Smith Academy - Echo Yearbook (Hatfield, MA)

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SMITH ACADEMY 31 Boys ' Basketball Team First Row, left to right: Alex Ciszewski, Frank Qsciak, Captain Edward Zima, Edward Malinowski, Henry Kugler. Second Row, left to right: Manager Richard Belden, William Wendoloski, John Skar- zinski, Robert Shea, Edward Remiszewski, John Besko, Robert Pelc, Ass ' t Mgr. Chester Prucnal, Coach Jacobek. FIRST HALF Dec. 18 Springfield Tech. 36 S.A. 25 Dec. 22 Hopkins 25. S.A. 20 Jan. 2 Williamsburg 11 S.A. 40 Jan. 8 Smith School 19 S.A. 24 Jan. 15 Amherst 34 S.A. 36 Jan. 19 Hopkins 22 S.A. 25 Jan. 22 Easthampton 31 S.A. 27 Jan. 26 South Hadley 17 S.A. 22 Jan. 29 Williamsburg 23 S.A. 34 SECOND HALF Feb. 2 Smith School 34 S.A. 33 Feb. 5 Amherst 17 S.A. 25 Feb. 9 Hopkins 29 S.A. 17 Feb. 12 Easthampton 42 S.A. 31 Feb. 19 South Hadley 33 S.A. 28

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30 PURPLE AND WHITE ECHO a new beginning — such as the end of a year is the beginning of a new one. Thus, our graduation day means to us a new life, full of challenge — a life of action, new experiences and high excitement. This beginning is a beginning of independence. Throughout our high school days, our life has been under controls, guided by our parents and teachers. For example, there have been times when homework pre- vented us from going to movies or plays. This might have seemed to us too severe at the time, and unfortunately there were those who could not bear to keep working under these controls. Many left school to go to work, others just lingered to pass the time away. Their judgment has now been proved a false judgment, because we now know that in high school there was an important job to accomplish for our own benefit. Now our big job — to prepare to conduct our lives — is ended, whether done well or not. We are now about to be sent out on our own, to have freedom of action for the f irst time. First, we shall be free from bells that tie us down to a schedule. We shall have no bells to release us from a classroom, no announcements that there will be as- sembly at two o ' clock. No longer shall we wait for school to close for the day. We are beginning to realize that we must de- velop a keener sense of personal responsi- bility. Rather than striving for a passing grade, we shall be looking forward to a promotion in our work. It won ' t be as simple as being told, If you empty the baskets every day for a week, you ' ll be pro- moted. No. Promotion can only be won through our own initiative, and by hard earnest work. There will be no sympathetic interest in us, such as we found in the classroom; it will be our job to arouse interest. Our declaration of independence will mean freedom from enforced learning. No one will care whether we continue to en- large our vocabularies, or whether we de- velop an appreciation of literature. Nor will there be teachers who will warn us that they want to judge us well and can do so only if we learn certain principles well. We shall still be judged for our knowledge, but without slightest warn- ing — whether the judgment be well or ill. Such is independence — responsibility in- stead of routine, indifference from others instead of interest. But the members of our class are need- ed as independent citizens of the United States. We have passed our probation per- iod; now we must begin to do our share in helping preserve and improve the re- public in which we live. Of course, we cannot be legal voters for a few years. But in the intervening years, everyone of us can be training himself to shoulder the responsibilities of citizenship. We have, in our history courses, acquired the essential knowledge. But now, we must put this knowledge into practice. We have not learned how to vote intelligently, and will not learn, until we have actually experi- enced the effects of government by of- ficials that are worthy of holding office. We know the details of certain laws per- taining to hours and wages, but how can we judge their value until we have actual- ly worked and received wages under these laws? We can not talk critically of income taxes and government expenditures, until we learn to judge their necessity. There is only one way to do all this. That is by taking our places in the industrial and business world and determining the good and bad points for ourselves and, finally, drawing our own conclusions. If we devote the next few years to these comparatively simple tasks we should be able, when nec- essary, to fulfill worthily our first obli- gation of citizenship in these United States. We are told that modern young Ameri- cans are the most unsuperintended and the most unsecluded youth of all times! If we are to keep this freedom which is ours without condition, we have but one lesson to learn: Real freedom never con- sists in mere release from old restraints. A bird ' s first step to freedom is to develop and strengthen his wings. So it is with an individual. Freedom can not be won by killing a tyrannical dictator, and will not be won unless each and every one is able to take charge of himself. Without this (Continued on page 37)

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32 PURPLE AND WHITE ECHO Girls ' Basketball Team First Row, left to right: Martha Osepowicz, Verna Skorupski, Phyllis Zembiski, Irene Ziezulewicz, Annie Zima, Margaret Osepowicz. Second Row, left to right: Coach Muller, Tessie Sikorski, Edith Filipek, Helen Pashek, Tessie Miehalowski, Manager Mary Majeski. As would be expected under present conditions, the Smith Academy team did not play its usual number of games. Northampton, Deerfield, and Smith Academy were the three teams that comprised the Hampshire League, with Deerfield finishing as the champ. Unfortunately our girls were not victorious in any of the league games, although they put up a very good fight. A victory which made up for league losses was the annual game played here with our oldest rival, Hopkins. Miss Lyons, who had coached the girls ' basketball team so well for the past several years, left in the middle of the season. She was succeeded for the rest of the basketball season by Principal C. J. Larkin, who also did a very good job. The present girls ' athletic director is known to all, Mrs. Muller of Easthampton. SCHEDULE Jan. 12 S.A. 5 Northampton 40 March 2 S.A. 19 Hopkins 18 Jan. 19 S.A. 7 Deerfield 15 March 9 S.A. 20 Hopkins 19 Feb. 9 S.A. 20 Northampton 41 March 12 S.A. 8 Deerfield 31