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

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THE CRIMSON AND GRAY With a bound she disappeared into the house leav- ing poor Marge truly amazed. Margy sat down on the vercnda steps, mournfully exclaiming, Poor kid, it ' s too much for her and she ' s gone out of her head. Then with a sudden burst of anger, And I ' ll go mad, too, if something isn ' t done pretty quick! Within five minutes all the deserted girls began arriving at Overlook Manor. When all were accounted for, Blanche outlined the plan. First of all, Margy, you imitate Beverly the way you did before. Marge was still in a daze but thought she ' d better humor Blanche and so went through the antics. One of the girls exclaimed, A perfect imitation! That ' s just it, girls. Why can ' t we all imitate her? Set a guy ' s favorite dish before him and he ' s sure to grab. If we ' re like Beverly, the boys will notice us again! And they will also see that all her sweetness is just put on. We can copy her up-lift hair do, and use vaseline on our eyelids, and blood-red lipstick. I ' ll get my mother to shorten my dresses and I have just loads of flashy jewelry which I ' ve never wanted to wear before! Jumpin ' Jelly Beans, Ab-a-ma-ra-ba, Cal-ama- zoo! Pardon my pauvre Francais, but that ' s a Sres good idea! I ' ve often thought of letting a dinky curl adorn my wrinkling brow the way she does, but some- how I haven ' t the courage. It looks too snazy end besides it ' d drive me balmy flopping up end down when I walked! It reminds me of the unfortunate Beano and his cowlick! Well, we ' ll have to get used to it, that ' s oil! And from now on frills are the style in Seabright. No more crew hats, beer jackets, skirts and sweaters, or dutch sabots. We ' re going to dish out silk dresses garnish- ed with ribbons and accompanied by silk hosiery and pumps! And from now on we cut out the sweets and put on the sweetness — Right? Wait! I don ' t think my mother is going to relish Big Chief War-Paint-ln-the-Face at the dinner table. Sha doesn ' t like makeup. With all the girls painted from head to toe, Seabright will look like an Indian Reservation! A plump blond, who had lazily stretched herself out on the lawn, got up and moved towards the group of excited girls. Why not let cur mothers in on the secret? she suggested. I ' m sure they ' ll sympathize with us and help us. I know mine will. Gosh, after telling me about the hard time she had copping dad and all the worrying she went through, she ' d better! Let ' s have meetings every day to practice imitating Beverly. I bet within three weeks the town will be filled with perfect Beverly Urbans! We could even call it the B. U. Club. Thus the B. U. Club was formed and suppertime found the girls still practicing Beverly ' s idiosyncracies and mannerisms. It was a queer sight. Blanche sat with a mirror before her. She was putting all her energy into the trying task of creating facial move- ment and expressions. Failing to fashion the famous Beverly Urban eye locomotion, she stuck out her tongue and made a devastating grimace at her reflec- tion in the glass. On the other hand, Margy was trying desperately to master the Beverly Urban strut. In place of her. customary moccasins she wore extremely high pumps and, because they were the first pumps that she had suffered her toes to be housed in, was having a hard time keeping her ankles from turning. Not one girl missed the following meetings, and, be- lieve it or not, every girl could imitate the villainess almost to perfection at the end of the two weeks. Curls had been lifted high onto the head; shy, entic- ing glances stole from beneath long, painted lashes, now and then, most becomingly. At the final meeting, Blanche acting as chairman, said: Well, kids, so far our big idea has been a flop! The boys haven ' t noticed the change yet but don ' t get discouraged — the time has yet to come! Tomor- row night is the Yocht Club Costume Ball. It ' s the big test. Beverly has ' old every boy in town that she ' s going to appear as a little pink lady in pantalets. Leave it to her to spread the news about herself! I told Beverly to be there at nine sharp. The other kids are to arrive at about eight and that will give us one hour ' s time to work our charms without interference. Personally, I think we ' ve mastered the Urban technique pretty well, don ' t you? Golly, gee, — I quite agree! sang the piump blonde, and I bet we can even inveigle the males into proposals if we want to! She giggled in a silly way and poked her neighbor with her elbow. Wednesday evening was beautiful. The moon shone on the beach, silvering the s;nd dunes end filling the ocean with starry jewels. Eight o ' clock found the girls at the club waiting for the boys. As each bov, in his turn, entered the room he was confronted with rows upon rows of pow- dered wigs, flouncing pink ruffles, and white pantta- lets. Groups of little pink ladies in little pink masks stood here and there about the ball room. One little damsel waited patiently just outside of the club-house. Spying Beano with Bub and several others, she rushed up to him saying in such a sweet, soft, voice, Oh, Beano! I ' ve just been waiting for you the longest time! I must have the first dance with you. You know you are the best dancer, and oh, so handsome! Beano was flabbergasted at this sudden attention. After he had regained his composure, he said excited- ly, Do you really? I never thought you even notiiced me! He tried frantically to smooth his cow lick. But, I am charmed. You ' ll excuse us, boys? He held out his arm and the couple headed for the ball room. Beono was admiring the originality and indivi- duality of his companion ' s costume as they climbed the steps to the wide veranda. When he glanced into the ball room and saw the many pirouetting girls clad in pink and white, his cowlick raised right on end and there it stayed until Beano ' s partner, annoyed by his ridiculous appearance, carefully smoothed the spike of hair with a pat of her hand. Look, Bev, all the girls are dressed alike! Why, I can ' t tell them cpart! Beano looked down at his partner with a smile and held her closer, You ' re the only one that I would be able to recognize. You stand out wherever you go! What ' s a mere man to do confronted by a deter- mined group of girls? At the end of the second dance B eano found himself with another fair lady who was just as sweet as the first. He became confused, as time went on, as to which of his dancing partners was Beverly. A third partner, a fourth, each was coy and shy. Each flattered and made him the center of her attention. Try as he did to probe the secret, the girls did not betray, by a single motion or word, fheir identity. At nine o ' clock Beverly arrived. She saw her like- ness in each one of the girls and how she did rage! She realized there was mischief afoot and murmured, Those jealous cats! Beverly snapped at her first partner and sulked throughout the entire second dance. Her sweetness had completely vanished. Say, said Beano, who is she? I asked her for a dance and she nearly bit my head off!

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NOVEMBER 1939 The man was well into his seventies, but one could hardly understand how his shriveled body could have lasted that long. He had on an old, ragged overcoat that hung nearly to his ankles. His eyes were dim and a few wisps of white hair fell lazily over his wrinkled brow. In one hand he clutched an old top-hat. The strong arm of the young man circled the older one ' s waist and together they walked out to the center of the arena. When they reached the center, they turned and faced the crowd. The young man started to speak in a low but strong voice. He was telling us a story about the man at his side. He told how the old man had once been a famous bull-fighter. But one day there had been an accident and the bull gored the fighter with his horns. Since that day he had never been able to fight another bull, but instead turned to teaching young boys this art. He would take no pay for his work and as a result was now penniless and needed help. The young matador had said no more than this, when out of the clouds seemed to come a shower of silver pesos. Then a mass of young matadors, pick- adors, toreadors, and guards came out into the arena and picked up the money. When this was done, they poured all of it into the old man ' s hat. The old man could stand it no longer. He broke down and cried in the arms of the young matador. Tears sprang into the eyes of the thirty-five thousand onlookers. The eyes of the matador were also glis- tening with tears when he thanked everyone for their generosity. The crowd was quiet and reverent before this speci- men of defeated mankind and as the two, old and young, left the arena, they left a trail of hearts full of pity and sorrow for the once famous bull-fighter. To me this was a very impressing sight and it brought to my attention the fact that throughout Mexico similar incidents occurred. This gave me a deep and profound feeling of gratitude to the people of Mexico, for making me realize what is lost in the hustle-bustle of people in the northern countries. THUNDER THIEVES Barbara L. D ' Arcey ' 40 Blanche and Beano sat comfortably relaxed on the somewhat battered porch glider, sipping lemonade. One trouser leg of Beano ' s immaculate white flannels was thrown over the arm of the swing. A lock of his flopping hair had an aggravating tendency to tickle his eyebrow and at the moment he was trying to sneak up on it, tackle it, and hurl it back to where it be- longed. But cowlicks are cowlicks. He gave up with a sigh and left the lock dangling neatly between his eyes. Now and then he would glance at it reproach- fully, his eyes crossed, and try futilely to blow it back from his forehead. Finally he abandoned this pastime to say, Yeah, I gotta take it on the lam now, and meet Bud down at the court. We ' ve got a date with the new bundle of golden sunshine that breezed into town a couple of weeks ago. Boy, she ' s a knock-out, isn ' t she! Blanche said nothing. She didn ' t think Beverly Urban was so wonderful — just an overdecked fudge sundae that sat back looking sweet and demure with a come-hither eye which said, Look, I ' m free, and I ' m the most delicious, most appealing bit of sweet- ness that you have ever tasted. Say, what ' s the matter with you, piped Beano suddenly. You haven ' t said five words to me since I came! Then with a quirky smile and a sly drawl, Are you by any chance jealous of Bev? I didn ' t think I rated with you. Blanche boiled! How could boys be so mean! Aloud she said in a nonchalant tone, Why, Beano, you conceited thing to think I am jealous of Beverly because of you. You know lots of other boys have transferred their time and attention to this new bombshell. In fact, all the boys at Seabright seem to swarm to Urban ' s porch. And with a shrug of her shoulders she rose and poured more lemonade. You ' d better hurry or you ' ll be late for your much looked forward to appointment. Becno was squelched; moreover he was hurt. Blanche could see this by the droop of his left shoulder as he sauntered off towards the tennis court. His shoulder always drooped when he was disturbed. Blanche could practically read Beano. She had known him as far back as she could remember and was very fond of him. She had crushed him with her haughty attitude and she hated herself for it. She did so want to call him back to apologize. Her pride interfered, however, and so did Margy Blake who appeared at that moment. Margy, a flippant young red-head, was Blanche ' s erstwhile companion. You look as though you had been sucking a lemon! observed Marge as she plopped wearily into the glider. Why the sour mood? Ah — but wait! Don ' t tell me, I know! I feel the same way and so do all the girls in Seabright. Do you realize that one, Bevely Urban, is monopolizing all the male business lately? Moodily she munched a cookie. Talk about rushes! I ' m going to do something if I have to ex- haust all my mental capacity for thought in the attempt! And she tossed her flaming red hair with deter- mination, raised her arm above her head in a gesture of triumph, the half eaten cookie still perched be- tween her fingers, and stood like a statesman about to solve a mighty problem. The only way to stop the progress of one plan is to create another one better and we ' ve got to create that plan before it ' s too late. The cherubic Machia- velli continued, It takes poison to kill poison! The gold rush of 1939 — and the entire feminine sex will be crushed by trampling feet if we don ' t decompose a certain gold coated alloy consisting of copper and zinc — brass for short — and show the boys that she ' s not genuine! Blanche felt too horrid to speak. The world was crumbling around her and all she could utter was a depressed sigh. Marg languidly moved toward the lemonade and poured herself a wee bit, which she slowly sipped. Then she sauntered affectedly across the veranda, her hand on her hip, so characteristic of Beverly. Her too, too sweetish voice addressed an imaginary crea- tion. Oh, Hallo Bubby, you look so nice in that charming suit. I certainly wouldn ' t at all mind being your girl ! Her voice suddenly changed and she spat passion- ately, Can you imagine! That ' s what I heard the little cream puff say to Bub yesterday. She was hang- ing on his arm all the way home from church, and not at all like an icicle either! And Bub liked it! He was oozing with pride! I can ' t see what the boys see in her! She can ' t swim. She can ' t do any of the things that you and I can do. But she certainly succeeds in drawling her way to their stupid hearts! Let ' s go commit suicide! or murder! I ' ve got it, Blanche broke in, I ' ve found the solution! We still have a chance to get back some of that male business if my plan works. She jumped up. It came to me in a flash while you were mimic- ing Beverly. I ' ll call up all the girls and get them to come over here; then I ' ll explain!

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NOVEMBER 1939 Blanche smiled to think the gold covering was wearing off Miss Urban and that the brass was be- ginning to show in spots. Between dances the boys held conferences, as boys often do, and tried to unravel the mystery, but in vain. It was not until the unmasking that they saw the light. When twelve o ' clock struck, Beano fortunately was dancing with Blanche. She took off her mask. Beano was speechless; his mouth dropped ajar. In fact, it was opened so wide that Blanche could have picked the filling out of his prized wisdom tooth with no trouble at all. At tihat moment all mouths were open! And not one was opened as wide as Bub ' s when he gazed at the pouty Beverly Urban standing before him. His face expressed mingled amazement, disappointment, and dislike. Beverly could control herself no longer. She threw her mask to the floor and then stamped across the ballroom and out of the door. Beano looked at Blanche and said, Well, feed me soup with a steam shovel! What an old hussy she turned out to be! Just a sugar coated pill. At least you ' re yourself all of the time. And did I remember to tell you I think you ' re pretty swell! He blushed and once again his cowlick stood on end. Blanche smiled happily back. Suddenly Marge dashed up and whispered, I ' m going for a walk up the beach — with Bub! She winked her eye, grinned, and disappeared. The girls were exchanging knowing glances as they sipped their punch and talked with their attentive boy friends. On the veranda, a plump blond engaged in serious conversation with a tall, lanky fellow, who gazed at her adoringly. When the lights were dimmed for the last dance and the music began in a soft slow waltz — he slipped his class ring upon her finger. THE WORLD ' S FAIR GENERAL MOTORS ' EXHIBIT Clematis Janeczek ' 40 One of the most unforgettable buildings, which I went through at the New York World ' s Fair, was the General Motors ' exhibit. It was most amusing to see endless lines of patient people waiting for hours for their chance to enter the building. I thought I ' d never wait in line just to gain entrance into a build- ing, but I have to admit I waited an hour and a half for my turn. It was a massive building, shaped some- what like the letter L , and was painted tan and red. Upon entering the building, I found it was very dark, with only blue lighting effect. There were guides to direct us, but even so, some people were rather timid. Revolving platforms, about one yard wide, of connecting seats constantly come up to the entrance, and the guides ushered the people into these seats. Some people, blinded by the darkness, would not step upon the platform, and one poor exasperated guide said, Plecse come along, it ' s not so dark in here that you can ' t see something. Once we were safely seated, the platform took us through a tunnel, and we then entered the world of tomorrow, or of I960. From a loudspeaker placed be- hind the seats, a low voice began the description of the world unfolding before our eyes as we rode along. Apparently the architect had the whole United States in imagination, when he constructed the various min- iature scenes. We witnessed views of the country, the city, the desert, the sand dunes, and the mountains. The beauty of it all was breath-taking. The lights changed, and first we had the sunrise, then noon, sun- set, and lastly, nightfall. There were many things too numerous to describe: among them six-lane roads, modern bridges, well-planned city blocks, huge sky- scrapers, and various motor-vehicles. One very ef- fective scene was the night-fall in the city with lights being turned on in the miniature sky-scrapers and streets. It seemed as if we were up in an airplane and we were looking down upon a slumbering city. The last scene was a view of modern four-cornered roads. Instead of passing at the intersections, cars drove over bridges built over the roads, thus avoiding any accidents which might have occurred at the inter- sections. The scene was enlarged, and then came the end of our trip. When we stepped outside the tunnel, in the rear of the General Motors ' Building we saw part of the same scene in actual size. The cars were new models manufactured by the General Motors ' people and now on the market. I honestly believe anyone who saw this exhibit could never forget it. PARACHUTE JUMP Odile Girouard ' 40 One of the highlights of the World ' s Fair is the parachute jump, and in spite of all the entertaining and thrilling side shows to see, this to me, was the most exciting. All the thrills of parachute jumping may be enjoy- ed by visitors! Safety is provided to a two hundred and fifty foot drop by guide wires attached to the chutes and by shock-absorbers, to bre k the shock of the landing. Forty cents is the price of admission and, being lucky, we waited only one hour for tickets. It is such a popular feature that people sometimes wait over two hours. When your turn comes, you walk up one-two-three steps and sit down on some sort of a little bench (with a back to it) your legs dangling in mid-air. Then, up, up, up you go, 250 feet in the air, a heavy jolt, and down, down, down you come to earth — at last. One woman went up screaming and screeching un- til finally she was up so high, her lungs nearly col- lapsed, and there was nothing to do but stop. The poor woman was so pale and frightened when she came down that she had to be carried out. While the young fellow was strapping us on the chair, I told him I thought I was going to faint. He answered, Well lady, you won ' t be the only one today. This just goes to prove that the parachute jump gives quite a thrill, and a person with a weak heart just couldn ' t stand it. AMUSING! Esther Lenti ' 40 To the right and to the left of us boomed wheed- ling voices as we entered the Amusement Area. Right this way ladies and gentlemen. See the wonder of the century. See these beau-tii-ful girls frozen in ice. They can remain in ice for seven minutes at a time. — You can ' t afford to miss this show. It is the best show of its kind. This little man — for he really is a man and not a child — will thrill you with his ability. He can speak four different languages. (Continued en Page 14)