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

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SOPHOMORE YEAR We, the unmistakable Sophomores, filed into the E. H. S. after a brief sum- mer vacation. Accepting our fate and the fact that we had only a few minutes left, we hurried to meet old friends again. After the usual filling out of a few thousand cards, we awaited the long hours before us. The second year was different. We no longer had that chocking, fear- ful feeling deep down inside of us. We no longer groped our way up the dark corridors in search of unheard of rooms, only to find ourselves in darker, more astonishing places. Yes, we had learned uncountable miles of informa- tion. Our plight was over. It was our turn to watch the Freshmen stumble their meaninglessway in your great vastness, E. H. S. The Record awoke from its rest in the E. H. S. dust, a sleep that had been caused by the paper shortage of the war. Through this interesting school publication, we become more aware of school activities. Confusion made its noisy way to our portals when strange looking men in overalls buzzed eagerly on the second floor of the south side. The echos of hammers rapped through the building. When the dust had settled and the noise had ceased, behold we saw a memorial reminding us of those E. H. S. sons who didn ' t think twice to give their lives so that we may live. The time was approaching now when we could say that only two more years had to come and go. April washed in. The prize drill was only an- other date on the fast fading month of April. May and then June shone through the windows. We were no longer Sophomores, but five star Juniors. JUNIOR YEAR A well earned rest had just come to a close, and Juniors as well as Seni- ors, Sophomores, and Freshmen entered E. H. S. for ten more months of anxi- ety. The teachers had that keen sense of unrighteousness that spreads a cold fear over countless millions of little men — said by some to be FRESHMEN. Football soon removed the thoughts of school. Roger Stewart and the team showed their power, but lost the game to Latin 19-0. English, Latin, and Technical participated in the first cross country events. E. H. S. came out on top. Mr. Atwood, backed by a very able physics department, had us well into the subject by the first of December. Before the Christmas vacation, the Seniors started to clean out the lockers. They left the locker room looking like the city dump. Mack and the boys had to do some work. This winter was extremely mild. Some of us were playing catch on the Christmas vacation. The fellows were really sharped up with their Christ- mas presents when we came back to school. The basketball team did a fine job taking the Boston Conference Champ- ionship. The boys had a perfect cheering section at the Tech Tourney, and played their hearts out for the Blue and Blue, only to loose the game to At- tleboro. After C. P., the Juniors felt lonely. Seniors were very rare persons a- round the school those days. Although we were still struggling our way along, we had started to check off the number of days left for school — even though there were eighty more to go. The usual April prize drill took place along about now. A very able young man named Francis Del Veccio marched his company into first prize. Everything ran along smoothly, although Colonel Driscoll had a hard time to make himself heard over the loud speaker. When the volume was too high, his voice reverberated - nobody could hear him. When too low, it was twice as bad. Maybe some year they will find that in-between volume so that everybody will be able to understand. The baseball team was quite vigorous. The first week of pitching prac- tice in the drill hall found the doors thoroughly ventilated. By the way the team did a good job.

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SONG COMMITTEE SEATED at piano: Joseph K. Fish. STANDING (left to right) Richard D. Sullivan, John G. McCarthy. Class M ist or y FRESHMAN YEAR I had just reached Warren Avenue when I saw a typical E. H. S. student holding on to a tree. What ' s the name of that castle? I asked. Oh, that ' s English High was the reply that staggered me as the walls appeared to grow more immense the more I looked at them. Considering the years and the weather, the building has stood up remarkably well, but one could not help wondering why a fire station had been built just around the corner. Once inside the building, 1 could find no way out. 1 followed the arrows, showing the up and down stairways, literally, and spent many houis searching for the up stairways. To this day, there are still Freshmen look- ing for cross-corridors on the third floor. During the lunch period, we found ourselves amid a herd of famished men. We often noticed empty tables far from the confusion, and proceeded to sit down. Our hopes soon faded when we were told that the tables were re- served for Seniors. Four minutes was not a long enough time for us Freshmen to move from one room to another, especially for the Freshmen who looked at every picture that lined the walls of the corridors. Latin and French were comparatively new to most of us, but we soon planned to buy trots for Caesar and Cicero. Probably the hardest test of high school ended on the day we became Sophomores. We had surely learned a great deal about the castle.

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Mr. Heins started selling the Record again. He had the usual support from the boys, and was desperately seeking out all the promises he had re- ceived from the Juniors and Seniors. Not until after a year ' s hard work were we able to say that we were Seniors. Spheres, Caesar, and physics had given us quite a scare, but we knew the worst was to come. SENIOR YEAR Along with the usual problems that confront a Senior Class, the Class of ' 51 was obviously the smallest senior class since 1920. Unforeseen at the beginning of the year, were such questions as: Would the subscriptions for the Yearbook pull us over the top? Would we have a prom? These and the fear of being handed our draft papers at graduation surely had us guessing. One good cogitation, the knowledge that C. P. would release us around the first of May, resounded through our minds until insanity seemed to be a poor diagnosis for our actions. But with all our haste to leave you, E. H. S., to explore the outside, I may assure you we would be very glad to fill your long corridors, when our troubles really begin. Jerry O ' Leary and the boys gained the respect of Latin in the annual English-Latin Thanksgiving Day gome. It was a ding-dong battle all the way, which found English ahead all of the game. The final score of the game was; English 41, Latin 30. Those Seniors who took the college course were fascinated by the chemis- try labs, a fascination that lived until H2S and S02 became one of the experi- ments. Class elections gave an opportunity to all Seniors to vote. George Hotton convinced us he should be president of the Senior Class. Other electees were Jerry O ' Leary, secretary-treasurer; Alan T. Howe, vice-president; J. Robert Jacobs and Oliver Galloway, executive committee. Basketball again reigned supreme in E. H. S. as the team ended the sea- son undefeated. In the Tech Tourney, Lawrence squeezed out a 50-49 win. Flash - Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and all the ships at sea. Who, in Mr. Brown ' s C4 class, borrowed a pill from his fabulous collection? Certainly the culprit must have been apprehended by now. If he hasn ' t been, the F. B. I could use him. The long and tedious job of collecting class dues soon lessened the weights of our billfolds. Mr. Frazier and the room councillors had their work cut out for them on this job. Mr. Heins appointed a committee of boys to encourage members -of the class to have class pictures taken. The Yearbook money started to seep in, and we soon discovered alumni dues were also to be dealt with. On December 10, the N. R. O. T. C. exam was taken by a few seniors. A considerable number of boys gave a Saturday, plus twelve bucks , for the March 10 college boards. Many of the fellows, thoroughly disgusted after the tests, were looking for the nearest recruiting station. George Hotton and the Prom Committee must have become well acquaint- ed with the senior home room boys in a desperate attempt to sell prom tickets. A fifteen hundred word composition had to be written and turned in to E4 teachers before C. P. prospects could be dismissed. The great release came on May 4. By the time next Friday rolled around Nick Belilis was still wondering where all the seniors had gone. We have spent four years in E. H. S. - some of us longer. When we first came to the school, we had great expectations of the future, or of just hav- ing a good time. Since that eventful day in our lives, much has taken place in the world to change our dreams. Some of us will never go to college. Most of us will be drafted sooner or later. Our only wish is that those fellows who will graduate after us will have a dream with more reality, and a more peace- ful word in which to live. So like the most famous general of our time, we too, just fade away. WARREN H. RINGER, 51