Wells High School - Crimson and Gray Yearbook (Southbridge, MA)

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22 THE CRIMSON AND GRAY The reception tendered us by the Junior Class was without question one worthy of remembrance. Inasmuch that our establish- ment as a class here became an actuality, to us it was a success. Without inclining too greatly here toward personal laudation the unique accomplishment of Edward Kaszynski in writing, producing, and playing the lead in his drama The Little Professor deserves our notice and praise. At an assembly in about midyear, we found Mr. Furber had left us to accede to other honors, and we were greeted in the warm and friendly tones of Mr. Greene. Since then our association and contact with him has been a pleasant and long memorable experience. The year of school finally gave way to the summer months and we threw off the confines of study for vacation days. When we met again as Sophomores, with another year of scholastic endeavor offering achievement before us, we found our numbers sadly depleted and many familiar faces absent. In some slight measure we felt a new sense of responsibility wholly alien to a Freshman. Our president this year was the popular Blanche Metivier and the administration of her office was capable and distinguished. Miss Dube, as class adviser, placed on high plane the financial status of the class by her finesse in monetary affairs. Although by this time many of our class- mates had become personages because of peculiarities or characteristics of a distin- guished nature, none could compare with John Poeton. His reluctance of fluency in recitation and his occasional pithy answers had become almost a byword. The first defeat on the gridiron administered Bartlett High in a half score years took place in this year and the athletes of our class played no small part in its accomplishment. Since then Wells has ruled supreme. The English class under the supervision of Miss Fitzgerald presented Barrie ' s provoking play Shall We Join the Ladies? - On entering our third year, we again in- trusted the president ' s office to the competent and able hands of John Buckley. In smoothing out the difficulties and the many complications that confronted us during the course of the year, Miss Finnegan executed her position of class adviser with insight and ability. The first weeks of school having passed, preparations went forward for the Freshman Reception which proved to be a gala affair. Most elaborate was our program and our method of serving refreshments unique. The ice cream was so solidly frozen that it had to be dashed against the walls to break it up, occasioning much delay and laborious exertion. At the Senior Prom, which as usual received enthusiastic cooperation of everyone in making it a success, the artistic and aesthetic nature of the class became evident when instead of the commonplace punchbowl, the punch was served from a well. During the entertainment of this affair it will be recalled that Louis Dani appeared with a Fly Chasing Flit. During this year, too, the class was wise enough and responsible enough to display worthily the school ring. In that position of honor and authority as president of the Senior Class we placed William Hofstra who acted at all times with intelligence and understanding and proved that he deserved the popularity that he received. For Mr. Greene ' s able assistance through- out the year we will always be deeply grateful. The origination of the student council by members of our class was an achievement in aiding our school to keep its position among other schools of high ranks and it is desired that under the management of other classes it will have equal success and will proceed to progress rapidly in its influence upon the life of the school. Among many activities of the year was the hike participated in by the girls of the

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JUNE 1932 21 Graduation Program .Invocation Rev. Manford Schuh Monuments Frederick Stephen Waite- George Washington: His Background and Ours Eileen Catherine Constance Cullen George Washington: The Gallant John Littlefield Buckley George Washington: The Country Gentle- man Joyce Emma Thompson George Washington: The Father of His Country Edward Albert Kaszynski Special Awards Presentation of Diplomas Chairman of the School Committee Benediction Rev. Manford Schuh Senior Reception The Senior Reception was given by the Juniors in the Town Hall, Friday evening, June 24. The hall was attractively decorated in blue and gold, the class colors. The Music Weavers played for dancing. The following Juniors were in charge: Decorations Lucille Monroe Furniture Jerome Caplovitch Refreshments Frances Redhead Tickets John Bingley A History of the Class of igj2 The gross insufficiency of employing a facetious procedure in writing this history be- comes forcefully apparent when one considers the Class of ' 32, its activities and its accom- plishments of the past four years. Here is in- telligence and knowdedge crowned with gen- uine ability, and, sadly enough, at the same time, here also is an artistic semblance of buffoonery coupled with a voluble glibness. Consequently, we temporize with the establish- ed order in compiling these particular records with some slight trepidation and with the hope that the reader will exercise a small degree of indulgence if he finds this account a trifle terse and, on the whole, general in scope. Without further ado or hesitancy we begin the saga of our class. We received our introduction into the mys- teries of high school one rather oppressively warm day in the September of the year 1928. Perhaps there came the realization that a new period of our development and proficiency was beginning, or possibly it was the awe induced by the strange and novel, for, with but a few of those inevitable exceptions, our demeanor as we took our seats in the audi- torium that first morning was singularly quiet and reserved, in great contrast to the hubbub of the upperclassmen. The semi-uproar of combined laughter, greetings, and desultory conversations came to an abrapt.end when Mr. Furber appeared and greeted us in his inimitable manner. He ended all thoughts of inequality and set us at ease immediately. Then came the assign- ment of classes and in its wake the hunt on our part for those elusive study rooms. We pass rather rapidly over this period of a- daptation in which we led a wandering exis- tence teeming with adventures — humiliating to us — but somehow amusing to others. It was during this period that many of our members were coerced into the hands of certain upper- classmen who believed it their duty to humble the Freshmen, and notably John Cooper, for one, found himself at one time snugly wedged in a small waste basket. At our first meeting, in which we organized as a class, John Buckley was chosen our first president and to our good fortune Miss Fitz- gerald agreed to act as our guide through that hazardous first year.

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JUNE 1932 23 A. S. N. Society. This hike had its termination when the manager of the State Theater of Webster, seeing the members looking dilapi- dated and worn out, opened the portals one and one-half hours ahead of time to allow the members of the society to recuperate. Although a majority of our class took pro- minent parts in the annual operettas, the re- markable voice of Valentine Wilson cannot be too fully appreciated. His excellent and outstanding work doubtless made such operet- tas as Riding Down The Sky and Pickles the successes they were. Vincent Walsh ' s letter of sympathy to Miss Finnegan during her illness stood out from many others, as a message of sublime solace. Among many honors received by our class during our school life is the honor of being the first Senior Class to be taught by Mr. Tabor. And so we close the history that is a tribute, with hope that the Mary E. Wells will continue to produce such distinguished classes, both in the study hall and on the athletic field, as the Class of ' 32. John Weaver Iconise Kershaw Louise Gabree Class Will We, the Class of ' 32 of the Wells High School, in order to form a more perfect school, to establish justice, to insure home room tran- quility, to provide for common defense against faculty members, to promote the power of Traffic Officers, and to secure the blessing of the school committee to ourselves and our posterity, do hereby, being of sound mind and body, ordain this as our last will and testa- ment. Rose Brodeur, Pauline Paquette, and Wanda Slot a leave their petite little ways to Betsy Bernheim, Gladys Hall, and Annette Boyer. The Human Toothpick (John Chadwick), The Midgets (John Cooper and Eddie Kas- zynski), and Mussolini (Freddie Waite) kindly lend their fame to Ned Chapin, to Ernest Lavallee, George Hickland, and to Paul Haynes. Agnes Howard leaves her delicate color when flustered to Marion Horr. Jeannette LaCroix gives her unique method of entertaining the English class to Beatrice Senecal. Irene LaFlamme is going to leave her typing ability to Dorothy Farland. New prizes will have to be invented for Dorothy then. Our glorious class bequeaths to Mr. Mc- Mahon a box of balloons so he can blow one up, stick a pin in it, and say — We won the game just like that! — such success is going to follow him. Louise (Curly) Kershaw ' s ultimatum is that her curls shall part from her never! Eileen Cullen leaves her ability to dance out of a tight corner to Raymond (Fat) Favreau. Greta Garbo ' s double, Dolly Johnson, leaves her manner to Frances Roberts. Evelyn Sarty says Armand Chicoine is wel- come to her ability to do English at noon in Room 4. Tony Roy donates her winning ways, Bernice Hunt her silver voice, and Lea Lawton her curls, in order to make Doris Gay the belle of her Senior class. Pet Price bequeaths her extraordinary power of keeping perfectly silent and looking pretty (Senior Play) to Roxy Pinsonneault. Doris Olney leaves her habit of borrowing the law assignment to Clarence Julian. (Does he need this?) Clara McMaster leaves her mannish swagger to Helen Kelly. Bee Mason sighs as she leaves her memories of high school to some other popular belle. The Pepsodent Kid — in private life Wallace Maclean — leaves many empty spaces in high school life for Red Volpini to fill.