Madera Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Madera, CA)

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activities If any Madera high student couldn’t find just the right spot in which to shine, it wasn’t be- cause there were not enough ac- tivities or organizations on which to concentrate. Dramatically inclined mascu- line and femmes gestured and emulated Bernhardt, Cornell, G d -Hampden, Huston, Howard or executive council Max Patterson, Jeanne Edgerly, Allen whomever you please in numer- second semester Cleveland, Roy Archibald, Velda Letoile ous productions given during the year. The inevitable Junior Play, ‘Remember the Day,’’ gave twenty-five aspiring performers an opportunity to add laurels to the Junior Class honors with Darwin Shebelut and Barbara Crawford doing very well for themselves in the leads.The setting for this play took place when our parents were at the height of their highschool days. The spirit of Christmas coupled with unsurpassed dramatic desires produced the Christ- 1 mas play, “Mr. Scrooge,’’ and the pageant of the Nativity. Atmosphere and sacred music en- hanced the evening’s presentations and these were provided by two new and very active school organizations, Treble Clef and Toreadors, directed by Emil Q. Miland, music instructor. Mentioning music reminds us that that department under Miss Annabel Denn, offered am- ple opportunity for the musically inclined in the orchestra, string ensemble, and piano classes. Mr. Miland also directed the two bands and the A Cappella Choir. This newly organized group is an extra-curricular activity for those who enjoy and care to participate in the vocal presen- tation of classical and sacred music. Three of Madera’s singers and instrumentalists, Morgan Sheldon, Darwin Shebelut, and Miriam Munter, were honored by being chosen to attend the California-W estern Schools Music Conference held in San Francisco from March 21 to 24. Shebelut played his violin in the orchestra and Sheldon and Miriam sang in the chorus. Further dramatic productions included: Pan-American pageant; the Senior presentation of three one-act plays; and a one-act comedy. ’’The Pot-Boiler,”” given by the Thespians, honorary Junior-Senior dramatic organization with Miss Mary Lou Shetler lending her sage advice. This play was a typical interpretation of why directors turn gray. Politics, debating, and Madera students do mix well, if this year’s results are indications of such interest and ability. An innovation in student government lifted its head in the form of an Executive Board during the second semester. This group was selected to conduct important school government problems under the check and balance of the Student Council and the stu- dent body president. As for the success of the debaters, their glory is summed up in the fact that they placed in the Valley semi-finals and will receive their pins for their oratorical endeavors. These debaters’ success was due not only to their hard work and efforts, but also to their coach, Raymond Ken- dall, English instructor. Not all of the one hundred and thirty-four members of the Scholarship Society are public speakers, actors, actresses or future statesmen, but all have a common interest—devotion to books. The group held two initiatory services during the year and sponsored a party on Friday evening, March 19, in the cafeteria. These ‘wonder -kiddies’’ then sponsored a rollicking barn dance on the evening of Friday, May 7. Along with the thought of books and scholars comes a picture of the improved library un- der the direction of Madera’s first full-time librarian, Miss Louise Hill. To provide amusement, information, and an excuse to get out of study hall, two hundred and thirty-seven new books