Titusville High School - Optimist Yearbook (Titusville, PA)

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THE OPTIMIST Class History FRESHMEN: Oh, look at the Freshmen. Let's initiate them, were the cries of the upper classmen on September 8, 1919. With some fears and bashfulness we filed into our rooms where we began our career as Freshmen. We elected George Farwell, President, and under his guidance we emerged with a spirit of dignity during this year of tur- moil and dark mysteries, caused by class rivalry-a good beginning was it not? We held nine parties throughout the year, the most successful being given in the Presbyterian Gym March 17, 1920. Then came the long looked for Exams which were to determine whether we were to remain Fresh and Green or to become Sophomores. SOPHOMORES: Our now thinned ranks reappeared the following September. We started off with lots of Hpep. We elected Phil Stewart President, and a very good president he proved to be. We were also quite proud of the fact that several members of our Class were actually the stars of our athletic teams. We held eight parties during the year, all proving to be successful. Then again came the days of joys and sorrows-our Exams. -IUNIORS: We had now become more dignified and we had begun to think graduation might possibly occur, and with that view in mind we elected Durand Francis our President. This year, we were fortunate in having a football coach, Mr. E. F. Bitters. What happened? That's a part of our history. He succeeded in rounding out a team that went beyond our wildest expecta- tions. It swept opposing teams off of their feet and when the season ended we were the proud owners of the Championship Title of Northwestern Pennsylvania. All Hail! Mr. Bitters. Besides being well represented in athletics we were very studious and to verify the statement l refer you to our junior report cards. The most important social affair of the year-The junior Prom. This proved to be a gala occasion and it was 1 declared by many to have been the best prom ever given a Senior Class. Cnce again, the critical days loomed up before us, but we finally pulled through and we were informed we had become Seniors. SENIORS: Now we had reached the goal line and all we had to do was to cross it. We were reinforced from the rural districts and we found that we were 6I strong. Durand Francis-for short we call him Du -was again elected to assume the leadership of our Class and to our notion he is a model president worthy of any such office. With joey Thompson as captain of both football and basketball, and with two excellent coaches, Mr. E. F. Bitters and Mr. John Emminger, we had two championship teams. We also had a great girls' team due to Miss Gilbert's coaching and in Laura Church we had a captain that could not be beaten. We have held very few parties this year, partly because we realized our stay here was short and we have tried to make the best of it. Our last party was given on the evening of April 26th, at the American Legion Hall. As we are about to pass out as graduates of T. H. S. we try hard to recall the time when we passed in as Freshmen and it is with a genuine feeling of regret that we terminate our stay here-Our ALMA IVIATER. George W. Becker.

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THE OPTIMIST Class Prophecy CConmmed Farther on in my wandering brain of imagination, I see a young, well dressed man. His name is Millard Boyle. Millard was not satisfied with science or invention in America, so that is why we see him in Paris. He is the well known inventor of the Boyle jazz Suit. He is certainly making styles that make our U. S. jazz suits look cheap on the ballroom floor. He's some society man himself, regardless of his occupied time. While still in Paris on a science tour, I saw a group of young ladies ahead of me. Looking closer I see Laura Church of the T. H. S. '23 fame. She is traveling in the finest of Parisian society. Laura has been to the University of Paris. With her are other of my acquaintances, they are Lottie McCaslin, who is engaged to some Duke with a long name and equally long title attachedg and Mildred Meyers, who has met an oil magnate from U. S., while on his tour east. There is also Dolores Schehr, who is the teacher for the Athletics of Women in Paris. Her greatest advocation is hiking. She has already married a French athlete. Going to my meals at the Hotel de Paris, l espy through a swinging door, Howard Lindblade in the uniform of a chef, and I further hear that he is wonderful at flinging flapjacks. With him are Buna Knapp, a wonder at cake-making American style, and Ralph Nelson. Ralph, who for the last four years had been a traveler in western U. S. A., got too big for that place so couldn't rest till he had seen more of the world. He is now, in I936, in the Hotel de Paris as butler on Howard's recommen- dation. He said that he was hoping to see Southern Russia soon. That evening while at a ball given to the Americans, I am introduced to Harry Lindeen. Harry is going to give us selection on the radio of the hotel, of which he is chief accountant and bookkeeper. While listening to a most wonderful violin solo broadcasted from somewhere in the Balkans, by our old friend Benjamin Feinburg, who has put his last name first, making it Feinburg Benjamin, I hear that Harry is always having a hopeless time with the ladies. May he have better luck in the future. When our friend Benjamin has concluded, we are switched over to the American Continent, and who should appear but Harold Linden, better known as Skeeter, Harold has become a great promoter of wireless, and since he has invented a sender that carries 25,000 miles, he has also acquired a wonderful bass voice and almost makes us jump out of our seats he is so loud, no doubt because of the strength of his instruments. Thus ends the prophecy of the Class of '23, Your prophet would gladly place you, one and all, on the pinnacles of fame and glory. Each one of you is desirous of success. Success, I couldn't predict for you all, but it will rest with each one of you what height of success you reach. Walford Larson.

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THE OPTIMIST Class Knocks Ladies and Gentlemen, also Classmates: I have this evening the very soul-satisfying position of slamming my classmates all I want to, for once, with nobody telling me to stop. l proceed to this delightful task with great glee and satisfaction. To begin l will pick on our so-called President, Durand Francis. The first mistake the Class made was in electing. It is not to be wondered at when he could not keep the Class quiet, being naturally so noisy himself, and then he did not have the time to attend to the Class affairs, as he was too busy trying to vamp some of the female members of the Senior Class. Tryonville thought it would do its duty by sending Eyla Herring down as its representative. We cannot help but feel that Tryonville made a great mistakeg besides it makes more work for our principal, as he is obliged to watch her all the time and keep her quiet. Those inseparables, Bob and Grimes, just because their friends told them in fun that they were rather good in one or two plays, they took it to heart and thought they meant it. The last the Class heard of them was that they had entered their appli- cation to Hollywood. Now our little fashion plate, Lottie, thought she was especially gifted to set the styles in bobbed hair, clothes and etc., so the rest of the Class followed her example and now look at them! The Class looks like a Cubist Nightmare. Clarence McKalip, our Mellon food infant is really too small to notice. He's all right in his way, but that's usually in some- bodys else's. t And Harriet Hall-if you don't know her, its because she is so small and unobstrusive. You can't have the least bit of fun with her. She doesn't talk much and has never been known to laugh. She's like me, she's quiet. They say the football team made an enviable record. That's nothing, a girl's football team could have done better than that. Vanity of Vanities, saith the preacher. That's our Helen, always fussing, always primping. I think this explains why she is never to school on time. Poor Ernest Staub has spent all his time, money and patience trying to beautify himself, and look at the result. We wonder who the lady fair is that is responsible for all this. No wonder Mid Meyer has that far away look. How could we expect to keep her interest here when all her thoughts are centered at Buffalo. If joe Thompson would learn a new tune Weld all be delighted. He whistles Souvenirs until we nearly go wild. Virginia Burdick and Helen Lofgren have become regular nuisances around school. They come here at eight o'clock every morning because they are afraid they might be late. Floyd Roberts must eat about ten meals a day. Anyway, every time we see him he has a toothpick in his mouth. And now as you think over these remarks and their application to the character of my classmates, I am sure you will realize that I am a very unprejudiced person, and throughout this entire speech my motto has been, Honesty is the best policy. Gertrude Mulvehill.