Appomattox State Agricultural School - Agricola Yearbook (Appomattox, VA)

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The first year in the Dormitory will always be remembered by everyone who was here, as being the happiest of all the years of dormitory life. It was more like our l1ome then, and we had much more pleasure than ever again. We enjoyed the winter sports a great deal, particularly skating on the icy cement walks, until one night HRunt Rice fell and his head broke the walk up so that we could not skate any more. It was this year that 'LJimmy 'Wim- bish and Nolan Gibson learned to dig up demerits. Then came Commencement, which was the end of our happy little circle. Many of our dear friends graduated and left us, never to return. It was a sad time-that last night of Comniencement-when we bade each other farewell, and our thoughts iiew rapidly back over the few happy months we had spent together at school. The most important feature of Commencement week, besides Senior night, was the Senior Play-Shakespeare's 'LHainlet -which plainly showed that the class had not been idlers, by any means. Our vacation passed quickly, and we soon found ourselves back at school again. lt is very different now. Vile have a new faculty, and a number of new students, some charming young maidens, and some wonderfully intelligent C525 young men from different counties of the State-particularly those who hail from Halifax and Amherst. ' Ernest is back again with his smiles and dimples, and 'LRunt Rice CI mean Professor Ricej returned with his kid brother. This kid is a wonder, too, not only in his classes, buteverywhere. There are three' young professors here this year, and they seem to enjoy playing Rook with the ladies in Mrs. Abbittls room, during the long winter evenings-judging from the hearty peals of laughter that reach the second floor, just when one is working out the hardest problem in the next day 's lesson. In the evenings, just after supper, the boys and girls gather in the recep- tion room and enjoy a few musical selections. Elliott 's splendid tenor blending harmoniously with the other voices, while his thoughts soar to the room just above. And shall we ever forget how Elsie blushed when Parson Moore played and sang his little song, 'tKisses One, Kisses Two '? At the beginning of the second term, some new students entered school, Frances Myers, Herman Bass, and our old friend, Yeadon Wimbish, returned, all of whom we were glad to welcome. ' We entertained a number of our friends, by giving a mid-winter reception in the Dormitory dining-hall, on the night of January 19, which marked the beginning of the new term. When war was declared, our boys responded to the call of their country, and although they knew they were leaving a good school and friends, they felt 48

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Dormitory Life was one of the first to arrive at the Dormitory on September ll, 1915. The first person I met, was Miss Nannie I, Foster, one of our I popular grade teachers. The next sight which attracted my atten- W5 tion was Mr. Ernest Shotwell setting his suitcase down on Mr, ,h Crawley 's front porch and ringing the door bell vigorously. Since I had come into town on No. 8-the most popular train which passed 5-'D . through Appomattox-supper-time soon arrived 5 then I met a number of young men and young girls, whom I later learned to love very dearly. This was Saturday, and school opened the following Monday. My roommate and I managed, somehow, to live through that Sunday, and were ready for school when the bell rang hflonday morning. In the meantime, more boys and girls had arrived at the Dormitory. IVe tried to be jolly and nice, but, I think it was almost a perfect failure, as everyone of us were feeling blue and sick at heart, because we had left our homes and were now among strangers. Mrs. Abbitt, the matron, was lovely to us, and both she and Mr. Crawley tried to make us feel at home. After we had been here a few days, we began to know each other, and we felt much better. Everyone was congenial, and we had music every evening, in our little reception room down on the first floor, and often we played games on the campus. One day, Ruthe Foster and I were passing down the hall, and saw written in large letters on one of the doors: B'Il8CIlZ'1iS Cfcwitpbcll. Ruthe said, '4For Heaven 's sake let's go in. It ls been so long since I saw a Campbell biscuit. The boys were very nice to the girls, yes, very nice, often we would be surprised by a box of candy, a bag of chinquapins 5 or peanuts coming through the window, while we would be poring C525 over some difficult lesson for the next day. The second floor was No Man is Land -perhaps c'Mick could explain why this was true. Miss Pocahontas VVray, the teacher of Mathematics, was always on the job,'7 when the boys wanted to have a tete-a-tete with their favorite girls, after returning from church Sunday nights. The broom learned, before the year was gone, that it had two duties to perform, this was an excellent way to convey notes from downstairs to an up- stairs window, unless the Demon CD appeared around the corner about the time the broom had gotten about half-way on its journey. 47

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it their duty to serve their U. S. A., so Parson Moore, Hugh Oglesby, Robert Beale, Long John Fore and Runt Rice, volunteered. We missed them greatly from the dormitory circle, the place did not seem the same without them, but we felt proud to know they had such a patriotic spirit. Seeing our noble-hearted boys enlist in the army to iight for our country, aroused a determination in us to do our duty here more thoroughly than ever before, and we worked faithfully until commencement week, at which time we witnessed the graduation exercises of twenty-nine of our boy a.nd girl friends- fifteen of whom were pupils who boarded in the Dormitory. Many tears were shed when the old crowd separated, and each went away to do his, or her part in the world. . I Now another short vacation has iiown by and again on the morning of September 13, 1917, we find ourselves assembled in the auditorium, listening to addresses of welcome, delivered by different members of the faculty and well- known friends of the school. VVe ind quite a number of strangers at the Dormitory now, many new faces have come in to take the places left vacant by so many of our dear Hold boys and girls. We soon begin work again, and ind that we have an entirely new faculty, but we have learned to love every member. Of course, we miss dear little Professor Johnny B. Roller in the Chemistry room, and we never hear his buttons fall on the floor any more, and that happy smile of Mr. Moyer 's has gone from our midst, also the charming ways of Miss Atkinson, and even the chickens and pigs all look lonesome since Mr. Rice is no longer here. Each one left a. host of friends here, who wish them success. But we can manage to give them up, now, since we have dear Miss Rollings to guide us safely through Fourth English, Miss Holland 's smiling countenance to lead us through the Math., and Miss. Gold to teach the girls to sew a straight seam, while Mr. Hamner and Mr. Crawley drill Agriculture into the hard heads of some of the boys. Mr. and Mrs. Spradlin are about the best friends we have, for they are the ones to whom we look for our meals. They are always kind and nice to us, they are loved by every one in the Dormitory-and I think Mrs. Spradlin has spoiled the girls by being so good to them. I-Iallowe'en is a memorable night in the minds of the Dormitory pupils. At 5:30 o'clock, the Ghosts were seen in i'No Man 's Land, preparing for the raid. While the Ghost 's exchanged places at the dining tables, the boys looked on in amazement. As soon as supper was over the Ghosts made their way very quietly down town. No study bell rang for us that night. During the raid, near Rev. MeElroy's home, one of the boys got sentimental, caught his girl 's hand and began saying sweet nothings to her. How do you suppose the poor fellow I 49