Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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12 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC JUNE 1934 ing chorus of beautiful girls, including Kitty White, Jean Sullivan, Virginia Haradon, Jeanne Sparkes, Kitty Kelly, Cornelia Weeks, Eva Southall.” A fea- ture of the show is Wild Bill Dolan, the Hill Billy singer. The orchestra at the theatre is under the direc- tion of John McDonough, and includes Ed Mahoney, the slide-trombonist, ‘‘tearing music off by the yard;” Earl “Rudy” Gross, the crooning saxophon- ist, and William White, the dreamy drummer. Entering the theatre lobby for the opening per- formance, I see Donald Blanchard and Claire Wells, Mrs. Blanchard to you, and three little Blanchards tugging at their father’s coattail. Don is professor of French at Tufts now, but still makes his home in Stoneham. Standing in the lobby also is another well known S. H. S. couple, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Roach. Do I have to tell you that Mrs. Roach is the former Eleanor Brown? Hennie is the New York Yankees shortstop who has just recently es- tablished a new stolen base record. Ellie is a daily spectator at the Yankee Stadium where she sits and paints pictures of her better half in action. Standing in the lobby at the entrance to the thea- tre, garbed in a red and gold uniform bedecked with medals and tassels galore, and looking as important as ever, is Rayford Mann, graciously bowing and di- recting as he takes tickets. The head usher at the theatre is Paul Cunningham, who also makes an ad- mirable appearance in his trim uniform. But suddenly the theatre view fades away and next I see a beautiful new structure, modern in ev- ery respect, standing in the North end of the town. It is the new Stoneham Preparatory School for Boys. There in the headmaster’s office sits James L. Rich. Jimmy has been active in the education field and has completed several theses on modern education. Only recently he headed a vigorous drive against the modern Latin text book, edited by Viola LaPierre, th e old Latin shark herself, on the grounds that it was written in a foreign language and aided in spreading Fascisti propaganda. Through Stoneham’s State Senator, Emil D’Entre- mont, he has introduced a bill on Beacon Hill, car- rying the demand for a tariff on ablative absolutes. In the same district of the town I see the power- ful new broadcasting Station BLAH, owned by Don- ald Grundberg, the famous radio technician. Grund- berg’s advertising is handled by the firm of Doyle and Pinciaro, known to us in the old days as Helen and Rita. Let’s take a look at some of the talent employed at the station. Emily Dalton, known to her radio fans as Miss Millie, gives “Advice to the Lovelorn” daily from eight until seven. Clifford Jones, the creamy voiced tenor, is featured on the Lord Milk Hour, singing his theme song, “Love Thy Cows.” Mary Donovan, the children’s favorite, reads her own bed-time stories each evening under the sponsorship of the Palmer Chain Stores, Roy Palmer, president. Regina Mahoney lectures week- ly on “What Your Dreams Mean and Why.” Ade- line Newcomb, the famous astrologist, reads palms over the radio. Her announcer says, “If you wish your palm read send it to Miss Newcomb in care of the station to which you are now listening.” The scene is shifting again. The next view I see is that of the Harvard Stadium. It is a bleak No- vember day. The annual Harvard- Yale game is in progress and on opposite sides of the field I see the two coaches, Peter Savelo, Yale’s builder of men,” and Stan Brooks, Harvard’s “mussle maker.” Trav- elling again, I next visit the artists’ colony at Prov- incetown where I see on the sands, busily painting a waterfront scene, Jane Arnold, the eminent New York artist, who deserts her Park Avenue home each summer for the mosquitoes, sand-flees, and cod fish of Provincetown. The “See-ahead-o-graph” jumps once more and the next picture is that of the Annual Teachers’ Convention at Bridgewater. Among those present are Mary Anderson, head of the Boston University French Department; Jane Zemer, Analytical Bac- teriology Instructor at Radcliffe (where, incidental- ly, Betty Boos is head of the Art Department). Helen Lister has come down from Mt. Holyoke where she is teaching Psychological Zoology. Returning to Stoneham, the “See-ahead-o-graph” presents a picture of the new Stoneham Common, part of the recently completed Civic Center. It is afternoon and the Stoneham Civic Symphony Or- chestra, under the direction of George Panosian (Professor George Panosian, of the Panosian School of Music), is playing. Included in the orchestra are names familiar to S. H. S. music lovers: Iris Kel- man, Marjorie Munn, Wanda Konapacka, Helen Lis- ter. At one corner of the spacious common is a famil- iar figure, the great Carl Weiss. Taking advantage of the large crowd on hand, Carl has set up his time-worn soap box and is beginning one of his lengthy orations on the pros” and “cons” of Social- ism. Carl, by all appearances, has lost none of his old cunning and is talking as loudly as ever. Across the street from the common is the beauti- ful building of the Stoneham Dramatic Society. Drama in all its stages is taught here and all the types of plays, from the classics to the current fa- vorites, are presented. Colin Roberts and Phyllis Peterson are the directors. A poster outside an- nounces that “Hamlet” is to be revived tonight with Karl Frick in the title role and Richard Potter as the Ghost. Nearby I can see the Stoneham Hospital, a new institution in our city. Heading the staff of house

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JUNE 1934 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC 11 their work, passersby stop in their tracks, all traffic is at a standstill, as the footman, whom I recognize as Horace Crandall, and the chauffeur, his twin brother, Herbert, step out to assist His Honor. A ruddy-faced, middle-aged man, attired in a silk hat and a morning coat, looking very dignified, alights from the car, puffing viciously on a choice perfecto. Who is it but Edward McCarthy, the people’s choice as mayor. The squadron salutes and escorts the Honorable Mr. McCarthy across the Square to the beautiful new City Hall, which has been built on the site of the old Dow Block. As he steps into the ele- vator he is greeted with a cheery “Good morning, your Honor,” from the elevator man, Albert Bruce, who, you will remember, always claimed that he would get up in the world. Douglas Connor and Robert Stinson, political henchmen to the mayor, sit peacefully in the mayor’s office, helping themselves to the mayoralty brand of cigars, and reading the mayor’s morning mail. Upon the arrival of Stone- ham’s first citizen, Stinson nonchalantly rises from the mayor’s easy chair and politely squats on the mahogany desk. He shows Mayor McCarthy an invitation to speak at the Annual Clam Bake and Spelling Bee of the Stoneham Women’s Republican Club of which Margaret A. Wallace is president and of which Lena Abair, Helen Clark, Katherine Elers, Dorothy LeBlanc and Vesta Coombs are prominent members. The offer is rejected by his honor, who preferring hamburgers to clams, says that he will accept the invitation to the Ward 7 Tammany Club’s Hamburg Festival. The well known ward leader and orator, Bernard “Big Mike” Scully, is chairman of the committee in charge of the Ham- burg Festival and is being assisted by City Treas- urer Edmund Blood, City Solicitor Ashton Clark, Congressman Robert Arnold, Alderman William Gibbons, and Representative Earle Gould. The mayor then reads a communication from Chase and Meehan, Inc., tobacco dealers, which is written as follows: Dear Mr. Mayor: Election Day is drawing near and you will need a new supply of cigars. Place your order with us and be sure of satisfaction. Our cigars are made to re- sist even the sharpest of teeth, and are guaranteed to last one hour, twenty-four minutes and six sec- onds. Children cry for them, adults walk seven- tenths of a mile for them, they’re so good. What this city needs is a mayor who smokes a good fif- teen cent cigar such as our Civic Pride” Brand. Yours for bigger and better smokes, John Chase. Robert Meehan. Another letter, bearing the postmark, Concord, Mass., is read. It is a message from Arthur Per- kins, publicity manager for Lieut. Austin Junkins, of the Stoneham-Melrose Air Dispatch, who has just completed a trans-country flight in the record time of ten hours. In his honor a Welcome Home Cele- bration will be staged by the city. A postscript states that Harold McDonough, a stowaway, was discovered in the rear cockpit after the arrival at Concord. It seems that Harold wanted to visit his old friend, Charles Leete, who is at the Reforma- tory, where he is giving his famous lecture course on “Why the Well Dressed Man Will Choose Yellow for His Summer Wardrobe.” During the time Charles is spending at the Reformatory, he is the personal guest of the Warden, George Grover. At this juncture, the mayor’s secretary, whom I recognized as Doris Bruce, enters the sanctum with the official appointment book. On this day the mayor is slated to be present at the noonday meet- ing of the Stoneham Lion Tamer’s Club, the presi- dent of which is Charles Rollins, a public spirited citizen and prominent member of the Class of ’34. Charlie is managing a small group of actors made up of the great grandchildren of the famous Sing- er’s Midgets. (He always did go in for little things in a big way.) The mayor also has an appointment with Attorney James Smith concerning a law suit brought against the city by Smith’s client, Ethel Noyes. Ethel claims in her suit for $10,000 that her health was impaired because of the noise made by a large tractor of the Harris Marshall Construction Company which was working on a municipal pro- ject near her home. Just as Mayor McCarthy is preparing to leave his office, a man comes in — oh, yes, I can see who it is now — it is Paul Davis and he seems to be selling something. No, he is a poet and wants to sell the mayor a few campaign slogans. Davis, so the See- ahead-o-graph reveals, has become famous for his introduction of the new game of rhymes, called, Dropping a Bomb in Moscow from the Irustsh Limited at Five-thirty of a Sunday Afternoon, Late in September.” As a sample, Davis offers this rhyme to the may- or: “Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey, Along came a spider, And sat down beside her, And said, ‘Please pass the salt’.” After this wild session, we leave the mayor’s of- fice and the next picture we see is that of the huge Stoneham Theatre owned and operated by Frank Morris. It is night and we can see emblazoned across the gaily lighted marque the words, “Now playing, George Magrath’s Scandals, starring Nata- lie Fiumara and Eddie Marsh, supported by a danc-

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JUNE 1934 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC 13 doctors is Robert Holden, Harvard ’38. Bob has become a well-known figure in the field of surgery. (If I remember correctly, he always harbored a se- cret avocation for cutting up.) Betty Doherty is the superintendent of nurses and has an able staff assisting her. A few whom you will remember are Lucy Hines, Ruth Morrison, Shirley French, and Mary Kelly. Now the “See-ahead-o-graph” leads back to the Square and a tour of the city’s progressive business houses. First I see John Coughlin standing in the doorway of his large meat and grocery store. Rose Janigian is seen busily counting the pennies in the cashier’s cage. Next door Ken Prescott, the Boston Bruin’s star net-minder, spends the off season in his ice cream parlor, where incidentally, there is more than one booth. Upstairs is the Riley-Tole School of Athletic Terpsichore. Ethel has joined her athletic ability with Barb’s ability as a dancing teacher. On the same floor, bright gold letters announce the office of Dr. Edward F. Breagy, who is one of the world’s most brutal, painless dentists. It is be- fore office hours, and Eddie is sitting with his feet out of the window, reading Jane Strobel’s latest novel, “The Adventures of the Melrose Girls at Breezy Hill,” or “Why Are There No Sheep at the Sheepfold ?” The next office to Eddie’s is occupied by the “Frizzie-frazzie” Beauty Parlors, Inc., which is a coast to coast chain operated by Mildred Shay and Margaret Barton. A bit farther down the hall I see the “Winnie Mae” Gowne Shoppe, whose proprietress is none other than Winifred Norton. Winnie’s shoppe is patronized by all the leading debs, sub-debs, and In- ternational War Debs. In the same block, The Country Club, a combina- tion dining salon and golf school is conducted. At one of the tees the “pro” is giving a novice instruc- tion. I can tell by the way he swings the club that I have seen him before. As he turns around I recognize him as Bernie Orr, who is putting his knowledge of the Scotch pastime to good use in teaching Isabelle Kaulback the finer points of the game. Edith Downes is operating the dining room and has as assistants: Olive Lester, Mary Ford, Mary Ferry, Thelma Olsen, and Marjorie Logan. Across the street I see the Stoneham Academy of Music and Elocution. Shirley Estes, the well known concert pianist, and Cynthia Claflin, whose poems are now universally read at every breakfast table, are at the helm of this institution and have a large clientele made up of the children of the mem- bers of the Class of 1934. It must be the wanderlust, for the “See-ahead-o- graph” has again pulled stakes and now places its focus upon a large Eastern port. Here the liner “Seaweary” of the Robert Yancey Line (he always had a pretty good line) is tied up at the dock. On the bridge, pacing to and fro, is the Captain, Wil- lard Ames. On the passengers’ list I see the name of Carolyn Lewis, who has been traveling extensive- ly gathering material for her poems. The Stoneham Women’s Bridge Team, composed of Helen Coombs, Elizabeth Fama, Marion Keating, and Arlene Taylor, is aboard ship having just re- turned from the International Competition staged in London where they carried off the International crown. Seated in deck chairs are Nancy Markham and Esther Rounds, members of the Stoneham School Committee, who are returning from Europe where they have been lecturing on “The Progressive School in America.” Talking to them is Betty Knudson who is the hostess on the boat. Leaning over the railing, I see Herbert and Har- vey Bennett, evidently a bit seasick. They were leaders of an unsuccessful diamond hunting expedi- tion to Ethiopia, and are returning to their homes. And now we come to the last scene which the see-ahead-o-graph” has to present. In an appara- tus-cluttered laboratory, behind a pile of broken test tubes, sits John “Pete” Bowen, working tedi- ously on a new invention — the “learn-a-graph,” the plans for which Colonel Stoopnagle and Bud, who have now reached a feeble old age, have handed down to him. The “learn-a-graph,” when complet- ed, will do away with the necessity of schools, as it will learn everything possible for human beings — thus no other class will have to work like the Class of 1934. Alas, the “see-ahead-o-graph” has concluded its preview of the lives of the members of the Class of 1934, its visions fade, it ceases to work, it is out of gas. Whether the visions of the see-ahead-o-graph” which I have interpreted for you prove true or not, may the future be all that you hope it will be — may success, wealth, and happiness be yours, and may your lives ever be living exemplifications of the principles and ideals of S. H. S. PROPHECY OF THE PROPHET. It was on a crowded elevated train that my curi- osity was first aroused. Having nothing else to do, I was attempting to read the newspaper of a pas- senger who was standing but a little distance from me. As this passenger folded up his paper, I caught a glimpse of a picture on the front page; a picture of a man who, for some reason, seemed strangely familiar to me. However, the paper was