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

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0i s of the Class of 1950 Every one of you is leaving this school to mctke a personal con- tribution wherever you are. As yet you may not have thought of this. It will be clearer to you in later years. At the present time some of you are interested in entering higher institutions of learning, and others in getting immediate jobs, — but wherever you are you will be making a contribution. You are E. H. S. representatives — wherever you go. The lessons that you have learned in English High School will guide you. You have had a great opportunity for academic pre- paration. These lessons have been from books. But you have learned other lessons. You have learned here to live together. You have learned to admire boys and consider them your close friends regardless of race, creed or color. You will promote this spirit of understanding. The world needs it. You will make contributions in varied fields as your prede- cessors hove done for more than a century and a quarter. There are among you leaders in the fields of religion, medicine, engineer- ing, science, arts, accounting, commerce, and many fields of Am- erican industry. Many of you will achieve leadership in these fields. We know that you are prepared to defend at all times the fun- damental ideals of the American Republic; that you appreciate the opportunities that have been yours in this country, this state, this city and this school. Let us not forget that this old school, to which I know you are very loyal, as have been your predecessors, stands as a monument to American democracy. You will more than once recall the dedication plaque on our Memorial to World War II Veterans — FROM MANY LANDS THEIR FOREBEARS CAME IN SEARCH OF FREEDOM. IN ITS DEFENSE THEY FOUGHT. MANY DIED. GOD GRANT THAT THEIR SACRIFICES MAY MAKE STRONGER THE BONDS THAT UNITE ALL MANKIND. GOD BLESS YOU — EVERY ONE — AND MAY HE ASSIST YOU IN EVERY WAY. HEAD MASTER

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The Yearbook of 1950 is dedicated to J. Clifford Ronan and Arthur J. SuUivan under whose splendid leadership the Track Team and the Basketball Team captured many trophies for the English High School

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Zeam Work and School Spirit Throughout our years in English High our attention has been continually directed to the fine tradition and record of achievements set down by so many of our predecessors. Yet how many of us have taken the time or had the interest to search further into the underlying stories which tell of the direct causes and re- sults of these achievements? What is a track man seeking when he gives his last surge of energy to break the tape ahead of his com- petitors? Is it personal glory, or is it a feeling in some way connected with the upholding of school tradition? Adorning the shelves of our school office are many trophies presented to winning track and basketball teams of English High. It i. from the stories behind these trophies that we learn the true reasons for English High ' s tradit- ional greatness. Determination, self-control, victory . . . defeat . . . are all spelled out in the countless narratives that can be told by the coaches about their respective sports. In all these narratives, however, there is one ever- present feature that is graphically expressed — the ideal set up by coaches of English High — that never has, nor, shall an English High boy quit! It takes more than plain courage to stick to something that seems hopelessly lost, but no athlete from English has ever discredited his school by accepting defeat discourteously. The Belmont relays of 1949 are an excel- lent example of the competitive spirit of English High boys. In order to cop the Relay title, our relay team, in the final event of the day, had to break a record set only five minutes pre- vious to their race. The teamwork and spirit accentuated by Mr. Ronan throughout the year sparked this relay team to the fastest time they had ever posted. Never before this year has an English High School basketball team been invited to the Tech Tourney. Many sports writers figured the invitation necessary only because English had won the Boston Conference title. Mr. Sullivan and his team had other ideas, however, and proceeded on the court to give Attleboro its toughest game in the Tourney. The competitive spirit and teamwork of English High rose to its highest peak during the com- petition — despite our loss. The foundation of knowledge and fair play that we have gained at English will be a defi- nite asset after our graduation. The responsi- bility of restoring peace in a world of belligerent nations is ours, and we can only be successful if we persevere in our responsibility. A greater part of the inspiration for this task will have come from the corridors and schoolrooms through which we have passed. The trophies and plaques presented to our teams must serve not as decorations, but as factual ex- amples — a precedent for us and the students of the future. To appreciate them and to want to learn about them is something to be proud of. If we can learn to appreciate the spirit in which English High won these trophies, then the mid-twentieth-century-class will set its best foot forward toward establishing a new world. Keith A. Buzzell, Editor