Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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by Judith Warner On the bright, autumn morning of September 7, 1951, our large class of naive, eager students ascended the steps of Ipswich High School for the first time. It was an awesome sensation, that first morning in assembly. We tended to group together as a herd of sheep, with the feeling that there was safety in numbers. Amid a great deal of confusion — especially finding study hall seats and using the right stairs — we attended our first day ' s classes. It didn ' t take us long to become acclimated, how- ever, and to feel that we belonged. It was early in September that we elected Gary Casali as our class chairman, and Sheila Sullivan as our secretary- treasurer. During our eighth-grade we were happy to welcome two new classmates: Corrine Hammond from Hamilton, and Audrey Carr from Richford, Vermont. Our eighth-grade social, held on May 9, was a huge success. We shall never forget this, our first social affair. The climax of the year was the annual Crane ' s Picnic, leaving in its wake two very badly burned red-heads, Sheila Sullivan and Audrey Carr and a staff of distraught, frustrated teachers. The following fall of 1952 we mounted the steps with much more assurance and welcomed our Rowley and par- ochial school students who have added good fun to our days at I. H. S. Our first class meeting was held on September 26. Our chosen leaders were President, Howard Publicover; Vice- President, Laurien Levesque,- Secretary, Judy Wanzer; Treasurer, Sheila Sullivan. Our class voted to have monthly dues of twenty-five cents, which seemed to the teaching staff an unusually large sum. Our first school dance, a Saint Patrick ' s Day affair, was held on Friday, the 13th of March, with green and white streamers, shamrocks, and other decorations honor- ing this great day. This dance was successful and well- attended in spite of falling on a fateful day. Our freshman year quickly drew to a close, and we re- turned in the fall as sophomores, after a well-earned summer vacation. At an early class meeting we elected Howard Publi- cover, President; David Lindgren, Vice-President; Judy Wanzer, Secretary,- Sheila Sullivan, Treasurer. Many of the boys went out for football this year and contributed to the success of our varsity and junior varsity teams. Both boys and girls went out for basketball. We soon began making arrangements for our Valentine Dance, held on Friday, February 19. Cupids and hearts adorned the auditorium walls on this evening, and red and white streamers were everywhere. Again a large crowd attended, and we added $14.41 to our treasury. A scene from the Tale of Two Cities, rewritten by Howie Publicover, was presented by Miss Crowley ' s English class. Audrey, Donald, Joanna, Stephen, Alice, Gary, and Laurien performed admirably. We especially enjoyed Audrey ' s portrayal of Madame Defarge. Of course, this year we were introduced to William Shakespeare, and the English classes attended the Maj- estic Theater in Boston and saw the movie version of Julius Caesas. Dave Lindgren made geometry quite fascinating this year, diverting the class with a little toy fire engine that went up and down the aisles. Its connection with geometry is obscure, but it was fun anyway. We then got down to the business of choosing the class rings. The majority of the class favored the Tiger de- sign, and orders were immediately filled. The end of our sophomore year was saddened when Miss Crowley left us to attend Harvard Graduate school In September we returned as proud upperclassmen. United States history was quite interesting this year, as Dave Blonda had a newly proposed course in the planting of corn seed. Sheila and Judy resumed their position of treasurer 26

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GRADUA ' SPEAKERS PATRICIA PARR MARGARET ANDREOZZI DAVID BLONDA GARY CASALI 25

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and secretary respectively, while Dave Blonda became our President and Dave Lindgren our Vice-President. Our Christmas Dance was as successful as our previous dance. Ronald Brown ' s Orchestra furnished the music, and the refreshments and decorations were enjoyed by all. Under Sue King ' s management, our class rings arrived early in the year. In February we were happy to welcome our new prin- cipal, Mr. Pressley. His direct way of speaking and his decisive manner impressed us greatly. In the short time Mr. Pressley has been with us, he has done many construc- tive things for Ipswich High and the students. Next on the social calendar was the Junior Prom. That presented many problems and a lot of hard work. Even- tually, however, after the decorations were finished, we held our Prom on April 15. The decorations, based on the Stairway to the Stars theme, was simply beautiful and the grand march was well done. With Lou Marino and his society orchestra, the evening was a tremendous success. A great deal of talent was displayed by our class in both the variety shows. We all know Audrey Carr ' s piano accompaniment will be a great loss to the school. David Blonda also gave the Gettysburg Address with great feeling at the Memorial Day exercises. This year Margaret Andreozzi was chosen to represent I. H. S. at Girls ' State in Bridgewater, Mass., and David Lindgren and David Blonda represented I. H. S. at Boys ' State in Amherst, Mass. David Blonda was presented the Harvard book for being the most outstanding boy in the Junior class. Now for athletics. Mokey and Bill Bousley were elect- ed as co-captains of the 1955 fotball team. Peggy and Clarice were co-captains of the 1956 girls ' basketball team, and Fred Garand was chosen captain of the 1956 baseball team. Our junior year came quickly to an end, and on Class Day we marched into chapel and took the seats reserved for seniors. We returned in the fall for our last year in high school and took up our residence in Study hall. Our class offcers remained the same, except that Mokey Comeau became our vice-president. This year we were very happy to welcome Mr. Bernard as our history teacher, but he remained with us only until January. Mr. MacKenzie was the teacher who ended the year with us. We sponsored a football dance on September 24. The walls of the gym were decorated with footballs and hel- mets, and black and orange streamers hung from the baskets. This dance added $43.91 to the class treasury. The Halloween Dance, provided by the Boosters Club and sponsored by the Senior Class, was very enjoyable. The orchestra did a splendid job, and the decorations, cider, and doughnuts were appreciated by everyone. In October we selected blue and white as the color of our caps and gowns, chose Pete Zaharis as our photog- rapher, and voted for a Tiger, a class day, and a senior play. This year Mokey Comeau, who well deserved the honor, received the annual football trophy. Sue and Peggy, who did an excellent job of cheering the football players onto victory, became head cheerleaders. Senior Day was held on Thursday, December 22. After the traditional Christmas dinner, we proceeded to the auditorium where jolly Santa Claus, John Hovey, handed out joke presents. Sarah ' s gift brought laughter from everyone, and no wonder. In January, three of our classmates. Bill Bousley, Allen Jensen, Robert Tondreault, left us to join the Navy. In February, Audrey Carr was elected by the senior class as D.A.R. Good Citizenship Girl. On April 5, after five weeks of preparation, we present- ed a three-act play entitled Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. The auditorium was filled to capacity, and the cast was rewarded with many appreciative laughs. A great deal of credit is due to Miss Allen and Miss Blodgett, who worked very patiently. One of our biggest complaints this year was the fact that this year we looked forward as being first in lunch line, but we never seemed to quite make it. In fact, we ' re still at the end of the line. Now that it is time to leave good old Ipswich High, it is with mixed feelings that we say good-bye to one an- other, and to our many teachers who have patiently guid- ed us through the years. In the future, we shall look back upon these years as the happiest, most carefree time of our lives, and not as the ending as it seems now, but as the beginning. 27