Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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EDITORIALS Reflections of a Senior Mary Lou Corriga?i, ' 49 Life, as I see it. is like a book; and like every book, it has chapters and pages, — characters and a purpose. We, the Seniors, opened our Book of Life about seventeen years ago, and here we are already at the end of the first chapter. That first chapter is called Childhood. From the day that we were born to the day when we shall graduate from high school, our childhood has been spent in preparing us for Chapter Two, when we shall become adults and must make our way in the world alone. Every day of our senior year makes stronger the realization that there are only a few pages to be turned before we must put to use all we have learned in seventeen years. Just being at a ball game with our friends or being in school makes us think how little time there is left. Soon every- thing will change. We won ' t belong any more. We will all go our separate ways and Chapter One will become just a memory and a lesson. We want to make the most out of every minute there is left and get the most enjoyment out of everything we do, because we are doing many of these things for the last time. This last year has been the fullest, the most im- portant of our seventeen so far. We feel that we have grown up in lots of ways this year. It ' s hard to explain just how we ' ve grown up, but we feel older anyway. We want to face the world with confidence; we hope that we will make a success of our lives. Especially we want to make our par- ents and teachers proud of us, and we want them to know that we appreciate al l they have done for us. Such are our thoughts as we see our childhood drawing swiftly to a close. Just a few more pages to turn, and Chapter One will be finished. We only hope that after we become accustomed to Chapter Two, we shall enjoy it as much as we have Chapter One and that it will lead to a suc- cessful future. Looking Ahead Carol Stearns, ' 50 The first years of our lives are spent in going to school. But after we graduate from high school, then what? Perhaps we want to get some additional education, which means two to four more years. But while we are getting this training and knowledge, we should have some idea of what we ' re going to make our life ' s work. Probably some of us are thinking of becoming doctors, lawyers, or artists, or entering other just as exciting and interesting professions. Are we sure that we will be happy in the work we are planning to choose? We must love what we are going to do or we ' ll never make a success of it. Otherwise it will be just plain monotony and toil.

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26 SENIOR CLASS PLAY First Row: F. Bissell, N. Gilley, J. Stewart, N. McDonald, D. McPherson, B. Best, Miss Gile, director. Second Row: j L L. Corrigan, J. Ketterer, E. O ' Neil, J. Bates, D. Dwyer, P. Goddard. Senior Class Play This year the Class of ' 49 presented a very students in the Art Room directed by Miss Doris different type of play from those presented in Rowell: ticket sellers led by Mr. Erroll Wilcox; other years. The three-act mystery play Drums stage directors and the prompters, of Death by Howard Reed concerned the mys- ii c i i di terious disappearance of a Mr. Bailey and the All-School Flay 1 r 1 U1 . • J U CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 search lor a valuable stone. IVlanv weird happen- ings added to the plot of the play, which took The following, as well as the cast, deserve a place near a swamp at Harrowsburg in the deep gi at deal of credit for their cooperation and hard South. ork. The cast was as follows: Coach— Miss Eleanor Gile Celeste, an octoroon servant Florence Zalenski Stage— Mr. Lawrence Benson. David Barclay. Sheldon Barley, in charge o Bailey s property George Bearce. William Merritt, Wallace John Stewart Spear Jules, a Haitian negro John Bates r. iii- r • d n a t t n • Mrs. Oakley, the housekeeper Fay Bissell 5ce ;ery— Miss Dons Rowell Mary Lou Corri- Mrs. Gillette, Mr. Bailey ' s sister Nancy McDonald an- Barbara Best. Joseph Devine. Ronald Eugenia Bowles, a distant relative Barbara Best Duval. Carol Stearns. Charniaine Witt, Ralph Amelia Gillette, Mrs. Gillette ' s granddaughter Zollin , , , Dorothy McPherson Costumes— Miss Mary Kingsbury I eiiton (.ooper. the county sheriff David Dwyer i a t i Doctor Cameron, a midnight visitor Eugene O ' Neil Sound effects — Jack Ketterer, Edwin Viega Paula Bailey. Mr. Bailey s granddaughter Nancy Gilley Tickets — Mr. Erroll Wilcox. Maxine McLean, The play was under the direction of Miss Irene Pratt. Patricia Goddard Eleanor Gile. Ushers — Mar Lou Corrigan, Frances Dyer, Other people who deserve much credit for mak- Joan Kettell. Betty Murrill. Donna Vickery, ing the play a success were the boys in Practical Charniaine Witt Arts under the direction of Mr. Walter Robb: Prompters — Barbara Cole, Patricia Goddard

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28 Approximately eight hours out of the twenty-four are spent at work, whether we happen to be housewives or have a career. The rest of the twenty-four we spend eating, sleeping and play- ing. If we don ' t know anything about the profes- sion we are choosing, then we ' d better hurry up and find out something about it. One of the big- gest mistakes anyone can make is to be unaware of the hard work and disadvantages as well as the glamour and good features of his or her pros- pective job. Maybe one of us is planning to be a reporter, but if he doesn ' t know that the pay is very small for beginners, that college graduates are most likely to start off as cub reporters, and other such important facts, he will be sadly dis- appointed to realize that he is not going to start off with a salary of twenty-five thousand dollars a year with the job of editor of a big daily paper. On the other hand a good cub reporter has the chance of someday being a feature writer and perhaps traveling all over the country or even the world. Success is not really determined by the amount of money a person makes, but rather by what he or she amounts to in life. If we can go to college, we should by all means do so. It is important to get all the formal edu- cation that we can. Lastly, here are some things we should take to heart as undergraduates. We should talk with people who have jobs that we think we might like. We should visit colleges and talk to the students on the campuses. We shouldn ' t wait until we are seniors. Our lives and future are ahead of us. We should make them worthwhile. Our Democracy, Worth Having, Worth Defending Joseph Devine, ' 49 WE are living in times of turbulance and great chaos when the world seems false and in- secure. The peoples of the world are frustrated as the things they held dear, their dreams, crumble down about them. We have had two great con- flicts in less than half a century; many youths in many countries have made the supreme sacrifice. These wars have been between democratic coun- tries and dictatorships. What is democracy? Why is it worth having and worth defending? Democracy is a philosophy which insists upon the capability of the citizens to carry on their own government. The encyclopedia defines democracy as a term originating in Greece to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state as well as participate in its rewards, as distinguished from the govern- ments controlled by a class, a distant group, or a dictator. Democracy exalts the individuals whereas other forms of government tend to mini- mize the importance of the common man. This does not mean, however, that all the subjects of a democracy can do as they please. If this were so, then our democracy would be a state of an- archy and chaos. There are many advantages of a democracy over other types of government. The people of a democracy are free because of the basic rights which their forefathers wrote in their Constitu- tion. They take an active part in the government and have direct say as to who shall be their leaders. If they don ' t like certain laws, it is within their power to change them. They have religious freedom. They can say what they please, so long as they don ' t harm anyone or make false statements. Freedom to assemble and freedom of the press are also advantages of a democracy over other types of governments. The Bill of Rights also protects the basic rights. It protects the common person against un- fair searches, insures the right to a speedy and fair trial, protects him from quartering troops against his will. In what other countries in the world do people have these rights? The answer is, in no other. In some countries people have been shot for voicing their opinions against the gov- ernment. The average man has no basic free- dom. He is a slave to the state instead of the state being the means of carrying out his wishes. He must do as he is told rather than what he thinks is right. Is this better than a democracy? Is this the way the government should operate for the people? Is our democracy worth having? Weigh the advantages and disadvantages in fa- vor of this country. It is far from perfect but it is the purest operating democracy in the world today. The people have a sacred right and duty to serve their country. It can be the best place in the world to live in only so long as the people wish to stand fully behind their government. If we neglect our sacred privilege, then we are not supporting our government. If we don ' t support our government, what ' s the sense of calling our- selves Americans. The framers of our constitution were the most learned men of their time. They realized