Athens State College - Columns Yearbook (Athens, AL)

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Class ' 08 Have you heard of the wonderful Class ' OS, So jolly, good, beloved by Fate, Who never did sigh, who never did cry, But let all trouble pass them by? Have you heard? Have you ever seen the Class ' 08, With caps and gowns arrayed in state? No smile in school ( ' twould break the rule), But with Senior dignity befool. Have you seen? Have you ever talked to the Class ' 08, So cultured, polished, and up to date? Learned in Latin, learned in Greek; In German or French all do speak. Now, have you? Would you like to know this Class ' 08? Just come on now; don ' t be too late. We ' re wise, } - ou know, not a bit too slow; But listen! Miss Moore don ' t know. Would you like to? Now here ' s to the nine of Nineteen Seven! Here ' s to the eleven of Eight! We ' ll drink their health, And wish them wealth; To Fortune we leave their fate. SENIOR POET. Page 18

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I must dwell briefly on the Sophomore year. To those to whom the little line beginning, The Freshman knows not, and knows that she knows not; The Sophomore knows not, but knows not that she knows not, is familiar, it will not seem strange why I fain would have passed this painful downfall without mention; for was it not, indeed, a downfall? We were no longer rats, no longer Freshmen, and in 1908 would grad- uate with the highest honors ever granted by Athens College. What person who has ever passed from Freshman to Sophomore can say that he ever felt bigger or more important than in the first few weeks of the Sophomore year ? The downfall ? I have only to mention the magic words Geometry, Latin, Chemistry, etc., and Class ' 08 will at least understand. In 1906 it was a happy band of girls that gathered in the chapel for Junior work. They had learned their lesson, and had fully realized that they knew nothing, and were now eager in their pursuit for knowledge. The Junior year passed like a dream. Nothing was too difficult, be- cause we worked ; and when at the annual Junior reception we ex- changed our modest lavender and white for the more distinguished crim- son and white, it was with a genuine feeling of pleasure and pride that we retired that night to dream of Senior caps and gowns to be worn on the morrow — that morrow of Senior joys and tears. Tears did I say? That was a slip of my pen ; for a Senior has her emotions far too well under control to ever even feel like shedding tears, unless it be at the thought of leaving Athens, and then it is only a feel-like. But, with all its pleasures and importance, the Senior year is not without its thorns. There are biographies to be written, theses of all sizes and descriptions, and last, but not least, there are privileges to be lost. It would take a genius to describe the many devices we contrive for losing them, but in time we all manage to get them well lost. Now we don our cap and gown and look forward to that day when, armed with hope and a diploma, we will go forth into the world on the true commencement of our lives. HISTORIAN. Page 17 2

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Senior Prophecy iT last I realized that I was lost. I recognized a peculiar mark on a birch tree, and knew that for the last half hour I must have merely been going round in a circle. The trees had grown thicker and thicker together ; the sunshine filtered through the leaves in tiny patches upon the ground ; but as I wandered farther, the gloom cast by the shade of the trees was so great that it seemed to me the sun must have become suddenly clouded. Deep, deep in the heart of this great forest there was never a sound of the work and life of the world outside. The chirping of the wood life and the caroling music of one bird in the distance were the only sounds to be heard. I stood there with thoughts I had never thought before and a belief in all beyond reality. Thus I was not surprised to see before me a strange, gnomelike figure, staring up at me with eyes no more aston- ished than mine. He turned and, without a sound, moved even farther into the depths of the forest. I followed without considering where he might lead me — indeed, as if by an uncontrollable power. Where he stopped and lifted his weird little face to look into mine, it was almost dark, the shade of the immense trees was so great. At his feet there was an opening in the ground. With the one word, Come, he disappeared ; and I followed him unhesitatingly. There were steps leading down into such darkness that I could not catch the most shadowy glimpse of my little guide. On and on until there were no more steps ; but we walked on some substance neither soft nor yet firm. There were no words from the little man, but I knew that my dearest wish was to be fulfilled. I knew that in some way through him a glimpse into the unknown was to be given me, and that now I was in that mysterious land of the yet to be. We seemed to pass a threshold, and entered a room where at last there were the faintest glimmerings of light. Here at the tiniest desks sat little men like my guide, only much smaller, writing in books larger Page 19