George Washington High School - Hatchet Yearbook (New York, NY)

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HInGlHilLliGIl-IITS S THE EVER-FASTER moving years slip by, we of the graduating classes of 1950-51 will undoubtedly find ourselves spending many a happy hour recalling our school days and the sometimes fearful, often frantic incidents that were so much a part of those glorious preparatory years. And, if we are typical of generations of G.W. alumni, we will remember most vividly and relive most often the countless exciting moments of our eighth term. Somehow the frenzied pitch of feverish exuberance and excitement that had been building up all along seemed to come to a climax in that last colorful term. We will remember with smiles of amusement and nostalgia how we never had a chance to study or catch up on incomplete assignments dur- ing' long officials because preparations for the senior swimming party and the senior dance seemed much more interesting. We will recollect with many a sigh how our allowance money never lasted a full week because someone always de- manded money for something-senior dues, The Hatchet, class rings and pins, and all the rest of the wonderful accoutrements that helped make that eighth term the most memorable of all. We will delve, too, into the memories of how franti- cally we threw ourselves into campaigning for school offices, our last chance for fame in high school. And so, perhaps it is most fitting now, as we take our leave of a fine school that has of- fered us such wonderful preparation to meet the world and try to make it a better one, that we note some of the highlights that will linger in our thoughts of eighth term. As the Fall term opened we found ourselves smiling with pleasure at the choices we had made for our G.O. officials, for Alex Petrides, Gabriel Damascus, and Betty Pizska were living upto our expectations and carrying out their numerous duties quite capably. By being elected president, Alex had achieved the honor of holding the high- est student-elected office in G.W. His classmates and friends knew him as a member of our base- ball team, the lunch squad, and a monitor in the Health Ed. office. Vice-President Damascus had previously distinguished himself as a G.O. Rep- resentative, class president, and a member of the Honor Ushers' Corps and the Service Squad. And Betty, formerly of the Cherry Tree staff, had offered her services to the Cheering Squad, the Grade Adviser's Office, the Honor Guard, the Biology auxilium, and to the G.O. as a repre- sentative. A new judicial Board was chosen, headed by Spiro Gallousis and Constantine Vlatos. Early in the Fall term, too, the Arista, G.W.'s honor society, began formulating plans for its special functions and events. Mr. C. E. Linville was given the post of new faculty adviser of Arista, and Herbert Levin, Bessie Carasoulas, and Diana Douglas were voted Leader, Vice-Leader, and Secretary respectively. Committees within the society were organized to carry out the duties and

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l-IIUIRII prelude by Mr. Luther Gloss, and then the invo- cation was given by Rt. Rev. Msgr. john S. Mid- dleton, Secretary of Education of the Archdiocese of New York. Dr. Moses L. Isaacs, Dean of Yeshiva College of Arts and Sciences, brought greetings from Yeshiva University. The Hon. Vito F. Lanza, Vice- President of the Board of Education, offered to the-new principal the congratulations of the Board of Education. Dr. Frederick J. Moilit, Executive Assistant of the State Department of Education represented Dr. Lewis A. Wilson, Commissioner of Education. I Following the singing of Jacob's This Is My Country by the Glee Club, conducted by Miss Mazona Don, the Hon. Solomon Klein, Assistant to Deputy Mayor Horowitz, representing the Mayor, gave his felicitations. Greetings were extended from the students by Miss Lorraine E. Ludwig, from the alumni by Mr. Frank Cavallon, Vice-President of james Mc- Creery and Co., from the faculty by Mr. E. Pen- nington Meyer, from the parents by Mrs. Bella Kaswin, President of the Parents Association, and from the community by Mr. L. Fresco Thompson, an alumnus, Vice-President of the Brooklyn Na- tional League Baseball Club. Directed by Mr. Luther Gloss, the G.W.H.S. band played Bells Across the Meadows by Ketelby. The Hon. Maximilian Moss, President of the Board of Education, spoke for the Board. Dr. Harrison C. Thomas, Assistant Superintendent, High School Division, pronounced the formal in- stallation decree. Dr. Fliedner expressed his appreciation to the Board of Education and his gratitude to his many friends and associates. The Rev. James H. Morgan of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine gave the benediction. The playing of the recessional by Mr. Gloss at the organ brought the ceremony to a close. After the formal installation ceremonies, a re- ception was given in our library. The Honor Guard, in beautiful colonial costumes, acted as hostesses. Among the honored guests were Mrs. Leonard J. Fliedner, a daughter Patricia and son Leon- ard, jr., Mr. John Fliedner, father of the Principal, ZOPNS and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph' E. Fliedner, Dr. Flied- ner's brother and sister-in-law. Other notables were Associate Superintendent Dr. Elias Lieberman and Assistant Superintend- ents John F. Conroy, representing Superintendent of Schools William Jansen, Dr. Frank D. Whalen, Dr. George Zukerman, Dr. Clare C. Baldwin, and Dr. Harry N. Wfright, President of City College. High school principals present were Mr. Joseph C. Driscoll, Miss Elizabeth T. Fitzpatrick, Dr. Henry E. Hein, Mr. Michael Katzoff, Mr. Stuart C. Lucey, Dr. Mary E. Meade, Dr. Morris Meister, Mr. Edward P. O'Connor, Mr. Fred Schoenberg, Mr. Louis A. Schuker, Dr. john V. Walsh, and Mr. Harry A. Wolfson. Principals Emanuel Gross, Daniel C. Krane, and Miss Veronica Myers represented the elementary and junior high schools, and Dr. Samuel Solender and Dr. Matthew Slate, Local School Board No. 14. Prominent personages in public life who at- tended to extend their good wishes to the new principal were the Hon. james J. Lyons, President of the Borough of the Bronx, Hon. Robert Wag- ner, jr., President of the Borough of Manhattan, Hon. Maurice A. Fitzgerald, President of the Borough of Queens, Hon. Anthony J. Di Gio- vanna, justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Agnes M. Craig, Hon. john Splain, Commis- sioner of Purchase, Hon. james A. Phillips, rep- resenting the Comptroller, Hon. Samuel Roman, Member of the Assembly. Rev. Henry Fisher, Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Mrs. David L. Don, mother of Miss Mazona Don, Mrs. Anne Lee Jacobs, Chair- man, Board of Directors, Youth Aid, Inc., and Mrs. Dorothy Greiner, leader in a number of community activities in the Manhattan area, were among the guests. Many members of the faculty of jr. H. S. 178, Brooklyn, and james Monroe H. S., at both of which Dr. Fliedner served, Brigadier General Edwin A. Kane, former Chairman of the Speech Department at G.W., and Mrs. John F. Conroy, a former teacher at G.W., were present. Among the alumni present were Al Campanis, Mrs. Florence M. Ferguson, Mr. james C. Healey, and Mr. Dominick Torpe.

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OfIF'lI arrange social functions for the members. The Admissions Committee, before which students hoping to become members must appear, was headed by Herbert Rubinowitz, the Arista's re- nowned Film Committee was headed by Anna Drakontides, Maki Iwamoto became chairman of the Arista Program Committee, which plans all Arista activities and meetings, Vera Hess was chosen to preside over the Installation Committee, whose very pleasant job it is to plan and give a tea in honor of new members, and Valerie Fray became leader of the Service Committee, in charge of offering assistance to students desirous of giv- ing service to the school. Before very many weeks of the term had gone by we were destined to meet ,the members of the Honor Ushers' Corps, an organization of high standards whose job it is to assist at school as- semblies and various other functions. Armand Diaz, Antonios Morfesis, and Larry Hahn were chosen the new leaders of the Corps, which was founded in 1939, and has been directed for a number of years by Miss Ruth McEvoy. Of course, the most outstanding occurrence of the school year was the replacement of the retir- ing Mr. Boylan by Dr. Leonard J. Fliedner as Principal of G.W. The students were indeed hon- ored and pleased to be given the opportunity to meet the distinguished gentleman who had been newly placed in command. The four assemblies in September, therefore, were dedicated to that purpose. Third and fourth term students, Assembly C, were the first to have the honor of greeting Dr. Fliedner. Then followed Assembly D, first' and second termersg Assembly A, seventh and eighth termersg and Assembly B, fifth and sixth termers. At each assembly, a student, representing the group, made the welcoming address and pre- sented the Principal with a token gift, each with a special significance: Natalie Twersky for the C group, Paul Davies and Ursula Weil for the D, Herbert Rubinowitz and Lorraine Ludwig for A, and Marjorie Howard for the B group. Dr. Fliedner, introduced by Mr. Schottland, Ad- ministrative Assistant, at the first two assemblies and by Miss Florence C. Meyers, Administrative Assistant, at the others, addressed the assemblies. He expressed his deep appreciation of the stu- dents' welcome and his real pleasure with their token gifts. His advice to them on how to achieve success in their high school careers stressed the importance of hard work and good attendance. The younger students saw the orientation film, This Is Washington, produced by Dr. Wheat, Mrs. Ruth Lancourt, and Leonard Strutin. The narrators were Anna Drakontides, Barbara Mc- Guire, and Kirby Warren. The older students heard the Glee Club sing the Alma Mater conducted by Miss Mazona Don and two selections by the band conducted by Mr. Luther Gloss, Bells Across the Meadow by Ketelby and The Thunderer by Sousa. Meantime, Washingtonians had not been idle in the field of sports, for we swept three victories in the city-wide trials of the journal-American and Park Department 310,000 skating derby as Al Stewart won the 100, Bob Schaefer the 220, and Bob Cohen the 500. Hard on Cohen's heels was Roger Schroeder, a schoolmate, who also qualified. The borough finals were held on Sunday, Oc- tober 1. First, second, and third place winners in all borough events qualified for the City Cham- pionship on Central Park Mall, on October 15. Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the term was the heated campaign for class ofiicers. Much thought was given to the matter of voting, and when the ballots had been collected and tallied we learned that Herbert Rubinowitz, Robert Gray, and Patricia Hay were destined to be our top brass in the roles of President, Treasurer, and Secretary respectively, a.nd that they, with the assistance of the presidents of all the senior classes would comprise the Senior Council. President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the senior official classes were respectively: