Westerly High School - Westlyan Yearbook (Westerly, RI)

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CAST NIGHT RDAY TU -SA PLAY OR SENI

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THE SENIOR YEAR BOOK 29 MDI. . 1 .1651 Class Statistics E U E May I take you into my confidence this evening and tell you the great news that I have been appointed assistant to Roger Babson, the most noted statistician of the country? The first delicate, but nevertheless delightful, task which my director has assigned me is to compile the statistics of the most famous class of the most famous high school in the country, the statistics to be used hereafter as a basis for judging all High School classes. Without hesitation, I chose the class of 1929 of the Westerly High School of Westerly, Rhode Island, since its perfection is unrivaled. Mr. Babson asked me to study this particular class from various standpoints. First, from that of Age, second, Intellect, third, Industry, fourth, Deportment, fifth, Phil- osophy, sixth, Disposition, seventh, Ethics, eighth, Philan- thropy, ninth, Aesthetics, and tenth, Arts. 1. Age. First, I investigated the age of the students of this remarkable class and found that though some who are real infant prodigees, ,like our class babies, Ruth Williams, and William Brown, graduate at the age of seventeen, the average age of the graduates of this class is eighteen years. 2. Intellect. The intellectual aptitude of high school students varies greatly. Here, I might mention that there is nothing quite so refreshing and entertaining as unspoiled, natural humor. Mary Dolan and Robert Drysdale are never out of sorts, and the day is never dreary enough to darken their bright and scintillating remarks. Thus it is only fair to designate them as the Wittiest members of the class. 3. Industry being the next subject of my study, I un- dertook to ascertain how the little busy bees of the class of 1929 improved their shining hours. As a result, I discovered that some of the pupils are trying to make us believe that they are not perfectly capable of attaining as great heights as others, but if it were not for their tendency toward lazi- ness and procrastination, Zilla Farnham and Bill Tucker- man, with their unusual natural talents, would find it pos- sible to become the President and Vice President of the United States. There is another student in the class who, although not all the teachers are aware of it, can get byi' without being studious, and yet none would call him lazy. Rupert Cole- man could bluff his way through any English course and make the class believe that he had sat up until three o'clock the morning before, preparing his lesson. Unquestionably,

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THE SENIOR YEAR BOOK 31' van. - uw it is a gift to possess such a marvelous imagination and ability to convince. 4. Deportment. In dealing with the fourth category, deportment, I found that there was one group of pupils that noone who enters the classroom can possibly fail to notice. 'fBob Drysdale, the class cut-up will probably be seen, either strolling leisurely into class late, or hastening out, early. Mary La Pere's boisterous laughter will be heard from one end of the room to the other, and Johnnie Edmond will undoubtedly be asking nonsensical questions to use up the teacher's time, or whispering to someone who is trying to study. The visitor will almost pass by Barbara Cataldo without noticing her at all, she is so gentle and unobtrusive. This group can easily be identified as the class cut up, the noisiest person, the class pest, and the quietest member of the class. 5. Philosophy. Every group of people, no matter how small, will be found to contain within itself, representatives of the various great schools of philosophy, the stoic, the epicurean, and the cynic. Some are naturally optimists, others naturally pessimists. The class of 1929 is no excep- tion. Here, Margaret Gilchrist is the sunny little body who chases away all the blues of her classmates. A more optim- istic person than she, never was seen. As the pendulum of life always swings both ways, there is at the extreme, Jack Clancy, the pessimist. Perhaps it is owing to this skeptical attitude toward life and consequent fear of disaster that he is one of the smartest boys in the school. At any rate, he has studied so hard and with such sincerity that he has acquired the title of class grind. 6. Disposition. We do not need the old saying, Laugh and the world laughs with you-weep and you weep alone to teach us the value of a cheerful pleasant disposition. As far as this worth-while asset is concerned, Alice Ledwidge and Byron McCoy, the best natured girl and boy, undoubt- edly have an advantage over the rest of the class. The other ancient adage: Laugh and grow fat, certainly doesn't ap- ply to Byron-as for Alice-well, we'll leave that for you to decide. Buddy Briggs's tremendous popularity is sufficient evi- dence that he also possesses a friendly, likeable nature. His classmates, good opinion of him is proved by the fact that they elected him president during the senior year. 7. Ethics. In order to keep any class up to its highest standard of conduct, there must be some wise counsellor. Edna Coon took this advisory duty upon her shoulders and soon became known as the H1929 class preacher. If you doubt Edna's ability to propound her knowledge-go to the