Bethany College - Bethanian Yearbook (Bethany, WV)

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Nighfs Dream the rhythmic dripping of persperation, changes were going on in and around the hallowed halls. Room 39 was converted into an impromtu hang- er. An observatory was built near the tennis courts. (Incidentally, the telescope ' s relative position to Phillips Hall should make astronomv a popular course) . Every day for several months as we crawled to classes we met James (Happy) Taylor soiling his hands with the mun- dane task of bricklaying at the Gate steps. Under the masterful direction of bespectacled, white-suited Mr. B, the library swung into ac- tion. There was nothing to be heard in the study rooms but the rustling of pages, the hissing of the leaky drinking fountain, the struggle of a moth or two as it crackled in the light fixture, and an occasional pigeon protecting its young from an invading hoard of rats. In the words of our absent Dean, Bethany was primarily an ed- ucational institution. The faculty, for the most part, enjoyed the session. Some of them said they had never taught classes which seemed so interested. However, I can recall a seven-thirty Calculus class which sat in the Bethany House drinking coffee until seven forty-five while the prof waited. After a while he grew used to the new schedule and class proceeded smoothly. A little recreation was provided in the Bethany House where all the students ate. The chief form of amusement was to drop a nickel in the Juke Box. As a rule everyone played Amen . Miss Hoagland would burn to a mellow brown. Amen was removed. Another game with high- er stakes was bottle bottle who ' s got the milk? It was an exciting past-time attempting to reap more than your daily quota, and the penalty was death. And so time wore on. The Fourth of July was spent by many in sweet slumber. We appreciated too the well-tanned visiting friends coming to tell of their exploits and the millions they were making in a defense plant. A morning of sleep- ing-in was equal to two class cuts. There were Top right — The boys indulging in an infre- quent bull session. Upper right — Ed Harris helps Gladys Sesler from the wagon as the hayride party arrives in Bethany. Right — That memorable Saturday night ex- cursion on the hay wagon. fSLtx Page Fifteen

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Midsummer Seaty Huhn arrived bearing a tennis raquet, fishing rod and second baseman ' s glove. Back we came in droves, laughing, smiling, anticipat- ing. This was going to be a summer — swim- ming, baseball, tennis and other sports with an incidental class. What a breeze! Perhaps for a while Bethany would be like the colleges your friends at home attend and tell you about. Seven-thirty classes — that won ' t be so bad. We ' ll just go to bed an hour earlier and be fresh as daisies, and besides it will be fun to try that early to bed early to rise business just for the novelty. Twelve hours in twelve weeks didn ' t seem so bad. — Then classes began. After the first week we rose and stumbled to our seven- thirty ' s with glazed eye and clouded perception. We really awoke at eight o ' clock in the middle of the class with the pealing of the tower clock. Snatching naps became the favorite pastime. Faces grew pale, weight was lost and, worst of all, illusions were shattered. We began to wish for the good old three day a week, one hour a day times. We thought of the wonderful hours we used to be able to waste. The problem of dating was taken care of very nicely — with a few exceptions, there was none. After dinner, everyone went to his respective cell and scanned the printed page. Profs even began to worry because the students were work- ing too hard. There was great weeping and gnashing of teeth on Friday night because classes continued per schedule, and so, date or no date, you studied. Doc Weimer took over the prob- lems of social functions and found them more complex than he had dreamed. About the most successful event was a hayride, ending in a corn roast at the Castleman ' s Run Church. On the way out some rowdies buried Miss Palmer, may she rest in peace, under a pile of hay. When we arrived, there were two fires lighting the coun- tryside. Waiting for the corn to burn we worked ourselves into a state of complete exhaustion playing a fast game of Three Deep. While we sat in class and tapped our feet to Top left — The Bethany House gang lounging after dinner. Upper left — Summer school students playing Bingo on a Saturday night. Left — .4 Ceneris entertains with bogie at a summer jiie session. Page Fourteen

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The summer student body gathers on tht campus for a picnic supper. no cuts at all in Chapel, but most of the pro- grams were good. We were treated to a bit of the ballet one week. The team of Strawbridge and Parnova delighted us with an hour of muscle- bending. However they were slightly hampered in their efforts: they were confined by the size of the stage thus their leaps often came to abrupt stops; the floor, too, had been well-oiled the night before. Miss Parnova, finally sensing the intel- lectual and asthetic level of her audience, did a solo number ending in ogles and flips that brought roars of appreciation from the masculine multitude who nostalgically recalled the Gaiety, the Roxy, the Empire, or the Casino. Mr. Louck and Happy ' repair the Gate steps ti withstand the fred of another hundred years. i I? WI ,«l v i{ Arch and apprentice Johnny Weimer reuno- tate the library during a slack study period. I remember another relief from our scholarly pursuits during the latter part of the summer. One evening an air raid signal blew. Chaos reigned. Screams of excitement were heard throughout the community. We prepared to re- tire to a bomb shelter when one in the know told us that this was sort of a dress rehearsal for the surprise blackout the following Saturday. And so, after two weeks of sleeping in the day and carousing in the night we are back here rest- ing comfortably. We sleep eight hours, have classes every other day, and ignore the daily gym periods. Most of us can say that we have had a taste of real education and now we are doing our best to wash it out of our mouths. Page Sixteen