Westbrook High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Westbrook, ME)

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THE FOOLISH MAN The foolish man sat down beside the fire To warm his handsg and said with much pomposity, I've done the chores, my work is through. Now shall I rest. So he rested and waited, and outside the narrow room Of resting man Seeds were planted in the warm, responsive, Rich, brown earth That sprouted, grew, and brought forth fruit. The smoke from factories puffed Against the clean blue sky to manufacture clothes to Keep men warm. And while he waited there, inside his room, The world walked by-not glancing in the window. J. K., '37, MY RETURN TO HIGH SCHOOL Let us now turn the pages of the calendar for- ward to September, 1936. The scene is the street before the new annex to Westbrook I-Iigh,School. Standing there is an alumnus of the class of '36, who is intently observing every detail of the new building. That alumnus is none other than I, who has returned to see the improvements in the high school building. As I stand there, I am inspired by the architec- tural beauty of the three-door entrance. The building-126 feet long, 57 feet wide, and 40 feet high-faces Foster Street, where the front reflects the first rays of the sun every morning. As I enter, I find myself in a lobby surrounded by doors and stairways. At the left is the boys' cloak room, and at the right the girls'. I decide to go straight ahead, past the box office, and through a door directly before me. I am now in a large auditorium and gymnasium, which covers the whole ground fioor. In front of me lies the beautifully curtained stage. Going back stage, I find a stairway at each side leading upstairs and another stairway leading to the boiler room beneath the stage. I- climb the stairs and discover a dressing room at each side of the stage, halfway up between the first and second floors. Returning to the front lobby, I now go upstairs. Halfway up I find the girls' and the boys' base- ments directly over the cloak rooms. I continue upstairs to the second fioor, where I turn left and walk down the long corridor lined with the doors of eight spacious class rooms. At the end of the corridor, directly over the stage, is a locker room. Now I again make a left turn into the corridor connecting the old building with the new. Facing me are two sets of stairs. Cne leads down to the first fioor. while the other leads up to the second floor of the old building. I go upstairs and find the principalis office in what was formerly Room 25. Even the cloak rooms have now been remod- eled into a class room. Going down to the first floor, I notice a great change here also. Room 14 has become the office of the Superintendent of Schools and the cloak room is now a locker room. Coming at last to the old boiler room, I observe the greatest change. Boys' showers, lockers and dressing rooms have replaced the steam boilers. Going out of here, I find myself on the bottom fioor of the corridor connecting the old with the new. A door leads into the driveway which runs to Main Street. It is with a feeling of reluctance that I leave the school grounds. If only I had been born four years later, I, too, might have enjoyed the modern conveniences of the new annex. R. T.. '36.

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Westbrook High School T 9 We have written to and received answers from several Alumni who recall many memories of days gone by. We have taken excerpts from their let- ters, and although some are rather modest, we can feel quite sure that those who have not reached worldly fame have accomplished' much in their activities by being useful citizens. We feel especially fortunate in having received a letter from Mrs. Harriette Hacker Cobb, a mem- ber of the first graduating class of VVestbrook High School C now Valentine Street Schoolj. She tells us that the class of 1883 contained only three graduates, nfamiliarly known as Lottie Woodman. Nora Murch, and Hattie Hacker, and that the exercises took place in the Congregational Church with Helen Murch, john Lane, and others assisting. Dr. George Woodman writes: Forty-six years ago this coming June ten young women and eight young men received their diplomas as graduates of Westbrook High School. We were given a thorough training in mathe- matics, science, literature and history. This fitted us well for the usual claims of our day and was a good basis for after school self-education. In Principal Burns we had a very capable in- structor. He was a strict disciplinarian, but ren- dered justice with equality, and what was greatly appreciated by all of us was that he could lay aside, outside of school, all differences and meet us with pleasantness and courtesy. The chemistry laboratory, when the high school was first built, was down where the Domes- tic Science Department now is. The chief amuse- ment of the chemistry classes, says Mr. Albert Verrill, class of 1907, was to get down to the laboratory early and substitute water for the alco- hol in their lamps. The BLUE AND WHITE of 190.7 is the only edi- tion which contained no pictures 5 this was because of the immediate need of money. Mr. Augustus A. Staples tells us in his letter that the class of 1909 was composed of twenty- seven members, twenty-one girls and six boys. There was no choice of courses which a stu- dent might pursue, as at that time the commercial and industrial courses had not been added to the curriculum. There was practically no activity in music and art. Athletics at this time were at a very low ebb, partly because there were so very few boys in school and the lack of coaches. Mr, W. B. Andrews was our principal and has been held in very high esteem through these twenty-seven years since our graduation. What Dr. Cheever Smith, 1913, declares was one of the most interesting assignments might well be revived in the near future. Each student of the senior class was compelled to take his turn speak- ing at the special assembly each F riday. To descend the spiral stairs of Cumberland Hall was a gymnastic stunt in 1914, according to Mrs. Harold McIntyre. The girls wore middy blouses, hair ribbons and high buttoned shoes. C The boys had to be satisfied with high starched collars and knitted toques.j A girl's basketball suit of 1914 contained almost enough cloth to equip the whole team of 1936. How solemn must have been the graduation of the class of 1916, Mrs. Warren Lafiin CBertha Beasleyj makes us realize when she says: As three of our boys were already at war at the time of graduation, it was only fitting that those three chairs be draped with American'fiags in their memory. The French class sang the French national anthem. Practically all of the graduating class of 1918 were commercial students. This new added factor to the 'curriculum certainly proved its worth as nearly all of us were able to obtain positions im- mediately after graduating, says Mrs. Margaret Dinsmore C Margaret Lambj. Uln the typing class a graphophone was 11sed. Generally a tune of even quick tempo was played, the students keeping time with the music. This combined pleasure with work and was found to be very practical. In conclusion may we say that we greatly ap- preciate the cooperation of the Alumni who sent us letters and granted interviews.

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Westbrook High School I 'I PROFESSIONAL Every puff of the train was bringing them nearer to the vacation that they had been looking forward to for the last few months. They had now been an hour out of Boston and the conversa- tion had stopped long ago. Karl Dodge was think- ing to himself how lucky he was to be invited by such a lovely girl as Clyde Naples to her camp at Lake Gardiner for the week when his thoughts were interrupted by her remark, I've never seen you swim in the open, only in the pool-and then you don't swim much. After each dive you have to get to shore as soon as you can. Yes, replied the handsome man beside her, I've never been swimming with you 3 you've come often to watch and cheer for me in a meet but we've never been together. By the way, have you a diving board? I don't want to go stale, you know. Clyde thought a minute. Why, she said, we that isn't always dive off the end of the float, but wouldn't be very exciting for you. There any place high enough for you-unless you dare to dive off the cliff .... That sounds interesting, replied her partner, how high is it ?,' Oh, about 150 feet, I should guess. Well, that isn't any too high for me, Karl replied a little bit boastfully, I've dived that high before, you know. Yes, but no one dives off the cliff. There is an old legend about a man who did jump off it, though. Let's hear it if you know it. Once upon a time, started Clyde with a laugh, there was a white man who was being chased by the Indians .... Indians ? interrupted Karl. Why, yes, my cottage was in real Indian ter- ritory, but to go on, the Indians chased him right up to the edge of the cliff. This left him with but one thing to do and that was to dive off. And he did, and swam to an island in the lake and hid until night, when he swam back to shore and landed in a different place and in that way escaped the savages. Interesting, said Karl, but what makes you think I can't do the same thing? I've had diving lessons and taken prizes and that's probably more than that other fellow had ever done. And no one has done it since? Probably all the people around hate to spoil a good legend so they don't try it. Then Karl, confident in himself, turned around in his seat toward the other couple with them, a young married pair who were coming along as friends and chaperons, and asked them if they had ever seen the cliffs. They replied that they had. Well, he said, you will have the chance to see me dive off there this week if you're around. I have to keep in practice for the meet this fall. They both laughed and tried to tell him that it was an impossibility, which only made Karl the more sure that he could and would do it. Clyde hated a braggart and Karl hadinever bragged like that before. She hoped his recent successes had not changed him from the Karl Dodge she used to know. But if he really did it, how proud of him she would bel But she said nothing, anxious to have him stop talking about what she was afraid he couldnit do. lk Dk Bk lk Later, when the train pulled in at the small sta- tion, the four vacationists got off. Although they were the only passengers that trip, there were quite a few people around, village folks who col- lected at the station. The first word that was spoken was by Karl, who said to anyone who might be around, Can you see the cliff from here? I want to see what I'm going to dive from. jeff Willoughby, a hermit who had a shack about a mile from Clyde's cottage, was there with his horse and buggy to take the small party to the lake. They all piled in and with a cluck Jeff started the horse. Even this was a treat to all besides Clyde and Jeff, who had ridden that way many times before. On the way, there was one place where the road came very near the water and there Jeff stopped the wagon. See, he said, and pointed across the bay, there's the cliff. Some o' you's seen it, but there they is to those o' you what ain't. There's an old leging they tell aroun, here ....