Worcester State University - Oak Leaf Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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CLARA SAUNDERS KATHERINE GOVIN

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our own sparkling brand of original songs bewailed the plight of the now scholarly Sophomore class. In December we went on a historic tour of Boston with Dr. Winslow. We scaled Bunker Hill in a Consolidated bus and ab- sorbed the Harvard museums in one after- noon. After a morning at Wayside Inn and several other museums and historical sites, we felt quite surfeited with culture. This year our amazing talents for leader- ship and scholarship began to show even more prominently as we easily mast ered the Sophomore exams and as more and more names of our class began to appear in execu- tive offices and on all important college committees. The high point of this year was the brilliant, original, and typically class of ’48 version of the beloved fairy tale, Cin- derella. We had scarcely recovered from the com- pliments on this success, when the May Prom brought more compliments our way. Remember the spring flowers and many colored balloons we never thought we’d get blown up? A party at Dr. Winslow’s follow- ed; and before we knew it another year had slipped merrily away. The sand in our col- lege hourglass was half gone. “Long Ago When We Were Freshmen, Young of Heart and Gay Were We” But that time was past, and we greeted our upper classmen status with an erudite and unique assembly on progressive educa- tion. We glorified the modern trends and added some ideas of our own to the pedagog- ical lexicon. At midyears the Elementaries left to conquer the elementary school pop- ulation with their theories of motivation, unit method, and the extrinsic approach. The Secondaries set themselves the task of keeping the lounge from becoming too lonely and of learning to talk in true pedagogical jargon themselves when the prodigal elemen- taries came back on Friday. This year we again became coed. The class gained three veterans for their very own, and the school gained our new Presi- dent Sullivan. The class of ’48 again had a masculine point of view mixed with the purely feminine. The Junior Prom that year was a thing of beauty in blue and silver. It became the more memorable when that same evening A1 became the father of the first class baby, and we took an added interest in the younger generation. It was that spring that a group of sleepy but intellectually curious Secondaries left Worcester at 3 A.M. for the great city of New York. They arrived in time to observe the New York school system at work and then do the usual sight-seeing. The fact that it poured rain all during their visit did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm. Our year ended with the arrival of class rings and a surprised realization that the time was fast approaching when we should become in truth one of that mystical host called Seniors. “Service Free and Gladly Given, This Be Our Goal” Senior day and our spotlighted memory book in blue and gold as we donned our caps and gowns made us realize that at last we had arrived. The Secondaries followed the trail blazed by their Elementary friends to the school rooms of Worcester and sur- rounding towns. It was a very wise and experienced group of teachers who now dis- cussed evaluation and adolescent psychology in the lounge. Time was fast running out. Yearbook copy was written and rewritten, publishers interviewed and reinterviewed, class meet- ings called and recalled. February brought National Teacher exams, superintendents and contracts, and the class together again. Before we were fully aware of it, the long awaited week had come. Class Day, Bac- calaureate, the Senior Prom, and that tan- gible climax ... a blue-bound B.S. degree. It is impossible for so formal a document as a history to record all the individual fun, the extra-curricular learnings, and the accumulated accomplishment of four years. So, to you each as individuals in the class of 1948, I now give the unwritten parts of this history to be held in bright memory forever. Clara M. Saunders, Class Historian

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ress Today terminates four of the happiest years we will live in this wonderful world. The happiness found in this educational institution as we have looked for knowledge is not terminated, however, because we have developed along with this knowledge lifelong friendships that will keep these years young and happy by the many memories we have safely stored away. As we stand before you today, certainly changed from the shy Freshman who entered our beloved S. T. C. four years ago, we are the product of four years of training under the excellent guardianship of the faculty. To you, Faculty, we cannot express the appreciation and gratitude we have for you. Perhaps your thanks has been in the growth and great strides we have taken before your eyes. Certainly, it seems to us that we have grown into far wiser, more tolerant, and better men and women. We are the outcome of your training. We feel on this day that we have a sound philosophy that will stand by us in the face of any problem. We know it is difficult to live in this world, but we still say it is a world full of hope, love, and faith. Never could we stand here today without the support and sympathetic understanding of our parents. We are fully aware of their sacrifices; we know that no person reaches graduation without help of many kinds. We are grateful to our friends for encouragement, and to all those who have given us inspiration we say, thank you. We feel that this debt can be repaid only by service to others. This then, be our goal . . . service free and gladly given. If we can impar t to others the secret of happiness, sharing, living together without friction, contentment, and the satisfaction of doing tasks well, we shall have repaid our debt. This ivy holds the secret of life. We too, as a class, hold the secret in our hearts today. As we plant the ivy, we promise that through us others shall share in the joy of happy living. Norma Gardner