Riverside High School - Torch Yearbook (Riverside, NJ)

Page 17 text:

VALEDICTORY Commencement! how aptly this word describes our withdrawal from the shelter of school and home to starr life on our own initiative . For the last time we are gathered together in this auditorium. Never again shall we file into these familiar seats at the monitor's signal. Indeed we may never again see some of the classmates with whom for four years we have worked and played, laughed and worried. Many of us will never return to the scenes of our high school careerg those of us who do will come singly and will find themselves surrounded by strange faces. No more shall we listen to infor- mative speakers, watch entertaining movies, or celebrate victories in inter-school sports. But the scene will long be imprinted on our memories. With regret we leave these corridors, but with the enthusiasm of youth we enter the world. Now we are ready to try our wings-some in college, others in the competition of the business world. Many of us have recently made an important decision regarding our life workg now we go forth to carry out that decision. To our parents we owe a debt which can never be repaid. Through these years they have tried to supply our every need, to guide our footsteps in the right paths, and to teach us by their ex- perience. Without their loving care and guidance, most of us would not be members of this class tonight. Mothers and fathers, we thank you. How can we ever show adequately our gratitude to the faculty? Naturally they have taught us facts as a foundation for future study. They have given us glimpses of the problems which we are to face. More than that they have taught us lessons in life which will be remembered long after Latin declensions are forgotten. How well this year's class has learned these lessons will be proven by our actions in the future. Teachers of Riverside High' School, we thank you. Equipped with excellent training and with definite goals in life, we face the future with courage, determined to attain those aims and to make this world a better place in which to live. Pearl L. Mclntyre.

Page 16 text:

SALUTATORY We meet here cn this evening of mingled gladness and sorrow to celebrate the last official par- ticipation of the class of 1937 in the life of Riverside High School. It is with a great deal of pleasure that I welcome our guests, especially the parents, to share in the proceedings. We realize that this climaxing point in the career of our class has been possible only through your unselfish, pains- taking efforts, to see us through school. Without your encouragement, without your help, our efforts would have been useless. This ceremony of graduation marks an achievement, one that is all the more interesting and gratifying to you because you have had a share in this accomplishment. However, whatever significance you may see in this occasion, I am sure none of you view it in the same light as we, the class of '37, As I stand here, as you, my classmates, are seated before me, we are remembering the day when we, as freshmen, Hocked for the first time with awe into this very auditorium. Four years have passed since then, years of work and play, crowded with unforgettable experiences. We are thinking of many things our school has done for us, the ideals of character it has instilled, the knowledge which it has revealed for us. We think too, of the joyful moments of achievement that have characterized the various stages of our work, the pleasures of good grades, the thrill of victories in athletic contests, the delightful gatherings and club meetings in which we have participated. For those we owe a debt which we gladly pay to Riverside High School and her helpful faculty. True, we have had also our spells of misfortuneg we have all, at one time or another, experienced the sting of criticism, the blow of failure, but I am sure that any of us would willingly relive these four years. We shall relive them many a time in memory, and as Wordsworth's heart filled with pleasure at the thought of the daffodils, so shall we enjoy the recollection of our high school days. Henry Terluk.

Page 18 text:

THE CLASS OF 1937 On a September afternoon in 1933 we entered the portals of Riverside High School, and as the doors closed behind us we entered upon the second chapter of our eventful lives. A new existence beckoned! But high school was not to be a bed of roses. Homework was the first thorn. The aloof- ness of the Upperclassmen and the taunts of the superior Sophomores served to prick our pride. A terrible obstacle towered menacingly in our path,-the january examinations. Although we skated on thin ice at times, we managed to survive. Our real trouble was yet to come. June rolled inevitably nearer, and with it came our first taste of Regents. A much welcomed vacation followed. Refreshed by the vacation we returned in our sophomore year with a grim determination to im- prove ourselves. But a false feeling of superiority took possession of us, which we duly exercised over the new Freshmen. Our members became active participants in school affairs, and now more than ever before, we felt ourselves an integral part of the school. With a commendable amount of success, the year slipped quickly by. Our junior year was a succession of pleasant surprises. Our relations with the faculty became more intimate, and we lost our former feeling of restraint in their presence. As we progressed in years, advancement in physical as well as mental ability made itself manifest, and we shared the school's athletic limelight together with the Seniors. The arrival of spring brought with it vivid thoughts of the junior Prom. In anticipation of this resplendent affair, we elected the following oflicers: Fred Smith, president, Evelyn LaVere, vice-president, Thelma Stacey, secretary, William Stenson, treasurer, Myrtle Graf, girl's marshal, and Robert Sheehan, boys' marshal. A colorful auditorium program featured our class day exercises. On this day our class was the cynosure of the entire school. The close of this eventful occasion marked the culmination of our junior activities. As Seniors we were to set the example for the rest of the school and throughout the entire year we have striven gallantly to live up to these expectations. At the same time we strongly badced our two publications The Pilot and The Skipper. The year passed without any serious mishaps and in early March vigorous campaigning for the election of senior officers was begun. When the smoke of the friendly battle cleared, tabulation of results disclosed Leon Moulin as presidentg Thelma Stacey, vice-president, Evelyn Nuchereno, secretary, john Polanski, treasurer, Helen Limburg, girls' marshal, Henry Rauch, boys' marshalg Jerome Robinson, prophet, and joseph Kish, historian. For maintaining the highest scholastic standards in the class throughout their high school years, Pearl McIntyre and Henry Tesluk were chosen valedictorian and salutatorian respectively. Now, as the year is rapidly drawing to a close, we sadly look back upon the many happy hours we have spent within these walls. But although we shall be no longer students here, our spirits will live and our achieve- ments will win for us an everlasting niche in the school's hall of fame. As a fitting climax to our successful career at Riverside, we look forward with great anticipation to a glorious Commencement.