From old notebooks I kept a few excerpts give the flavor of 1954:

Dec. 7 ['54]  Knocked Buncie [Eugene Bunce, class of ‘55] down playing hockey & he was unconscious. Put ice on his face & woke him up.  Pete Marnane and Siegel took him to the doctors & said possible concussion & suffering from shock

Dec. 20, 1954 – stay home from school in the morning & print Roe’s picture again. . . .  Uncle Tom [Pickering, suicide] died in the morning.  I did a synopsis of Julius Caesar.

Dec. 21, 1954 (?) Ma found out about Uncle Tom’s suicide and cried all day in the hospital. [She was in a mental hospital for attempted suicide.]

“I wept because I had no shoes

Then I met a man who had no feet”

23^rd  Uncle Tom's wake. Go skating. Dobkins.

25^th  Open presents  3 shirts, wallet, belt.

Dr. Laughead predicted end of the world in ‘55 and tidal wave Tue. Dec. 21

Dec. 28  Meet O’mitty [Awny O'Mitty, Boy Scout leader] who offers his ‘40 Pontiac for nothing .  Go look at Cucaracha [the brown Pontiac]. Battery needs charge and accelerator needs fixing. Today & yesterday were exceptionally warm & wasp eggs hatched in the attic.

Dec. 31, 1954.  Go down to Rocky’s.[Don Rockwell, '56]  Earl [Kruger, '56] went crazy and a friend of Rockies too.  Made tape recordings etc. Walk Earl home.  1:45 go to bed.

Jan 2, 1955.  Sunday -- president of Panama killed.

Jan. 10.  Argue with Pinkard about Wolfpack's organized for protection

               -- Costa Rica attacked by air

Jan 17-- listen to Pinkard & Pete [Merkel?] argue about hidden record book.

Jan 28, 1955.  Dougie & Cherry are asking me whether I like Judy [Brown]

               (Dave calling and thinking about Carol Hincula)

Wed. Feb 2.  Write a book report on "Story Of Philosophy." Temp. 0 F

Feb 3  read "Story Of Oriental Philosophy" [by Will Durant]

Feb. 5 . . . down Hospital w/Pinkard, Geecho [Joe Bellafatto] & Dougie [Andrews] to see Porky.  Rocky broke ankle & we met him in the hospital

Feb 9 – Sat.. . . Y.C. [Youth Center] to Valentine's dance. I danced with Ceil [Snayd] most of the night. I think she likes me. 

Sunday – Ceil [Snayd, '57]apparently doesn't like me but I can't tell.

Mon - I'm not sure about Ceil. (Saw her at drugstore)

Feb 18 Carol doesn't like me.

               Lifting wedges [wood splitting wedges I used for weight lifting]

Sat. Feb 26 - I ate and I went with Pinkard to Amityville to get a lecturn & table for his Alabama church.

May 1955.  Ortiz [Wm] was painting the windows, porch & eaves.black & grey. He carries his ladders on his car roof. I tried my Spanish with him.

-- Hydroponics project

Sunday 22 May – caught 2 blacks [blackfish, rockfish] spearfishing at Tilley’s

Monday -- . . . I think that a girl likes me

--Betty working in Dobkins

--read Machiavelli

Wednesday June 1  -  at Dobkins I talked with Kay [Parks] about a girl

June 3^rd - 53 seniors clipped to go to Jones Beach.

June 6 – Pinkard had a fight with little Duffy & was hit in the head, bleeding all over chem lab.

June 7.  Pinkard apologized for his actions yesterday.

June 18 - spied on girls swimming in the dark at Tilley’s.

[In July and August I was in South Dakota on an archeological project. Tom Duck, '55] was on the crew there this year too. My mother sent the following news of Sea Cliff]

Guess you shaved if you went to a dance [in a little town on the Missouri. Tom didn't go but stayed in the camp]. What is wrong with Tommy, is he bashful? guess you will have to give him some private lessons.

Mrs. Duck and I call one another when we receive mail. She has had the Sea Cliff News sent to him so there is no need for me to send another.

From what we hear Richie [Loftus] and Duffy [Billy] received a suspended sentence.  The cops are dispersing the boys on the corner [Sea Cliff and Roslyn Avenues] again.  It sure is a shame as they don’t know where to spend these hot evenings.

We had a terrific thunder and lightning storm, one of the worst ever. It hit the diving platform at Stevenson’s causing $3,000 damage, plus putting out a lot of lights and striking many trees.  You have had tornadoes to the south and north of you I see.  Better batten down the latrine!

Tuesday morning they are to line the parking lot [recently paved on a vacant lot between our house on 12th Ave. and Sea Cliff Ave]. Many cars have been unable to get out as they park in back and front of the middle line. Butlers [next door neighbors] have offered us their garage which we use if necessary.

We are trying our best to break up that Marietta combination. [My brother Art was dating a girl named Mary Etta Belch, a Southern girl whose father was caretaker on the Post Estate.] After talking with the teachers, we feel it quite necessary. All the boys refuse to take him to Brookville and Ellie, Clancy and Paul [my adult cousins and their friend] were quite mad at her Sunday. SO why don't your brother get wise to himself. Maybe he would like the job as cook next summer. (Really don't think he would although he might like the chance to get out there.) Don't mention this to him as both Dad and I have been talking to him very seriously, more Dad than I as you know I get very upset.

Yanks and Brooklyn are still leading.

Well, Hon, the town is very quiet. No fireworks this year even.

Howie [Butler, '54] gets home nearly every weekend.  He says they are keeping them on the go and very much on the alert the past few weeks.

We saw Ed [Patterson, amateur archeologist] last week. Apparently he hasn't been digging as the materials are still in the hall. He said he hadn't heard from you and I think he is anxious to.

[Howard ‘56] Goldick is at the pavillion again, and Twink [Leckie, ‘56] is going to summer' school, Edith [Whitenack?], Pete Lawlor and Jack Whearty are work­ing in the new Cosy, Jimmie Whearty is working at Rogers. The Conlins [owners of Royal Scarlet deli, corner of 12^th and Roslyn Avenues] were asking for you.

[I couldn't find my camera before I left. My mother found it.] Drop Paul Weber a card and thank him for returning your camera to safe keeping. It was nice of him. You had us puzzled as we couldn't imagine how your camera got in the village safe.  What an absent minded professor you are! Better snap out of it or they will be digging up your bones one morning instead of the Indians. You'll forget to go home.