Walstonburg High School - Talisman Yearbook (Walstonburg, NC)

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S..s..,..x..s..,..,..,.,...x..s..,.,x..,gwwfg ..s..,..s..s..s..s..x..s..s..x.,s..s.,s.. Last Will and Testament The Senior Class of Nineteen hundred and forty seven, being sound of mind and healthy of body do hereby file this our last will and testament, bequesting our various and sundry goods, possessions and good wishes to the mentioned beneficiaries and do hereby declare all similar documents which may appear to be null or void. General Terms: To The Faculty-We leave our deep regard and gratitude for making the past four years the most wonderful ones of our lives. To The School-We leave our sincere appreciation for her high standards which ever serve as a guide to those who have known and learned to love them. To The Juniors-We leave our precious home room and all the memories that we Love and Cherish. PERSONAL WILL Martha Baker wills her ability to stand up for her own opinion to Mildred Speight. Margarett Fields wills her moods to Lucille Barnes. Raymond Cobb wills his shoe shine, creases and loud socks to Wilber G. Baker. Bessie Hardison wills her winning way of getting her name into Society Headlines to Mildred Dildy. Frances Sawrey wills her permanent to Gladys Parker cn rainy days. Dabney Goin wills his silly grin to Charlie Wainwright. Louise Jones wills her super girl strength to Rachel Griffin. Frances Dixon wills four years of Sunday night dates to Dorothy Parker. Virginia Whitley wills her serious mind to Margaret Coggins. Stella Honeycutt wills her excitable nature and flirting ways to Doris Letchworth. Ola Grace Gardner wills her leadership ability and Class presidency to Doris Williams. William Beaman leaves his influence over a certain cute Junior girl to Dalton Holloman. Elsie Shirley wills her one track mind and spontaneous giggles to Dorothy Hardison. Elizabeth Heath wills her lovely hair, and pretty teeth to Minnie Mae Tugwell. Dorothy Jones wills her ability to continually change the old for the new to Verona Lee Owens. Jarvis Beaman wills his courtship ability to Robert Parker. Julia Marie Taylor wills her usefulness as office girl to Edna Ruth Rouse. Leonard Mann wills that wolfish gleam in his eyes, which all girls notice, to Billie Hardison. Here, the school wouldn't be complete unless Leonard left his crooning voice to Phillip Shirley. Gladys Letchworth wills her height, and brown eyes to Doris Wheeler. Clarence and Howard Kittrell will their devotion for each other and their many girl admirers to James and Jarvis Holloman. Miss Rives, we the seniors leave our love and appreciation for the sacrifices you have made, and for the lovely example you have been for us this year. You have not only shown us the way-you walked with us. Elsie Shirley, Testator E 11 l sa

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Class History We, the class of 1947 of Walstonburg High School, have climbed a ladder built by dreams-step by step. As the time of graduation draws near we recall those dreams, remembering the desire for their fulfillment and the joy of realization. Ding-Dong! The old familiar bell tolled away the years until at last we could say. We're in high school! With Miss Irma Page and Miss Bertha Lang as our teachers, we spent a fun-packed freshman year. Days passed quickly, and before we realized it- vacation time! October 1944 . . . School again, and We were Sophomores. We felt especially important when we learned that We would give the Seniors a banquet-even though the reason was that there was no Junior class. Led by our officers, Ola Grace Gardner, Elsie Shirley, and Raymond Cobb and our advisor, Miss Ott, we made the banquet the big event of the year. When we finally returned to our work we could hardly realize we would soon be Juniors. Getting used to being Juniors was not the only change of our third year in high school. We missed Mr. B. L. Davis, our former principal, but we soon learned to like his successor, Mr. Roger Peeler. Above all, we felt that we were fortunate indeed in having Mrs. Peeler as our home room teacher. With the six twelfth-graders who shared our room, we chose as officers for the year H. T. Herring, Lib Holloman, and Raymond Cobb. Participation in the tobacco contest helped develop a class spirit which was destined to give us a place of leadership among the classes. It was with great pride that we saw our own king and queen, Dabney Goin and Lib Holloman, crowned at the festival. That class spirit reached new heights when on February first we experienced the big thrill of being Juniors-our class rings arrived! Getting the rings, seeing the girls' basket- ball team win the county championship and sportsmanship awards, and helping with commencement took on equal importance with our studies. Settling down to work with memories of the past, We saw the days slip quickly by, and We dreamed a perfect dream -we were Seniors! Realizing the necessity of good organization, our first step as Seniors was the choice of our officers. We elected Ola Grace Gardner, Margarett Fields, and Martha Baker as leaders. Miss Rives was our class sponsor. For our motto we selected A quitter never wins, a winner never quits? Determined to carry out this idea, we won again in the tobacco contest, making our room winners-Ola Grace Gardner and Jarvis Beamon -the queen and king. Ordering invitations, going to Chapel Hill on Senior Day, getting the annual ready for press, and having fun at the Junior-Senior make our days busy and eliciting. We found many of our dreams being fulfilled, Yet we find the realization of these dreams not an end in itself-rather they are means toward higher things, for graduation will only fit us for greater dreams, helping us shape our future. Frances Sawrey ax..x..s..s..s.,s..s.,,..x..s..,..s..x..4 gwgpfg-..s..s.,x..s..x..x..x..s..x..x..,..x..s. E101

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Prophecy of Class of '47 As the hour of parting drew near I realized that soon the class of '47 must go forth-either to schools of higher learning or out into the world of affairs, and I, despite of hope and faith in the future, had an in- tense longing to know something of what lurks in the beyond. I Wanted, like Tennyson, to Dip into the future, far as human eye could see, See the vision of the world, and all the wonders that would be. In this mood I called on the spirit of the years past and present of Walstonburg High History, to throw upon the future the light of other years and reveal my classmates to me. The vision came and under such strange circumstances that I shall tell them to you now. Late one evening, I sat on the love seat at the lower end of the campus. The moon shimmered through the white mist in the sky and down upon the dew-laden lawn, turning it into a sparkling pool of magic waters. Moon-beams slid into the lurid depths of the pool. As I gazed in amazement, a figure tall and stately, robed in the blue and white of a spirit, arose out of the pool and stood before me. I am the prophet of your des- tiny. Fame, love, fortune or ill luck, I can reveal. Gaze intently into yonder pool and I shall reveal what was and what is to be. As the spirit's voice ceased, there came to me the sound of bells and the soft strains of Mendelssohn's Wedding March, In the twi- light of a June afternoon, a high school romance ended at the altar. Lib and Joe it was-but Lib Heath no more. A mass of white arose from the pool and I strained my eyes to see what it was. It took the shape of an operating table, where white clad doctors and nurses were working diligently. One of the nurses turned, and I gazed into the face of Virginia Whitley. The white dissolved into the lights of a main street of a large city, which I thought to be Richmond. Plainly I saw the sign of General Motors, and then a stir in the pool and Martha Baker, executive secretary for the firm, swiftly typed away on a typewriter, The peck-peck of the typewriter turned into enthu- siastic cheering and a great football game was on. I scanned the stands for familiar faces and then on 'Lo the players' bench. To my astonishment there sat Jarvis Beaman as football coach for the University of North Carolina.- A smile was cracking his face so I confirmed my game. Through the mer of harbor San Francisco Orient. Amid of Gladys Letchworth became distinct. Beside her sat an old lady to whom she kept talking. I knew then that Gladys was acting as a traveling companion and a lovely one too. But what should I see next? Were they footlights? Yes, in a dimly lighted theatre. On the stage I recog- nized Stella Honeycutt playing the comic lead in a popular new play, Flapper Girl . As the program took shape before my eyes, I read that its author was none other than talented Dorothy Jones. It read further that she was employed by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer 'Studios in Hollywood as a script writer. There was a tremendous stir in the waters of the pool, New York spread before me and I noticed that magnificently gowned women in limousines and soberly dressed people in cars, taxis, and street cars, all passed in the direction of the Metropolitan Opera House, where they were going that night to hear the biggest success of the season-Leonard Mann, tenor. I knew not what to expect to be revealed from the mystic depths next. Then a tiny ripple and a girl stood before me. I could see Frances Dixon plainly. Away she talked, and by the expressions on the faces of her pupils she knew her English well. Noise, the roaring of motors, so loud that I felt as belief that Army was at last losing a stillness of the pool appeared the glim- lights and out from the golden gates of passed a Pacific liner bound for the the flutter of handkerchiefs, the face ll2l if I couldsee it, come to my ears. The moon threw a glimmering shaft df light across the pool and in the light a giant plane reared its nose. Two men swung down from the cockpit for a walk on the steady earth. I recognized the two commercial pilots when they flashed a smile as Howard and Clarence Kittrell. The pool under-went a dractic changeg a turmoil of restless waters. It subsided to reveal a modern hat shop. I peeped in the window and saw an array of silly hats, but good sellers. Elsie Shirley had used her silly high school ideas to an advantage. Her creation of hats were the talk of the fashion world. After seeing so many of my friends in such strange occupations I was happy to see a comfortable house in the country, set well back from the road and shaded by giant oak trees. Through the front door I saw a large living room in buff and blue with rose curtains. In the center of it was Julia Marie Taylor, calmly rock- ing herself anzl looking as if there were nothing in the world that she didn't know about taking care of a husband like Ben, and a home. As this scene of happy domestic life faded, out of the half shadows of the pool a great white building slowly took form and from it issued the sound of cheerful laughter. Group after group of happy chil- dren were enjoying the home prepared them by Bessie Hardison. Out of her generous heart she had estab- lished a Charity Home for New York's outcast children. Beside her stood a tali, distinguished man, the home's physician and Bessie's husband. I began to feel cool from a wind that stirred the white mist that hung over the pool. As it cleared, I could see a shingle bobbing in the breeze. Real Es- tate Dealer, R. F. Cobb, it read, I could tell by a glance in the window that Ootsie's business was quite a thriving one. No doubt he made his decision to go into the business when real estate was the topic of conversation in Mr. Lewis' economics class. I remem- ber he said it was quite a racket if you knew the tricks-and well it is. Hummmmm-What do I smell? And what do I see? Piles upon piles of peach kernels on a table in the center of a perfectly equipped laboratory. Ola Grace Gardner, a renown scientist, testing a light-colored substance in a test tube with all the patience of Job. At last , she cried, and lifted the tube higher, I have found a sure prevention of wrinkles! Now men throughout the ages will rise up and call her blessed. A tiny speck of light came into the pool and out of it grew first a basketball, then Louise Jones, holding it in one hand and in the other a silver loving cup for the Championship of Free Baskets. This she claimed above all America. A host of friends and newspaper men stood around. One reporter scribbled A cham- pion player in high school and college. The tang of the salt sea breeze came to me and out of the waters of the Atlantic arose a passenger liner. The deck was speckled with England-bound passengers. The cabin of the captain was a luxurious place. He was entertaining some passengers of nobility and I could not see his face until he turned toward me. Familiar, and of course-Dab Goin as captain of the largest liner on run between America and England. The giant waves of the ocean made a change into the stage of a huge hall. There at the speaker's stand was Frances Sawrey, famous woman lecturer. Her voice filled the hall and entertained her audience with the noble words of her lecture on Your Child's Health Her articles were being published in the leading maga- zines of the country. This vision, too, faded and for a long time there was nothing. Then the ghost of confusion came into the pool. Through this scene passed one figure, always alone. I had just realized that the lone figure was my- self when the vision faded. I suppressed a sigh of keen disappointment as I remembered- that the fates are kind. Margarett Fields, Class Prophet.