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

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Mistory of the Class of 1957 FRESHMAN 1953-54 Early in September 1953 we received our intro¬ duction to English High School. As we approached the school on that fateful day, we were full of awe and wonderment. We were about to enter a new era in our life and we all hoped that we could live up to the ideals and standards of E.H.S. We did not realize at that time that we would be the last freshman class to enter “Montgomery Manor” for during the summer the English High School would be moved to more modern facilities in the High School of Commerce building in the Fenway. Al¬ though the Manor had a new lunchroom, (which is sorely missed now) in general the building was in pretty bad shape. Visitors would often mistake the Manor for a game preserve because of the great variety of wild life which made its home there. (No doubt members of the Alumni Asso¬ ciation. ) A little later in the year we were also saddened to learn that our beloved headmaster, Walter F. Downey, would retire at the end of the school year, after leading and guiding the E.H.S. through thick and thin for more than thirty-two years. In our freshman year new honors were added to E.H.S. when Governor Herter proclaimed Mon¬ day, May 3, 1954 as English High School Associa¬ tion Day throughout Massachusetts. This was the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the English High School association, the oldest alumni association in the country. The freshman year was also the year of the great E.H.S. fire. Mr. Kenney discovered the blaze and rang in the alarm. The building was promptly emptied. The fire engines came and the firemen started to battle the blaze, and Mr. Morris Murphy calmly looked out his second floor window, and asked, “Is there really a fire?” (Wake up, old boy, the building was burning down about you.) How¬ ever the blaze was soon extinguished and we re¬ turned to classes. Also that year the M.S.P.C.A. arrested several students who were trying to catch a free dinner from the hordes of pigeons in the gym. The fact that E.H.S. was no “snap” became all too apparent to us when the. first marks came out. We realized that if we wanted to graduate from this school we were going to have to work hard and really apply ourselves. Our football team, after a tremendous rebuilding by coach Stewart, managed to finish the season with a 4-3 record. Although English controlled the air attack behind the brilliant passing of Wil¬ liam McDonough, Latin defeated English in the traditional game at Harvard Stadium by the slim margin of one touchdown, 31-25. However, our team played well and we were proud of them. Our cross country team had a very successful season, winning the City and Regimental Champi¬ onships, capturing class A team honors in the state meet and coming in second in the New England Championships. English’s basketball team was one of the greatest teams ever produced by the Blue and Blue. After winning every league game to become city champs, the team was nosed out in the final seconds of the last round of the Tech Tournament by Brockton High School. It was said that co-captain Bob Mac- Gillvary was the best basketball player ever to come out of E.H.S. This team was the last to be coached by Mr. Arthur Sullivan, who produced champion¬ ship teams for eleven years. Although our hockey team finished with a me¬ diocre record of 4 and 4, our baseball team finished in second place with a record of 11 and 3, thus maintaining the creditable record that has been established by the Blue and Blue. SOPHOMORE YEAR—1955 What a way to start a school year—new head master—new school. All through the summer we were wondering “what’s it going to be like?” and “what’s he going to be like?” Came September and we found out. The new headmaster was Mr. Henry Mclnerney. He was strong and forceful and we were confident that he would carry on in the fine tradition of E.H.S. headmasters. The new building located on Avenue Louis Pasteur lay directly across the street from “that” school. However, Girls’ Latin School, Emmanual College, and Simmons College were all in the general vicinity, and this afforded a pleasant atmosphere. Of course, at the beginning of the school year there was a great deal of confusion, as there was bound to be in such a large operation as the moving of a school. When we received our first look at the lunch room, we certainly were disappointed, thinking of that brand new lunch room we left behind in the old building. There were delays in giving out the books (who’s

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Class Poem “To Alma Mater” Our Alma Mater English High We’ll always hold you dear, Tho now we leave, our love will grow As year descends on year. The prom, the games and all the clubs Are things we won’t forget, And how can we repay you for The friends that we have met. You’ve shown us how to live and work, You’ve given us a start. The rest remains with all of us, And we will do our part. Dear English High, we leave you now With feeling sad and blue. Accept our humblest thanks, O school, As now we bid adieu. Carl Feldman ’57

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complaining?) and lockers, but soon everything was running on a smooth schedule. This year was also the year of the retirement of Colonel Meanix, who was a distinguished alumnus of the class of 1911. In his younger days he set many indoor track records, won many championships, and was a member of the 1920 Olympic Team. In 1955 our football team did very well, winning every one of its league games except for a heart¬ breaking 6-6 tie with a stubborn East Boston High team, and a trouncing by a strong Latin team on Thanksgiving day. In that contest Norm Chaban scored the only English touchdown, as the team went down to defeat 20 - 7. However, the game was much closer than the score indicates, with only Lady Luck providing the victory margin. The Blue and Blue’s cross country team com¬ piled an amazing record, winning every one of its meets, including the City and Reggie Champion¬ ships, completely routing B.C. High in the State meet, and taking fourth place in the New England Championships. This made the second year in a row that the team won the state class A title. As for the track team, outside of Tom Porro setting a new record in the class B 880 in the Regimental Championships the remainder of the season was mediocre, with the team compiling a fair record. The basketball team, having lost all but two of its letter men, fought hard, although every team in the league was out to prevent English from winning a third straight championship, and man¬ aged to break even for the season. ' I ' his was the first year under Mr. Fred Gillis as basketball coach. The hockey team had one of its most successful seasons, compiling a 7-2-2 record. Jerry D’Avolio, who was only a junior, was a standout, and. hopes were high for next season. The baseball team also did well, winning all but 2 of its games to take the city championship. JUNIOR YEAR — 1956 Juniors at last — only one more year to go. Be¬ cause of a polio epidemic, the opening of school was delayed for two weeks. (We accepted the school board’s decision without a struggle.) We were pleased to welcome Captain Robert Fisher to the faculty as the new drill instructor. He worked fast and soon had the drill program shaping up well. Captain Fisher brought with him several new ideas, among these, an Officer Candidate School where he instructed hopeful aspirants in the art of giving military commands, (remember the SNAP AND PRECISION) and a trick drill team to per¬ form at various school functions. This was also the year of the famous bomb scare. Unfortunately the “mad bomber” did not carry out his plans. How¬ ever, we were dismissed from school at 10:30 o’clock on the day of the intended bombing. (Bos¬ ton theaters reported a sudden upsurge in ticket sales.) 1956 was a rough year on the teachers w r ith Mr. “Chic” Evans, Mr. Charles Murphy and Mr. Sheehan all absent from school for several weeks with serious illnesses. During this period we had a great variety of substitute teachers; among these, substituting for “Chic” was Hal Connolly, who went on to set a new record in the hammer throw competition in the Olympic Games. On another day “Chic’s” room and the rooms near it were so filled with smoke from a blocked ventilator that many pupils joyously thought that the building was burning down. This year was also the era of the Sammarco Submarine Sandwich. Mike had a thriving busi¬ ness in those Italian delights when “the Admiral” put a stop to it. There were threats of violence and suicide from the more zealous and devoted spuckie eaters, but in time even they forgot about the East Boston Special. After two previous heartbreaking losses, the English High School Football team scored a tre¬ mendous victory in the Thanksgiving Day Classic.