh, yes, here we are, H14 Ky 155 — oh yes, but what about those things listed above? Oh, those come after E15 and F17. Then we eat, huh?— Oh, that depends on F17, no Mil — oh, please teacher, not that, — well, which side is Mil on, north or south, — I know the cafeteria is in the middle, that makes no difference. North, well then you have first, — no second — oh, you ' ve gotten me all mixed up. Well, anyway, eat when a bell rings and the kids start running. Then take notes on the result. By ne.xt Thursday you ' ll be all set. — Yes, teacher. And so we faced the world and school fearless and unafraid on that first dav long ago. Of course, the fact that ninety per cent ate at either the wrong, or both lunches was a mere nothing. And here we might note the fact that those teachers who endured through those rotating days have entered the new era with either grey or bald heads. Please note the similarity existing among the seniors also.

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BOYS OF 1946 Just a word about the Hayden Statue at the Montgomery Street entrance: The group consists of two fig- ures, — one is a large, powerful young man in full armor, with helmet and sword. The other is a similar figure, with no helmet or armor and sword broken. He is clad only in his tunic. The warrior is seeking to lift up his companion who apparently is nearly helpless. How often that scene has been re-enacted on the battle fields of the world through the last few years. The statue is an illustration of the spirit of helpfulness. It is the symbolism of service to others. As much as any statue can, it portrays the spirit of the United States of America when it entered World War H. It was the spirit of over 5500 E. H. S. men who participated in this war. Yes, it was the spirit of dedication shown by the 230 E. H. S. men who gave their lives that the smaller nations might be protected from aggression. For this our boys fought; for this they died. They experienced in English High School the high values of racial understanding, of tolerance and of good will. They fought to preserve this understanding. They died to spread world-wide the spirit which for generations has pervaded this old school of ours. We wonder if some of them did not have in mind this statue, and the inscrip- tion on the pedestal in letters of gold — SERVICE TO MANKIND IS HONOR AND ACHIEVEMENT This statue portrays the spirit of our school — the spirit of service throughout more than a century. In harmony with the lesson taught by this statue, we of our school since its founding say proudly in this anniversary year of 1946 — THE ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL SALUTES HER SONS, THOUSANDS OF WHOM THROUGH THE PAST ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- FIVE YEARS HAVE SERVED WITH DISTINCTION IN PEACE AND IN WAR. Walter F. Downey Head Master DR. WALTER F. DOWNEY Head Master

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After covering the most memorable day in our English High careers — next to graduation, of course — let us proceed with our first-year activities. We were always picking the splinters out of our pants after wildly cheering on our city championship football team over in the smoky atmosphere of Braves ' Field. Those were the days when giants — our line averaged six feet and one hundred ninety pounds — played football for English. We were all thrilled and chilled on that memorable Thanksgiving day when our line and KORAN KASABIAN wrecked Latin 19-0. But now let us once again venture inside those cherished halls of Montgomery Manor. What period are we entering? — Oh, yes, drill, sir. We really suffered there more than anywhere. Our captain was always referring us to the furniture polish ads whenever we needed hair tonic. He said it ought to polish blocks like ours wonder- fully. Ah, the poor freshmen, we really caught it in drill. There were, of course, those happenings that merit discussion such as the captain who gave the command Spittoons, Column Right, only to bounce off the wall himself; or, perhaps, the freshman, who at the command, Present — Arms! made a formal presentation of his gun to the captain, and then after school made a formal presentation of him- self to the drill master for formal, also private, instruction in the meaning of the various commands. Yes, it was a great year for the freshmen in drill, blistered feet excepted. We might note here that although we were now struggling through December, some were still getting a seat at the wrong lunch. Were their heads or their stomachs the more responsible? The track and hockey seasons were now on and we were in the middle of our first year. Well, with CAPTAIN DOHERTY, RED GILBERT, FRAN MURPHY, and B OB BARRY, JENNINGS and CAPUTO scoring goals, we won the Reggies city championship in hockey. THE RADIO AND DRAMATICS CLUB Presenting The Cavalcade of English High as a Feature of the 12Sth Anniversary Celebration.