Ridley Township High School - Archive Yearbook (Folsom, PA)

Page 15 text:

HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF 1935 HEX the first day of October had dawned and the shining sun had warmed the new walls of the Ridley Township Junior-Senior High School, some eight hundred students found themselves stand- ing in the vicinity of this newest addition to the Township's wealth. Scattered throughout this mass were about fifty Seniors who hailed from the eight high schools-Ridley Park, Swarthmore, Collingdale, Glen-N or, Lansdowne, M'edia, Eddystone, and Chester, but not for several weeks were these distinguished personages really made known to each other and to the rest of the school. However, by November 16, they succeeded in getting together and in organ- izing their class. At this time, Mr, Sharer was unanimously elected as class adviser and the following, as officers: President, Robert Davis: Vice-President, Charles Reynolds, Secretary, lNIuriel Wagnerg Girls' Treasurer, Florence Najariang Boys' Treasurer, Ralph Lanzag Class Council, Edmund Carplick and Florence Curran. Thus we started off with a bang and not many days later, upon Mr. F erguson's suggestion, a special committee consisting of Mildred Draper, Muriel Wagner, Florence Egert and William Crossen, began selling milk at noontime. This was soon followed by another committee-Clarissa Schreiber, Helen Pelkonen, Edgar Maclntyre, and Bessie Monastero-which sold candy. Although the milk committee had to discon- tinue its work when the cafeteria opened on January 8, the candy committee continued until the close of school, and headed by Clarissa Schreiber, the whole group deserves much credit for its untiring efforts. As soon as the class had become organized, the Class Council, composed of the officers heretofore mentioned, began to meet for the purpose of appointing committees for the year and planning the year's activities. First of all, each Senior was placed on at least one standing committee. Then, the two treasurers and the class adviser spent many precious hours figuring out a budget. The result was very good-in fact, by the time they had finished, there was enough money to insure a year book, pay all class expenses, and enable us to go to VVashington on only a 5310 assessment-no class dues were requested! Next came the first Senior Play- Bumski ! 'i Tryouts were held at seven o'clock in the morning, and rehearsals continued daily at the same time thereafter until the week before the play, when night rehearsals were scheduled. On December 22, the big performance was put on before the largest audience the school had ever seen . . . Z Those taking part were-Ralph Lanza, William Crossen, Edgar Maclntyre, Fred Manahan, Fred Herbert, Arthur Ramont, Herbert Williams, Edward Luchetsky, Muriel VVagner, Helen Pelkonen, Emma Carplick, Dorothy Powell, Inky Larsen, Doris Michelsfmn, Mildred Shaw, and Florence Egert. All those who witnessed this memorable play will probably never forget either the play itself or that effective pass- word-'K Bulnski I During all this time, the Editor-in-Chief of the school magazine, Robert Holm, had been working on such a publication, and on the day before Christmas Vacation the first issue of The Emerald was distributed. This magazine was mimeographed and Page Thirteen

Page 14 text:

HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL LTHOUGH the new building was not begun until March, 1934, the plans for its creation have been under consideration for many years. Various civic groups and individuals have felt for a long while that it would be a great saving to our Township if the tuition fees which were paid to other districts could be invested in our own school plant. Consequently, when the opportunity came in 1997, the Board of School Directors acquired the fourteen and one-half acres of ground along Swarth- more Avenue and waited for further opportunity tobegin construction of the building. Federal and State aid were secured in 1934 from the Public Works Administration and Local Works Administration, the site was leveled and actual building was started. lVIany well meaning people did not believe the school possible or necessary but when the proposition was submitted to the voters of the Township the project was authorized, and on August 4, 1934, Mr. William Clymer, then President of the Board of Education, officially laid the cornerstone. On October 1, 1934, school officially opened. but since there had been unavoidable delays, all the equipment was not in the building, so the first meeting of students and faculty took place on the stone platform at the south end of the school. Sessions were held from then on, the Junior High classes meeting in the morning and Senior High groups in the afternoon, for three weeks. By this time classes had been organized and work begun. About six hundred students had been registered for the opening day, but when actually eight hundred and seventeen appeared, including some pupils from nearby districts, radical changes had to be made in the pre-arranged schedule of classes. On October 24, the Patriotic Sons of America presented the flag pole with due ceremony. Judge Albert Dutton McDade was the guest speaker, and on this occasion our School Band made its first official appearance. Dedication exercises were held in the auditorium on December 21, 1934, when officials from the State, County and Township formally received the building and turned it over to representation of Faculty and students for their use in the educational building of the community. Many community groups have had the use of the new building and The Mothers' Club. The Parent-Teachcr's Association, the Father's Association, The Independent Athletic Clubs and similar groups all point to an increasing use of a building which certainly fills a long felt need. Page Twelve

Page 16 text:

published by the staff headed mostly by Seniors, but with quite a few under classmen from seventh grade upward. There were five issues of The Emerald-the last one being in charge of the Juniors and the members of the staff for next year. After Christmas Vacation, everybody had recuperated from the Senior Play and the various other activities, so again the Seniors started something new. This time it was a card party under the chairmanship of Elsie Herngren and with Helen Pelkonen, Bessie Monastero, Clarissa Schreiber, Florence Egert, Mildred Shaw, and Muriel Wagner on the committee. Of course, the whole class helped in this as well as in all the other class activities. The class is especially grateful to Mrs. Corbin, Mrs. Carney, Mr. Powell and Mr. Goodwin for their help and interest in the affair. Due to the Junior Play and Spring Frolic in March, and the Operetta- Alabama Boundl' on April 4 and 5-in which there were many Seniors, the class took a rest, but on April 13, led by Jerry Colavecchi, they gave a dance. Again on April 26 and May 3, they danced to Bobby', Talone's ten piece orchestra. Then as soon as the Operetta was over, the cast was picked for the second Senior Play- It Pays to Advertise. This time, Herbert Williams, Robert Holm, Lucas Sorzano, Robert Davis, Edmund Carplick, Chester Kozlowski, Jerry Colavecchi, Robert Allison, Bessie Monastero, Florence Najarian, Dorothy Webb, and Clarissa Schreiber, took parts and on May 10, this cast convinced another audience that it does pay to advertise. ' Up until this time, all the things which the Seniors had done were small compared to the long anticipated Washington Trip, which was taken on May 15, 16, and 17. The entire class went and if you do not believe that they learned a lot and had fun, just ask anyone who went and your head will swim with details. - On June 15, another Card Party was held in the gym under the guidance of Arthur Neubert and his committee-Dorothy Webb, Clarissa Schreiber, Elsie Slezak, Rose Guidetti, Evelyn Platt, Fred Herbert, Roy Forster, Dorothy Powell, Frances Carr, and Alice Vincent. After all, the main thing for which the Seniors had come to school was to get some education, so the next event or events of any importance were the final exams which proved whether or not they were it to graduate and enable them to enter higher insti- tutions of learning. Following exams, came Class Night, when the Seniors presented the play Smilin Thru. Those who took part were: Marguerite Remington, Charles Reynolds, Emma Carplick, Robert Holm, Florence Curran, Dorothy Webb, Annabelle Duffey, Marina Wilson, Robert Allison, Fred Manahan, Ralph Lanza, Edgar Maclntyre, Muriel Wagner, Evelyn Platt, Robert Davis, Stella Bulisky, William Crossen, Herbert Williams, and Edward Luchetsky. After Class Night came Baccalaureate and then Commencement. The Seniors who represented the class as speakers for the occasion were Robert Holm, Ralph Lanza, Helen Pelkonen, and Muriel Wagner. Of course, throughout the year, other activities such as a bake and a Junior-Senior Prom took place. This Annual is another prod- uct of the Seniors' labors. ' A history of the class would not be complete without the mention of the sports in which the members of the class participated. Before the school had even begun to operate, there was a football team. Many Seniors went out for this sport and about half the first team was comprised of Seniors. In basketball, the Seniors again showed their ability by being the majority of the team. Girls, basketball also brought forth the girl athletes of the class. With the exception of swimming at the Chester Y.W.C.A., this was the only sport for the girls during the year, but they showed what they could do and deserve much credit for their efforts. Page Fourteen