Wells River High School - Chatterbox Yearbook (Wells River, VT)

Page 8 text:

must be understanding, kindness, love, and happiness. Can we main- tain these needed qualities of peace if we hold prejudices against our fellowmen ? It’s up to you and me, the people of America. Think twice before you make rash decisions and be reminded once again that ignorance is the mother of prejudice. PATRICIA STEARNS, '49 wrh: SCHOOL NEWS This year has been one of great value to the students. Mr. Cornth- waite as principal carried on the fine work of Mr. French and added many ideas of his own. The Shop Class has been quite active this year. They have con- structed a work shop in the furnace room of the school where they work on various projects such as knife-making, furniture-refinishing, and wood-working. Plans have been made to transform the old Home Ec Lab into a game room which will contain a ping pong table and other recreational facilities. This room will be of much enjoyment to students in the future. The freshmen were initiated in grand style in the school gym. Each neophyte sported a different costume and was put through his paces by the sophomore attendants for the sophomore queen, Barbara Bailey. Following this exhibition, a dance and refreshments were en- joyed. Parents and friends of the school were cordially welcomed. On November 19, the Seniors presented the play Girl-Shy” at the school gym. It was ably directed by Mrs. Gibson, assisted by Miss Farrow. The Senior Class profited about $60.00 on this venture. Showers have been installed in the village hall for the use of the — Six —

Page 7 text:

PREJUDICE There is not a person in America who at sometime or other has not heard (perhaps from his own lips), ' I hate him, he’s a Jew” or we can’t associate with that foreigner, his standards are not equal to ours.” Our country is burdened with these racial and religious preju- dices. What is prejudice? It is a judgment formed without due con- sideration and knowledge. Ignorance is the mother of prejudice! Should we judge people and groups only by the wrongs that have been exposed t6 us ? Every person has some good characteristic. Why don’t we notice and stress the good traits instead of the wrongs which may be slanderous? Must we be reminded that we, ourselves, are not perfect ? Several people have been seriously injured and even killed because of prejudice. Thousands of people have been severely hurt in mind. Religion has become marred by false judgments. What are we going to do about these things? You may say that we, who live in a democracy, have the freedom to believe as we wish, speak at our own desire, and to choose our own religion, but do we have the right to destroy the rights of others and eliminate certain individuals from our society level? Is it not true that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? Let’s preserve these truths for all mankind. Today, the greatest aim of our time is peace. To have this there — Five —

Page 9 text:

basketball squads. Various functions have been sponsored to ease this expenditure. Again this year the high school staged a magazine drive to earn money for the athletic equipment. At an assembly held last fall the student body enjoyed an unusual form of entertainment. Rose Richardson at the piano accompanied Miss Edith Clark who played the lyre, xylophone, and the English bells. The students appreciated the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce in ob- taining this entertainment. A Hallowe’en dance was sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club for the neighboring schools of Newbury, Groton, and Wells River. The village hall was weirdly decorated under the supervision of Marion Webster assisted by Nancy Gould. Mr. Stone capably led the group in a few square dances. Free refreshments of coke, sandwiches, and cookies were donated by the Kiwanis Club and other members of the community. Members of the basketball squad and other students of Whitcomb High School in Bethel, Vt. (where Mr. French taught this year) were served an excellent supper in the new Home Ec room on December 16. In the evening the two schools participated in a game of basketball which was followed by a dance. On February 4, we played a return game in Bethel which was preceded by a fine supper of Italian spaghetti and meat balls. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored a supper for the benefit of the showers. Movies were shown following the supper. The physics class attended the General Electric Magic Show, a demonstration of recent scientific experiments and discoveries in the fields of physics and chemistry, which was held in Bradford. The Home Ec Lab in the Village Hall was the scene of a Valentine Tea on February eleventh. It was sponsored by the Home Ec classes. All mothers of school children were invited. The lab was attractively decorated with red and white valentines. As an added attraction, Mrs. Harry Rowe played the violin and Mrs. Adine Farwell sang. The Juniors and Seniors attended Legislature at Montpelier at the kind invitiation of the town representatives, William J. Taisey and Walter Renfrew. The students were taken to meet Governor Gibson and were then served a dinner at the Pavilion Hotel. — Seven —