Mansfield High School - Hornet / Green Years Yearbook (Mansfield, MA)

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talk about the good old days when men were men, and shower room gossip was shower room gossip. Having completed my inspection of the high school, I started down Church Street. Turning the corner, I bumped into a tall, handsome person, resplendent in a white duck uniform covered with gold braid. Beneath the visor of the stylish captain’s hat, smiled Eddy Bessom, who had finally succeeded in fulfilling his child- hood ambition to blow a whistle on a salmon boat. After I had told him of my quest, he agreed to help me. As we were both hungry, we dropped into a lunch room, run by Ruth Goddard and Thelma Thompson. Naturally I was overjoyed to meet two more of my classmates. For some years, Bessom told me, these two girls had operated a whole chain of restaurants under the name of Thelma and Ruth’s Vitamin A, B, and D, Hot Dog Kitchen. After a hearty meal, we went to see Mary Bowles, the librarian. Once the footlights had fascinated Mary, who at that time had promised to rival Gertrude Lawrence. A year ago, while playing the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, the staging had collapsed. Now while she was recuperating from her fall, she had consented to become again the center of attraction in the library. Mary was apparently glad to see us and talked eagerly about our school days. She also showed us the best-seller among the recent crime novels. It was Eleanor Palladino’s T’he Secret, based upon the life of the great private detective, Jeanne Ehrlich, who with the aid of her assistant, George Fasulo, had solved the crime ot the decade, the brutal murder of two of Earle Horton’s assistants, who were trying to protect the plans of an anti-aircraft gun invented by Earle. I was proud to learn that Earle had put to use for our national defense his knowledge of trigonometric functions. After saying good-bye to Eddie, who had decided to stay and read Virginia Shaw’s book on ‘“The Wonders of Cape Cod,” I started back to The Tavern. On the way I bought a paper, not The Mansfield News, but The Mansfield Globe, edited by Gladys Schofield. Glancing through it, I discovered that several members of our class filled important positions on the staff. Meg Reilly, the female Walter Winchell, had a snappy article on the front page ridiculing Mayor James Green for opposing a low cigarette tax. Although Meg’s pen dripped acid, Green’s picture showed him grinning cheerfully, apparently quite unconcerned. On an inside page, Yolanda Turinese had acolumn on ‘“‘New Coiffures” and Ermina Mason one entitled ‘Lady, Be Lovely.”’ In the rotogravure was a picture of a beautiful girl advertising cigarettes. At once, I recognized Catherine Wondergem. On the travel page was a picture of Rose Oliveira, who had just returned from Europe after giving lessons in the noble art of jitterbugging. With a squeal of brakes, a car stopped beside me. I glanced up and saw Art McKay scowling fiercely. “What a pal Bolton is!” he growled. ‘He certainly exemplifies the true spirit of comradeship. Believe it or not, Nielsen, in a smooth sophisticated, superior manner, he absolutely denied my humble petition. I perforce must present myself at the police station, without benefit of a friend and I shall probably end up before Judge Hays of the district court.” I smiled to myself a little proudly, for I was sure no other taxi driver in the world possessed such a vocabulary. He misinterpreted my smile as he exclaimed, “I assure you, mon ami, that your ill-concealed amusement is highly offensive. A parking ticket may seem a trivial matter to you, but in a little town like this it will ruin my reputation.” “Don’t complain about small towns,’ I warned him. ‘Why, do you know that some of the most famous men and women in the world today studied with you and me in the old high school, here in Mansfield?” Enthusiastically I began to tell him how the various members of ’41 had distinguished themselves. McKay listened eagerly, a proud smile on his face. Only later did I discover that in his joy he had absent-mindedly torn his parking ticket to shreds. 25

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Cpa Song Worps BY CATHERINE FARIA Music py RicHArD PHELPS 1 | I i] Leare Your pleas ant hal s g Be - hind Us mem y et i i I I head Stern duty:-- Farewell, dear Mansfield High, Farewell, our schoolmates all; Now we leave your pleasant halls: We’ve shared both joys and fears: Behind us, memories bright; The thoughts of friendships rare Ahead, stern duty calls. Will gladden all our years. Farewell, our teachers true, Life’s road before us lies: Our guides through untried ways, Where’er our journey leads, Devoted, patient, just, Our love for Mansfield High And worthy of our praise. We'll show by word and deeds. 27