North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL making burning possible. When oxygen was discovered by Priestly this erroneous idea of the alchemists was destroyed. Priestley was followed by other scientists who established the chemical principles of today. One of these was Dalton whose idea of the chemical atom led directly to our present conception of it. Then followed Avogardro who corrected much of Dalton’s work and introduced several new principles of his own. Then came Wohler with his creation of an organic substance from in¬ organic substances, a task heretofore believed impossible. In the latter half of the nineteenth century came the all important periodic table of the chemical elements arranged by Mendeleeff which has led to the discovery of many new elements and to the knowledge that only a finite number of these elements, about ninety in fact, can exist on earth. As the accumulated knowledge of the chemists increased they were able to determine structural arrangements of atoms and also space arrangements. After the structures of the atoms were discovered the problem of synthesizing new molecules was greatly simplified. Knowledge of structural chemistry has opened new fields to the biochemists and has produced new reasons for hoping that sometime the processes of life will be understood with completeness. If the day ever comes when proto¬ plasm, the life substance in living form, can be produced from nonliving sub¬ stances in the chemical laboratory, the organic chemist will have been re¬ sponsible for the accumulation of knowledge making this discovery possible. The age of theory had reached its peak when Andrew Carnegie applied chemical processes to his steel industry. At first many of his competitors laughed but shortly they were forced to adopt similar measures or lose their business- There is a vast difference between the earlier days and the pres¬ ent, when every large industry has its own well stocked laboratory and ex¬ perienced research staff. Steel, gasoline, dyes, illuminating gas, bakelite and most of the other products used in this industrial age are produced under the skillful guidance of the chemist. The desirability of controlling industrial operations in a scientific manner has finally been recognized to so great an extent that even the government is spending vast sums of money on experi¬ mental research. For instance, our own department of agriculture is contin¬ ually assisting the people of this country by the publication of its researches relating to soil chemistry, fertilizers and the utilization of farm wastes. Often entire industries have been founded as a result of chemical discover¬ ies. Examples of this are the Aluminum Company of ' America and industries producing nitrates, helium, and rayon. Gradually this period of utilitarianism is giving way to another period of theorism or pure science- All sciences are being drawn together. The phys¬ icists recently presented a new theory of the atom and the chemist is now able to go forward with a new study of the processes of chemical combination. The physical chemist is comparatively new but is not out of place among biochemists and biophysicists. ' The application of physical methods to the problems of chemistry, has proceeded so far that it has become somewhat difficult to classify a man as either a chemist or a physicist. Thus we see that throughout the history of the science of chemistry there has been a gradual swinging between theorism and practicalism. The alchemists with their practical searches gave way to the search for fundamentals of the time of Dalton and Wohler. This in time gave way to the utilitarianism character¬ ized by Andrew Carnegie. Now there is a very definite turn back to the discovery of fundamental prfii- 24

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1937 YEAR BOOK The full value and extent of his work can never be truly estimated. Due to him all classes have been given the opportunity to acquire an education- Be¬ cause of his work the whole school system has become enlarged. Under this is included the establishment of health and hygiene in schools, an enlarged curriculum and a closer relationship between teacher and pupil. Another major result of his career was the establishment of the normal schools. The result of these schools is now felt tremendously throughout the educational world. Due to them teaching has been elevated to a higher level and the finer points in the school curriculum have been advanced. Mann’s service to the country is on a level with that of Washington and Lincoln. Washington, with the Declaration of Independence brought polit¬ ical freedom; Lincoln and the Civil War brought physical freedom; and Mann, in his fight for education brought intellectual freedom without which the other two types cannot long be retained- His was a life dedicated to a cause; his a life consecrated to a purpose. In our graduation we see the fulfillment of his American dream. We can under¬ stand this whole hearted devotion to an ideal so ably expressed in his last words given to his class at Antioch:— “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” CAROLINE BARKER VALEDICTORY Trends of Chemistry HE first sciences arose to fill utilitarian needs. Every science started with a few practical and useful discoveries. The earliest forms of chemistry were actually only aids to primitive medicine. Many animals seem to know what to eat in order to relieve certain illnesses- Prob¬ ably primitive man also possessed this same sort of knowledge. The first real chemistry was the preparation of herbs for medicinal pur¬ poses. Practitioners of this art were called alchemists. The field of the al¬ chemists gradually widened in scope to include such searches as that for the elixir of life, the universal cure of human ills and the secret of changing the baser metals to gold. Until this time it was believed that all matter was conn posed of four elemental substances: earth, air, fire, and water. Each of these elements had its characteristic attributes derived from four fundamental qual¬ ities : hotness, coldness, wetness, and dryness. Alchemists believed that by altering the proportions of these qualities they could form new elements. It is a well know fact that these alchemists failed due to faulty choice of ele¬ mental substances. However, unscientific as alchemy was, it was the fore¬ runner of modern chemistry- Toward the end of this period of alchemistry pure science crept in. This is the search after truth rather than merely the search to fulfill utilitarian needs. The awakening of the new science of chemistry occurred at about the same time as the awakening of astronomy and physics under Galileo. A character¬ istic part of this change is the publication by Boyle of what is known as Boyle’s Law relating to the expansion of gases. Up to this time alchemists had believed in a substance which they called phlogiston. This was what they thought escaped when something burned, 23

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1937 YEAR BOOK ciples- Future scientists may again revert to the practical policies of a few years ago and cause a period of industrial expansion greater than we ever have experienced. Parents and Friends: We the class of 1937 extend to you our heartfelt thanks for your moral support and your many kindnesses throughout the past four years. We sincerely desire to show you our gratitude for your assistance by working hard to attain the goals we have set for ourselves. Dear Principal and Teachers: Our gratitude for your sincere cooperation and assistance in all that we have attempted, as well as your friendship and understanding will be everlasting. Schoolmates: You will return another year to continue the work you have started. To you will fall the duty of maintaining the high standards of our school. We shall always remember the many happy hours spent with you and we extend to you our sincere wishes for success in all that you may un¬ dertake- Classmates: This may be our last meeting as a group but the memory of the past four years together will grow more brilliant as the years slip by During this time we have made many friends and have come to respect and admire each other. We will all proceed into different walks of life but there is not one single member of this class who will not pause in years to come and think of the many happy days spent among his friends here at Johnson. The class of 1937 bids you all good-bye. MASON DOWNING CLASS HISTORY X T was a warm September day in 1933 and outside of Johnson Fligh n School stood many excited, nervously chattering boys and girls, waiting for the bell which would mean that a new life had started for them. The bell rang, and thus the Class of 1937 began its career. The first few weeks were turbulent ones but at the end of that time we had learned most of the customs and rules of the school and had become acquaint¬ ed with the members of our own class. Many of the class reported for the various sports and several of them won their letters. Thus, with sports, elec¬ tions, the school exhibition, and, of course, studying, the weeks passed until a great day arrived: the day of the Senior-Freshman party! It was an enjoy¬ able evening for everyone and a memorable one for we freshmen. Our return party came in February and was a great success. Who said the freshmen couldn’t put it over? 25