Madera Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Madera, CA)

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PURPLE A COLLEGE ROMANCE. BY RAY HOWELL. SURING the summer vacation of my last AZ; year in college, two of my particular chums and I rode into Yosemite on wheels. We ate and slept at various times and won- derful places, but usually managed to get onesquare mealaday. On our way back we were glad enough to stop at Wawona for dinner, all unconscious of the calamity a cruel, unrelenting fate had in store for us. While in the dining room of the Wawona Hotel, our attention was divided between the menu and a decidedly charming girl Lest the gentle reader judge us harshly, be it known whosat immediately opposite us. that she was the first good looking girl we had seen since we had left the civilized haunts of man, By her side sat a rather bald-headed with whom she seemed to be on terms of young-looking, gentleman, more than ordinary friendship. A few moments passed in silent admira- tion. Then one of the fellows took up his fork and. quietly tapped the following mes- sage tous by makine use of the telegraphic code: “Gee Whiz! Isn’t she a Beaut?” We three had all dabbled a little in tele- graphy and frequently made use of the Morse Code to communicate secretly with one another in the presence of strangers— a polite way of being rude. Tappine with my fork upon the edge of my plate, I wnswered: “You bet. Wonder who that old bald- headed chubber is?” Before there was time for reply, we three young reprobates were electrified to hear from across the table a faint but distinet “Tick, tick, tick,” instantly read as follows: tick, tick, which we “The bald-headed gentleman is my hus- band. You may have the pleasure of meet- ing him more formally atter dinner.” The dapper little French waiter comin e in a moment after wondered at the sight of three empty chairs where but recently had AND WHITE. sat three hungry young men impatiently waiting to be served. XK The Gym. was crowded as usual, the music the best that Yank could furnish, and the floor smoother than glass, except for a few sticky places where rosin still triumphed over the scrubbing brush and powdered soapstone. Everything con- tributed to make the Senior Ball a huge success. IT had come merely as.an onlooker, but all the fibers of memory tingling in sympathetic vibra- the low throb of the violins set tion and I, albeit a dignified grad. of four year’s standing, soon flung myself into the dance with all the enthusiasm of a fresh- man. In fact one naive coed wanted to know how I liked college and if I had yet joined a frat. Even that did not s ober me. My original quest had been to resurrect old acquaintances, but never before did I feel so completely lost in a crowd of strangers. Occasionally the flash of a pair of eyes, a sudden poise of head, or a name spoken, would suggest a younger brother or sister of some old classmate. I resigned myself complelely to the present. While all but lost in the dreamy mazes of a waltz, a face crossed my line of vision that Where I tried in vain positively set my brain whirling. had I seen that face before? to get another glimpse. It had disappeare d as completely and as mysteriously as if it had been a vision. it acted like a madman. And yet I could swear were real! For an hour, I suppose, I I cut my dances-— I stared at people-—I nearly destroyed my As I pressed my way through gaily chattering program through sheer nervousness. groups, I thanked my lucky stars that Iwas unknown, and prayed that my identity might never be discovered. Suddenly when least expecting it, the vision again appeared at the opposite side of the hall. chological process swiftly As I looked, some subtle psy- the chasm between Past and Present; I knew bridged that face and the exact part of my life to which it belonged as vividly as if it had appeared in a nightmare. I wished with

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VOL. I. Purple and White Published Annually by the Pupils Or -——= Madera Migb School. 4 ——STAFF—— Editor in Chief - - FRANK J. COOK, ’OI Associate Editor FRANK A. WHITEHEAD, ’O1 aE ILA M. Woopson, ’0! GERTRUDE A. EDWARDS, ’OI ETHEL G. WESTFALL, '03 Assistant - KENNETH L. HUGHES, ‘02 To our friends and readers we hand the fourth issue of our High School Paper, under a new hame and cover, representing the colors of our school. In the publica- tion of this little deavored to give something of the history volume we have en- of our days spent in High School; together with the stories and other items which may prove interesting only to those who under- stand their meaning. We submit it to your judgment for com- ment. If favorable we shall feel our labors have not been all in vain, and it will be a source of pleasure to us if our efforts bring such reward. If unfavorable, we still ask you to criticise, for we have learned that criticism leads to perfection. MADERA, CAI., JUNE 1, 1901. Tur fact that Madera, in the near future, is to have a new High School building, con- the eranite, is only another evidence that the structed of world-famous Raymond people of Madera are progressive and take a lively interest in the education of their boys and girls. A school, which in the past year has more than doubled its attendance, deserves some recognition and this, we are happy to say, is soon to be realized. A well-equipped school building worthy of the faculty and attendance will certainly bring new members, for nothing helps more to build a town than a good educational system. People who recognize the fact that the rising generation is the one that will soon stand at the helm to guide the ship of state through those turbulent waters, over which she has tossed for more than a cen- tury, should be the most ready to remove all obstacles that may check the advance- ment of the twentieth century youth. pie? Geer Tur High School wishes to take this op- portunity for thanking those of our busi- ness men (barring a couple of firms in the German end of town) who have been so eenerous as to give us advertisements, thereby making it possible for us to publish a paper. We would ask as a special favor that our readers, by their liberal patronage, help to repay our merchants.

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PURPLE my whole soul that it were only a night- mare and no reality. T wanted to sneak off in some quiet cor- ner and meditate. I felt that my cheeks were burning and I was sorry that I had come. How crowded and hot it was! I elanced at the names on my program and wondered what would be done to me if I The was playing a spirited two-step. deserted and went home. orchestra Dancers were whirling by me totally oblivious to everything save the joy and exhileration of the moment. As I stood gazing moodily at the tossing sea of gleaming shoulders and immaculate shirt fronts, a daring couple swooped by, attempting to pass between me and the chest weights on the east wall. They were quite successful, but gave me such a jolt in passing that T was all but carried off my feet. rium, I was aware of a second couple bear- Before I could recover my equilib- ing down upon me like a ship under full sail. I felt rather in the way and wanted to retire. Retreat, however, was impossible; so I braced myself for the shock. Iam not a small man and I had not played guard on the Varsity three years to no purpose. Per- haps, too, my blood was up. No ship ever foundered in more distress. [helped to pick up the scattered frag- ments, apologizing profusely for my awk- To tell the truth, I was somewhat relieved to find in the young old rather the younger brother of an old chum, which was wardness as I did so. man an chum of mine, or perhaps even better. ‘Well, well, Teddy my boy, is this the way to treat an old friend? Trying to run me down, eh?” «Hello, Hel! where in thunder—er—beg pardon—by the way, you haven't met my aunt, have you? Aunt Charlotte,” turning to the lady on his arm, allow me to pre- sent Mr. Fritz speak of him often I know.” For a brief moment surprise and confus- Harwood. You've heard ion kept me dumb. for before me stood the lady whose knowledge of telegraphy, four years before, had put to flight three valiant There could be no but misguided youths. AND WHITE. 3 But I wondered that Ted “aunt’’—she seemed so doubt about it. had called young. The brought the blood to her cheeks, and as she her suddenness of the encounter had acknowledged my bow I thought her voice the had But even more confusing than this to such a sweetest I ever heard. susceptible person as myself, and withal such a loyal U. C. man, was the marvelous Blue and Gold combination of eyes and hair. Teddy says her eyes are violet and her hair auburn, but Ted is color blind and lacks sentiment. I do not care to recall what I said or how T acted during that brief interview—partly because it would be painful to me, and Yet I could not have been an absolute imbecile, partly because it would be difficult. for before I left them I had enough sense to engage a dance with Aunt Charlotte. We sat that dance out—in the balcony. I really don’t know how many more we sat Out. wl Still, [can’t say that I felt happy, much believe we danced occasionally. less comfortable. Hang it! she might have recognized me as readily as I had recog- nized her, and be laughing at me in the bargain. On a sudden I determined to find out. “Do you know,” f began in as natural a tone as I could command, “I have a sud- den intuition that we have met somewhere before tonight. Of course it may be only a wild fancy, but from the first I thought your face seemed familiar.” Her mouth was quite grave, but for » moment Aunt Charlotte looked up quickly. fancied her eyes smiled, and my fears arose, ‘Really? why, that’s singular. Perhaps during some former incarnation we were friends—may be during the monkey stage,” she suegested, with a faint hint of sarcasm. “f have always lived in the east, and you are a confirmed Californian, are you not?” Even then I was lurking mischief in her eyes, or there was not satisfied. There seemed to be, which made me uneasy. Just then, as my eyes glanced carelessly along the baleony opposite, I caught sight