Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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vakians may confidently say with Thomas G. Masaryk that “Truth will conquer.” courage, faith, and tolerance. As a long range view of history has proved, the right is ultimately vic- torious. Therefore, the Czechoslo- Class Day Parts History of the Class of 1939 by Ralph Fraser I N the autumn of the year 1935 a most important event took place in what was then known as Man- ning High School. We, who are now seniors, formally took possession of that ancient stronghold of all fresh- men, the Study Hall. Being brave and resolute souls, we immediately held a series of class meetings which finally saw Delbert Matheson elected as our first presi- dent, Edward Marcorelle as vice- president, Joseph Hinckley as treas- urer, and Jane Wilson as secretary. Having thus chosen our officers for the year, we plunged into the heady whirligig of Manning’s high society by presenting to the outside world our candidate for the title of Queen of the Snows, Miss Frances Dorr. Although we lost the contest. we gave the winning juniors quite a battle, selling a good many tickets and co-operating with each other ir furthering our most noble cause. Our next venture into the field of society was a St. Patrick’s Day so- cial at which we proudly entertained the sophomores. Entertainment came in the form of a “Major Knows Amateur Hour” in which the Major was represented by Fred Cronin, who proved to be a benevo- lent soul in that during the whole performance he refrained from “giv- ing the gong” to the number of youthful hopefuls who played, sang, or tripoed the light fantastic. We were much pleased with the per- formance; so were the sophomores (we hope) . Our year became even more inter- esting when we learned that a brand new high school was being built fo us. Already we began putting on airs in preparation for becoming- sophomores in this wonderful build- ing of the near future. With such prospects in view we departed for our summer vacation, having lopped off one year of our journey through high school. The second year was a rather lethargic one for us. Class elections 29

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of code messages knitted into socks. An example of the hopeful spirit of the Czechs at this time was the placard near a huge ceme- tery in Prague, saying “Rise, ye dead, the Emperor is calling his last reserves.” Soon a National Council w as established in Paris with Masaryk as President and Eduard Benes as Secretary. The preparation and campaign- ing had not been in vain ! Before the completion of the War, Czecho- slovakia was recognized as a na- tion by the Allies, a nation with an army and a diplomatic force. Soon after this, revolts and desertions by starving Austrians enabled the Czech people to take over the reins of their own government from the Hapsburgs. The Czechoslovakian Declaration of Independence was signed by Masaryk sitting in John Hancock’s chair in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Two weeks after the formation of the new na- tion on October 28, 1918, the Na- tional Assembly was called togeth- er, and it w as Thomas G. Masaryk who was honored with the first Presidency of Czechoslovakia, a po- sition which he held until ill health forced him to resign in 1935. The responsibility of establish- ing soundly a country of people who had been under bondage for three hundred years was no easy task. He had to unify Slovaks, Ruthenians, Czechs, Jews, Poles, Germans, Gypsies, and Hungari- ans. Czechoslovakia was thorough- ly democratic in its tolerance — for there is no question but that the minorities in Czechoslovakia were better treated than anywhere else in the world — its wholesome- ness, its national pride, its progress, its government, and its peace-lov- ing motives. The character of Masaryk shines through these ten- dencies — the faith of Masaryk, a man keenly interested in philoso- phy, religious, determined, tolerant, and practical. Must we say that, because Mas- aryk is dead and Czechoslovakia is dissolved, his ideals and hopes for his country have perished ? I do not think so. These were tlie words of a Czech patriot, Comen- ius, in 1640 : “I, too, believe before God, that when the storms of wrath have passed, to thee shall return the rule over thine own affairs, O Czech people!” Benes, the second president, is confident that at some time he may return to lead his people. With- out a doubt the hope for the Czech people lies in their own hands. As they have maintained their love of freedom and justice through centuries of bondage, so they may continue and strive to perpetuate the ideals of their great leader, Masaryk, in a democracy, which can best follow his ideals of 28

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saw our president and secretary re- turned to office, but the position o! vice-president was gained by Ann Mansfield and that of treasurer by Ralph Fraser. Our class meetings were few and far between, because, as our official record said, “There was not enough business to bj brought up“ ! One of the highlights of the year was a picnic at Sandy Point which was held in spite of cold weather and even colder water. This outmg gave some of our champion swim ming stars like Dorothy Critch and Jeanne Emerson a chance to demon- strate their swimming abilities. There were few other social af- fairs, however, because moving into and becoming acquainted with this wonderfully spacious, new building took up the greater share of our time. When we finally were settled for good, however, time passed quickly, and soon we embarked upon our summer vacation. Officers for our junior year were Delbert Matheson, president; Alon- zo Rand, vice-president; Joseph Hinckley, treasurer; and Jane Wil- son, secretary. It was in this year that we finally settled the long outstanding problem of class colors by choosing royal blue and white by a substantial vote. Following the precedent of the class of ’38, we voted to hold a “Prom.” As you may surmise, some of us were filled with the joy of an- ticipation and with visions of a de lightful dance, while others cast dn-e predictions about the outcome of any such affair. However, in spite of pessimistic predictions, our “Prom” was carried off with an air achieved only by those who, like us, have reached an age of sophistication and social accomplishment. The auditorium was draped and decked from floor to ceiling with blue and white streamers and ro- settes. It was while decorating the ceiling that “Doug” Farquhar fell from the ladder upon which he was standing, clear to the floor. Luckily he had enough presence of mind lo twist around so that he arrived feet first on the floor, receiving only a shaking-up rather than the proverb- ial broken neck. Our grand march, judging from the kind remarks of fond parents and friends in the bleachers, was indeed a credit to us. It ought to have been, if the proverb, “Practice makes perfect” is true, for we had practiced what seemed to us miles of marching. The next event was the contest for electing a new Queen of the Snows. From among the many fair lasses of ’39 we selected Elinore Strangman as our candidate. Wo then promptly proceeded to pester everyone around us to buy tickets for our candidate. It was with such perseverance and determination that we at last won the contest and saw 30