Rockford College - Recensio / Cupola Yearbook (Rockford, IL)

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do honor to their Senior sisters. Now they give to them a hay-ride, and at the end of the ride there are good things to eat provided, and as they eat, the Sophomores sing to their sisters songs of praise and devotion which they have made for the occasion. , 1 , SCENE II Winter has gone. The trees are a-leaf and the lilac-bush is a-bloom, and the hearts of the Seniors are made glad by a breakfast given to them by their sister-class under the oak trees near the river. There is eating and drinking and making merry and, with a smile on the lips and a sob in the throat, they toast each other and their Alma Mater. SCENE IH Up through the silver path of the moonlight, between the black smudges of the river-shores, chug-chugs a blithe little boat, and once more the Seniors and Sophomores are together, only this time it is the Seniors who do honor, and in their kindly hospitality the Sophomores find comfort and pleasure. SCENE IV In the foreground, a wedding party, but the bride-to-be is sad of face and the bridegroom is a churlish knight. In the back-ground, the sloping green of the campus. As the wedding is about to proceed, a shrill whistle sounds, From the distance spring huntsmen in green. Quickly they break up tl1e wedding party, and there before them all the bride is made happy, and mar- ries, not the churlish knight, but her own true love. So the Sophomores present the story of Allan-a-Dale, for it is Class Day, and tomorrow they will awake to find themselves Juniors. ' ACT III-SCENE I Time-The year 1908-9 The gym is yellow, the Juniors in yellow, and the Freshmen wreathed in smiles, for the Juniors have a sense of their responsibilities and are giving the children a dance. And as they dance away the evening, they dance into each other's hearts, new loves and new loyalties, and so the new year is hap- pily begun. SCENE II Straightway the Freshmen show their appreciation of past favors and they give the Juniors a party, a beautiful party at the Brown Teapot. There are cards and roses and music and chatter, and the Freshmen honor themselves in honoring the Juniors. SCENE III It is early, very early in the morning, suddenly there is a sound of voices singing, As we bring our vernal offerings to our Alma Mater dear: and around the corner of the building come girls in white with smilax in their ' 15

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The History of the Class of 1910 Being a Comedy Without a Plot ACT I-SCENE I Time, the Year 19o6-7 HE gym is filled with an eager, attentive audience. The Fresh- men are presenting a Tolo vaudeville. A gay Spanish troubadour in red sings to his lady in the balcony. Dancing girls pass in the street where his trusty henchmen await him. All is life and color. The curtain falls, applause rends the air, and the actors retire in joyful confusion. SCENE II Again the gym, this time bedecked with class colors and crowded with the happy throng of the visitors at the IX'inter Festival. .X whistle sounds, from the center of the fioor, a ball leaps into the air, there is a rush and a scramble, much noise, much breathless expectancy. Again the whistle sounds, there is a cry, Victory to the Freshmen, and the gym is as a mad- house let loose. SCENE III It is early spring and dawn. Quiet still broods over the unawakened campus, only at the top of the flag-pole is there a bit of life, the flutter of a yellow banner in the breeze, and on the cupola a confusion of figures. It is the Freslnnen, many Freslnnen, and see! in the attic they have blocked the passage way with trunks and they have locked the attic door and under that fluttering yellow flag they hold high carnival. .X wave of excitement passes amongst them, all heads are turned in one direction, and there, painfully making her way from the fire-escape to the roof, is one solitary Sophomore, with the gleam of hate in her eye and, clutching at her heart, a dumb despair. SCENE IV The time, late spring: tl1e scene, the tennis court, and over the fresh green of the grass light hgures move, and the Freslnnen are winning the tennis-tournament, and so, with many trophies of victories won and duties accomplished, are closing their first year at Rockford. ACT II-SCENE I Time-The year rooj-8 Wiiiter again and the moon at the full. The Freslnnen are no longer Freslnnen but as loyal Sophomores are devoting their lives and fortunes to 14

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hair. It is May Day, the Juniors' own day, and as the sun rises, they plant, with solemn rites and ceremonies, the little vine that is to symbolize their love for their Alma Materg ever climbing, ever green. SCENE IV Once more the tennis court: once more our heroines are victorious, and this time there is a beautiful silver cup on which their names are to be inscribed, and so once more the class of 1910 has proved its worth. SCENE Y Class Day has come and the juniors must make their last appearance, so they show how the beautiful little princess was christened and blessed and crowned in the palace of the king, her father, and how she became the Sleep- ing Beauty, and how she was finally awakened by the handsome prince. There is much applause from the spectators scattered on the campus green. And now the fatal moment has arrived and here before them all, their friends and well-wishers, they receive from the out-going class the sign of Seniordom, the cap and gown, which is to grace and dignify them through the coming year. S ACT IY-SCENE I Time-The year IQOQ-IO Behold evolution at work! Once they were Sophomores, bowing low before the Seniors, now they are Seniors and are bowed to in turn. Tonight the bowing takes the form of a theater-party, and the Sophomores are doing their best to make the Seniors forget their cares and troubles and return to the days of their youth. And the Sophomores are successful. SCENE II The Seniors give a supper to the Sophomores in the Senior room. The scalloped potatoes refuse to scallop, and they forget the gravy, and there is no salt in the peas, but the supper is a grand success. The Sophomores over- look any little shortcomings and every one is happy. EPILOGVE Here ends the manuscript. But there is a foreshadowing of things to come. Tree Day and Commencement and then long and happy lives for each and every one of us, with our hearts and minds trained and strengthened by our Alma Mater and by the life that we have spent within her walls. 16