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

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BLUE AND WHITE 25 Mr. Turner’s children were Doris, played by Barbara Evans, who drove Mrs. Martyn into a nervous frenzy by constantly talking about her operation and Sammie, played by Paul Chapman, who put on a good act of a kleptomaniac. The eccentric Aunt Lydia was played by Viola Moses and she objected to the marriage because Mrs. Martyn was once married to her brother Horatio ten years ago. and she thought that Agnes should remain true to her husband’s memory. In the final outcome the children confessed that they were selfish and decided to accept their new parents and become one big happy family. The humor of the play centered around Marie Bodette and Bob Field who played the parts of two colored servants. Marie was Begonia Washing and Bob was Nicodemus Pipps. All in all the success of the play is due chiefly to the cooperation of the class members who took part in preparing the scenery, make up and the stage furnishings donated by Goodheart’s Furniture Store. Our appreciation is also extended to Miss Laura DeMeritt as make up artist; Mrs. Nelson as prompter and Miss Jean Howland who assisted in directing. CLASS POEM The past four years have been only too kind To this dear class of forty-nine. As we stand at the gate between future and past. We remember joys that forever will last. Remembering the past, both gladness and strife. Whose lessons will guide tip in our future life. We welcome the future, as yet quite uncertain. Where we will dwell till death draws its curtain. Marjorie Husk, ’40 TO THE CLASS OF 1949 Since this is a time of saying farewells for me as well as for you. perhaps our emotions are somewhat similar as the school year draws to a close. Certainly. we all dread the thought of parting with those whose friendship has meant so much to us at V.H.S. There is a sadness, too. in the memory of good times shared — Friday night games, gala proms, music festivals, class trips, senior play rehearsals and all the other things which have added variety and happiness to these years. Even the old school building (though we’ve cursed it often) arouses a feeling of nostalgia, but we are glad to know that a better one is coming. However, this June is a beginning, not an ending; for each experience i.i life sends us onward more fully equipped to deal with the future. Your graduation is in no sense a release, nor does it probably mean that you will enjoy a more carefree existence as parental bonds are loosened. Like Hawthorne’s Hepzihah and Clifford, you will find that the only true jailer is one's own mind. Thus, we may enslave ourselves to ignorance, to bad habits, to prejudice or to evil influences unless we are con-stantlv alert. Your high school education should aid you in recognizing these dangers, and we hope that school, together with the influences of church and home, has succeeded in fostering a sincere desire in you to resist them. In another sense, we find that self-imposed restrictions are far less lenient than the indulgent commands of parents. Certainly this is true in the matter of assuming responsibilities for. as some of you have already started to learn, a responsibility once assumed bv an intelligent, honest person carries with it the solemn obligation of fulfillment. This feeling of duty to fulfill need not be unpleasant and only becomes so if one tries to free himself from it. As with most abilities worth having, one becomes more proficient with practice, and soon we welcome

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VEKGENNES HIGH SCHOOL 24 SENIOR CLASS TRIP CLASS OF ’49 On Friday, February 11. at 1:30 P. M.. a chartered bus. arrived at V. H. S. to take the Seniors on their long-anticipated trip to the Ice Follies at Montreal. On the way the trip was shortened by much singing, talking, and merry-making. Before we knew it. it was 5 :00 o’clock and we were entering Montreal. The hotel where we were to stay was the Laurentien, a new 22-story structure on Dominion Square. This is the first post-war hotel to be built in Canada; thus it is completely fire-proof. After being shown to our rooms, which we found so luxurious that we hated to leave them, we freshened up a bit and went out to supper. At 7 :30 the class met in the lobby to go to the Follies. Taxies were used as a means of transportation. When we arrived at the Montreal Forum, we were ushered to our box-seats by a courteous usherette. Promptly at 8:30 the overture began as the houselights dimmed, and preparations were made for the first feature of the show. 1 he main features were: “Fountain of Versailles.” All Aboard for Candvland. “California Centennial. “Aladin's Lamp. “Coney Island, “Mardi Gras at Tewr Orleans. and “Aero Dynamics. To us the Follies were nothing less than colossal. One could not help thinking how much work had gone into the production of the show as a whole, and also the technique of each individual skater. Many things contributed to the perfection which was manifested; one was the precision timing, also the elaborate costumes and the many different lighting effects. Especially effective were the Conti-Glo costumes used in the Mardi Gras which created a multi-colored effect, with no lighting whatsoever. The grand finale “Aero Dynamics. starred 32 Ice Folliettes and the entire company which consists of a total of 86 persons. After the Follies we went out to eat and evervone was in at 12:00. the des- ignated time. We will not disclose the exact hours of retiring, but everyone was up surprisingly early Saturday morning. We had breakfast, went shopping, ate lunch and then many of us went on a sight-seeing tour which took in the Wax Works, Notre Dame Cathedral and St. Joseph's Shrine. At 4:C0 P. M., a tired, but happy group reluctantly piled onto the bus and once more headed homeward. Everyone had a grand time and there was also much to be gotten out of the trip) from an educational and cultural standpoint. We arrived in Vergennes at 8:00. more tired, but with the thoughts of many fond memories in our minds. Grant Laber Constance Thorne THE SENIOR PLAY The annual Senior Play took place on November 9, 1948. at the Vergennes City Hall. It proved to be a tremendous success due to the superb talent of the Seniors. Under the direction of Mrs. Harris Thurber it was said to have been the best play ever presented by a high school class. The play was a comedy in three acts by Jay Tobias called “A Ready Made Family. The story centers around the sophisticated Mrs. Agnes Mavtvn. played by Bettie Sullivan, and her three children and the aristocratic Hen-rv Turner, played by Grant Laber. and his two children. Mrs. Martyn met Mr. Turner at the sea shore, they fell in love and were married, unbeknown to their children. The couple return home and immediately the children start planning ways and means to break up the couple. Mrs. Martyn’s children were Marilee. played by Rita Bradley, who succeeded in infuriating Mr. Turner with her baby talk; Bob. played by Erwin Clark, whose epileptic fits put Mr. Turner in a dither; and Grade, played by Ann Milo, who stole the show by acting the diabolical part of a typical brat.

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26 YERGENNES HIGH SCHOOL responsibility and enjoy taking our share of it in the home and in the community. That is maturity and true freedom. In closing, may I congratulate you upon having procured for yourselves part of the equipment which is essential to living a full, happy, and meaningful life. Whatever the cost of obtaining a high school education has been to each of you, 1 feel sure that none of you will ever spend time, energy, or money to a better purpose. My thoughts will be with you often in the years ahead, and I sincerely hope and believe that your experiences and associations at V.H.S. may help to bring to each of you the realization of your own personal definition of success. Betsy K. Thurber I AM AN AMERICAN 1 am an American, a simple thought which is taken for granted by many people each day. but do we ever really stop to think exactly what this means? Is an American black, white, Jewish. Roman Catholic. Protestant, or all of these? Is an American a race, a religion or a particular color? By actual definition. an American is a person who lives in America. We lucky individuals who live in this land of opportunity have many rights and privileges. We are endowed at birth with equal rights, which means that every one regardless of race, color or creed, regardless of whether he is rich or poor, crippled or feebleminded. He is entitled to the same essential rights as any man as long as he does not infringe upon the rights of others. There is no need to go into these rights, because everyone knows the four freedoms, the Bill of Rights and most of all. the “inalienable rights or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It does sound ideal, does it not? But there is one trouble with all these wonderful opportunities, everyone in America is not privileged to enjoy them. Probably half of the people have a prejudice of some kind. Just to give you an idea of how terrible this prejudice can be. can you imagine this incident, reported on the radio this evening. A negro woman is going to have a baby and she and her husband like any other normal couple are making plans for the baby’s future. The time comes when the woman must go to the hospital. when out of nowhere a terrible complication strikes, a caesarian operation is necessary and a specialist to perform it. The husband phones frantically for a hospital, but, do you think a white hospital will accept a Negro mother? No! It will not, narrowness of mind, stupid, ugly prejudice stands in the way, a life might be saved but, no. The mother is the same as any other other except that she is black, yet she is branded as though she had some contagious disease. Finally a Negro hospital is located in a town seventy-eight miles away. The husband feverishly drives as fast as he dares, but it is too late. The mother and baby die upon the operating table. This man will be embittered all of his life toward the white race. Do you blame him? I don't. I am sincerely ashamed of my color if this is an example of the humanity shown by white people. It is the same with Jews, Roman Cath olics. Italians and Polish people. You hear people taunt them with : “Dirty kike, “look at the little Catholic going to church like a sissy,” or “see the dirty wop.” Is this America, the land of opportunity and freedom from want, worry, fear and prejudice? If you are one of these people, you are a disgrace and a discredit to your nation. Remember that God made us all. and intended us to live or he would never have placed us upon this earth. Let us truly strive to understand people who are a different color, a different nationality, or different religion from us. Let us give them a fair chance. Remember. it doesn’t matter if you are as rich as Rockefeller or poor as Job. “From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.” We were all created bv the same God and we are all equal in