Nichols High School - Comet Yearbook (Nichols, NY)

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It was June,l958, and I was working in the Singapore Office of the American Airline, Inc. Up to that time I had put little faith in fortune tellers but this one was different. Besides the police had run her out of town five times already so that I concluded that she must be good to be doing such a brisk business. So taking my house boy's advice I took off for the International Hotel where this particular sorceress plied her sinister art. There in a dim corner I found her tent next to the Ladies' Room. The small and worn canvas structure had a familiar sag in its roof and I unconsciously tried to recall where I had seen it before. Then glancing furtively about I planned to slip into the tent unde- tected. I pushed aside the flimsy netting which covered the entrance and then I stopped dead. The small sign above the door read 'Mme. Junia.' From within a husky voice purred to me in a strange, foreign accent. 'Won' you come een,Senor? Zee future, eet eez yours for only twenty-five rupees.' Getting a firmer grip upon myself I pushed aside the gauze and squatted up- on the tiny stool provided for that purpose. The interior was dimly lighted and I could not penetrate the lady's veil. I felt certain that it was she but Icould mtbeswe I began by hinting outrageously but she never once dropped her odd accent. When I began mentioning things like Nichols High School or the Green Hornet, she quickly distracted me with somefnartlkg revelation about my long ago friends and people with whom I was graduated. '-- yes, you have many friends,'she continued,peering into my hand.' 'You have friend. Mabel BeaI1.I10'? I nodded. Here, thees tiny line, she said, eet say Mhbel Bean new chief telephone operator, Little Meadows, Pennsylvania.' 'Say, you know, your face is awfully familiar,' I interrupted. She ignored the query. '-- yes, thees tiny bump tell us another your friends have great, success. Mary Lu Brown, your friend, no?' I grunted an agreement. 'When you see thees Mary Lu,tell her next year she win Nobel Prize for re- search. She make new plastic. New plastic will revolutionize revolutions. She call new plastic 'Stynklon'. I spoke up bravely. 'But--but--but-- .' 'Pleasel Don' speak. You spoil magic.' She pointed to some marks in my hand. 'Here, thees little dirt line. Say David Clark owns dude ranch Southern Califor- nia. Two white spots on finger nail say he often has two steady visitors, two actresses. Thees one spot eez Pegett Johnson who Jus' finish picture called The Perfect Marria e weeth co-star Dex Reming. Zee other actress eez Maria Francesca Qu ckell who us' sign contract weeth Metropolitan Opera Company. 'How much do you charge to answer questions about yourself?' I asked. She did not seem to hear me. 'Thees two scratches,' she continued, 'say two your friends have business ur gether. Yes, Bob Jones and Gordon Kelley. Jones R Kelley Insurance Company: Fire, Theft, Crash, Collision, and Tornado Insurance. For the next forecasting she took my other hand. Suddenly she let out a squeal. 'Look. Here, thees streak, here. Your good friend, Mary Mbore,she is now chief hostess on Moon Rocket liner, The Sizzzzzzzz.' Then she fingered the rough callouses on my hand and said, 'One friend, she now doing much handshak- ing. Friend is Madam Eileen Alger, Senator from New York State in Washington. The fortune teller then studied my finger tips. 'You remember Evelyn Hauer, yes? Haner woman now famous authoritv on beauty and coiffeur. She now gives famous finger-nailtest to fashionable people..and thees small dots, they say zat your friend Alden Park selling eggs and chickens. He no should kick. Eggs now 98a dozen.' When she inspected the cutiele on the forefinger she discovered a small hang-nail. 'Hm--. Your friend Barbara Twigg now run super-market on Route 11 jus' out of Owego. Phone 6 F 121. She then brought out her chart on phrenology and began to feel of the few lumps on my head. One particular lump seemed to fascinate her. 'Best you go see your friend, Kay Bixby for this. She now chief brain surgeon at the Johns Hopkins Hosp1tal.' The fortune teller was about to shut up like a clam but I had her this an time. 'You forgot to give me the dope on Phyllis Bennett,' I said gloatingly' 'Ah, no no no!' she said. 'Madam Junia, she never forget!' Inspecting the bend in my fingers she said,'Phyll1s, she new bareback ride with Dingle E Dangle Brothers Circus. Now she ride high.' The lady had now run out o personalities with hich she could stall and without further ado I asked her point blank whether she had worked at a Mhrdi Gras at Nichols. 'Zee fee for that question is seventy-five rupees. Please cross my palm with the money.' I dug into my pockets. There were only 50 rupees there. 12

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SEHIUH HISTUHU There have been six great events in the history of the world. The first was the appearance of Adam and Eve. The second was the rise of King Tut. The third was the death of Julius Caesar. The fourth was the discovery of America by Columbus. The fifth was the reign of the WSultan of Swat'. And the sixth was the entrance of the Class of l9b7 into Nichols High School. Of these the first five are of minor importance. Adam and Eve, I believe, are now dead. King Tut is in a museum. Caesar has been eclipsed by Hitler. Columbus has moved to Ohio. And the nSultan of Swat' has kicked over the traces for the last time. The Class of l9h7, however, is still making history. One bright day in Septenber, in the year of l9h3, a merry band of nineteen green 'Fresh' filed into the study hall, scared but undaunted. What instruments of tor- ture might be awaiting us we did not know, we suspected and expected 6VerYthin8- In spite of our verdant hue, we PPOSPGPGG during our freshman year under the guidance of Mr. Chapman. Little by little our greenness wore off and our true intelligent nature began to reveal itself a bit. Two new members Joined our class at this time, Mary Moore and Phyllis Bennett. We returned in the fall of l9hL with the rank of Sophomore and Mr. Chapman again as our advisor. During the second year the combined efforts of our superiors, the Juniors and seniors, and the faculty kept us properly squelched and nothing very eventful happened. CPeggy Johnson and Mabel Bean were borrowed by the upper classmpn for the play, Sparkin'. We lost two members, Kenneth Nye and Jim Culver but gained Barbara Twigg and Dav d Clark from Rome, Pennsylvania. - With the dawning of the Junior year, we organized under the wise and capable leadership of Mrs. Ethel Ellis. We now settled down to some hard work and less fun. We tried thinking of ways to raise money for our senior rings, and finally did this by having weekly luncheons which proved to be very successful. Within three months we had enough money to pay for our rings. In December we had the hdnor of putting on the Junior Prom, which was a gala affair, Cady Hall being decorated with evergreen and holly in tune with the Christmas season. This spring which was the last lap of our school days was a mad rush. Along with weekly luncheons, we also sponsored a rum age sale, a donkey basketball game, a card party, and a senior play, Don't.Darken gy Dqgg. None, however, proved quite as prof- itable as the Mardi Gras, our very first money-making enterprise early last fall. We lost six members of the class last year.The armed forces of the United States acquired Casper Waterman, Peter Koski, and Rodney Barlow. Of these, Casper Waterman and Rodney Barlow returned to school for a short visit after they were discharged. Barbara Steed deserted us for the bright lights of Elmira and Angeline Kumpon left to dwell in Owego. Juanita Rogers Ksilly girll got married. The fact that our number was the questionable 13 never really bothered us very much but just to be on the safe side we persuaded Bob Jones, fresh out of the U. S. Navy and Gordon Kelley, a transfer from Holdane Central School, to Join our highly exclusive ranks. --- and so in June, l9h7, fifteen stalwart seniors were graduated from Nichols High School. It is a rough, wide world into which they stepped. Let us turn the page and see what the world has done to them. -mabel bean- -peggy Johnson- 11

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CLHSS UF 1948 First Row: Richard Corbin, Alden Tribe, David Preshur, Emory Ball, Dexter Chaffee, Second Row: Corinne Bowen, Arlene Thetga, Priscilla Goodwin, Betty Bailey, Nancy Riegel, Franc Bixby, Mildred Cheely, Phyllis Merrill, Betty Boyle. Absent: Beverly Ostrander and Rita Barlow As we are about to advance to a higher rung on the ladder of education, we pause to look back on the happy memories that we, the Junior Class, shared. The highlight of the year was the Junior Prom. Under the able leadership of our advisor, Miss Miller, and with the cooperation of the entire class, the Prom was a great success. The class undertook several money-making projects to give us a worthwhile treasury balance. Among the projects were: tag day, a card party, the selling of personalized stationery, several scrap paper drives, and the class participation in the Curtis mage ezine selling campaign held in the school. Along with the work, we have enjoyed several parties. At Christmas time we held a sledding party at Mildred Cheely's. Later we held another evening party at the home of Betty Bailey. In May we were asked to put on an assembly program. with the help of everyone k1 the class and Miss Miller we successfully presented NFol1ies of l9h7N. During the year we discovered that we had two celebrities in our class: Arlene Thetga, who played a piano solo over the radio program, WTalent for TomorrowN,and Dexter Chaffee, who won a prize, singing WSiou1 City Suen at an amateur show. Putting all these memories together they spell a wonderful junior year and we are anticipating an even better year as we become seniors. -nancy riegel- 13