High School Cadet Corps - Adjutant Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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were only two companies, in the single school. It would have been a lively competition, how- ever, if such had been instituted, for there was keen compe.tition between A and B , and it was the utmost hope of every cadet that he might be chosen for membership in one of the squads that on two or three occasions during my cadetship were selected to do exhibition drills on .the assembly hall stage as a feature of the concerts. I was never thus honored, for while I could handle a gun fairly well, it was not my forte to do it with the snap and grace and pre- cision required of these crack squads. It was a delightful experience. The drill days were welcomed. They were always productive of interesting incidents. Undoubtedly there was a certain class feeling , as between the boys who were cadets and those who did not elect to bear arms. Compulsory service was not the order of that day. The cadets were undoubtedly in a select class, as regards the opinion of the fair ones. A uniform is a powerful factor in heart affairs. As nowadays, I see the long lines of High School Cadets in parades, splendid marchers, soldierly ranks, perfectly uniformed, carrying regular service weapons, I feel a thrill of pride that I was one of the Hrst to enlist , fifty years ago. The corps has gone far in that time. From its ranks have gone many a boy to West Point-some to Annapolis-to gain high rank in the military and naval services. Some of .those who thus were qualified for one of the academies have become famous figures in Amer- ican military and naval history. But the lure of the drill Held did not get me. I went into other lines of work, and have in the course of many years of editorial service written often about .the cadet organization as one of the best features of the Washington High School system. It is a pleasure and a privilege to contribute this memoir to the record of the anniversary now so happily achieved. The High School Cadet Corps, Commanded by Colonel Robert Ludlum, in the Inaugural Parade of President Warren G. I-Iarding. Seventy-six

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a RECOLLECTIONS OF FIRST CADET DAYS e By GIDEON A. LYON, Class of 1885 One of the First Cadets V T was with somewhat of a shock that I learned the other day that the fiftieth anni- versary of the organization of the High School Cadets was about to be observed. Could it have been half a century ago that I took in hand my first gun as a cadet? It seemed impos- sible, but the calendar convinced me. It was indeed in 1883 that we of the O street building -there was no such thing as Central then, or Western or Eastern or Tech, just one insti- tution, across the street from the Seventh street market-were told that it was proposed to or- ganize a cadet corps, of two companies, under the instruction of Captain Burton R. Ross, fa- mous for his association with the Washington Light Infantry. We were assembled and given guns, great heavy Weapons, some one said they were old German muskets. Maybe so, but at any rate they were rusty and their stocks were soiled, and we we,rg?..'Sij5tjuired to take sandpaper and emery and polish them as best we could. A taste of fatigue duty , as it Were. We scoured .them into songewhat presentable shape, but they were terribly 'hard to handle, being altogether too heavy for some of the smaller lads to carry for half a mile of marching without grievously lam- ing their arms. We had no uniforms that first year, and we were altogether a strange-appearing military as- sortment. We drilled in the streets and elicited caustic comments from the Seventh Street Crowd . urchins without high school feelings and perhaps a little jealous. We were put through the manual of arms in the drill hall- in reality the gymnasium down in the basement, and it was a thoroughly individualistic perform- ance. with those awkward, ponderous weapons. Captain Ross-he became a Colonel later- rapped out his orders in a sharp voice. Some of the boys feared him, but we soon came to love him. He was a severe disciplinarian but he was a delightful leader. I do not attempt to recall the names of any of the other cadets that first year, and my mem- ory of the individualities in the later times is too Vague to be trusted for recital. I know that the first year I was, of course, a private, the second year I became a corporal and the third year I started out as a first sergeant and was almost at once promoted to a second lieutenancy, a change which entailed an awkward decision in respect to u.niform. The ofhcer's uniform comprised a pair of trousers of a lighter blue than that of the private or the non-com . Hav- ing already invested in a dark-blue pair of Seventy-live trousers as a corporal I had to compromise, the family exchequer not permitting a second pair of military unmentionables. So I had the gold braid of the officers designation sewed down the legs and went through the year somewhat out of harmony with the remainder of the out- Ht, but solaced by the fact that I was allowed to carry a sword, even though I was in the final rank of the second company, With the file clos- ers. The uniforms came the second year of the organization, as I have said, but there was no provision for uniform overcoats. When We went forth on the streets in Winter we had to hustle to keep warm. And thereby hangs a tale of woe. It was announced that the cadets were to form a feature of the parade on the occasion of the dedication of the Washington Monument, Feb- ruary 22, 1885. It Was a bitter day, cold and windy. We marched to the Monument Lot and stood at attention while the ceremonies were being conducted at the base of the Monument. I have never suffered more in my life than then. The raw winds swept up from the river-and we shook like the traditional aspens. Mr. Paul, Principal of the School, had arranged for the service of hot coffee to us and it helped us bear our misery. , Just ten days later we were to march in the inaugural parade, Grover Cleveland taking the oath of oflice as President. Some Wise elder sug- gested that we fortify ourselves against a pos- sible repetition of the Washington's Birthday experience by wrapping ourselves up in news- papers underneath our tunics. Every boy, I think, did so, and we were armored against the cold. As we stood in line on East Capitol street waiting for the parade to start we began to question the wisdom of the paper sheathing, for the day was very much warmer than on the other occasion. By the time the welcome com- mand Forward March came we were begin- ning to perspire beneath our paper armor. Then started a series of strippings . Whenever one of us had a chance he reached beneath his tunic and stripped out a stratum of paper. Soon Pennsylvania Avenue was whitened with these fragments. In after years, when I have read of the ticker tape and telephone book greetings to distinguish arrivals in New York I have re- called this paper-chase march up the Avenue. By the time we reached the White House and passed in review of the President we were well divested of our smothering sheathings, but the Avenue was a Hsightf' l YVe had no competitive drills then, for there

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lil II IIIBIIIBIII IIISIIIGIIIGIIIGIIIGIIIBIIIEIIIIEIIIIGII U Bl . 9 GIII IIIGIII IIGIII IIGIIIGIIIBIIIGIIIBIIIGIIIBIIIBIIIGIIIGIIIBIIIB ' lil l 3 - - Q- 4+ ei fha 2 3 h L: e a --e -N p 'g'? C' a4 ,:fg1pa -T, - 9 ig- ,7:i'.IT.'l xiii' N'i gi, , . , , i 1 lj , ' 'iff dllllll'-lls-si '-- - - 'Ghz Tlfigb School Caoet Who is the happy warrior, 'who is he T hat efvery man in arms should 'wzkh to be? - VV0rcfJ-worth. - What is the High School Cadet? you may ask. l To portray him in rhyme is my fanciful task. l I Will tell what to look for, from A down to Z, ' And Whenever you see him, you'll say This is he g 1-Alert, Brave, and Gourteous, of course you will find, And Tependable, too, every one of his kindf 'Energetic and frank in each action and Word, - Is a soldier by nature you always have heard. Yet Gentle and Ajfelpful he always I'11USt beg gmpartial and just in his judgment, and free. E E E 5 E E .13 5 -E Y E G l E E Q l 5 13 , l l 5 -3 E 5 5 E -3 E 5 5 -E 2 E E 'E E E 5 E E -3 u ..- 9 ,Q 0 ,- Keen, -Tkively yet mild in his temper and tone, l neat, Orderly, Ajjunctual, too, we must own. : Quick, Ready and Skilled at emergency's call, E Yet Eolerant, too, of less favored in all. r lcnselfish and valiant, willing to Work, I I X-Celling in energy, never a shirkg .- youthful ever in spirit and zealous for fame E For his captain's, his companyls, his regiment's name. - I've rhymed you the High School Cadet, A to Z- 2 - This' all our youth in arms should Wish to be. l -Alice Lorraine Wood. 5 lul l