Hartford High School - Hartford Key Yearbook (White River Junction, VT)

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weekends at her home in the suburbs. She always has it full of people a lot of her college friends and fellow professors of her husband’s. ou know, she started college but before finishing the first year, she had eloped with a handsome, young professor!’’ “Heavens, listen to that argument! It must be Peter Filosa. What a lawyer he is! Critics all over the country are still talking about that case he won for Betty Hathorn. He had the whole nation watching every bit of it. Yes—Betty sued Dick Laskey for damages because one of her children nearly choked to death on a Ixme that was in a can of salmon Ixiught at Dick s store. It was an awful mess dragged through all the local courts and finally got a hearing in the Supreme Court. Pete had to do some fast thinking at times but came out on top in the end. Dick is the one to be pitied—his business is bankrupt. Now he’s back where he started from—working in W hite River for the First National Store.” Look—over there, is that Jane Mills?” Midge asked. “And Polly Sass she’s talking with? Polly looks the same as ever, doesn’t she? And she certainly has her hands full keeping house and managing her little beauty shop. They say Margaret Pitkin designs hair styles for Polly's customers”. Jane had taught in New Jersey for awhile, I heard. But she decided to give it up and settle down so she could use her teaching ability in training I ed, Junior. What happened to the other Jane of our class—Jane Henderson? I asked. “Don't you remember? She went to Washington, D. C., as a secretary and had a gcxxl position while the war lasted. After that ended she went to New York City and got a job in Macy’s,” reported Betty Hathorn. just at this moment, our hostess appeared. “Won’t you all go out by the back porch ? I want some snap shots of the whole group. Arranging ourselves for this, I found myself beside Ruth Sanders. She was in particularly good spirits, saying it was such a relief to get away from her work for a while. I asked her what her work was and she related the following: “In a round-about way you’ll hear what I'm doing but I m going to start with Jimmy Harvey. He had quite some adventures, which, for awhile, were the talk of the town. He was a pilot during the war that is, up till the time he crashed on one of the “wide open sjiaces of Texas. He was saved, after two days of wandering around in a desert, by a cow-girl a cow-girl, who turned out to be Lillian Thomas. He never found out how she got so far from home—but it didn’t particularly matter. Jimmy was so grateful for the rescue that he wanted to take her back to “civilization” with him. However, she objected so Jimmy stayed there and started raising cattle. But he didn’t seem to be cut for ranch life. Things really were bad when Lillian ran away with a tra il-ing salesman, after several years of what poor Jimmy thought had been a happ marriage. He packed up his belongings and brought his two year old son back to Vermont. Home looked pretty good, but even here there were problems. He couldn’t bring up his son alone, so, at the suggestion of Rev. Robert Fske, he placed him in the Fske Home for Homeless. This, you know, is an institution which Bob help establish a few years after he had entered the ministry. That s where 1 came into the picture. Bob said he couldn’t manage the place by himself, so I took over as a type of financial and business manager. I his gave Bob more time for his pastoral duties. Dorothy White works with us, too. She is 19

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However, they said Raymond would have nothing to do with it and proceeded to tell the quite amazing story of Raymond and Bill. Raymond had become a professor of mathematics, and, while trying to explain the Fourth Dimension to Bill had got himself so mixed up that he was taken to a sanitorium. Bill tried to persuade The officials there that Raymond was sane but al nost got himself enrolled as a patient! Betty came down the steps to greet us welcome shining all over her face. “Come on in nearly everyone is here now. There’s so much noise in the house you can hardly hear yourself think! Everybody has so much to talk about! Oh, I’m so glad you could all come.” We went into the tiny hall and then were part of the crowd, shaking hands, laughing, trying to remember names, asking questions all at once. My, how some of them have changed! Others have retained their exact mannerisms of school days. Quite an impressive assortment of people they are, too, all with something different to tell. The twins and Eunice went to Florida shortly after graduation to work in a tourists’ camp. A few years later they bought the place and it looked as though they were making a small fortune for themselves. Then they lost all when the whole establishment was destroyed by fire. Things were pretty dark until a “dashing young Romeo,” who had been staving there at the time of the disaster, came to their rescue. He revealed himself as the bored, adventureseeking son of a millionaire, temporarily disinherited until he should find a practical investment for part of his money. So—just like a fairy tale- he decided to help them out. It wasn’t long before his interest was more than financial but, not being able to decide which of the three was best suited for him he left. This was no worry to the girls; they are well started in their new business. A sad, strange melody came drifting over from the piano and demanded our attention there. John Bogle was seated at the piano, wearing an expression to match the mood of his music. “What in the world made him grow old so fast?” I asked. Elizabeth St. John (herself married, and managing her household competently) offered to tell the facts. She said she’d just learned them from Rita Stone, who was John’s housekeeper, and, incidently, about the only person he would still sj eak to. While John was in college he tried to sell some of his songs and eventually had found a publisher for one of them. But it didn’t sell until the public heard it as sung by Betty Bettis and played by “Rose and his Riveters” (Winston Rose to you). When this happened, folks thought John was getting started on a career, but he was disgusted to think that it took an orchestra and a singer to make his music sell. Jealousy got the better of him and he refused to write anymore music that could be played or sung by any one other than himself. “Midge” Trottier joined us then and gave a few more facts on the case. She knew- more details, as she works for the publishing company that gave John’s song its first public appearance. Betty Emerton, someone said, was a medical secretary in a Boston hospital; and she, herself, confirmed this report a few minutes later. “Yes, I like my work; and it certainly is work!” she told us. “Peggy Chittenden comes in to see me occasionally and I’ve been out to spend a few 18

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a nurse and comes in several days a week besides keeping up her work in the small hospital near by. And, in a way, you might say John Kontos is connected with us, too. He drives a bakery cart out to the Home every day and has nearly adopted one of the children. Now, let me ask you some questions. I’ve been talking long enough! Do you know what’s become of Eva Paige?” Why, yes, I do. She’s living on a little farm up near Quechee, quite contentedly raising her family. But that’s not all she's raising! Did you ever hear about her chickens? Joan Hall was telling me that Eva has quite a clever little set-up and is making a good profit. By the way, isn’t Joan stunning? She’s traveled all over Europe and has a fine home in Alaska, but she likes to come back to Vermont occasionally. It must have been wonderful to get all that money when her rich uncle died. Yes, that’s Mary Orizzonto with her sort of a traveling companion and private secretary. Ethel Greene is one of Joan’s personal maids in her Alaskan home and she says that Albert Romano used to be her chief butler. However, that was too tame for him. Now he’s back in White River Junction. You really should see the fine Youth Center he and Patricia Dutille set up there. Certainly is a credit to the town. People consider it nearly as important as the schools. In fact, some of the classes (they have all sorts of special ones now) are held there. If only they’d had something like that when we were in school!” ‘‘Here come Betty’s adorable twins—don’t they look just like her? Heavens, they are telling the others to come to supper. Where has the afternoon gone?” Well, I’ve taken up a whole week’s space in my diary. But other things will seem rather dull after all that’s happened today. Probably we’ll never all be together for another reunion like that. Hmmmmm—if there weren’t too many personal feelings back of it, this would make a wonderful human interest story for my column! Joyce Twiss 20