Tottenville High School - Purple Parrot Yearbook (Staten Island, NY)

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When Mrs. Wilson first arrived on the scene, Tottenville High boasted of a rather large and loud glee club. Large-because it consisted of a hun- dred or more members and with this many members I imagine that it was loud! However, some of this group along with Mrs. Wilson agreed, that with a smaller group they would be able to concentrate and present a finer type of music. With this idea in mind, a new club, consisting of about 20 members, was formed. A club founded for good music and founded upon hard work. Believe me, hard work it wasg especially for its director., Mrs. Wilson. With the formation of this new club, a new and fitting name had to be found. After much thought, quite a bit of discussion, and innumerable sug- gestions, it was finally agreed that the name 'cliluterpean Societyv was both fitting and proper. Why tl1at name? What does it mean? ln Greek Myth- ology we learned that the Goddess of Arts and Science was named '4Muse. The word music is derived from this Greek word muse. Euterpi was one of the arts and sciences, specifically 'GCoddess of Songf, So much for the word Euterpean, now let's turn to the dictionary and look up the word society. Society: a body of persons united for the promotion of some object. Now that we know how Euterps got started and how it received its name, 77 let us take a look at some of their productions. The premier performance was a musical reception held in the music room before a select group of friends and relatives. It was indeed a very swanky affair. All the decorations were in gold and white, the Society's colors. The flowers were gold and white with a gold and white cake served for refreshment. From this rather small but inspirational beginning we have gone on to bigger and better things. With the aid of our leader, the inde- fatigable Mrs. Wilson, we have presented Mikado, HH. M. S. Pinaforef' 'Trial by Juryf' Pirates of Penzancef' '4Princess Ida, Colden Jubilee Celebration and most recently wllhe Womanless Wedding. The Euterps also perform at every commencement exercise, at which time we lose a certain percentage of our members. Older members go out of school into their chosen field or profession never forgetting the memorable days spent in the Euterps Society. New members come in to replace the old as the Society progresses onward . . . onward to a world brought closer to good music through the untiring efforts of our beloved director and the cooperation of the Society members. RONALD LARSEN, RUTH HEINS

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ufiic elaarfmenf, ,Maier The house lights dim, the conductor's baton is poised, and a hush falls upon the audience as the first strains of Shubertis Unfinished Symphonyn are heard. The world famous New York Philharmonic Orchestra, you say? No, it isn,t the Philharmonic, nor for that matter, the N.B.C. Symphony Orchestra nor the Goldman Band. As you have guessed by now, we are talk- ing about what we believe to be one of the finest musical organizations of its kind, The Tottenville High School Band under the baton of its accomplished maestro, Mrs. Lala Wilson. Our band was organized in 1937 and gave its first performance at the Christmas assembly of that year. It began playing at graduations, and begin- ning at the commencement of Wo1'ld Wai' Two, it set out on an intensive war- time program. It played at most of the war monument dedication ceremonies on the South Shore. Since most members of the bands which customarily marched in the national parades were gone, the Tottenville High School Band volunteered its services. In the interest of public moral it cooperated with the American Legion and participated in several of their performances. It continued with its annual and semi-annual evening concerts alongwith the graduation ceremonies and assemblies. Later on it commenced to play at the May Day fete at Clove Lake. ln 1948, it played a major part in the successes of the Colden Jubilee. Later, in 1950, the band played and made possible another tremendous success, '4The Womanless Wedding.', As these last four years have passed we have seen our fellow band mem- ber gradually leave and new members gradually take their places and we reminisce over these wonderful fruitful years we have spent in our '4Band of Bandsu which has been made possible only through the untiring efforts of our own Mrs. Lala Wilsoil. Her devotion to her band and her ukidsi' has made all of our successes as triumphant as they are. Everything worth having has a beginning and our Euterpean Society had its beginning way back in 1937, with Mrs. Wilsoii as its progenitor.

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wo Wie 5 an a Zigi .SM Today my mother told me to clean out the pockets of my red corduroy jacket. 'Tll send it to the cleaner's before school begins, she said, to the waiting laundry man. ' Usually I find exciting things in my pockets-old letters, school passes, a bunch of tired peanuts, and occasionally a forgotten handkerchief. But this time I found two nickels and a movie ticket stub. I began to think, when did I leave these? So I imagined what might have happened with them. Of course, the ticket was to our nondescript place of entertainment a atia in a sma town wa ca e t e ta ium. e two nic e s were pl'l' ll y lldh4'Sd Th kl definitely the change. A double feature costs forty cents, most always. But the ticket lady always gives dimes in change. I began to weave a dramatic story behind the two nickels and the ticket stub. Mary Lou was a senior in high school, Pleasant Dale High. She had a quiet nature and even though she was a very pretty girl, she didn't go out very much except with a crowd of girls who were her gals All of them had running crushes on the new senior boy, or Mr. Anderson, their history teacher, the same people on whom girls usually have crushes. fThis isn't a very unusual story.j But Mary Lou was a little different from her friends. She had absolutely, definitely, positively, surely fallen in love with the Greatest Senior in P.D.I-I.S.! He was, namely, Gene Norman, who was deeply tanned all year 'round and could dance, so Mary Lou had been told, like a dream. Oh, how she longed for him to speak to her or nod to her. Either would have made her slightly ecstatic in reels of unconfined joy. She could see herself dancing with Gene Norman, laughing with him, talking with him. In most stories, the heroine has her fling with the hero, so I cannot resist letting Mary Lou have hers. Besides, the story would be Hat without it. Well, Mary Lou got her chance. On Monday morning, Tony Eberhart called Mary Lou as she was coming into school. 'cl want you to meet my friend, he said. At least, that's what she thought he said, for there standing with one big paw reaching out to shake her hand was none other than our friend, Gene Norman. It was as simple as that! Later that morning, Mary I,ou's third class teacher sent her home on a sick pass saying that the girl had looked Vacant and distant all through the class and perhaps she was ill?