Saint Marks School - Lion Yearbook (Southborough, MA)

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childish things. I guess these boys just don’t read the Bible. Although that say- ing should be quite familiar anyway. I suspect they'll end the year the same way they started it. With a wham. Naturally I was pleased with the way Randy and a few of the big boys—hefty John Shaw, slender Tim Sherwood, lanky Gordon Douglas, and racy Andy Rankin —led the football team to a snowy 27-12 smear over Groton. And likewise with Denny’s footsters, including massive Boomy, rapid Tim, speedy Ave, fleet Morrell, and ah-Lee in the goal. But there was also the Wheeler dance discus- sions. Here’s what happened: The day before the dance somebody got the idea that it would be nice if we all staved cn the dance floor during the dance. This immediately brought up the question, “Why?” Just before the big de- bate an exhibition of Indian warfare was put up in the sixth-form room to give everyone some background data on the cease. Actually the discussion got no re- sults and most of the boys came away with the idea that it would be even neces- sary to show a draft card to get punch at the dance. Of course, to the few who had shown foresight two years previously, the draft ecard was no worry. And speaking of girls, there was the time when Nip enticed Richie and Van to seek relief in rural affairs. Luckily Badge stopped these gentlemen before anything had a chance to develop; nevertheless it didn’t help their discipline records, and when the firebug (“‘Let’s toss matches at each other’) episode exploded, I thought I had seen the last of at least one of them. However, the final outcome of this was only that the smoking team had to cancel the rest of its games. Meanwhile Lion Films, Inec., was busy shooting the final scenes of its movie The Sheik of Apocalyse starring Valentino Berthelsen, directed by Buzzooks, and Alex, and produced by J. P. Scudder. The rest of the boys were either munching cheese, working out crossword puzzles, or studying history problems. When the term finally ended with the usual dorm feasts, one extended vacation, and a discriminating Brucemas party (next one in 1957), almost everyone ran to New York and grew a year older. I thought I had best follow. Marcu 1953. Dear Dtary, Vacations can even be more fun than the school terms. After a 2-1 victory over Ronnie’s Lawrenceville team everyone began to celebrate the New Year at Randy’s. S. Woods was there with every- one and everything, and L. Jackson was there with herself and Shaw. No need in saying what Bevo was there with, though he wasn’t the only one. When I got back to school, I knew I was in for a very spe- cial term. The first event was getting a Walnut Hill concert called off, which was —too bad. Then for a change, Mr. Barber made the form think a little of college and he asked an admissions director of one of the east’s discriminating metropolitan colleges to visit. Parlor was no longer a smoker now because of the sports season.

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And, of course, I can’t forget how big lovable Jeff Coolidge tried to put dorm feasts out of fashion. That was the time of tin cups, arrows, broken windows, and a soul-rendering meeting with Gac. If the boys were looking forward to their fourth- form year, it’s hard to tell why. If only they hadn’t found out about those twen- ty-one rules. JUNE 1951. Dear Diary, It’s just been one big race. They’ve tried to see who could be the first to break the school’s twenty-one written rules. Of course, to my credit there was ath- letic Randy, and Bennyboys Mike and Chas, but not much else except head librarian Jiggy Coe. And I’m not sure, either, if they actually did manage to erack all twenty-one rules, though it was a good try anyway. It all started with the friendliest little game of poker in club 171 you can ever imagine. The boys, though, did gain one thing from their trouble—a real buddy. I remember, too, the West 3 Coliseum’s fights with the record attendance of thirty-seven. It was this year that the climax of Dwight Davis’s career was reached. With master- mind William Peterson planning, the famed “Benny’s Car Episode” was exe- cuted. It was following this that Inspector Coker filed his brilliant report on 5.M. Sin and Immorality in Marlboro and vicinity. In the spring the hacking light- ened, and the form (now “the worst in school”) began to acquire that humorous and inevitable upper-school cynicism; and now for the first time in the spring their fancy turned to thoughts of — and -at Tenacre. They’re still growing, I can tell. in particular, their first “big dance” JUNE 1952. Dear Diary, The form was divided this year. There were those who played poker and there were those who campaigned. I suppose both groups had their good points. Only 11 at odd times did the groups overlap. For instance, there were the Roosevelt Grille celebration party, and the Sixth-Form Dance Birddog Club with the Bobsey Twins, and even the atrocious nodoz market at mid-year exams. Thus with one-half of the form played against the other, a few worries departed (just before the beginning of the term) and good deeds and teen-age problems increased which were to plague us throughout the term. But to mention a few of the good deeds, theatrical John Loudon has shone in the SMDC Inspector General, and the dance committee ran a successful barn dance. Tim slammed out four hits against Gro- ton after spending most of the season on Ulen’s maritime squad, and the important war scenes of the form movie were taken with the acting of “‘generalissimo” Has- kins. Everyone was so tense at the end of the spring term when staff, club, and school positions were announced. I saw a few who bitterly burnt old campaign posters and such, but no one committed suicide. I can hardly wait till next year. DECEMBER 1952. DEAR Diary, I read in the Bible once something about becoming a man and putting away

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Instead it was kind of musical culture period. When he wasn’t practicing for an aria in the chapel, B. Carooster Hall would accompany his voice with an ac- cordion in the headmaster’s study. Of course, Averell was indispensable at the piano, playing all the hits, including “Of Thee I, Of Thee, Of Thee I sing, BABY.” Also it was time now to begin thinking of the sixth-form dance—and everyone did, except Jiggy, naturally. The major com- plications on the weekend included: Gus getting Weatherbee Aiken’s girl, Hutch- ins getting Hall’s girl, nobody getting Shaw’s girl, Van getting no girl, every- body wanting Richie’s girl, Ballande get- ting his girl, and most of the rest of the form getting townies. I'll say just one more word on the weekend— Maribeth. Though Mr. Badger got sick as a dog one week before the opening night of the musical, Doe Shep and President Lou- don pushed everyone, and on production night the boys were practically sitting in their laps. College Boards, the annual bore, was the final event of the eventful term which also included the form’s first drastic discipline measure. Four fourth-formers were paraded before a barrage of “sirs’’ and silly questions. (Example—Concern- ing the discovery of taboo coke bottles in his room, the boy was asked “Why?” “I don’t know, SIR.” Neilsen: “Is your thirst any greater than mine?”) On the first day of vacation after Mike had taken off for the land of Oranges, Indians and Judy, and almost everyone else had head- ed home, a group of six gathered in Provi- dence where Doctor Sears, Sober Andy, and Sherry Shaw displayed their teen- icide talents. Aprit 1953. Dear Diary, It’s spring. It’s in the air. It’s in the boys. They’re anxious. So am I. I keep thinking of the future and its events. I 13 imagine I can see Bevo kissing all the babies in the country (especially around Jimmy Ryan’s) in his effort to sit in Congress, and Boomy Coon asking for lower wages in the Senate. And there’s Randy playing halfback for the Detroit Lions, and Charlie Steedman buying a sports arena after he’s made his first million, Gus running all the banks in Mexico, Fred Harvey bankrupting the restaurant business, Willy making up crossword puzzles for the New York Times, Buzzy as an usher at the Met, Averell as a father, Denny following the sun, Bob “Hilton”? Armstrong buying the Virgin Islands, Gordon as the president of Hahrvard, and Morrell as the capitalist who cleaned up by selling vodka when the Russians invaded America. All this might be true. I wonder. And I’m tired. May 30, 1953. Dear Diary, The only trouble this term arose when Mr. Barber decided that big boys, in- cluding monitors, ought to act like big boys. I don’t think all the trouble was their fault, however; it might have been something higher than that—and I don’t need to mention a name; it’s all in the record. Still there is no denying that the form