James Madison High School - Log Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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plate. a dinner consisting usually of meat or fish, two vegetables, bread and milk. The Federal government provides a nine-cent per sewing subsidy on both the hot plate and the less newsworthy. but equally nourishing salad. Both these dishes represent the utmost in value to the student, as, in addition to the subsidy, the cafeteria willingly sustains a loss on their sale. Naturally, these losses are counterbalanced by profits on other foods. The United States Government has on occasion released stocks of surplus foods to the schools. Our cafeteria has utilized these gifts, which have consisted largely of turkey and potatoes. It will interest many to know that all of the lunchroom pies are baked on the premises. All cafeteria culinary operations are carried on under the close scrutiny of a graduate dietician. One can easily see the immense task that confronts Miss Scanlon as she attempts to reconcile nutritional values with the volatile food tastes of Madison students. A distinctive feature of the lunchroom is the public address system, which serves to warn students of the opening and closing of sales, and to caution them against creating undue noise. It has been suggested that music be broadcast through these loudspeakers to render more enjoyable the students' lunch period. Two years ago. soundprooiing was installed in the fifth floor cafeteria. This materially reduced the great amount of clatter normally created by rattling dishes and trays. To this. of course. must be added the not so gentle voices of our students. who find in their lunch periods complete relaxation and release from pent-up energy and emotions which are naturally restrained in class. Mr. Bloch has in mind a long range plan that would eventually move the entire lunchroom to the basement. However, consummation of this idea will probably not be feasible for some years to come. Many students hope to see in effect some day yet another improvement in our lunchroom. namely the elimination of present day segregation of boy and girl students, Some of us hopefully longed for this achievement in our own day, but alas. to no avail. Ye scribe recollects a day several years ago when he made such an appeal before a school assembly and was roundly cheered. As seniors. looking back at our varied experiences at james Madison, I am certain that one of our most pleasant recollections is the fine. healthy food that we have enjoyed in what we fondly dub our Dining Salon. MARTIN D. HYMAN

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DINING SALON Our Dining Salon, the school lunchroom, plays a constant and dominant role in the daily activities of the school. With the exception of a few students in the upper terms who possess short programs, the entire james Madison student body partakes of the excellent food dispensed by the dining hall. Despite this daily contact, few of us are acquainted with the facts pertinent to the history of the cafeteria. The architects who created the plans for the building of our high school made provision for only one student lunchroom, on the fifth floor. Shortly after the school's opening, a portion of this area was subdivided into rooms now utilized by the men teachers' recreation room, the student government office, the projec- tion room C5261 and room 510, now a study hall. Some years after the school's opening, overcrowding proved the fifth floor cafeteria inadequate, and compelled the addition of another, more spacious lunch area in the basement. The combined seating capacity of these two dining halls is now 960, with the greater number, 600 to be exact, located in the base- ment section. Perhaps the one fact concerning the lunchroom about which Madisonians know the least is that it is an entirely self-sustaining, self-supporting enterprise, solely responsible for its own finances. It receives no aid from the Board of Education. Thus it must be run so that the cafeteria's books are balanced at the end of each school year. An attempt is made to finish each year with as small a surplus as possible: this is to the obvious benefit of the student body. However, whatever sum does accrue above expenses is retained as insurance against a possible deficit during the following year. The fiscal policies of the cafeteria, in addition to the overall management, are under the direction of Mr. Bloch, who deserves much credit for the efficient manner with which he has directed the sprawling enterprise. Working with Mr. Bloch to make the project a success are the twenty-four men and women on the cafeteria payroll. The perennial topic of discussion in Madison's halls is the so-called Uhot

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