Berne French Township High School - Our Yesterdays Yearbook (Berne, IN)

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Our Yesterd BHS ays Class Prophecy All was excitement. Sh p windows were being cleaned and beautified. The town was bright in its festive flags and pennants. Herne was to have a “Home Coining Week. Throughout the land invitations were sent far and wide. One evening something peculiar happened. The street corners were held down with crowds of people, remarking and joking about a certain article in the Adams County Witness. Upon investigation I discovered the cause for all this disturbance; it was a very extraordinary advertisement which read as follows: “Wanted—All Alumni having graduated within the last ten years to send informant n to the Witness as to their whereabouts, and the years since graduation from the Herne High School. This is to be one of the most interesting features of the ‘Home Coming W eek. The reports will be posted in the Community Center to show the community how well the graduates of our t wn have fared since leaving the portals of their Alma Mater.” Soon the letters came thick and fast. 1 took especial notice of the letters from the class of 1921. 'I'he flrst letter was a real surprise. I'he stationery was headed: Zehr and Hiestand. Attorneys at Law. Washington. 1). C.” Preston’s letter stated that as soon as the wheat crop yielded the cash to pay for the course, he had taken np the study of law. I'he same day a letter came from Anna Luginbill. She had completed a successful tour as accompanist for an evangelistic party. A letter with a one-cent stamp, which indicated it came from Berne, was received from Agnes Gilliom. She was living on one of Indiana’s most modern farms. She added that if anyone wished to bin potatoes for planting she would sell them cheap and deliver them with the Ford. On the second day a letter came from the Woolworth Five and 'Pen Cent Store at Xew York bearing the message that Knnna Schug was leading saleslady on first floor. Gertrude Sprunger had spent her years taking a few terms of work at Oberlin College, then teaching Kindergarten. Later she took a course in music. At last she hoped the real Prince Charming had arrived. I Jessie’s answer also came on the second day. She was Dean of W omen | Fourteen 1

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Our Yesterdays BHS Class History ft 11K lirst day of school. September 19. 1917. will never be 3? f rgotten by us. It was on that clay we entered the threshold of our high school career. Nineteen enthusiastic pupils gathered for the lirst time as a Freshman class. We felt green and awkward and hardly knew how to act. Gradually this awkward feeling left us and we felt more free to become acquainted with our classmates. We followed our teachers to classes for fear of getting lost. This habit, however, was soon overcome as we were becoming inquisitive as to the manners of our upper classmen. Our class organized in a very short time after school had begun. In order to get better acquainted with each other we decided to have a party. That evening was spent in a very enjoyable way and certainly proved to be a success. In spite of all difficulties every member put his shoulder to the wheel and steered safely into the Sophomore class. In our Sophomore year we were sixteen on roll. Some of our former members dropped out and new ones came to fill their places. We renewed old acquaintances and started to study. Like all Sophomore classes we took great interest in teasing the Freshmen. As a whole we were a quiet and an industrious class and were soon ready for our Junior year. When school commenced in the fall of 1919 we were sixteen members in all. The people all wondered who that bright group of pupils were. The) were told that they were the Juniors. We thought it was time to become known, so we published the Budget. Later in the year we bought pennants and class rings. e always kept the good will of the teachers and received passing grades. In the year 1920. fifteen Seniors returned to the old Berne high school to finish the task they had so nobly begun. Fverything seemed to be so different from other years. Lvery class looked up to us and all the teachers were new. e are now ready to say good-bye to the dear old place where we met with so many hardships but many more joys and pleasures. We also bid goodbye to all our lower classmen and extend our heartiest good wishes to them for the future. L. H. 1 Thirteen ]

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Our Yesterdays BHS at Indiana University. She added that she had grown to he six feet, three inches tall. She had reached the height of her ambition. The next letter came fn m Wyoming. My. how widely the class had been scattered. Martin wrote he was holding a responsible position at Yellowstone National Park feeding the giraffes and elephants and turning off the water which issued from the geysers when the supply was sufficient. Agnes Franz wrote she was playing in New York’s largest churches, causing the most austere to burst into tears ' y her weird and beautiful music. Helen (iilliom sent one of her poems and paintings for which she had received first prize in the Intcrnatu nal Art Contest as a proof of her brilliant success. She was also contributing articles to the Atlantic Monthly. Another letter came from Washington. Louise llilty was a suffragette, showing the people that it is possible f r women to take part in politics and at the same time ably perform duties at home which she illustrated by the peaceful home life of which she was a co-partner. Krnest’s letter came at the same time, telling that he was in the law business with Preston. Fdna's letter came from Purdue. She was living on a farm near Purdue. Amos was teaching agricultural classes it Purdue, while Kdna dusted at home and made fancy desserts. Kathryn’s letter contained the news of her career as an actress but she had abandoned work on the stage rind taken possession of the Decatur Daily Democrat. Ksthcr Sprunger had attended business college and was a very efficient stenographer for Preston Zelir. From Yale came a letter stating that Dennis Moser had graduated from Yale and was president of Yale University. He wished to add that he owed his success to the preparatory work iu old Herne Hi. After reading all these epistles the years were recalled in my memory when we sit at our desks as students of the Herne High School and stumbled through our recitations to place our names in the “Hall of Fame. What a glorious time we would have when many of the old graduates would gather for the Home Coming Week! Billy. ( Fifteen ]