Westerly High School - Westlyan Yearbook (Westerly, RI)

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The Senior Year Book— 1931 (Class Will WE, the Class of 1931, being about to leave this mundane sphere, while in full possession of mind, memory, and understanding, do make and publish this, our last will and testament, hereby revoking and making void all former wills by us heretofore made. As to such estate as it has pleased the fates and our own strong arms to give us, we do dispose of it as follows: To the incoming Sophomores we bequeath the following: All broken rulers, pencil stubs, floor scrapers, luxuries collected from us by our teachers, such as playing cards, small change, marbles, rubber dolls, and choice literary notes, that the children may be enabled to employ their study hours more happily and naturally. To the present Sophomore Class we leave the following advice, the acceptance of which will lead them to glory: Learn to work if not to win; remember that development comes sooner through bearing failures than through enoying successes. To our unworthy successors, the present Juniors, we bequeath our Senior dignity. Although we are afraid this will be a strain upon the ner%7es and muscles of that gay and debonair class, we all hope they will rise to the occasion, as they sometimes have proved themselves capable of doing. Besides these endowed gifts, we leave to the Westerly High School, not of necessity, but of our own free will, our blessing and pledged loyalty from henceforth. All the rest and residue of our property, whatsoever and wheresoever, of what nature, kind and quality soever it may be, not herein before disposed of, after paying our debts and funeral expenses, we give and bequeath to our principal, Charles E. Mason, for his use and benefit exclusively. If he sees fit, he may use the knowledge and startling information we have displayed. at whatsoever times we may have had written quizzes and examinations, in the education of our younger classmates. This matter is left entirely at his discretion. We, the Senior Class, do hereby bequeath to Miss McWeeney a brown Boston bag that possesses the magic quality of always returning to its owner. To Miss Sturtevant we leave a permanent pass to the Central Theatre with the compliments of the Senior French Class, provided that she will promise to attend religiously all the matinees. To Miss Hanson we leave the copyright privileges to all our essays, stories, and poems. To Mr. Maxwell we leave a manicuring set, with which to trim his pet cat’s nails, to the end that the mischievous urchins of the school can play with the creature without damage to life and limb. The members of the class bequeath the following personal belongings: 1. I, Evelyn Wilson, do hereby bequeath my title of class baby to Charles St. Onge, but do sincerely hope that he will not annoy the teachers by suddenly bursting into childish tears and having to be pacified. 2. I, Marrack Collins, do hereby bequeath my romantic tendencies to Lyle Burdick, who. I understand, is in desperate need of them. 3. I, Harold Soloveitzik, do hereby bequeath my love of flowers, especially of “Roses,” to Dorothy Ouelette of the incoming Sophomore Class. 4. I, Burnie Stenhouse, bestow my ease and grace on the dance floor upon Charles Crandall of the Junior Class. 5. I. Edward Boutelle, bestow my timid and quiet behavior on the Ashaway-Hope Valley school bus upon Harold Kenyon, hoping that next year he will emulate his worthy brother and me. 6. I, Ruth McCoy, do hereby bequeath my tremendously stentorian voice to Mildred Kirby of the Junior Class. 7. I, Althea Nichols, do hereby bequeath my nervous hesitancy in English Class to Barbara Sherman. 8. 1, Charles Kenyon, bestow my shy, bashful, and retiring demeanor upon Jack -4. 3 I? --

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Thk Sknior Year Book— 1931 spicuous for their good judgment as to what to wear, thus earning for themselves the honor of being the best attired girl and boy in the class. During this year, all the big he-men of the group responded to the insistent call of athletics. Football had first place, and in that field we were most notably represented by Stenhouse, Greene, Bonner, Codings, Payne, and Dolan, who won for us the Eastern Connecticut-Southern Rhode Island championship. Next came track, bringing forth Magni and Soloveitzik, who established an enviable record by ’’eating up” the miles. Spring now drew on, and with it baseball. Dolan and Stenhouse were again seen on the old home field, scoring their points in as specactular a manner as they had in football. We enjoyed an unusual find in Bud Christy, who, aside from being our most handsome boy, was also one of our first and best ball players. The boys were not the only ones to appear in the limelight, for at this time Anna Fraquelli and Althea Nichols made themselves famous by winning the first and second prizes in the Martha C. Babcock Essay Contest. We think this is the first time that both honors have been won by Junior students. Thus we are inordinately proud. Summer vacation finally left the venerable school of Westerly free to be patched up again in order to stand the wear and tear of our next and most important year, and gave us a slight break in the daily routine, that our health and good spirits as Seniors might be assured. We found ourselves in the autumn of 1930 congregated for the last time in W. H. S. in Rooms 7 and 10, the Senior sanctuaries, under the care of Mrs. Wight and Miss Leach. We noticed that a dignified look of responsibility and seriousness had settled upon the faces of our classmates; for we all realized the immensity of our importance. We were the heads, the leaders, and all our decisions and actions would be taken as guiding stars by the young and more inexperienced children of the school. First and foremost, it was our duty to elect our Senior class officers, who proved to be: Donald Bonner for President, Dana Christy for Vice President, Florence Greig as Secretary, and Eleanor Scanlon as Treasurer. To the Student Council this year we sent Eleanor Scanlon, the most popular girl, and Bill Dolan, the most popular and best all-round boy of our group. One of the new ideas sponsored by the council was the Friday afternoon dances, the purpose of these frolics being to bring about greater sociability among the students and between the students and teachers. Music was furnished by the school orchestra and many merry hours were enjoyed. For our Senior Play, we changed this year from the customary three-act drama to a group of three one-act dramas. What a fine representation of future actors and actresses was featured! “The Trysting Place,” a winsome comedy by Booth Tark-ington; “The Valiant,” a powerful tragedy of modern life by Hall and Middlemass, and “The Carved Woman,” an Indian fantasy, by Hartley B. Alexander, were the plays, which, under the leadership of Miss Jennie B. Stanton, enjoyed a signal success. The Prize Speaking of 1931 was unquestionably one of the best ever presented to the Westerly public; we consider it the best. Our class was creditably represented by seven members, among whom Charles Kenyon, reading “Aunt Jemima’s Pants,” won first prize for the boys, while Robert Burnett, portraying Kipling’s “Boots,” received second prize. Florence Greig, winner of the girls’ second prize, presented “Silence” by Edgar Lee Masters. The wide variety of the winners’ selections lent added fascination to the program. Now, with our course nearly completed, our thoughts are turning toward graduation—graduation, that magic word that spells reward for all the study and work of the most delightful four years ever spent; years in which knowledge has been gained, friends have been made, and everyone has been fired with the glory and enthusiasm of youth. What memories are stored away to be recalled with pleasure as long as we live! May the future of the class of 1931 be as happy as its history! —Dorothy Beaudreau. ' 4 12 fc -

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Tin: Senior Year Book— 1931 Scanlon, thereby giving my sum of more to that which has too much. 9. We, Donald Bonner and Elizabeth York, do bequeath our tried and true loyalty to each other to Harold Edmond and Beatrice Lowry. 10. I, Carl Sposato, bequeath my newly invented, original and ingenious method of bookkeeping to John Collins. 11. I, Constance Hamilton, bestow my title of the Children’s Poet on Leo Dotolo of the Junior Class. 12. I, Margaret Whalen, do hereby bequeath my position as the chief piano player of the High School jazz orchestra to my baby sister, Elizabeth Whalen, trusting that she will uphold the family reputation. 13. I, Elizabeth Edmond, bestow my stately bearing and queenly dignity upon Mary Low of the Junior Class. 14. I, Anna Fraquelli, do hereby bestow my happy, cheerful, and lovable nature upon Frances Cook, who always appears so very gloomy. 15. I, William Mitchell, bestow my towering height and massive stature upon Wallace Lamb of the Junior Class, who has need of these qualities if he wishes to engage in life’s struggle on equal terms with others. 16. We, Eliseo Magni and Nelson Himes, do hereby bequeath our admiration for and understanding of the fair sex to Robert Mudge and Arthur Sisson. 17. I, Frances Farnham, bequeath to the trophy room my numerous tardy slips. 18. I, William Dolan, bequeath to Billy Carpenter my uncanny knack of hearing the fire alarm, no matter where I am. 19. I, Jerry Sculco, leave to Wally Lamb my ability as a mathematician, trusting that some day it will make him as famous as the renowned Professor Einstein. 20. I, Eleanor Scanlon, bequeath to Raspberry Falcone the care of my brother Jack, hoping that he will be able to take better care of him, and guide his path more wisely, than I have done. We do hereby constitute and appoint our honored and beloved principal, Charles E. Mason, sole executor of this, our last will and testament. In witness whereof, we, the Class of 1931, the testators, have to this, our last will, written on the one sheet of parchment, set our hand and seal this 23rd day of June, Anno Domini, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-one. Respectfully submitted, Burnie Stenhouse. WE, Edward Boutelle and Charles Kenyon, having been appointed to confer upon our most amiable associates their honorary degrees, do whole-heartedly conclude that it is no picnic. If we print jokes, folks say we are silly; if we don’t, they say we are too serious. If we publish original matter, they say we lack variety; if we publish things from other exchanges, they say we are too lazy to write. What’s to be done? Like as not some one will say we swiped this from an exchange. We did. We shall endeavor to expand the confines of our own fickle mental span, and, if possible, make these degrees complimentary, descriptive, explosive, and awe-inspiring, or something. Our class is composed of innumerable species, ranging from the most illustrious students to ordinary plugs. So— Here’s to those who love us, And here’s to those who don’t; A compliment for those who are willing to, And a slam for those who won’t. On our Class President, Donald Bonner, who has proved himself so daring in love and so gallant in war, we take pleasure in