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

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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

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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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and more of our members went out for sports. Every club contained some repre- sentative from the Class of ’47; we managed to have one of us in office in each. Barbara Collette was Secretary of the Biology Club; Jack Hayes, Vice-president of the Science Club; and Roy Adams and Evelyn Berg- strom, President and Secretary, respectively, of th e French Club. Jack Hayes was Editor-in-Chief of the Reflector and several of our members were constant contributors to both our school newspaper and our school magazine. Evelyn Bergstrom, Shirley Dunn, Will Caron, Bill Berthiaume, and Peg Norton made up the committee which set out in search of a photographer to take our lovely class pictures. Nothing unusual occurred to mark the even tenor of our ways. Our subjects were somewhat harder than they had been; we studied more (at least that is what we said). About this time some of the girls acquired bangs and for a short while a few of the boys wore bow ties. The big event of the year was the Junior Prom. Everything came out right, espe- cially the decorations. No one ever thought fish so beautiful as those that decorated the Town Hall that night. Only the Decorating Committee knew what a job it had been to fashion tropical fish from cardboard and create a South Sea Island on the Town Hall curtain. ‘The Prom Committee chairmen were Shirley Crepeau, Bob LeClaire, Gloria Goulet, Theresa Lebel and George Gallacher. We shall never forget their good work. If the Class of 1947 is known for nothing else, it will certainly deserve the title of the best picnicking class in High School history, for we closed our Junior year with another picnic at Dot Lambert’s camp. Later in the month some of us had another get-together at Lake Wallum. September 1946—we were Seniors! It seemed hardly any time since we had strag- gled up the steps as Freshmen, but now we were ““The”’ class. As Seniors, we dominated the high school as every other class before us had done; but we firmly believed that we were twice as harried as any previous class had been. At our first class meeting we elected George Gallacher, President; Shirley Dunn, Vice-president; Isabell Hill, Secretary; and Bob Leclaire, Treasurer. Will Caron and Bob LeClaire were co-captains of football; Peg Norton was captain of field hockey and basketball; Dick Carlstrom, captain of the boys’ basketball team. Carolyn Kilmer was the Senior Captain of the Cheer Leaders. The French and Science Club officers were all Seniors including George Gallacher, Bob LeClaire, Jack Hayes, -Roy “Adams, and Marjorie Taylor. Ah, yes, we were busy little creatures, but there was still plenty of time for foolishness. Take for example the day the girls arrived in school complete with father’s shirt and tie, but minus the usual lipstick. Funny, how the boys didn’t seem to appreciate our costumes. In February, we held the annual Senior Prom, which was a complete success. The Town Hall was adorned with red and white streamers while an enormous heart covered the back-drop. But the highlight of the decorations was the life-sized cupid sus- pended from the ceiling. Praise for this artistic job goes to the Decorating Com- mittee headed by Shirley Crepeau. Other committee chairmen were Gloria Goulet, invitations; Theresa Lebel, orchestra; Bob LeClaire, tickets; and George Gallacher, general chairman. Several pleasant surprises marked our Senior year. One bright morning we dis- covered a new long mirror in the girls’ dressing room. ‘This article has added tre- mendously to the girls’ happiness and morale. Then, there was that never-to-be- forgotten night when Millbury topped Shrewsbury in basketball. Strange how the Senior year flew by. We were busy studying, writing papers, doing Lab work, practicing typing. In the early winter, we began to hold class meetings and we continued to do so right up to the end. And now, it is June 1947. Our Com- mencement Week has started and we are reminiscing over the last four years. I think we all agree that they have been and will be for us the “best years of our lives.” Marjorie TAYLOR