George Washington High School - Continental Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 13 text:

PRINCIPAL and VICE-PRI The theme of this annual is the gay nineties either because of the new look which is partly patterned on that period, or because it was fifty years ago and fifty'l is considered a most important anniversary. just why the decade of the Uninetiesn has been des- ignated as gay l clon't know, and doubtless the people who went to high school or were young adults then little dreamed that adjective would become an inseparable part of the title of the era. lt probably seemed a joyous and relatively uncomplex period to those who hrst so de- scribed it, and so the Hgay nineties have become part of our folk-lore, a time when life was very amusing. What of the Hfortiesl' of which you are a part and which will always designate your high school life . . . how will they be described in the future? The hrst half of them was torn and distraught by war, the second half by an uneasy and hardly-less disturbing peace. Maybe some fu- ture historian reading of global war, the magnitude of in- dustrial production for it, V-E Day, V-I Day, the utili- zation of atomic energy, the shift in Russian-American relations from war-time allies to the Worldls two chief peace-time rivals, will call them the fantastic forties . May you always be glad that you spent three years of the forties at Washington, may you remember that they were often gay, and may you care to come back fre- quently to see old friends. HARRIEI' C. Roisiansis CIP!-XLS Jflost of us like to think of ourselves as being as u -to-date and modern in our thinking as the latest thing 1 p I . b . . b in et- ro elled trans ortation, whereas, in realitv, we J p p rv u , A , ma still belon f mentall f to the eriod of the little surre ' .Y . fb i .P . A with the fringe on top. Wve like to think that certain eo le chiefl and includin ourselves, are the so-called P P., Y , g , Q l carriage tradev, that influential and sheltered few for whom the best should be reserved. While the days of the handle-bar mustache and the leg-o-mutton sleeve are definitely passe, some vestiges of gay-ninety thinking - chiefly racial intolerance and snob- bishness - are still visible. just as we have relegated that picturesque memento of the past, the shaving mug, to the antique shelf, so must we set aside some of our outdated notions. Children are not born with pre-conceived ideas that one group is inherently superior to another, they acquire those views from contact with their elders. VVe must see to it that our influence on those both younger and older than ourselves leads to a more democratic conception of life than the limited point of view of the nineties. We should strive to spread culture and education among members of our own group, but more important still, foster and encourage these privileges for all groups the world over. RALPH E. BAUER 'h.-3125? fx. T2 i,,, 5' J, -Y'?:'S4' W -, ,W ,r...,gQ.4L,ijg.. All ' L I ,l Y- IVKIXP A IV WN if gif! -, mf 1 .IVVIKIKAV 'SL-I I V I ll' I

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Tor the first time in several semesters Washington l-Iigh School returns to the publication of an annual CUN- TINENTAL. The attempts, during the war and for the few years following, to publish a book each semester be- came economically unsound and resulted in a book definitely inferior to this present publication. The staff and students of VVashington began early last September developing the plan for this issue. They organized and successfully conduc- ted a sales campaign which has resulted in the printing and issuance of more than 1700 year books. The learning experiences involved and the managerial problems have given opportunities to a large number of students to apply, in a very practical way, knowledge ac- quired in the planning, writing, and printing of this issue. The book in itself is a compliment to all who participated and it will serve as a valuable volume in the later re-call of your years at lvashington. Changes are taking place which will gradually change the outward appearances of Vlfashington High School - a new graduation platform, newly acquired property, an im- proved baseball diamond, a new girls' playing field fas well as a new girls' gymnasium Hoorj, a band and instrument l l l room back of the auditorium, and a complete remodelling of the cafeteria are the steps now in process. Though the sur- face of things may change, the values which you received from the staff of over a hundred well trained teachers can- not be reflected in buildings, helds, or even graduation plat- forms. The knowledge acquired through regularly assigned work has helped carry you to graduation and will continue to help in many unrecognizable ways in years to come. But perhaps the biggest value which has come to you came through the close acquaintance with an exceptionally fine teacher. It may have been only a casual word of advice, it may have been helping you out of a personal difficulty, or it may have been getting you into difficulty at the moment which cleared the way for direct and frank dealing with future problems. VVithin your memory there has been no beginning of education or will there be an end. The foundations and ex- periences through which you have passed will build new foundations upon which you will develop the structure which best fits your life ambitions. DR. JOHN L. ABBOTT

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SECRETARIAL STAFF Row I: Shearer, Kapple, Jorgensen, Nissen. Row II: Wesser, Gregg, Glick, Thomsen. , j -------A A f 1 J, Z.-W pt!! rr ,yrrlg AVVV MJ , - f . '2 ' gp -4 ,o ', 7, 1' f at ,ef ' MATH AND SCIENCE Row I: Burch, Bently, Johnson, Kelly, Bar- row, Sanders. Row II: Losey, Potter, Spears, Burgess, Foster, Segal. Row III: Maupin, Noonan, Jones, Hawthorne, Lawyer. If t 1 3-.. BEM 5, I: 5 'x -J CO-ORDINATORS 8: LIBRARIAN ART, MUSIC, 85 LANGUAGE Row I: Sessions, placement, Haggart, evaluation, Richmond, social rela- Row I: Eklund, Gagne, Miquel, Hansen, Davise, Aherns. Row II: Draper tions, Spears, health, Andrews, librarian. Row II: Noonan, visual aidg Abbott, Anderson, Jones, Hazel, Goble, Sintes. A Seimans, vocations, Heilman, attendance office, Kelly, fundamentals, Southerland, counselor. ULT , CU-URDIN