Auburn High School - Trojan / Oracle Yearbook (Auburn, IL)

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TIIE ORACLE-1923 21 The study of our days and nights has ceased; our examination papers have been given the marks that pass. Yet are our hearts sad within us, for the school that we love hath utterly rejected us, and her doors will be opened unto us no more forever. Verily, for this our heart is faint; for these things, our eyes are dim. Yet because we have striven and have endured to the end; because we have not grown weary in well doing nor fallen out by the wayside, we rejoice that it is as well with us as it is. And for all these things we give thanks unto every good and perfect gift that is our own; for we have not buried our talents in a napkin, neiither have we hidden our lights under a bushel, but have increased four-fold all with which we were bestowed in the beginning. Yea, verily, for all these things we give ye grateful greeting, and welcome ye with rejoicing to behold the work of our minds, in the days that were of old. and the unfolding of our hopes for the days that are to be. So I say unto each one of you, as I say unto all, Welcome! Class Chronicles.—[History] by Charles Foster Now the history of the class of Three and Twenty, of the High School of the city of Auburn, County of Sangamon, State of Illinois, is in this wise: CHAPTER I. In the beginning of the twentieth century, in the nineteenth year, of our Lord, in the ninth month, and on the sixth day of that month, there entered into the land of learning three and forty seekers of knowledge. Some came up from the eighth grade where they had for many months been busily en- gaged in storing their minds with the honey of wisdom; some were green and fresh from a far country; some came from the farms, where they were tillers of soil; and some from other halls of instruction. Likewise it came to pass, as we did enter this land, that we were received with malicious glee by a certain band of wild beings, who were called Sopho- mores, and who because of their fierce taste for Freshmen blood, did pounce upon them daily and nightly, and caused them to suffer great tilings, and to say in their hearts, “Behold, blessed is the name of Education, for because of it have we endured great torments, both of body and mind. erily have we been martyrs to a great cause!” And as they dwelt long in the land, they fell in with the customs of the inhabitants thereof, and their strangeness wore away, and they each became as one among the rest. Now it so happened that this land to which they had come was ruled by one known as Lee Russel Carlson, a professor of much wisdom; and at the beginning of the year, he spake unto them, saying: “Go, gather ye in a body, and organize yourselves into a class, that ye may gain in strength, and that your courage may wax red hot!” And as he spake unto them, so was it done, and they chose Chester M. Hammerlund to be their leader, and called themselves, with much pride, the Class of Three-and-Twenty Now as they were gathered together, they chose Old Gold and Purple for the Class Colore; “The elevator to success is not running, take the stairs.” for the Class Motto; the American Beauty Rose for the Class Flower; and also a Class Song.

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20 TIIE ORACLE —1923 Class Day Program Funeral of Class of '23 The Dirge.—.Instrumental Class Hymn.—.Sung by Juniors Funeral March Class Diagnosis.—[Salutatory.] Louise Pan Doren Ho, everyone who heareth, come ye to these exercises; and even he that hath no friends among us, come ye, hear and heed. Yea, come, find amuse- ment and entertainment without instruction and without advice. For it is written, verily, the youth who has grown up to the High School is of few years and full of trouble; examinations pass over him, and he is gone. And the places thereof shall know him no more forever. Then, though we speak with the tongues of wise men and of lawyers, and have all our lessons, il profiteth us nothing. For the days of our course are run, yea, even as a race that was long and hard, and verily, is the end at last in sight. Behold, then, I bring ye tidings of great grief: We have fought our short fight, we have passed our examinations, we have finished our course. And lo, the day of our emancipation is now at hand. For in the beginning, it was written, “In the day that they have eaten all the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they must surely go.” And verily, even so have we with our own hands plucked all the fruit and with our own lips devoured it, that lias grown for ages in the Garden of Wisdom. And our delight was in the work of the school, and over its books have Ave meditated day and night. Now each shall be like a mill erected by the rivers of water, and shall turn forth great deeds in our season. Our hopes, also, shall not wither, and all that we do shall prosper. Many classes are not so, but are like the sawdust that the mill throweth away. Yet are we sore for the days that Avere and are not, and that shall be unto us no more in the school forever. Listen, then, () ye people, unto the lamentations of the Class of 1923, for the doom that hath been pronounced upon it. Harken unto our words of sorrow, and be ye filled with pity for the sufferings of our hearts. Verily, Ave who haAre Avorked and played and studied together have noAV come to the end of our communings. Even as to men of evil minds have those Avise men and Avomen who haAre been our teachers declared unto us, “Depart from our midst, O Class of 1923, for your days in the school are indeed numbered.” They direct our steps that we cannot go into our class-rooms; our end is near, our days are fulfilled, our hour is at hand. Our inheritance is left to the Sophomores and Freshmen; our old seats to Juniors.

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22 THE ORACLE —1923 And it came to pass, after some months, that their eyes were turned toward graduation, but many, with one consent, began to make excuse. The first said: “I am poor in health. Therefore T cannot graduate.” Another said : “I must needs toil at home. Therefore I cannot graduate.” A third said: “I am dull and cannot learn. I pray thee have me ex- cused!” So thus did this class decrease in numbers until the whole number at the end of the first year was twenty-nine. CHAPTER IT. Now it came to pass at the beginning of the second year that a new band of youths did come up from the adjoining territory, and the Class of Three- and-Twenty, in the new dignity of their promotion, remembered the days of their own greenness, and as the Sophomores of their day had done unto them, even so did they do unto these new Freshmen, and did show no mercy unto their sufferings, and no heed unto their lamentations, until all were bruised and full of much sorrow. Now it came to pass, soon after they entered the land, that they were one and all seized with a strange infirmity, which did cause them to act with much fierceness and strangeness of manner, and to grapple and wrestle with their fellows in much rage and seeming ferocity. Wise men were called to look upon them, who did examine them with much care and pains, and did finally pronounce the infirmity in the male 1 ‘football” and in the female “basketball,” and did assure the frightened leader, Edith Paddock, that the malady while it needs must be contagious and likewise sometimes fatal, was yet a necessary evil, and one that even the wise men knew not the way to cure. So, with many anxious fears and dire forebodings, did the instructors allow the disease to run its natural course, and lo, none were killed, and few were seriously injured, whereat there was great rejoicing throughout the land. And as the Class did journey through the land, behold, there were two maidens who were fair to look upon, who had strayed far from the companies which they had set forth with, and were much sorrowful. And as the members of the (’lass did look upon them in their loneliness, their hearts were stirred in pity for them, and did open wide unto them that they should be gathered in. Straightway our class made money enough to have a party in the middle of the year. Now it was a rule that everyone in the class should bring some- one to the party. Therefore, we had a good attendance and everyone sajd that they had a good time, but behold we still had some money left in the treasury. And behold someone said: “Why couldn’t the Freshmen and we have a contest and see which could sell nine hundred bars of candy first.” Lo, the Freshmen had sixty in their class to sell their candy and we had only eight-and-twenty to sell ours but we were such good workers that we sold it before the Freshmen were hardly started. Behold! what a slow bunch they were! After the first semester was over the Sophomores had now laid away some money. Therefore the Sophomores and Seniors intended to give a party and entertain the Freshmen and Juniors. But time sped rapidly and the Seniors were too busy. Therefore the party was called off. Now at the close of the second year the whole number that had survived was thirty-one.