Technical High School - Tech Tiger Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF JANUARY, 1943 As the class of January, 1943, we fearfully walked into the huge Tech auditorium on the morning of January 29, 1940. At this moment we can’t remember whether it was a bitter cold, snowy day or not. Here Colonel Adams welcomed us and made all 380 of us feel that we were pretty important whether the rest of the school realized it or not. The next few weeks were filled with wonder and bewilderment and didn’t seem to prove how really important we were. The first of our group to be recognized were the girls when they were initiated by the G. A. A. at a St. Patrick’s party. Each girl was dressed like a colleen and they made very cute ones, too. A few weeks later we were officially recognized when five of our members were elected to represent us in the Student Council. They were Joyce Hathaway, Jacqueline Hebert, Edward Prew, Ted Pappadakis and Norman Dupre. The first chapter in our life at Tech passed uneventfully and very soon we were looking ahead to class elections and our social. Before these plans were started there was a great change in our life at Tech. Colonel Adams left Tech and Mr. Kiley, the former assistant principal, was our new leader. Mr. Gifford came to fill the position of assistant principal. The first time our class was assembled together was September 9 to start our govern- ment. Here we met our class advisers, Miss Jackson and Mr. Oliver, and our class auditor, Mr. Woodworth. The results of our election were Robert Knowles, president; Shirley Marsh, vice-president; Philip Lewis, secretary; Frank Vey, treasurer; William Ford, Ann Burns and Donald Barrus, members-at-large. Others in our class entered in political life when Eddie Prew was elected president of the Junior Pro Merito and Rowena Shattuck, vice-president. In the girls’ department, Pauline Nordstrom was elected secretary of the G. A. A. On October 31 the school was dismissed for about an hour to see President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he passed down State Street, a sight we shall never forget. Our first step into the social life was on the afternoon of November 8 in the boys’ gym. Prescott Grout was chairman of the social committee. Suddenly it was 1941. We were juniors and waiting for the first unforgettable Tech- nicade, which was to be in March. Elections for various groups were held again. In the Junior Pro Merito Edward Prew was re-elected president and Cleo Megas, treasurer. In G. A. A., Dorothy Price was elected treasurer. Not satisfied with just the social and political life, some of our members decided to try drama, very successfully we must say. In April “What a Life” was presented and the lead- ing character of the famous Henry Aldrich was played by James Mitton. Our other mem- bers were Jane Balboni and Donald Doyle. Were we proud of them! In May we really entered Tech society by presenting our first semi-formal dance. It was called. “The Merry May Madcap.” Shirley Marsh was chairman of the committee. Here for the first time our class banner of blue and gold was seen. 1 9 4 5

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St i Rm CLASS OF CLASS OF JANUARY 1943 OFFICERS AND ADVISORS President: Vice-President: Secretary: Treasurer: Members at Large: Advisors: WESSON MILLER SHIRLEY MARSH ROWENA SHATTUCK JOHN MURPHY DOROTHY PRICE GLORIA METCALFE RICHARD NIMS MISS MARY JACKSON MR. ALEPH OLIVER MR. ARTHUR WOODWORTH

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Here we were at the halfway mark in our life at Tech. Now some of our members who had worked so hard in their writing began to be noticed. Dorothy Price was appointed girls’ sports editor for Tech News. Other special edit ors were Gloria Metcalfe, Philip Lewis, and Pauline Nordstrom. As for clubs, we certainly were represented. In Hi-Y, Wesson Miller was elected presi- dent; Robert Knowles, vice-president; and Richard Nims, treasurer. In Nisimaha, Cleo Megas was elected vice-president. Some of our intellectual members represented us in Pro Merito —especially Edward Prew as president; Cleo Megas, vice-president; and Carmelo Scuderi, treasurer. In October, our second election was held. The results were president, Wesson Miller; vice-president, Shirley Marsh; secretary, Rowena Shattuck; treasurer, John Murphy; Student Council, Betty Whitman and Robert Knowles; members-at-large, Gloria Metcalfe, Dorothy Price, and Richard Nims. Elections out of the way, we opened the 1941 fall social season at Tech with a combined dance with the 12B’s. It was called “Harvest Harmony.” Our co-chairman was Shirley Marsh. On December 7, Pearl Harbor was attacked. No one could tell then what a great change it would bring in all our lives. Again some of us entered drama when in January “Connecticut Yankee” was presented. Jane Balboni and Gloria Metcalfe represented us. Here it was 1942 and we were seniors at last. For the first time since 1911 in the history of Tech there was no 10B class entering because the mid-year promotion was gradually being abolished. With the beginning of a new semester, changes were brought about. In Tech News, Pauline Nordstrom and Philip Lewis became associate editors. In Student Council, Pauline Nordstrom became secretary. In Nisimaha, Pauline was elected president and Rowena Shat- tuck, secretary. Shirley Marsh became the photography editor of the “Tech Tiger.” In March, for the first time in Tech, there was a talent show. The newly organized Tech Swing band under the direction of Wesson Miller won and refused the first prize. Others in our class participating were Jane Balboni and Ernest Loiselle, both singers. This was the semester for revealing unknown talents in our class. Rosellen O’Brien wrote a poem about a little English girl, which was published in the Red Cross magazine. In the following month, April, there were presented three short plays, long to be remem- bered. A comedy, “Spreading the News;” a real old-fashioned melodrama, ‘“Hounded by Hate,” and a drama, “The Valiant.” Our actors were James Mitton and Jane Balboni. Here again another change was brought about. Mr. Woodworth was called to duty with the U. S. Army, so Mr. Mador became our Class auditor. Being very partriotic, we called our dance this year “The Good Neighbor Hop.” It was given in May under the co-chairmen Dorothy Price and James Mitton. Seeing that many events happened for the first time in Tech history during our stay, we decided to do it again. For the first time in several years a girl was appointed editor-in- chief of Tech News, our own Pauline, while Philip Lewis became business manager. As we arrived at our last semester and looked around, we were surprised to see how small our class had become, as many had joined the services, quit school to go to work, or were automatically deferred.