Whitman High School - Spotlight Yearbook (Whitman, MA)

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By the way, I met Jannie at the election polls, and we began discussing the election we had in our Junior year. All she could recall was typing letters composed by Bob Bergman, presidentgCarol Marshall, vice-president, and Mervin Scott, treasurer. Q I'm listening to the radio now, and they've justfinished playing Ebb Tide. I can't believe it! We named our Junior dance after it oh, so many years ago. Do you still remember the little lighthouse and how cleverly constructed it was? Our class advisors, Mrs. Lapworth and Mr. O'Neil, complimented us on our dec- orations. Last week I attended the annual Honor Society Induction Ceremony at our Regional High School. Thatfirst impressive candlelight ceremonywhenwe were Juniors at W. H. S. all came back to me. The proud parents--as ours did--shook as they paradedup to the stage to pin the new members. Do you know I still have my fir st Spellman Essay? Oh, those days and evenings we spent in the Brockton Public Library preparing for that fatal day when the essays had to be passed in. Although I remember I was too scared to compete for a. prize, some did, and Russell walked off with third honors. As long as we have been talking over old times, Idragged outmy high school scrapbook. As I flipped through the pages, I noticed my prom pictures taken by Vantines, our class photographer. Wasn't thatthe big event of our year! Iremember we girls scurrying for gowns and all the boys for money. How many boxes of Kleenex did we use in making those paper carnations? I also found a menu from the Red Coach Grill, and it made me think-of the fun we had listening to certain members of our class harmonize. I still laugh when I think of how Bucky suddenly disappeared from the road. Isn't this Silver Lake's 10th anniversary this year? We certainly lost quite a few class - mates to them, but at the same time we gained Judith Whiteside, Carlo Di Persio, William Coy, Beverly Brown, and Robert Rousseau. It wasn't long after our prom that we had to decorate for class day and graduation. How envious we were of the graduates then, though our feelings changed a few months later. I'd better close now because it's almost time to get dinner but maybe we could get to- gether for lunch sometime. Love, Nancy May. 1966 Dear Nancy, As I don't have a definite lunch hour, I won't be able to meet you at that time, but may- be we could get together some evening soon. Any night but Tuesday would be all right since that is the night of the Woman's Club meeting. You remember Diane and Janet who were Hon- orary Members during our Senior year? Now we attend the meetings together. Didn't Jimmy Shay win the athletic trophy the same time as they were made Honorary Members? In your last letter you mentioned that Mrs. Lapworth and Mr. O'Neil were our class advisors.Didn't Mr. Burgess replace Mr. O'Neil in our Senior yearg and as you mentioned our class officers, weren't Bob Bergman, president: Grace, McLaughlin, vice-president, Marcelle Schmikler, secretaryg and Jimmy Shay, treas- urer that year? When I made a visit to the high school recently, I. noticed our football trophy which reminded me of our wonderful year of Football led by the co-captains, Dave and Jimmy. How could the boys let down suchan enthusiastic coach as Mr. Teahan! He certainly deserved credit for two 'victories at this time. Just before our turkey-day victory we held our dance, Autumn Leaves. Can you remember our football players drawn by our class artist, Carlo? We also had a rally before the game, and this gave our co-captains a chance to deliver their long and well-prepared speeches. Speaking of speeches, this reminds me of our football banquet and how proud the boys were of their sweaters. I believe we received the South Eastern Massachusetts Conference Trophy at the same time. This also makes me think of the electric scoreboard which was finally purchased for fu- ture basketball games. The Student Council led by Dave Waterman, presidentg Ethel Bezanson, vice-presidentgand Grace McLaughlin, secretary, heldmanybottle drives so that we might have it. By the way, I happened to come across my playbook, Mother Is a Freshman, andit brought back many memories. Parts were dis- tributed, long hours of rehear sal began, and then on the fatal night of December 16, our play-proved to be a real Hollywood production. Will you ever forget our dress rehearsal? We started off with a bang, and I do mean a bang! Jim Shayfound himself on the floor amongst a pile of kindling. Then there was the ti.me when I was late for my cue only to find Carlo talking to Ted. Imet Russell the other day, and we be- gan laughing about the time he got stuck in

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aff 'iff My November, 1965 Dear Linda, Yesterday as I was wading through the heap in the attic, I came across a pile of dance decorations from our high school days. My mind began to wander back to our four years at W.H. S. I remember our first day. Didn't we, the underclassmen, feel like midgets lost in a maze of confusing room num- bers, long corridors, and upperclassmen? The other daylfinally burned my old gym suit. Do you remember our first gym class when, much to our surprise, we were ordered to memorize locker combinations and to bring a towel and bathing cap to class--we couldn't imagine why! Then, too, of course, we had our first experiences with passes, and ll6, ab- sentee, and flunk slips. But then, as the days wore on, and we became more accustomed to our surroundings, we settled down to a daily routine with a little bit of fun sandwiched in. Last Saturday I went to a football game and recognized some of the cheers we used to do. I noticed two Freshmenwere playing on the varsity, and it made me think of Dave and Jim. Their band wasn't so good as the Whitman High's9 nor their cheerleaders so energetic as Charlene and Marcelle . Iwonder if their rallies are as loud as our first one seemed. Back to the attic again! Can you believe that I have an old newspaper dated January 3, l953, and in it a notice of Mr. Bayley's resig- nation? Didn't he make a wonderful guidance director? Weren't we excited the first day our new principal, Mr. Johnson, took over? We all made excuses to go to the office to get a glimpse of him. I wanted to write about some of the things we did in our Sophomore year, but as I think it over, my mind is a blank. I think it's really fun reminiscing, andI would enjoy hearing from you. Love, Nancy December, 1965 Dear Nancy, Your mentioning Mr. Johns'on, our new principal, made me think of the changes he made the first year he was there. Wasn't the moni- tor system eliminated, and a new P.A. system installed? I thought you might be interested to know that the other night as I was reading the paper I recognized Jim Shay's picture. It made me think of his first office as president of our Soph- omore year. Also, weren't Carol Mar shall, vice- presidentg Janet Hinkley, secretaryg and Mervin Scott, treasurer? On the same page was an announcement about a coming dinner to be held for past Mothers of the Year from this state. Mrs.La.pworth's name was included. Do you remember what wonderful advisors she and Mr. Andrew made? Later I was preparing a few decorations for a Christmas party and recalled all the work involvedfor our fir st dance, Holiday Whirl. All our efforts making the Fourth of July rockets, Thanksgiving turkey, and Christmas Santa Claus were rewarded with a successful dance and a large profit. I'm planning atrip to Concord soon. Will you ever forget that rainy spring day when Miss Gilbert courageously packed us into buses, countedour noses, and signaled the bus drivers to head in that direction? I'm really looking forward to seeing the old houses again. Did I tell you I'm seriously thinking of taking a trip to Europe this summer? I think I'll get in touch with Mrs. Austin as she might be able to make some suggestions about where Imight visit. I'll never forget the fun our Latin class had at her party. When you have a minute to spare, please drop me a line. Love, Linda March, 1966 Dear Linda, Today I happened to find my class ring, whichlreceived in my Junior year. It made me think of the fun the committee of seven had selecting several choices on which the class could vote. After considering hundreds of rings, I felt I couldn't look at another. Do you still have the round ruby with the crest bearingaw on it? 28

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All fouryears at Whitman High were cer- Lover's Lane with three female members of the Honor Society on the way to a meeting. Don't we have a lot of happy memories of the Honor Society? How hard we worked on the Benefit Movie, and how happy we were when we were able to give two S200 scholarships! Our Senior members were finally given a chance to partic- ipate in the Induction Ceremony. Weren't you scared that night when you as Service were called upon to speak? Yesterday, Iwas talking to Mr S . Lapworth, and we mentioned the Christmas party she had for her commercial girls. Wasn't that roast beef dinner delicious? I'm sure that dinner was to soften the blow of the tests we were to take after the holidays. The college boards were taken about that time, too. Out of curiosity I took out our class pic- tures to see how we looked whenwe were Seniors. Ican't believe how muchwe've changed! For the next hour I was engrossed in reading all the flat- tering messages. As I was scanning Gail's pic- ture, I remembered how happy we were when she was chosen D.A.R. representative, and Russell's picture remindedme of his represen- tation at the State House on Student Government Day. You also mentioned in your last letter that you found your Spellman Essay which you wrote inyour Junior year. I'll never forget our Senior W. H. S. , Ithought 'E Spotlight might be helpful :i.n remembering all our Senior activities. I'll never forget how hard the editors worked feed- ing the hungry typists. Oh, by the way, I've been selected for jury duty, and it brings back memories of the trip our law class made to court. I still laugh when I picture Janice F ahrenholt praying on her knees on the courthouse stepsg and wasn't Carole Cormier funny as she prepared to make herself comfortable for the big side dish at F1-a.nk's. In the midst of all the confusion with yearbook and graduation, we held a dance .on April 13. We really didn't feel we were graduating untilwe were measuredfor caps and gowns. The girls chose white and the boys, blue. Our class had certainly enlarged since our Junior year. Three newcomers joined our class just in time to graduate with us. They were Lillian Parris, Susan Sullivan, and Patricia Brouillard. I remember our class was the first to have a Graduation Week which included a ban- quet inthe late afternoon and class day the same eveningg then the reception and finally the climax--our graduation on June 15. one. That one came due at the same time as honor parts, yearbook, class pictures, and the Preston Gurney Contest. tainly Moments to Remember. What fun it will be to relive them at our future class reunions! Linda Bartlett- Love ' Nancy Wyatt Linda Q awwxx We, the graduating class of nineteen hundred and fifty-six, being of sound body and mind and finding the underclassmenlacking our qualifications and abilities in sports, leadership, and scholar- ship, do on this fifteenth day of June, hereby bequeath our last will and testament. Since we've been discussing our days at To Mr. Johnson we leave wishes for many successful years as principal of Whitman High School. To our advisors, Mrs. Lapworth and Mr. Burgess, we leave thanks for their unlimited patience and guidance in leading us through our four years at Whitman High School. To Mr. Bayley we leave our gratitude for the help he has given us as guidance director. To Mrs. McI.nnes we bequeath an English class with all A students. To the Commercial Department we leave an erasure detector guaranteed to discover any erasures on all papers. To Mr. McGarigal we leave another all girl class. To Mr s. Brewer we leave a second hand ring chain to attach to her bookkeeping keyso she won't lose it. 30