Waltham High School - Mirror Yearbook (Waltham, MA)

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CLASS OF 1939 . Thursday, November 24, Today half Waltham and myself sat down and actually enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in three cheerless years. The girls, never to be outdone, trounced their opponents in field hockey with vehemance. Class officers were installed for the last time. Winslow MacDonald was re-elected presidentg Clara Viscogliosi, vice-presidentg Frances Carlson, secretary-treasurerg and Douglas MacArthur, auditor. Once again Christmas, the New Year, and then the Senior Dance, that dance of dances in the Senior Calendar. Once again, soft spot-lights and smooth, scintillating music by the rhymical Rhy- thm Barons. The dance was perfection itself. The financial report may, of course, be overlooked with a wave of the hand, although four cents profit on ice-cream sounded too much like care- ful arithmetic, something incongruous to dance committees. The hockey and basketball teams, representing the talent of the Senior class, had very satisfying seasons indeed. The senior girls' basketball ar- ray showed finesse in their sweep of their sched- ule. The baseball team waged war with-excellent hitting power. Election of Picture Committee came as a distinct shock to those who were un- aware of the rushing torrent of time. The Senior Play, Skidding , brought to the enthusiastic audience the Judge Hardy family with all its human appeal, climaxes, and adven- tures of the group. with the irresponsible Andy in his glory. The Thespian exploits of the en- tire cast, the hard-working committee and self- effacing Clara Viscogliosi, whose cheerful and capable chairmanship made difficulties vanish, all deserved every bit of praise they received and more. The diary comments on the play itself: If the audience only knew the effort exerted to make telephone bells ring on time, the finan- cial strain to buy Andy's conservative under- clothes, and the temptation resisted to eat the candy instead of selling it, they would have en- joyed the play threefold. The school witnessed the completion and oc- cupation of the newest addition of five rooms. Although promised for last Fall, they were wel- comed even at this late date for relief of the cramped housing problem in the school and for Mr. Hodge's precious north light. The next few weeks were devoted to sitting for photographs, and the school was a merry Bedlum of comparing and exchanging pictures and glossies with wild abandon. But wait-what is this? The last page-Im- possible! But it's true. Here's the last entry. The ink is scarcely dry. june a, 1939, Well, diary, youlre ended. Tomorrow we are graduated and then it's our own future in our own hands. It is a great temptation to look bacl: to our younger years and mourn the passing of youthful days. But we should not look back. Our day is today, not the yesterdays. With I-Experientia Docet , a good motto, we have learned with experience, and we have benefited by the experiences of others imparted to us. .With that, we shall be a little armed, at least, to face a world of reality. These past years have been happier than one could ever realize. I hope that the advantage of these happy days will serve to some fine end, if only a pleasant memory. The Hood tide of time seems to have carried us to the sea. May we reach a happy harbor safely and with our lives usefully lived. That was the last page. I closed the diary softly and whistled Waltham , OH-key, as I tied my green tie. Nice knot, eh? HARRIS GREENE, 1939.

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4 Vl'ALTH-1M HIGH SCHOOL . The sophs widened their scope of activity. They invaded radio in a dramatization of Charles Goodyear and his life. In the midst of quaver- ing voices the automobile tire was once again invented. The now smooth-functioning class chose a highly significent motto, Experientia Docct , al- though half the class, Latin students included, were obliged to ask for the translation. There is briefly noted: Thursday, March 11, 1937: The motto, Experientia Docetn, at this time sccms to mean that the teacher knows a litile more than you think she doesnt. The class of '39 had a quick taste of :dult life when the much-postponed Sophomore Social was held in the gym. A short entry: Friday, March 19, 1937, The affair was a lot of fun. The boys and girls, girls especially, are very shy, but I think they'll change with time. They've changed! Y Time irresistibly flowed through the happy months. May came and with it the junior Prom. But on the notices, regrets were in order, for Sophomores could not attend. Come to think of it, there was no mention of regrets. june came, and the Scniors, with watery eyes fl think it rained that dayj, bade us aufwiedcrsehen. lior a few delirious days we had more room and leis- ure. Then vacation. ln red pencil, diary says: So now we're juniors. And here's vacation. Thanks to the Lord ! Of course in mid-August the tunes of joy turned to whistles of impatience to get back to school again. Three hundred and fifty high-and-mighty juniors dusted off varying amounts of grey mat- ter that fall, and lorded the premises in a man- ner that would have won the plaudits of their predecessors. Once again they set themselves to business, and elected their new class officers: Winslow MacDonald, president, Regina Ring, vice-president, Muriel Medina, secretary-treasurer, and Harris Greene, auditor. The football season was on us. The lads of the junior class playing on the squad played well, and although not one of the most successful, still the season was a sportsmanlike, hard-fought one. The girls had their innings in field hockey. The NTIRROR staff performed new miracles by getting out one of its most successful issues. The flow of time quickened, and the Class of 1939 went through the old year into the new on the swelling tide. Appropriately enough at the bottom page of the diary, which is standard, there reads the following truism: Today is the tomorrow we looked towards, from which yesterday is only a memory. The hockey team swept to win the Brown Me- morial Trophy before the admiring eyes of their urging classmates. Golf, basketball, and base- ball became the cynosure of students' eyes. The girls of '59 emphasized their finesse in the bas- ketball and bowling brackets. Spring came and with it the operetta, The Royal Vagabond . Studies were blithely abandoned during the pro- duction of this two-night hit. The Vagabond, his Anitza, Chefcheks, and courtiers were given a royal welcome by the audience. Then the junior Prom, THE event of the junior year. Under soft lights, string orchestra, and thirty-six repeats of Heigh-Ho , the dance was a real dance from all view-points, thanks to the able committee in charge. With amazement, the juniors watched their congenial superiors graduate, a few short days later. WCl'C' they now those people of dignified countenance, of such god-like mien? Were they now Seniors? They were! They returned in the fall, a bit tanned and very mature in action and thought. There is noted: We began to feel the responsibility placed upon us by our elders. Perhaps the homework isn't all a matter of needless bother. Perhaps we're here for something. These facts, pa- tiently impressed by teachers for three years, now began to penetrate and make sense. It was the beginning of manhood and womanhood. The High School football team, captained and predominated by Seniors, turned a black outlook into a fall campaign of unexpected brilliance and success, the last game making them heroes of the first magnitude. I have:

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WALTHAM HIGH SCHOOL The Last Will and Testament of the Class of 1939 Know all men by these presents, that we, the Class of 1939, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, and wishing to direct in what man- ner our estate shall be disposed of after our de- parture, do make and publish this our last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all former wills by us at any time heretofore made. After the pay- ment of our just debts and funeral charges, we be- queath and devise as follows: T0 Illlf UVard, our forceful and persuasive sub- master, we bequeath a New 1939 Ford car to re- lieve the burden of his fellow teachers who are the constant victims of his wagging thumb. To Marr Allen, commanding officer of the cor- ridors, and custodian of 215 and adjacent stair- ways, we leave a set of rubber, sound-proof stair pads, to further guarantee the peace and quiet of 215 from noisy vociferous students. Tr, Mr. N0ff6lIf7lll',Q, we leave the pleasant, but perhaps tiring, job of printing that great piece of world, renowned literature, THE MIRROR. To Reber! Mollica, we leave what we know will be a prosperous and successful future selling those super-charges of the highways for which there is a large market and which are widely sought by an- tique dealers from Maine to California. To George llyheeler, the demon of the cindered way, the idol of the weaker sex, and the human phonograph, we bequeath a pair of winged track shoes to further insure a successful future in some well-known college. To Mr. UUOUCIIIIKIII, we leave a large farm, with plenty of fertile land, deep in the Kentucky Moun- tains, where he may further advance his theories on Economic Geography in perfect peace and quiet. To Earl 1VIacD011ga!l, our penny-pinching grasp- ing Business Manager, we bequeath a position in some large bank to keep the pangs of loneliness from overcoming him. To The Yomzger Set, the belittled juniors, we leave, regretfully, all the honor, dignity, and su- periority which is supposed to go hand in hand with the magic title of Senior, T0 Mr. Cnmzfz, the dignified gentleman in 208, with the perpetual blush, we leave a brand new set of matched golf clubs with the hopes that some day he may have a streak of good luck and find himself with a total score that is less than 100 for is holes. ' T0 .Miller FEl7f01Z, the Clark Gable of the Senior Class, we bequeath a year's supply of razor blades to prevent a re-occurrence of that little incident, which occurred a short while ago, when a wee bit of fuzz overgrew on his upper lip. To Mr. Gomlrirfv, our capable and efficient prin- cipal who has been indispensable in guiding us through the last critical years of scholastic careers, we leave our hopes that some day there may be cnough wings added to his school so that he won't have to spend his entire summers trying to find choice places in the coal bin for the knowledge- thirsty throngs which grow larger every year. To I?fz-jfzzzofzd lllfcflffkljf, who, we hear has been offered a steady job on the Boston Bruins, as an ire .rrmper, we leave a certain middle-sized, sweet- voiced Senior to whom he may devote all his spare time fif there is anyj after he completes his day's work. 'lin Miipr Blll'g6.f,f, our most capable instructor of the hue arts, we leave a group of eager, art-loving and ambitious juniors who seek art instead of the two easy points, and to whom she may impart all her pent-up knowledge of the works of the great painters. To Mr. Leary, the perfect prospect for a guar- anteed hair stimulant and our most capable coach, we leave a group of small but athletic juniors and Sophomores to whom he may put all his endeavor towards building teams which will make us justly proud to be Alumni of Waltham High. We hereby nominate and appoint Miss Allen, Mr. Mitchell, and Mr. Roche, all of Waltham, County of Middlesex, and Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts, as co-executors of this, our last Will