Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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12 SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR During- the past school year interest in the Poet’s Corner and in the writing of verse increased greatly. It is the hope of the editor that this interest may be maintained and increased by the efforts of the stu- dent body during the coming year. Many contributors to this page have, however, left with the passing of the ('lass of 1927, and in order to make this corner of our paper a success we need your help. If you know or hear of any one of your classmates who writes verse, no matter what their humble opinion of it may be, or if you yourself write, let the Poetry Editor know. We need material and the chances are you may be the very one to help us get it. Bertha M. Corfield, '28. “A WANDERING WIND By Bertha M. Corfield. Class of 192S A wandering wind from the west away Stirs through the trees at the close of day, Sighs to the sun. Whispers its hopes for the day ahead, Murmuring low as the sun sinks red. Stilling its song till the shadows fade, Hid by the dusk in her purple shade. Swells once again when the woodfolk roam Out in the dark from their forest home. Rustles a tune through the night air clear, Plays in the trees till the dawn draws near, Sings to the stars. THE DREAM CITY” By Martha E. Cheney, Class of 1929 When the sun is low and the shadows fall, When candles are lighted and gleam on the wall. On the edge of the world, in a darkening sky, The crimson city goes floating by. The air is still, the breeze is dead, The birds are silent overhead, Over the hill where the night enshrouds The city glides in a host of clouds. Nobody knows there’s a city there, Nobody goes there from anywhere, But as the sunset colors the sky, See! The crimson city passes by! ON THE APPEAL TO THE GREAT SPIRIT” By Anna Wischmann, Class of 192S 0 Indian, what do you ask When begging from your gods of Fate? Is’t for return of some lost mate. Or accomplishing some mighty task? Or maybe yet ’tis for success Of crops, which have not flourished well. Or for some friend by arrow felled— But no, 0 figure of nobleness Alone against the evening sky, 1 think you ask not boons like these, But freedom for the land you love; Where you may roam, unhindered by That race who for the sake of progress seize Your liberty, that’s giv’n by those gods above. TO A TEA SET” By Bertha M. Corfield, Class of 1923 Quaint little tea set of blue and gold, Dear tiny tea set, you’ve grown so old! What was it like when one bygone day Grandmamma used you? I beg you, say! How many teas did you help to grace Down at the master and misses’ place? When, with her hand in a silken mitt, Grandmamma poured, did you thrill a bit? What did she wear? Lace and furbelows? Dainty black slippers? Perhaps a rose? Tell, was she merry, or shy and fair, Did she have parties and was he” there? Why don’t you say, little tea set mine? Why do you just simply sit and shine? John Pierce, ’27, accepted an invitation from the Melrose High School to speak before a group of pupils and help them start a poetry club. He spoke well, we hear, saying just the right thing and stirring the enthusiasm of the pupils. We are proud that we have such an able representative to speak for the interest of our school in poetry.

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14 SOMERVILLE 111GI1 SCHOOL RADIATOR SCHOOL NEWS By Marion E. Smith, ’29 THE LITERARY CLUB THE first meeting of the Literary Club, at which the club had the honor of having Mr. John Holmes, Somerville High School, ’24, as their guest, was held October 5, in Room 122. Albert Allen, president, opened the meeting with a brief and fitting address, ex- plaining the purpose and aims of the club and its groups. Mr. Avery also spoke about the im- portance of the club and the value of the appre- ciation of poetry. John Holmes, now president of the Pipers (the poetry club at Tufts), had much to say of interest to all, but especially to those inter- ested in writing poetry. The gist of his talk was as follows: “Brood upon your thought and inspirations and the emotion brought into play so that when you put your poem on paper each word seems to be carved for its place, and when you read the poem it brings the same tug at your emotions that it did in the very beginning. Express your thoughts in new, fresh and force- ful words, not in ordinary language. Present them in new ways. A poem does not say what you feel; it is the thing itself. The one who reads your poem should feel the joy, or anger, or gladness that you experienced.” He told of his interest in free verse because it gives a broader and freer way of expression. He gave us personal sketches of some of the con- tempory poets whom he had met. With the reading of some of his own poems, “Peter Has an Evening,” “Peter at His Mirror,” “Wind and the Night,” and “Bell,” the meeting was brought to a close. ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION ASSEMBLY ON Friday, October 7, an assembly of the Senior and Junior classes was called by the Athletic Association, the purpose of which was to arouse enthusiasm for the foot- ball games. The speakers were Mr. Sears, Mr. Pearson, treasurer of the association, and Coach Charlie Dickerman. The speeches were short and right to the point and had the de- sired effect upon the audience. This was proved by the rousing cheers given at the close of the speeches, and by the greatly increased attend- ance at the Salem-Somerville game at Dilboy Field the next day. THE National Honor Society of the Somer- ville High School assembled for the first time on Thursday, October 6, 1927. Mr. Obear read parts of the constitution of the so- ciety to us, to recall to mind various points, after which he said a few words about plans for the coming year. Our officers have not been elected as yet, for this year, but probably will be at the next meeting, which will be held sometime in the near future. Mr. Hosmer then make a few remarks and with this the meeting closed. ASSEMBLY OF PREPARATORY PUPILS ON Friday, October 7, there was an as- sembly of all the pupils taking prepara- tory courses. The purpose of this was to explain the requirements of entrance to col- leges and normal schools. Mr. Avery spoke of the necessity of ambition and hard study to preparatory pupils. Mr. Hcsmer explained the difference between periods, points and units, and read the en- trance requirements of some individual col- leges. He also spoke of English, history, for- eign languages, mathematics and science as being the five main branches of learning, and aptly likened them to the five fingers of the hand. To English he gave the place of the thumb, the most important member of the hand, without which we would not be able to grip things. When the hand is clenched ready to grip, the thumb touches all the other fingers; to grip and learn, one must have a thorough understanding of English, which touches upon all other branches of learning. MUSICAL CLUBS OUR musical organizations, the band and the orchestra, began their rehearsals early in the year, and are now in full swing again under the able leadership of Ed- ward Friberg. The leader expresses his satis- faction with the progress the orchestra is making and thinks that we have an especially good one this year. An interesting exhibition of pictures relating to Shakespeare and the period in which he lived were re- cently on display in Mrs. Topliff’s home room. Con- tained in the exposition of thirty-six pictures were prints of Shakespeare, his home at Stratford-on-Avon, the important buildings of Shakespeare's era, and views of parts of England as it was then, including photo- graphs of Westminster Abbey, and of the memorials to Shakespeare inside the Abbey. R. H. S.