Higgins Junior High School - Tatler Yearbook (Thompsonville, CT)

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A. D. Higgins Junior High School ‘Patrtat0 Almap’ ' Valedictory Not gold, but only man can make A people great and strong; Men who, for truth and honor ' s sake Stand fast and suffer long. Brave men who work while others sleep. Who dare while others fly — They build a nation ' s pillars deep And lift them to the sky. T his poem, entitled “A Nation’s Strength” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, expresses for us the true m.eaning of patriotism and beautifully illustrates our class motto “Patriots Always.” Patriots are the brave men and women who offer their lives for their country during time of war. They are the scien- tists, writers, orators and inventors, who, in various ways serve humanity. They are the common citizens who love their country, respect her laws, uphold her principles and maintain her honor at home and abroad. Nathan Hale, a soldier and hero, was born in Conventry, Connecticut, in IThf) and died in New York, in 1776. He graduated from Yale University in 1773, engaged in school teaching, and enlisted as a volunteer in the Revolutionary War, attaining the rank of captain. Shortly after, he visited New York and Long Mrs. Helen Fahey filled the vacancy left by Miss McGinity when she retired at the end of our seventh year. Her loyal devotion for many years to the needs and desires of the pupils of the A. D. Higgins School has endeared her to us all. Our time passed rapidly during our seventh year and soon vacation was upon us, the thing we hated and dreaded most. After a short vacation we came back to dear old Higgins to start our second and last year here. The year started off with the usual clamor and jumble, but we were not so confused, being wiser and more familiar with the usual routine of things. On e of the first things we did, how- ever, was to elect officers for the Student Council. This is the outstanding organ- ization of the .school which functions for the sole purpose of helping students to become citizens of the school and to assist in school government. The officers of the Student Council were Statia Wojcieszek, president; Edward Prayzner, vice-president; and Concetta Angelica, secretary. The annual sale of Christmas Seals proved, as always, to be very successful. Most of the rooms had Christmas par- ties, merriment ran high, and a good time was had by all. Our second Magazine Drive was launched on September 21, under the careful leadership of Miss Hannon and Mrs. Dunn. Prizes were awarded at an assembly to the best salesmen. The 8A class enjoyed a delightful Halloween Party for the effort and work they did in securing the largest number of .sub- scriptions. The Hi-Y Club again got under way with members of our class as officers. Mrs. Dunn formed her Home Eco- nomics Club with Betty Ann August as president. The club put on a very en- tertaining fashion show with many of the girls participating. June 8, brought Class Day with all its glory. On Class Day this year we followed the tradition of reading of the Class History, the Class Prophecy, the Class Will and the Class Statistics. We chose the yellow rose as our class flower, blue and gold as our colors, and “Patriots Always” as our motto. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this as we are graduating on Flag Day. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we did here, but we can never forget what we learned here. It is for us, the students, to be here dedicated to the unfinished work which we have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored books we take increased knowledge for that cause for which we gave our last full measure of thought — that we highly resolve that these mem- ories shall not die — that this class, under God, shall have a new birth of wisdom — that this teaching of the world, by the teachers, to the .students, shall not dis- appear from our minds. Class Historians: Annetta Newmarker Mary Dighello

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The Tati, i: r in the values of our task, and assume our obligations with a deep sense of duty and humility. Perhaps there is no better way of expressing our feelings than quoting from the illustrious Daniel Webster, who offered the following: ' 7 we work upon marble, it tvill perish; if we work upon brass, time will efface it; if ive rear temples, they will crumble into dust ; but if we ivork upon immortal minds, if we imbue them with principles, with the just fear of God and lote our fellow men. ive engrave on those tablets something that will brighten all eternity. Cordially yours, ERNEST K. WHITE “United We Stand” N o score and two years ago we stu- dents brought forth to Higgins School a new class, conceived of boys and girls and dedicated to the prop- osition that we came to learn. Now we are engaged in a great struggle onward, testing whether this class or any class so dedicated to learnig can long continue. Now, let us turn the pages of our class history book back two years. The time was 9:00 o’clock on September 7, 1947, when we first entered Higgins Jun- ior High School as very confused seventh graders. But, it didn’t take long for our confusion to subside. Books were distributed and we really got down to work. Noisy hoodlums turned into quiet book worms. Our school year started off with a bang! The annual magazine drive was on in full force. It was our first real test in working together. Due to the hard work of the directors, Miss Shea and Mr. Shapiro, it was a huge success. May all future drives do as well. Every year Mr. White organizes a Hi-Y Club and this, our first year, was no exception. Pupils interested in music joined the orchestra, directed by Mrs. O’Neil. The orchestra had an active season playing at all our assemblies, at a P. T. A. meet- ing, on Class Day and last, but not least, at graduation. The Glee Club under Mrs. O’Neil’s supervision made several public appear- ances and presented many noteworthy performances. The outstanding one was the trip to New London to participate in the Connecticut State Chorus Festival. The Glee Club was financially supported by a dance which the entire junior high attended. Mr. Shapiro organized and coached a boys’ basketball and baseball team which gave many boys a new view of sports. To give pep to our games and to make them more interesting Miss Stewart directed a girls’ cheerleading team. The first cheerleaders were Joan Thompson and Judith Davis. We enjoyed some very interesting assemblies during our first year in the Higgins Junior High. On October 8, Miss Delaney arranged for the first assembly of the year. She presented Officer Kimbal who spoke on “Safety,” Dr. Clarke Carle, invited by Miss McGinity, gave a speech on “The Care of the Teeth.” Miss Hannon presented Mrs. Mohr- backer who made our Christmas Assem- bly more interesting by teaching us some new songs and by speaking on Christmas Carols and Customs. Mr. Shapiro entertained us on Janu- ary 21, by showing us a movie on the “World Series of 1947.” “The World Events of 1947” was a play given by the 8B2 class directed by Miss Stewart. The class gave such an outstanding performance that they were invited to repeat the play at a P. T. A, meeting. Miss Shea presented a very interesting movie on “Safety” which emphasized the importance of safety in our daily lives. As usual, Mr. Doran came to the school and give his annual talk on Rail- road Safety. Mrs. Dunn and her Home Economics Club presented a “Fashion Show” v ffiich was of great interest especially to the girls.

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The Tatler TATLER STAFF —Photo by Brown Carole Buika President CLASS OFFICERS Louis D’Amato Vice-President Nancy Pare Secretary