Assumption High School - Assumption Yearbook (Davenport, IA)

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Editor Jaunts ADMIRING THE “BEETLE” . . . Fr. Kraus and Fr. Perry recall highlights of their European tour. Europe: Passport To Cultures by Tom Bribriesco Can't you just see yourself, travel- ing with a friend through England and France and Italy and all the other European countries, visiting all the famous places and meeting unusual people? This dream became a reality for two members of the Assumption high school faculty, Fr. Gerald Kraus and Fr. Art Perry. Riding along in Father Kraus’s Volkswagen, they visited 10 European countries. They lived on practically five dollars a day for ten weeks. Both mentioned that the coronation of Pope Paul was the high point of their trip. “Since we were about three- fourths of a block away from the main altar we were thrilled at our first sight of the new pope,” said Father Kraus. Since Father Kraus teaches a course in modern history, he took many pic- tures, slides of which he will use to illustrate his lectures. Father Perry went to Europe with the hope of getting a better appreciation of Christian Europe. He particularly liked the spirit of the priests at the parish of St. Severin. Visiting Helmut Steiner ’61 who at- tended Assumption high school as a foreign exchange student from Vienna, Austria, was another high point of their trip. They went out to dinner to- gether. The country they liked best was Italy because of the friendliness of the people. ‘The people seemed alive there,” chuckled Irish Father Perry. Language was the main problem con- fronting them in their travels. Father Kraus noted, “Unless we had friends where we were staying, it was hard to talk to the people because of the lan- guage barrier.” He added that when they wore the Roman collar, they were the subjects of doubtful looks and in one instance open hostility. At other times it was a passport for them. Another “problem” was the fact that wine was served with all the meals and milk was never drunk. Father Per- ry did learn to drink coffee, laced with milk. Being teachers, they were naturally interested in the educational system which Europe has. Did you know that students attend school ten and one-half months of the year and have only six weeks vacation; that college students do most of their studying in private; and that students are a year to two years older when they reach college? ‘The students in Europe are more dedicated than our students to their studies. They don’t have many distrac- tions,” declared Father Kraus. “Also, the students mature earlier and work harder. This is because they have grown-up within grasp of the great artworks of the world. The fact that a whole class frequently, will take a day off from school to visit museums where these art works are located, shows their appreciation for these arts,” added Father Perry. Favorite game of European students is soccer (well-known to AHS phys. ed. students). “When traveling, we noticed a tremendous amount of young people, on bicycles or hitchhiking. Later, we were told that this is com- mon across the European continent during the six weeks vacation,” Father Kraus concluded. If you see Father Kraus and Father Perry riding bikes to school, it’s be- cause they were greatly influenced by their “grand tour of Europe.” (Editor’s Note: John Genzel, the rov- ing KB editor, attended the State Uni- versity of Iowa School of Journalism this summer. The workshop, with 240 students participating, started June 9. The following is an account of his adventures.) Becoming the millionth customer at a bowling alley, attending lectures, picnics, banquets, tours, taking pic- tures and more pictures . . . comprised one unforgettable week at SUI. Our goal of the week, a one-month task at Assumption, was to publish a news- paper. Although the only student from As- sumption, I wasn’t alone. Three of my co-workers proved to be from West and Central. My roommate, a jovial journalist from Sioux City, was a con- stant companion. When he noticed my Knight Beacon portfolio, he was as- tonished and remarked, “Never have I seen such a combination of a news- paper and a yearbook, in a way that was superior to both.” Arriving in class Monday morning, we chose our staff in five minutes, and were given 24 hours to get all pictures and copy in. After casually mentioning that the KB had a picture page, I was handed a camera and dub- bed “picture editor.” Since a camera without a photog- rapher is pretty useless, we scoured the campus, and came up with John Houlette, school photographer from Des Moines Roosevelt. Our “staff” quickly chose a theme — what else? our week at SUI. Then we got down to work. We scheduled 17 pictures, including: arriving, working, eating, swimming and fashions (for the girls’ page). Iowa City’s newspaper, The Daily Iowan, placed their cameras, film, and dark room at our disposal. Step by step our page took form. All pictures were taken by Tuesday noon. Nine dark hours later, we finished de- veloping them. Wednesday, we laid out our dummies and wrote cutlines. Thursday found us cropping and scal- ing — the finishing touches. All dead- lines met, we waited as presses rolled at one am Friday. That evening we attended our grad- uation banquet and received diplomas. Our published newspapers were dis- tributed during the meal. When we weren’t “on location” or in the darkroom, there were classes, lectures, tours, and discussions. A composite of these are recorded in a red notebook marked “Reference for the KB.” With it, scores of new and practical ideas for the publication of a school paper, as well as fundamental principles and mechanics were brought from a state university to Assumption. Its purpose — to improve the KB. 14

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Seniors See Superb Sights by Phil Andrew Have you ever seen an Eskimo? Or did you realize that an igloo is really made out of mud instead of ice blocks? Well, if you didn’t, talk to senior Dick Neufeld — he’s quite an authority on the subject. Dick and several other Assumption students took some very interesting trips during summer vaca- tion. Leaving May 10, Dick and his uncle began their seven week tour of Alaska. Traveling through every part obtain- able by road, Dick became well versed in the customs and way of life of the people. Although a great part of the resi- dents in Alaska are military person- nel, we did have a chance to see and talk to the Eskimos. The Eskimos live very primitively. They work mainly over a period of three or four months and rest the remainder of the year. The native born Alaskans were gen- YCS Studies A carpet of lighted candles spark- led in the balmy August evening. One- thousand students chanted psalms and stood in front of Davis Hall at St. Am- brose College. This was the culmina- tion of a five-day study week on the Lay Apostolate, August 19-23. Revolutionary ideas inspired AHS students attending workshops and as- semblies. What happened to my grade school religion?” questioned Jerri Ryan ’64, emerging from ‘The Two Edged Sword,” a workshop by Rev. Geno Baroni. Heaven, angels and every- thing seems to be changing. It’s like a whole new Church.” Another popular workshop was the Student Discussion of the Racial Question,” a panel led by John Gen- zel ’64, Booker Cole. Horace Peeples and Diane Stevens. Everyone was in- terested to see how Negroes our own age feel about race,” commented John. ‘The end of each period usually in- terrupted an intense discussion.” Every morning workshoppers at- tended Mass in Christ the King Chap- el. These included dialogue, participa- tion and Eastern Rite service. Dur- ing the offertory procession, every- one walked up and placed his individ- ual offering on the altar,” observed Mary Thompson ’64. ‘This created a spirit of unity.” The Anatomy of a Leader,” by Theodore Mazarello, was a very pop- ular workshop. Denny Shinners ’65, stated, Mazarello elaborated on every aspect of leadership. He was an in- spiration because he actually had the qualities he spoke of.” The entire study week, as Anne Pea- cock ’64 put it, was a terrific success.” erally opposed to statehood,” comment- ed Dick. While Dick was roaming about north- ern Alaska, Mary Kealey ’64 was on the opposite side of the continent. Mary, who was one of 66 winners in an es- say contest sponsored by the Rural Electric Cooperative, went on an eight day trip to Washington, D.C. On our first day in Washington we visited the Capitol and were inter- viewed by our respective Congressmen. We also attended lectures concerning cooperatives. In the remaining days we went sight-seeing through the Mall and other memorials in the city.” Leaving no section of the United States untouched by Assumption cul- ture,” seniors Mike Townsend, John Stokes. Jim Riley, Tom Bribriesco and Phil Andrew covered eight midwestern and Western states. Our vacation was originally plan- ned to encompass only northern Wis- consin, but after a week there, we decided to move on west,” says John. “We wrote our parents of our plans and were off to Colorado,” added Mike. Moving through South Dakota and Wyoming, the “happy wanderers” took in such sights as Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills. “Pike’s Peak was probably the most interesting sight on the whole trip,” Tom reminisced. Just what might these vacationing gypsies recommend to Assumption stu- dents? “Enjoy your summer while you can,” muttered Jim Riley as he saunt- ered to his fourth period class JA Bargain Birdbath, Lady? “The hardest part of JA is trying to convince an unwilling customer that your birdbath is the best there is,” protests Rosemary Pauli ’64. She and several other students signed up for Junior Achievement this year. Junior Achievement is a nation- wide organization designed to pre- pare young men and women for the business world,” observed Mr. Thom- as Priester, executive director of Jun- ior Achievement, at the JA assembly Sept. 17. “Through JA young people actually run their own business; from this they gain valuable practice in business fundamentals. JA is design- ed to combat socialism in the only way we know — through free enter- prise,” he concluded. How are JA companies formed? First, the student decides on a pro- duct, then he proceeds to sell stock at fifty cents a share to finance the com- pany. Each company must advertise, promote, and sell its own product. Members meet each week in business centers equipped with light tools and workshop equipment provided by local Junior Achievement organizations. The firm pays rent for its quarters. Each company has three advisers: one in production, one in administration and one in sales. While the advisers often explain the factors involved in deci- sions that affect the JA company, they do not make the decisions for the members. PROFILES OF THE GREATS . . . Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Riley . . . Riley??! No, Jim is just visiting Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. 13

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St. Ambrose Attracts Seniors To Campus by Bob Ditmon (Editor’s Note: The Knight Beacon is initiating a series of articles on col- leges. These capsule reports are de- signed to help the student in his choice. Colleges are chosen according to the percentage of last year’s seniors at- tending.) “Are you going to LSU this year?” “Yes” was the answer that 40% of those seniors entering college gave. Why did so many of the 81 boys going to col- lege choose “Locust Street University,” better known as St. Ambrose College? As Bill Deardoff ’63 put it, “It’s close to home and friends.” An alumnus of the college added, “It is a Catholic in- stitution; it is a small college. . . .” Attendance at a state university can be justified, but as Father Schwank points out, “I have heard that approx- imately 60% and 70% of the Catholics attending state universities fall away from the faith. As to the accuracy of these figures, I am not sure, but the Catholic student who attends is not aware of the danger in the innuendo of a teacher. It is not necessarily the open attack on faith that is danger- ous.” Because St. Ambrose is a small col- lege, there is a certain closeness be- tween students and faculty members. The student-teacher ratio at Ambrose is a remarkable 13.5 to 1. This guar- antees personal attention. St. Ambrose is fully accredited as a liberal arts college. It offers two years of liberal arts; students choose a ma- jor in the junior and senior years. Some students change to a university to pur- sue their fields further. This entails entrance tests at the university and recommendations from the college. St. Ambrose has an outstanding art de- partment, and its accounting school is rated second in Iowa. Cost is a major item when one chooses a college. At first glance, St. Ambrose seems to be high: $850 tui- tion plus incidental expenses and board, $1,000. At a state university, although the tuition is low, the room and board costs are also $1,000, plus tuition and any fraternities that you may join. The only fraternities at Ambrose are honorary. This cuts out much of that “writing home for mon- ey.” Besides, you are home! Requirements for Admission: 1. Fifteen units of work including three units in English, two units in Social Science, one unit in Ele- mentary Algebra, one unit in Plane Geometry, and one unit in Natural Science. 2. A recommendation by the princi- pal of the high school. SURVEYING ST. AMBROSE’S CAMPUS . . . seniors Bob Daley, John Dockery and Mike Humphrey con- sider one of the possible colleges for furthering their education. 3. A general average of “C”. 4. American College Test scores. Note: There is also an alternate plan if the requirements on this can- not be fulfilled. Procedure for Admission: 1. Write the Secretary of Admissions, St. Ambrose College, Davenport, Iowa, for an application blank. (Fr. Schwank has a limited num- ber in his possession.) 2. Return application to the Secre- tary of Admissions at least six weeks before the opening of the starting semester. 3. Ask the principal to send an of- ficial transcript of your high school credits. 4. Send the college your ACT results. Outside Lab Bugs Bug Biologists by Jan Abbas “Bring a jar, I finally got him cor- nered!” screamed Christine Spear ’66, to her four-year old brother, Joe. She represents the typical frustrated soph- omore girl catching her insect collec- tion. Sr. Mary Mildred Ann, BVM, as- signed her girls’ biology classes to make a collection of 10 different in- sects. They were told to kill the in- sects and mount them on a styro- foam square. The assignment was giv- en the first week of school and was to be completed when the new lab was finished. This was to give the girls plenty of time to get enough courage to catch and TOUCH the in- sect. But this extended period wasn’t enough time for some of the frantic sophs. One “brave” biologist, who asked to remain anonymous, organized a bank of brothers and friends to catch the needed insects. While some sophs resorted to black- mail and bribery, braver souls ven- tured into field, park, and yard in search of insects. One of the more ad- venturous girls, Roberta Mullen ’66, went all “in” for her collection. Sure- footed Roberta just didn’t see that log by he creek when she made a wild grab for a harmless butterfly. She didn’t get the butterfly, but would have gotten a mouth full of pond water if the previously indus- turbed log hadn’t been the hiding place of Jungle Jay. Who’s Jungle Jay? Ask Roberta — who’s bound to be carrying her pet garter snake. Although the insect collecting is over, there are more exciting expe- riences awaiting the ready sophs. By the end of the year, each girl will have pond water, a frog, or crayfish. 15