Groton School - Grotonian Yearbook (Groton, MA)

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Sheerin and Scott starred for the Wachusetts. It was the longest Second Club season in recent years, extending 10 days after the St. Mark's game. Gray led the Wachusetts, but in spite of his able leadership and accurate passing, the deciding game went to the Monadnocks, 6-0. Other events of the Fall Term were: squibbing, in which Gwynne was portrayed jitterbugging in front of a radio, breathless paper chases with Mr. Williams 5 Key's departure from Studio for the remainder of the year Cthis became a custom during the next two yearsj-and Spencer's UBROWNIES l l l which nearly took the portraits off the walls at supper one hight. More dramatic talent was unearthed by Mr. Beasley when he decided to put on three one-act plays at the end of the term. Martin, who was an old hand at it by now, had a lead in The Pipe 'in the Fields, and Amory had a lead in The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, although Stackpole and Millet nearly stole the show as two eharwomen. Off-stage tragedy was portrayed by Wrenn, when, after spending several terms setting a page of St. Anselm by hand, he dropped the galley on the floor. Nesbitt joined the Form in the Winter Term. Shortly after the beginning of the term, the whole School took the Time Magazine current events test. Sheerin lead the Form with an 85, and Martin was second with a 72. The play was Charley's Aunl. Stackpole played the leading role, and Stephens, Amory, and Martin all had supporting parts. Fives was very popular. Goodyear, who had won the Form competition the year before, won the lower school tournament this year. Owing to prolonged sick- ness, the School was in quarantine all term and the dance had to be postponed and later called off. This was a great disappointment to Goodyear, who had set himself up the previous year as the official candid cameraman, thereby gaining admittance to the tea dance. Probably the highlight of the Winter Term was the gigantic snowball fight in the field by the Nashes. After building a fort that rivalled Tieonderoga, you challenged the combined First and Third Forms. Little did they know that you had used all the snow within throwing distance of the fort in its construction, and that their fire power conse- quently would be weakened. But they were not to be outdone. They dragged over chunks of ice from the Hallowell's house and engaged in a fierce combat that resulted in many casualties and stained the ramparts of your fort red. You would have lost the battle had not the Fourth Form appeared miraculously Cwas it planned?l and turned the campaign into a melee that lasted until the outside rang. The long-awaited Spring Term finally arrived. Cops and Robbers appeared again, as well as baseball, swimming, marching, after supper ballgames and the Form picnic. But this Term was different, for it was to bring to a close the R,6ClfO1',S head- mastership of the School. During the year a movie of the highlights of the year was made, and Mr. Nichols compiled a book of anecdotes of the Rector and Mrs. Peabody. During the Spring Term, the School was visited by a writer and a photographer who were preparing a story on Mr. Peabody for the Saturday Evening Post. On May 7, 55 graduates representing each Form in the history of the School returned to express their gratitude to the Peabodys and to wish them every happiness for the future. Your Form distinguished itself in baseball when Goodyear pitched in the St. Mark's game and won his letter. The Wachusetts won both the Club baseball seasons. During the season Coogan lived a sort of nomadic existence half way between Second and Third Clubs. After informing the umpire of a Second Club game what you need is a i291

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W. C. Loring and Spencer, passed through the box in a steady stream, but still the hitting was heavy. In the last inning, the Mossites were trailing but were determined to win. Martin hit a home rung Coogan hit a home run, Sheerin hit a home run 3--all of them to right field. Then the Moorons moved Wrenn out of right field, and the Mossites lost the season by one run. Soon after the baseball season came your first Memorial Day parade. You drilled every evening after supper. You ordered white ducks and a straw hat. You were meas- ured for the hats during one afternoon period. You all came to period after being measures,-that is all of you but Wrenn. There period was nearly over when in he came. Where have you been? was fired at him before he was halfway in the door. The answer was a series of wild gesticulations around the head. No words were necessary. You knew that the hatter had been faced with a crisis, and that it had taken 30 minutes to find a solution. The year drew to a close with the Rector's announcement to the school at supper on June 13th that the Rev. John Crocker had been elected to succeed him as headmaster at the end of the next year. The previous February the Rector had written the Trustees, The time has come when it seems wise to express my intention to resign from the position of headmaster of the School . . . The Weekly reported the election of Mr. Crocker in these words: We are very pleased 'to hear that he has accepted, and, despite deep regret at having the Rector resign, welcome him to the School. During the last weeks of the Spring Term, you went to Baddacook nearly every day. In the evenings you listened to the Rector's reading on his steps. You reviewed for exams. And you began to look forward to being old boys in the near future. Second Form Year When Second Form year opened, you were joined by Simons, Harrell, Biddle, Ce. Browne, Rimmer, Walker, Walser and Gwynne. The names of the last two you learned in an unforgettable scene in Mr. Robertson's Science class. Mr. Robertson was entering the names of the new boys in his class book when he came to Gwynne. What is you name? he asked. Gwynne replied in sounds that might be recorded as follows : ' 'Uh-u h-aah-er-ah-Gwynne-sir.' ' Now let me see, said Mr. Robertson, do you spell that G-W-I-N-S-E-R? A roar went up in the room, and when the correct spelling had been discovered he turned to Walser- And your name? After some hesitation, Walser replied, ''Uh-uh-aah-er-ah-Walser. Oh yes, said Mr. Robertson, W-A-L-L. ' Mr. Strachan was away on Sabbatical this year and his place was taken by Mr. Calhoun and later in the year by Mr. Philbrick. The war had just started and seemed far removed from your lives at Groton. On Armistice Day the Weekly editorialized, . . . As we think of war-torn Europe, and of those brave men that died and are dying on the blood-stained battlefields, we ought to thank God with all our hearts that we are not also involved in this Second World War. Football began on the first Monday of the term. Key and Amory were on the First Wachusetts, and Grant and Kerrigan on the First Monadnocks. On the Second Clubs, Simons, Goodyear and Coogan were outstanding on the Monadnocks, and Gray, fl28l'

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9 pair of opera glasses, he was exiled to the Third Clubs. Arriving on the Third Club dia- mond in the middle of a very close game and threatening to win the game for whichever team accepted him, he was flatly turned down by both coaches. And then began his wanderings. That he finally redeemed himself is evidenced by the fac t that he hit a home run for the Second Monadnocks in the final game of the season. Evening school in Spring Term is always a time when anything can happen. This year a bat zoomed in one door of the Hundred House School Room and like a rocket bent on destruction in the next county zoomed straight out the other door. You all ducked, but Mr. Jorgenson had seen it happen before and without lifting his eyes warned you to keep working, boys. On another occasion, Amory threw Martin's hat in the bowl of a light fixture, where it caught fire. However, Groton teems with ama- teur firemen, so the hat never had a chance, and period started on time! Memorial Day will be remembered as the first occasion when the Band marched in the parade. Grant, Ch. Brown, Sprague, Means, and Martin were all members of the Band. It performed well, although the members expressed a certain amount of regret that the Concord band, which was also in the parade, also knew Military Escort. Third Form Year When you returned in Third Form year you found the Crockers here. There were two new masters, Mr. Loewenberg, who took Mr. DeVeau's classes 5 and Mr. Kromer, who replaced Mr. Williams. There were five additions to your Form. Beal, R. Hunter, Hely- Hutchinson, Hapgood, and Farquhar. This made the total of your Form 42. Scott, Sheerin and Davison were your Form officers. Stephens was Editor-in-Chief of the Weekly, Martin, Associate Editor, Scott and Sheerin, Business Managers, Goodyear and Simons, Sports Editors, and Stackpole, Morgan, West, Erhart and Walker, Press Editors. As soon as the year was under way, the Groton British Relief Fund was organized with Scott your representative. Beef-eaters' dinners fmeatless mealsj were inaugurated to raise fur ds for a mobile canteen. Knitting took the School by storm, and it was not an unaccustomed thing to see you come into class with needles in hand and wool trailing out behind. Except for a few of you who lived in Mr. Strachan's dormitory you were all in Brooks House this year. There you soon became acquainted with the roof between Mr. Wright's and Mr. Iglchart's dormitories. In the latter's dormitory you organized frenzied poker games with everything wild. In the basement you organized shoe- shining syndicates, in which Coogan 's 3598 profit showed that he was the chief tycoon of the Form. Your classes sometimes resembled a madhouse. For instance, in Mr. Whitney's Latin class W. E. Loring, for reasons best known to him, recited from the mantlepiece. fThc others were more likely than not lying on the floor.j In the same class Grant, for reasons best known to him, suddenly stabbed Stackpole, all of whose dramatic talents were then brought into play in a scene of overwhelming pathos. But when Stackpole threatened to expire on the fioor, Mr. Whitney was still unmovcd, declaring flatly, I don't know vvhat's going on here, but I know Sheerin is at the bottom of it. Studio was similar. Concluding a lecture on the theory of perspective, Mr. Sulli- van asked the class, Are there any questions? There was-one. Unrolling himself in his chair, Gwynne asked, 'fUh-uhedo you always wear glasses? f30l