Gonzaga High School - Aetonian Yearbook (Washington, DC)

Page 58 text:

gqtion Si' e S . - u . h 5 nAcode,9iEnec:lSro the mind t u Vigo' and Rus exercised' PHOCIAN DEBATING SOCIETY Left to right: C. Edwards, J, Pyne, T. Kerekes, E. Schnellbacher, C. Liller, Mr. Messemer, S.J., Moderator. Off to the verbal bottle. A DEBATING The desire to express oneself orally, to think logically, clearly, and ot the some time quickly, to augment knowledge of parliamen- tary procedure-these ideas form the foun- dation of Gonzogo's Phocion, Campion and Taney Debating Societies. The Phocion Society, made up of students from the Senior and Junior years, was or- ganized early in October and immediately set to work in various open-forum discussions and intra-squad debates. Soon afterwards elections were held which named Gene Edwards, President, Tibor Kerekes, Vice Presi- dent, and Richard Gordon, Secretary. Under the leadership of these officers and that of Mr. Edward J. Messemer, S.J., the society developed into o smoothly working unit of Gonzaga's extra-curricular activities.

Page 57 text:

V hy do you C ome to h C unt 'neg JQcob?,, One of the most noteworthy of Gonzaga's many activities and one which draws a num- ber of interested students is the Players and Revelers Guild. Under the direction of its new moderator, Mr. Philip J. Scharper, SJ, the Guild began the l944-45 season with an immediate study of the technicalities con- nected with the presentation of drama on the amateur stage. Soon afterwards, the members of the society elected officers for the year. choosing Bob Starrs, President, and Gene Ed- wards, Vice-President. At the Christmas assembly, the society's first production of the year, Dicken's famous A Christmas Carol starred Bob Storrs as Scrooge with James Nolan, Tibor Kerekes, Bill de Groot, Gene Edwards and Jack Lertora in supporting roles, and Dick Gordon as narrator. On the return from the Christmas vacation a search was begun for a suitable play for the Brother Orchid annual spring prize production. Mr. Scharper finally decided on Leo Brady's famous three act play, Brother Orchid. A cast was soon selected and extensive rehearsals were the order, The stage crew under the direction of Jack Kane consistently worked long and hard over the electrical arrangements and the erectioniof several distinguished sets. At long last on the evening of May 9, in the Gonzaga theatre, Brother Orchid was presented with Jack Lertora in the title role of the reformed gangster. ln other prominent roles were found James Nolan as the Gimp, Roman Geller, Bro. Nasturtium, and Bill de Groot, Abbot Jonquilt The supporting cost included Tom Cronin, John Ring, Leo Stock, Jack Kane, Karl Kronstein, Joe Awad and Henry Scruggs. The production and the entire season were acclaimed by all as a complete success and gave great promise of future triumphs.

Page 59 text:

CAMPION DEBATING SOCIETY Loft to right: S. Lee, C. Cooney, E. Woodland, J. May, J. Theriault, J. Corbley, Fr. Coolahan. S.J., Moderator, P. Hein, C. Griffith, L. Buckingham, W. Roswell, J. Matthews, A. Hengel. As soon as material was gathered and pre- pared on the National Debating Topic: Re- solved, that the legal voting age should be lowered to eighteen, Mr. Messemer, S.J., ap- pointed the regular Affirmative and Negative teams, which entered into an extensive sched- ule of debates with teams from many outside schools, including Western and Roosevelt, Iocallyg Georgetown Prep, Loyola Prep of Baltimore, and Xavier Prep of New York City. The Society also sent two teams to the ari- nual George Washington University Debate Conference, which determines the best high- school debating team in Washington. The two societies of the junior division, the Campion and Taney, under the able direction of Fr. Richard Coolahan, S. J., and Fr. Joseph Stoffel, S.J., made great strides in learning the fundamentals of public speak- ing. All meetings were well attended and the debates gave evidence of a great future for debating at Gonzaga. TANEY DEBATING SOCIETY Loft to right, Bottom Row: G. Pavloff, P. O'Donoghue, T. McGuire, J. Hunt, J. du Fief, J. M. Deale, Fr. Stoffel, SJ. Second Row: F. Donesa, J. Goebel, P. Mudd, L. Lemley, H. Mullins, E. Terry, F. McGrath, J. Mullins, R. Corcoran, T. Daley. Top Row: P. Creamer, J. Loftus, W. Murphy, R. Johnston, R. Redman, R. McGowan, R. O'- Keeffe, W. Collins, J. Reeves, E. Mitchel.