Volume XII SPRACUE ELECTRIC LOG, DECEMBER 2k 1949 Number it

Top to BottomKathleen Cassidy, niece of

Mary Burro of Soldering.

Donald W. Walsh, son ofDonald Walsh who is a checkinspector in Ceramics.

Marcia O'Crady, daughterof Bill O'Grady of Molding.

Daryl Lee Roy, son of EthelRoy of the F. P. Department.

Top to Bottom

Frank Hewitt, Ron of NellieHewitt of P.A.A.StoveSolder.

Patty Lampiasi, grand-daughter of Dorothy Mar-lowe of Paper Ignition andBeatrice Lawson of Dry Roll-ing.

Paul LeSage, HOII of Helenof Dry Tubular Finish.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY FOR EMPLOYEES OF SPRAGUE ELECTRIC COMPANY

Page 2 SPRAGUE ELECTRIC LOC December 21, 1949

PUBLISHING STAFF

Editor: Mary Connelly As no date Editor: Dorothy SpragueCirculation: Marion Caron Social Chairman: Ann Heath

ASSISTANT EDITORS

Kit Carson, Tom Cullen, Dan Kelly, Peter Mancuso, Jim Oldham, Et taOwen and Laurence Haskins.

Sports ,/t^m^ Plant EditorKenneth Russell ^ j ^ j ^ n Marshall Street: Cecile Trudeau

Photographer \3/ Plant EditorAl Horstall ^ ^ Brown Street: Bertha Vaughan

BEAVER STREET REPORTERSJulia Abraham, Susan Bishop, Annette Boudreau, Joan Bryce, Doris Charon,

Harry Embry, Mildred Faiistini, Natalie Garafano,Doris Grinka,Hazel Goodale,Florence Harris, Ruth Haskins, Marjorie Hauptfleisch, Ruth Kelly, Joan LaPierre, Velma Lincoln, Frances Melito, Donald Raina, Nick Richardello,Florence Soulhgale, Shirley Thoros, Harry Trombley, Roseann Yigna, JohnWalsh, and Marge Wittig.

MARSHALL STREET REPORTERSExilda Ctillahan, Mary Daniels, Ida Gigliotti, Mabel Harvey, Laurence j OLSEN-ROWLE^

Hiser, Isabelle Hyndnran, Virginia Kemp, Mario Magnani, Emma Mutart,Miles O'Grady, Kdward O'Neil, Cecile Risch, Roma Rurngay, James Shea.

BROWN STREET REPORTERSMarion Andrews, Carol Bellard, Phyllis Brooks, Mary Bua, Janet Cady,

Josephine Campedelli, Marie DeMarsico, John Davis, Charles Felix, VictorGay, Lenore Harrington, Ann Heath, Elizabeth Jangrow, Georgiemae Joy,Gladys Kirkpatrick, Helen Lesure, Maria Mancini, Mary Markland, RitaSamia, Rita Siciliano, Anna St Cvr, Blanche Tatro, Corena Tatro, ConnieUrbano, and Isabel Witherow.

"Every Sprague Worker an Assistant Reporter"

BLAKE-MARCOUX

Miss Theresa M. Marcoux, daughterof Mr. and Mrs. Andre Marcoux. was M a p s h a | | S t p e e t W a r e h o u s e

married to Ernest L.Blake of Williams- a n d R e c e j v i n g a n d

NoTlWctr I" ThVtS' t ' " ™ | '"^Ct i°"By E. Mutart

There's an old saying thai morepeople get crooked from trying to avoidhard work than become bent from too

case of loin Martin. It 's well over amonth and a half since lorn has beenable to stand in an up-right position.After watching the men walking t hegirders during the construct ion of t henew boiler house Tom remarks, "Noth-ing to it." As we all know Tom is asort of a handy man and as the even-ings are not long enough, Tom with theaid of an ever-ready flashlite, stub-bornly refused to give up repairinghis garage roof. One step backwards,off the staging goes Tom. Crash.

employed in D.T.Q. Rolling.

MARLOW DeMEO

Miss Angela Maria DeMeo, daughterof Mr. and Mrs. Anthony DeMeo, andDonald Arthur Marlow, son of Mrs.Owen Marlow, were married onNovember 12, at the home of Justiceof the Peace James H. Qllinn. Thebride works in Section 'Test.

ilnltn IGintifi Ban 2elm

Employes of the Sprague ElectriCompany extend sympathy to Mr. anMrs. R. C. Sprague and members (their family on the death of MrsSpraguc's father, Mr. fohn Louis YaZelm.

Mr. Van /elm, who had been ill losome time, died on December 11 iNew Rochelle, N. Y. He was a nativof Rotterdam, Holland, but had spenall his adult life in the business airbanking fields in the United StatesAt one time, Mr. Van Zelm served aPresident of the Netherlands Cliambeof Commerce in New York and, i1(M8, was decorated by Queen Willumina of the Netherlands and appointsan honorary officer in the Order <Orange Nassau.

Miss Anne Elizabeth Rowley,daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James I..Rowley, became the bride of ArthurGeorge Olson, son of Mr. and Mrs.Arthur F. Olsen of Brooklyn, N. Y. onNovember 26, in St. Francis1 Church.Both the bride and groom work in theResearch and Engineering Depart-ment at Marshall Street.

Published by the SPRAGUE ELECTRIC CO., North Adams, Mass Births

The LO(i thanks each of you for your cooperation

and interest during the past year and wishes you

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Results X-rays, 3 broken ribs, lornligaments and a very definite bentposition. "Nothing to i t ," says Tom.

As time goes ()l1 more about ("assSanecki our new coach of the GirlsBasketball Team. Good luck, Cass.Think you could use a walkie-talkie?

Whenever B. Boyer asked DannyGardzina to drive the jeep, his lacewould light up and a smile would

SON, to Mr. and Mrs. Bernard spread from ear to ear. We wonderedRobert on December 13. The father i what caused the transformation untilworks in Test Construction. o n e morning after an unexplained

absence he came in waving a pink slip."1 got it. I goi it. Boy, was Inervous." We didn't realize whatchances we were taking he waspracticing for his license.

Just ask Yi Spagnolo who has thebest television set in our depar tment! ! !

Everyone at one time or another hashis day, and it seems that two verysuccessful men in our department hadtheirs during deer season. Jim Harveyduring the Vermont season shot an8 point buck weighing 145 lbs., andFrank Chilson a 140 lb. doe at Mon

DAUGHTER, to Mr. and Mrs.William Collette on November 30.The father is employed in Foil Prepara-tion.

DAUGHTER, to Mr. and Mrs.Mel wood R. Downs on November 21.The mother is Angelina of P.A.A.

Engagements

Ann has a unique hobby, too. Shecalls it her television in colors. Shebreeds .tropical fish which are beautifuland relaxing to watch thus making herhobby both healthful and practical.

Clara is a firm believer in the applea-day theory. And, speaking of apples,I want to thank Don for the apple Iate thinking it was Clara's. It wasgood anyway.

Frankie, you are no Vaughan Monroebut keep on singing. We'll grin andbear il.

Time marches on! In the old daysa fellow walked his girl to work. Nowthe girls walks the boy friend to workhey, Wally?

Ray u>vi\ to have a gleam in his eyeat thoughts of becoming a daddy. Nowhe has the tired look from walking thefloor, but he says it's worth it and ishappy about it all.

Bargain CounterAnyone wishing a ride from Adams

on the six to two-thirty shift get intouch with Jerry La Roche of theF. P. Drys.

Al Horsfall will be out early and lategetting Christmas and New Year'spictures for those who want them.Telephone 3363-M.

Christmas Cards Committee Chairman

If you don't want to .save your R o b e r t C- S P r a * u e ' J r" Labor Rela-Christmas (' Is ke t h e n to ! t ' o n s Advisor for Sprague Electricthe Beaver Street Dispensary for Company, has been appointed Chair-use in Foreign Missions. Stamps m a n of t h e National Affairs Committeet o o , of the North Adams Chamber of

Commerce.

terey, Mass. Not Bad!Sincerely wish a speedy recovery to

Arlene Wynn, wife of Jim, who wasrecently a patient at the North AdamsHospital.

This morning from behind thecartons we heard the lovely strains ofWhite Christinas. Charlie Bourdon,who has up until the present had thetitle of the best singer, had better watchRalph Fressolo, who is very success-fully giving him keen competition.

CeramicsBy Ida Gigliotti

To all the new employees in the De-partment a sincere welcome and thewish that they will enjoy working withus.

We want Alma to know that weappreciate her, too. She has a hobby jmaking artificial flowers which are verypretty and make a good substitutefor the real thing.

Automatic RollingBy Choo-Choo

Jim Modena returned from a week'svacation spent at'home recently.

Allie Bates is on vacation and isconfined to his home with the grippe.

John LaDame is back after a seigeof grippe.

John Raby celebrated his birthday onDecember eighth.

Herb Palmer certainly is seeing a lotOf the United States and Canada sincehe got his car.

Larry Roberts has been very nervouslately. We found that he is leachinghis wife how to drive.

We have i\i-c\(\(H\ to buy our Fore-man, Norman Chenail, a gasolinelantern to hang over his desk for use ondark days.

Have you finished your Christmasshopping? Better hurry if you haven't.

Fight T.B. BUN Christmas sealstoday.

Yours truly,Choo-Choo

Nancy Anne Pinsonneault, niece of Frank Estes of the Maintenance Department; Bette Jean Russell, daughter of Arthur Russell who was formerly of the Hearing Aid Depart-nent, and granddaughter of Hazel Russell of F. P. Drys; Judy Polak, Mark Polak and Chris Wiejazka, nieces and nephew of Emily Wlodyka of Resistors; Billy Cimmonetti,;randson of Sophia Duperault of kVA Stockroom; Albert Messina, Jr., nephew of Esther Vitro of Dry Tubular Finish and of Teresa Vitro of Dry Rolling.

Weddings

Mrs. Preziosa Solari of Adams has

announced the engagement of herdaughter, Carmen Therese, to RobertJ. Curry. The announcement wasmade at a dinner at Florini's ItalianGardens and the wedding will takeplace in the spring. Bob is employedin Check Inspection and his fiancee isemployed by General Electric inPittsfield.

SOCIAL SECURITY DEDUCTIONSis increased from \' < to \\% of ourearnings. Every cent that we payis matched by our employer who, oncea month, sends the employe's and theCompany's contributions to the Col-lector of Internal Revenue. Thismoney goes into a special fund in theUnited States Treasury from whichFederal Old-Age and Survivors In-surance benefits are paid.

The pink slips which will be in-cluded with our first 1 <>50 pay checkswill explain the change in the SocialSecurity Pay Deductions.

The Social Security Administrationhas changed the- 1% Social Securitytax, which is deducted from our wages,to \\% becommg effective on January1, 1950.

This means I hat our share of the(Government Social Security Program

December 21, 1949 SPRAGUE ELECTRIC LOG Page 3

Sales Office

M i s s Loyo la Fi tzpatr ick will e n j o yher yearly vacation at home the weekbefore Christinas. How about doingour Xmas shopping Loyola?

(> lbs. - 3 ounces, and he's mynephew. Mrs. Gina Sauve is theproud aunt of a baby boy. Thechild's father is Mr. Primo Poggi ofWilliamstown.

The 64 dollar question of the month.1 low does Paul Fern rate? The small-est car yet the largest bevy of girls totransport.

What's this we hear, "Bill" Carltontried to drive his car from the righthand side. The "old chap" mustthink he has an English car. Forfurther details ask "Tom" Cullen.

If Santa doesn't gel around to yourhouse on Christmas Eve, he probablygot stuck in Mrs. Doris RennelTs dollhouse chimney.

P.S. Here's hoping Santa brings"frugal" "Fritz" Windover a pen forChristmas.

Paper Ignition AssemblyBy Doris Charon

Our Christmas party in Decemberat Petey Dink's gave us the Christinasspirit ahead of time. Everyone had awonderful time.

Alphonse LaFountain started thegang off by singing "Jingle Bells".Harry Carpenter sang "Mule 'T ra in" soman\ times that Melva Heelan dreamtabout it all night. Charles I )esrosiers,another guest at the party, led a fewof us in the "Conga Line" as well as asquare set. Lloyd Bullett was ratherquiet but , then, who wouldn't bealter sitting in the snow all day wailingfora deer that didn't show up. Twelveo'clock came for all of us too quickly.

Marion Scott is learning to drive in ared car. Doesn't that signify "danger" ,Marion?

We shamed Ray Blair into givingback his little daughter 's pencil sharp-ener and now he's 'borrowing' her lacehandkerchiefs.

Dry Tubular FinishBy

M. Hauptfleisch and M. FaustiniEsther Vitro enjoyed a week's vaca-

tion in New York last week.Rita Johnson and (Ylia Wegrzyn are

having their vacations.We congratulate Bob Curry, our

check inspector, on his engagement toMiss Carmen Solari of Adams and ex-tend our best wishes to both of them.

We welcome Gina Trent! to the de-

Merry Christmas and Happy NowYear to all!

Dry RollingBy Ruth Kelley

My, my, you never know what isgoing to be on display in this depart-ment. Sometimes it's diamond rings,knitting, snapshots and other hobbies.This month, it's EARS — all sizes andshapes. About nine of the girls hadtheir ears pierced, thanks to "Dr.O'Neil" who is our own MarjorieO'Neil.

Hilly Collette came to work thismorning all smiles. When asked whyhe was so happy, he informed us he hadjust had a bouncing baby girl. That'sokay, Billy, we extend congratulationsto you and Mrs. Collet te.

There were no successful deerhunters in our department. The fel-lows said they could have gotten a feweasily but they thought they were alittle too small and will wait until nextyear for them to grow.

Lillian Williams is walking aroundwith a smug look on her face. Perhapswe will know what it is all about whenthe next issue conies out.

Keep the condensers rolling, girls,and buy U. S. Saving Bonds.

Misc. Paper FinishBy Velma Lincoln

Birthday greetings to Ruth Arrighiniand Velma Lincoln whose birthdayscame on the same day.

Gertrude Deso spent the Thanks-giving holidays in Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Ruth Arrighini's sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Miles, each shota deer. Gertrude's Hall's friend, StanleyNoel, got a bear and a deer. StanleyKendrick, brother of Bertha Jenningsand Frances Solari, also got a deer.Nice work!

Mary Zito and Helen Harrington areout on their vacation. Their song isthe reverse version of "The Good OldSummer 'Time."

The department sends their sym-pathy to Elizabeth Kenney whose sisterpassed away in Hartford, Conn.

Maud Waska and Anna Downeyare busy getting the Christmas Partyready for the children. 'They bothlike children and enjoy doing the job.

I A Merry Christmas and a HappyNew Year to all!

ResistorsBy Chick and Chuck

I Fred Powers opened the Vermontdeer season in good style. He baggeda 4-point buck weighing 175 poundson opening day.

Mary Carnohan has returned homefrom the North Adams Hospital whereshe had an operation. Hurry back toresistors, Mary, we miss you.

Some folks have to wait until Tues-day to hear Milton Berle, but we have

I Victor Gay at the casting table every-day and his stories are much better.

Industrial Oil RollingBy Helen Lesure

If you walk down the aisle to the firstrow of rolling machines, the secondmachine over you will find a cutebrunette who is new in the department.She is Eda Pinsonneault and a veryfriendly gal. Welcome, Eda. Anothernew girl on our welcome list is LenoreHarrington who is the clerk in thedepartment.

We went in the air-conditioned roll-ing room and viewed a fine bit of draw-ing that Mamie Sweeney's son, Bill,did. Other parents with talented;hildren are Bernie Stackpoole whosedaughter, Pat, wields the brush in finestyle and Aha Oakes whose son, Gary,does the same. I think we shouldhave an art exhibit so everyone cansee these works of art.

Ida Manson spent her vacation inNew York City. The lucky girl sawand heard Tony Martin and FrankSinatra. I wish I could have beenthere to swoon with her. She alsotook in the Ice Follies and some hockeygames. Next time take us, Ida.

Bernie Fitzpatrick stalked the woodsof Cheshire for deer during his week'svacation. Bernie said he did all thatstalking for nothing but had a good,relaxing time while at it. Lena Nicolaand Guido Libardoni were our goodnatured slave drivers during Bernie'sabsence.

To Nellie Hall: We miss her humour,we miss her smile. In fact, we missher all the while. So shake that sick-ness — do get well. 'That is our pleato our "Little Nell".

Inasmuch as this is the Yule issueof the LOG, your reporter wishes youall a Happy Christmas and a MerryNew Year.

Molded Tubulars andPAA Line

By Rita Samia and Mary BuaWe all want to wish Bea Hill a happy-

birthday and may she have many,many more. She celebrated her six-teenth birthday on December twenty-first.

Birthday greetings, too, to AlicePedercini who celebrated hers onDecember second. Many more to you,

We wish Bea Gibeau loads of luckand happiness in moving into her newhome. How does it feel, Bea? Youreally look like a new bride.

Welcome, Richard DiLorenzo, to thePAA Line. Please have a little patiencewith us — we really enjoy having youwith us.

We are sorry to have you leave us,Mel Scalise. The girls miss you.

We welcome the new girls on theResealing Line. We hope you likeworking with us.

Margaret Perrault recently attendedthe wedding of her brother. LillianThomas attended her sister's wedding,

Industrial Oil andFinal Assembly

By Georgiemae JoyDave Archambo has the new look.

Molded TubularsFinal Soldering and Resealing

By The Busy BeesCongratulations are in order for

Miss Jennie Battory who is now wear-ing a beautiful diamond on the thirdfinger of her left hand. Good wishesfrom all of us.

Could there be a budding romance onour line? How about giving us thedetails, 'Theresa and Johnnie?

Mary Therrien should get a patenton her laugh. There are not many whocould duplicate it.

The latest talk on our line is "Sup-pose I'll go on a diet. I'm putting onmore weight." How main1 calories aday are we allowed?

Mae O'Neil really has them on theirtoes with her wisecracks. She muststay awake nights thinking them up oris it Milton Berle's show?

We will miss Mae Szetela on days.She really kept the girls laughing.

Mr. and Mrs. George Shakar whowere married on October 8. Thebride is Clara Baliakos of Dry Koll-injj.

Molded Tubulars-Day ShiftBy The Two Eyelets

November ninth was an eventful dayin the lines of Molded Tubular girls.A new bubble gum machine was in-installed. Vinnie Matranga had theprivilege of being first to use it, andVirginia Thompson was the lucky girlwho won a prize for being the first toget a red colored piece of gum.

Believe it or not, we have a FlashCordon working with us. Work getsdone when Vincent Matranga getsgoing. Isn't that right, girls?

ile is now minus his moustache. • It must have been the effects of tooNew cars seem to be the fad in the | m u c h Thanksgiving dinner thai caused

KVA. The new owners are Roma M a r>' LaFrance to have such a limeKing, Joe Menard and Kenny Russell, getting a good working position the

,,T , . . T , , . ,,T day after. Eh, Mary?Welcome back to Joe (.uertin. We ,IT „ ' .

. . . , i i • u We offer our deepest sympathy toare all happy to have you back with us, ' . " .T Mabel Williams whose mother diedJoe. .

, . | recently.Eleanor King is also on a buying l r ene Walker won a 20-pound turke>

spree. How's the new refrigerator, j f()r T h a n k s g i v i n g . W i l h j u s t t w o j n

Eleanor? t h e f amiiy> s h e w;n b e eating turkey forThe line is quiet now that Humphrey a year.

has left the room. There are no more Lorraine Demo was another luckygames of ping-pong at rest period or winner — a six-pound chicken. Shedinner time. w a s bewildered when they told her it

was undressed, but it turned out to be! well-dressed.

Diane Lewis, niece of Rita Johnson of Dry Tubular Finish; Cynthia Lueier, cousin of Marjorie Hauptfleisch of Dry Tubular Finish; Jean and Diane Dupras, nieces of DorothyDupras of D.T.Q.; Marilyn and Diane Gallese, nieces of Isabel Peters of the Main Office, Beaver Street; Madeline Dupee, daughter of Ernie who is Supervisor in M.I'.F.;Vincent Lively, son of Isabelle of Dry Rolling, observing the sixtieth wedding anniversary of his greatgrandparents.

Wire CoatingBy Corena Tatro

We hear tell these girls did somegadding about over last weekend;Lucille Miller went to Schenectady,Helen Burdick and Sue Galipeau wentto Springfield to see the Ice Show. Itmust have been good from all we hearabout it.

Here's hoping Betty Jangrow is en-joying her winter vacation.

Will Eva Faour and Peg Durnin sharethe rust colored sweater they areknitting? We sometimes wonder justwho owns it.

Where are all the hunters we usedto boast about? Are they still huntaing? All Paul Sanford caught was -cold in his hip.

Committee MemberPeter Mancuso is on the Clinic

Committee which is arranging a Berk-shire County Junior Swimming Leagueof boys ranging in age from twelve tosixteen. The League includes boysfrom North Adams, Pittsfield andDalton.

(iuest speakers on the Clinic areJoseph Rogers, Swimming Coach,University of Massachusetts; CharlesSilvia, Swimming Coach, SpringfieldCollege; Paul S. Graham, SwimmingCoach, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-tute; Albert B. Muir, Swimming Coach,Williams College; and Edmond J.Mongeon, Director Safety Services ofBerkshire County Red Cross.

Page 4 SPRAGUE ELECTRIC LOG December 24, 1949

SPORTS . . . Kenny Russell

BASKET-SHOTS WITH THESPRAGUE LASSIES:

This year the Sprague Lassies opentheir basketball season with a game atBennington on December 18. The)'will oppose a team known as the"Uncle Mitch".

Under the able guidance of theirnew Coach, "Cazz" Sanecki, and theexperience gained in last year's play,the girls enter the season's campaignwith a great deal of spirit and confid-ence. Coach Sanecki is well qualifiedfor tlie job since he has been a familiarfigure lor years—participating in orassociating with athletics. His ex-perience will greatly enhance the team'schances, and his leadership will be ofgreat value.

The Manager this year is none otherthan our Safety Engineer, "Art"Mathews. As a publicity man andarranger ol games the team couldn'thave done better. Art is well knownthroughout the area and his genialpersonality will win him many friends.

Six veterans are with the club thisyear and they are: "Vishy" Wisnow-ski, star forward and high scorer forthe team; Laddie Mirante, Lois Green,Jeanelte Roy, Lorraine Damon, andMarge Wit tig. New faces are "Dot"D'Arcangelo, "Pa t " (iilmore, FranMelito, Joan LaPierre, "Sis" Perenick,and Barbara Campedelli.

Alter the first ol the year, the homeopener will be played at Drury Gym.and arrangements are underway tobring in the Amherst "Acerettes".

WINTER SPORTSDEER SEASON

The opening day ol the season herein Massachusetts was the best inyears plenty of snow (some hunterssaid too much) and temperatures justright lor the outdoorsman. The areawas quite free ol accidents. Con-gratulations to all who were successfulthis year, and better luck next year tothose who simply went out to enjoyMother Nature's grandeur. At thenext issue we will attempt to have alist ol some ol the lucky Spraguehunters.

Skiing -- In Northern Vermont, andespecially at Middlebury College, ski-ing has been enjoyed for the past threeweeks with anywhere from two tothree feet ol snow. The outlook lorWinter Sports outdoors is a vast im-provement over last year. Alas, yehardy motorist! The snow whichblanketed this area for a few days hasdisappeared—leaving the skiers wait-ing patiently for the next downfall.

WILLIAMS COLLEGE SPORTS

Basketball -- Williams has alreadyplayed two contests to date and havedropped both encounters.

In the opener of the season, CoachAl Shaw's veteran quintet bowed be-fore Union at Schenectady. The gamewas a thriller all the way with theGarnet men icing the contest from thefree throw lane in the dying momentsof the game. Score was 50-47.

The second game for the "Eph"men took place in Hartford againstTrinity. The opening half found the"Purple" out in front by 6 points.However Trinity roared back in thethird quarter to rack up a commandinglead that was just too much for Wil-liams to overcome. The final scorewas 57-52.

The North Adams State TeachersCollege has done O.K. on the court sofar this season. After dropping theopener to A.I.C. in an out of town en-counter, Coach Doran's boys have wonthree in a row at home and away. Thelocal college towners have a greatopportunity to win the New EnglandCrown among the State Teachers. Col-lege Sports are becoming bigger atNorth Adams State Teachers than atany other time and they need your sup-port. The clash between Williamsand the Local "Profs" will be some-thing to see this year.

At this time on behalf of PeterMancuso, Charles Felix, MargaretWit tig, (Secretary of the girls' bowlingleague), Bernard Fitzpatrick, (Secre-tary of the men's bowling league) wewish each and everyone a Very MerryChristmas and A HAPPY NEWYEAR.

Swimming -- Once again the"Purple Ducks" will have a veterantank array and have an excellentchance to successfully defend thecoveted New England Title. CoachBob Muir has had his charges workingout in Lasell Pool for the past few weeksin preparation for the coming season.With the exception of Lambert theentire squad from the previous yearwill be back intact.

Hockey -- The hockey and squashseasons are about to begin and all arelooking forward to a good season. Morein next issue.

The Girls* Basketball Team which will go into action this year under the coaching of ('.ass Zanecki andthe managership of Art Mathews. Standing, left to right: Art Mathews, Laddie Meranti, Kay Perenick,Joan LaPierre, Lois Greene, Lorraine Damon, Coach Zanecki. Kneeling, left lo right: Jeannette Roy, FranMelito, Vishy Wisniowski, Pat (iilmore. Dot D'Arcangelo and Marge Wit tig.

NORTHERN BERKSHIREBASKETBALL

Although the season has not officiallybegun here in the Berkshires, most ofthe high schools have been playingexhibition tilts with teams from otherloops in Western Massachusetts.

Local St. Joseph has already playedfour games and has not fared too bad-ly—winning two.

Drury has played two coniests todate—both out of town court gameswith Troy High, New York and LenoxHigh in Lenox. In the opener the"Blue Devils" were edged out in thefinal quarter by Troy 37-32.

Adams looms as the team to beatand in their only game to date werevery impressive. They downed Benn-ington, a non-league opponent, withapparent ease.

Pittsfield High is a question markbut the feeling is that if they can getby Adams that they will have a goodchance to cop the crown.

In summing the whole thing up —our prediction is that the crown willrest among the big three—Adams,Drury and Pittsfield.

THE SQUARE RING

Former heavyweight champion,Maxie Baer, made an announcementthat he is entering the professionalwrestling game. Baer is now spendinghis time learning wrestling holds. Helost his title to James J. Braddock in1935.

After looking at the beating thatPar Valentino received from Joe Louis,Lee Oma has refused to fight Joe in a"no decision contest".

Louis started his exhibition boutsby going four rounds using 16-ouncegloves —• then lengthening the roundsto ten and using 10-ounce gloves. Itdoes look as if Louis is getting ready tofight for the title again.

Yern Mitchell outpointed Ted Lowry.Doc Williams' losing to Archie Mooreagain left the Berkshire fight fans in asad mood. The fans remember thefight Doc put up against Willie Beanand couldn't see him miss in this re-match. The story behind the scene isthat Doc has a new manager.

— Peter Mancuso

SHINING BLADES

The curtain lor the skating seasonwill be rising any day now so we offera few tips for the youngsters:

1. Check your skates and see if theyneed sharpening. A dull pair of skatescan take all the pleasure out of skating.

2. lie sure your shoe skates lit.Weak ankles can often be traced toshoes that are two and three sizes toolarge. Skaters who wear shoes thatfit seldom have weak ankles.

3. Take it easy until you get diefeel of the ice and can balance yourselfwithout aid.

4. Remember to skate witli thecrowd clockwise.

5. After you get the feel of the ice,try following some of the slower skatersto get on to stroking.

6. After you get the stroke undercontrol, you can try to master figureor speed skating. If it's speed you areafter, I would suggest that you startfollowing someone who is just a littlefaster than yourself.

7. Always remember, it's easy to bea good winner and that no one likesa hard loser.

-Charles Felix

OFFICE WORKERS' DINNER, NOVEMBER 30

Newly elected officers and members of the Banquet Committee. Standing, left to right: Harold Twitchell, Grievance Board Member; Peter llorbal. Banquet Committee;Tommy Dion, Treasurer; Nick Carter, President; George LaBomhard, Grievance Board member. Seated, left to right: Ray Mahar, Grievance Committee Chairman; Alice Goni-eau, Secretary; Emma Underwood, Vice-President; Irene Chouinard, Banquet Committee.

Part of the large group which attended the Office Workers' Banquet, sponsored by the Office Workers' Union, on November 30, at Clarksburg Sportsmen's Club.