North Coventry High School - Torch Yearbook (Pottstown, PA)

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Philadelphia . . One rainy day in the middle of November, 1952, the Seniors traveled by bus to Phila- delphia to tour the Franklin Institute. Upon arriving we went directly to the au- ditorium where we were amazed at the experi- ments performed by a clever Italian chemist. We were bewildered as we examined the room of optical illusions. Some of the weight- conscious girls got an uneasy feeling when they saw themselves in the convex-concave mirror, appearing as they would if they weighed approximately 250 pounds or more. After lunch the students were thrilled when everyone was permitted to operate the controls of a locomotive. While waiting to go to the Westinghouse show we met a former North Coventry faculty member, Mr. Paolantonio, who seemed happy to see us once more. At the show the students were informed about the fundamentals of color television and were much impressed by its possibilities. Last and perhaps the most enjoyable was the show in the planetarium, which is a large circular room having a dome shaped ceiling. As the universe was projected upon the ceil- ing, Professor Fisher lectured on the positions of the heavenly bodies of our universe. He gave the history of the telescope and told aboutlthe men associated with this instrument, who had contributed to the development of this graphic means of informing the public about the heavens. We sang, laughed, and joked on the home- ward bus trip and arrived in North Coventry with the feeling that we had spent a profitable and entertaining day. The seniors continued their travels in the City of Brotherly Love on December 10, with Mr. Grim, Mr. Copeland, and Mr. Brey as our chaperones. Our first stop was at Inde- pendence Hall, where our impatient guide lifted his hat and said Now, seniors, every time one of us started to talk. -- Eating lunch at the automat was a new and exciting experience for some of us, but we all enjoyed the delicious food that came out in response to the click of our money. Our next stopping place was Christ Church, where we saw the pew in which George and Martha Washington and Betsy Ross used to sit. Here also was the oldest baptismal font in America. All church furnishings were au- thentic pre-Revolutionary pieces, some were actually used in Christ Church in those early times. From Christ Church we walked through Elfreth Alley, the oldest and narrowest street in Philadelphia, to the Betsy Ross House, where many of us bought souvenirs. The Inquirer Building was the next point of interest. We were impressed by the beauti- ful executive offices and by the general air of quiet efficiency, as everywhere there were evi- dences of preparation for the busy time in the evening when the paper would go to press. Our more artistic pupils enjoyed the art room. We were all fascinated by the incoming news on the teletype. Our guide proudly showed us a new and expensive piece of machinery which prints roto-comics by a process that prints all colors at one time. We were left to do as we wished for about two hours, and so we took individual tours of john Wanamaker's-some shopping, others just looking. Some of our boys went to see Santa Claus, who was not very enthusiastic about such big children, and refused to let them sit on his knee to be photographed. We admired the beautiful decorations and enjoyed the carol singing, led by several girls in beau- tiful old-fashioned gowns. Our strenuous day made us hungry, but we remedied that matter by eating at Wanamaker's Lunch Counter. About 5:30 we came together at Philadel- phia's famous rendezvous, the 'fEagle , and started on our homeward journey, full of Christmas spirit and good cheer. We sang merrily all the way home, returning to Norco about seven-thirty.

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.lr. Class Play- The Little Dog Laughed On April 18, 1952, the junior Class of North Coventry High School presented a three-act comedy, The Little Dog Laughed , under the direction of Mr. John B. DeVincentis. As the curtain went up Laurie Huntington CAnna Reinsteinj had just arrived home from college to find her family all tied up in psychological knots. Sid Huntington tjohn Petrickl, her father, isn't his normal self, because Ted Wood tPaul Pentzb, his rival in the used-car business, is about to snatch a much coveted dealership, and Sid is touchy because he fears his loan from the bank won't go through. Martha CTeresa Browerj, Laurie's mother, is much too nervous about the tea to which she has invited a number of important ladies. Wally Huntington CWilliam Collinsl, Laurie's younger brother, is in the family doghouse because he insists on going steady with cute Joan Wood CPatricia Loughinb, Ted Wood's daughter. Laurie, confident that her college courses in psychology fully qualify her to straighten out her family's tangled lives, goes to work. Her interference completely finishes off Wal1y's romance with Joansie. The maid, convinced that she's a genius, is off to college! And then, at the tea, while Martha is out of the room, Laurie administers the Zombrow- ski Ink Blot Test and lays devastatingly bare the inner personalities of her mother's guests. That night, after Laurie has gone on a date with moody Mark Bradford CFred Kerlinj, the family decide to teach her a lesson, and when she returns from her date at one-thirty in the morning, they put on a show that Laurie will remember for a long time. Mark leaves and Laurie, humiliated beyond endur- ance, soon follows. Her family anxiously awaits her return. Meanwhile, Wally invites Ted Wood and his aggressive wife, Lillian, tBarbara Wellsj to the Huntington House. Before the meeting is finished, both Ted and Sid apply some psychology-as well as some other things-to each other! Happily, Sid ends up with a better understanding of his rival, as well as prospects of a new partner. The returning Laurie, realizing now that a little psychology is a dangerous thing, finds for- giveness and love from her family-and Mark! Wally and Joansie have re-discovered each other through a mutual crisisng and almost everyone has learned something new and helpful about himself.