Brattleboro Union High School - Colonel Yearbook (Brattleboro, VT)

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6 THE DIAL CLAII 'EIIAY THE PASSION PLAY OF OBER-AMMERGAU MIDST the beauty and magnificence of the steep mountains of Tyrol, there lies Ober-Ammlergau, this year the mecca of people of all types and represent- ing all Christian nations, seeking its in- spirational decennial presentation of the life of the Christus as portrayed by its celebrated Passion Play. The village itself, distinctive only for its regular, spectacular productions, does not differ from the other German hamlets in its simplicity and un- affectedness. The more pretentious resi- dences are usually made of cement, cov- ered with whitewashed plaster. These are sometimes decorated with strange varieties of frescoes, some pretty and grotesque, often peculiarly dissimilar as to theme. Towering two thousand feet above the vil- lage there rises an impressive mountain, called the Kofel, topped by a mighty cross, influencing the solemnity of Ober-Ammer- gau's purposeful production. Nearby, tour- ists may find a marked contrast to the rude surroundings of the villagers in the splen- dor of the Palace of Linderhof and in the imposing structure of the old Benedictine monastery of Ettal which was founded in 1332. Also, in the village there is a school of sculpture, incredible as it may sound, to develop the art of Wood-carving in which the townspeople are remarkably proficient. This study, together with their decennial dramatic ventures, furnishes them an out- let for their artistic tastes. The people are not in the least conceited or extortion- ate, but are unspoiled, honest, and su- premely obliging. Nearly three hundred years ago a plague was raging in this region of Bavaria. Ober- Ammergau alone had lost one hundred peo- ple. At that time the terrified survivors made a sacred vow that, if further ravages of the disease were abated, they would faithfully perform the drama of the life of Christ each ten years, for the instruc- tion of mankind. Evidently their prayer was realized for the town suffered no more deaths, and, ever since, it has been the duty and privilege of these people to fulfill the promise of their ancestors, until now it is a sacred obligation passed from genera- tion to generation. The theme of the play has been revised and changed from performance to per- formance until at last it has reached its 4' + ,Ac CLASS POEM I Time holds for all the self same tasks Gives each his part to play, Brings pleasures, toil, defeat, success Rewards us for a day. Our high school days have sped us on Made comrades all more dear, Ideals are brought for which to work Made rich each passing year. And so the clock in circling 'round Has ticked off four short years Now for our play, so full of joy Though sprinkled, through, with tears. But mingled thus with carefree mirth For sadness to atone VVl1at higher roles you give to us What goals to make our own. The happy time of our school days At least for some is done, And all for us, the stage is set The play has now begun. Oh, some may go to other lands May join another cast, But always in the future years Your memory we'll hold fast. Dear Alma Mater, oh, so soon You'll see the drama start And know when comes the curtain call How each has played his part. To you who have prepared our way Our hearts made sure and strong, Our love you hold, for you we stand To you we raise our song. -ELINOR I-IoLD1-:N Music by Thelma Field P ev'- + + present high standard. One of its most ardent promoters was a former pastor of the village, Father Daisenberger, who died in l883. He devoted his entire life to the mental and spiritual elevation of his peo- pleg he influenced them to remove their performance from their churchyard to a suitable open-air theatre, he revised the original text of the play and prepared many admirable dramas on religious subjects for the training of the players to a higher standard of dramatic appreciation. The play in its first performances was in all probability very crude and realistic, for then the Devil was one of the most prominent characters, exercising his influ- ence upon Judas in a most obvious manner. Another of the ancient parts that is now omitted is the opening in which a messen- ger rushes upon the stage with a letter from The Prince of Hellf' admonishing the audience to make all the disturbance possible for he will reward them well when they will subsequently visit him. But these and many other grotesque features of the play have gradually disappeared until now it is well adapted to the tastes and ideas of today, assuming its individual standard as the most symbolical represen- tation of a Miracle, f'Mystery, or Pas- sion play. The casting of the play is one of the most important political events in the lives of the people of Ober-Ammergau. A com- mittee of forty-five villagers headed by the priest assigns the parts on election day in the last week of December of the year pre- ceding the decennial performance. The members of the committee assemble in the church for mass before indicating their choice, probably that they may be influ- enced only,by purest motives. After the assignment is made, each player is required to have individual rehearsals of his part at least four times a week, and the final rehearsals are well started months before the first performance of the season. One man portraying the Christ is said to have practised hours at a time hanging over the limb of a tree, in preparation for the stren- uous twenty minutes which he would spend upon the cross in the Calvary scene. It might be well to mention that his only sup- port in the scene comes from hooks in the CContinued on Page 465

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BRATTLEBORO , I I D I A L , BRATTLEBORO I-nel-I sci-loot v E R M o N T voLuME xxv JUNE, 1930 NUMBER 5 I3IQIfIIDlfNT'I ADDIQEII Alunzui, lvarazzits, friends, 111c'1nI1ers of the faculty, and class111otes.' ACH year for the past forty-six years a class, with its many friends and its honorable fac- ulty, has assembled here, to celebrate the anniversary of the Class day exercises of Brattle- boro High School. As we go on through these exercises, which mark the commencement of a new part of our lives, we realize, more fully, how much our parents, advisers, and teachers have done for us. VVe take this time to express our heartiest appreciation and most sincere gratitude to those who have helped us so much in the foundation of our careers. Classmates-We separate now, each to go his own way and to solve his own problems. It is a great task with which we are affronted, and should be taken in af great way. No minor points should be omittedg at every opportunity we should lend a helping handy we should not neglect any chance to increase our knowledge, or to prove ourselves worthy of this school, which is so dear to us. We are the citizens of tomorrow. This phrase, which has been repeated to us throughout our school life, has a greater meaning to us now. The time is here for us to show how well we have listened to and learned the noble teachings of our faculty. We are the makers of history and may we make a history, which will shine above the successful efforts of our valiant fore- fathers. Let us always remember and live up to our Class Motto, Every man is the architect of his own futurefl Alumni, parents, friends, and members of the faculty, it is with the greatest of pleasure that I, in behalf of the class of 1930, welcome you to the Class Day exercises of Brattleboro High School. -CHESTER SHAW. Cl.Aff DDA-fl 0 N THE KING or INSTRUMENTS HE pipe organ is the most magnificent of all musical instruments. Its indivi- duality, its enthralling tone, and its un- equaled power have brought it to bear the well-deserved title King of Instruments. From the era when the ancient Roman theatres were at the height of their pop- ularity, down through the ages, the proto- types of the modern instrument have taken an important place in the rising institutions of civilization. The earliest known wind intrument not blown by the human lungs was a device constructed by an Alexandrian barber, Ctesibius, who, during the third century BC., constructed a contrivance by which a trumpet could be blown by forcing air through it. Hero, an engineer of the times, applied the invention to a row of trumpets representing a musical scale in such a manner that any one of the trumpets could be sounded by pushing a button under- neath itg air was pumped through the in- strument by several slaves, and kept at a constant pressure by water, whence the name hydraulus. This instrument was the precursor of the pipe organ. It rapidly gained much popularity, both for its novelty and for the powerful sounds pro- duced. During the next few centuries the hydrau- lus was improved and enlarged, oftentimes containing as many as sixty pipes arranged in three rows, corresponding to the modern stop. It was early noted that pleasing con- trasts were obtained when two or three notes were sounded together, later the idea occurred that several notes might be played from a single key, producing a chord. This was the beginning of harmony, and organs were soon built consisting of several hun- dred pipes, thirty or forty of different pitch for each key. Two required to pound the heavy keys with their fists, and a score or more the bellows. The sound enormous, but certainly of screaming tone. Nevertheless such in- organists were slaves to raise produced was 3. Vefy COZLYSC, struments as these were used until the fourteenth century when many improve- ments were designed. Indeed, the fourteenth and fifteenth cen- turies constituted the period of the most prolific improvement in the history of the famous instrument. Heretofore no prac- tical method had been introduced of con- trolling the power of the instrument, and the performer was obliged to use the full organ all the time. There came from the Netherlands a device whereby each set of pipes might be independently shut off from the wind supply and tlms silenced, and about the same time the slider action was reinvented, which was a more efhcient means to the same end. The latter might be considered one of the most important improvements in organ building, for upon it rests the possibility of the great variety of tone color, a characteristic in which the organ reigns supreme. The mammoth key- boards of the older instruments were also Cliontinued on Page 463

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NTHUSIASTIC students have been cheering for Brattleboro High School for nearly one hundred years. The first graduation exercises took place ninety- seven years ago. Ever since December fourth, seventeen hundred eighty-two Cl782j, when the first decision in regard to Public Schools was made by the citizens of Brattleboro, they had, undoubtedly, planned for an institu- tion of higher education. Of course there were many private Academies and Semi- naries in Brattleboro and the surrounding villages, but they didnlt belong to the town. The private Academy at West Brattleboro was far from the East Village, and the private High School on the Common-why they had about one hundred and ninety pupils a11d only two teachers! In eighteen hundred thirty-two a group of public- spirited citizens of Brattleboro formed a High School Association which was con- stituted to establish a High School for young masters, ladies, and misses in the 'East Village., 'y Eleven trustees: John Hol- brook, Frances Goodhue, Joseph Fessen- den, john L. Dickerman, Gardner C. Hall, Samuel Root, Paul Chase, Henry Smith, Henry Clark, Phillip Hall and William Hays, were placed in charge. The school remained under their jurisdiction for ten years, then it was sold to the district. Mr. Holbrook and Mr. Goodhue were at the time the joint owners of the land on which the High School now stands and a good bit of the surrounding territory as well. They sold all of this land except a lot set aside for the school building, and the proceeds helped the Association's finan- cial problems. Work on the building was begun at once and the first session of B. H. S. was held in the early part of eighteen hundred thirty-three. The schoolhouse was a two- story wooden structure painted white. Last year the class of eighteen hundred eighty-four, the last class to graduate from the old building, gave to all the Alumni pictures of their Alma Mater as a remem- brance of their 'fforty-fifth birthday. Up to the year eighteen hundred sixty- three practically the only record to be found of the activities of B. H. S. is a note- book once owned by Addison Hale who, in THE DIAL IVY OIQATIDN GLIMPSES OF THE PAST a spurt of Freshman enthusiasm, copied down a list of subjects taught and the names of the scholars, seventy-one in num- ber, and even then one more girl than boy. But when at last they had acquired a Public High School, the citizens were not entirely satisfied. They wanted to improve their possession, not as to property but system. In eighteen hundred forty-one a committee was appointed first to decide upon and then to incorporate a better school system. The committee adopted that of our neighbor, Massachusetts. Inci- dentally, Brattleboro was the hrst Vermont town to adopt this system. The system was a great success and the splendid schools of Brattleboro proved to be a strong induce- ment to many to settle here. On Monday, April thirteenth, eighteen hundred sixty-three, began a new era for Brattleboro High School. On that day a dynamic personality came to guide the youth of Brattleboro-Mr. B. F. Bingham, a natural-born schoolmaster. As if by magic the whole atmosphere changed, rule, order, and accomplishment stepped to the fore. Mr. Bingham, too, seemed pleased and con- tent for he remained at his post as principal until his death in eighteen hundred eighty- nine when all Brattleboro mourned the loss of their beloved master. Brattleboro was fortunate also to have Mrs. blames P. Elmer CStella Elmerj as assistant principal. Mrs. Elmer served the school faithfully for thirty years in this capacity. Since the year eighteen hundred eighty- nine, B. H. S. has been served by eight principalsg Mr. McLashlen, Mr. James D. Horne, Mr. Hobart Whittaker, Mr. Edgar Smith, Mr. VVarren, Mr. Caverly, Mr. Stevens, and now Mr. Wiggin. In eighteen hundred eighty-four, B. H. S. was presented a new brick building which is still very much in use! How enthusiastic the scholars must have been over such a splendid building even though they were sorry to have the old familiar structure torn down. Let us go back to the days when our B. H. S. was new-say to eighteen hundred ninety-about forty years ago. VVhat were they studying then? Were the courses any- thing like those of today? 7 From the old School Reports we learn that there were four courses of study. The Commercial Course was only two years in length and the subjects were, beside English, Algebra, Geography, History, Arithmetic and Bookkeeping. The English Course was four years in length. The first two years were the same as the Commercial, but the juniors and Seniors studied Astronomy, Chemistry, Zoology, Geology, and Botany. The two other courses were each four years in length. The Latin Course differed from tl1e English only in one respect, that Latin was substituted for Algebra. The Classical Course included Greek' and one term of French. Music and Drawing were required sub- jects. Music had been introduced into the curriculum by Edward Clark, the leader of the Unitarian Church Choir, in eighteen hundred sixty-three. A period of Rhetori- cal Expression, as Senior speeches were termed in the good old days, was held every Vtlednesday afternoon in the As- sembly Hall. Do you know we really aren't as modern as we think we are? It is most interesting to read the old School Committee Reports and chuckle over the familiar expressions. Way back in eighteen hundred ninety- three they had a discussion concerning the advisibility of changing from a one-session to a two-session plan. In the course of the argument set forth by the principal, who favored the one-session plan, we discover the fact that 'fafternoon sessions are held daily as punishment for unpreparedness i11 recitation and for unruly conduct. The statement by the principal to the ef- fect that the students are crowded and if a new building cannot be financed at least an addition should be made is ancient history. Principal James D. Horne originated the phrase in tl9Olj nineteen hundred one. Later he was rewarded by having a room in the third story finished for class work. Possibly twenty-nine years of continued repetition have worn down the sales resist- ance of the townspeople perhaps in the near future-who knows? By nineteen hundred six, athletics had won a prominent place in High School activities and received much praise in the Report. 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