Page 52 - 1936

ing clouds from his chemistry laboratory whenever some of the fourth formers tried
experiments in seeing who could make the worst smelling concoction.
We had a good time in "Smoothie” Todd's classes too. He was a big six-
footer, with light brown wavy hair. It was fun to get Mr. Todd to put aside the
dull pastime of picking out the nouns, adjectives, prepositions, and other things that
never should have been invented anyway from some such work of art as "Frank and
Tim’s Adventures in English” or other great classics. We soon discovered that the
way to do this was to get him talking on Biology. He’d talk for periods on it if
once we got him rolling in the right direction. Usually Eddie Cotter’s nimble brain
kept him stocked with questions to answer aplenty.
Mr. Allen had our heads in a whirl trying to get us to figure compound interest
on all kinds of things, which was bad enough, but when it came to finding the
aliquot parts of things—that’s where mental agility was required. We were still
awed at Mr. Allen’s mighty brawn and muscle, for we well remembered how he had
hoisted certain unfortunate victims out of the door by the seat of the pants the year
before.
The newcomers "Pudgy” Richardson, Ed Cooper, "Derek” Clapp and Ed Culver
were active in school the first year. Richardson, already quite a wrestler, was climb­
ing upward, Ken got his start on the way to track laurels, and "Coop” got his in
swimming and tennis.
Old fellows leave, too, and among those scheduled to leave after their first form
year were "Bob” Union, "Mental Marvel” Schwartz, Eddie Cotter, Jerry Goldthwait,
who incidentally is on a trip all around Europe and parts of Africa, and George
"Television” Barrows.
In about a week after joining school as first formers we felt considerably let
down, especially when Mr. Henderson referred to us every now and then as "those
on my left” (said, of course, in a slow, sonorous voice that is supposed to humble
such upstarts as first formers). If we had been psychologists, we might have won­
dered why we always pretended to bury our nose in our books when the quiet tread
of O.J.B.H. (written with great rapidity on all absence slips) was heard behind us.
Something just seemed to radiate from the otherwise cordial Mr. Henderson that
caused one to become meek and obedient.
In football Richardson, Clapp, Aldrich, Steere, Spelt, Dooley, and Maclsaac
were working upwards. Over in the gym in the winter time Mr. Raines tried to
make us do calisthenics, at which Gus Baker was a source of amusement. "Two
Gun” coached the baseball team. Ted Dooley was the star there.
We all had a good time at the second annual Father and Son’s Day, and after
that Commencement was soon upon us, and we left the shadow of the elms for a
long-awaited summer vacation.
II.
The following fall found us still quavering under the commanding optics of the
All-Knowing Sage of study hall, but now we could at least feel superior to someone
—namely, the unfortunate first formers. It was fun to boss them around, making

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