Searles High School - Yearbook (Methuen, MA)

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The address of welcome was given by .James Fag- giano, president of the Senior Class. At the end of his speech a large box of carnatioits was pre-rtentetl to Arthur Jacktsron, president Ui the Freshman class, who responded fittiingly. The Freshmen were then introduced to the mem- bers of the faculty. After this presentation, the mart-h took place. The only thing' to mar the evening was thr- faict that the hall was too small to acooininodate such a large freshman claiss. However, it gave many uf us :i neveii'-to-be-forgotten thrill of our tiist rf-al grand march. We dug into our studies with eiierg-y that fall. Many of us, newly introduced to Latin, l renf'h, Alge- bra, and other such bug'-lm--ars, burned not a few qiiarts of midnight oil. It was :i novel experlenee, this study- ing, but we toiok to it like a duck to water. The restt off the schoiol year passed tranquilly enough The tboys, intioduced to military drill, perforimid squads right and left with 11 vim and vigor that has been lack- ing ever Since. VVe Freshmen used tu wniider how it was thait the upper classmen failed to become enthus- iastic orver drill, VVe found the answer. VVe had no Freshman party, for it was found im- possible to seicure an open date agreeahle to the f2lC'llltX. Juine came quickly and with it Senior Chapel. Sen- ior Chapel was once an ancient and sat-red institution. sanctified and solemnitied by long' usage. Ol' late years, however, due chiefly tot the Sophoimore class, it has de-generated into more or less ot' a circus. Hutt it was no circus for us, that year. NVe were on the receiving' end. Upon returning to begin our Sophomore year, we folund that with the elimination of the Freshm-in class l- - --Pl'1-- L N we the Qimis of UQE5, were again the lowest c-lass in Schmid, that is, S9C'S1!1lY. Sc-holastically we were the highest. 'l'o retrieve seme-what.our wounded sense ot dignity, and to placate our desire for revenge, small sorties and skirmishes were made un the l i'esliinen. sziteiy entrenched in the Central School, but Mr. l-Jlxvell galiantly tniiiw to tht .r rescue and put us to rout. Studies came easier that set-ond fall. I -rhaps we had gotten the halnt. Mr. Gin-ilwiii had left us and in his place came Mi, Vonant. We all regretted Mr tloodwiirs departure. liis prowess in suhduing unruly and lie-tlig-'iw-iit fri-sliinen had het-oiiie tradizi-vital. The .Xthletie Ass-it-iatinii Hallow--'en Party and Stunt Night gat A us our tiisi chant-e tu carvv- a nicht tor ours-lves in the hall Ufl-Tllli1'. XX'e Sulilioiiiuiw-s pref sented :is oui otT--riiii.: a one-at-t piaylet. A Ni:-tht at an Inn. It was :i I-rrihle trag.:w-dy. only the audience did not s.-em to realize this for they laughed at the moSi Itugit' parts. .Xlthong.:li we failed ln ret-eive the prize, We galm-d xpei'i--iiee in set-ne shifting and Stage car- pentry whit-li stood tis in good stead for the Junior play. Ask Mr. Piper--he knows. The it-si nf our Snlilioiiinre year was spent in study'- ini:--tliat is, we nianaged to keep up with our work. just how WI' inairiged li--ing one of our Erf-at secrets. Mr. Ccnant had introduced several new systems ahotit the st-limit and it :ook ns some time If iret used to them. NN'e he-Id our tirst real social Pune ion in the form of a e!ass hop in March. We ti-aine out on top. hetterinf: the record of 'i good many classes, hut the lack of a party the tirst yt-ar had its effect. NVQ- had not then reaehed that state of ei't'it-Lency for which we have ht-en noted in the past year. Again came June. Although we were one year near--r graduatioii. ive. were still the last class to go ,-

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f N History 0 the Class of 19 8 By GEORGE CHURCHILL WHITNEY The record of the Class of 1928 is in many ways unique. YVe find that we lack outstanding 'stars on the athletic field, in the class room, and in our class aclt'1v1-- ties. We notice a significant thing, however, that our class is larger, better, and greater than any which has preceded it, and has, we hope, set a new scholastic record for succeeding classes to attain. Far be i-t from my purpose to indulge in mock heroics and in glittering generalities. The purpose of an hlistorian is to wrilte history-true and unbiased facts, YV6 may be indeed great but let our own virtues pro- claim us sog let the light of our Olwn achievements shine as a perpetual memorial to our undying fame. But to my subject. 'We and inscribed in the school records the fact that in September of nineteen hundred and twenty-four there were assembled some three hun- dred odd graduates of' the three junior high schools ot the town at the Searles High School to be regularly enrolled as students in the Freshman class. Ow-ing to the new system of junior high schools, an opportunity had 'been given to pupils in the eighth grade to enter the ninth. thus bringing up the total graduation number to a new high mark, and incident ally lowering the graduation age by a year. Thus we are one of the youngest classes ever graduated. The Class of 1928 first met officially in the assem- bly hall to be assigned to our home rooms. But we had met before-at the gate. And we had also met another class, who, with the lust of battle in their eyes and the spirit of revenge in their souls, were determined to implant 'in the Freshman heart the fear of Gold and ot' the Sophomore class. Of the bloody days that folllowetl I dare not speak. It was too gruesome for words. Sclme of us have memories of flustered Freshmen running around striving to hold on to sholes and stockings, and meanwhile endeavoiring to reach the tifth period class before it was too late. A week of confusion followed our matriculation, a week in which bewildered Freshmen lscampered from :room to room and period to period. The strong hand of Martin F. Goodwin 'brought order out of chaos, how- ever, and soon things were running as smoothly as the proverbial clockwork. On October 28th we held our iirst class meeting. The newly elected pres-ldent, Arthur Jackson. presided. Committees were elected to look after class rings and class cololrs. The colors chosen by this colmmittee WOW' blue and gold, the blue and gold ot' the Class of 1925. which throughout our four years have seemed so beautiful. The lirst big' event of the SCli001 year was the Freihnian Reception. I quote from the class records: On 'I+'r'iday evening, October 3, 1924, we, then Freshmen, experienced perhaps the biggesil thrill of our lives when thi- Class of '25 of the Methuen High School tends-red a Reception irece-prion is capitalizcdi to the Class of 'ZR in Nevins Memorial Hall. The plans owl' the Sophomorfs and Juniors earlier in the clay to kidnap the pri-slflciils of the two clas-ses had been frusltrnted. K J

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down the stairs at Senior Chapel. There are those among us who performed the feat of maneuvering the Whole three flights without touching once. The autumn of our junior year found us facing the ordeal of electing new class officers to comply with the ruling of the student council. This we ably siurmount- ed and was a result the following officers guided the class for the next eight months: as president, David Lynch: vvice-president, Ida Fossg secretary, Helen Laing- and treasurer, C. Elmer Northam. All was not serene, however, on the horizon. The Senior class., with whom we had avoided actual conflict thus far in cur scholastic career, made loud and upi roario-us protest against the stuclenlt council decision that the Senior Reception and Junior Play be separated. Senior! representative-s appeared before us in assembly and pleaded in a manner sufficient to cause a criminal lawyer to turn green with envy, but to no avail. The two functions were voted to be separate. VVe Hrst came into official contact with Mr. Thoimp- son as a class when he told us that the success of the Junior Class Party would to a great extent determine the future of class panties in the high school. On Dc-- cember 17, we made Searles High safe for clasig par- ties by putting over one of the best parties held in the school up to that date. Just Out of College, a clever comedy, was pree sented to a capacity house at the Central School hall in February. XVIIthout the least boasting on our part, we may safely say that itg presentation was considered one of the best performances ever given by a high school. Certainly there was never a smoother one. The Senior Reception was given two weeks before the close of school. This was the first public appear- ance of our class banner with its motto selected by us a few weeks before, Aegis fortissima virtue. This function was on a par with all of our other effonts- a success. For the last time we partlciipatecl in Senior Chapel as spectators. We stood in .silent meditation as the de- parting Seniors filed around the chapel to the strains of Auld Lang Sync. It was impressive, doubly im- preLs.ve to us who would be the next senior class to take leave of the school in this manner. Summer passed all too quickly, yet the coming of September brought a thrill of anticupation. Our three years of probation were over and now the Class of 1925 looked up to no onee-looked down on all. Our laurels rested lightly on our brows, however, and we noncha- lantly and gracefully accepted the homage that was due us. Our Senior year has been altogether too. kaleido- scopic to analyze carefully. YVe held our class party very :ucceeufully indeed. Our members who are cadet officers have aibly assisted Lieut. Patnaude to create the most efficient and largest cadet corps in the history of the school. XVe of the Senior class have met our problems suc- cessfully, as they have arisen. XVYIGH Mr. Thompson, coming from another high school where it had been the custom for the senior' class to present a play instead of the junior class, frankly stated his doubts of our abil- ity to put the thing across suicceusitully, wr' wasted no words in refutation, but Went out and diid it. During the four years of high school, we have had three principals. Mr. Goodwin initiated us into the manners and customs of high school life. Mr. Conant was instrumental in bringing the class into a more com- pact body and, as superintendent of schools, has taken keen interest in our affairs. It is Mr. Thompson, how- ever, that we have come to know most intimately. Dur-