Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE LAUREL 29 We must have passed the rest of the school year in obscurity. When june came, I guess we felt very much at home in our new en- vironment but were as glad as infants when the summer vacation at last arrived. Yes, I remember the confident feeling we had as we came back to :chool on Septem- ber 9th to become silly sophomores. Here are two girls I don't seem to know. Oh, they are two new teachers, Miss Pinkham and Miss Moore. Miss Pinkham taught in the I-Iome Economics Department. I won- der what this snapshot is? It shows a perfectly good biscuit and a broken sledge hammer, and under it a note says, Vera Whitten's first biscuit. It passed the test. Miss Moore was the teacher who taught the classes Mr. DeWever had had the year before. Sophomore class election consisted of ap- proving of the oflicers of the previous year and adding Norman Sawyer as our second Student Council representative. Glenys Gould was elected secretary to replace Connie McLeary who resigned. Some of Hank Applinis disciples, such as, Dingley, Morrill, Libby, Blanchard and Ray came into evi- dence on the gridiron that season. We had our hrst big social event of the year too, that -of initiating the freshmen into the mill. It sure was fun to put someone else in the position we had been in the year before. Due to my strength of vocal organs, I was chosen to be master of ceremonies. Pete I-Iall would have made a good one but his voice still had the tendency of suddenly changing from bass to soprano without any warning. The after effects of that party weren't so good for some of our novelty- loving sophomores who had had their own ideas about freshman chastisement, for they found that certain other people had entirely different ideas. Norman Blanchard showed us another side of his personality in the skit, 'S Municipal Davenport, given at Drummond Hall just before Christmas vacation. That was one time when he was a man of few words while in pursuit of a fair damsel's heart. fljausej Here is our contribution to the school fair. VVe had a pawnshop. We did a good busi- ness too as such places usually do. That seems to be the sum of our sophomore labors. We at last got to be juniors. We had several new rooms that year, so that we were just as lost as the freshmen when told to go to room 6. Miss Tarr managed to keep us fairly well straightened-out when she wasn't mixed up herself. We also changed English teachers. Little people surely do have big ideas. An- other new teacherg it was no other than the happy-go-lucky Miss Carter. She surely was a peach. I often wonder whatever became of her. Dingley had come into his rightful place in football then. That's why Wilton didn't beat us. A tie is better than a loss any old time. What other important things happened? Oh, yes, we had free eats at the magazine contest party that year. Glenys Gould was the third Student Council member and Bar- bara Robbins was elected to the position of class scribe. On the second annual Students' Day, Norman Blanchard was Superintendent of Schools. He forgot his dignity, but he said he liked his job because he didn't go to a class all day. Red Morrill was the star performer at the Bloomer Boys' basketball game. I-Ie was as nimble as a centipede with the gout. CPicture of cast of Dust of the Road J Here is a picture of the Dust of the Road cast. Laura Worthley, Elden Hall and Iohn Linscott were the actors. They surely gave a Hue performance of a difficult play, and deserve much credit. Here is a picture of the orchestra after it had been to the Western IVIaine Music Festi- val at Rumford. Miss Perkins surely missed Smallylsv off-key trumpet after he gradu- ated. Then came the greatest formal in years, our Iunior Prom. The background was dressed up to look like the deck of a ship. It certainly did look good, and so did the profits. I can't forget how satisfying it was to see Connie McLeary while she was preparing the scenic background crawling around on her hands and knees with no

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28 THE LAUREL dulled by our size but has predominately been threaded through our association since our initial days together. A certain few among us have faced many diHiculties to attend high school. Some have been obliged to live away from home. Others, who wished to take part in extra- curricular activitiesg such as sports, dra- matics, and music, have remained late at school and gone many miles only to help to do their share of chores at home. Some of us have been able to relieve the financial strain on your pocketbooks through work- ing for the National Youth Administration. We are fully aware that to the teachers we owe our genuine thanks, and to them we extend it at this time. They have endured patiently and understandingly our crude pranks and obvious shortcomings. So now, hoping that you will enjoy our program as much as we enjoy having you here,-on with the program! Norman Blanchard '38. CLASS HISTORY-CLASS OF '33 ELL, I think I'll have to spend this evening studying. I must put the finishing touches on the lecture I have to give before the Portland Historical Society. CSees package on tablej I-Im, wonder what this is? Oh, yes, it's my latest history on the Development of Farmington High School. QBegins to look through bookj I-Iere's a picture of the Class of 'Thirty-eight. It was quite a class at thatg it had approximately 80 members. That's my old class, come to think of it. This picture must have been taken when we were green freshmen. Those were the days when Norman Blanch- ard didnlt comb his hair so often. Why is it that some fellows begin to think more of their appearance about the time they be- come sophomores? .Norman was elected president of the class that year. Dalton Hardy was vice president. In that period Dalton didn't have to pay for his two movie tickets and went more than he now does. There's Pete I-Iall right up beside Gwen Richards. Those were happy days with Pete. I-Ie did have time to become our first Student Council representative though. Connie McLeary was secretary, and did she keep us busy looking up big words which she put in her reports! Ieannice Robinson must have been the class treasurer. When she approached the he-men of the class with that heart fluttering smile of hers, they never knew whether she was going to inveigle a date or a dollar from them. There's the original bashful boy in the form of Richard Morrill. But we Find that he wasnit so bashful when it came to raising cain in partnership with cousin Dana. I recall that I collected school dues that year and acquired several grey hairs trying to balance the book at the end of the year. I 'll never forget the teachers we had when we were freshmen. Mrs. Bryant was the anti- ain't', teacher. We had a good time in her class, and no one was really afraid of her scowl because she couldn't control the twinkle in her eye. Mr. Gould taught us that 3 and 2 are 7 by the means of the all- powerful X. Miss Howard taught us all about Cleopatra and her boy friends, Mark Antony and Caesar. Until illness pre- vented it, Mrs. Miner taught Latin, and then we were under thc care of Mr. Owen Gilman, Miss Magoni, and Miss I-Iawkins. That didn't help some of us who found it obligatory to sit in the front seats, as we hadn't delved into thc dead language too much as it was. Our friend of long standing in the music department, Miss Perkins, came over to high school to make sure we still sang do on pitch. Mr. De- Wever taught commercial arithmetic and held open forums on any subject that an unprepared student might mention. Part of that year Mrs. Ryan had the art class, and when she resigned Mrs. Webster taught the subject. fLooks in bookj. I-Iere's a high light! Along in Ianuary the Freshman Reception was held. We all had a good time, and only a few had a belt placed across their pos- terior.

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30 THE LAUREL shoes on. She drew the water scenes and was trying not to ruffle the fins of the fishes. How it did rain that night, but I imagine it added to the sea effect. fStop at picturej Here's a picture of Barbara Robbins and Elden Hall taken after they won top honors in the Iunior Prize Speaking. Another school fair and our class won the prize for having the biggest sales returns. Last Chapel and Graduation exercises finished up the year, and we all hoped we would be doing the same thing a year from then. At last we came to the final year at F. H. S. Iac Greenwood was our last member to be added to the Student Council. For three years we had looked forward to the day when we would become the sophisti- cates of the school, but when we finally arrived there, we didn't feel any different from when we were youngsters four years ago. More new teachers that year, they come and go as often as the grocery man. Miss Crozier taught Latin. I-Iere's a quota- tion from Norman Sawyer. He said, Why didn't I take Latin four years?', Miss Gellerson taught chemistry and tried hard to show us the difference between I-I-2 O and H-2 SO-4. Mid-years were growled over for the last time in F. H. S. And then came the final ceremonies of Commence- ment. We started it all with Last Chapel, at which time we all did a bit of struggling with the bump in our throat. Devotional exercises were led by Ieannice Robinson, and the address was given by Arlyn Whit- ney. Iune llth we took the class trip to Bar Harbor and had our last good time together. The next day was the Baccalau- reate service in which the Reverend G. D. Moores gave us a very inspiring sermon. At the alumni-sponsored Commencement Dance we danced our cares away for the last time as members of the high school. Then came the last two great events, the informal Class Day exercises and the Grad- uation. No one could blame our class marshal and president for strutting just a little, for he was leading a fine class through their last duties. Then with some very mixed emotions the class filed off the stage at the Alumni Gym, receiving their diplo- mas as they went out. CMusinglyQ Yes, the Class of 'Thirty-eight was certainly a notable one. Let me think, what was it I was going to do before I sat down here? Oh, yes, that lecture. Well, I can't settle down to it now. There are too many cob- webs of the past in my brain. Maybe some fresh air would sweep them out. Guess I'll go for a stroll, and then come back and do some work. Darrell Bryant '38, TTY ORATION Essence of Liberty RIENDS: For many of us graduation from high school is the termination of our formal education, though ending our systematic study of various subjects, we shall retain and enrich the general ideas which we have been absorbing under routine guidance. One of the ideals which have been instilled in us from the time of sub- primary education is that of respect, rever- ence, and love of this, our country. We have been taught and we firmly believe that the United States is now, and we hope and pray that it always will be, the cradle of liberty. Our popular government is a direct con- trast to the governments in existence before democracy was ever known. The ancients had their powerful kings of Egypt, rulers of Babylon, and Caesars of Rome. Medieval times produced tyrannical despots, and then out of the dust of centuries carrie the Hower- ing of democracy in 1775. It could be said that the seed of democracy was sown cen- turies before in Athensg and from the writings of Aristotle and Plato, the fathers of the new freedom, Montesquieu, Iohn Locke, and Rousseau produced the political philosophy from which Thomas Iefferson, Iames Madison, and other early Americans framed our Constitution. To fully appreciate the meaning of this important document we should always re- member that man for untold centuries groveled in the dust, was beaten into slavery,