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

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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

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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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BLUE AND WHITE 27 His sight. They too are Americans, they too have a right to everything this bounteous land has to offer. If you truly try to do this you will succeed. Perhaps someday we may reach a goal when we all will he able to say with a clear conscience, “I AM AN AMERICAN.” Marie Bodctte, ’49 LIFE’S LITTLE INSPIRATIONS Baby sitting can be fun, but when it is over and the babies are lying asleep and you are lying, it is an excellent chance to get an inspiration; especially if you hear a knocking at the window that makes you so scared that you do not dare turn over in bed or breath through your nose. Lying there took me back to a night several years ago that I shall not forget in a hurry. This particular night is horrible to remember, but it is also humorous to think that nothing bad actually happened. There I was lying asleep when suddenly I woke up. On waking I decided to smooth out a wrinkle in the sheet — sorry, it was my sister’s arm. I proceeded to stretch my arms and upon reaching out my hand, I grasped a man’s hand! It was then that I opened my eyes to see the figure of a man silhouetted against the light from the window. After shaking hands for several minutes, I decided I must be meeting a blind date. I nudged my sister until she came to her senses — after she had lent me a couple of kicks that set my calves to bawling. Together we let out some yelps that should have wakened Father, but by this time he, the man, was under the bed. The springs began to resound as he bumped his head. My sister thought then its must he a dog and suggested throwing a shoe. I said no, that he might have a gun. Dogs do not usually carry guns, but this sure was a tall dog according to my measurements. The door was ajar and he succeeded in bumping his head on that for which I cheered si- lently. He made his way to the window at the end of the hall and escaped by way of the porch roof. But this time Father had made his way to the bottom of the stairs. Pop always slept down stairs in case of burglars. Incidentally the inspiration for this story was so great that I was tempted to get up and write it when it first came to my mind, but that quaint knocking at the window kept me well under the covers. Marjorie Husk, ’49 HIGH SCHOOL — HOW IT PREPARES YOUTH FOR LIFE Everyone knows that one express purpose of going to school is to learn many facts so that when specific questions are hurled at a student he will know the right answers. If this were the only result, high school would be very unpurposeful, and to say the least would have accomplished little toward developing stability of character and emotional maturity in a young person. In reality the acquiring of knowledge is only a fraction of what is to he gained by attending a secondary school for four years. I shall attempt to enumerate a few of the psychological and so-rial advantages of the present day high school. In a high school such as ours, where there is a comparatively small student body, no individual should lack an opportunity for self-expresson. Everyone should be able to take part in some of the many extra-curricular activities. Many of the students, being very versatile, are active in many things. It seems to me that each activity goes to develop a different quality in one’s character, the major and most basic one being the art of cooperation and getting along with your fellow associates. If one is to he an asset to the band, orchestra, drill team, or basketball team, he must cooperate perfectly and in ev- (Continued on page 29)