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

Page 10 text:

THE CRIMSON AND GRAY ( larg tn ($ab in tlje IjigljeHt, anh d« carttj pma, $aab will tawatft wen. ffiukt II : 1 1 A tutti li Italian! delgi Stati Uniti aguriamo Buon Natale, Buon Fene e Bon principio d ' anno. Nancy Righi Skladamy warn serdeczne zyczenia Wesolych swiat Bozego Narodzenia. Hedwiga Swiacki Gadt fort silning pa Julen. Phyllis Swenson Froehliche Weinachten Herzliche Glueckwuensche Zum Weinachtstage. Virginia Gagnon Amerikans wrojne gjithe Shqipetaret Pershumevjet Krisht Lindjet. Joseph Paskal lo Saturnalia. B. C. Gaudeas laeto corde hoc die sancto. A. D. Richard Waite President Latin Club KAAA XPISTOUTENA KAI EUTHXES TON NEON ETOS. Sofoclis E. Kollios NOEL AU CANADA Rita Guilmette ' 40 Le carillon de I ' eglise de campagne sonne joyeuse- ment. Ces sons melodieux s ' entremelent aux cloch- ettes et aux grellots, aux rires, aux chants des fideles, qui, revetus de leurs plus beaux habits d ' hiver, secouent la neige de leurs chaussures sur les marches de I ' eglise, tout en echangeant, a mi-voix, des paroles gaies et agreables. Tout a coup le carillon cesse, et le tintin sonne grand silence, interrompu par ce chant traditionnel, Minuit Chretien, e ' est I ' heure solen- nelle. Car e ' est Noel. Que cette messe de minuit est belle et radieuse! II semble a chacun que e ' est un avant-gout du ciel. Aussitot la messe finie, le carillon recommence, avec plus d ' elan que jamais, au milieu des babillages des parents et des amis qui se quittent pour se reunir plus tard soit a la maison paternelle, soit chez des voisins, pour reveillonner, une vieille coutume ineffacable dans le coeur d ' un Canadien. Et ce ne serait pas un vrai reveillon si au menu il manquait le ragout et les confitures, les betteraves et les tartes et les tour- tieres. Ce repas est ordinairement accompagne de chansons a repondre a tour de role, et a la demande du maitre de la maison, personne ne refuse. Aussi quel spectacle de voir les plus petits se reveiller et courir fureter dans leurs bas accroches au pied de leur lit ou pres de la cheminee, pour y recueillir ce que le petit Jesus leur a apporte. Car e ' est Noel. Le reveillon est presque toujours interrompu par les coureurs, les Guignoles. Un comite choisi par les dignitaires de la paroisse frappe a toutes les portes en chantant La Guignole. Ms sont toujours recus a bras ouverts, et tout le monde chante en coeur le re- frain de leur chansons, apres lequel ils font leurs au- mones pour les pauvres et les malheureux de la paroisse. Ceci se compose ordinairement de morceaux de viande, de lingeries ou de produits de la terre, et meme de I ' argent. Ces choses sont emballees dans la voiture de Les Guignoles et sont divisees aux pauvres et aux malheureux. Voila I ' obole des plus fortunes, car dans un jour aussi memorable il faut que tout le monde soit heureux meme les plus petits et les plus miserables. Car apres tout, C ' est Noel.

Page 9 text:

DECEMBER 1938 EDITORIALS GREETINGS Phyllis Whiteoak ' 39 Welcome Freshmen and Eighth-Graders! We hope you will have as much fun sharing high school ex- periences with each other as we upper classmen have had. Editorials seem more or less out of place in a scrapbook, but then — how many of you guessed that this issue is a scrapbook? Mementos of summer vacation, the hurricane, football, school fun, Thanks- giving, and now Christmas are all tucked away most carefully in our Crimson and Gray ' s first issue. It is hard for the staff to get enthused about Christmas, for Christmas, on this day of writing, is six weeks away. We are anticipating the thrills of the Wells-Bartlett game and still reminiscing about When Stars Shine. i It ' s fun, however, to look ahead to the excite- ment of Christmas. Shopping in the annual Christ- mas crowds, Santa Clauses ringing bells on street corners, new store clerks for the rush, crowded elevators, and wavy rows of colored bulbs strung along doorways are all a part of the joys of the yule- tide. Starry-eyed little girls dancing ecstatically up and down before pretty fresh-cheeked dolls in show- To MR. GREENE For Longer Vacations. cases clap their hands in happy expectation. A red skooter or a flexible flyer probably causes some little lad ' s heart many a flop for fear that he may not get one. Finally, out of a cluttered heap of red and green paper, bright ribbons, Christmas seals, and scissors, come gaily wrapped packages all ready to be put under the twinkling tree, Christmas eve. Well loved Christmas carols — Silent Night and Come All Ye Faithful — seem more beautiful each year. Fresh voices from the church choir or in your own family circle always create the true Christmas spirit. And then comes the New Year! Everyone heralds it with most noble resolutions to study harder, to read more good books, to save part of his weekly al- lowance, and to get at least eight hours sleep. 1938 is slipping away and soon 1939 — the year which brings graduation to many of us — -will be chimed from church steeples to all corners of the world. Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year! To Help on Corridor Patrol! MR. ROBERTSON MISS HOFSTRA MY OPINION OF THE BOY SCOUTS Arvin Silverberg ' 39 The Boy Scouts are subject to a great deal of criticism both complimentary and adverse. The ad- verse criticism comes from people who know little or nothing about the movement. The scouts and scout- ers themselves are for it one hundred per cent. I ' ve heard people say that the Boy Scout movement was merely a disguise for military training of American youth. That kind of a remark makes me angry. Every time some act of the Boy Scouts appears to be military, it is always removed from the program. Even march- ing in military formation is being eliminated by the National Office. Because a Boy Scout is one of the most patriotic people in the world does not mean that he will be a hindrance to the peace of the world. Whoever saw a scout in uniform kill an animal or even have a dangerous weapon on his person? He is a lover of nature and peace, an individual well worth the sup- port of every one. From a very practical standpoint the Boy Scout movement is an asset to the world. A Scout learns first aid, safety, woodcraft, conservation and prac- tical manual arts which would be sadly neglected otherwise. The Boy Scouts, in my opinion, build up the most morally, physically, and mentally straight group in the world.

Page 11 text:

DECEMBER 1938 LITERATURE A STORY OF A VILLAGE Blanche Slota ' 39 About five years ago, I had the pleasure of going across the ocean to my parents ' mother country, Poland. Because I was quite young at the time, I did not travel in the country as much as my parents did, thus I had much time to see the people, their homes, and their customs. The village I stayed in was called Klyz. It was about the size of all of West Street in Southbridge. It was located near the mountains in the southern part of the country. Although the village was small, many people lived there, all of whom were very hospitable. These peo- ple have to work hard for their living. They live much too far away from the town to do much selling or exchanging of products, so they have to live on what they grow on their own lands. People like these measure their wealth by the amount of land they own, not the amount of money they possess. The Polish people, however poor they may be, like to be joyful. They like to entertain themselves, and many of their entertainments are centered around their parish church. Some feasts the Polish people li ke to celebrate are: October 1, which is celebrated similar to our Memorial Day, Easter, and Christmas. When October 1 arrives, the people go to church in the morning. Then, at night, all the villagers in their native colorful costumes, meet at the church. From there in a procession they go, singing and carry- ing candles and wild flowers, to the cemetery. At the cemetery, candles are lighted on the graves, and a priest ends the day with a sermon. The friendliness and unity made a strong impression on me. Easter is celebrated in a style similar to the American celebration. People, colorfully dressed, go to church. Christmas is another big and happy event. One sees a whole village of people going to the midnight mass on Christmas eve, singing carols on the way. A wedding is a common but a very happy affair. The wedding festivities start the eve before the wed- ding takes place, when all the bridesmaids and ush- ers, usually about ten or twelve, meet, go to the groom ' s house, dress him, and then go to the home of the bride-to-be. Here singing wedding songs is the MISS SAUNDERS New Supply For Your Library common thing. After the ceremony in church, people gather from miles around and make merry the whole day long. Clothes are important for such an occasion. The bride is dressed in white, similar to the American cus- tom, but the bridesmaids and ushers furnish the color. Their costumes are like the ones people wear in America when they dance the Polish dance. These costumes are very valuable to the people end are kept to be worn only on the important occasions. The men, also, have colorful suits. There are not many men ' s costumes in America because they are hard to get. In this part of the country the land is very flat so that a person can see for miles over acre after acre of wheat, corn, and potatoes. The wheat grows up much higher than an average man. Small gardens before the tiny white thatched-roof cottages give spots of vivid color to the landscape. Each little village has its church and the whole scene is peaceful and happy. All in all Poland is a pleasant place to visit. GRACE GETS THE GONG Patricia Smith ' 39 Carter College was aglow with lights. The beams streamed from the dormitory windows casting silver hues on the dewy blanket. Grace Martin, a red- haired, pleasingly plump freshman, sat with her room- mate, Dot Rogers, in their tiny room munching chocolates. Gee, said Dot, that new sorority sure is tops. Everyone is praying she ' ll be asked to join. What I wouldn ' t give to belong, replied her at- tractive friend aimlessly tossing a pillow at Dot and missing by a wide margin. Call it the ' Catacombs ' don ' t they? Yes, it sure is a cute name, don ' t you think? But it sounds plenty weird, shivered the timid Dot. Oh, I dunno, that makes it all the better. Guess! I ' ll see what ' s to be done to belong, returned the adventurous Grace. With these words, the two girls heard the signal for extinguishing the lights, so the discussion was closed. One evening, several days later, while Dot was puzzling over a book, she heard Grace tiptoe out of the room. After an hour of fruitless study, the un- easy girl snapped on her portable radio only to hear her favorite irritation, an amateur hour. She was about to turn to another station, when suddenly a weak, trembling voice rasped through the controls warbli ng The Lost Chord. The voice had such a familiar strain that Dot listened, fascinated, for a moment, despite its inharmonious quality. At that instant she heard the chiming gong peal forth, and the announcer ' s polished voice saying, Better luck next time, Miss Martin. Some time later Grace returned, her eyes shining with triumph. In answer to her chum ' s pitying glance, she beamed happily and said, Dot, I ' ve passed my initiation successfully, and now I ' m a real member of the ' Catacombs. '