Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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Heading High School Class of 1937 One of the most active organizations of the school this year has been the music department. Although the hand missed many of its last year ' s members who gradu¬ ated, nevertheless it completed a flashy football season with the team under the leadership of a grand drum major, Helen Connelly. The drum section was the best that we have ever had. During the Christmas season the school department purchased a few more instruments for the base baritone and horn sections. This spring a junior hand was organized at the Junior High School so as to insure a good hand in the High School during the coming seasons. I think we will all remember Don Blaisdell’s superb conducting at the games. Richard Austin and Austin Bennet kept perfect attendance throughout the whole hand season. The orchestra has rehearsed somewhat irregularly this year owing to the demands on Mr. Peck’s time. It has, however, furnished music for the various school activities such as assemblies, plays, and graduation. Last year the Girl’s Glee Club was organized for the first time since Mr. Peck has been w ith us. We open¬ ed with the Music in America Youth series of broadcasts taking part in one on October 25, 193b. when we broad¬ casted with the Medford High Boys ' band. Later in the fall we gave a concert at the Rotary Club. On February 12, 1937 we gave a concert in conjunction with the chorus at an assembly in our High School auditorium, while on May 18 we sang at the Home for Aged Women. Maytime seemed to be our busiest season with one festival following another. We broadcasted from the Hotel Touraine over Station WHDH May 11. We took part in the Slate f estival in Lowell on May 15, and on May 21 to 22 we attended the New England Festival in Gloucester. A grand success was the May Music Festival in Reading in which we did our part. We will always remember that riotous time we had at Hyannis, won’t we, girls? In March the Glee Club went to Hyannis to attend the music festival which lasted four days—easily the most important event of the musi¬ cal year. We have had a busy and successful year, thanks to M r. Peck who, although he could scold us in German, has been a grand leader to us all. Elizabeth Barstow ’38 GIRLS’ GLEE CLUB Prunt ro Priscilla Vlithtrxm. Thelma IGir . Yianua Gray. I, La.v| |{r!rr. KLite ! lAlklUaB. Aim Ni »», Juliet La« Millie tim Ruth Parry. Stratum, BrrdiA Mrusr. H el T Ekiabrth Rita Rile). ki!Lui. HHm KY V fou viar $iurr), Ma.rta.ici Betty Carter Khaal Marjurtc iU4hat», Mavi Bju+mt. Barbara Elaix Ke tef, lr Mill Bctt I«o

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Reading High School Class o F 19 3 7 grips us one and all, and prevents us from over-studying! Already the seniors are planning their all-important graduation activities, and sad to say, studies are some¬ what neglected. But the Juniors and Sophomores will carry on after us, and we sincerely wish them all kinds of success as they step up one rung in the ladder of Edu¬ cation. Barbara Gibson ’37 Hi-Y The Reading Hi-Y Club has just completed a suc¬ cessful season. During the year many varied and inter¬ esting programs were presented among which were a discussion by James Russell on school spirit; another discussion on the proposed Student Council; and a talk on “Safety” by Officer Quakers of the Andover State Po¬ lice Barracks, who is now the personal bodyguard of President Roosevelt. Raymond Thorn, who went on the 1936 Hi-Y Goodwill Tour, gave a lecture and showed pictures of his trip. Dr. “Swede” Oberlander, famous football star, illustrated his talk on football with pictures of the 1936 Purdue vs. Minnesota game. Mr. Sussmann accompanied his talk on New Orleans with pictures he took while travelling there. One of the club’s most successful Co-ed nights was held on April 6. Movies were shown and refreshments served. Later dancing was enjoyed in the library, which was attractively deco¬ rated. The most recent meeting was a resume of skiing in New Hampshire given by Mr. Gay. Harold Davis and Donald Blaisdell represented the club at the Massa- chusetts-Rhode Island Convention last December. The convention was held at Providence, Rhode Island. The club advisers are Clarence Gay, Newell Morton, and Mr. Pope. The officers Orville Poland John Sawyer Robert Gray John Colley of next year’s club are: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer ' - Robert Gray, Secretary SOPHOMORE DOINGS Except for our well-attended Coronation Dance the activities of the Sophomore Class (as a class) were practically nil. Nevertheless we were fortunate in being under the capable leadership of Ruth Pollitz as presi¬ dent; Dorothy Parker, vice president; Marjorie Crosby, treasurer; and Polly Stembridge, secretary. Our one class meeting was held on Thursday, April 29 for the purpose of discussing our dance. President Ruth Pollitz presided, and Marjorie Crosby of the ticket committee, John Hilchey of the entertainment, Cleveland Blaisdell of the music, Bette Merrill of the decorating and Polly Stembridge of the refreshment spoke in re¬ gard to the plans of their respective co mmittees. The dance itself was held on May 14 at 8 o’clock in the Senior High Assembly Hall. The Coronation idea was carried throughout all phases of the preparation. The decorations were of red, blue, purple, and white, the royal colors. Ted Lawson and his orchestra from Salem played for dancing, and Gladys Hall, Kenyon Hicks, and various members of our class, who presented a very humorous skit, entertained during intermission. At this looked-forward-to-time the usual ice cream, cake, and punch were served. At midnight the dancing ceased, and we went supposedly home. Our patrons and patronesses were Mrs. Pollitz, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Crosby, Mrs. Stem- bridge, Coach and Mrs. Batchelder, Miss Dufault, Mr. Butler, and Mr. Fitzgerald. The committees wish to thank Miss Simon, our class adviser, for her part in the success of our dance. To the various teachers and classes here, many thanks for a most pleasant first year. Polly Stembridge ’39 THE JUNIOR CLASS The Junior Class Elections which were held in the spring of our sophomore year resulted in capable offi¬ cers being chosen for 1936-37. John Colley, our president, has a great ability for leadership and has been an excellent, resourceful ex¬ ecutive. Elizabeth Barstow, that little girl who is so full of pep, was elected vice president and Doris Donegan, sec¬ retary. Frank Davis has a brisk, business-like manner which shows his ability to fill the office of treasurer. It was decided at a class meeting that we hold a Christmas Dance on the Friday before vacation. The executive board picked committees to take charge of the decorations and refreshments. The decoration commit¬ tee got right into the spirit of the season and decorated the hall with Christmas trees and evergreen boughs. Re¬ freshments were furnished by Dut chland Farms, and Don Blaisdell’s Orchestra took charge of the music. This dance was greatly enjoyed by those who attended al¬ though it was not a financial success. In May the class while making plans for a Junior- Senior Reception found their treasury to be quite empty. In order to increase the funds a committee was appointed which collected newspapers from the homes of students who were willing to donate them. The sale of these papers brought in a substantial sum towards the recep¬ tion. At the time of writing, plans for the reception were still being made as were plans for the election of senior officers. The senior year promises to be bright for out¬ class because although we have little money, we have lots of fun. Doris Donegan ’38

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Reading High School Class o F 19 3 7 BASKETBALL Perhaps the outstanding sports achievement of the past year produced by the High School is the Middlesex League Championship Basketball Team, commonly known as the “Flying Quintuplets” or Five Star “Fina¬ lists.” Although each player was a star in his own po¬ sition, the players showed no unnecessary individualism when co-operation was needed. In short, the successful season was a result of what is commonly known as team¬ work. Coach Althoff devoted much of his time into developing this teamwork, and as a combination of in¬ dividual stars co-operating as parts of a well oiled ma¬ chine, the fellows were able to score almost a point a minute in eleven consecutive victories and in the ten league games to tally 322 points to 179 for their op¬ ponents. Three members of the team finished in the first ten in the league’s individual scoring with “Bud” Merrill topping them all with 111 points, George Radulski placing sixth with 61 points and “Bones” Skane tenth with 43. The three greatest threats of the season were Reading’s ancient rivals: Belmont, Lexington, and Wake¬ field. In the season’s opener our team captured a close victory from the fast Alumni team. Our team showed that it had power and speed enough to campaign through the schedule with a lot of power. Score 32 to 27. Punchard met with a suffering defeat as “Tige” and his boys hit their stride and won by a lopsided score of 61 to 12. In a well matched game against Lexington our team kept up the pace and knocked off the “Minute Boys” by the score of 24 to 18. The team was clicking well by this time, so the five went down to Stoneham and gave the opponents a mere drubbing of 40 to 10. Wakefield, as our guests, threw a scare into the team, but again pitting their forces the fellows won by a score of 28 to 18. The team traveled over to Winchester and knocked ’em from wall to wall and walked away with the score of 40 to 15. So far our team had not suffered a defeat, and the highly rated Belmont team came to engage in a game of skill and wits. “Bud Merrill’s dashes and quick shots featured in the win for R. H. S. This game proved to be the turning point of the season, and the team had its eye on capturing the league title. Score 36 to 12. In a return match with Stoneham the local boys kept on their relentless pace to conquer the competing team by a 35 to 14 score. The second game with Winchester proved to be a tough one, but still our boys came through with a win of 29 to 23. The Alumni figuring to break the win streak of the team met defeat in a fast, close game by a score of 31 to 25. The second game with Lexington was the one that decided the League Championship and also proved to be one of the most thrilling games of the season. This game was unusual because Lexington was the first team to get a lead over Reading since the season began, and this gave the team a set-back. The first two periods saw Lexington get a lead of 8 to 6, to which they added on in the third period a 12 to 7 advantage. About the middle of the third period it became evident that Cap¬ tain Devaney was worried about the score, when he sank a long shot from the side, and then a few plays later he dashed down the floor and quickly tossed the ball into the basket which with a foul shot by Merrill tied the score. Aroused by their doughty captain’s re¬ markable burst of speed, the rest of the boys started goin’ to town with Radulski pouring 6 points through the hoop while Skane threw in four more. Merrill add¬ ed the four final points on fouls, while Ted Haselton stretched his huge form in front of Lexington’s big threat and wouldn’t let him get a shot. Score 27 to 14. After winning the championship, the team kept the slate clean by defeating Wakefield despite a riot and two overtime periods. Ted Haselton’s decision shot and Roy Dole’s winning points featured in this historical battle. Score 31 to 27. In the final game of the season our team went to Belmont for a last glorious battle to defeat B. H. S. to the tune of 32-28. After completing an undefeated season, Reading consequently became a candidate with Natick for the famous Tech Tourney where eight teams fight it out to decide the eastern state champs. The game with Natick was played on neutral grounds at Watertown. Both teams played excellent defensive games, but Natick slightly outplayed Reading on the offensive and defeated us by a close score of 12-11. This yegr was the first time in ten years that R. H. S.