Martin Van Buren High School - Futura Yearbook (Queens Village, NY)

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We remember the shows in which many of us participated- Time Out For Ginger, Highlights, Showcase of l957, and Cyclorama. We saw the birth of our teams, Cheerleaders and Twirlers. Cheering our teams on to victory was always part of our school life from the very beginning. We remember the many hours the boys spent practicing baseball, basketball, track and tennis in hopes of winning a major letter, and the after-effects felt by the girls after kicking and iumping for hours in their tryouts for Cheer- leaders. February 24, 1959 was a memorable day. Twenty-five hundred Van Buren students cheered at the Garden for our basketball team. As sophomores, we welcomed Mr. Denn, our new principal, who, in very short time, became inseparable from our image of Van Buren High School. How can we forget the dances-the V-B Bounce, Mardi Gras, St. Patty's Day, V-B Bop, Twirp, Victory, Winter Carnival, Junior Prom, and the Senior Dinner Dance. September 1958-we were now seniors, ably led by Steve Raymond and Paul Frieser, and our senior adviser, Mr. Rappaport. We awakened to the fact that we were now to choose a college and career. Soon we found ourselves engulfed in a torrent of college boards, scholarship exams, applications, interviews, references, and anxious waiting and worrying. We were seniors! How could you tell? Certainly not by our fantastic display of senior hats, buttons, rings and keys, nor by the sudden all-knowing look about us. Who can forget those frantic last-minute touches before being photo- graphed for the yearbook? Then came Senior Day and the Senior Show and those hilarious costumes you never thought your friends had the nerve to wear. We unveiled Semavabu, our senior mascot, at the Senior Dinner Dance. At long last we reached the semi-climax of our high school days-the Senior Prom in the magnificent Terrace Room of the Statler Hotel-the introduction of the Prom Committee amidst soft music and billowy chiffon. And finally-graduation-the pride, the sorrow at leaving, the tears and good-bye promises, the wishing of luck, happiness, and success-and those words at the end of the ceremony, Will the alumni please stand and sing the Alma Mater. And as voices rose-loud and clear, you knew that the tears on your cheek were not tears of sorrow. They represented your wonderful high school years -years that could never be recaptured and yet never lost, for they had molded the foundation for a wonderful future. You knew that these precious years had taken their place in a never-to-be- forgotten part of your heart-a part especially reserved for the Fabulous Fifties. JO-ANN LOVE -. i ff: QDISON ' I tl E -' f A25 - xi - .o., S T ' ' 'fflil ltxzi-:sw kai. Qi 'rel 'ft as 4, y Q W ff Q41 ui 'T T' :JV '1Hw's Wiov' ' ilillllt, . f 1 f pflf, ,I '11 . fi ' gg. V I N nqafdbu-Fee if I 1 I Q N 4+ ll' .CV 31 X 1 , t ,vw 1 QQ' f i x , ,w l r 0,555.5 iff mel' KR X73 S f ll' W an vb , 6' - f o f fl 2 ls' A 49 , N Q n .C ff 5 .l. i 17

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zz 5 00 Saou 517146 Hy. . . x xdvgmf s,,f,- ,,,, ' 3? ,' 4 T ' Q5 X aft' nav lv V l - Y if lll ' lf ,Q l lb is tow CB X xqsg X Cv, w x he Xxx - , . yo C f t ', X BE rj , g 1 Q I 'ffpiifiilsfbf QM :,,'::f X ,Xb N X w .e F Q11 X X me i f IA7 I, an ,X Q y X M, H il. - Y,,.. 16 Here it is-1959! We are nearing the end of the Fabulous Fifties--ten years which repre- sent a decade of outstanding achievement and world progress. To the gradu- ates of '59, however, the latter part of the Fifties has an additional sig- nificance-the fond memory of our years spent at Van Buren High. We remember our consternation at the immensity of Van Buren as we entered for the first time-its spacious halls, modern classrooms and labora- tories, its tremendous auditorium and gym. Could we ever forget the irrita- tion at constantly finding ourselves on the stairway leading to the roof instead of to the third floor? Reminiscences of our first few days in Van Buren bring to mind the warm smile and friendly greeting extended to us by Mr. Hopkins, our principal. Those of us who entered Van Buren as freshmen will recall the first G.O. elections. How small and inadequate we felt then, looking up with envy at the candidates sitting on the stage, never dreaming that one day we ourselves, or perhaps our friends, would have the same opportunity, yet it never seemed quite the same once we were up there. Familiarity dulled the glamor some- what, but, slowly, something of more intrinsic value began to form-a sense of leadership and responsibility. Then come the birth of the G.O. We'll always remember the wonderful iob done by Mr. Weissenberg, our first G.O. adviser. He was succeeded by Mr. Radwin who has carried on in the spirited Van Buren tradition. Soon the many committees were formed-Elections, Turkey Mountain, Publicity, Enter- tainment, Ticket Sales, Art, and Social Service, the student body turned out in large numbers-and we were in business. Could we ever forget the honors bestowed upon our school, our own BeeLine winning a Columbia Press Conference Award, the city baseball championship, the cross-country awards, and honorable mention in the contest sponsored by Parents Magazine for our Creedmoor Toy Drive? We will never forget Marty, our typical Van Burenite, who brought tears of laughter to our eyes with each new issue of the BeeLine, nor will we forget celebrating Martin Van Buren's birthday every year on December 5. June 1957! That was the date Futura, our first yearbook, made its debut. Mid-terms, finals, Regents-these were strange new words that we were soon to become accustomed to. Then, one day, we heard about Arista and found ourselves diligently doing our school work and rushing around trying to get service credit.

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U10 5 E16 Inu The life of a teenager is the most boring, most exciting, dullest, most adventurous, happiest, most depressing part of your life. These are the times of laughing the loudest and crying the most. These to be like everyone else and trying the hardest to be when YOU Spoke On lhe out why nobody called- when You ate three sodas, four tuna fish sandwiches before we,-en'f hungry- when YOU diCln'f of closet space- when you q pig 51-Y- When YOU and quiet- when you to Qyef- when YOU ,then wore it with dirty when you had one day and not when you in person think of anything to but when you thought sarsqasm was of wit- when YOU that made you fogftiiickly the color M when you to get out of -, when you when ou she wouldnt let her new fur ., A. positively got the when err yourself-and then asked your on your when were as when you positive he you you else- when boys seemed until fellows had cars- when you decided to study at for you for a week- when you went to your first and dance when you knew more about anybody- when you thought a secret meant to spread the when you thought you would never start growing-or Yes, you were part of those memorable Fifties when was more suave than a new car, nothing more luxurious than two dozen sv nothing more confusing than your plans for the future, nothing more annoying nothing more talked about than school, nothing more stimulating than tg tant than a close friend, and, most of all, nothing more table teen years. BONNEE WEXLER