Maynard High School - Screech Owl Yearbook (Maynard, MA)

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ttiose ot you wlio have not been bitten by the base- ball bug: He broke his wrists on that one” simply means in baseball terms that the batter bent his wrists as if to strike at the ball and then changed his mind at the last moment. See how much I ' ve learned ? Ah, yes! Our family life has certainly changed! Elinor Case, ' 47 ODE TO A PENCIL STUB Ah, what things thou hast done In this weary world of cares! Thou hast made more journeys Than any mortal dares. Thou hast heard intimate conversation.s. Thou hast written many a theme: Thou hast composed notes romantic Causing many an eye to gleam. But now thou art so weary And bruised and battered too; Thy life on this fair earth Is very nearly through. So hail to thee, a martyr, Though now unknown you be; Some day this fickle world Will rise and cheer for thee. Barbara Barker, ' 47 AN EQUESTRIENNE IS BORN Fourteen years ago, in the small, practically un- known town of Stow situated in the sylvan stretch of land between Hudson and Maynard, I was born. It was on a wintry day in the month of February, the date being Friday the thirteenth, nineteen hun- dred thirty-two, that the population of the United States was increased by one. No one realized, looking at my then chubby, twenty-two inch frame, that I would grow to the height of five feet, eleven inches within thirteen and one half years. But, unbelievably enough, I did. That is perhaps the reason why my mother could always find me in a crowd. My life, from the time I was born until I was eleven years of age, I consider uneventful, until on a beautiful day in September, a few days before school was to open, something wonderful happened which was to change the whole course of my life and make me forget about everything else. I went horseback riding with a friend for the first time. I had been riding before, but I wouldn’t consider being led about on a pony really riding. That Saturday I felt like a queen. I learned to con- trol my horse and post, which is a very important thing to learn if you are riding a horse with an English saddle and do not want to sit on pillows for a long while afterward. For two hours I had the most wonderful time in my life and realized that horses were my ideal. From then on it was horses, horses, I couldn’t concen- trate on my schoolwork; movies became very boring, and everything else in the world became a blur. I went around in a daze, dreaming of horses. My new interest was thought by everyone to be just a silly infatuation. Then one day in the Daily Record I read of an art contest which was being sponsored by that paper. For three long years I tried in vain to win a prize. Then, on the last day of the contest in the fourth year, I hurriedly sent in my entry. My hopes had long since deserted me and all I could do was to pray that I would win a prize, even if it were not the pinto horse. Some days later, while reading the list of winners, I noticed a name that resembled mine. Yes, there It was: ’SECOND PRIZE— NORMA MARTIN- SEN.” After looking again to make sure, I joy- ously announced the good news to my parents. The following Saturday, with one of my friends, I was on my way to the rodeo with the two box seat tickets which had been given to me by the Daily Record. And when Roy Rogers presented me with the second prize, a beautiful Stetson hat auto- graphed by him, and shook my hand, my heart fairly jumped for joy. Finally my love for horses grew to such heights that my emotions were uncontrollable. I wanted a horse as I had never wanted anything in this world. Closely I scrutinized the horse ads every Sunday and planned how I would earn the money to keep my horse once I got it. I gave up horseback riding and spent many an hour talking” to the horses on Red Acre Farm in Stow, a rest home for horses run by a group of very kind-hearted people. Soon I became acquainted with the lady who lived in the large white house near the barn. I told this woman, one of the organizers of Red Acre Farm, of my love for horses, and she, being very under-

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Mother Nature. Then 1 comes to a bench tliat was a little distance away from the others. A guy was sit- ting on it and a lotta kids were running around him. I feel sorry for him, so big-hearted me .stops to say hello to him and his kids. He smiles up at me ■sorta grateful like, as if I was doin’ him a big favor. You like children.” he .sez to me. Yeah, I love little kiddies. I wisht I had .some of me own.” I’m making conversation, mind ya. Personally I can take kids or leave ’em and I’d just as soon leave ’em. Oh thank goodness!” sez the little guy. He kinda reminded me of a rabbit. Would you please watch the children for a minute. I have some business to attend to — I’ll be right back.” Then he jumps up before 1 can say yes or no and runs down the path, so there ain’t anything I can do but stay there with the kids. 1 have a sense of honor where wimmin and kids is concerned, so I sits down and talks to the kids. An hour later I’m yelling at the brats to shut up. They was tearing me and mother Nature apart. An- other hour goes by and 1 begins to think something fishy’s going on, so I asks the oldest kid what’s up. He don’t say a thing — just looks at me. Then a cop comes along reading a newspaper. This cop looks at his paper, then he looks at the kid in front of me, then he looks at me. I gets to feeling like a criminal, as if I had kidnapped all these little kids. You’re under arrest,” yells the cop and belore I can move, he’s got handcuffs on me. Come along you. Come with me, children.” We all follow him out of the park and he calls for a couple of squad cars. The cars come. The kids get in one and me and the cop gets in the other. I don’t know what’s up and everything I asks the cop he tells me to shut up. At the station I don’t see the kids no more, but I gets booked with a cell all to myself. It’s only the next morning that I finds out why I’m in this time. The cops don’t tell me; I reads it in the paper. They was big headlines saying, Children Kidnapped from Museum Tour.” The call was out all day until I was picked up with the kids. At the trial I tells ’em the whole true story but they don’t believe me. I can’t get the kids to tell ’em the truth either. So I gets sentenced for twenty to thirty years for kidnapping ’cause of what they calls circumstantial evidence.” ' I’his is my nineteenth year in the pen, sonny. Nineteen years for something 1 didn’t do, ami you wonder why I’m sour on life. Bakhara Farki r, ’47 CASES AT THE BAT How changed our family life is since the ba.seball season began and the Boston Red Sox started on the road to the pennant-ville! A year ago this time, our family was leading an ordinary life (if you call family life ordinary!). Anyway, we were all com- pletely oblivious of anything called baseball or any- one named Ted Williams. Then six months ago it happened. Life began to change. At first you could hardly detect it, but by the middle of May, the change was very apparent. Upon coming home from work, my father, in.stead of inquir- ing what we had done at school that day as he usually did, would say, Hey, boys! The Red Sox won again.” My brothers developed the strange habit of staying around the house afternoons instead of wandering off so far that it was impossible to find them by supper time. At first we had some heated arguments about the family’s one and only radio that works. I, still ignorant of the fact that the Red Sox were a baseball club and not a hockey team, wanted to listen to the 9:20 Club. However, it was 2 to 1 against the 9:20 Club, so I didn’t get my way very often. Finally my brothers convinced me that 1 ought to see the Red Sox play, and one Sunday toward the end of May they took me to see my first big league game. With that game my baseball education be- gan, and it has steadily increased with every crack of the bat. By the middle of summer, baseball was the only topic of conversation in our house. The radio was on constantly. Bump Hadley at 6:15 was a must” for all of us and at least one member of the family sat up till 11:25 each night to hear the final baseball results. I became such an ardent fan by the end of July that I even purcha.sed a portable radio so I could take sun baths and listen to the ball games at the same time. Why, even my mother learned not to say My, what a rough game!” when the radio announcer stated, He broke his wrists on that one.” (For ( 7 )

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standing, sympathized with me. In the end it was tliis kind, elderly woman who helped me to get the spirited little black mare which I now have. Also, if it were not for my parents, the most understanding and .sacrificial ones in this world, I probably would be the unhappiest, rather than the happiest girl alive. My horse Yobe and I have been going steady for exactly twelve months at the present time and we celebrated our first anniversary on November the third, nineteen hundred and forty-six. I .still have three years of high school to complete, but I am already planning my future. Once I wanted to be a private secretary, thinking I might even get the position of sitting on the boss’s knee; but realize now that I want my future to include horses, so I hope that I shall be able to have a riding school and send people home, not sitting on pillows, but with the .satisfaction that they are learning to become eque.s- trians, also. Norma Martinsrn, ’ 0 CONFESSIONS IN FRESHMAN ENGUSH In the first grade our teacher was gcx)d to us. Her name was Miss Healy. I brought her an apple every day but my mother had to stop me because we were running out of apples. Robert Holly What! Apple polishing so young! Since the first grade my nickname has been Bony.” If you have ever seen me you know why. Joan Hinds Would that we had been there, too. I can just hear my mother’s friends exclaim, Isn’t she cute and fat!” Mother told me a baby looks healthy when its fat. All I can say to that is I cer- tainly must have been a healthy baby. A. Weckstrom Cheer up! N.ipoleon did all right. Since I am of the female sex I cannot tell my age, but I wish I were twenty-one. Rose Bu.scemi And at 21 ? Then came high school! My first day I was afraid to turn around. Betty Howe Oh, for the good old days! The best part of the day was when Norma went out in the middle of the arena at Boston Garden to meet Roy Rogers and receive her prize. j. Paananen Wheaties? In the eighth grade we had dancing lessons every Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 7:30 for ten con- secutive weeks. I had a wonderful time even though I made many mistakes. B. Prie.st Save the first dance for me! I was a bouncing baby boy; I get that way because ever) one dropped me once too often. R. Dargiewicz Good squash player, eh. Two cartons of cigarettes was the amount my father smoked on that fatal morning of January 2, 19.32. He changed to cigars after he saw me. Cigarettes have made him feel sick ever since. A. Viola What is it now. Scoop, a pipe? The proudest day of my life came when I graduated into the second grade. F. Penniman Wait til 19‘ 0! On one occasion when my sister was invited to a party and was almost ready, I took her party dress and threw it into a bath tub full of water. This « made her and my mother very angry. D. Dimcry Can’t understand why! At the age of five I was in a kiddies” beauty con- test. No comments. You must realize that a lot can happen in nine years. M. O’Connell Oh what a beautiful baby! When I was five years old my parents wanted me to go to school. Children my age were allowed to go if they could pass a test. I took the test and was asked if a mule could kick me and if 1 could tie my shoe string. G. Parker and” or while” ?