Calhoun School - Ink Pot Yearbook (New York, NY)

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in k p 0 t of lena geyer By Marcia DavenporT W HEN David asked Lena for permission To wriTe her auTobiography, she refused, giving a very iusTiTiable answer. There has never been a book wriTTen abouT an opera singer ThaT was True. You would make me appear like a Hollywood sTar and I don'T wanT ThaT. David. BuT Tinally, aTTer many monThs oT TacTful approaches To The subiecT, David goT her To give in, and Thus, OF LENA GEYER. WiTh This in mind, you are prepared Tor a book ThaT hides none of The coarseness of The poor Bohemian peasani' who rose To such fame wiTh her Thrilling voice. Lena lived in a small world, encircled by her very few friends who, one and all, lived in The glory oT her sparkling, energeTic person. She was noT beauTifuI, buT, as one of her dearesT friends said, She is The only woman I know who, Though noT beauTiTul, has a glowing radiance abouT her, ThaT fills The room, opera sTage or concerT-hall, ThaT she happens To be in, wiTh an alive and fiery beauTy. OT course, her voice was parT of her charm, for There was someThing elecTrifying and viTal in iT ThaT en- rapfured people wheTher she was giving a command performance for kings, or singing To The Town oT Sioux CiTy, on one of her Tours. Coming Trom Prague To America To be near her dear maesTro, she began her career in dire poverfy, buT happy neverTheless, To give her whole self To her arT. Going back To Europe To gain recogniTion, she ToughT againsT her personal desires and always puT her music before even The whole world. Much doubT has arisen as To wheTher Lena is a ficTiTious characTer Tor she is so naTural, so TruThTul, wiTh her liTTle faulfs ThaT she is really noT a book heroine. Marcia DavenporT is in a fiT posiTion To wriTe a book abouT such a greaT arTisT, Tor her moTher is a greaT singer and her faTher a noTed violinisT and she has been raised wiTh a deep undersTanding of music. Through her pen we see a magnificenT woman, Lena Geyer, and aT Times, almosT her Tasci- naTing voice. Ll LLIAN FICHTEN HOLTZ, '39, north to the orient By Anne Morrow Lindbergh T HIS is noT a book such as one Conrad or Hugo mighT have wriTTen, buT iT is wriTTen in a sTyIe so human, so beauTiful in iTs simpIiciTy, ThaT iT aImosT equals The works of The greaT auThors. The descripTions of Their many sTops, when Mrs. Lindbergh and her famous husband flew To The OrienT via a norThward rouTe, long remain in one's memory, so vividly are They painTed. In Norfh Canada, visiTing a IiTTIe seTTIemenT comprised solely of men who had noT been in a populaTed, civilized communiTy Tor many years, in China, volunfeering Their services To The sTricken Chinese, and Then on To Russia and Japan, The Lindberghs conTinued Their Thrilling iourney. ATTer finishing This greaT book, one feels as if one had been NORTH TO THE ORIENT wiTh Lindberghs. JOAN AMBERG, '38. the nine old men By Drew Pearson and RoberT S. Allen T HE NINE OLD MEN is one oT The TinesT books ever wriTTen abouT The Supreme CourT. ITS auThors. Drew Pearson and RoberT S. Allen, are leading experTs and wriTers on foreign aiifairs in The UniTed STaTes. They have exfensive conTacTs which make Them auThenTic sources of public inTormaTion in WashingTon. The book describes each of The nine iudges on The bench, Their personal and social lives, and The backgrounds ThaT have helped shape Their opinions. IT Tells how The courT during The one hundred- and-TorTy-seven years of iTs exisfence, has risen from an insigniTTcanT body, which meT in any dingy room ThaT iT could obTain, To The powerful posiTion which iT now occupies in The governmenT, siTTing in a whiTe marble palace, in WashingTon. JusT who are The nine old men who siT in The Supreme CourT? How do They live and work? WhaT have been The eTTecTs oT Their recenT decisions, veToing acTs of The PresidenT and Congress? The book answers all These quesTions. IT exposes The Supreme CourT in an inTeresTing and lively manner. IT is a daring and revealing picTure of The Supreme CourT, iTs personaliTies and iTs TuncTions. IT should be read by everyone for a beTTer undersTanding of The mosT powerful courT in The world. CONSTANCE MEI ROWITZ, '39. fiTTy-Two

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ink- pol memoirs of a small-town surgeon By John Brooks Wheeler, M.D. M R. WHEELER was graduaTed from The UniversiTy of VermonT in I875, and in The same year began The sTudy of medicine aT Harvard. He has noT only waTched The developmenT of This science buT has Taken acTive parT in iT. ln an auTobiography comprehensible To laymen he has relaTed iTs growTh by relevanT sTories and anecdoTes. in The I870's medical schools were noT graded, nor were sTudenTs. They had a Three-year course and during Those Three years were required To aTTend Two lecTure courses of from Tour To six monThs each. WriTTen examinaTions were noT given, buT aT The end of The second course oral examinaTions were given which consisTed of noT Too severe quesTions. The sTudenTs, who were required To become apprenTiced To pracTicing physicians, were supposed To acquire Their pracTical knowledge from Them. As an inTerne he waTched many operaTions which are The basis for some of his comparisons. ln his Time anesThesia made paTienTs more comTorTable Than They had been prior To iTs discovery in The l840's. Discoveries were being made. buT were Too TrequenTly scoTFed aT. since some which had been Tried 'failed because of TorgoTTen deTails or less skillful Technique. SomeTimes, Too, surgeons were Too sTubborn To vary Their accusTomed meThods. The morTaliTy raTe was Trom eighTy To nineTy-Tive per cenT, since sTerile garmenTs and insTrumenTs were noT known. Surgeons operaTed conTinually in gar- menTs ThaT had become Too old and ragged To wear in The sTreeT. These were usually sTained wiTh pus and blood. IT a surgeon had To inTerrupT an operaTion Tor any reason he would place The insTru- menT'he had been using in his mouTh and Then use iT again. Thereby endangering his paTienT and himse T. DocTors TrequenTly Travelled hundreds oT miles To operaTe on paTienTs in Their homes. The paTienTs had a horror oT hospiTals since The deaTh Toll was so high. OperaTing Tables were erecTed on Two barrels wiTh a board sTreTched across. IT a paTienT's TeeT hung oTT The Table a chair was used To prop Them up. A docTor considered himself TorTunaTe if he Tound a kiTchen Table on which he mighT operaTe on a paTienT. AT one Time Dr. Wheeler was Taking a paTienT To a hospiTal by Train, and since The paTienT had To lie down They Travelled in The baggage car. AT The TirsT sTop a leaky craTe of TrouT packed in freshly waTered grass was puT on. NexT Time Two hounds were added To The group, and The Third Time a large craTe oT squawking ducks ioined Them. Thus iT was ThaT paTienTs Travelled To The hospiTal. WhaT a conTrasT These illusTraTions presenT To modern Technique and hospiTalizaTion. Well- Trained docTors and nurses work quieTly, quickly, and eTiicienTly in disinTecTed hospiTals. The mor- TaliTy raTe has dropped To Ten per cenT. Trained men work in laboraTories daily sTriving Tor beTTer resulis by new meThods. Diseases previously incurable now have remedies. All regions in The body are explored, and diseases in Them TrequenTly cured. During The nineTeenTh cenTury surgeons did noT dare operaTe on The head, chesT, or abdomen. The complain? I have wiTh The book is ThaT Dr. Wheeler apologizes Tor whaT he says and Too oTTen musT admiT ThaT he is noT sure of his TacTs. He could have, in many cases, I am sure. veriTied his sTaTe- menTs. and where he could noT he mighT have omiTTed Them. This gives The impression ThaT he does noT know whaT he is Talking abouT, buT in realiTy The book is a Thorough and inTormaTive accounT oT The growih oi one oT our mosT viTal sciences. BETTY BARON, '37. crimefile on bolitho blane 5 By Dennis WheaTley and J. G. Links C RlMEFILE is The name given To a police record oT a crime. This book presenTs To The reader every clue and iTem oT evidence. exacTly as The police find iT. IT is unique in ThaT, insTead of giving descripTions, iT provides acTual phoTographs: insTead of described clues. The burnT maTch Tound in The dead man's cabin and a paTch of a blood-sTained curTain are given. Telegrams, hand- wriTTen messages, and reporTs are reproducTions of real ones, adding more inTeresT To The sTory and making The reader Teel like a Sherlock Holmes on The Trail. The sTory, beTTer Than The usual run oT mysTeries, is wriTTen by Dennis WheaTley, buT crediT also goes To J. G. Links, who planned iT. As DeTecTive KeTTering geTs The case, BoliTho Blane, wealThy Brifish Tinancier, has been Tound dead in his cabin aboard a yachT oTT The coasT of Florida. Aboard This yachT are The daughTer of Rocksavage, a fake counT, a Bishop, The ever-mysTerious Japanese oTTicial, several guesTs and Blane's secreTary. His hosT, CarlTon Rocksavage, reporTs Blane's deaTh as suicide, and iT is noT unTil The Chief of DeTecTives Tinds a clue in a phoTograph senT him by KeT- Tering ThaT The reader begins To suspe-:T various characTers. I Think ThaT This book, in iTs uTTer originaliTy, will appeal To all readers, while an ardenT Tan of mysTery sTories will Tind iT To be iusT The Thing he has been seeking. LILLIAN FICHTENHOLTZ, '39. TiTTy-one

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in k p o t beloved friend By Bowen and Von Meck O NE of the more recent works of literature is BELOVED FRIEND, by Catherine Drinker Bowen and Barbara Von Meck, an excellent collection of the letters of Peter Tchaikowsky. the famous com- poser, to his beloved friend. Nadeida Von Meck, and her replies. From this prolific correspon- dence. which continued for more than a decade, has been woven the story of a most fantastic romance. which leaves the reader breathless with its strange beauty. The letters are entirely authentic, many having been contributed by one of the authoresses, Bar- bara Von Mack, who, incidentally, is the grand-daughter-in-law of the heroine. Rubenstein, the great pianist-composer, first introduced the works ot Tchaikowsky to the widow Von Meck. She immediately fell in love with his music. and soon proceeded to write to him and tell him ot her admiration tor his compositions. Tchaikowsky replied, and from that day on continued a most fascinating correspondence between the two. Despite the brief marriage of Tchaikowsky and the fact that Nadeida Von Meclc had grandchildren. nevertheless the two felt deeply for each other, and laid bare their hearts in the most poignant of le++ers. Madame Von Meck, being an extremely wealthy woman, provided Tchaikowsky with every possible luxury. But perhaps the most miraculous part of this romance is the fact that Tchaikowsky and Madame Von Meck never visited each other, although they lived close by-never were introduced-saw each other occasionally at the opera, only at a distance, however-never attempted to see each other, and never did meet each other during their entire lives. Barbara Von Meck and Catherine Bowen have contributed a most worthy book to the world of literature. It is surely destined to become a universal favorite. JEAN ADRIAN GREENBERG, '39, fighting angel By Pearl S. Buck F IGHTING ANGEL is the biography of the author's father. Andrew came of what was called the preachin'est family in Virginia. His story begins on a farm and tells of his struggles to receive a good education. He wandered about China for more than half a century. He went there young, and there he died, an old man. Part of his lite work was the translation of the New Testament into the Chinese language. He was a devoted tighter for the souls of the heathen. He was so sure of his rightness and so impatient because there was so little time to save the millions of souls, that he went through all the hazards of banditry, of famine, of epidemics, of the Boxer Rebellion, and of revolu- tion, but still on he moved the same. serene. odd, devout Andrew, so sure of himself and his cause. His is a portrait of one single soul fighting for other's souls which have been lost. and thus he is pre- sented as the FIGHTING ANGEL. FANNIE MILLER. '39, from these beginnings By Will Levington Comfort FROM THESE BEGINNINGS is an amusing, realistic picture of an American family in moderate cir- cumstances. It is written from a humorous point of view, but with a sympathetic treatment of a young girl's emotional lite. Wilton Crosby, the well-beloved father, had been writing a book for many years. Judith, like so many mothers ot today, is the inevitable go-between, trying to inspire the confidence of her daughter. Paula, without losing that of her mother-in-law, Mrs. Crosby. She must be an understanding link be- tween old and young, as well as mother to three children. This bool: introduces lightly a situation that exists, to a certain extent. in every American home. Its charm lies in the vivid personalities of the characters. The author is the brilliant and talented daughter of the well-known writer, Will Levington Com ort. PHYLLIS AARONSON, '39, fifty-three