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

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THE GOBBLER - 1943 working on farms. Over half of the pupils are employed in some work after school. To aid the farmers in planting, caring for, and harvesting crops, about thirty pupils have volunteered to do their best as farmers and farmerettes. The school has acted as a go-between for employers and employees. Emphasis has been put on domestic arts, mathematics, and the sciences. Every morning the chemistry class tested the drinking water and sent a report to the head of the Water Department. There have been additions to the curric¬ ulum: pre-flight training, and physical education. Current events play an im¬ portant part in our wartime program. In our current events papers authori¬ tative accounts of events at home and abroad are written in such a manner that they are easily understood. Space is given to discussing at length post¬ war problems. Another valuable paper provided for the pupils of the school is Current Aviation. This is to acquaint the students with the principles of aviation. The importance of aviation now and in the post-war world has been recognized. Now is the time for the people to learn about aerodynamics, and meteorology, so that they will not be in complete ignorance when aviation is introduced into the world on a large scale. How better could I conclude this than to quote our President, Franklin D. Roosevelt? “When our enemies challenge our country to stand up and fight, they challenge each and every one of us, and each and every one of us has accepted this challenge for himself and for the nation.” H. Pauline Dainowski VALEDICTORY Music, the Universal Language HE language of music is understood all over the world. It is the part of man’s J U nature by which he expresses thoughts he would be unable to express through words, gestures, writing, or the arts. “Music is infinite;” said Balzac, “it contains all, it is able to express all.” The Chinese claim that music began in their country 3000 B.C. The first music was probably vocal, and then the natural desire for rhythm led to the making of instruments of wood, stone, metal, skin, or clay to keep time. Carv¬ ings on monuments of Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Persia, and among the Hebrews show a remarkable resemblance between the first musical instruments and the modern families of the violin, guitar, harp, and drum. During the first thousand years after the birth of Christ, the leading musical work of the world was done under the shadow of the Church. During the story-book life of the twelfth century, when chivalry was at its height, trouba¬ dours wandered from place to place singing the praises of some fair lady or the deeds of some famous hero. The melodies of the troubadours may have formed the basis for the folk-songs of the French people of today. We see that, from the very first breath of life, the need of music is mani¬ fested, for the cradle-songs of a mother lull the baby to sleep. In a few months the baby amuses himself with a little rattle, bells, or other musical toys. In 22

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL CLASS ESSAY Johnson at War 771 UR boys are fighting and dying in the marshes of Guadalcanal, the fox holes of Africa, and on the ships in the Atlantic and Pacific. They are fighting y that our nation and other democratic nations in this world may live without fear of enemy aggression. They are fighting that the people of these United States may not feel the whip of the Gestapo and the bayonets of the Japs. We, too, on the home front, have our battle to win, the battle of production. It is taking the combined efforts of every man, woman, and child to keep guns, ammunition, and food in the hands of our defenders. Through the Victory Corps we in Johnson High School have a part in the war effort. The two objectives of this wartime program are: to train youth for wartime service that will come after they leave school, and to provide active participation of youth in the community’s war effort while they are yet in school. It is intended as a nation-wide student organization for secondary schools. It is democratic and voluntary in nature. All are invited to work together for a common purpose—Victory. There are five divisions in this Victory Corps: The Air Service Division, the Land Service Division, the Sea Service Division, the Production Division, and the Community Service Division. To fulfill the requirements in these special divisions, many pupils are taking correspondence courses, and are per¬ forming other wartime activities. Among us we have model plane builders, forest fire wardens, defense messengers, airplane spotters, and block leaders. Some of us work at the report center, and attend surgical dressing and first-aid classes. Others are learning automotive repair work. Correspondence courses have been available in foods and nutrition, radio, and automobile upkeep and repair. Many are doing sales work or caring for children of working mothers. During the six weeks after this organization was begun, sixteen hundred hours, or two hundred eight-hour days were put into various wartime jobs. Eighteen hundred hours were spent, exclusive of physical education, in such activities, and in training for various projects such as blue-print reading and messenger work. That is what Johnson has done for the war effort. The students of our school have participated in three salvage drives: a steel salvage drive, and two tin collections. Five hundred pounds of scrap iron and steel per pupil were collected in one day. The average tin collection was thirty-five pounds per pupil. From the weekly sale of war savings stamps from December 1 to May 1, $3,200 were collected. The students are very proud to say that they have bought a jeep for our boys. They take great pride in having been able to lend their money to provide guns, ammunition, and grenades for those who are giving their lives in order to keep the enemies from our shores. To relieve the manpower shortage in local industries many have taken part- time jobs working in stores or taking care of children of working mothers, or 21

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL thousands of public schools, music is practiced with imagination and enjoy¬ ment. In millions of youngsters this education is awakening a love of music which might otherwise lie dormant. It is giving every child a joyous experi¬ ence of making music. Real art, which might have lain buried in the commu¬ nity, frequently is brought to life. Musical activities in England have expanded 30% since 1939. When the blackouts came, thousands of families found a priceless blessing in music. It calmed the fears of frightened children, averted panics, and helped the homes meet the frenzy of awful uncertainty. Obliged to remain at home, the people soon rediscovered the greater delights and privileges of the fireside. The bookstores and music shops were literally emptied. Gathering around the piano and taking an active part in making music, children helped to stabilize the amazing morale of the Empire. Music-making helps us to face life and to make proper adjustments in a constantly changing world. It releases tensions of discord, worry, fear, excite¬ ment, and replaces them with harmony, self-confidence, stability, and poise. It establishes a sense of security in a world that seems to be falling to pieces. It is not necessary to become a professional in order to experience the enjoy¬ ment of music. Since I was eight, my pet hobby has been playing the piano. I have studied it through the years, but only for the sheer fun of it. It is my greatest joy, my absorbing interest. It is my personal spiritual bank account —a rich asset to draw on when the days are rainy. There is evidence that the Americas have been united partially by the ambassadors of good will through song. A nationally-known orchestra leader is given a great deal of credit for creating a feeling of friendliness toward the Latin Americas through his music. He has made modern youth “conga¬ conscious” of the catchy, syncopated South American dance. It is doubtful whether the music from such countries as China and India make us want to dance, but it certainly makes us perk up our ears to listen. We hear the mad, whirling tarantella of Italy and think of the spritely spirit of her people. And nothing could be a better reminder of the patient determination of the Russians than the Volga boatman’s “Vo, heave, ho.” Nearly every European country has contributed immeasurably to the musical world through its classical compositions. The Austrians especially were generous with the eternal works of Mozart, Haydn, von Weber, and Schubert. Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Russia have been no less fortunate in reaping the rewards of fame of their own respective prodigies. We want to avoid the intolerance which predominates in a great part of Europe. At one time, for insignificant political reasons, Rachmaninoff’s music was barred from his native country. In present-day Germany, Russian and Jewish compositions are heard or played only under strict penalty. Music is one of the ideals for which free men the world over are giving their lives. There has been a needless hue and cry in all parts of America about the lack of musical activity in this war compared with the first world war. They say we have no “Over There,” or “Tipperary,” or “There’s a Long, Long 23