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

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL For a summer he was appointed music master to the family of Count Johann Esterhazy. Members of this family had been patrons of Hayden and other great composers, but they were not destined to help Franz Schubert. One account says that Schubert, shy, awkward, and unu sed to society life, was ill at ease in the presence of so much grandeur. At any rate, he soon re¬ turned to Vienna and his friends. It was chiefly timidity that prevented Schubert from becoming a friend of the great Beethoven. When he heard that the great moster was dying, Schubert got up courage to visit him. Then, glancing over a few of Schubert’s compositions, Beethoven exclaimed, “He has at least a spark of the divine fire!” When he died shortly afterwards, Schubert was one of the torch-bearers in the funeral procession. When it was over he and two of his friends went to a tavern to drink to Beethoven’s memory. There Schubert proposed this toast: “To the next great composer who is to die.” Less than two years later, at the age of thirty-one, this shy young man had passed from the stage of life, leaving only the outward expression of his gift of melody. In the record of his life we are impressed not only by his unique power to record his inspired songs, but also by his devotion to his work. He achieved fame in doing that which he loved best and which he could not live without. Mr. Hayes: You have piloted us through four years at Johnson High School. You have been our counselor, adviser, and friend. May you remem¬ ber this class of nineteen hundred and thirty-nine as often as we shall re¬ member you. Teachers: You have worked and toiled with us. It is your faithful work with us in the class rooms that has endeared you to us. It would be im¬ possible for us to express adequately our appreciation of your patience and forebearance. Parents and Friends, Not only for these past four years, but for many years before you have aided us in our troubles and helped us solve our prob¬ lems. We shall never forget your kindness. Schoolmates: To you we leave the future of Johnson High. It is your part to keep up the traditions and spirit of this school. May you have success in your task. Classmates: For four years we have been together. Tonight we must part, each to take a different road in life. Yet the memory of these years of work and play will inspire us to reach our goals. Good by, and good luck! VIRGINIA CARVELL 22

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1 9 3 9 YEAR BOOK compositions for a circle of admiring comrades. They were proud of his musical talent and provided him with music paper, since they knew that he had little spending money. At this time he was active both in the school orchestra, and, on Sundays and holidays, in a quartet at home. After supper his father and his two elder brothers would go into the living room and tune up their instruments while Franz hunted in his music case for a new composition he had written for them. After five years in the choir his voice changed and he had to leave the music school. To avoid military conscription he taught in his father’s school. He disliked teaching the restless little boys, and did it very poorly, but the posi¬ tion was not without its compensations, as he formed many new friendships during this period. One of them was with the poet Mayerhofer, many of whose poems Franz set to music. His naturally sunny disposition contrasted strangely with the extreme melancholy of the poet, yet they became firm friends. Another compensation was his composing. During these years of drudgery in the parish school Schubert wrote an incredible amount of music. One of his compositions, the Mass in F, was performed at the centenary of the parish church, and he himself conducted the orchestra. His father was so pleased at this that he gave him a new piano. Also in this period he wrote one of his best-known compositions, the setting of Goethe’s poem “The Erl-King.” After he had read the poem the story of the weird ride took possession of him, and he composed his setting on the same day. His friend Spann appeared in time to see him writing furiously at his desk, dashing to the piano to play the notes, then dashing back to his desk to write more. Oddly enough, Goethe never liked this setting for his poem, nor did he approve Schubert’s settings for any of his other poems. He prob¬ ably regarded him as an obscure composer who sought to rise to fame on his reputation. It was shortly after this that Von Schober, a well-to-do young law student, heard some of Schubert’s music at the house of a friend. “He cannot be al¬ lowed to waste his life in teaching school!” he cried. Schubert had just made an unsuccessful application for the post of choirmaster in a neighboring town and had been feeling particularly miserable about his failure. Von Schober invited him to join him in his lodgings, an offer which he readily accepted. Thus he was finally rescued from school life. For a while he tried to support himself by giving music lessons, but this was just as unbearable as school teaching, so he abandoned it for composing. It was at this time that he said, “I write all day, and when I have finished one piece I begin another.” He was the only composer who ever successfully employed such a method of work, but his gift of song would not be stilled, even to the extent of revising music once he had written it. Although Schubert’s music was beginning to be performed by several fam¬ ous artists, little of it was published, and he had practically nothing on which to exist. He and his friends shared food, lodgings, and everything else they could get. At one time Schubert, who always wore glasses, could not find his wooden glasses case for several days. Finally he noticed that his friend Schwind had filled the case with tobacco, bored a hole in it, inserted a stem, and was using it for a pipe. This was in one of their less affluent times. When one of them happened to come into unexpected wealth, they all lived in luxury for a few days. 21

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1 9 3 9 YEAR BO O K CLASS HISTORY HE year that the never-to-be-forgotten class of ’39 invaded this institu¬ tion for the first time was a year characterized by still another invasion. This occurred within the confines of the very faculty itself, for that memorable year saw the annexation of no less than four new teachers, as well as the potential alumni which we, the Class of ’39, now represent. Having acquired a vague knowledge of the whereabouts of the various classrooms, the class called itself into secret session and undertook to elect certain ones of its members to the various offices attending so fine an organ¬ ization. The presidential campaign was won by Robert Ayer, and upon his shoulders fell the burden of guiding us through a turbulent year. Politics went still farther with the election of other worthy members of the class to that governing body known as the Student Council. Being in the minority, however, we cannot take too much of the credit for the efficient administration which followed. Social life began with a party tendered us by the seniors. In preparation, we felt obliged to practice diligently for many weeks the Terpsichorean art. We know that the seniors were not disappointed. Custom demanded a return party and, having little desire to break the pre¬ cedent, we spared no energy in making the said event an outstanding success. With the gradual passage of time it became apparent that our scholastic achievements were of sufficiently high quality to win us a promotion into the home rooms inhabited by the sophomores. Our president having previously decided to resign from public life, we cast ballots and elected one Charles Foster to the presidential office for our soph¬ omore year. Foster’s administration was entirely free from political insur¬ rection, but during his reign there occurred a most startling revolution of an¬ other kind; a revolution that originated in the plane geometry class and threatened to spread to all other branches of the mystical science of mathe¬ matics. It happened that an aspiring mathematician who is currently occupied in writing a will, made the astounding discovery that a triangle is no longer blessed with its traditional three sides, but due to unstable economic condi¬ tions or some other interesting reason, has been reduced in value to two sides and a bottom. Many of us recovered from the shock of hearing this in time to attend the Sophomore-Junior Dance, which was held many weeks there¬ after. The rest of us are still somewhat dazed. The remainder of the year passed with most of us aspiring- to the highly exalted rank of “junior,” and most of us realizing our aspirations. The following September, therefore, confronted us once more with the problem of electing a president and other useful officers to guide us through the year set aside for the purchase of class rings. When the result of the ballot counting was made known, we found ourselves under the guiding hand of one Thomas Pendlebury. The more dignified title of “junior” which we now wore qualified us to increase our quota of members in the Student Coun¬ cil, and we at last found our own representatives in the majority and largely responsible for the administration, which continued to show great efficiency and ability. 23