Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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Oration DEMOCRACY WORKS Am.d the turmoil occasioned by the rovoges of o wor which seems so distant ond re- mote from our peaceful shores, ond so controry to the peaceful ottitude thot pervades this audience, we who are about to moke thot transition from girlhood to womanhood, or from boyhood to manhood, and being here very much envied and to be envied os citizens of the greotest Democracy in the world, the United Stotes of America, should be thankful we live in a country where Democracy exists, ond should use every precaution to safeguard it from any other form of government. As I stond here this evening, rejoicing with my fellow graduates and parents, events are happening in Europe thot ore terrorizing the world. The tenocles of wor ore slowly em- bracing entire Europe, leaving in its wake, illness, diseose, orphans, starvation, ond the ter- rible scourge of death. What is the reoson for this chaos thot has engulfed Europe? The reoson can be thus summed up by pointing our finger on the diseosed route thot threatens the entire world; in other words, the totalitarian or dictatorship form of govern- ment. This form of government is rapidly spreading over the continent, coming under the classification of Communism, Nozism, and Fascism, for dictatorship is a government of men, not of lows. The will, meaning the mood, the temper, the hcolth, the nervous system of the Fuehrer, Ducc, Commissar or Czar, is the controlling factor of all institutions, including the courts. If such dictatorships bring security, it is the security of the borracks ond joils. They develope feor, hatred, collective perversions, and war. Either they bring a civilization so ab- ject that people become willing slaves, or they open up o sco of bloodshed. Todoy there are in Germany fresh groves where rest the ashes of those whom the Cotholic people regord as martyrs—although nothing is permitted to be revealed os to how they met their end. The home of the Jew hos been confiscated, his home which to him has always been his castle, hos been token owoy from him without due process of low, a right safeguarded to us by the Constitution of the United Stotes. Compare the turbulent conditions in Europe with our stotes in the United Stotes. In our country the government belongs to the people, instead of the people belonging to the government. In olmost every respect our standard of living in 1940, after a decade of eco- nomic storm and stress, is still the highest in the world. No other nation, least of all dictator notions, Italy, Germany, Russia, comes anywhere near equaling the high standards exempli- fied here. This improvement hasn't come along by letting well enough alone, but by a con- stant struggle ogoinst vested interests. For struggle and compromise have been typical of American democracy. This democracy has capacities for adventure not motched by any totalitarian stotc, nor is it bound by any rules, except to respond to the wish of the people. Democracy gives the individual o sense of power and dignity and mokes the people respon- sible for their own destiny. I would not surrender democracy even temporarily for any promise of a better world. Now, since we ore oil a port of the government, is it not only logical and sensible that we exercise our rights of taking port in the government. We should hold the highest admira- tion for whot our forefathers suffered ond died, namely, democracy; therefore, we should use every precaution to preserve thot democracy. In a few yeors, fellow classmates, you and I— all of us, will be full-fledged citizens, carrying with it the right to vote. This is more than a right, it is a public duty to be per- formed faithfully ond conscientiously. To maintoin democracy as the ideal form of government we must elect only honest ond trustworthy individuals o represent us. We must watch the cunning politician, who seeks only to benefit himself rother than the country. We will not see any great militory fortifications extending between our country and Canada, or between our country and Mexico. Our rivers ore not being used for wor man- euvers, but for peaceful transportation, and the irrigation of the dry and desert lands. The mountains ore not being crowned with guns, but with trails ond lodges for mountain climbers. We should thank God thot we live in America where the children con run and play without the feor of the trumpet's coll to bloody battle. Men can speak os they wish, with- out the fear of prison bars. Let us be grateful we live in o land for removed from war or the dangers of war. We should thank God that we live in the United States of America, whose democratic govern- ment is still of the people, by the people, ond for the people. Let us be thankful we live in a land where freedom of speech, religious tolerance, free education and equol opportunity for oil, where oil these liberties are unquestioned ond firmly established. If we ore tempted to complain obout our lot in life, we should reflect on the sufferings of the war torn world m Europe todoy. The one consoling thought we should keep uppermost in our minds is, how fortunate we ore that we live in the United Stotes of America. , Neatly, the situation is summed up in the words of Mr. Justice Brandeis: Those who won our independence believed thot the final end of the State was to moke men free to de vclope their faculties, and that in its government the deliberate forces should prevo.l over the arbitrary. They valued liberty both os on end ond as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of hoppiness, ond courage to be the secret of liberty. They believed that freedom to think os you will ond to speak as you think ore means .nd.spensoblc to the discovery and spread of political truth, thot without free speech and assembly, discussion would be futile; thot with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; thot the greotest mcnoce to freedom .s an inert people that public discus- sion is a political duty; ond this should be a fundamental principle of the American Government. Charles Lucjorw-

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Graduating With Honor 1940 GIRLS AHERN, ELEANOR R. BAGDIGIAN, DOROTHY M. BARLEY, ADELA M. BLOOMER, GERALDINE E. BRYANT, WINIFRED A. BUONOPANE, CHRISTINA R. BURNETT, MARION T. CAGLIUSO, MARY J. CARO, GERTRUDE A. CASHMAN, VIRGINIA E. CAVAZZI, JENNIE COSTAS, HELEN CROSS, PATRICIA A. DeINNOCENTIS, IRMA R. DiLORENZO, LEAH G. DiLORENZO, PRISCILLA R. DRATCH, MARY DUSHUTTLE, DOROTHY L. FOX, DOROTHY H. GEROTHEOU, ALICE E. GUGLIETTA, ELIZABETH GURNEY, MARY B. JACOBS, HELEN F. JAY, VIRGINIA KACOYANIS, MARY J. KANE, ELEANOR A. KELLEY, GRACE H. KENISTON, HELEN A. KNIPES, RUTH C. KNOX, ELVIA KOSTAS, ETHEL LIMA, ROSE M. MocCALLUM, VIRGINIA R. MAHONEY, MARY E. MARTIN, MARY E. McCAFFERY, ANN F. MILLER, MAUDE G. MORAN, RITA B. NUNZIATO, EDITH M. O'HARA, MARY E. ROSENBERG, DOLORES J. RYAN, MARGARET L. SKYRME, JUSTINE P. TALMO, JOSEPHINE G. TROTTER, WINIFRED 0. TSOTSI, CATHERINE WARFALOSKY, SOPHIA M. ZAMBELLO, MARIANNA ZOUVARTIAN, SARA E. BOYS ABRAHAMIAN, MARTIN AHEARN, JOHN P. ATHENS, THEODORE AVILA, ANTHONY M. BOTELHO, JEREMIAH J. CARLSON, ROY E. H. COULOURIOTES, JOHN DEUKMEJIAN, GEORGE K. DiMILLA, SALVATORE J. DWYER, ARTHUR J. FIAMINGO, JOSEPH L. GINSBURG, HARVEY H. HODGDON, EARL B. JOYCE, MICHAEL J. KALOYANIDES, BASIL KESSLER, IRVING LANG, ALBERT MAGUIRE, FRANCIS J. MARCEL, GEORGE L. MARTELLUCCI, PAUL S. MARTINEAU, DENNIS J. MARTINI, ERNEST McCABE, EDWARD F. PRENTISS, RICHARD M. RAPHAEL, THOMAS REIMER, CHARLES B. SPINOSA, COSMO STANLEY. HOMER M. SWENSON, LENNART A. TSOTSI, LOUIS G. WELCH, WALTER J.

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Vincent Piono, 1940 We, the closs of 1940, hoving completed three hoppy ond successful (we hope) yeors in the hoory (but freshly pointed) rooms of the Somerville High School, on this, the twelfth doy of June, in the yeor of our Lord, one thousand nineteen hundred and forty, feel obligated to alleviate the sod- ness of the undergraduates ot our leaving them forever, by bequeothing the following: 1. To the incoming senior class we leave oil the regulor responsibilities that occompony this exalted stotion, plus the added one of keeping Sophs ond Jun- iors from soiling the freshly pointed school walls. 2. To the Sops ond Juniors we leave a carlood of soap with which to wash hands spotless in order to keep point fresh, ond Seniors pleasant. Lux to the girls; Lava to the boys. 3. To the future ospironts of stoge ond cinematic fame, we leave the Ployers' Club. To serve the bitter with the sweet, we leove the greot task of attempting a production to surposs this year's Stoge Door. 4. To tne future Webster ond Por- tio members we leove o broken-down, dis- corded feud, and perfect peoce ond amity between the two societies. It took ten years to achieve this condition of sublimity; puhleeze don't rekindle the sparks of thot abominable tug-of-war. 5. To Mr. Cotter's future homeroom closs we leove the enervating anticipation of listening to his super-supremely-scintil- loting quips ond puns. An hurroh so weak thot were it human, it would require three hundred and ninety-eight blood trans- fusions to keep it olive. 6. To Mr. O'Loughlin we leave twenty or thirty more hoppy years in Somerville High, in which time the wit of oil those os- sorted classes may perchance mellow his sense of humor. (Revenge of Section 3-A.) 7. To Guardian of the Coffers Pear- son, we leove a huge iron chest with o top speed outomatic counter to register the dues os they come rolling in so quickly. We also leove o box of cough drops, which he mav use in cose he ever loses those beauti- ful resonant tones of his voice. 8. To the girls: We express our sym- pathy that since leap yeor will be over, you will have to work harder to get the boys to ask you to the donees, because no longer con you invite the boshful brutes yourself. (Signed: The Girls of 1940.) 9. To the future lunchroom patrons who will hoppily occupy the little corner of the lunchroom opposite the teachers' lunch- room (otherwise known os The Den ), we leove on otmosphere, heavily laden with dignity os o result of harboring the IDU Society for three years, in which to partoke of their repost. 10. To future thirsty students we leave the thrill of drinking from our perfectly functioning new faucets. 11. To the struggling Stomp Club we leove o bottle of glue so they may lick their troubles, stick to their purpose, ond stamp on to success. 12. To the incoming sophomores we should very much like to leove (but unfor- tunately, connot) enough money (if we had it) to hove some elevators built and thus save them from being subjected to the hu- miliation and indignotion of looking for elevators that don't exist. Aren't we the thoughtful ones, though? 13. To the future college preparatory seniors we leave the wonderful knowledge thot it's worth your while to study hord in order to prove just how smart you ore when those anxiously awaited college boards creep upon you. 14. To the seniors we leove the pleas- ure of reading L'Allegro, Lycidios, II Penseroso, ond other equally inspiring poems on those balmy summer nights when those dull sophomores ond juniors are out dancing instead of improving their minds. 15. To pupils who must poss chemistry laboratories on their woy to classes we be- queoth some old gos mosks. We sincerely hope that the present world strife will not necessitate new ones. 16. To the Notionol Honor Society we respectively leove o high sense of character, liberal service, o corps of leaders, ond high scholarship. To thot society also, we leove Pomp ond Circumstance and earnestly hope thot the muscial excellence of the members will not decreose. 17 To the Student Council's lost ond found department we leove a genuine graduote of Toby Acco's auctioneering school to conduct their annual auction. 18. To our heodmaster, Mr. Sears, and to the faculty, we express our thanks for three enjoyable yeors, our appreciation for their potient efforts to aid us, our apologies for ony inconsiderotc act, and our sincere wishes for the best which the future may hold. (Signed) Class of 1 940 WITNESSED BY: Vincent Piano, Ernest Martini, Alice Mac- Kenzie.