Reading High School - Arxalma Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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LITERARY 23 In September after a. pleasant vacation, we again returned to school. Technically speaking, in regards to foot- ball, it can be said that 1913 was there with chimes, having eight men on the squad. On Thanksgiving Day occured two events worthy of note. First, came the cross-country run, where we ran away with second place. Then, in the football game, Allentown was made to dance to the melody of 14 to 0. Ah, I had almost forgotten, Professor Kaufmann was not to be seen at the game, and everybody was wondering where he cohld be. Upon further inquiry, it was learned that just thc day previous, he had been Utied up, married, in other words, and was spend- ing his honeymoon touring in the vicinity of Stony Creek, Mohnton and Womels- dorf. At last, came an event we had long been anticipating. In November, we had our first real class meeting for the election of officers, which resulted in the choice of Theodore Miller Leinbach for President, and Leon B. Gilbert for Secretary and Treasurer. In March, after much discussion con- cerning it, was held the first meeting of the Student Council, formed to give students a voice in the government of the school. Later, at the suggestion of this Council, the student government system was in- troduced. The first committee to represent our class consisted of Johnny Masonek, George Dellet, our punky Senior presi- dent, Ted Leinbach, one of the bummest of class orators, and Bill Hartman. 1913's first literary achievement oc- curred when Johnny Fireplug alias Cum- my Wolfskill succeeded in capturing second prize in the Red and Black contest. Cummy, is to-day Business Manager of the Red and Black, and a mighty bum one, at that. In the track meets held in April, we managed to defeat the poor Freshies, and in this manner, hung onto third place. It was in these events, that one of our most bashful and unassuming members dis- tinguished himself by his excellent work in heaving the pill, or if you will, putt- ing the shot. This man has since starred in football and lawn tennis. I refer to none other than Walt Ravel, our punky Prophet, better known to us as Demos- thenes. When the 'Varsity Track Team was picked, it was found that there were two 1913 men represented, James J. McKen11a and Nig Reifsnyder, both of whom con- tributed largely to the success of the team. The first athletic event I find on record in our Junior year, is the swimming meet with the Y. M. C. A. It is, perhaps, not so well known that Reading High possesses a swimming team. The first team in the history of our school was organized to- ward the close of our Sophomore year, largely through the efforts of one of our mates, James R. Keiser. As Jimmie says, Swimmin' is the best sport in Readin' High, and who is better quali- fied to speak on such a dry subject than friend, James. The meet resulted in a victory for our opponents, but they had to work for it. . Several 1913 men represent- ed the School in this event, and among the glimmering satellites we find the names of Jimmie Keiser and. Bup Wanner. The election for class officers after a stirring campaign, resulted as follows: Edwin R. Haag, for Presidentg George Dellet, Secretary and Treasurer, Ed. Harper, Basket Ball managerg and James McKenna was chosen to look after the track team. Harper resigned later as basketball manager, and was succeeded by Nifty Elberly. Next on program came an event of great importance. During Thanksgiving week a campaign was held to pay off the debt of 515,000 on the Athletic Field. Just two years before, the Athletic Asso- ciation, seeing the great need of an ath- letic field of their own, but not seeing any steps taken in that direction by a certain body of men, whose duty it is to look af- ter the welfare of Readings school chil- dren, decided to get a. field themselves. Accordingly, a plot of ground was pur- chased at Fifth and Bern streets for this purpose. With the aid of the students, the field was laid out. The 1913 team in the Campaign con- sisted of Edwin Haag, captaing William Potteiger, George Pfau, P. Bitzer Lein- bach, Paul DeHart, Jesse Conner and Walt Ravel. All these men with that characteristic 1913 spirit, worked hard

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1 22 THE RED AND BLACK CLASS HISTORY BY WILLIAM M. HARTBIAN One of the greatest blessings ,mf that ever fell to the lot of Old Reading High, descended upon her one morning about four years ago, on the morning of Tuesday, September 7, 1909, to be exact. That day is one that will long linger in the memories of all who then attended the school, for it was on that day that the noble class of 1913, 168 strong, began its memorable career. We were received on all sides with smiling faces and open arms by both professors and students, for it needed but a glance to observe that what they saw was true genius. One needed but to look upon their sagely brows and pick out here a future Webster, there a Patrick Henry, or even another- Teddy Roosevelt. As it is the custom for freshmen to be green,', so were we also green, but eventually this greenness wore off, and today, as a result of four years' strenuous and nerve-racking work, you gaze no long- er upon a motley group of verdant fresh- men, but instead, upon this-bunch-of sedate looking individuals, commonly known as Seniors, who are ready to tackle anything, anywhere and any time. The beginning of our freshman year was made extremely pleasant for us by our School Board, which sanctioned the installment of the one session plan, after a long campaign. Here, also, we might state that this plan had failed just a year before, in spite of the fact that over 90172 of the parents were in favor of it. But suddenly a large cloud loomed upon the horizon and eclipsed all the joy which this action caused. By a later decree, this same body of school directors decided that all social functions and secret societies be abolished. Truly, we were then living in a great age of progress. After accustoming ourselves to the new surroundings and getting acquainted with each other, our first crime was to select appropriate class colors. A committee was appointed, and after much deep thought and consideration decided that crimson and gold should be our colors. But Ah, how cruel are the vicissitudes of ADIES and gentlemen: l 4 Fortune. Later, this same comittee went down to Fourth and Court to confer about the colors, and when they left, they had decided that brown and gold were really more appropriate after all. Oh, how fickle are the minds of men. No organization of the class was effect- ed this year, but at the several meetings held Earl Reifsnyder took charge of af- fairs and acted in the capacity of a presi- dent. f In the first outdoor track meet, 1913 made a name for herself, but not scoring a single point, but in the words of Bill Shaksbeer, We should worry, for on the football team, two members of our class were represented, ReifsnyderandDotterer, both of whom. have since left school. When the Cross Country run was pulled off, while we did not win, we, neverthe- less, made an excellent showing, having four men who finished well up near the front. Among them was none other than our old friend Dutch McKenna, who is today considered one of Reading High's best athletes. Next on the list came basket ball, where we did really shine a bit. Instead of ac- cepting the cellar championship, we by our good showing conferred that honor- able position upon the class of 1912. Nothing of importance until the annual indoor track meet which was held early in March 1909. Here we succeeded in going one better than in the outdoor meet, and obtained a grand total of one point which made by our German friend whom we just mentioned. But, again, as Patrick Henry says, We should worry, for two of our men, Dotterer and Reifsnyder, suc- ceeded in geting on the 'Varsity baseball team, while James McKenna represented our class on the big track team. Just before the close of the school year, occured the first of the three calamities that befell our class. On June 18, 1910, Charles Miller, one of our beloved class- mates, was called to the Great Beyond. At last came the summer vacation, which marked the close of our Freshman year, and changed us into hardened and experienced Sophomores.

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24 THE RED AND BLACK and contributed a large amount to the grand total. The entire amount for which the Association aimed was S15,000, but only 510,000 was obtained, not, however, through lack of work by those on the dif- ferent teams. When this debt is once cleared, the Association will endeavor to procure a gymnasium for the school, if one doesn't turn up before then, which is extremely unlikely. It is certainly a sad state of affairs when one considers that a school the size of ours, is without a gym. All other High Schools, many small- er than ours, are equipped with up-to-date gymnasiums, where a course in physical training is part of the education. Does this then look as though we were pro- gressing? Does it look as though all pos- sible steps have been taken to insure those graduating from this school, not only of a good mental education, but something greater, more important than this-sound healthy bodies. It is not our desire to stir up resentment against any- one, but these things we think should be remedied, and that in the near future. Nuff Sed. First prize in the annual Eagle Essay Contest was captured by Pup Howden, while Johnny Noll took first honorable mention. Once again the heavy hand of fate rest- ed upon our class. On January 14, 1912, Herbert Lindberg, another one of our be- loved classmates, was claimed by death. About this time our chances of being basketball champs looked exceedingly bright. Everything was running along smoothly, when suddenly the team took one awful slump, and 1913 came to rest in second place. This sad fate, however, did not deter one of our number, Cummy Wolfskill from winning first prize in the Red and Black story contest. Cummy it will be remembered was second in the same contest the year before. On April 19, occurred an event which caused the members of the class of 1912 to gnash their teeth in rage and tear out their hair in great handsful. On that day our debating team consisting of Leinbach, Dellet and McKenna, upholding the affirm- ative of the question, Resolved, That the advancement of civilization is more in- debted to intellectual culture than to the force of arms, Went against the class of 1912, and completely overwhelmed them. Its seldom that a Junior team defeats a. Senior team and this makes the victory all the greater. In the election of class ofiicers for the Senior year, George Dellet captured the position of President, with Julius Sneez- er Fenstermacher as Secretary and Treas- urer. Johnny Noll was ,made Track Manager, and Harry Matten, Basketball Manager. About this time the Board of Managers for the Red and Black was elected. The offiecrs were as follows: Editor-in-Chief, officers were as follows: Editor-in-Chief, Bruce E. Howdeng Circulation Manager, P. Bitzer Leinbachg Advertising Manager, H. E-arl Erbg Business Manager, Cum- my Wolfskillg Treasurer, Pete Haugen, Ass't Circulation Manager, Brossman, Assistant Advertising Mana- gers, Potteiger and Walley. There is one thing for which we must give the Red and Black men of this year credit, and that is the promptness, with which each issue was gotten out. Few, if any classes have a record such as our class holds. So wonderful is this record, that I would fain disclose lt, but the extreme modesty of those on the staff forbids me doing so. We come now to our last year. In our first year, there were one hundred and sixty-eight in the class, but our last year shows a drop of over one-half, there being only seventy-seven remaining. In September, the swimming team again went against the Y. M. C. A. team, again met defeat, this time, however, by a margin of only two points. Wanner and Keiser, the stars of last year's team, again were right there with the goods, and contributed largely to the final score. The football team of this year was com- posed of practically all '13 men, there being nine of .our men on the team. Ted Leinbach captured first honors in the Alumni Contest, while Paul G. Mas- ters took first honorable mention. In the next event, the cross-country run, our class made a miserable showing, being beaten out by the Juniors. This was due largely to the fact that there were only about three of our men on the team. On the 'Varsity basketball team, we again find the names of two of our men,