Westerly High School - Westlyan Yearbook (Westerly, RI)

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Tin: Sknior Ykar Book — 1949 President's Address Parents, Faculty, Fellow Classmates: We, the Class of ’49, are about to leave our beloved place of learning in a world of extreme uncertainty and crushing tenseness. Three short years have passed since we began our high school studies. They have been both happy and beneficial years and truly they constitute a portion of our lives which we shall treasure always. During our stay at Westerly High we have become heirs to a most priceless possession, that of a high school education. Upon this gift we shall build our future and the future of our country. One needs only to glance at the newspapers to realize the seriousness of affairs and the gigantic task that lies ahead of us. We must be ready when we are called to help solve the mammoth problems that confront our country and also the world. Our one big ally in solving these problems will be our education, as education has always been the key to the solutions of problems down through the ages. It will be through this application of our education that perhaps we may bring about a lasting world peace. The past three years have been exceedingly happy years. They have been filled with constant activity. Athletics, proms, the school band and other student activities are as much a part of high school life as the textbooks from which we study. Our senior year has been perhaps the busiest of the three. The athletic teams of ’48-’49 enjoyed their share of success. We were indeed most fortunate to have as our new football and basketball coach, Mr. Andrew Lentine. Through the cooperation of students and faculty our social activities met with considerable success. Our high school days have been a period of our lives which in the future we may look back upon with satisfaction and pleasant recollections. To the Class of ’50 and to the classes that will follow we wish the very best of luck and success and we sincerely hope that they will enjoy and profit from their stay at Westerly High as much as we have enjoyed and profited from ours. MAURICE CONNORS, President. Class History We came, we’ve seen, we’ve passed, and now we are seniors. As we think back over the three years which have flown by so rapidly, we remember how strange we felt as we entered good old Westerly High for the first time. During our sophomore year, we made many new friends. Students from Ashaway, Charlestown, Richmond, Hope Valley, and the Immaculate Conception School joined those from Babcock Junior High to give birth to the Class of ’49. From these new acquaintances we chose for our leaders: Frank Gencarella and Robert Dion for president and vice president, respectively; for secretary and treasurer, Anna Ritacco and Anthony Sisco. The dramatic club, supervised by Mr. Crock- ett, produced the play “Gold in the Hills.” Our class was well represented in the cast, with Joan Pickering playing one of the leading characters. Many of our boys tried their luck in sports, Robert Dion becoming a “sharp-shooter” in basketball, while Anthony Liguori, “Red” Lees, Frank Gencarella, and others played football. Baseball attracted the largest number of sophs, two of whom were Robert Pearson and Anthony Sisco. During the year we heard some strange noises coming from one of the rooms. Of course, this was the new school band, which was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. We were honored by having Edward Ruisi chosen from our class to be the drum major. There certainly were many talented musicians among our classmates—will you ever

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Yearbook Staff Front: Frances Carlesi, Lois Grinnell,, Blanche Urso. Ellen Leete. Dagmar Baldwin, Lucy Cross. Middle: Anna Ritacco. Trilby Bennett. Kay MacVicar. Beverly Cruickshank. Gertrude Jones. Rear: Larry Carroll. Angelo Sanquedolce, Thomas Toscano. John Tierney. Maurice Connors. John Terranova. (Not in picture—Barbara Hamilton.) Cover design by Martha Schwarz

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Thk Senior Year Book. — 1949 forget Gene Wright and his tooting? The twirling corps were organized this year also. Miss Gernsheimer guided us through our ‘ green year.” We thank her for her kindness and help. After the summer vacation, which was full of fun, we again returned to school for our second and most difficult year. We chose very capable leaders for our officers. They were: president, Anthony Liguori; vice president, Maurice Connors; treasurer, Angelo Sanquedolce, and secretary, Marilyn Panciera. Many of the girls took advantage of their chance to try out for cheering. Kathryn Turano, Lois Grinnell, and Lillian Grillo were the three chosen from our class to cheer the boys on to victory. They cheered so well for the basketball team, we won every game and were Rhode Island champions also. Several junior boys were on the Jayvee team. Robert Dion was a member of the first team. Thomas Toscano and Anthony Sisco being substitutes. In the girls’ intramural sports, the champion soccer team was composed entirely of girls from the class of ’49. Marion Comolli proved to be an excellent captain. Anthony Liguori, Robert Pearson, Maurice Connors, and Robert Mandes are representative of the football players from this truly sporty” class. In baseball, Sisco, Pearson, Gray, and Liguori did especially well. We found at the Science Fair that many “forty-niners” were chemically minded. When Fred Corlew won first prize and Gay Blake second in the Martha Babcock Essay Contest, and Joan Pickering was awarded honorable mention in the P. T. A. Essay Contest, we realized that our class was extremely talented in all fields of endeavor. Each year two junior girls are chosen to attend Girls’ State in Providence. Martha Schwarz and Beverly Cruickshank represented Westerly High. The Junior Prom, at which Marilyn “Bunny” Panciera was crowned the spring queen, was a great success. June came again and then September. We returned as mighty seniors ready to “rule.” The officers we chose did their work well. The president was Maurice Connors; vice president, Robert Lees; secretary, Anna Ritacco, and treasurer, Angelo Sanquedolce. John Ruisi headed the Student Council. The band has grown in popularity ever since it was organized. This year Edward Ruisi served his last year as the leader. Anna Bookataub with a difficult job well executed was the head twirler. The first of our social activities was the Senior Prom. This took place in October, and all who attended enjoyed themselves. Again this, our last year, we had many classmates participating in sports. Maurice Connors, Frank Gencarella, and Anthony Liguori were cocaptains of the football team. Robert Dion was the captain of the Class B Championship basketball squad, with Sisco, Toscano, Brown, and Liguori helping him to “roll-up” the score. The captain of baseball was Robert Pearson. Lois Grinnell served as the head cheerleader. She was ably assisted by Trilby Bennett, Kay Turano, Gretchen Grills, Anne Lazzaro, Lillian Grillo, and Gilda Liguore. The girls’ soccer championship team was again entirely from our class, Esther Dawley being the captain. The DAR award for good citizenship was won by Beverly Cruickshank. The Class of ’49 places great value on the guidance and advice of Mrs. Morrison, our advisor during our two final years. We are grateful to the entire faculty for their consideration and patience. We shall never forget their understanding interest. To all our “underclassmen” we say, “May luck and success always be yours.” BEVERLY CRUICKSHANK. Historian. Class Prophecy We find ourselves back in Westerly after twenty years’ absence and indeed the town is much changed. Everyone is preparing for the big event, the Summer Carnival at Atlantic Beach. In order to attend such a festive occasion many new clothes are required. We enter Mearns’ Clothing Store, now managed by our old football captain and class president, Mooney Connors. Who should walk in but Angelo Sanquedolce, the New' England correspondent for Esquire. He, too, is looking around for something to wear to the Carnival. We leave Mearns’ and go across the street to McLellan’s and see that Terry Gilbert is still employed there. After selecting several pounds of costume jewelry for the masquerade ball, we leave, and journey down to McCormick’s, finding