Athens State College - Columns Yearbook (Athens, AL)

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Class History IT was the first night of tlie fall term of 1960, at Athens College, and the several hundred girls who had arrived on the afternoon train were dispersing to their new quarters, full of excitement over the opening of school. In one of the rooms of the oldest dormitory — Brown Hall — two girls cosily curled upon a window-seat were chatting with that freedom which all college girls, new or old, have toward each other. Suddenly one of them, gazing intently at the woodwork near her, cried out : Here is my grandmother ' s name — Esther Barrett! ' Your grandmother, Esther Barrett, exclaimed the other; why I ' ve heard my grandmother — Anna Craw- ford—mention her name lots and lots of times, and of what good friends they used to be. They both belonged to the old class of Thirteen, and I have often listened to their history. Evidently they were a jolly crowd of girls in their Freshman year, determined to have some fun every now and then. Even with the terrors of the chain- gang looming up before them they didn ' t seem to be a bit timid, for I ' ve been told that on April Fool ' s day they slipped the Senior ' s caps and gowns, and solemnly marched into the chapel looking like they owned the college. Imagine how the poor Seniors, capless and robeless, felt! Still, with all that hilarity, they didn ' t neglect their studies. They made very good grades, and scored in athletics also. What was that scrape they got into in their Sophomore year about the Junior reception? You know my grandmother was a town girl and wasn ' t out here that night. Well, it was a never-to-be-forgotten escapade. They had stolen some cream that was left from the recep- tion, and were in Esther ' s room (Oh, let ' s call them by their names, they seem just like girls now that we ' re where they spent so much of their girlhood) ! They were having lots of fun up there, when footsteps were heard in the hall. With one accord they, ice cream, plates and all, rolled under the bed. Two teachers walked in — Miss Hoefer and Miss Crook. They were entirely too wise to let such suspicious sounds go by unnoticed, and with more strength than dignity succeeded in getting the girls from under the bed. As a pleasant good-night they presented each of them with five demerits. Poor girls! However, it sounds just like them. As a class, when they were Sophomores, wern ' t they par- tial to having special friends? Sarah, Nelle and Josie were quite friendly with Miss Crook; Esther, with a Sen- ior; Anna, with Miss Tompkins; Ruth, with Miss Hoefer, and Zella and Cassie Belle were really inseparable. However, I ' m sure our grandmother ' s would dislike to hear us speak of their class only in a frivolous way, just as if there was nothing worth while in them. (26)

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Class Sonjg O we ' re jolly Seniors, Class 13, Sometimes called quantity, but still with quality, But still with quality. Such girls, before, no one has ever seen ; So very full of knowledge, yet full of fun and glee, Yet full of fun and glee. Our future days to us appear to hold no dangers far or near. To hold no dangers for us, far or near. What fear have we To face our future fate? Chorus. Seniors, Seniors, now girls. Gone our days of long curls. Launched upon the sea of life. We will never shirk its strife. Senior class, so charming, Send the Freshmen warning, Never give the struggle up Till cap and gown are won. But now the time draws near when we must part. To leave our Alma Mater almost breaks our heart. It almost breaks our heart. But ' till we part we ' ll lead a life so fine, And tell the other girls to come on up the line, To come on up the line. We ' ll always strive to do our best, And never from our efiforts rest Until we ' ve reached the goal for which we ' ve strived. One, nine, one, three. A Senior ' s life for me! (25)

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Indeed they would, and I always received the impression from hearing grandma Esther talk that although they were good students when they were Freshmen and Sophomores, yet in their Junior year they were exceed- ingly hard workers, each one with a different aim in life, in view. I ' ve often heard the dear old lady exclaim: ' Was the Y. W. C. A. ever conducted better than it was when Ruth Jacobs and Lizzie Buch were at its head ? And what girls could be more tireless at their books than Mattie May, Bertha Elizabeth and Ethel Mae Hightower? So even if the Juniors did have to forego some pleasures, which was very hard for them to do at that time, she said they were all the better prepared for their Senior year with its dignity and new responsibilities. Besides their regular heavy course, practically all the class had some outside interest to take up their time. Yes, some of the girls had diplomas from the schools of Oratory and Music, and then Esther edited the Oracle, and Cassie Belle the Athenian. I ' ve heard it remarked that they made a great success of both publica- tions. Another department grandmamma Anna said, in which the college as a whole were justly proud of the class thirteen, was that of athletics. For four years their basketball team won in most of the contests, and in all of them Zella was spoken of as the particular star. She would have evidently been a credit to any school. You know, with all their faults they must have been a congenial bunch. Goodness! There ' s light-bell! I wonder if they hated to hear it ring as badly as we do? A Senior ' s Lament There ' s not a bit of use a-talking — This is an awful life; There are times I think I ' d rather be A circuit rider ' s wife. It ' s Seniors, be more dignified; You ' re models for the girls. And, Seniors, hand your essays in ; Oh ! my head is in a whirl ! Instead of convict stripes, I wear The dismal cap and gown ; And all my woes and troubles, too, In good black ink I drown. (27)