New Haven High School - Elm Tree Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

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The joyous event of the year arrived- Happy Days ! An extremely enter- taining and talented group of performers, under the musical direction of Sanford Green, played before capacity houses for two nights, providing a rollicking good time for all. 'li ' The puck-chasers of the hockey team, after a victorious season. were unfor- tunately defeated by Commercial in the district title race, mainly because of the ab- sence of Captain Harry Thompson and Ben Bamford. Presently the class became aware of two other athletic teams which made re- markable showings, the track and swimming squads. At the start of the season, the former won the state interscholastic track meet by an overwhelming score, Cap- tain Read, Harry Heermans, and Norm Brown starring. Not to be outshone, the blue and white mermen, including Captain Bob Burke, Frank and Fletch Ferguson, Nat Batter, and Bill Oleson, easily captured the state title for the second consecu- tive year. Luther Weigle, Bud King, and their staffs received congratulations when The Senfinrl won second prize in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association competition. VVhen the balmy southern breezes promised warmth, the class, with mingled feelings, contentedly ceased the furious pace of the last few months. Letting the sunshine temporarily dissolve the ominous shadows of college boards, we scattered for the Easter vacation-and rest. The proverbial spring fever was our alibi. Finally two long-awaited events came along-Class Day and Graduation. Joe Weiner's committee arranged an excellent program for Class Day, what with his- tories, hilarious prophecies, and everything that goes with them. And then-ah, and then-Graduation arrived, with George Feldman, Dorothy Rosenstock, Joe Levy, and Betty Cornwall delivering the orations. Needless to say, most of us re- ceived diplomas and marched oil happily, triumphantly, towards-who knows? 'fl if s ' 26

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E Senior igininrg As the leaves began to turn red and yellow, once more we thronged back to the portals of Hillhouse, this time for the last stretch. If we were foolish, we looked back, ruminating on the pastg if we were wise, we looked forward with an- ticipation to the future. Being a wise class, we knew the future had great things in store for us. Soon arrived the exacting assignments, assemblies, the commencement of ath- letics, the appearance of the Scrntinvl, and we were launched on a colorful year. We saw pledgees going through their unhappy antics, some displaying vivid red neckties, others industriously trying to walk the lines on the corridor floors in the manner of a tight-rope performer. From our lofty perch we viewed the junior class. The boys tried to convince themselves that the junior girls were more deco- rative to our school than les jeunes lilies of '3l. An inexperienced squad responded to the football call for candidates. Handi- capped by the poor practice field and the absence of the regular line coach, the team emerged from a difficult schedule with two losses, one tie, and four victories. When Commercial went down in a 12-6 defeat one frosty Thanksgiving morning, everyone was happy. Captain Mush Dreisen, Fred Ritter, Joe Slattery, Milt Bellin, Lolly Griser, and George Nielson were the highlights in the defense of our goal through- out the season. Meanwhile, two minor sports were responsible for the bestowal of many more honors upon our school and class. First, the cross-country squad finished their season bearing the title of state champions, Captain Harry Heermans having won the annual road race. The soccer team, led hy Al Cash, was the best in many years. They, too, finished their schedule as state leaders. Fred Todd was elected chairman of the class picture committee. A tennis queen, Mary Stowell, emerged from our group of fair ones by win- ning the state interscholastic tennis title. The class of 1931 won the Sentinel panel 5 the Gleam editorial, art, and business competitions began, a fencing team was or- ganizedg class officers were nominated, and then-the Christmas season supplanted all activities. Back to school again! The first event of importance in the new year-our graduating year-was the election of class officers. As a result. Johnnie Dorsey was again president, and Alice Gunnip, Janice Burt, and Frank Carrigan were vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, respectively. Everyone's attention was drawn to basketball for these few months, at the culmination of which the team won the District Cup. With Joe Weiner, Fred Ritter, and joe Gold beseiging the enemy defense, our opponents stood little chance. At this time, the four senior committee chairmen were elected by the class. The results were, joe Weiner, class day chairmang Fletch Ferguson, class motto chairman, Bob Lee, class gift chairman 3 and Fred Ritter, promenade chairman. 25

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E Hrnphrrg nf tht 0112155 nf 1931 As I was deeply engrossed in a copy of Doctor Bernard Wolfe's Life of President Hoover , I was informed that a telegram, which had arrived for me. was being held at the desk. Doctor VVolfe, as the youngest man ever to sit in the presi- dent's chair at Columbia University, had been recognized by Doctor Luther Weigle, editor of the New York Times, as one of the foremost literary critics of the day. Doctor Wolfe's latest book was based upon a diary presented to him by Herbert Hoover, Jr., as a testimonial to the latter's friendship. I sent for the telegram, which, as I hoped, was from an old high school friend of mine, Captain M. Allen Pond, U. S. N., who had spent a number of years on submarines after graduating from Annapolis. The message was more than pleas- ing. Through the efforts of United States Senator Dorsey and Representative Alice Gunnip, the youngest lady ever granted a seat in either house, I had been ap- pointed Ambassador to France. I was to leave New York in the morningg hence I set out to bid farewell to some of 1ny friends. After making reservations with McGuire's Steamship Agency, I called on Douglass Yerxa, junior partner of the firm of Y erxa and Son, installers of tele- vision sets. This company had been so successful in the eight years since television had been proved a practical means of communication in 1934 that the profits had been counted in the millions. As Doug had no other engagements for the evening, we set out for a downtown theatre, where George Nichols and Sam Sachs had been playing to capacity crowds for over six months. Our surprises at the theatre were many. Old and young alike cursed to them- selves because Doug and I lingered at the ticket window for two minutes, renewing friendships with B. Bamford, who was manipulating the automatic change ma- chine. Once inside the theatre, we were politely requested to refrain from discussing aloud the merits of the flowing hair of the orchestra conductor, Sanford Green. After the performance, we obtained stage passes from the manager, none other than our old friend, Bud King, and we then traveled backstage to congratulate the actors. As we were discussing the plot of the play, which was one of Professor Kaufman's latest dramatic sensations, in walked Fred Ritter, ,Toe Weiner, Mush Dreisen, and Vin V etrone, all members of the New York Giants football team. Ritter announced that he had just returned from a trip to New Haven, where he had met many old friends. In order to be able to eat and talk without interrup- tion, Doug, Fred, and I set out for Jimmy Curran's famous dive . Yes, said Fred, after we had been seated, Nate Fitch finally graduated from Hillhouse last spring and is now preparing for Yale at a prep school in northern Connecticut. I understand that he finally graduated because Milt Erickson and Professor Guerrieri were tired of seeing him around. But, what about some of the girls ? I asked him, remembering his weakness. VV ell, he replied, do you remember Eunice Voos? She's annexed the name of Todd now and has been working in the interests of charity since her marriage. And Frances Farnham is secretary of the Y. VV. C. A., while Minnie Meadows is the physical director. . 27