Springfield Trade High School - Beaver Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

Page 25 text:

Presidents Message June 13, 1955, will be a treasured day for the seniors of Trade High School. That day not only ends a period of formal study during which we have worked under the guidance of trained and experienced teachers, but it also begins the time in which we shall go out into the world to earn a living. The paths of life will take us in many different directions. Some of the boys of this class of ’55 have left, and more will be leaving to serve in the armed forces. In case of war, these boys of today, the men of tomorrow, will be fighting to save our country’s freedom which we all hold so dear. Other students of our class will immediately serve their communities effectively and satisfactorily through the various trades which they have learned here at school. All of us, as good Americans, will strive to give of our talents, to accept responsibility, to be loyal to principle, and to be worthy of the heritage which is ours. It is my wish that wherever we go, whatever we do, the training that we have had at Trade High will prove its worth. I hope we may become respected men and women, able in every way to take a respon- sible place in society. I am sure that as time goes on, we may look back upon these years at Trade High School as a wonderful, profitable experience. May we always remember them as three of the happiest and most worthwhile years of our lives. So together today, we face the future full of hope. We come to these last few weeks with mixed emotions. There is a bit of sadness: We shall miss our classmates and life we have known. There is grati- tude: We-appreciate the sacrifices of our parents, and the patience and helpfulness of our teachers. There is joy: We, the 1955 graduates of Trade High School, shall become the responsible citizens of tomcrrow. We should not wish it otherwise.

Page 24 text:

Earl Royce gives over his cashier’s job in the cafeteria to Arthur Bousquet who needs a little change during the two lunch periods. Phillip Drumheller leaves his position as radio announcer of Sta- tion WEDK to someone who can find time for the job. Richard Dumas leaves his free hours in the morning to Lester Langevin so that the absentee bulletins will surely be passed out next year. Pat Freeman leaves her candy papers to Betty Barnes to throw into the waste basket. Mabel Hewson, as soloist, leaves a prominent place in the Glee Club for which several girls may compete. Daniel Cheney leaves at least one foot of his towering height and a few of his extra pounds of weight to Armand LaMountain. Will you use them, Armand? Patricia Blanchard leaves to her Trade colleague, Dorothy Ethier, her ability to talk anyone, at any time, into anything. To any junior boy who isn’t busy on Saturday night, Pat Mul- vaney gladly leaves her telephone number. Elizabeth McCarthy leaves her basketball skill for Mrs. Sullivan to pass on to some new student who wishes to star in the sport. Gloria May leaves her sleeping powders to any sncring junior. Jack Moriarty leaves his love for puppies to Mrs. Connor, who we know will appreciate it. Dona Cote and Joseph Loglisci leave their extra math ability to students who have difficulty trying to figure how to pass senior math. Ace Burgess passes his hockey position as goalie to Michael Has- kins. May you guard it well, Michael, and allow no scoring for Trade opponents next year. Ronnie Rogers leaves an aspiring junior the opportunity to make good as president of the Student Council, to take an important respon- sibility on the Craftsman Staff, or to follow in his footsteps and become a fine leader. Carl Boyer leaves his over-sized aspirin bottle, which he has just refilled, to the 56 Class President with the advice that the pills be taken sparingly if they are to last the year out. The class vice-president and chairman of the banquet and prom committee, Lucille Kratochvil, leaves two important assignments for a very ambitious junior worker to fill. To a deserving junior, Sheila Bryant wills the cheerfulness, which made her a successful secretary of the senior class. Joseph Piteo passes on his money worries to the next senior treasurer. Have fun with your class dues, treasurer of 756. Roger Denault and Elaine Gravel leave to the marshals who will succeed them their rubber-sole shoes. The seniors leave many openings in the field of sports and var- ious places of honor to be filled by members of the class of 1956. May they carry on in a worthy way. To our adviser, Miss Melvin, we leave a one way ticket to Port ‘Barrow, Alaska, with the hope that she may find it a good cooling off place. To Mr. Magee we leave free time. As he had none this past year, we hope that, with his class advising duties finished, he may soon have at least 55 uninterrupted days. Signed and sealed this thirteenth day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-five. The Class of 1955

Page 26 text:

1955 Class History September, 1952! We well realize that we are seniors and that advanced age has already dimmed our memory of those far-away days when our class, the class of 1955, entered Trade High School. We are afraid that we remember only the high spots of our freshman year. Of course, our class was not organized then, but we did not let that worry us. Life at Trade was far too busy and interesting; there was no time to worry. We were impressed by our fine, big building with its passenger elevator, its large auditorium, and its modern cafeteria. We enjoyed spending half of our time working in the shop of our choice. We appreciated the kindness and friendliness of our teachers. We were awed by the very big boys—hundreds of them. We looked forward to our excellent assemblies — usually on Friday mornings. 1952 was a presidential year. When the candidates visited Springfield in the course of their campaigns, we were allowed to go to see them and hear them speak. Finally, early in November, we voted, and as Trade High went, so went the Nation—for President Eisen- hower. We were able to see the President inaugu- rated also, because, on Inauguration Day, Mr. Garvey had several large television sets moved into our auditorium. The whole school and some guests assembled there to watch the exercises in Washington, The show! THE SHOW! Frankly, by Christmas we were becoming a bit bored by so much mention of the show. But—what a show! Everybody—but everybody— had some part—singing, painting scenery, selling tickets, printing programs, acting. Trades- capades of 1953 was presented in February after a month of preparation. As the years go by, we shall probably see more talented actors and better known shows, but none will be more wonderful than our first Tradescapades. Toward the end of May we had our Field Day — not really a day, but just a few hours —on our ath- letic field behind the school. It was a beautiful spring afternoon — just right for the races, the faculty base- ball game, and finally the tug-of-war. Our field lacks a brook or pond, of course, but a fire hose does very well. We stamped and yelled and cheered for the boys at either end of the rope— whichever group seemed to sewing costumes, be winning, Surprisingly soon it was the last of June. One Friday morning we received our final report cards, and we were happy or sad—-and free for two glorious months, Just as June comes, so does September. We were reluctant to return to school. The novelty of Trade had worn off. We had nothing but classes to look forward to for ten long months. However, we had reckoned without the Springfield School Committee. We returned to find that we had an efficient, new assistant principal, Miss Esther Skelley. Our own Mrs. Thompson, who had been acting principal of the girls’ division during our freshman year, had returned to her former position, that of girls’ guidance counselor. And Trade had gone co-educational — or as co-educational as it could with the boys outnumbering the girls three to one! At iast boys could venture onto the third floor, which had always been No-Man’s Land. On October thirtieth, we had our first class meet- ing with our faculty advisers, Miss Ruth Page and Mr. John D’Arcy. Then things really began to happen. We were in the midst of campaigns and an election of our own; we were selecting class rings; we were consid- ering a junior prom. Our junior class election was held the sixth of January. We elected Roger Denault president, Sheila Bryant vice-president, Patricia Freeman secretary, Carl Boyer treasurer, and Patricia Blanchard and Alfred Serra marshals. The big social event of our junior year was the dance which we gave to the seniors in our gym the fourteenth of May. It was a lovely party. We all had a wonderful time. And then we were seniors! We came back to school on September eighth for our last year, feeling very much that we owned the building and could rule everyone in it. We had a new adviser, Miss Melvin, because Miss Page had been transferred to the High School of Commerce during the summer. We elected our senior officers the fourteenth of October. Carl Boyer is our president; Lucille Kratochvil, vice-president; Sheila Bryant, secretary; Joseph Piteo, treasurer; Elaine Gravel and Roger Denault, marshals. Soon we were knee-deep in senior activities—having — class meetings, being measured for graduation caps and gowns, posing for class pictures, considering our year book, and paying class dues. It was really later than we thought. About the first of December, we faced another change. Our adviser, Mr. D’Arcy, left teaching to devote all of his time to his own electrical business. Mr. Magee of the patternmaking department was ap- pointed to replace him. Although we regret losing Miss Page and Mr. D’Arcy, we hope that they will both be happy in their new work. We feel that we are fortu- nate in having Miss Melvin and Mr. Magee to guide us because we shall profit from their experience of two years ago when they were advisers to the class of 19538. We soon learned that along with the fun and pres- tige of being seniors, there is plenty of planning, par- ticipation, and paying. We tried to promote keener | school spirit in urging our class members to attend a basketball game together—to sit together and cheer together. We accepted the challenge of the juniors, who have been exceedingly active this year, to play them in basketball on February 24. Remember, we won that day — the senior girls’ team, the senior boys’ team, and the senior salespeople who sold supporters’ tags! In March we had two Thursdays reserved for us in the Tea Room. Those seniors who were in attendance en- joyed that dinner —it wasn’t Thanksgiving Day, but the turkey was good! Previous to the first day of spring, our committee had to more than turn their thoughts to the banquet and prom, Class Day, and graduation; they really had to work out detailed plans. Continuously throughout