Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

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A LAND OF PROMISE Salutatory: — Members of the school commit- tee, our superintendent, our prin- cipal, members of the faculty, par- ents, friends, and schoolmates: We, the Class of 1931, of Law- rence High School, cordially wel- come you this evening to our grad- uation exercises. We are glad, therefore, that these exercises will give us the opportun- ity of expressing our sincere appre- ciation of your earnest efforts and genuine cooperation in making our three years in high school happy and successful. Again we bid you welcome. It is my purpose tonight to tell you something about a small group of islands lying approximately one thousand miles directly west of the coast of Portugal. The Azores are composed of nine insignificant is- lands, the largest of which is fifty miles in length and is named St. Michaels. The next largest is the Pico, forty-eight miles long. The other seven are Terceira, Fayal, St. George, Flores, Corvo, Graciosa, and Santa Maria. First, let us consider the govern- ment. The Azores, as a whole, are governed by a President, just as is the United States. Three governors are elected, by restricted suffrage, each of whom takes charge of two or three of the islands. There are three capitols: one at Horta, in the Fayal, which also takes care of the Pico, Flores, and Corvo; the second at Angra, which is in Terceira, and which also governs St. George and Graciosa; and the third in Ponta Delgada, St. Michaels, which like- wise regulates the island of Santa Maria. Nine different Portuguese dia- lects are spoken on the islands. Each one has its own accent. The people residing oh St. Michaels have the hardest time to make themselves understood by the rest of the peo- ple. In the matter of clothes, the so- called aristocrats dress much the same as we do; but the peasants, as in all European countries, still cling to their traditional attire. The women wear bright-colored ’ker- chiefs over their hair and shawls over their home-made dresses. Some go barefooted, but now almost all dress in sombre shades and wear shoes of some sort. The men wear straw hats to protect them from the usually hot sun. They are a home-loving people, and their daily routine changes but little. They begin the day early and end it likewise. The girls are very adept at almost every sort of handicraft, especially embroidery, by which quite a few make a liv- ing. The boys, too, are rarely idle. They raise their own food. They do not eat white bread every day as we do. It is too much of a treat. They eat it only during festival sea- sons, such as Easter and Christ- mas. They also raise a vegetable known as the yam, a starchy food which serves as either potatoes or bread. It is shaped like an hour-glass and is dug only every two or three years. Only the people that are fortunate enough to have gardens raise them, and the ones who don’t must pay approximately two dollars a bushel for them. Nearly every one of the islands has its own kinds of dances. They

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Class Motto Quid erimus, nunc fimus Flower Pink Rose Colors Rose and Gray LAWRENCE HIGH SCHOOL— CLASS OF 1931 JENNIE VAUGHN HELEN BAKER - J)iLc£ z J - DOROTHY BARBARA BARBOZA - -A=c S - JOHN BENJAMIN BARRY ELLEN GERTRUDE BARSTOW KARL HUBERT BOHAKER .PCct. £ b DAURICE LOUISE BOYATT - GILBERT JOSEPH COSTA THEODORE JOSEPH CZEPIEL , FELICE MEDEIROS FRANCO • FRANCES MELISSA FREEMAN EXZILDA MARY GOUDREAU c VSad • JOSEPH GOUDREAU . BERTRAM KENDALL HADDON t ELLEN BAKER HAMBLIN f HARRY EDWARD HENRY HANDY » DONALD ROGERS HATCH . LILLIAN CROCKER HAZELTON £)OCert % 5vi • ELLSWORTH PUTNAM HEAD • ELIZABETH MARCELLA HENRY SUMNER ELLIOT HILTON NATHAN ISSOKSONDec ? £fiJ ELEANOR JAMES , FLORENCE LOUISE LANDERS - £ S 3 , VIRGINIA LEATHERBEE JOHN ROSE MARTIN • JOHN NICHOLAS MCDONALD - RICHARD PEASE McLANE - DELSCENA CATHERINE MILLS JOHN WEIR NICHOLS ? - EDITH IRENE NORRIS KATHRYN NOYES OVERY , MARGARET PAPP ' MAYBELLE LORAINE PEASE Debased MADELINE CECELIA RODERICK . OLIVIA ISABELLE RODERICK J tO£ Sdb ANNA ELIZABETH ROGERS ed ETHEL DUNBAR SIMMONS 7 MILTON HENRY STUDLEY j £ C J PAULINE RUTH SYLVIA £c i Sed ROGER WEBB TOBEY MARGARET IRENE WARD ? , RAY DEAN WELLS, JR. DoCeiVSc4 FRANCES IRENE WHITE • ELIZABETH BRADFORD WISWALL ' CHRISTINE SMITH WRIGHT - WILLIAM HOWARD PEASE ' ALICE JOSEPH PERRY , FRANK RODERICK PERRY J t e£ 9S c J

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usually have large dances at fes- tivals, but Sometimes ' they Shave them on other occasions. The Shamarita is one of the dances. The wealthy people have balls and dinner dances, just as they do here. The ones the poorer people hold are known as Folgas. The country is well -modernized. The schools teach all the latest sub- jects. The boys have organized football teams and enter into the spirit of the game with enthusiasm. There are not many varied oc- cupations. The men are generally either fishermen, fruit-growers, or farmers, but occasionally here and there are found other trades. The men who fish rise about three o’clock in the morning and stay away until late at night. Some- times they are out at sea in small dories for a day and a night just off the coast. Other fishermen come all the way to Newfoundland for their catch in fishing schooners. As the islands are nearly tropical, many luscious fruits are grown there: peaches, apricots, figs, pine- apple, oranges, grapes, tangerines, and some nuts. The islands are noted for their delicious Madeira wines. The best grape wine comes from the Island of Pico. Some corn is raised also but not enough to supply the demand. The Fayal is the biggest corn center, and quite a bit is sent to the Pico. The houses are made of white- washed stone or cement, and prac- tically all have red-tiled roofs which are quite flat. The windows are rather small but numerous. The houses, as a whole, are very pic- turesque. A few churches have some of the most beautiful interiors one could wish to see. The loveliness of Christ Church at Ponta Delgada surpasses all others on the islands. The sun sifitng through the stately stained-glass windows sends a my- riad of multi-colored lights into the church, which is otherwise rather dim,. The .vood-work around the altar is carved, and its beauty is breath-taking. The majority of the churches, however, are rather humble, both inside and out. The statuary is of the lowliest sort, but just by seeing the people flock to the services, one can learn of the great faith they have in the creeds of their own sects. The roads, too, are things of beauty. They are not very winding. They are made of stone, and on each side there are wide cement sidewalks shaded by a kind of palm tree. High whitewashed walls border the roads and give them an air of cleanliness. The Azores also boast of various delightful parks. One at St. Mich- aels is octagonal in shape and is surrounded by huge maples, which in the summer provide ample shade from the sun. Inside, there are dif- ferently shaped gardens with flow- ers of many hues. The white walks are a sharp contrast to the color- ful flowers. On the Island of the Pico is a volcano which towers up into the sky. The island was given the name Pico because of it. It takes four hours to climb this volcano. It has erupted four times within a century or more, but the people are not in fear of it because it is open at the top. It is a memory that lingers long with those who pass by the island at sunset and see the peak standing out against the evening sky and who hear in the distance