Camden High School — June 1931 Purple & Gold Yearbook

This yearbook, along with those from June 1930 and June 1932, were donated by Susan White Shuff. Her mother, Laura T. Pernier, of 441 Royden Street, was a member of the June 1932 class.

If you have any comments or questions, please comment at the bottom of the page.

Phil Cohen
July 7, 2012

Camden High School has a long and distinguished history. Many of its graduates went on to careers in public service in the city, to success in business, sports, and in the arts. As time goes by, I will be adding pictures, news articles, and other material about Camden High School.

If you have any material that you would like to see posted on this page, PLEASE contact me by e-mail.

Phil Cohen

Transcribed from the printed book; the scan files that would carry this text are not in the mirror.

We, the members of the Purple and Gold Committee, respectfully submit this new and interesting edition of the yearbook to the June Class of Nineteen Hundred and Thirtyone. In planning this yearbook we have endeavored to incorporate in its pages as much of our life in Camden High School as possible. We sincerely hope that in the future you will derive as much pleasure from its records as we have had from its production.

GEORGE HOOD, Chairman
WILLIAM REED, Ex-Officio
JANE HUHN, Vice-Chairman

Transcribed from the printed book; the scan files that would carry this text are not in the mirror.

JUNE SECTION

CLASS COLORS: Canary and Green
CLASS FLOWER: Yellow Rose
CLASS MOTTO: To The Stars Through Bolts And Bars

Transcribed from the printed book; the scan files that would carry this text are not in the mirror.

For Dr. Bryan the June Class of Nineteen Thirty-one holds the sentiments which have been those of graduating classes for thirty-two years, those of respect, honor, and love. Though he is departing from our midst, his influence upon our lives will remain.

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DEAR CLASSMATES:

We have now reached the peak of our high school career, and though we hate to see these wonderful days drawing to a close, it must be so. It is evident we can never re-live these days, but they will remain in our memories forever.

As we look back over our three years at Camden High, we see little of importance in our "rookie" year, but in our junior year things started to happen. The crowning features of that year were our Junior Play and our School Party. As we entered our senior year we had our Senior Prom and at the close of the term, the Senior Play.

Having finished our course at Camden High we must all go out into the world, striving for either a prosperous business life or a professional career. The associations with our many dear classmates and inspirations received from our helpful advisers will, I am sure, prove a wonderful asset in climbing the ladder of success.

In bidding farewell to our Alma Mater, let Us carry with us the impression that the best way to continue these delightful friendships is to affiliate ourselves with the Alumni Association. "Au revoir" and good luck to the June 1931's!!

William Reed

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Transcribed from the printed book; the scan files that would carry this text are not in the mirror.

BILL REED was peregrinating through a dark forest one warm evening in June. At regular and uniform periods he urged his antiquated Ford to a higher frequency of spasmodic movements. In the conveyance were several of his more beloved classmates, including Ruth Brooks, Mildred Abrams, Evelyn Cole, Art Wright and Max Bukstel.

Annie, as Bill had lovingly dubbed the vehicle, was painfully ascending a steep incline. (Probably the Hill of Difficulty.) Her motivity was aspirate, uncertain and variegated. She seemed to be saying, "I guess—I won't; I hope— I do; I won't—I can't; I wonnn—I—I—I guess—I will; I did—I did, I did, I did, I made it."

The party was on the downward path and Annie, like the most of us, found travel in that direction comparatively smooth going.

Traveling with a velocity of twenty-four miles an hour, and an acceleration of two miles an hour per second, Detroit's declared supreme product proceeded down the proclivity.

Ahead loomed a large portentious arch bedecked in the dirge color. Beside it stood a mournful man whom Ruth immediately recognized as Jacob Waldman.

“Hello, Jake,” she flung at him as the car flashed into the foreboding shadow beneath the arch. Quite inanely he responded in a morose tone, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." His remark was lost in the hurry of the moment, and Bill and the rest continued into the beyond.

Soon their eyes became accustomed to the comparative darkness. To the right were beautiful trees and flowers; to the left was a precipitous precipice.

As they progressed, the flowers became more beautiful and the chasm deeper, the light lessened, and their velocity increased.

By this time, quite alarmed, the girls were murmuring “Mother, mother, mother, etc." The boys were applying their interests and efforts to the problem of bringing Annie to a standstill. The wheels continued to revolve although the brakes were against them. Art deduced "that the contending forces not being equal, equilibrium could not exist."

Locomotion, finally though gradually, ceased. A grayish pallor hung everywhere and an ominous stench pervaded the atmosphere. "Why," exclaimed Evelyn, "the River Styx!" "We know it," replied Max, "but we can't help it."

There were multitudes crowded on the banks waiting to cross the slimy stream. Among those present were discerned Elizabeth Hill, Mary Gurtcheff, Minerva Green, Ed Stepler, Leon Zawisza, Dominick Vittori and Leo Piccioni. Brothers Perks, Smires, Ott and Merkle were doing guard duty along the bank and were ably superintended by a huge giant, Gordon Lowden, who was often seen spitting sparks and giving orders to the men.

An old, old man with flowing beard and hair, that must have been Bob Geverd, was reading Milton's Poems. Quite disgrunted at this interruption, he sourly gazed at the amazed sextet. "Well," he inquired in the voice disconsolate, "are you ready to go over?"

“We're ready for anything,” said Bill, “but is there room in Hades for my car?.”

“Yes, special provision has been made for such machines as yours,” laconically remarked the ferryman.

They embarked, Annie and all, and as they approached the opposite shore they saw a monstrous three-headed dog with vicious and brutal faces that resembled Ralph Carr's, Frank Halpin's and Walter Higgins'. (Cerebrus.) He was chained to a large rock, and thus rendered much less dangerous than he appeared.

Bob Harris was denied the privilege of crossing when a saxophone was discovered about his person, that might have passed for a meerschaum pipe.

To one side of the broad highway was a pit in which students were laboriously doing problems in Darrow, answering questions flicked at them by four familiar physics teachers, and drawing generators, motors and the like with great mental exertion. Thomas Sink, Ruth Robinson, Thomas Hughes, Charlotte Tomkins, Ruth Connor, Helen Pratt, Ronald Dennis and Benjamin Kasten had chosen this as punishment to atone for the sin (?) of making disparaging remarks about their teachers in high school.

In still another pit had been relegated Marie Aharon, Carlin Wentzell, Avis Anderson, Beatrice Beideman, Joe Tomaselli, Beatrice Marcus, Sidney Freedman, and Gertrude Koeller for insulting old folks and taking candy from babies. Frank Russo, Louise Scott and Bertha Blatt, whose greatest fault on earth was their inability to stop talking, had been bound and gagged and were forced to listen to lectures given by Sylvia Harris and Alex Stoyco.

Jimmy Smith, Clif Toye, Sam Wyatt, Irvin Nittinger, John Benton, Al Lustgarten, Walter Duffield, Ed Gallob, bluffers extraordinaire, were suffering intolerable throes of agony, inflicted by the Avenging Furies, Mary Blair, Frank Dovi, Eleanor McLean, Frances Morris, Albert Fields, Jennie Lawyer, George Sparrow and Herman Nussbaum.

Bill Andrews, Bob Hunt, Harry Schwab, Conrad Ahrens, Jack Dougherty, Chic Blom— the conceited "eggs"— were made to wear incommodious orthopedic necessities, the excruciating pangs of which convulsed their self-panegyrized profiles.

Such eulogized and generally esteemed people as Dottie Pancoast, Bob Banyard, Ethel Garwood and Betty Johnson, Sammy McDermott, Betty Paul, Dot Fox, Jane Huhn, Dorothy Pendexter, Connie Fish and Charles Stevenson were bereft of names, recognizance, traits; and, where their mentalities warranted it, reason. They were labeled with odd numbers in the upper thousands to obviate the possibility of memoranda of the digits, and consigned to oblivion.

George Hood, Sylvia Weinstein, Helen Crombie, Gordon Jacobs, Reba Stein, Althea Yeager, William Heine, Gertrude Koehler, Alex Price and Bertha Kunkel (the Honor Students) were conspicuous by their absence, having taken their places among the gods, demigods, tingods and demagogues.

Ed Snow, Carl Carlson, Phil Rehmus, Lorence Blomquist, Ed Eggart, Harry Schard, Kuk Zaleski and Earle Mooney, those superlative athletes, cavorted on Elysian Fields.

Annie and her contents were greatly flabbergasted to see the sour expressions on the countenances of the sweet Marie Shaefer, Emilia Troni, Anna Petersen, Edythe Greenberg, Marguerite Cummings, Edith Wenz, Marie Weiss and Daisy Rittenhouse who were demurely plucking daisies to ornate the heads of forgotten lovers, neighbors, classmates, teachers, tax collectors and such whom we have at various times assigned to perdition.

Crash, bang, smack, plooie, piffle, bing—(a blank period).

And then it dawned upon them. Annie, completely demolished, lay a bruised and broken thing. Bill, with Ruth on one arm and a stray differential on the other, revived sufficiently long enough to moan, "Where am I?"

Evelyn Cole, who was gracefully draped over the cross-arm, languidly deciphered the markings of the sign which supported her.

—Three miles to Marlton!—

ROBERT GEVERD

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Transcribed from the printed book; the scan files that would carry this text are not in the mirror.

The Purple and Gold Committee dedicates this page to those who have advertised in this book. The Committee urges all students and friends of the school to extend their patronage to the advertisers whose names appear in the following list: