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

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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. '

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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.

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THE CRIMSON AND GRAY THE LIFE HISTORY OF CECIL, THE PIG Mary Dirlam ' 42 (Any resemblance to any persons living or dead, is intentional.) Chapter One One fine and misty morning Gloria Hog gave to the world eighteen future sausage fil- lers, the largest, and most remarkable of which she called Cecil. Now to comprehend fully the most amazing adventures of Cecil, it must be understood from the first, that Cecil was not an ordinary pig. Early in life he was destined to become a leader of all pigs, a benefac- tor to pork-kind, an emancipator of his breed. But to get back to the subject, Cecil was the largest, plumpest, pinkest, and most wrig- gly of all his little brothers and sisters. They looked to him with awe and reverence, and meekly obeyed all the wishes of this very superior pig. It was always Cecil who discovered the hole in the fence and found the most satisfactory method of mud-wallowing. And it was Cecil, beautiful, plump, pink Cecil, who was selected by Farmer Jenks to take to the county fair! Our hero was so excited that he fell into the skim milk and caught his tail in the pen fence. However, Farmer Jenks came to the rescue and gave our little porker a bath, after which he had a beautiful blue ribbon bowed at his nape, and was loaded into the truck along with Sidney Horse and Beulah Cow to be taken to the fair! Amidst a chorus of envious squeals from his brothers and sisters, he was off on his first grand adventure! Chapter Two Finally, after what seemed an eternity, our little hero ' s truck dragged into the fair- grounds. They were unloaded by a man who called Cecil Bacon, which made him feel rather uncomfortable. However, he soon forgot all about it in the excitement of being loaded into a beautiful little pen along with two other little squealers called Charles and Her- man. Now Cecil realized that these common pigs were far inferior to him, so kept his dis- tance and totally ignored them. Next day person after person flocked into the stables to see the animals, and late in the afternoon seven tall and dignified men walked up to Cecil. When the people saw these men, they too gathered around Cecil who was not a bit abashed, but felt quite superior. One of the judges explained that Cecil had won first prize, and that their guest of honor, John Barrymore, would give him his ribbon. After a hushed silence, that awesome character made his speech. Be it known to the people, he said, that this pig hath been given honor by the declaration of yon honorable judges who giveto him ofty sentence, saying that he be the most perfect pig at this fair. Cecil, he paid, I present thee, a blue ribbon. Now — for the first time in his life — Cecil was impressed by someone other than him- self. Such eloquent language, he thought, and then rose mightily declaring to himself, Henceforth shall I express mineself in lofty tongue, the language of Hamlet, of Macbeth, and Shakespeare! Ah Shakespeare! Chapter Three When Cecil was returned to his pen, he amazed all his brothers and sisters with the lofty language in which he spoke. Ah Titan ia, he said to his favorite sister Spotty (whose name he had changed when he had learned about the queen of the fairies,) Ah Litania, I weary of pig pen life. Thou hast not been to the outside world and cans ' t not realize mine feelings. But to mineself this life in yon pig pen grows weary. Ah, woe is me, woe, woe. Cecil, said Titania, I don ' t think yoor a-goin ' to be here fer long. Listen to Farm- er Jenks, outside the pen. Cecil strained his ears and heard the following conversation. Wal Hank, said Farmer Brown to his hired man, Cecil ' s getting old and mouty fat. Yep, yessir, so he is, remarked Hank. Hank, returned Farmer Jenks, I ' m a thinkin ' you better load Cecil up and send him to Mr. Shakespeare. Yep, I reckon, you ' d better. Then the conversation stopped and they walked away. Oh Titania, said Cecil, I am truly happy. Ah! Ah! Kiss me my sweet, I depart, for here cometh the hired man. The hired man loaded up Cecil and sent him away. His mother oinked happily over her son ' s good fortune. And so we leave our hero, merrily riding to Butcher Shakespeare — and close our story. The End