Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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GlaAA UiMaly. W ell, there 1 was, all set for a nice, quiet eve- ning at home in my Park Avenue penthouse. The servants had the night off, the wife was away for the week-end, and 1 was sprawled out on my favorite sofa. The radio was playing a Chopin nocturne. 1 was just starting the latest Crime Club mystery when the telephone rang. I was tempted not to answer it ; but after due consideration and a great effort, I removed my- self from the sofa and picked up the receiver. “Hello? Yes, speaking . . . Who? Neil Glynn? . . . Sure I remember you. I haven’t seen you since we graduated from Stoneham High School ten years ago. How are you? . . . Glad to hear it . . . What’s that? . . . Reunion Ban- quet? Say, I’d forgotten all about it. When? Next week? . . . And I’m supposed to give the class history! Why hasn’t someone told me? 1 can’t remember back ten years; you’ll have to help me out. Can you recall anything that hap- pened our freshman year? . . . What? . . . Wait a minute; I ' d better jot that down. ‘Paints and Patches’, operetta, starring Madolin Daley, Riddy Hayden, and Gordon Hansell — O.K. . . . You were vice president that year, weren’t you? Do you remember the other officers? . . . Jack Borthwick, president; Mary Crowther, secre- tary; Bob Murphy, treasurer. Didn’t Stoneham win a second-place cup at the Lower Merrimack Valley Basketball Tournament that year? . . . I thought so . . . And the hockey team finished second in the Greater Boston Inter-scholastic League, you say? . . . Thanksgiving Day game? . . . Oh, yes, we were the under-dogs and hadn ' t had a victory all season and we won by one touchdown. That sure was a thriller ! “What about sophomore year? I remember that first Winchester hike and the football game. Boy, that sure was a heartbreaker, losing in the last thirty seconds of play . . . What, Neil? . . . You say Dick Mercer and Bob Mur- phy were the only lettermen? We had quite a few players on the second team, though. What was the name of that Dramatic Club play? . . . What? . . . Oh, yes, ‘A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.’ Mickey MacLean was hilarious as the jester and Riddy Hayden did a swell job as the king. Pat Morrell and Bill Riggs displaved fine talent, too. The class wasn’t very active that year, was it? I guess that was because it was our first year in senior high and we didn ' t know what it was all about. Who were the class officers that year? You were president ; Dick Mercer was vice presi- dent; Margie Coles, secretary; and Bob Mur- phy, treasurer — right? Things are starting to come back to me now. Let’s see about junior year. Probably the one event we’ll remember longest was the death of our principal, Mr. Watson. His death was a great loss to the school and to the com- munity. We were lucky to have Mr. Nadeau to step in and take his place. How about school activities that year? Remember the football dance when the cheerleaders put on that screwy sketch; and remember how Margie Picot, after it was over, had to explain to the poor innocent teachers what the ‘Academy’ was? Wasn’t that the dance where Mr. Higgins did the ‘Boomps- a-Daisy’ with Miss Regish? . . . That was a riot ! Margie Picot and Joan Wandless were the only two from our class on the cheering squad, weren’t they? ... I ' ll never forget the smile on Riddy Hayden’s face when he intercepted that pass in the Woburn game. He was grinning from ear to ear. And speaking of football, didn’t we have a couple of groovy managers, what with their peg pants and all ! . . . What’s that? . . . Oh, yes, I’d forgotten about the field hockey team. They beat Reading 2-0 and tied their old rival, Melrose, 2-2. There were quite a few junior girls on the team. What about the ice hockey team? . . . Two big upsets? . . . Remem- ber them! How could I forget! The first was the 1-0 win over Melrose, brought about by the superb goal-tending of Don Whiston, a trans- fer from St. Pat’s, and a goal made by Bob Murphy after only fifty-two seconds of play. I didn ' t see that Medford game. Do you remem- ber the score? . . . 1-1. you say? . . . What? . . . Yes. they must have had brilliant team- work. Who were the juniors on the team ; I remember Bay Clark and Joe Doherty . . . Who? . . . Dave Bicknell? That’s right — and Fred Flynn and Ralph Livingstone. As I recall, it was mainly these two games that clinched an all-scholastic berth for Bicknell, Whiston, and Murphy, who, incidentally, was co-captain in his junior year. That’s something that doesn’t very often happen in high-school sports . . . The basketball team finished third in the Middlesex League, didn’t they? ... I remember Dick Mercer played, and Harry Lynch, Bud Dill, and Wes Parsons . . . Who else? . . . Oh, Bill D’Annolfo, Jack Borthwick, Art Donaghev, Larry Meuse . . . Dick Mercer went into the service shortly after the season ended, didn’t he? . . . He started a long line of boys that left our class. The only others I can think of are lack Borthwick, Dan MacLaughlin, and Harry Lynch . . . Pardon? . . . Oh. yes, I’d forgotten

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ULcto-ty. J.PiAaug.Pi UanaAl Macdonald medals For Scholarships, Character and Good Influence in the School Antoinette Picano Richard E. Hodgson Jean Doyle CLASS HISTORIAN Richard Seward GRADUATION ADDRESS Madolin Daley Preliminary Honor Group ( I! average or higher for four years) Madolin Daley Jean Doyle Richard Hodgson Marjorie O’Brien Donald W ' histon Richard Seward Richard D ' Entremont Ruth Hunter Antoinette Picano CLASS PROPHECY Virginia Barnett and Iva Langille CLASS W ' lLI Norman Houghton and Ruth Hanford ' Flic following awards and prizes will he announced at graduation exercises: History Medals Mathematics and Science Medal Grange Art Prize Grange Music Prize American Legion Medal Carrie S. Ireland Citizenship Award Parent-Teacher Scholarships Teachers’ Club Scholarships Blue and White Scholarship GRADUATION COM M ITTEE Madolin Daley Iva Langille Richard Hodgson Antoinette Picano Richard Seward Neil Glynn Patricia Morrell Dorothy Bergfors Jean Picot Leslie Dill Joseph Doherty

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about Dick Price and Gordon Mansell . . . be- fore we knew it the baseball season had rolled around. We came up with a beautiful veteran infield, though I confess 1 can ' t recall all of the hoys who played in it. There was Dick Wright at first, and Bud Dill at second . . . What’s that, Neil? . . . Oh. Bud played shortstop. That’s right — Art Donaghey played second. Who was on third? . . . Don Whiston? . . . How about the other positions? . . . Johnny Coffin pitched and Bob Morcira caught . . . That’s right— and that year we finished second in the league, missing the championship by losing a game to Winchester 4-3 in extra innings . . . Did we have a prom, did you say? . . . I ll say we did — our first Junior-Senior Prom, and what hap- pened! We went sixty dollars in debt! The funny part of it was that we held a school dance two weeks later and cleared the debt with a couple of dollars to spare . . . Then came Grad- uation . . . Remember how poised Don Whiston and Pat Morrell were as class marshals? . . . And after the evening was all over, we realized we were seniors ! “Then, after the summer vacation, we em- barked upon the most important year of our high-school careers. It was also to he the big- gest year Stoneham High had had for a long time . . . The first event of importance was the arrival of a foreigner in our midst. Dottie came from Missouri and, through her person- ality, mannerisms, and quaint accent, gave us a lasting impression of the way students in other countries act and live . . . When class elections were held, we found that Don Whis- ton had succeeded you as president and Ralph Livingstone had taken Dick Mercer’s place as vice president. Margie Coles entered her third straight year as secretary; and Bob Murphy, after having been treasurer for three years, turned that job over to you. Incidentally, you were a class officer every year, weren’t you, Neil? . . . Co-captains John Rolli and Ralph Livingstone led the footbal l team through an excellent season, sporting a record of six wins and two losses . . . We sure had a classy cheer- ing squad, too, led by Margie Picot. Let’s see. who were the seniors on the squad? There were Barbara Court— Joan Wandless — and, oh. yes, Ruth and Virginia Morin . . . Remember the dance the football team ran to get money for sweaters? Mr. Higgins really got in the groove when he jitterbugged with Margie Picot to the tune of ‘The Sheik of Araby.’ From ‘Boomps-a-Daisy’ to jitterbugging in one year — boy, he really was solid! I wonder if he in- cluded those pennies in his income-tax return . . Speaking of teachers, when Miss Dunning left us to take a teaching position in Turkey, we lost an outstanding teacher and a valuable friend. She was replaced by Miss Gross . . . Our class made many ‘firsts,’ one of them that we were the class that started the first Boys’ Glee Club that Stoneham High ever had . . . The basketball team was hit hard by the loss of hoys to the service, but they carried on in the fine Stoneham spirit under the capable leadership of Co-Captains Bud Dill and Wes Parsons. If I remember correctly, the most exciting game of the season was with Melrose at Melrose. Wait a minute — I think I’ve got a clipping about that game in my wallet some- where . . . Yes, here it is. I ' ll read it to you. ‘In the dying seconds of the Stoneham- Melrose basketball game, Stoneham was struggling to overcome a 42 to 40 lead. Suddenly Tony Coletta threw in a basket and the game ended a few seconds later in a tie. A three-minute overtime period fol- lowed. After a Melrose score and a foul shot by Bud Dill, the score stood Melrose 44, Stoneham 43. With Melrose trying to freeze the ball. Bud stole it, dribbled a little past half floor, and let the ball fly. It swished through the basket, and the game ended 45 to 44 in a turmoil on the Stoneham bench.’ “The Winter Carnival, climaxed by the Car- nival Ball, was the next big event. King Don Whiston and Queen Margie Picot presided, and the greatest attraction was the first public appearance of the combined Boys’ and Girls’ Glee Clubs. We were a big success . . . Doc Gordon said his hockey team that year was the strongest and best balanced that he had ever coached. He boasted two good lines, two sturdy defencemen, and an excellent goalie. I remember that after having lost to them twice, Stoneham met Medford in the last cru- cial game of the season, the game that was to decide the championship. Here’s another clip- ping on that. ‘Medford had a big edge in territorial play, hut Stoneham came through in the titular contest because of better balance. Stoneham had only seven shots at the Medford goalie but, capitalizing on a mini- mum of opportunities, scored on goals by Wally Cogan, Bob Murphy, Bay Clark, and A1 MacHenry, winning the game 4-2.’ That game clinched the first championship Stoneham had won since 1937, and what a game it was! Six of the boys made the all- scholastic teams — Boh Murphy, Co-Captain Don Whiston, and Fred Flynn the first team; and Wally Cogan, Bay Clark, and Ralph Liv- ingstone the second. On top of losing Co-Cap-