Ben Blewett Junior High School - Junior Life Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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if The True Blewetts gave the first operetta, The Old Ladies of Lavender Town . The life-like wax works and the old-fashioned costumes gave the play an air of quaintness and charm, as Miss Racy said, befitting the setting in Kate Greenaway's delightful land. At Miss Bakerls aud. session, the stage presented a picturesque appear- ance when Robin Hood and his followers appeared. The audience enjoyed the primitive justice meted out by the dignified Robin. Miss Racy's group dramatized a part of the Odyssey. The stage setting and the dignified Greek actors suggested in a fine manner the spirit of the old classic which the class used as a foundation for their playlet. The Blewett Doers presented many interesting historical characters, and as Warren Shumard said, The people said they were dandy . The Wilson Juniors gave Merry Mount and a refreshing breath of Spring in the Maypole dance. Comedies, fairy plays, pageants galoreg We're sorry there isn't room for any more. Red Letter Day That day in the fall when the Conservation Committee of the Missouri Federation of Women's Clubs visited junior. We felt highly encouraged by the interest that these visitors took in the work of the various departments of our school. Red Letter Day at junior There are many Red Letter Days possible at junior. The one I have in mind is not only possible, but, I believe, very probable, and I predict its com- ing before another year is up. It will be when there are installed at four or six convenient places in the lunch-room two drinking-fountains and two faucetsg when the entrances to the lunch-room itself are widenedg when traffic in front of the serving-counter is regulated by means of a rope on the keep-to-the-right-plan3 and-is this presumptuous? when no teachers ob- struct the passageway to the lunch-room by sitting at the ends of the tables. Speed the Day! 1345 l 3

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The picture show put on with our own lantern on April 26, was a decided success. In many ways it represented the spirit of junior. It was an ex- pression of what is made possible through the co-operative effort of pupils, parents and faculty. Almost any plan may be brought to fruition when be- hind it lies the spirit of each for all and all for each . Again, the occasion gave the pupils an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to govern them- selves. Seats were at a premium and the show lasted three recitation periods, yet not one thoughtless act marred the pleasure of the morning. The pupils took charge of the performance, managing the picture machine, attending to the ventilation and directing the singing between acts. Furthermore, every- one enjoyed the picture The Tale of Two Cities for its own sake and car- ried away the conviction that life is made more meaningful through the spirit of service and sacrifice. The visit of Chief Buffalo Bear brought a bit of real local color to junior. Our imaginations were kindled as he stood before us in his wonderful head- dress and beaded shirt and told the story of the simple home life of the In- dians. For a moment we lived in a tent made of buffalo skins, slept on soft fur rugs, and ate three meals a day of stewed buffalo meat. We thrilled over his review of Custer's last fight, even though he sought to bias our judg- ment in favor of the Indian. He closed his talk with an appeal for a day to be set aside in the calendar for the purpose of paying tribute to the Indian as the native American. Remember the last scene in Miss Maus's Aud. how Bumbuku Chagama was carried in with great pomp and ceremony, reclining in her chair carried by four natives? Remember the Japanese effect given by the japanese song and the huge japanese umbrella? And then, of course, you remember how the wonderful teakettle, Violette Heins, performed the daring feat of walking across a tightly drawn tight rope, held loosely in two attendants' hands and resting on the floor. It was a great success-at least the applause gave us that impression, Miss F. Brown's group gave an auditorium session April 21, 1921, en- titled, The Trials of a Hostess. The scene was in a woman's club, before the time of women suffrage. Helen Oster as the hostess took the part very well. Bridget, fresh from the old sod, who through her clumsiness caused many laughs, was played by Louise Sparks. Mr. GroSsman's group presented a sketch, Now and Twenty Years Later . The chief feature of this play was the appearance of Mr. Ryan, the principal, as one of the actors. Outfitted in flying togs, he arrived in an air- plane. l35

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rw , , 1:1 -1, , LY : L 5-1 Ulu pu. 1 , ,J ' 1 ,l-4 ' '-I 1 N EM 4 Practical Arts Department 135 ',' E HE Practical Arts Department is so organized that all seventh grade boys will spend at least three terms in the elementary or finding shops . The aim of the work in this shop is to increase their general fund of knowledge, giving them a brief insight into how things are done in the regular practices of the day, Projects in wood, sheet metal, soldering, die casting with soft metal, soft metal casting in green sand, and elementary electrical construction are given according to the ability of the students. Such problems as game boards, folding checker boards, boats, blotter pads, submarines. aeroplanes, heliographs, tool boxes, stools, tie holders, water motors, telegraphs-both wire and wireless, pile drivers, repair of leak- ing cooking utensils, sharpening of tools, repair of door-bell circuits, and making of electro-magnets were undertaken. All these projects tie up with the everyday life of the child, or are utilized in small household repair work. In the eighth grade, opportunity is given to elect practical arts as one of their subjects. If it is elected, more advanced work is undertaken, in the manipulation of wood-working tools. More difficult projects of construction are undertaken. In the ninth grade, the boys divide their shop time equally between wood-turning and forge shop practice. The wood-turning students are first given lessons and lectures to acquaint them with the lathe and its parts, the turning tools, and the necessary tool operations and processes. After these have been mastered, many useful and instructive projects are made, according to the ability and the originality of the student. Tool handles, glove and stocking darners, candle sticks, cork-ball bats, gavels, mallets, potato mashers, meat beaters, napkin rings, pedestals, trays, bowls, boxes, lamps, etc., are made. Boys in the forge shops have a new material as their medium to work with. They have several projects: to develop skill with the hammer: man- agement of the fire: control of the air blast: and the proper heating of metals to be worked. Once they have mastered these fundamentals, more difficult problems are undertaken. Andirons, waste paper baskets, umbrella stands, lamps' etc are Constructed' CContir1ued on page 1401 lfif