Capitol Page School - Congressional Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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THE TRAVEL CLUB N. K. BOHRER J. R. FRANKLIN. R. A. HAEFS P. R. HANSEL RALPH W. LEWIS T. V. SWAFFORD M. E. HARRISON L. J. WATTAY J. C. TRASK -74- '

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l t The Dramatic Club found that before other plays could be-given money would have to be raised, so the members agreed to pay Club dues. Other money-making plans such as sell- ing stationery, cards, and name-stickers were successfully put into effect. ln the month of March a radio raffle was held and the small portable radio was won by a mother of one of the pages. Due to the cooperative effort of the Club membership a treasury in the neigh- borhood of one hundred dollars was earned. ln the beginning of the second semester Club officers were re-elected, as follows: Tom- my Swafford, President, Bob Curtis, Vice President, Paul Traver, Secretary-Treasurer, Donald Rowell, Business Manager. lt was decided by the members of the Club that pins should be ordered and an emblem was selected. Only members of the Dramatic Club who had been active were eligible to re- ceive a Club pin, and three requirements were made. Those were: ll? The participation in a Club play. . l2i Good attendance at all Club meetings. l37 Payment of all Club dues. Scenes from The Christmas Carol .it The Dramatic Club also sponsored several group parties which were open to all Capitol Page School students. Among these were the theatre parties at the National and Catholic University theatres. Many fine productions were seen on these trips which were of great interest to the Dramatic, Club student and which increased the interest of the outside student as far as dramatics -were concerned. There were also many interesting Club per- iods, for at several of these meetings individ- uals were called upon to do some short sketch in the dramatic line. These meetings gave the members an opportunity to see what talent was in the Club and also gave every one a chance to criticize and help improve and cor- rect the flaws of each individual. These per- iods alsogave Miss Hammond an opportunity to see. what type of dramatic parts the in- dividual members of the Club were best suit- ed for. The P. T. A. has recently asked Miss Ham- mond to furnish entertainment at the Junior- Senior Prom which may be considered further proof of the success of A Christmas Carol .

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THE TRAVEL CLUB Again, as in the past two years, the Travel Club continued to carry its visits to foreign embassies and Iegations. Also, as before, these visits and tours were arranged through the willing and unselfish efforts of Mr. Ralph W. Lewis, who before the Congressional Reorgan- ization Act taught English and geography for some years at Capitol Page School. This year our Travel Club has received recognition by the editorial of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, MY DAY, which reads: l HOPE THE PAGE BOYS' TRAVEL CLUB IDEA WILL SPREAD One of the groups I used to be interested in when I was in Washington were the page boys at the Capitol. They seem so young, and their lives seem unnatural for boys. Many people consider this service to be a great op- portunity for a boy, and for many a page it has proven to be a real advantage in his later life. Nevertheless, they work hard, live under rather curious conditions away from their fam- ilies, and their education is fitted into their work in a way which makes the job a real tax on the youngsters. However, the head of their Travel Club, Mr. Ralph W. Lewis, was deeply concerned about their welfare. The other day he wrote me of something which he had done to create better international understanding among the boys-something which I think might be use- fully done by schools in many other places. He has organized a Travel Club and they visit the Embassies and Legations of foreign na- tions. 4 A flag was always presented to them by their hosts, also much reading material and maps which they used in their classes. ln that way the boys learned about the life and the thoughts of individuals who came to us from other parts of the world. ln every big city there are foreign consuls, and I wonder if our schools might not do some very practical international education by bringing together the representatives of for- eign countries and the young people in our schools and colleges. I think there would be a great interest developed in the recreation and cultural opportunities of different coun- tries, and this would be heightened by talks from the representatives of these countries. We need this kind of understanding and edu- cation, and I hope the idea will spread. Reprinted by Permission of United Feature Syndicate Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt has clearly shown haw valuable the activities of the Travel Club are. Probably today, more than ever before, these visits mean more to those who take an active part and really participate in the func- tions of this group because of the aroused interest in foreign affairs throughout the world. Six Embassies and Legations were visited on Saturday mornings by Mr. Lewis and mem- bers of this club from Capitol Page School. These include the Norwegian Embassy, Philip- pine Embassy, Argentine Legation, Egyptian Embassy, Italian Embassy, and Swedish Em- bassy. All of these tours were exciting as well as extremely interesting, educational and en- joyable. ' A typical embassy tour is somewhat like this: Mr. Lewis makes the arrangements and notifies the school two weeks in advance of the particular tour. A notice is posted on the school bulletin board and those who wish to go to the particular embassy or Iegation sign their names. When the appointed day arrives the group meets with Mr. Lewis at a convenient place in the vicinity of the embassy to be visited. The time that the group is assembled is about ten-thirty when the delegation proceeds to the embassy and are presented to their hosts, or guides who show the building, its paintings, spectacular furniture, etc., to the pages. An excellent narration by the Ambassador or some official is given. Questions may be asked by the boys about the country, its economy, government, etc. After this talk the narrator usually passes out booklets about this country which are very interesting and useful. Refreshments are usually served and in- formal conversation is carried on while every- one snatches more than his share of Coke's, cookies, chocolates or something of the sort. Many times a flag is presented to the school by the Embassy, and often such gifts as hand- painted shells, paperknives or samples of the country's handwork are given to each mem- ber of the delegation. Following this a movie is often shown after which the pages bid fare- well to their hosts. One cannot put into words all the merits of these visits but only looks forward to the next one. It is the hope of the Travel Club that its work will be carried on in the years to come. -By Leslie J. Wattay