Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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BATTALION NOTES T HE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION ENTERTAINMENT Since the last issue of the Debater went to press the season of 1917-1918 in the his- tory of the Wakefield High School Battalion has come and gone with its routinous drills, its ever-new experiences, its failures, and, we trust, its successes. I say the season has gone, but we, the officers, sincerely hope that it may be remembered with noth- ing but the pleasantest of memories by all. The fine spirit and interest with which the cadets co-operated with their officers certain- ly showed its results in the prize drill, which was held May 24. The drills were so close- ly contested that the judges even had diffi- culty in picking the winners. The junior drillers, especially, were considered the best matched squad the school has ever had. The tri-color offered to the winning com- pany, was awarded to Co. B, The medals for officers and non-commissioned ofTicers of the winning company accordingly were re- ceived by: Captain Robert M. Dean, Jr.; 1st Lieut. Allston Van Wagner; 2nd Lieut. Roger Moore; 1st Sergt. Oliver W. How- land, Jr.; 2nd Sergt. Raymond Batten. The first prize in the senior competitive drill was won by Sergt. John A. Reid, Co. B.; the second by Sergt. Raymond Batten, Co. B; the third by Corp. Rene Loubris, Co. B, The results of the junior drill were as follows: first prize, Priv. Richard Dolbeare, Co. B; second, Priv. Charles Carr, Co. A; third, Arthur Moncreiff, Co. A. The orderly medal was awarded to Priv. Dolbeare. Another important event of the year for the battalion is the officers ' party, which was held December 28th, 1917. Following the Wakefield officers in the grand march were officers from West Point, Norwich Univer- sity, Woburn, H. S. B., and Stoneham H. S. B. The Medford officers arrived later. The party was a success in every way and netted approximately $125.00. During the year, Wakefield officers have attended the officers ' parties held in Stone- ham, Gloucester, Medford and Woburn. On the evening of May 27th, after a short parade, the battalion attended, upon invita- tion, a patriotic meeting held in the town hall under the auspices of the Wakefield Grange. It also marched with the G. A. R. on Memorial Day. Major F. Everett Wilkins A very novel entertainment was given in the town hall, on February 6, 1918, under the auspices of the athletic association. Miss Marion Wilson, a well-known im- personater, gave several character sketches, which were all favorably received. During the intervals between Miss Wilson ' s sketches, the audience was favored with violin selec- tions by Miss Marion McKie, accompanied by Miss Margaret Hurley; piano solos by John Reid; and two reading by Miss Mary McAuliffe; all of which were greatly ap- preciated by the audience. The committee in charge of this enter- tainment consisted of the members of the Senior class committee, the commissioned officers, and the Debater staff. Helen Jones, ' 18 SENIOR CLASS NOTES At a meeting held March 6, the class made arrangements to have a floral piece sent to the funeral of Robert Gibbs. A delega- tion of members was chosen to attend the services. Arrangements were also made for the purchase of a picture for the high school by the class. The picture hangs in Room 9. At a meeting held April 5, the class hon- ors were announced and class speakers chos- en. The honors were: — Lester Lewis, Val- edictorian ; Evangelos Soteriades, Saluta- torian; Everett Wilkins, Honor Part. The speakers chosen by Mr. Howe were: — Char- lotte Boody, John Murray; and by the class — Mary McAuliffe and Raymond Drugan. The class motto, TRUTH CONQUERS, was also announced. Joseph Brehaut, Sec, ' 18 GOOD KING ARTHUR in 1918 When good Herb. Hoover ruled this land, It was a goodly thing; He made us buy of barley-meal. To make a bag pudding. A bag-pudding we all did make, And stuffed it well with plums. But left out the great lumps of fat. As big as our two thumbs. The family did eat thereof. And noblemen beside; And what we did not eat that meal, We ate the next day fried. Ruth Woodbury, ' 20 17

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before, but who have succeeded admirably in which we might express our sincere in their first effort. This is one good result thanks. of the Great War. The Committee consisted of Herbert Rea, EvANGELOS SoTEiiiADES, ' 18 Chairman, Charlotte Boody, and Jennie Ger- sinovitch. F. Everett Wilkins, ' 18 A SERVICE FLAG A RUNAWAY BOY A Service Flag — I wonder how often many of us realize the meaning the one when we see it waving in the breeze. Sure- ly a person shows the greatest of love for country, liberty, and justice, when he is willing to sacrifice all, give his life, if nec- essary, that they may exist forever. Per- haps, even while we look at that star of blue, its brave owner, somewhere in France, is facing the foe and the unknown, to save his country, more precious to him than anything else. So why should not ev- ery home possessing a service flag have a feeling of great pride for the one who went away, for whom this emblem stands, and who we all hope will ooon return safe- ly home? Marion McKie, ' 20 OUR NEW FLAG The Annual Convention of the Massachu- setts Department of the Women ' s Relief Corps was held April 10, 1918, in the Shaw- mut Avenue church, Boston, Mass. One of the objects of the organization is the promo- tion of patriotism in the United States, and the purpose is promoted by the presen- tation of flags to schools. Thus it came about that Wakefield High School, one of five fortunate institutions, received upon this occasion the beautiful new silk banner which is now proudly displayed on the plat- form in Room 1, and to which we earnestly pledge our allegiance every Tuesday. Mr. Howe represented our school and re- ceived the flag, responding with very appro- priate remarks, in which he made a touch- ing reference to our service flag with its blue stars and its one gold star. That Wakefield High School should re- ceive one of these flags was made possible only through the efforts of Mrs. C. Delia Giles, of this town, and, the school, by a unanimous vote, empowered Mr. Howe to appoint a committee to write a letter to her In Italy, as soon as a boy reaches the age of eight or nine years, he is expected to do some sort of work to earn his board, at least. My father was one of those hard- working boys. He had always yearned for an education, but his father turned a deaf ear to his pleadings. One day father and several other boys plotted to run away. A man, an unprincipled fellov) who overheard their plotting, promised to take them with him, and if they worked hard enough, to give them an education. He took them to a neighboring town, which, I believe, is named Solmone. When they got there, they were foi ' ced to work hard. No education was given them; but they had three meals a day, which they hardly ever got at home. The meals consisted of com meal mush. Father remembers that he once ate it from an old wooden door. After a few days, his father found out where he was and per- suaded him to go home. But first father made grandpa promise to give him a new suit and a regular weekly allowance of spending money. So he profited in some respects by his escapade, although he never received the longed-for education. Adalgisa Orsini, ' 20 THE W. H. S. OFFICERS ' PARTY The officers ' party was held in the town hall on December 8, 1917, under the auspices of the High School Battalion. There was a short introduction to the matrons, Mrs. F. I. Wilkins, Mrs. H. M. Dolbeare, and Mrs. R. M. Dean, which com- menced at 8 o ' clock. Following this was the grand march, led by Major F. Everett Wilkins and Miss Dorothy Baker, in which a large number of young people participated. Poole ' s orchestra furnished the music, and dancing was enjoyed until midnight. Two moon-light waltzes, and an elimination dance were special features, adding greatly to the evening ' s enjoyment. Major F. Everett Wilkins was floor di- rector and had as his aids, the remaining commissioned officers. • ' 16

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REVERENCE FOR THE HOME One of the greatest failings of the twenti- eth century is the lack f reverence for the home, as shown by the American youths of today. In China we see the children, who are not Christians, reverencing not only their parents and their homes, but also the spirits of their departed ancestors. The Jews, too, have always shown great rever- ence for the home. The Puritans were like the Chinese in their devotion to home and family. They were a very great people who founded the greatest nation of the world and their example should be followed by the youths of America, but it is not. The youths of today wish to do as they please, — they think only of their pleasure and do not respect the opinions of other people. It seems as though about every ten years, the reverence for the home declines a notch, and if things go on as they are going now, there will .soon be no home in the truest and best sense. Not many years ago, the young people would meet of an evening at a friend ' s homo and have a jolly good time. What do they do now? The girls go to the moving pic- ture show, the boys to the street corners to lounge around, doing nothing worth while. You will probably say, The parents do not make the home attractive. But do the children try to make the homes attractive for themselves? Why should they leave ev- erything for the parents to do? Why not take an unoccupied room in the house, if there is one, and fix it up as a sort of club room where the young people of the neighborhood could spend their evenings? If one person did this, othei ' s would follow the lead, and soon the home would become a I)lace of jollity and happiness, a place to stay in, not just a place for mother to clean up and for the rest of the family to eat and sleep in. The Youth must ' be taught that Mother is nx)t simply to keep the clothes washed and mended, the rooms in order, the table sup- j)]icd with food, and the ont ::o do all the disagreeable jobs that come up; and that Father is not the one to make the money and to foot all the bills for little unneces- sary trifles that we could most certainly get along without. Father and Mother are peo- ple to reverence, to help all we can by doing things that we would ordinarily make them do for us, and they are people to love. They should not be made to feel that t ey arc back numbers because they are getting a little old and sometimes wrinkled and gray- haired. The young folks of America can learn a great deal about reverence in the home and reverence to the parents by following the example of the Pilgrims. Gertrude Hutchinson, ' 20 1919 CLASS NOTES The Junior class held a most successful paity Friday evening, February 1, in the town hall. The matrons were Miss A. Irene Goddard, of the faculty; Mrs. J. Galvin and Mrs. W. H. Woodman. At intermission, pleasing vo- cal solos were rendered by Miss Alice Doyle, ' 19, which together with fancy Spanish danc- ing by Miss Edith Jones, ' 19, made a most acceptable entertainment. Little Miss Helen Fay, losiumed as Col- umbia and Master Francis Smith as Uncle Sam, distributed dance orders. The hall was tastefully decorated with flags kindly offered by Mrs. Goodale. The dance was a financial as well as a so- cial success. Ida M. Lowe, Sec, ' 19 WASHINGTON, D. C. In the week beginning February 18th, a trip to the nation ' s capitol and New York City was made by Mr. Fulton, head of our Commercial Department, Howard Marshall, Everett Wilkins, Lester C. Lewis, and Cy- rus M. Dolbeare, members of the senior class. We were accompanied as far as New York City by Miss Gilmore, also of the fac- ulty. Leaving Wakefield by train, we went to Providence, Rhode Island, where we walked about the city, seeing the Brown University grounds and buildings and the state capital. That evening we left by boat for New York City. After a beautiful sail through Long Is- land Sound, we entered New York harbor early the next morning, taking in all the sights of the harbor, including the Statue of Liberty, the Woolworth Building, and the many boats, ferries, tugs, and barges at work in the harbor. We spent no time in the city as it was nearly time for our train to start. Crossing the Hudson on a ferry, we boarded a train for Philadelphia at the New Jersey station. Although wc spent only two hours in 18