Seymour High School - L Agenda Yearbook (Seymour, CT)

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mi-I-fibfizzi Four years have passed smce that memorable September morning four years ago when we the new students eager yet greatly bewildered came apprehensxvely by twos and threes to the doors of Sey mour High School For the first few days our purpose in coming to school was decidedly defeated by the general tangle of affairs caused in part by the repeated changing of classes and by the fact that we seemed to be contmu ously stepped on by the rest of the school literally as well as figuratively When the atmosphere had cleared and the con fusion and clamor died down to some degree we got to work or at least we had the most noble intentions of doing so After we had nearly wrung every door off its hinges trying to find the various rooms we finally became acquainted with the setup as far as locations were con cerned But oh how far we were from de termmmg the attitudes and intentions of the teachers and upperclassmen' Under the efficient leadership of Karl Laursen President Robert Brown Vice President Annie Sabol Secretary and Tim Donovan Treasurer we set about making plans for our Freshman Social Late in the following February our high est hopes became a realization for the event was a decided success and the pro- established our bank account This gave us an incentive to work harder and on May 27 the Freshman Play pre sented in assembly brought a deluge of compliments on the deserving actors act resses and all concerned And as we hoped we began to be recognized by the rest of the school as possessors of distmc tive qualities As the year progressed, we gained an understanding of good sportsmanship of fered to us by the numerous activities and sports in which we participated and al though the year passed slowly at the time when we look back we realize that it sped. At first respect for the other fellow was forced upon us but we finally learned not to behave in the halls as though we were playmg football and we accepted the cus- toms of the school as decidedly worthwhile One of these which caused much discus- s1on and lamentation among the members of the class was that we occupied the back seats at assemblies and we actually had to stand up for the Seniors Imagine that' But if we regarded this as unsatisfactory we succeeded in concealing it from the upperclassmen upon whom our achieve- ments had begun to make a rather big impression. Having terminated our first year we arrived at the decision that the many new friends we had made were worth any and all of the somewhat unfortunate experi ences that go with bemg freshmen Sophomore just the word itself was enough to send shivers of enthusiasm and expectation up and down our backs Hav ing elected Henry Lew1ck1 President Natalie Evans Vice President Barbara Bennett Secretary and Richard Louns bury Treasurer we plunged into the year s activities with renewed determination And as a result of hard work and careful planning the MacArthur Hop presented later in the year was a rousmg success, and afforded to all attending an enjoyable and unforgettable time The decorations, namely the giant mirrored V on the wall the American flags on the backboards, and the red white and blue streamers, were A 1 and plenty all reet This event was a decided help to our soaring class fund. Near the end of the year not to be out done by any other class, it was a Sopho- more home room that collected the most scrap in the current scrap metal drive After two years of struggling and strlv ing we returned to Seymour High, and then came the grand and glorious expert ence of calling our souls our own Nothing could suppress our eagerness, zeal, and that we were upperclassmen. No foolm' Talk about bemg elated why during the fall of 1942 there was constant danger of some one of our classmates bumping his head on a cloud. And such super abund ance of spirit certamly was not unfounded for after all weren't we juniors? We were competently guided through the year by janet Houlihan President, Phyllis Peck, Vice President Gloria Cretella, Treasurer and Harriett Seeley, Secretary Our first event of the year was the 'Fall Dance with its orange yellow and brown decorations and the super music of Jack Heavens The huge scarecrow dressed in plaid shirt straw hat and overalls, was the center of attraction. To our delight and others surprise, we made the sizeable profit of forty nine dollars and twenty two cents. On April 9 the Junior Class sponsored the Bunny Hop an elegant affair which attained perfection to the most minute de- tail To be sure there were bunnies every where on the walls backboards, and even on the programs and the dancers glided beneath streamers of every pastel shade in creation Our financial account was increased eighteen dollars and thirty three cents by this dance .J . . . y Y Y Y . . 7 - , , , . . y . . .U .y . z H 1 A 1 ' - f I I ' 1 5 ' ' 7 Y Y . I , - ' ' ' KA 17 7 l 1 7 1 . I v I X . . . . . . y l A . . V ' ' 1 1 66 U ' I . , ' . - , . I u , 1 . . . X I 9 , 5 - . 1 1 ' ' 1 , . Y fit of seven dollars and forty-five cents feeling of majesty, as the realization came. . . , . . . Y . y . A 1 ' 1 ! , - - - I ' . 1 Y A - , , 1 . 1 , . I - 9 - 5 . . . . . 1 - ,, , . 7 - I I 9 . Y 7 . . Y . Y Y . , . , 1 ' . ' A . . . , . ' as 11 ' ' I . . , o . , .n , . 1 ' 1 , T I .

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And then came that great social event of our four years the junior Prom The tlctoxatnons designed to portray Spring in all her soft majesty completely converted the gym into a farry ballroom and the soft rhythmic muslc of Jack Heavens added successfully to the transformation The streamers draped artistically caught even the slrghtest movement ln the air and seemed to be talkmg among themselves of the gaiety and beauty beneath them So perfect an evening made many of the for tunate attendants reluctant to end the af fair till mornrn But what a shock when we came to make out a financial statement' We found that we had serrously mrssed connections w1th the result that our finances took a declded drop But agreemg that you cant win all the time we lmmedrately got to work correcting our mistake and justified It as a strategic wrthdrawal Contrary to tradxtlon there was no cam pargnmg for Semor Class officers The electron held rn June exhnbrted the corrupt practice commonly used rn politics f stuffing the ballot boxes After this had been successfully abolished the results of the vote were found to be as follows Harold Wakeley Presldent Barbara Ben nett Vice Presrdent Sophie Stosuy Sec retary and Anme Sabol Treasurer Kenneth Dahn john Elwood and Albert Sponhelmer had entered the armed forces the first three to serve m the Navy and the latter m the Army and before we re turned to school 1n September 1943 to begm our Semor year more of our class- mates had also left for service They were George Gehrmger to the Army james Lyons George Schaefer and Henry Tabaka to the Navy and Arthur Anderson to the Marine Corps. During our final year up to the tlme that REFLECTOR went to press William Wilkinson and Al fonso Amxco had jomed the Army Au' Forces Edward Dornozych had enhsted with the Marltlme Service W1th our return to school ln September came the year we had so long awaited. We were The Semors and were of course advantageously situated for rt was we who had authority over the underclassmen. And what a thrill we experrenced at every assembly when we marched down the aisle between the rows of students stand mg 1n respect and envy' It became our purpose to assume the responsibilities as well as the rxghts whxch were ours as Semors We started that sxgmficant year auspr cxously with the Halloween Dance co- sponsored wlth the jumor Class and held on October 29 This was followed on November 12 by the Harvest Hop whlch the true effect of autumn was achieved by pumpkins van-colored leaves and cornstalks. The mam attractions were cleverly posed scarecrows placed in the center of the floor and adding to the prev alent gaxety and charm of the event muslc for whrch was furnished by Jack Heavens orchestra. Both dances were a credit to a great class and there was a total profit of fifty five dollars One day not long before Christmas an unsuspecting photographer from Borman Studios came to photograph the Semors and was nearly mobbed by enthusxastlc students The following February we re ceived our pictures On january 28 we sponsored a barn dance and since the theme was so orxgmal to the school the successful outcome was mevrtable The profit of fifty nine dollars made ut one of the most successful dances financially ever held rn Seymour High while the two hundred dancers made it a social success On Friday March 24 the Semor play Good Night Ladres was held in the Clark Auditorium The presentation was heralded as superb by the severest crltxcs The play was well attended and such an outstandmg performance Justlfied any hard ship caused by the gasoline and rubber shortage The talent expressed rn the play by our classmates mxght be compared to that of the Barrymores at their best The great success of thls undertaking was also due ln a large degree to the expert direction of Miss Thelma Lounsbury and the untrrlng efforts of the commlttee in charge Later ln the sprmg we held our last dance the great success of which was due to the elegant decorations the rhythmlc music and the determination to make this dance our best We all knew this to be one of our final get togethers and realized that before long we would no longer be a group but mdrvxduals each gomg hrs own way The annual Semor Banquet was held in one of the local church halls just before graduatnon. The event whlch included many speeches by teachers and students will be long remembered It was on the evening of june 15 1944 that two Junior Marshals led the hne of graduates down the alsle to the stage of the Rrdgley Colfax Clark Memorial Auditor rum Pnde and some degree of regret were observed beneath the tasseled caps as lm presslve and highly mterestrng speeches were delivered by Mr Urban Mr Adams and some of our fellow classmates. As we listened attentively to therr words we were sure that the last four years had been extremely worthwhrle and we gamed en couragement for the coming years. Our pleasant memories of our high school days were dlmmed only by the absence of those who had deemed xt necessary to join one of the services in the effort to preserve democracy and by the thought of leaving frrends all too soon. As each name was read and the graduates presented with thexr diplomas the applause of the audlence gave evidence of the apprecratxon and prrde of frrends and relatives After the gradua tron Room Five was crowded to overflowing wnth the graduated Semors and their vxsxtors exchanging greetings and extend mg farewells. SHIRLEIGI-I I-IEISS -I7 7 ' M I - , ,. -, ' ' ' ' V Z , , 1 4 I l V , N' 2 a f w 1 . , , , ' 1 , , . . , . , . l ' . ' . , . . I 1 ' I ' I it ' ' YY . y . . . . 1 Y 1 ' ' . ' . . . H . . ya ' . . . 9 , - . , . - . Y . , . . Q . Y Y O ' . , I . . 1 . i ' ' ' ' X . . 1 . I 1 ' s 9 ' ' ' ' ' : , . - Durmg our Junror year, Joseph Cass, . . ! Y ' I Y . . L- . Y . . , - , I . . 5 7 l- . ' I ' 1 5 , . - I 1 1 . 7 . . . . . , 9 I I 7 Y , . Y 5 . . . H ' U . ' , - D 1 . , . , ' ' N 7 71 - ' ' . . , ! Y ' H W . 4 l 1 . , . . . y . , D . . , .