Mount Everett High School - Aurigan Yearbook (Sheffield, MA)

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DRIVEPCS ED Experience in Driver's Ed by Debbie 0'Donnell The first day of Driver's Ed, I learned what was to be expected of me. When I say this, I mean mentally and physically .... Three dollars was to be presented along with yourself at the first meet- ing. This was to pay for the Driver's Ed certificate. During this first hour, we basically got to know what the class would be like and what the teacher would be like. . . . Now, in school I am an aver- age student, but when it comes to the engine, forget it. I mean I am thick. For the guys it's easier, simply be- cause they are more mechanically- minded .... Changing a tire is one of the re- quirements in Driver's Ed. The in- structor decided to pick two people to demonstrate this in class. Guess who got picked. Right! My friend and I. The boys thought that this was really funny, two girls changing a tire. What a laugh. But we both did it - with only a little help from the in- structor. Our instructor was a very good one, and I learned a lot. In many ways he helped us get through the course. This was only if you paid at- tention and were good in class. If you fooled around, he had no sympathy for your grade. The exam is a good example. It is a three-hour exam with one break. It is very hard if you have not studied and even hard if you have. I found it hard and asked the instructor a few ques- tions to help me. He didn't tell me the answers directly, but he told me enough so that I got it after thinking a while. But the kids who did not worry until the actual exam did not get any help from him, and if they did they didn't understand it anyway. It is important to know the answers ' . 4 . . ,. . I l 1272 Debbie O'Donnell - experiences to questions, but it is also important to find out how you perform behind the wheel and how you react on impulse. All in all, it is just like any other course. If you study and pay atten- tion, you pass. When the exam is over and you find you have passed, you are still not finished totally. For me, I still had to go through two more driving exper- iences. When I say experiences, I mean experiences. The most memorable driving les- son was the one to Pittsfield. Now, merging into traffic is not difficult for the average driver that does not have an instructor saying, Don't slow down, go, gof' Well, when I see a car coming in the lane that I am supposed to be merging into, I am not about to enter that lane. Common sense, right? Wrong. One point off. Well, to me it seemed sensible at the time. One other lesson I enjoyed was go- ing to Monument Mountain. There you have to drive around obstacles backwards. Doesn't that sound like fun? It wasn't. To make it easier on you, he says to watch his finger and steer wherever his finger points. Now, answer me this. How can you watch behind you to see where you are going and watch his finger at the same time? It's not easy. My last driving lesson, . . . he made me drive on the roads by hospi- tal hill and stalled me going around a corner. This was all right and I did it with no complications - with one exception. When I started the engine, it started so easily that I did not real- ize it was going and almost ground out the starter .... In spite of this, I left that car with a smiling face be- cause he informed me that I could pick up my certificate on Monday. Anyone can sit behind the wheel of a car and start it up, but to know something of how the car ticks is a different matter. Whenever I look at the engine of my car and say, That is the manifold, I'll credit my instructor for teaching me what I know. WARDS NURSERY INC. ECREMONT INN Compliments of HAMMER PLUMBING CO. 600 SO. Main Si. Country Inn Since Q Heating Great Barrington, MA Sheffield Rdw Sguth Egremont I. A. 6: A. 1. Malnati 85 Main Street Ashley Falls, MA Ct. Barrington, MA 0129' 528-0112

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GOING AWAY Tania Shiminski: wonderful opportunity 1976 Girls State by Tania Shiminski This past June I had the wonderful opportunity to be Sheffield's American Legion Post's representative to Massa- chusetts Girls State, held at Bridgewater State College .... Not only did I learn about the governmental process of our country, I also came away with that special Girls State enthusiasm Cimpossible to describel and countless new friends. Upon my arrival, I was handed a blue beanie Cwhich I was to wear at all times under pain of deathl. This color represented the National Party which I was a member of. At first the idea of wearing a beanie seemed silly, but as the week progressed, we were proud to wear them. There were four towns and four cities in Girls State. I was a member of the town of Democracy, along with twenty- seven other friendly girls. Our first assignment as a town was to elect town officials. I was elected to the position of town auditor. As town auditor, my only responsibility was to write a report for our annual town report. We were then separated into our two parties, national and Federal. The party chairmen were chosen along with the rest of the committees. The next task was to choose our candidates for govern r, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and attorney general. Following these nominations, the campaigning began. As it turned out, our party's candidate for governor was in my town and in the room next to me. Because of this, I became involved in our campaigning. The night before the elec- tions, the candidates gave speeches. It was a good opportu- nity to get to know the candidates. Election day dawned with a huge rally in the gym, campaigning with songs and chants and cheers. Wednesday, when the votes were tallied, the girl from our town, Roxanne Szettella, became the 1976 Girls State governor. All of us shared Roxie's excitement, and we had a huge party afterward. In our towns we next elected our representatives to the Senate and the House of Representatives .... The next phase began with our running the government. The House and the Senate organized and began debate on the five bills which had been written by Girls Staters .... The pace that was set for us was very fast-moving and busy .... Along with . . . running a government, we had many auditorium sessions Cwithl guest speakers who talked to us about government and topics that were of interest in our state and to us .... Many of the speakers' primary messages were for women to get involved in politics and in our state legislature. They explained the opportunities that women have in today's government .... Before ending I would like to share a fellow girls stater's impression of Girls State: The most important thing real- ized at Girls State, if not realized before, is there are many opportunities opening up for us, and there are more to come in the future .... Learning by doing . . . made our stay at Girls State a memorable one .... It was exhausting for some of us, but we benefited from our experiences and are grateful for having been given the chance to participate in the activities.