United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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Personally Conducted YES, ladies, I ' m the guide. Yes ' m, I ' m very well qualified. I ' ve been here ever since Sidney Appleton first came in as a Piebe. Now, before we enter this bone-yard of Uncle Sam ' s future sea dogs, I want to impress on you that this here place ain ' t no mere college. This here yard has more history to the square inch than any other yard in the country. The Academy was founded in 1845 as a result of a petition, signed by every commanding officer in the Fleet, requesting that the midshipmen be removed to a place of safer confinement. In its earlier days, the institution consisted of some thirty inmates entirely surrounded by twelve discipline officers and a company of gyrenes especially trained in handling riots. This little building on your right is where the Jimmy-Legs hang out while — Mam? Jimmy- Legs? Oh yes, that is the name given by the middies to the yard sleuths, because in 1846 one of them wore his legs out chasing a ' frencher ' named Jimmy. Their chief job is to keep the visitors from feeding peanuts to the animals. That building on your left, — yes, mam, the one that looks like a morgue, — is where the mar- ried officers hang out wh ile their wives are out at some soiree with a First Classman. It ' s called Grape Juice Hall, but it used to be quite a mess. It was a sort of post-graduate school where they learned to steer a rum line course. The bar was removed in 1914 and sold to Doc Feldmeyer. On the right is the office of the Superintend- ent, where the Academic Board holds autopsies twice a year. That gun on the corner was taken out of the forward turret of the Massachusetts. The green seas swept over her so much that the gun has acquired a green tinge. Now, ladies. that imposing obelisk over there is the only thing in the yard that I don ' t know the life history of. I never have been able to find out what Hern- done to deserve that monument. The other mon- ument is the Tripoli Monument, captured by Farragut at the battle of Lepanto, from the Bar- bary Coast pirates. That afFair with the gilded dome was designed by Stanford White for Harry Thaw ' s tomb. They shoved it off on us, and now we use it as a chapel and last resting place for the ashes of John Paul Jones who lies in state in the cellar. Now just step down Maryland Avenue, please. Here, in front of vou, is Mahan Hall, named after ' Packy ' Mahan of Harvard. On the left is Sampson Hall, so called because every day it slaughters as many as the jaw-bone of an ass. On the right is Maury Hall, I never heard tell of that fellow. On farther is Phlox Landing and Sands Road, named from the little poem, ' Little flocks of sand, little drops of water, make the pleasant land and the deep blue sea. ' Pretty sen- timent, isn ' t it? That there edifice, built on the lines of St. James Cathedral, is the Power House. It runs the fire whistle, furnishes the lights for Bancroft Hall, keeps the radiators froze in winter, and runs the models in Isherwood Hall. Mam? Oh yes, the Midshipmen study from models. They get the theoretical instruction in models here and the practical handling in New York during Christmas Leave. This Isherwood Hall; (the name is a contraction of the phrase I-should- worry) — is also called the Steam Building be- cause they can put you thru 212 degrees there. There the Mids are instructed once a day in the art of building our leviathans of the sea. Them 405

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LIFE I mt mmimtm i -J mmmmmm 11 mmu ill THAT BOY OF YOURS A re you looking for a place to send him to ? GIVE US A TRIAL An instructor to every ten boys. Large roomy buildings, beautiful grounds, plenty of trees, water, grass, air, etc. Just like home. Has Sing Upper classmen take a hand in education of the new-comer. Courses in Sing beat a mile dancing, social etiquette, how to enter a ball room, domestic science, bed-making, etc. CLASSED A- 1 BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS Three minutes walk from historic Annapolis PHYSICAL CULTURE COURSE Four Years Ago I Was a Physical Wreck Look At Me Now What I have done for Myself by a simple system of Swedish oscillations You can do for Yourself, in your room, during your spare time. The following testimonial was unsolicited: Dear Sir; — I cannot too highly recommend your course in physical renovating. Before I took it I looked like an accident about to happen. Now 1 look like a catastrophe that has ju st occurred. You can use this testimonial as you please. Sincerely, TWANG BRADY Send for free descriptive booklet, Wrecking the Constitution. It may get you off the Weak Squad. The John B. Heffernan Physical Institute ANNAPOLIS, MD. BAILY, BUNK BOODLE ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF THEIR FALL DISPLAY OF GLITTERING BAUBLES, USELESS TRINKETS, MINIATURES, EXPENSIVE STATIONERY, ETC. FOR THE SPECIAL BENEFIT OF ALL GULLIBLE MIDSHIPMEN MIDSHIPMEN ' S PRICES (TWICE THE USUAL) HELP US GET RICH 404

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LIFE red buildings in the distance are in that part of the yard known as Oklahoma, probably because it is near Indian Territory. Across the creek is the Naval Academy hospital and the cemetary. Yes, mam, it is quite a handy arrangement. And that cemetary is one of the healthiest in the coun- try. Dry as a bone. Now we will go over to Bancroft Hall, so called because the Treasury Department went bankrupt after it was paid for at the usual mid- shipmen ' s rates. It ' s second only to the Ritz- Carleton in size, upholstery and modern con- veniences. That ' s where the pampered pets lie in the lap of luxury, living in suites of three rooms and a bath, with hot and cold water on bite the hand that fed it, as it were. That ' flower pot ' that you refer to, lady, was planted in Ha- vana, and originally contained flowers of a highly explosive nature. Back here is the Mess Hall, so called for obvious reasons. Them dark shadows around it aren ' t statury; they ' re just mess hall mokes help- ing Carroll do nothing. In the distance is the White House, named after one of the legendary kings of Spain. It was left on the beach at Wai-ki-ki, Cuba, in the hopes that the Americans would get stuck with it. It has seen considerable service, having been under fire once for almost several hours, and is the last resting place of several good-sized shells, which two decks, two elevators, and six Duty Officers to see that the Mids lack for nothing. On the right is the Armory. The artillery you see isn ' t included in our coast defence as there is no ammunition for it. That clumsy af- fair over there was captured by Sherman on his march to the sea. When the Confederates got it built they couldn ' t move it. If Sherman hadn ' t stopped to capture it he would have reached the sea twenty-four hours sooner. The big one over here was captured from the Spaniards at Cavite. It fired just one shot and that didn ' t go quite all the way out of the muzzle. This torpedo is the one that described those logarithmic spirals around Lieut. Com. Hugh Brown ' s destroyer. Tried to never burst because their bursting charge was made out of cement. Being too slow for duty as a coal lighter, it was detailed as a prison ship for the Mids, who needed one badly after the bottom dropped out of the Santee. The last thing of interest is this wooden mas- terpiece, that originally stood in the Louvre, in Rome. It is a bust of Tecumseh, executed by U. S. S. Delaware. The chief himself died be- fore he could be executed, too. It used to be a superstition around here that he brought good luck, but that was later found out to be a bust. Now that is all, ladies. A quarter each, please. I hope that you will recommend me to your friends. 406