Laurens High School - Henry Laurens Yearbook (Laurens, SC)

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.yiafory of fha Cfada of 217 lt was in the year 1936 that the class of '47 entered into what had been our greatest curiosity since the word school was incorporated into our vocabulary. The minute we stepped through the front door we began to experience that feeling which comes with great knowledge. To be sure, some of us today havenit yet physically grown as large as we felt on that sunny September morning. As for the great knowledge, most of us have given up hope. Our history begins as any class history begins -in the first grade. Here we were formally intro duced to the English language, both written and spoken. Our hardest math problem was remem- bering that 5 plus 2 equals 7. As we left Miss Alleene, Mrs. Fleming, and Miss Emmie, we little realized that we would someday publish a book and dedicate it to one of these as she retires. ln the second grade we had even more trouble remembering that 7 minus 5 equals 2. It was at this time, too, that Miss McCord fascinated us with her paintings and drawings on the board. By the time we had reached the third grade we entered genius into our vocabulary but found no such creature among us. Geography was our newest discovery. VVhile studying Africa, we made a clay hut which was our first class activity other than the sand tables. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode lsland, Connecticut, New York, New jersey, we said to Miss Mary Belle Babb as we pointed to the states on the map. This year we at- tempted a class picnic which failed because of rain. ln 1941 we passed into the sixth grade. Two more of our curiosities were satisfied when we changed classes between periods and when, at the end of the first semester, we endured exams On December 7, during our sixth year in school, America was thrown into war. Our class helped gather tin cans, buy bonds and stamps, and save fats. lVlany from our class entered a poster contest, all did our best to boost morale. lVlany incidents have been forgotten during the next year but we won't forget lX'lr. lklorse, his jokes, and his orations on South Carolina history. Impressions equally vivid are those in Mrs. Black-- well's first aid class. There we learned how to patch up each little corpuscle, and after hours of practicing artificial respiration, we ourselves often needed to be revived. lt was a great day in May, 1943, when we received our diplomas, writing certificates, first aid certificates, and awards, for we realized that with the opening of school in the fall we would be in that exclusive upper class, The High School. At the beginning of our eighth year we were rejoined by our friends who had left us in the fourth grade to attend Carlington Street School. High school was very much the same as grammar school had been except for the traditional beating which we boys received from the upper class- men. lt was, however, the first time in our lives that we had had the opportunity of choosing sub- jects. Going on the assumption that we could speak English well enough and looking for something deeper to occupy our minds, many of us signed up for Latin. Even yet the tread of feet and the commands of our platoon leader linger in our ears from those freshman days. lt still puzzles some of us as to how so many could have been out of step at once. We were officially the eighth wonder of the world. As juniors, Miss Allie Cosnell got a large share of us in her American history class, which sub- ject was offered primarily to seniors. That year at least we enjoyed being on a level with the seniors. Perhaps it was this feeling of senior superiority among the juniors that prompted the good spirit that prevailed in our class. At Christmas this spirit urged us to double our efforts in planning our part of the Santa Claus parade. VVe did our best and in the end were rewarded with first prize. Again our class spirit stood out when we presented Don't Take My Penny, the proceeds go- ing to entertain our overlords, the seniors, in one of the school's best junior-Seniors. ln late 1946 we attained that courted title i'seniors, at which time we assumed all the traditional dignity and characteristic poor mentality. There were seventy-seven of us then, twenty-nine of these being original Laurens City School first graders. A number of these were veterans, who had re- turned to complete their high school training. At Christmas our class was again successful in its parade attempts. Again we won first place. Furthermore our successful football season ended with a junior-Senior game, the seniors winning by two whole points. Repeating a triumph of the year before, our group was again successful in the class play. This time we presented Annie Lauriei' a romantic performance which we thought much above the aver- age for school plays. Soon afterward we were honored with a prom and dance by the junior class and we found ourselves on the eve of our final commencement. At last the long looked for occasion came, but the joy of graduation was not entirely what we had dreamed of. There came the realization that ties would be broken, and many associations which had seemed but commonplace now became dearer. As a class we have done nothing particu- larly outstanding, but we feel that we have caught something of the splendid traditions of Laurens High, and that as we go into other schools we shall reHect something of the spirit of loyalty to the highest ideals that typify our Alma Mater. ' EARLE GAULDEN, H istorian.