Long Beach High School - Echo Yearbook (Long Beach, NY)

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usic ONG BEACH is proud of its music depart- ment, and well it may be. Through the years, this branch of our school has been consistently outstanding. In the fall, Mr, Brown ,leads his echelons on to the field and marching practice begins. Soon he has a well-drilled corps led by seven very expert and very cute drum majorettes. His blue legion- naires manage not only to form the best marching band on Long Island, but also to get themselves in to very interesting formations, ranging from bells and shamrocks to bubble pipes. Along with proving their own skill between the halves of grid contests, the band plays a very important part in cheering our football team into victory. Where the team goes, the band goes, and because of crowded buses this leads to many amusing and sometimes hilarious consequences. As the weather grows colder, the music De- partments activities are restricted to indoor enter- tainment. Mr. Brown then begins planning for his two big productions, the concert and the Christ- mas assembly. By coordinating the activities of the talented dance-band, orchestra and choir, he man- ages to produce shows that are professional, smooth and vastly entertaining. This year the outstanding numbers in the concert were Chocolate Soldier, Yuletide Echos, The World is Waiting For the Sunrise and the Wiffenpoof Song. The skits that were given as part of the Christmas Show were enjoyably corny and the music as usual was excellent, the hits being Lovers Leap, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and especially Jingle Bells.

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Girls' Sports 1947 saw many changes but one of the more noticeable was in Girls' Sports. Long Beach High joined the Long Island Girls Association and was offered the opportunity to participate in inter- scholastic events. The long bus rides when there weren't enough seats, the broken fingernails, the Senior trip with Aunt Clara CMiss Ditchikj and P0ky CSheila to a volley ball playday at New York University, the thrilling game in which the Seniors defeated Oceanside, the Boys' Basket- ball Cheering Squad, the candy canes at Mepham and our basketball playday at Lynbrook are the things the girls of Long Beach will not forget for a long time. Gym classes became more interesting and the girls took advantage of every opportunity to prac- tice their skills. The 5th period gym class was very pleased when they defeated the boys in a volleyball game and the Seniors of the second pe- riod class made a record in basketball. Because of the enthusiasm the girls showed new activities such as stilt walking, modern dancing and bowling were organized. To climax the Intramural activities and the Girls Athletic Association gave a banquet at which Long Island Girls Association awards were given out. Jeannette Romanescu earned a numeral and shield while the following Senior girls received a numeral, shield and letter, which were awarded on a point basis: Helen Andreoli, Florence Fischer, Sheila Kaminow, Joyce Rohr, Carolyn Salzberg. The highest award, a gold key, was awarded to Carolyn Salzberg. The singing of class songs and a guest speaker completed a very enjoyable eve- ning. These events were made possible through the combined efforts of Mrs. Propper and Miss Ditchik.

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Our imes 1947 and 1948 were revolutionary years-years that found the world changing in every respect and we discovered that we were changing with it. Our skirts became less and less revealing as the hems crept slowly toward our ankles. We traded our dun arees and menis shirts for ballet sli ers and stockin s. Chocolate 8 PP 8 bars returned at six cents instead of five. The crew-cut crowds discovered that bubble gum was back, to the consternation of teachers and parents alike, and with the ending of as and oil shorta es, the line of old 'alo ies once more a eared in front of the 8 8 l P PP school. And-we had a snow storm which surpassed the blizzard of '88, so they say. Snow piled up to 25 inches and turned the long suffering Long Island Railroad into an over- night housing project. Heating, lighting, and transportation were almost completely crippled. Though the adult will curse the storm for various reasons, the student will always berate it for having occurred during Christmas Vacation, but, that is the way of the student. It did, however, seriously affect him, oh yes! He was put to work shoveling snowg all his many plans and parties had to be postponed and in some cases entirely abandoned and for weeks he went about on foot having snowball fights at the least provocation. Even though you might think differently, all the important and world-shaking events did not occur in Long Beach or in Long Beach High. The years 1947 and 1948 will be remembered for the controversial Taft-Hartley labor law, the seizure of Czechoslovakia by Moscow dominated Communists, Cookie Lavagetta's pinch-hit double in the fourth game of the 1947 World Series, the Palestine Partition problem, the over abundance of Presidential candidates, and the wayward bus driver who decided to take a trip to Florida, bus and all. When we consider that this, our graduation year, is a year of crisis, and that each and every second, events are happening which will have direct bearing on our future lives, we must turn from this light vein and become sober and serious. We must realize that the world today is a powder keg ready to explode at the least provocation. Never- theless, no matter how realistic and comprehending we have to be, we cannot allow Worries concerning ominous forebodings of future events to replace all the rich and pleasant memories of our youthful years, which we hold dear. Throughout the period when the world was so full of hate and belligerency, our class with its Maranaccios, Ryans, and Nussbaums was able to work together closely and in harmony toward the goal we are about to achieve. Let us therefore never forget these last few happy, fruitful years which were and always will be, Our Times. 23