St Johnsbury Academy - Lamp Yearbook (St Johnsbury, VT)

Page 16 text:

14 THE ACADEMY STUDENT Sweet voices singing ‘Holy Night’— ‘The Savior is born’—the tinkle of sleigh bells Merry and bright; the huge silent snow drifts, Evenings, walking home—cold mornings— And gray smoke rising from the chimneys.” A memory is a lovely thing, A vision that stirs. The beauty That is love makes a precious, Eternal memory to brighten sad hours: “Recall the lingering loveliness of Mother’s smile, Of a child lying asleep in his warm bed; The vision of incense curling around the candles At Benediction—soft organ music Swelling, lifting to the heavens— In praise of God ; The gay laugh of friends together, And best of all, the smile of the stranger who looks at you.” The finer things in life: “The touch of soft satin—candlelight And flowers—the delicate rose— The smouldering loveliness of the orchid. The mystic glow of soft lights through the stained glass windows.” What man has not felt the inward glow, 'This sense of satisfaction that comes From beauty and love. It can be mountains or yawning canyons Elaborate Gothic towers—Woolworth’s mighty monument Pointing heavenward—or little things— “Cool summer breezes at evening, Ocean waves washing the sand, Warm red apples lying in the September sun, Homecoming footsteps on the front porch.” Youth finds beauty everywhere. —Anita Tegu This poem originated from lists of “My Beautiful Things” prepared as an assignment in senior English. The form of the poem is entirely the work of Anita Tegu.

Page 15 text:

THE ACADEMY STUDENT 13 “Walking barefoot on a dirt road, rustling through Crisp autumn leaves—hearing the wind Whistling through the tall swaying pines; A bird’s song—gay and hopeful; A bubbling brook winding through the woods.” These are familiar things. Man has loved them Since the beginning of time. “Mountains—towering, lofty, powerful, When they become alive at sunset Burning with gold and orange. Mountains and pines burdened with snow, A storm moving over their peaks, A threatening gloom—inevitable.” Some folks like grandeur and gold ; Others like warmth and friendliness. Powerful high mountains for some. But for others little rolling hills: “A white hill under a blue heaven, Breezes blowing your hair so that It whips around your eves and mouth. Slender birches on the hilltop, bending, Yielding to the wind ; A blue sparkling lake secure Between two broad green hills, The long valley lined with trees— Tall elms, broad oaks, friendly birches.” The seasons following each other, A vast cycle. Beauty is in them all: The freshness of spring, the dazzling brightness of winter— “The skier, graceful, sweeps down the slope Making a spray of snow. The 4 o’clock hush under a gray sky, Huge flakes falling silently—you linger, Hesitant, skiing down the trail once more. Snow falling in the deep quiet woods; Rabbits hopping among the trees. Quick, elusive; the bark of the hound, Running close on the tracks. And, then, on Christmas Eve, The tree with soft lights,

Page 17 text:

 THE ACADEMY STUDENT 15 CLASS HISTORY TIME: April 16, 1942 PLACE: Alumni Office PROBLEM: Class History CHARACTERS: The Committee Currier: Now, we’ve got to get down to business. This has to be finished by April 27. You've had some time to think this over. What ideas have you got? Stanhope: We should start way back at the beginning of our history. Now what happened our freshman year? Poole: I know the class bells scared me. Rodger: There were two new organizations started that year—the Allied Youth and the French Club. Nutting: Archery, tennis, and golf were started as girls’ sports. Currier: How many members were there in our class when we entered the Academy? Stanhope: It says here in this notebook that the enrollment of the freshman class in 1938 was 149 students. Poole: Yes, but since then some members of the class have left, some new ones have come and a few seniors have decided it would be easier to take four years in five. That leaves about 116 students that will be graduating. Rodger: 1 remember that the hurricane caused quite a bit of excitement that year. Because the lights went out, everybody used it as an excuse for not having his homework done the next day—and it worked. Currier: I think our freshman reception deserves mention. All the freshman girls came out in their first formals. The boys we: e there, too, but most of them were standing around the hall. I guess the reason was that they didn’t know much about dancing then. Stanhope Then nothing much happened until about the middle of the year when we had a chance to struggle through our first midyear exams; but I think most of our class survived. Poole: Then spring came and it was soon time for the final examinations, and the summer vacation. Rodger: Yes, but before we knew it, it was September again and that meant back to school.