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

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a ticlcct, hut the school team never had an audience. only money. Who could asia lor anything more? And so summer quickly arrived and we eagerly departed lor summer stoclc, impatiently awaiting the commencement of act ll. 2- SOPHOMORES Alter a two-month intermission we returned from the Borscht Circuit older, wiser and hlonder. ready to start a very exciting acl. This year marlced the silver juhilee ol' Madison and a gala celehration was in order. First on the agenda was the Nlardi Gras. Those were the good old days. Everyone who had a ticlcet was excused from school to sec the lirsl loothall game ol the season. Who wouldn't invest '30c to get out ol school? The game was between Madison and Nlidwood. Ol course, lxfiadison won. An amazing is-at was accomplished that season -- Lincoln was linally defeated alter thirteen years ol unsuccessful trying. Sorrow also crept in when l.enny Seidman sacrificed his life to save a fellow student. As a trilmute to this heroic deed, the Leonard Seidman Award for Sportsmanship was created. We were very proud of our school when the Highway won a first place rating from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Then on April I9 we see a moh scene which oulranlcs anything that Holly- wood has done, or ever hopes to do. The setting is in front of City Hall. The characters are thousands of agitated tthat is an understatement, students from the city high schools. A vociferous cry rises from the hoarse throats of the throng. uvve want Bill. Bill was Nlayor O'Dwyer. Why is this scene part ol the show? They are protesting the stoppage of extra-curricular activi- ties hy the faculty. However the demonstration was of no avail. And so all the plans we had made lor our anniversary celehration were stored in the file: .lWllHl Might Have Been But VVasn't. Particularly outstanding were the assembly programs. Marty Glickman, famous sportscasler and Madison alumnus, amused us greatly with stories about Nladison when it lirsl hegan. We were greatly honored lay the presence of .lose Ferrer, who entertained us hy reciting the famous passage in which Cyrano de Bergerac descrihes his nose. There was one hright light in this darlc atmosphere. It was daylight. You see we were finally A.lVl.ers. And so a very promising act came to a very disappointing end. 3- IUNIORS As the curtain slowly parted we were still just an institution of learning. But a faint glimmer ol light appeared in the darlcness and soon the light was blinding. Extra-curricular activities had retumed. The teachers had made up with the Board ol' Education. There was a huge uplift in the morale of the students. We worlced lilce heavers reorganizing the suspended activities. Nladison marches home. Our march home from Tilden High School to X N 'Sv O Leipzig

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Y f T t 8 -syn ,se 5 W tc ,A Leipzig f ,ff Z 1-5 T E JAMES MADISUN PLAYERS A SUMEDY IN PWA ACTS THROUGH THE YEARS ASI' AHFRESHMEN Five minutes to curtain time. Vve received these words with mixed emotions. For eight years we had prepared lor our dehut. yet some ot us were still petrilied hy the thought ol the glaring lootlighls. Others eagerly awaited entrance into this world ol glamour and greasepaint. As the theater lights slowly dimmed. a hush descended over the throngs ol critics. The hlaclc and gold curtain slowly rose and we got our first glimpse ol the audience. It was a frightening sight. People with hlaclc and gold hats with leathers growing out ol them were glaring at us. But as we got to linow this new strain ot man named seniors, we lilced them very much for they were very helpful. Vve never would have heen ahle to huy gold plated gym spots, our own tahle in the lunch room or the toll rights to the marhle staircase without their assistance. uYou must have Patience was the watchword haclcstage and so we saw Cillmerl and Sullivanys operetta Upatiencef' Before long we proved that we were not amateurs hy our performance in the sing. Some ol us appeared in the act entitled ushowhoatu while others starred in the presentation ot Nfladison as a Girls' School. Field day was another memorahle occasion. A Student-Faculty Basehall game replaced Ninth and a l00-yard dash tool: the place of English. tAh. the good old days., Alter the sports events, Coney island came to lvladison in the lorm ol a gala Carnival. The lwladison-lxiidwood Hop, the Snow Ball and Foothall Frolics lcept up the festivities. Before we lcnew it, the walls were covered with pictures ol identical twins. and we scurried to the eye doctor to see if we needed specs. However, he assured us it was a local phenomenon and we returned to school to see Shaw's You Never Can Tell. Xvill you ever forget the day we were legally excused from school to go to a Dodger hall game? tlxliracles do happen., There was a method to their madness. Some financial genius added a ticlcet to a tree hall game at Ehhets Field to the ticlcet that admitted you to the school games. Everyone hought

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Leipzig celebrate the victorious completion ot our first football game will long be remembered. The team had a great season, especially in comparison with previous years. Coach Caruso hecame a hero. Students stepped lively at the first dance since the activity ban was lifted. It was the long awaited Nlardi Gras. Ot course it was a huge success. Soon the air was filled with music. VVe were getting ready for the biggest and best sing we ever had. Some ot us were in the act which was a take-oft on Sears and Roebuck while others were in an act about the army, Camp Madison. A note ot sadness crept into the show however when the Sophs won the sing. But as the Dodgers say. Uvvait 'til next year. Suddenly Madison went literary. especially the female portion. The sale of comic boolcs tell off 52'ZJ. Vvhat caused this phenomenon? lxflr. Rodman. of course. He was the faculty advisor of the UlVladisonian. With the theme of Youth this magazine was an outstanding publication. About this time nine of our outstanding students were missing. VVC couldn't find them anywhere. We even tried the Lost and Found. They had won Ford Foundation Scholarships and had left us to go to halls of higher learning. Everyone hoped to get one of the new young teachers before we grad- uated. Did We have luclc. Most of these teachers had to leave due to the laclc of students. We only had a mere tive thousand. Some young teachers did remain, so all hope not die. And so before we lmew it our junior year had ended. An air ol new dignity was acquired as we suddenly realized that we were going to become that rare and sought alter strain ot human being lcnown as HSENIOR' 4- SENIORS Once again the curtain is drawn. Before us we see a long line ot lmaggard and aged people on whose countenances once shone the freshness of youth. This isn't a bread line in front ot the Salvation Army: itys those souls who are still waiting to see the all wise and most revered Mr. Tobin. Championsl This word was on the lips of all of us. We had a Champion basketball team. Will you ever forget the excitement at the lNladison-lVlid- wood basketball game fthe one we won, which went into overtime? Silence prevailed for the next three days. We had lost our voices. There was a general rejoicing among the faculty. They finally had the silent days they dreamt ot. To honor the team we had a Basket Ball. Soon we see the actors marching around with leathers growing out ol their heads. The bio department clidn't have a mutation. the seniors had their Senior Hats. Broadway came to us also in the form ot upygmalionn and the Junior Show. The Spring concert rivaled those at Town Hall. We had the good lortune ot hearing Grieg's Piano Concerto. Oh how I hate to get up in the morning - especially Vvednesday, for l have to get up early. What could cause such a unique occurrence. Only one thing, the scholarship lectures. It really wasn't the lectures but the thought ol' all the money we were going to win. Then Nlarch arrived, lvlarch