Vergennes Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Vergennes, VT)

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26 YERGENNES HIGH SCHOOL direct your lives intelligently and efficiently. To illustrate: it is going to he far more important to you ten years from now. to he able to reason a problem through to its logical conclusion than to remember that nineteen people were once executed for witchcraft in Salem. To give you that abilitv to reason and to evaluate accurately has been the ultimate goal of your instructors and may it serve you well in shaping the future in these troublous times. My best wishes to a grand class. Betsy K. Thurber. THE ATOMIC BOMB It was only in the first world war that the airplane made its debut into mechanized warfare and since then we have come a long way. From a Aim silv built navy fighter to our jet-propelled jobs has been a long jump, but we made it in record time. Although these planes which approach the speed of sound, and V-2 rockets which have been perfected by German scientists are bad enough, the large obstacle to peace today is neither of those but the “Atomic Bomb.” This bomb is a definite threat to us and our posterity. It is a threat to world-wide peace. Even now it has come between the friendly relations of America and Russia. The foremost question in the minds of all Americans today is. “When and how will Russia acquire the industrial capacity to produce atomic bombs ?” A few trusting citizens who have had their wits dulled by Russian propaganda say that now Russia has the secret of the bomb they will not launch an atomic war but will only use it to better conditions in Russia. Do you think that the Communistic element in Russia will be content with this when, as the first ones to start a war. they will naturally have the advantage over the United States and the rest of the world ? Since America, a peace-loving nation, would never be the first to start a war. are we going to sit and wait for Russia’s first atomic bomb to reach us? The devastation of the A-Bomb is quick and complete. The houses tumble like match sticks in the fraction of a minute. If near the blast, your chances to escape wholly unharmed would be one in a million. Look at what one bomb did to Hiroshima. What damage could more than one do to us? Could you watch your loved ones smother under debris while you would be unable to help them ? Yet there is even more to the bomb than the blast, which reduces large cities to the ground in a matter of time, for afterward comes the deadly radiation which kills almost as many people as the bomb itself. Anyone who goes near the scene of the blast afterward contracts this sickness which if the case is slight leaves you weak and nauseated, and if you are less fortunate leaves you dying. The horribly mutilated bodies of some of the Japanese who were lucky enough to escape are a sign of what may happen to anyone in America if the citizens don’t wake up and do something. How can we be lulled into peace by this talse feeling of security? If this situation is inevitable, let us at least be prepared! Barbara Evans. '46 CLASS WILL (Continued from page 22) but strong character. This is my way of wishing you luck in the future. I. Alice Rider, do devise and bequeath to Betty Sullivan my ability to find out where all the dances are taking place. Don’t let it fool you. Betty, you can really have a lot of fun. I. Rachael Slack, do devise and bequeath to the girls of the junior class. Grant Laber. This is one gift I am sure you will enjoy, girls. I. Raymond Tucker, do devise and bequeath to William Baldwin my ability to get Mrs. Favor peeved. 1 am sure both vou and Mrs. Favor will enjoy it; right. Bill?

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BLUE AND WHITE 25 Hazel Robinson, the heroine, a starry-eyed girl who didn’t know which man to pick. Excellently portrayed by Jane Norton. Matt MacAllister. one of these “rich bugs” with a hard boiled shell but a heart of gold. Raymond Charbonneau is to be found at his best in this role. Bill MacAllister, the Romeo of the play, played by Bernard Dike, who did an excellent job in a difficult part. And last but not least. Rolliti Jenkins, our very much abused suitor. A wonderful characterization by Raymond Tucker. The entire class took an active part on various committees for properties, publicity, tickets, scenery, curtain, and make-up. Mrs. Esther Favor directed the Ver-gennes High School orchestra and “Festival Singers” in a very delightful and entertaining show between the acts. It was encouraging to see such a large audience turn out. Everyone seemed to greatly enjoy the play, making it a real success. Joyce Ames. CLASS POEM Don’t ever say. “We’ve plenty of time. So let us wait until tomorrow To express some word or deed so kind.” They sometimes come late to our sorrow , For time is one thing that can’t be recalled To undo the mistakes we have made. Friends and foes alike may be awed By the kindness to them you have paid. So we throw the torch to you. my friend To carry it on for us, Who do not know what's around the bend. Whether it be fame, or ashes and dust. Gertrude Hamilton, '48 TO THE CLASS OF ’48 It is with mixed feelings of regret and pride that I address this farewell to you. 1 regret the fact that our association has had only a year’s duration; it has been pleasant and 1 wish we might have worked together longer. Regret is a rather negative emotion, however, and so it gives way to the pride which 1 feel, and which you certainly must be experiencing as you approach the climax of this phase of your lives. Your pride springs rightfully from a feeling of achievement, a goal reached through four years of work. My pride is merely a reflection of yours added to the sure knowledge that you are far better equipped for life because of your educational experience at V. H. S. It is gratifying to have had a small part in giving you that experience. Since our earliest acquaintance. 1 have been continually amazed and delighted to find one after another of you realistic and practical in your reactions to public and personal problems. For that reason, I find it next to impossible to write all the glib but meaningless phrases which are customarily hurled at graduating classes. All the generalized advice anyone can give you now. although it may sound useful and valuable, will very likely prove to lie inadequate in the face of actual situations (if. indeed, it is remembered long enough to be tried). If we. your faculty. have failed in four years to give you the standards of values, moral and material, which you will need to use. together with the common sense, which most of you have given evidence of possessing in a satisfactory degree, then we cannot hope to correct that deficiency with wisdom-packed speeches now. Education is necessarily a slow and sometimes tedious process, a seemingly endless cycle of learning and forgetting facts, but underlying this factual material is the true value of a liberal education. the inevitable acquisition of a body of principles, criteria and methods of learning which will help you to

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BLUE AND WHITE 27 LITERARY AN OPEN FIRE I was sitting drowsily in front of the open door of the stove. The room was dark except where a stray moonbeam came creeping across the floor. The fire was low in the stove, showing only a few red coals in the center. The coals were filled with cracks and caverns, which, to my drowsy imagination, seemed to be large enough for me to enter. Short, red tongues of flame darted forth and seemed to motion me to enter and explore the unknown regions underneath those burning coals. I was watching a little flame trying to light a piece of coal that lay near by, but being unable to do it, gave up in disgust and disappeared just as a large lump gave way and fell, disclosing a small round hole right in the center of the fire. A little man made entirely of fire came forth and motioned me to follow. I stepped into the red-hot cavern which, instead of burning me as I had supposed, gave out no heat. I followed my guide through a long bright passage, the walls of which were covered with millions of glittering rubies. I was so busy watching the sight that I took my eyes off my guide and when I looked again he was gone. I immediately started to find my way back again. I had not wandered many minutes when I suddenly realized that I had allowed myself to be trapped and that I could not find my way out. There were scores of passages all just alike and not going in any particular direction. I had wandered into a small cave-like place in search of an opening when the floor gave away and I fell through into darkness. The place where I now found myself was darkened and cold and appeared to be some kind of fine dust mixed with large stones. I groped my way along for some minutes, plowing through dust up to my knees and crawling over stones, when suddenly without any warning, a large chunk of the roof broke through and allowed a red hot coal to drop on my head. In an instant the scene changed, there was a loud bang and I found myself on the floor with the chair on top of me. I had fallen asleep and burned my head on the stove. Constance Thorne, ’49. T IFE AT ITS BEST OR WORST She thinks she might have a chance with him. This means she must make friends of all the boy’s girl friends and learn their habits and customs until she can use these to eliminate the others from the race. After all, this has happened, she finds herself happy, so happy that she cannot do a thing at home sans sit around and think of him or call up all her girl friends to make sure they are not trying to sneak a date in somewhere. A girl enjoys this seventh heaven for about two weeks until she finds herself another male whom she cannot do without. This sort of thing goes on until she is either married or becomes an old maid. If she is married she is happy for two years, once in a while, then she finds she must have everything she sees. As I said before, she knows how to get things so she is happy until the hubby is fresh out of money and soon she finds he is fresh out of a wife. This is not always the case because some girls cannot wait until the husband is broke so they can get a divorce and a substantial alimony. To really understand all the good and poor things there are about the weaker sex, we must start from birth. Here we run onto our first reason, which happens to be the very fact that they are born. After the thing has happened we try to make up for it by trying to teach them a little sense. (Which often comes to naught.) From the start a girl makes more noise than is good for any person, (save another girl, for they are used to it among themselves.) Over-looking all these things, we find a baby girl is very cute until she reaches the age of reason. Whereupon she learns it is feminine to (Continued on page 29)