Northfield High School - Rambler Yearbook (Northfield, VT)

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THE RAMBLER haunts the house, and whenever he is near, they can smell him, for he has a horrid scorch- ing odorg and the lights go out as he passes them. You can imagine their state of mind when this happens and Clemuel, the undertaker, is strangled and then dragged out by the half-Witted son of the housekeeper. The next frightful experience is the entrance of the maniac, Gerda, and her near-murder of Carol. Gerda, also, it killed by the unseen murderer. Rex appears on the spot now and succeeds in discovering a secret panel from which topples the corpse of the undertaker. After Dicky Bird and Sid almost got shot by a gangster, the play comes to an end when the hoax Carol and Rex and Dicky Bird are acting for the benefit of Eunice, Sid and Ione breaks up. Gerda, Clem, Minerva and Benjy are found to be peaceful oc- cupants of this house, only playing along with Carol and Rex in trying to cure Carol's family of their eccentricities. Incidentally, Sid and Ione were entirely cured. But Aunt Eunice - perhaps? ! This play, Spooks and Spasms, was presented by the Class of '50 under the skillful direction of Miss Wellington, with Millard Stranahan as stage manager and Jeff Rumney as electrician. Marie Berno and Francis Palmer were prompters. It was given on November 4, 1949, at Norwich Armory and proved to be a highly successful and memorable event. Farmer's Ball On Thursday, November 10, 1949, the Senior Class gave the annual and long- awaited Farmer's Ball. With an extremely limited amount of time, the highly en- thused seniors Went to work decorating the stage with month-old newspaper and color- ful comic strips. The arbor, or rather, the Well named the Passion Pit, was done in a gala of black and orange crepe paper, and banked with shoddy cornstalks, pumpkins and summer squash. Constalks, long-barreled rifles, cob pipes and straw hats, plus gal- lons of sweet cider and a multitude of home-made doughnuts added to the attractive en- tertainment. The spirit of bygone days was there, thanks to Rogers' Rhythm Makers, who supplied hilarious as Well as energetic square dancing. Waltzes and round dancing added to the mardi gras of gaiety, and all agreed that the Farmer's Ball was its usual success.

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THE RAMBLER g Ne:- Front row fleft to rightj - Irene Hebert, Betty Hardaker, Pat Mazuzan. Sccmzd row - Millard Stranahan, Barbara Pregent, Mario Berno, Frances Palmer, Nina Perry. Third row - Alfred Ouel- lett, Dick Richardson, Gordon Merrit, Jeff Rumney, Bob Brassard. Senior Pfay Pretty Carol Colloway fPat Mazuzanb is in a desperate situation as head of a family of eccentrics! Sister Ione CBetty Hardakerb has gone ga-ga over psychiatry! Little brother Sid fRandall Bellj is crazy for shoot-'em-up gangster films and comic books! Aunt Eunice fHazel Greenslitj is an easy prey for phony mediums and occult- ists! And then Carol Colloway inherits an old haunted farmhouse, to which she moves her family immediately. How each member becomes cured of his phobia on one wild, stormy March evening, forms the plot of this hilarious farce. The haunting of a blood- spattered, head-bandaged ghost, the appearance of a ferocious gangster fRichard Rich- ardsonl and an escaped maniac flrene Hebertb, all delightfully chilled the spines of the spectatorsg while the hysterical antics of the jittery maid, Allie Katz fBarbara Pre- gentl, and the lisping Dicky Bird 1Richard Richardsonb, moved them to screams of laughter. Other characters included Minerva Hawkwood fNina Perryj, the mournful housekeeperg her daffydil nephew, the crippled Benjy fGordon Merritlg Rex Rosner fAlfred OuellettJ, a young plastic surgeongand Clemuel McClatchin fBob Brassardb, an eerie undertaker! The third act revealed that the blood-curdling happenings were not genuine, and the play had a surprise ending which sent the audience into gales of merriment. The play opened in the old haunted house late at night. Carol and her family are just arriving and Minerva is trying to make them feel at home in her own way. They soon turn to the subject of ghosts and she tells them of a man killed in this house many years ago. She says he was murdered with a red-hot poker by his half-crazy wife, who is now in the insane asylum on the other side of the hill. His eye, which the wife put out during one of her spells, is preserved in a jar on the mantle. This man Hugo now

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THE RAMBLER History - - - fContinued from page 18.1 assistant editor, and an organized group of workers to help in keeping the reputation of the good work started by Mrs. Rowe and the Class of '48. We weren't too proud of our first issue, but each one was improved a little more and we soon felt justified for all the time and effort spent on the Rambles Once again we welcomed a new principal, Mr. Lloyd Crane, who was of never- ending value in guiding us through our last busy months before graduation. We also feel an everlasting gratitude to Mr. Pierce, our senior class adviser, who willingly gave us a greatshare of his endless store of knowledge and in every way possible prepared us for our future careers. Our class oflicers remained unchanged this year except for John Diego, who re- placed Pat Mazuzan as vice president, with Pat stepping into the job of secretary. Her predecessor, Randall Bell, was chosen for the difiicult and important task of social chair- man. One of our greatest successes of this last happy year was a superb presentation of the Senior Play, Spooks and Spasms, a mystery farce furnishing much laughter, horror and thrills, with the characters as follows: Randall Bell, Bob Brassard, Hazel Greenslit, Betty Hardaker, Irene Hebert, Pat Mazuzan, Gordon Merrit, Alfred Ouellett, Nina Perry, Barbara Pregent and Richard Richardson. Marie Berno and Frances Palmer acted as prompters, with Millard Stranahan as stage manager and J eff Rumney as elec- trician. A large audience attended and funds were added to our depleted class treasury. Another enterprise bestowed on Northfield by the senior class was the Farm- ers' Ball, which was a success socially, but not financially, for the only profit we re- ceived was happiness at adding to the good spirits of our classmates. This event took place on Friday, the thirteenth, and the hall was trimmed accordingly with black cats and funny papers adorning the walls. A couple of underclassmen had the task of guid- ing the unwilling couples into the arbor. For music we had the Rogers' Rhythm Mak- ers, who helped us in making the students happy and dancing smooth. Refreshments of doughnuts and cider were served. 1 The next excellent example of the ingenuity of the Class of '50 was the Scaven- ger Hunt, which proved another source of income for our class funds. We chose Pat Mazuzan as editor-in-chief of the Rambler and Randall Bell as assistant editor, with a hard working group of associate editors and other staff mem- bers backing them. Our yearbook, the Rambler, is the last project of the Senior Class When we graduate this June, we will do so with the realization that we have spent a happy four years at Northfield High School acquiring knowledge and gaining many friends - assets which will always be with us.