Walnut Hills High School - Remembrancer Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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ENGLISH , The great part that the United States has played and will play in the world has destined the English language to become increasingly important. In our classes, as well as learning to know and appreciate the great works of English and American authors, we master the intricacies of our language. Drill in composition and grammar will help us in our everyday lives, and the appreciation of literature that we have acquired will always be to us a source of beauty and happiness. Mrs. Edith C. Harris, who studied at University of Cincinnati and four other universities, was Dean of Girls at Western Hills before coming to VValnut Hills. Mrs. Harris's primary interest is her only son, but on the side she finds time to travel, to listen to music, to read philosophy, and to play bridge. She is reputed to be an excellent cook. Best of all, Mrs. Harris, with her mellow, humane personality, radiates good will. I I MRS. HARRIS MISS HUTCHISON Miss I-lutchison's pupils find it a delight to be in her classes because of her beautiful flow of English. Mr. I-larold lnskeep, a veteran of twenty-five years at our fair school, collects etchings, and likes gardening. Around school he is famous for his annual announcement of the Shakespearian play, his management of the lunchroom and of the supply store. Nicknamed 'LSkippy, he has been mentioned in almost every senior will because of his popularity. Mrs. Katherine Lappa, who has been in the English depart- ment at Vv'alnut Hills for about ten years, was born in Indiana, and received her early education in the Hoosier State,', and at Colorado State Teachers, College. Mrs. Lappa enjoys read- ing good books and poetry, and is very fond of her two cats. MR. INSKEEP MRS. LAPPA 16 MISS MCDEVITT MISS O'HARA Miss Eleanor McDevitt's great popularity won her the position of adviser of the class of 747, whose production, The Peanuts of l46, she so ably guided. Her prime interest is her dog, but reading also delights this teacher, as does hiking. Through this latter interest she has seen the local spots of interest, and has found how beautiful and historical Cincinnati 1S. Miss Etta O'I-Iara, teacher of upper school English, is the guiding light of the Honor Roll of Graduates in the Service. She likes books and the radio and the usual things that teachers like. One of her chief interests is traveling, this leads to her hobby of trying to analyze various types of people she meets on her journeys, and the more types she meets, the better she likes people. Miss Beulah F. Purington, head of the English department, hails from Colby College and New England. In her spare time she collects antiques, and does double acrostics. Miss Purington is a teacher whom her students will always remember, for her 'A MISS PURINGTON MISS ROSS understanding of them enables her to give her pupils an appre- ciation of the subject that she teaches. With the unusual hobby of collecting original pieces of milk-glass leading her varied list of favorite pastimes, Miss Viv- ian Ross has worked during the war as a Nurses' Aide and led several classes in knitting Red Cross Afghans. She is also in- terested in etchings, photography Ccolor transparenciesj, cook- ing, style shows, theater, and reading. Mrs. Harrisls English class in a dramatic mood.

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FACULTY and CLASS He Clzhzhs Hzghest Who Helps Another Up. -George Matthew Adams URPRISINGLY enough, teachers are people-flesh- and-blood folks like those you have always known. Our teachers here at XValnut Hills are more than just people. They are friends, advisers, beacons on the dark road that leads to the future. Every graduate of our school can be sure when he leaves that there is some teacher who will have had a part in guiding him. Nor does the teacher forget the pupil. For all through the years his progress in the world will be observed with interest by some one whom he has not even seen in many years. The standards at VValnut Hills are remarkably high. This is mainly because of our outstanding faculty, whose interests lie HCI only in academic work, but also in extra- curricular activity. Many pupils have found their future occupation because of the varied opportunities offered here after the day is officially over. Others have learned things that have been of eternal value, while still others have discovered things they ujust liked to do. The edu- cators at school have taught students not particular courses alone, but have also taught them how to organize their studying, something that is invaluable to the col- lege student. Then, too, their courses are so interestingly taught that they stick after the credit is finally won. For all these things enumerated above we may thank our teachers. VVhen We have blindly groped for support in our days of adolescence, innumerable times have the next rungs on the ladder to adulthood been placed in our path by a teacher. A teacherls helping hand has brought all of us a little nearer to our goal in life. Some teachers wield tremendous influence over their The edelweiss flower is a small, furry, white shrub, whose native habitat is the Swiss Alps. The most abundant growth of this flower is found on rocky slopes, secluded crevices, and barren crags, where most flowers could not survive because of the adverse growing condi- tions. VVe have chosen the edelweiss as our theme flower because it has a special meaning for us as a symbol of encourage- ment and the embodiment of our high students, even over those who don7t care greatly about the subject. There are things that may help to ex- plain this. Qne is their enormous respect, not merely a liking, for their subject matter. john Erskine, a great teacher and author of the early zo's reverenced and respected himself for being a teacher. The result of this all-important quality was a good moral relationship between himself and his work. lt is not high-flown to say that this moral relationship is a vital aid in the production of good teaching. Erskine could teach his students to read because he had a large and lofty attitude toward what they were reading. But if, at the same time, Erskine had only been able to inculcate this attitude, he would not have been the great teacher he was. He went farther: he challenged the students to understand what they were reading. He called upon them for a kind of mental exercise. Erskine made them work, and the more they understood, the more they liked the particular work they were reading. At Walnut Hills we are indeed fortunate in having on our faculty the type of teachers who endeavor to follow the pattern of john Erskine. Goethe, the great German writer and thinker, said, A teacher who can rouse a feeling for a single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memories with rows on rows of natural objects, classified with name and formf' And so we can rejoice that our teachers, taking pride in their subjects bestow upon us a deep understanding and love for the work to which they have devoted their lives. purposes. The name, L'edelweiss,', sug- gests noble purity. Because the flower is star-shaped, we can see in it a symbol of the heavenliness or loftiness of our life V purpose. This is particularly analogous to our lives, for just as the edelweiss produces a fine, noble flower under ad- verse conditions, so we shall strive to attain the highest goals despite the many difficulties we face. Thus the edelweiss is an appropriate symbol of the goals and purposes to which we aspire.

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