Bridgeport Central High School - Criterion Yearbook (Bridgeport, CT)

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THE CRITERION was something familiar about the charming face that drew my attention and on second look, I came to the con- clusion that it was none other than our famous Class Beauty, Etola Sandiford, now a very popular model, always in demand. In this magazine was a Fashion Department, edited by Kathryn Blackman, a damsel of great style. From a side street, the familiar and unmistakable strains of the Salvation Army Band could be heard, and as we had no particular place to go, We de- cided to give these industrious people a visit. In order to get to the source of this music, if it might be- called such, we had to pass through a sort of ar- cade, the principal feature of which was a ver-y large motion-picture and vaudeville theatre, the name of which was: The Thirteen Grads. The oddness of the name drew my special attention, my Hrst thought being that it was named and managed by a Gradl' family, thirteen in num- ber. Evidently, I was a poor guesser, for when Dutch' began to praise the suc- cessful musical pupils of our former Class of '13 I learned that four of them now managed and owned this theatre. john McCarthy was the business manager and stage-director, while the music was furnished by the famous Flint Orchestra, Clarence Flint, Di- rector. Frank Gillane, a talented man- dolinist was also a member of this musical group. Of the soloists, Irene Havrilla was the premier, her voice having been trained and cultivated by the leading vocal teachers of the East. Edfs opinion was that these four had gone into business in order to accumu- late enough of the United States Five- cent pieces to enable them to go abroad and develop their arts more extensive- ly. At last, we arrived at the Open Air Meeting and to my great surprise, who was mounted on a small platform, de- livering a speech, but Frank Speer. IVhy, where have you been all this time?l' Ed. inquired of me, seeing my surprise. Why, Speer has become one of the greatest Salvation Army Men and Temperance speakers that ever stood on a barrel and sang. Just now, he is predicting that the end of the world will come next week, but when next week comes, he will speak upon the eternity and everlasting ex- istence of this great planet on which we live. VVhen he is not stump- speaking, he is doing Boy Scout work, for he is a Thirty-Third Degree Mem- ber of that organization. Ed. talked so long, and so eloquent- ly, I was beginning to think that he was wasting his time with automobiles and that he should join Speer in Life- Savingf, Satisfied that Speer had made a name for himself, regardless of nature, we left him to his hobby , and set out towards town. XYhile passing a book-store on the Main street, our attention was attrac- ted by a large show-card, which was in the window, surrounded by a num- ber of expensively bound books, and which read: f'The Famous Du Barry Tales by Du Barry Himself. The contents of these editions consis- ted mainly of the life of john De- Twenty-eight

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THE CRITERION me to understand that their present undertaking was simply an experiment. The object of the four partners was to get an insight into the mysteries of before settling bungalows, to cooking and serving, down in suburban cater to life-partners. Vkfhen we were paying for our de- lightful repast, we met the other mem- bers of the partnership of Bachelor Girls, and began to compliment them on their good serving and cozy dining- room, but our conversation soon turned to H. S. grads. and their where- abouts. They related that Fred Owens called around occasionally when in town on business, being manager of one of the largest Lumber and XYood Supply Companies in the East. Some- times he was accompanied by his for- mer stenographer, afterwards his house-keeper, Mrs. Tilly Johnson Owens. Once in a while, the just-Like-Home Dinery would have for its honored guests. three stenographers who were employed by prominent local business concerns. This trio had received their instructions in their valuable art at B. H. S. and were: Edith Lingard, Fanny Pious and Margurite Dell. Another means of telling of the present doings and locations of some 'I3's. was a business Directory, which was lying on the cashier's desk, pub- lished semi-annually by the XYeiss- Vlfishengrad Information Bureau. Helen VVeiss and-Rose Vlfishengrad al- ways were good at such work, particu- larly Current Events. This Agency was patronized by many of the agents' former school-mates and as we glanced through the different sections, we noticed some very interesting ads. Twenty-seven On one of the introductory pages wasthe following in large print: THE MAPLES' latest novel by that noted Authoress, Bessie O'Neil fat all Book Storesjs Apparently, Bessie O'Neil had be- come famous as a writer of modern fiction and true-to-nature tales and descriptions. Further on in the directory, we found this: Misses Hoey and llammil Latest Spring Millinery in all of the Seasons' most approved' shapes and sizes. At last, Ruth Hoey had gone into the Hatter's Business. Back in B. H. S. days, many often wondered at the number of hats Ruth had, for she seemed to wear a different one every second day. Edith Hammilis being her partner was not wholly surprising, for as seat mates, they were almost in- separable. In the Musical Section of the edition, a conspicuous ad. proved that Ethel Seamans had found good use for her talent, for we read: Piano Lessons, by the Famous Instructor Mlle. Ethel Seamans, 35 per hour. After promising that we would call again when in the neighborhood, we left the restaurant, and headed down street. At a news-stand Ed. stopped to purchase a paper, and while he was doing so. I viewed the many maga- zines on display. On one of the covers was a picture by Harrison Fisher of a pretty country girl. There

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THE CRITERION Barbieri, from the time he left B. H. S., to the period of composition. .-Xt schools close, not being content with ordinary office and clerical work, John started in the photography busi- ness, but because of the brittleness of his plates, he was unable to turn out satisfactory pictures. ln olden times, he also had very much trouble with his pictures along this line, The Plate broke being the general excuse. He afterwards opened a Dancing Academy, thinking that he might have greater success at this undertaking. but because of the peculiar hops and trots'l that his pupils acquired from their instructor, he lost his repu- tation, and hung up the Hbankruptn sign. Assuming the name Count Du Barry, this being re-inforced by a Upointed mustachel' and a monacle, he landed in Europe-I know not how, perhaps via a Cattle Boat-and was about to take his first step in London Society, when two American travelers, Miss Russell and Edwards, not knowing of his masquerading and change of name, betrayed his secret, the result being that john was ostracized. Financially broken, he set to writ- ing a book of his misfortunes and, luckily, succeeded in having it pub- lished. But, as the contract with the publishers was merely on a royalty basis his becoming a millionaire was still but an air-castle. Fd. wished one of these books for his library, so we entered the book-- store. At one of the counters Miss Bauman was head clerk and. as l re- garded her, somehow, she did not look natural. At the i'OfHce Supplies counter, Florence Craddock was sales- Twenty-nine lady and as she crossed over to regis- ter a certain sale, she stood at the side of Miss Bauman. Vtlhat a change, I thought, had come over their appear- ances. Separated, they appeared strange, but when together, as they al- ways were at B. H. S. they looked per- fectly natural. Another book on sale, which interes- ted us, was: Seeds, and How to Sow Them by Anna Schmidt. Miss Schmidt, who journeyed from l'lattsville. was now managing a 'fSchool of Farming at Fairfield, and in her leisure hours, wrote books which might prove helpful to the outside world. Her assistant at the school was Miss O'Brien. whose hobby was The Study of Potatoes. M'e once more found ourselves on the Main street and as a car passed, noticed it was labeled: To the Airadromew Flight at Three Wishing to end the day with some- thing exciting, we boarded the car, and., after a short trip towards the sub- urbs, landed at a large, open, meadow. presently crowded by a mass of ex-- cited sightseers. At one side, we noticed a small tent, and, thinking that this was occupied by the aviator, pre-- paring for flight, we wedged our Way through the crowd. VVhile so doing, we met Miss XYhaley, note-book in hand, making a report of the proceed-- ings. She told us that she was on the editorial staff of the Outlook , her writing name being Ophelia Upon reaching the entrance of the tent, who should we see, attired in an air-man's costume but Bill McDermott.