Erasmus Hall High School - Arch Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 18 text:

'4 ,- thi , ggi X . ' sr Q s ' A .- 1 - if H A 'L h'Qz. T A couple ol wise-cracks. The lacl lhal lhe desk lop was never changed added lo ils bill-board lure. A name scralched deep enough would live lhere lor ages. The mosl popular molil seemed lo have been, l-lere lie lhose who died wailing lor lhe bell lo ringll' Since a cave man wilhoul a cave is like a ship wilhoul a sail, we were given lhe locker room and all lhe passages lhal wenl wilh il. These passageways look lhe lorm ol lunnels, and sludenls were known lo lake a shorl cul lhrough one ol lhem lhe lirsl period, and nol come oul again unlil lhe lillh. ll once was suggesled lo map lhe various roules and lhus lacililale lravel, bul sludenl opinion slaled lhal such an acl would dim lhe romance ol exploralion and conguesl. ln lhal merry age ol lale passes, sub- ways, delenlion, chapel seals, salely pins, and algebra, we came upon lhe noisiesl bi- annual allair ol all, lhe G. O. eleclions. Nine candidales vied lor ollice, and woe belide him who slood in lhe way. l-le was crushed by an avalanche ol lags and slrings. l-le was deluged wilh lhousands ol blollers, and dealened by hundreds ol horns. l-lis bullon-holes were iammed lull ol papers, while green crepe llowers wig- gled lrom his lapel. ll lhe person hap- pened lo be a girl, she would be weighed down by placards which adverlised, No more homework, a dance orcheslra in lhe lunch room, every day a holiday, and mo- lion piclures in sludy halls. Then in lhe lhird year came lhe lull day session, and wilh il lhe Dark Ages. We slarled oul lor school in lhe dark and we arrived home in lhe dark. Furlhermore, we had dark rings benealh our eyes and around our shirl culls. Nolwilhslanding lhose blolches, we grew up. Abridged panls slrelched lo lrousers, and lhe girls lwirled lheir piglails inlo very allraclive braids. Few linger

Page 17 text:

While sophomores Took Their exercise sliding across The back campus and swing- ing in ouT exiTs, we goT ours jumping on Trolleys going To The Annex, wading our way Through iTs muddy surroundings, and lugging our overTlowing brieTcases, rem- nanTs oT The elemenTary school days. NeverTheless, despiTe our physical resemblance To monkeys, we were very guainT. For example: iT is doubTTul wheTher anybody ever saw a monkey wearing horn rimmed glasses or smiling wiTh Two missing TronT TeeTh. NoTwiThsTanding, The TaculTy Tried To Teach us English, French, algebra, and civics, as againsT our preTerence Tor gym, guieT period, lunch, and dismissal. lT has oTTen been said ThaT The TirsT Tour years in -high school are The hardesT, buT one is apT To shiver and shake, jusT a liTTle more, when he recalls his Treshman Term in The main building. BeTore we leTT The Annex, The Teachers cauTioned us againsT Erasmians in general and upper-classmen in parTicular. BUT a Tew did noT heed Their warnings. ConseguenTly, ThirTeen chapel seaTs and TwenTy-one gym spoTs were sold To gullible Treshies. AlThough The girls would be The TirsT To deny iT, The second year was The Cave Man Era. We sophomores used To wander around drawing picTures and carving ini- Tials. The desk Top appealed direcTly To us as a place To scrawl our names or a

Page 19 text:

nails were chewed ThaT year and silver rimmed glasses replaced The heavy celluloid ones. Now ThaT we were more maTure, we no longer broughT our lunch To school. lnsTead we Tripped down To The lunch room and made a dash Tor a Table. Whoever goT There TirsT could save as many as seven Tables, and The enTire room was some- Times overTlowing wiTh Ten people. IT we arrived suTTicienTly early, The line waiTing Tor service would only be a block long. SomeTimes, however, The line goT sTuck ahead OT us, and we would eaT our meals while we waiTed. Then we had To remember whaT we had eaTen in order To pay The cashier. We learned ThaT singing was noT always conTined To baThroom showers. One was able To hear much louder vocalizing in The boys' gym lockers. The reason may have been ThaT one could arrange a guarTeT in a locker room wiTh greaTer ease Than in a baThTub. ln order To geT on and remain on a guarTeT, a yodeler could be eiTher big or good. IT he were big, he could Take care OT himselT, and if he were good, he would be allowed To sing. Neverlrheless, sneakers were known To Tly Tor much less Than a sour noTe. While The Music Goes Round and Round was sTill The rage, we held our TirsT prom. Many OT us had jusT learned how To dance, and we could noT waiT To sTep on one anoTher's Toes. YeT, when iT came Time To go on The Tloor, only Three courageous couples sTepped ouT and danced The Box STep. The oTher Timid souls enviably waTched.