Northampton High School - Nesaki Yearbook (Northampton, MA)

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History of the Class of I93O One sunny September morning in 1926, N. H. S. opened its portals to some one hundred and seventy green-looking freshmen. This was the day, the occasion that we had looked forward to all summer, some a little fear- ful, some painfully confident and others just plain curious. The first busy weeks were taken up in adapting ourselves to the atmosphere of high school, but we soon realized 1930 must organize and make itself the best class of all good Northampton classes. Our first step toward success was the selection of our officers: Jim Finn, presidentg Bud St. John, vice- presidentg Russell Bishop, secretary-treasurer, and Miss Litchfield, class advisor. After the excitement of realizing that we actually had class officers, we were ushered into the Freshman Reception and the enjoyment of our first school dance outshone all other events for weeks. ' That year, a few of the more daring fmost of us were far too much in awe of the upperclassmenj joined the ranks of the Glee Clubs, Dramatic and Debating Societies or shone in the athletic field. One of us had a leading part in the musical play and one was on the basketball team- specifically, Al Culley, as the basketball ace and Hank Organ as the admiral in All at Sea . When we returned in 1927, the class of '30 had changed a great deal- we'd lost some members, but we'd gained some, too-we were more daring, ignored the freshmen-we were sophisticated Sophomores, I can tell you. This year we entered immediately into the many activities of the school. Jack Young, Bud St. John, and James Finn brought glory to 1930 on the football field, but our class officers- Jim Finn, whose election was a forgone conclusion, Alice Scully and Bill Nelson also did their bit. Mr. Holway was elected advisor and his good judgment ever since has solved innumerable difficulties. Friday nights of that year were taken up in watching our basketball boys roll up their wins. Dot Dewhurst and George Bauver helped us cheer Joe Allen, Finn, Miles and Rutkowski on to victory. Al Culley was chosen all-star forward on the all-valley team, an honor which comes to few mere Sophomores. Our Sophomore dance was perhaps the high light of the whole year. It was a Leap Year one and the girls certainly grabbed their opportunity. The boys got quite a kick out of being rushed by admirers. The Maid and the Middy gave 1930 another chance to show its talent and Hank Organ and Evelyn Short did themselves proud. By this time Hank was recognized as a second John Barrymore as far as 1930 was concerned, and it was conclusively proved when he and Bob McKeon took part in Merton of The Movies . This year we also had the distinction of putting Francis Meehan into the position of president of the Debating Society, one usually occupied by Seniors only. In the Spring when Coach Wright called for baseball candidates, 1930 offered Young, Wydra, and Rutkowski as first-class score-makers. Before we knew it, two years of our high school course had slipped

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by, but we entered our Junior year looking ahead only to the future. By this time Jim Finn had become president by common consent, Jack Young was made vice-president, Stuart Campbell, secretary, and Jeanette Sears, treasurer. Dorothy Dewhurst again acted as our cheer leader and we had just as many good men in athletics as the class of '29. We had St. John in football, Miles, Allen, Wydra, Finn, Rutkowski, Janis and Powlowski in basketball and Miles, Rutkowski and Young in baseball. Riding Down the Sky, Mr. Short's successful musical play, starred Hank Organ and Evelyn Short- Hank certainly knew his Spanish accent. We also saw our orchestra there with a good percentage of jolly troubadours from 1930. The Debating Society was unusually active that year, electing Alex Singleton treasurer and holding an inter-society debate in which Dick Price and Francis Meehan assumed for the evening the roles of interested agitators on the negative of the question-Resolved: That the U. S. should cancel the European war debts. Our Juniors won unanimously. Alice Wheeler, as leading lady, Hank Organ and Mary A. Mathew- son helped make The Youngest , produced by the Dramatic Society, one of our best plays, and incidentally showed the wealth of dramatic material in the class of 1930. Our Junior dance was a great success because of the work of our class advisor. This was followed by our annual concert The Creation , the first 1930 had actually participated in, and therefore it made us feel decidedly important and grown up. Our basketball team, champions of the valley, competed in the Pennsylvania Tourney, escorted by a voluntary delegation of students and the Washington trip was first made a school affair, when Harold Goodwin and his packed Buick helped a crowd of Seniors have a good time at the nation's capital. Francis Meehan was made editor-in-chief of the Review for the com- ing year, and Francis Hadley headed the Literary Department. Besides being literary Francis Hadley and Mona Gilligan showed our artistic ability by their clever drawings for the 1929 class book. Holding the arches on Class Day ended our Junior Year, and return- ing in the fall we found we were mighty Seniors, monarchs of all sur- veyed . 0f course, there was no doubt as to who would be president- Jim Finn-then Alex Singleton was given the job of secretary, Stuart Campbell, treasurer and Bud St. John, vice-president. We also found we had many more Pro Meritos than any previous class. The society organized and elected oflicers early in the year. With Miss Brewster as chaperone, they attended the state convention at Agawam in the fall and in May attended a second meeting in Shelburne Falls. With Bruce, Semeli, Capt. St. John and Miles, 1930 had a football team that showed real Northampton spirit and fight. But perhaps this was even better shown in the strenuous work of the Debating Society this season, with Dick Price as president and Stuart MacDonald as secretary. Its crowning glory was the debate with West- field on the Philippine question, when Northampton won by a two-to-one vote. . J 1930 elected the class book editor early this year in order to assure us of a book worthy of the class. Russell Bishop was chosen editor-in-