West Reading High School - Vaquero Yearbook (West Reading, PA)

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The three-act show won great applause. The Old- fashioned Husking Bee with its country dances was amusing. The witch scene from Macbeth with orig- inal additions was thrilling in its weirdness. The ter- rible tragedy in four acts, with its walking scenery and colorful costuming, was cleverly enacted. Between acts, members of the jazz orchestra in clownish regalia ren- dered the latest selections on their up-to-date instru- ments-kettles, box-drums, bottles, a washboard harp, mouth-organ and piano. Strange as it may seem, under the direction of their precise leader, they actually pro- duced harmonies. Madame Ce-Ment was a very popular fortune teller, booths arranged suitably for Hallowe'en were well pat- ronizedg and, financially the seniors made their first stride toward a commencement trip. The Frolic of the Months Our bazaar, held the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of October, was the most talked of event of the season. Lovely booths decorated in vivid shades were erected in the halls. Everything was attractive and original and altogether pleasing to the eye. Each booth, with the exception of April, represented a month, and articles characteristic of that month were sold by attendants in costume. April was the entertainment month of the bazaar. Here Old Mother Goose, with her large and interesting family was presented in lively fashion for the kiddies, and the famous Pyramus and Thisbe scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream were enacted for the older folks by our own Shakespearian players. Although the bazaar had to be prepared in a very limited amount of time, everything was so efficiently organized by our teachers that it worked out smoothly. With the splendid cooperation we met everywhere in the com- munity, it was a huge social and financial success. Home Journal Campaign Will wonders never cease in this school of ours? One fine morning in November, an active salesman from the Curtis Publishing Company offered a wonderful propo- sition. Listening attentively we heard this suggestion-- that we group ourselves into two groups, namely the Spark Plugs and the Sassy Susies Cfamiliar names, are they not?j get as many subscriptions to The Ladies' Home journal as we could within a week, fifty per cent of the proceeds therefrom to go into the school fund. Immediately our enthusiasm was aroused. Slips were drawn to determine sides. Everett Wanner and Mary Fritz were appointed managers for the Sparkies, Bern- ard Leightheiser and Mildred Leinbach led the Sassy Susies, and Ellis Miller became the neutral treasurer, handling the heavy work of returns and records. Thus the two groups became friendly enemies. Need we relate that Sparky held true to his name and won the race? Individual Sparkies, Alfred Small Cfreshmanj and Frances Rahn Csophomorel won the first prizes as the most expert salesmen. Now when the campaign started, the manager of the Sassy Susies sassily challenged the losers to treat the winners to a royal five-cent treat. After their well- fought fight the Spark Plugs came around with the gleeful query, When do we eat? Not daunted in the least, the Sassy Susies promised them a Thanksgiving dinner. More excitement! How could they possibly provide turkey and the customary fixings at five cents per plate? After the Thanksgiving Day program the Page 24 teams were invited to the gym, formally received and ushered to that memorable feast of turkey cookies, candy vegetables, roasted chestnut potatoes and pink drinks. The imitation family turkey was carved, speeches and toasts were made, and thus ended in hilarity, the cam- paign that taught us salesmanship, gave us fun and increased our treasury by 318300. Christmas Party The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there - So runs the old Christmas rhyme and so ran our thoughts as we tripped merrily down the stairs to the auditorium. VVhat gaiety! VVhat a wonderful Christ- mas spirit reigned! We simply could not imagine what surprise was waiting for us down there-and What to our wondering eyes should appear but dear Nick himself fBernard Leightheiserj who made A right jolly old elf . f'Down the chimney he came with a bound , unpacked many presents and scattered them around. He read all his mail to be sure no one was missed, then back up the chimney so sprightly he whisked. Little girls, just out of bed, came upon the stage then to distribute the gifts to their owners. The stockings held many sur- prises in the form of gentle knocks for the recipients. No one cared but all shared in the amusement caused by the clever presentation of the various appropriate gifts. After wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, we went home with a feeling of great joy in our hearts and a prayer of thanks for that dear old school of ours. Literary Societies The literary events of our school this year have been unusually interesting. The school was divided into two groups for literary work. The Roosevelt and the Lin- coln Literary Societies. On the programs of both Societies were features with unusual dramatic and scientific value. The Lincoln Society staged an original drama in very clever fashion. In the parliamentary practice demonstration by the Seniors and juniors of the same Society, in the form of a club business meeting, every rule made for a well conducted meeting was brok- en and corrections came thick and fast. The meeting was unusually instructive and amusing to the entire society. The Musical Debate given by the pupils of the Seventh Grade was out of the ordinary and was spiritedly presented. Different little playlets presented by the seventh and eighth grade pupils and especially the Lincoln playlet presented by the tenth grade people showed them as promising young Bernhardts and Barrymores. The Roosevelt society staged several big impressive features that were delightfully charming in their originality. One was the dramatization, from cover to cover, of the February Number of the Roosevelt Review . Accord- ing to the thunderous applause from both the Roosevelt and the Lincoln Society members, I am sure that every department from the Editorials to the Children's page was very much appreciated. Special mention must be given to the Puritan play on the Thanksgiving Program. One big feature that the Roosevelt Society boasts of was the address of Dr. Rothermel on Armistice Day. This was an address full of meaning and gave the Roosevelt Society a feeling of superiority to have so fine a speaker address them.

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Public speaking practice was continued occasionally in morning exercises in the assembly hall, when each member in the four upper grades gave short: speeches or recitations. Special lectures, illustrated by beautiful colored slides, were given by Alfred Small '27, Marian VVix '26, and Helen Schiffner '25. Music of the better kind was encouraged and fostered in our two Literary Societies. Very fine work was done, and the vocal selections rendered thruout the year were very commendable. The music rendered on the zither, flute, saxaphone and violin was of a higher order than one would usually expect in a small high school such aS ours. This was even more true in the case of the piano, where the compositions of such difficult masters such as Paderewski, Mendelssohn and Chopin were rendered with such wonderful touch that the sound of each note was like the tinkling of some bell from a far-off monastery. , Interschool Debates From out the shadows of the past of more than fifty years ago, drifts the fiery debating spirit of Lincoln and Douglas when they met that memorable day in Free- port, Illinois. That spirit lived again when our boys stood upon the platform in the auditorium and proved to a thrilled audience why the United States should not at once enter The League of Nations. We competed with the VVyomissing High School in this first experience in interschool debating, and, through the earnest efforts of our coach, Miss Ahrens, and the team Robert Fisher, Ellis Miller, Malcolm Ruth and Bernard Leightheiser- we won, and we are mighty proud of that victory. We were not quite so fortunate two weeks later when we opposed Shillington. Perhaps the honor of the school rested too heavily upon the shoulders of our speakers, who, incidentally, had to change their thoughts and their speeches to the afhrmative side of the question in the meanwhileg and, perhaps they, too, felt a forbidding something in the air that night. We had the saddest blow of our young lives when that brainy team fthe best in the county, we are surel went down to defeat that night. Both decisions were two to one. The Judges in the Vifyomissing-West Reading debate were VVilliam E. Richardson, Esq., George Eves, Esq. and Dr. VVarren F. Teel, in the Shillington-lfVest Reading bat- tle, Mr. Charles S. Adams, Attorney H. P. Keiscr and the Hon. XVm. E. Sharman. Spring Concert An exceptionally line concert, made possible through Mr. Brown 's effort, was held in the school auditorium on the evening of April twenty-ninth. It was given by Mr. Clyde Dengler of Fleetwood, and his Ladies' Octet. The piano accompanist was Miss Lillian Keener. Delightful melodies such as I Love a Lassie , One Sweet Dayu, Sleep and Dreamy Melody were sung by the octet. There were solos by the Misses Evelyn Brown, Eva Moyer, Kathryn Kauffman, Mary Adams, Arlene Dengler, Ruth Gehret, Pauline VVaters, Kathryn Dengler and some beautiful tenor solos by Mr. Dengler himself. The songs were typical of spring, radiant with a rhythmic joy. A few of the Solo numbers were I Love Life'l, Carinina , Will O the XVisp , Song of Joy , At Dawning , An Open Secret , The Angelus , Sunrise and You . VVe predict a brilliant future for Mr. Dengler and his singers who are already in great demand locally. Page 26 Friday Morning Assemblies It would be difficult and rather lengthy to consider individually each speaker that honored us on various assembly occasions. Their talks were so wonderful and full of advice that we want to thank them all for coming, and we wish also to express to those who suggested their coming and made it possible, especially to Mr. Ranck, our appreciation of these splendid speakers. They were Rev. Max lViant from the First Baptist Church. His subject was Leadership . Rev. William H. Lindenmuth of the Episcopal Church who spoke on the building of character. Rev. Elmer C. Coblentz, with an eloquent discourse on Education for Successful Living . Dr. Sheldon, the famous efficiency expert, who gave a practical talk in a very unusual manner. We shall not forget his Q. Q. M. sign, shall We? Dr. Warren Teel from Schuylkill College who gave an address on Abraham Lincoln . There was an interesting variation in the nature of these talks whem: Dr. Hollister spoke on The Care of the Teeth , and his assistant supplemented the lecture with a most delightful chalk talk. The next speaker was: . I Mr. Norman Reppert who told us how ambition can win us laurels. just before the Easter vacation: Mr. George Beggs of Reading gave us a very interesting and instructive talk on the big three of Literature, The Bible, Shakespeare and the Life of Lincoln. Faculty Items The opening of school this year found the personnel of the 1922-1923 teaching staff unchanged. VVithin a few days Mrs. Maggie Sanders Barth was engaged as an additional teacher for the junior high school. During the summer, a number of the teachers had studied. Mr. Brown, Mr. Yeich and Miss Stamm took post-graduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania, and Miss Fritz continued her study of French at the Ecole Francaise of Middlebury College, Vermont. The announcement was made recently that Mr. Delp had resigned as prinicpal of the lfVest Reading schools, but that he would continue to give us his services in the regular work of the high school. Mr. Herbert P. Holz- man, supervising principal of the Fleetwood schools has been elected to fill the vacancy. Mr. Holzman is a graduate of Dickinson College and Dickinson Law School, and has received his master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught fourteen years and for ten years has held the position of supervis- ing principal. The engagement of Miss Dorothy Althouse to Mr. Forrest Shanaman, an attorney of Reading, has been announced. Miss Althouse's position will be filled next year by Miss Sara E. Koch of the Fleetwood High School. The members of our faculty are already making plans for this summer. Miss Ahrens expects to go abroad with a party of friends, touring France, Italy and Switzerland, and touching at main points in Belgium, Holland, and England. Several of our teaching staff are again planning summer Work at Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania. School News Editor T lzorma M. H eckman