Saint Marks School - Lion Yearbook (Southborough, MA)

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be, and anyone who doesnit like it can leave, quoth Pott. Everybody promptly left. CThc situation was smoothed over sufficiently to allow the organization to totter to a shaky death at the end of the year.D One of this wartime faculty, persecuted by his sixth form corridor, broke down and wept copiously in SC Latin class one morning. His students, bored by this lachrymosc performance, gathered up their Latin cribs and walked out. The Blue Beetle, since departed, de- cided to house-train his large dog in the biology lab, which frequently distracted us from the mating habits of the aeri- didae melanoplus: Those of us who know the little fellow well,e,' Gus Serino had informed us at the bc- ginning of the year that his course was to be mainly history, though l'm your English teacher too, so when I say read a book, ya gotta read it goodf, The end of the winter term brought with it a Bay State cold snap, and Dorm C slumbered in the shower room, until Doug, normally an extremely well-be- havcd lad, yielded to some hidden inhibi- tion and flooded the place. Miss Wheeler became hysterical as Water slowly seeped through the dining room ceiling. Spring brought a fitting climax to the year as the squad knocked off Groton's highly touted ball team, and the form joyfully pulled the wagon in the only victory celebration we were destined to see. That summer was one of glorious loafingethe last for most of us --- al- though Elsie and Hunk, the big boys, went to Brantwood, and Brockie picked up a laboring man's point of View and a good deal of easy cash in a shipyard. VVe returned to face our fourth form year with new bass voices and conscious maturity. There was a good deal of rump- us, confusion, and spirited bull sessions the first weeks, centering around North 3. Recreation in New Dorm took a highly unattractive turn, to the horror of a queer studious individual in the sixth form who found himself in the thick of it. Every authority in school looked on us as a noisome group and, as the vise of discipline tightened, the nocturnal meet-

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the reality of troubled times was brought closer to us when we learned that Dr. Parkman, whom in two years we had come to respect deeply, was to leave us for the Army. We are sorry that we were not old enough to know him more intimately, and the departure of Mrs. Parkman, who was like a mother to every one of us, saddened us immeasurably. His sincerity and wise conscientiousness and her regard for our happiness will always be gratefully re- membered. Two old faces were missing and several even older ones were added as our third year opened. In the former category were the Cuban Queer and Tugboat Dave, who had not gone for goodeas yet. The new old faces were headed by Davey Jones, with a draft deferment, and Phil- bur, who was no spring chicken himself. A round-faced little lad called Rosen- krantz vanished into his alcove to study, but reappeared in a big Way on Prize Day. A specimen known as Spring- field Spot and Ben the Dune-Dune, who shaved even then, augmented the humor- ous section of our group. Willy B., who is still around school, drove himself up in a Cadillac, and peremptorily requested Mr. Hackett to carry his radio and trunk upstairs. While Dorms D and E fought pitched battles daily, C became intensely dis- turbed by Philbur, who was determined to show off his Atlas physiqueg a resist- ance movement refused to be cowed by his biceps, fone night his alcove disap- peared entirely. In the winter We welcomed Mr. Brew- ster as the new headmaster. The new term had barely gotten under way when George, in violent disapproval of the disciplinary system in general, and his own twelve marks in particular, can- celled his appointment on the coal pile by means of an eraser in the slate room. He thereby provided the new chief executive with his Hrst unhappy task of meting out justice. The Boy Scout Troop, which had seen greener years under Fap and Yak, came under the supervision of Mr. Potter in its third year, much to Ron's irritation. VVhen the dues were raised and good times placed at a minimum, a rebellion ensued. 'Tll run this troop the Way it ought to

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ings became more and more clandestine and infrequent. Christopher and fluttcry Sandy Jack- son had fallen by the Wayside, but our number was enhanced by nine char- acters Who abode in Dorm E and re- mained Well behaved for a very brief period. They included Stevie, Bruce, Secant, Pat, Albie, and Bill the Phin. Then there was Silent Ken, Equot a Beak Cas yet unchristenedl, and a gang- ling redhead travelling under the name of Dick Clark, who brought a carton of chcroots with him just to get off to the right start. Equot immediately spread a series of insidious rumors about his roommate, and Albie commenced his school career by yelling Woof Woof out of his window at Yak,who was playing tennis right underneath just to see what would happenf' Woofie came panting right up to Dorm E, and A.B., aghast at his sin, bellowed excuses in the style that later became characteristic. The dreams of military glory in the S.M.T.C. that we had nurtured for three years were shattered as soon as we be- came members of the Southboro Army. Cflarkie paraded for a while in unpolished sneakers, but finding that this only netted him marks, decided not to appear at all and refused to attend maneuvers for the rest of the year. Junior Goad, struggling under a huge rifle, was admonished by his ofhcers to stand up straight until it became evident that Benjie just couldn't stand up any straighter. In fact, the only conscientious member of the military was Gordon, who already pic- tured himself in the role of colonel. After a disappointing loss to Groton and the interminable weeks of soccer and boredom, We departed to enjoy the Yule season and discover the questionable joys of Larut. That winter was memorable for the pilgrimage which Bud and Stevie made to Marlboro during the sixth form dance, and for Clarkie's nicotine habits, which reached nearly a pack a day. No sense of responsibility yet lay heavy upon us and the roughhousing became intolerable to prefects and masters alike. Someone thought it would be exciting to hang people out of Windows by their feet, until the sport was curtailed one day by the sixth form just as Brockie,s toes were dis- appearing over the window sill. It looks bad from the quadranglef' they said, by Way of explanation. Jonesie, who was rumored to be of voting age, forsook us for the Merchant Marine, and Willie Beehan took one last dentist trip', to