Millbury Memorial High School - Aftermath Yearbook (Millbury, MA)

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MGlass of (4 y OFFICERS ABELLE HIL1, Secretary OBERT LECLAIRE, Treasurer ing a girl, Evelyn Bergstrom, as president. Seldom had a girl been a class president, but after all, we saw no reason to be too conven- tional. The other officers were Vice-presi- dent, Jack Hayes; Secretary, George Galla- cher; and Treasurer, Bob Kruger. Dot Lambert and Pat McGrath were our rep- resentatives on the cheering squad. Nine of our girls joined the Hockey Squad and one, Peg Norton, actually made the first team. Eight boys went out for football, forty-five of us joined the Dramatic Club, and twenty-one girls became members of the Glee Club. our representative on the Keflectorette and Jack Hayes on the Reflector. Peg Norton and Dot Lambert were the only Freshmen accepted for places on the girls’ basketball team. We honored the boys’ basketball team by lending George Gallacher, Paul Aubin, and Billy Murphy. We were proving that we intended from the start to take an active part in school affairs. Evelyn Bergstrom was “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” so the saying goes and thus on a cold December night, the Dramatic Club held its skating party and Freshmen initiation. Who will ever forget Ray Lavallee’s efforts to talk Mr. Beaton into a vacation or George Gallacher’s proposal to Miss Grogan?

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September 8, 1943, was a truly spectacular day in the life of every member of the Class of 1947. The fact that the world was more concerned with the news that Allied troops had finally landed on the European conti- nent at Salerno and that the Italians had surrendered unconditionally, did not in any way overshadow our thrill at entering high school. On that bright morning four years ago, one hundred and eighteen of us strag- gled from Bramanville, West Millbury, East Millbury, the Center, and points in between. We came, for the most part, in small groups, for there seemed to be safety in numbers. We, the Class of 1947, had arrived. Our own problems were not so momen- tous as those of Eisenhower or McArthur, but to us they were revolutionary. We couldn’t find the right rooms; the high school Class istoryw . SENIOR CI GroRGE GALLACHER, President SHIRLEY Dunn, Vice-president stairway system was confusing; we weren’t sure of the bells; but such details did not dampen our spirits. We were so eager to learn and so anxious to become a part of high school life that in a few weeks we were old veterans and had settled down to our new world of High School. The election of Freshmen Class officers and cheer leaders was to us as the presiden- tial elections are to the nation. We did an unusual thing at this first meeting by elect-

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Around January 31, the Freshmen started pulling hair, biting finger nails, and mum- bling ‘‘is, ea, id” in undertones. The reason? We were experiencing our first before mid- years jitters. But with all our mumbling and grumbling, we all survived the test of wits and life went on as smoothly as before. Although not one of our class proved to be a second Ted Williams by making the baseball nine, we supported the team that spring, by giving George Gallacher as As- sistant Manager, and by buying and selling season tickets to the games. In the years to come the history books will give undisputed place to the date ‘June 6, 1944.”” That was ‘“‘D Day,” when thousands of Allied troops began the long- awaited invasion of German-occupied France. Our thoughts were, of course, with the Mill- bury boys who were taking part in that in- vasion by land, sea and air; but our summer vacation seemed at the moment, of almost equal importance. Summer jobs, trips, and just plain fun were on the calendar for most of us. In September 1944, one hundred Sopho- mores, brave and bold, after their year of apprenticeship, returned to Millbury High. We were fairly confident by now that we knew what we were about. At our first class meeting, we reverted to tradition and elected a boy, George Gallacher, as President. The Vice-president was Shirley Dunn; Secretary, Isabell Hill; and Treasurer, Randy Mogren. That fall we joined the various clubs, but our biggest moment of the year came when we won first honors and beat the Seniors in the Magazine Sales Drive. That year as before, our class sent its athletic wizards to join the teams: thirteen girls to field hockey, six to girls’ basketball, six boys to football, two to boys’ basketball, and four to baseball. That was the year when something new was added to Millbury in the form of a long- desired, much-needed library located in Room I. We like to think it was our studious qualities and our thirst for knowledge that made the library a necessity. Whatever it was, a member of our class, Angela Mazzeo, organized and set the library in operation, thus earning for herself the title of ‘‘First Librarian of Millbury High School.” On January 25 of that year the school play, “Spring Fever,” was staged in the Town Hall. We showed the upperclassmen that we had some little Diana Barrymores and Maurice Evans, too. Angela Mazzeo, Mar- jorie Taylor, Jack Hayes and Roy Adams spent long afternoons rehearsing their lines and preparing for the great comedy, which, incidentally, was a success. That year, when mid-years rolled around, we left the outward worrying to the Fresh- men; but that doesn’t say what inward re- actions took place. But once again the exams passed and we heaved sighs of relief that we were still intact. In the Spring of 1945—on May 8—came that wonderful day, so long-awaited—VE Day. We shall not forget that morning when the bells in town began to ring out the solemn and gladdening news that Germany had surrendered and that the war was over in Europe. In June, the war was going into its last phases, but we were far more interested in plans for vacation. Before we left for the summer, we had one last fling at Dot Lambert’s camp. Everyone enjoyed the swimming, boating and picnicking except Edith Berg, who loudly proclaims that swim- ming in full dress is very uncomfortable. Whatever made the boat move from shore so quickly that day, Edith? August, 1945, may prove to be the most historic month of our lives, for it was during those August days that the first Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A few days later came the news that World War II was over. We shall un- doubtedly tell our grandchildren about those days; actually I doubt if they concerned us as much as our imminent return to school in September as upperclassmen. We were Juniors at last, ready to give the same treatment as we had previously re- ceived. At our first class meeting we re- elected George Gallacher, Shirley Dunn, Isabell Hill and Randy Mogren as our class officers. A committee made up of Shirley Crepeau, Bill Jensen, Theresa Lebel, Bob LeClaire, and Bob Stockwell was elected to select class rings. Our girls still sang sweetly in Glee Club