Worcester High School of Commerce - Caduceus Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

Page 30 text:

'55-A lass History Looking back at the past, we, as a class, will long remember the three years we spent at Commerce. This evening during our class night program, l would like to give a brief outline of the many events which will leave with us a vivid memory of these unforgettable days. We arrived at the High School of Commerce on a cold bright morning in February, 1952. Because of the large enrollment, we had to spend our freshman year at the various iunior highs and high schools nearest our homes. En- tering as sophomores, there were exactly 569 pupils in our class. We were shown to our home rooms and we again felt like freshmen trying to find each of our classes in the two enormous buildings. This year had proved successful for the girls' varsity basketball team. Under the skillful guid- ance of Miss Isabelle Bosworth they won the Inter-High Championship by defeating South in the final game of the season. On May 6 the Blackfriars once again pre- sented their annual play called Goodbye, My Fancy at Tuckerman Hall. The girls' field hockey team gained the Inter- High crown for the sixth consecutive time. The school newspaper, The Mercury, won a first-class rating from The National Scholastic Press Association, in the yearly contest held at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism. After our Summer vacation we started the Fall term in sadness, for we all suffered a great loss in the death of Miss Evelyn Lundgren who died October 7, 1952. She had been with the High School of Commerce for 20 years, teaching his- tory and English. Following the death of Miss Lundgren, our beloved coach and math teacher, Mr. John Foley, passed away on Oc- tober 25, 1952. He had devoted a great deal of his time to sports, always striving to attain per- fection in his squads and respect among his pupils and members of his teams. ln his memory there is a plaque which is now hanging near Room 5. Finally, we worked our way into our junior year and to think that we had completed two full years was just unbelievable. ln the election of class officers, we had chosen Louis Dooling, President, Carol Anderson, Vice-President, Theresa Campaneli, Secretary, and Richard Jarzobski, Treasurer. For the first time we had a Town Meeting in our assembly hall on March 24. lt followed the same procedure as regular town meetings and we had open discussions on various issues. The iunior varsity girls' basketball team tied the North lassies for the championship under the patience and coaching of Miss Margaret Phillips. Our Commerce track team had taken posses- sion of the Inter-High title, held by North for the past seven years, with our fleet-footed Okie O'Connor the co-captain as well as a speedy competitor in the finals which took place at the Grafton Street Junior High gym. Okie has always gone out faithfully each year for track and he has proven to be a most valuable runner. The Blackfriars presented a fascinating mys- tery play, Double Door, at Tuckerman Hall on May 5. Everything seemed to be going along smooth- ly until we realized that once again we had suffered a third tragic loss when Miss Catherine Benoit suddenly died on May 15 after a long illness. She was appointed as a teacher of office practice at Commerce in 1949 after pre- viously teaching in various Worcester schools. These three losses had left an empty feeling in the students as well as the faculty and still there remain memories which are hard to erase. The 1953 CADUCEUS, the school yearbook, had received honors for the 11th year in the Columbia University School Press Association contest in New York. The United States History Club made its an- nual trip to West Point with our new faculty advisor, Miss Evelyn Biorkman. This trip seemed to be most exciting, especially to the senior girls, who managed to snap pictures of the cadets. The girls' hockey team had chosen Sue Bailey as their co-captain. Sue has been most active in every sport all through school and she even has been manager of the basketball team. Her outstanding ability has helped her to achieve five C's and one Of the two football players who made the WTAG All-Star team, one happened to be our iron man, Ronald Spakauskas, better known as Specs. He deserves a great deal of praise for his aggressiveness throughout the football season and at an impressive ceremony in the assembly hall he received a plaque. The most wonderful day had arrived. We were now full-fledged seniors of the school or the so-called Big Shots. This was a day we had been looking forward to and we, as seniors, were ready to try our humorous pranks on the innocence of the incoming freshmen.

Page 29 text:

CLASS COLORS PURPLE and WHITE MOTTO Veritas Vos Liberubit The Truth Shall Make You Free

Page 31 text:

The final election of class officers resulted in the following victors: John Pakula, President, Carol Anderson, Vice-President, Rita DeToma, Secretary, and Henry Dobkowski, Treasurer. The Blackfriars of Commerce once again had a tremendous hit with their three-act comedy called Mother is a Freshman. This play was directed by Mr. Myles McAleer and the local paper gave a good comment on the cast and the play. During our Summer vacation we learned of the death of Mr. Donald Flynn who had for many years taught English at Commerce. The first issue of The Mercury with Carol Anderson as Editor-in-Chief, appeared in Octo- ber. Incidentally, The Mercury had been awarded first place by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association during the Spring. This Fall it was chosen as the best high school newspaper in New England. The T954 CADUCEUS took first place once again in the annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association Contest for yearbooks. Our class officers, along with the prom com- mittee, set the date of the Senior Prom as December 3 at the luxurious Sheraton Hotel. The class colors, purple and white, were used in the decorations for the Prom. The results of the elections for Class Day Representatives were as follows: Richard Jar- zobski, Class Orator, Barbara Perrone, Class Testatrix, Violet Andrews, Class Pianist, Jose- phine Ostrowski, Class Vocalist, and Barbara Alexandrovich, Class Historian. The words for our class song were written by Betty Michelson, the music was by Phyllis Ventura. For flower girls we had chosen Theresa Campaneli, Carol Donovan, Barbara Grendol, Joan Eident, Nancy Richardson, and Sandra Whitcomb. Violet Andrews, a Horace Mann pupil, was elected the D. A. R. Representative from Com- merce. Barbara Alexandrovich was chosen as Editor- in-Chief of the CADUCEUS. Serving with her on the editorial board are: Carol Anderson, Jerebill Barton, Carol Donovan, Marguerite Fer- nandez, Phyllis Hirtle, Louise George, Joan Lundberg, Harvey Marcus, Rudolph Pavini, Nancy Richardson, Nancy Wilder, and Sandra Whitcomb. Mr. Wallace Johnson and Mr. Lee Bartlett directed the Variety Show held at Chandler Street Junior High in November. Many in the senior class participated in this show and really showed hidden talent in their splendid perform- ance that evening. On November 30, l954, there was an assembly to honor our football team that won the Inter- High Championship. The final game was played against North and our very own Dick Haggar scored the winning touchdown. Coach Jablonski and Mr. Manning awarded W's to our trium- phant team. Mr. Matthew McCann, who had retired in June, l954, after 41 years of teaching, died November 24 at St. Vincent Hospital. He taught physics and science for many years in Room 45 and he was a familiar figure to everyone. Those having outstanding scholastic ability and rated as Horace Mann Scholars are: Carol Anderson, Violet Andrews, Mary Chianese, Betty Michelson, Barbara Tracy, and Nancy Wilder. Tonight is the last night that we of '55-A will assemble as a class. Our senior year is coming to an end and deep without our hearts we wish to express to our parents and to the entire faculty our sincere gratitude for giving us the encouragement that we needed to attain this goal. We now look toward the future. Each cher- ished memory of the past will remain as a symbol of our happy school days. I am sure that each one of us, with the help of Almighty God, will have the success and happiness that we wish to achieve in coming years. ' .. ,,,. f it Barbara Alexandrovich, Class Historian