Abington High School - Oracle Yearbook (Abington, PA)

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very cautiously while Miss Mary Yerkes quietly plays the old hymn, “Wash Me and I Shall Be Whiter Than Snow.” Name in full—Frank Conway. What is your supreme wish?—“That there were no police in Ahington Township.” What incident would most excite your feeling of explosive hilarity?— “To hear Harold Bayuk translate French.” Since the requirements are satisfactorily fulfilled by the above named person, his future is easily foreseen. Beware, my friend, and steer clear of horse races, roulette wheels, etc., and you shall succeed greatly as Supervisor of the entire Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. I can plainly see James Brown five years hence walking wearily along the streets of a large city. He stops in the post office to inquire the location of the famous apartment house for which the city is noted. At the bureau of information he meets Arno Farenwald. who directs him to the real estate office of Hallowell Shelmire, to which he goes immediately. Upon entering he sees seated behind a typewriter, quickly tapping the keys, a charming young lady, which is none other than Frances Hamilton. Immediately John Porter approaches him. accompanied by Dorothy Stout, whom he is just about to take out for an inspection tour of the apartment house. He is invited to join them and does so willingly. Upon arriving there, they first walk into the parlor and reading room, where they see the same Walter Scherbaum who went to school with them, earnestly reading books on Thoreau. From here he is taken to see the wonderful community kitchen, the main feature of the place. His first glance, upon entering, is toward a fat, chunky fellow, in a large apron and white cap busily engaged in the intricate task of making flap-jacks in a very large pan which is so large that it keeps him constantly busy, turning and flapping them over. This curious character is none other than Harold Bayuk. Going toward the other end of the kitchen he sees Dorothy Langdon briskly moving back and forth to an immense oven in which she is baking great numbers of large cakes. Farther on he sees Margaret ilson holding a large wooden spoon in her hand and carefully testing and sampling the community pond of bean soup. From here he is taken to the elevator landing. He presses a button for the elevator, but to his great astonishment, instead of the elevator appearing, immediately an orchestra begins to play, and looking around he sees that it has for its director. William Woolley. Finally, however, the elevator appears and he is taken up to the bedrooms, in which there are about twenty beds to a room, and among the twenty beds in one room he sees all dolled up in fine linen Joseph Kidd, the chambermaid. From here he is taken to the top floor and introduced to Louis Mullen, who shows him the latest modern improvements, that is, the shed and landing of the airplanes by which the residents of the apartment house go and come. While he is being shown its merits, a large biplane lands on the platform and 18

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processes of mentalism. which Monsieur Bergson has translated for us into an atmosphere of our understanding from some higher source which permitted him to obtain such knowledge as was yet uninterpreted by mankind; to pick out the person who has previously answered the two questions without any signature whatsoever upon the card and without regarding the hand writing. You must remember that I can only do this under one condition, and that is that the person signing my questionnaire use his or her mental power to its most extent, which little task I think will be quite difficult for some of you here tonight to perform. But owing to the limited time in which we have to work, we deem it feasible to eliminate any unnecessary problems regarding the distinguishable personnel, as to the characterizing of unsigned cards, for 1 understand that it is not the main objective in our attempt in this experiment; so let every one take precautions in signing his card, for if we come upon any unsigned cards we shall be forced to pass them by. The cards will now be distributed, and you will be given just forty-five seconds from the time you receive your card to concentrate your thought; this being the minimum length of time permitted in such a test under such conditions as present themselves before us this evening. Name in full—Mr. Harold Roberts. What is your supreme wish—That the school day be lengthened. What incident would most excite your feeling of explosive hilarity?— To see the busses run on time. Harold, your future will be a very interesting one. especially along the line of money. I see you drawing a salary of $45,000 a year with the Delaware, Lackawanna Western Railroad as a superintendent of the road. Finding the thoughts of these four people running along the similar channels it is a matter of little difficulty to bring them in connection. I can see five years from now. in the front of the Rivoli. New York’s most famous photoplay house, flashing at minute intervals upon the vast electric sign the main feature of the evening, the title being “Love’s Fate,” by the great novelist. Martha Mitchener. And 1 can see more vividly than ever flashed before me the name of the starring couple of the cast. Henderson Smith and Elsie Mitchell. I can also see standing behind a ticket chopper, having the foot motion down to perfection, dressed in a purple uniform trimmed with large brass buttons and having the appearance of a lackey, my friend, Mr. Walter Gray. Again I find the thoughts of three of these people running on similar roads, and thus they are easily brought together. I can see. ten years from now as plainly as you have written your wishes upon these cards, the Reverend Percival Reider preaching to his congregation. a sermon drawn from Thoreau’s doctrine of “Explore Thyself.” Looking toward the back of the church in a side pew I can see Jairus Chase restlessly moving about—a conscience-stricken man. He sneaks out the door 17

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slowly rolls into the shed. Its pilot is Oscar Hale, who has just returned •'rom Lehigh College, twenty miles away. Fellow classmates, if any of you have been overlooked in our little experiment this evening. I wish to assure you that it was due entirely to your failure to sign properly the cards. Now, friends, I hope this demonstration has conclusively proved to you that it is no longer necessary to look into the future as a vast wilderness of unknown terrors; but that we may at any time see the road ahead by turning oil the spotlight of psychological experiment. JAMES E. BROWN WALTER M. CLULEY