Catholic High School For Girls - Silver Sands Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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0W, WAS born ln the thrrd largest clty of Germany Cologne on the 16th of August 1920 Good graclous a neighbor of our household ex cla1med 15 not thls planet crowded enough w1thout a newcomer dropprng 1n7 Then she peered at the tmy object xn the cradle 1n a very crxtlcal manner Thus was I greeted by the world But just then I was not the least b1t concerned about the1r att1tude toward me Anyhow my mother turned adonng eyes upon me Soon I was a very hvely 11ttle bemg wxth dark eyes a httle round nose and blonde p1g talls I was carefully guarded agarnst all manner of 111s and spent my ch11dhood mostly among my famxly When I was three years old we moved to the sub urbs very close to the romantlc Rhlne There I spent mother often told me stones and taught me kruttlng whxle my mother made me dolls houses and a big stage Many a ramy afternoon we would s1t to gether for hours and pamt or perform httle plays I hked best to be aken on long walks along the Rhme to go boat rxdmg to v1s1t museums and cathed rals or to s1t wxth my mother ID a cafe for afternoon ea About once a month Mother would go wxth me to plays for ch11dren or ballets and when I was four years old I was taken to my Hrst opera Hansel and Gretel Thns was an unforgettable evenmg for me I sat very quletly mn a box between my mother and grandmother and could not take my eyes from the stage That was the begmnmg of my apprecxatron for good musxc Fmally a new chapter commenced I was ready for school Fxrst I was xnspected by the school doctor Because I was too dehcate the school would not accept me and I never had the prlvxlege of gomg to pnmary school Mother was puzzled but soon found a way out I was to be mstructed at home A pn vate tutor was secured and I was mtroduced to new worlds Thus years passed the glonous years of SILVER SANDS ATIVE L By YVONNE ERNST 39 cluldhood durmg whlch I learned played and grew These were years of unforgettable happmess and pleasure Germans are a people possessed wxth an lntense love for nature and an The folk song plays an everxm portant part ln the1r hves and House Muslc IS cul txvated nn a home both IH the C1'Y and ln the country So when I was exght years old I was presented wxth a v1ol1n and IIISCIUCYIOIIS followed 1mmed1ately Often Mother and I spent many hours at a concert But st1ll I found time to play wlth my dolls and soldrers Behmd our apartment was a 11ttle garden where our landlord kept ch1ckens and doves On warm summer even1ngs the swallows would whlzz past my W1!1d0W or mmgle wlth the doves wh1le the breeze earned the fresh scent of flowers from the nexghbormg gar dens Th1s was l1ke a Paradxse to me there I would buxld 1magmary palaces dream of strange lands or talk to the cluckens One day around my nmth bxrthday I recexved the message that my father was comlng to V1S1t us from Amerxca Smce I could not remember lus last vaca t1on abroad I made blg eyes at th1s news and opened my mouth 1n astomshment Fmally my father came and all three of us spent excxtmg days together Then Daddy had to retum to Amer1ca smce he works on a newspaper and can never go on a long vacatxon So he went back and we promxsed to follow hzm soon Smce we knew that IH a short tzme we would be leavxng the fatherland Mother and I began to go out every day to those places whxch we held dear It was wzth a sad heart that I climbed the vme clad h1lls of the Rh1ne for the last tune I bade farewell to the old castles forests and vxllages Then one day xt was all over The clock struck twelve on a warm May nlght xn the year 1932 when I found myself ln the tram to Hamburg The tears blurred everythmg around me and I could not even eat the chocolate my mother gave me 31 I I . . , . ' . . , , . 9 U ' it ' 1' ' l n D 1 n 1 ' ' ' 9 ' , . M n . . . , , . - , . , , , . , . f . i . 7 . I. 1 . . , , . ' 1 n 9 I . .l - 3 the happ1est hours of my young l1fe. My grand- - - - , , , s s , . . q - ' ' ' f 9 l . 9 . ' 5 . . . . . . . . . 5 9 1 I ' ' , . . , ' I . . . . , l , . il ' , . . ,. . . . D I 7 . 3 ' . I . I Y I ' , . , . . , . I . ' , . . U . 4 .' I . Q . , .

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'nm SEEING EYE AS I SEE IT T FIRST I was astounded really astounded then I became mdxgnant Well wouldnt you have been to have a cranky and radmcal man try to bhght your young l1fe by 1ns1st1ng that you wear glasses? I suppose I felt a httle hurt and yes a httle bxtter too to th1nk that I would be dxfferent You know some people just love to be dxfferent but some how they all agree that glasses are taboo Oh they ll wear nngs 111 the1r ears grease on the1r llps and curlers rn the1r hanr but no glasses I wasnt any dnferent from anyone else My xdeas on the subject were not orlgxnal I merely wept and moaned my fate But the only crumb of comfort I recexved was the thought that I wasn t the nrst and I wouldnt be the last to wear them The admlnlstrator of my m1sery sald I would only have to wear glasses for about ten years Only ten years' They might as well have been a hundred I was seven then and to me ten years seemed a lxfe tlme I used to s1t and plcture myself the lovely herome of some fantastlc dream and the one dark cloud was the fact the herome wore glasses I tned to 1mag1ne myself w1thout them but xn vam My rmagmatlon rambled on and I would see myself at seventeen st1ll weanng glasses Some people feel that they need glasses not only for readmg or wntmg or for some work that requxres a straxn on the eyes but they feel that they need them at mght too They never bother to remove them before ret1r1ng You know the ones who sxt propped up nn bed readxng a novel guaranteed to freeze the blood and who rarely ever fnnlsh It The cause may be e1ther fnght or fatxgue but they fall asleep stxll wear mg the1r glasses Then there are those people who th1nk that any bathlng costume 15 mcomplete w1thout the1r glasses Whether lt be a swnnmmg marathon or Just an ordmary dmp 1n the water the1r glasses do a command performance Im not speakmg of sun glasses now They are a httle d1Eerent from the ordmary glasses nn color These glasses come IH varxous shades If you are partxal to color though you can get glasses wxth a very very slxght txnt of pmk or blue You dxdn t know they came m duferent 30 By MARY RITA DE FAY 38 colors? Oh my yes another conquest of sclence another step an progress Glawes have for years stood as the outward slgn of an up and commg young genmus If she wore glasses she was sure to know her lessons Such a concluslon of long standmg could not be wrong Oh how I resented th1s If only to prove thxs txme honored obser vatlon wrong I longed to fa1l m a few subjects for a day or so So many UIIICS I wanted to shock them out of the1r stup1d1ty But lxke other temptauons they were reslsted and so the tlme honored observat1on 15 stlll mtact For all the1r drawbacks glasses do have some re deemmg quahtles To atta1n that perfect d1gn1ty there IS nothmg to compare wxth glasses They add that certam somethmg that no style of coxffure or eyebrows can a qu1et d1gn1ty that cannot be broken Glasses can be used for someth1ng besrdes an a1d to the s1ght Mme serve as a sort of defense behmd whxch I take refuge Its very rnterestlng to s1t back complacently and study human nature The hght on my glasses makes the correct color of my eyes elusxve as an advantage A person ordmanly glancmg 1n my d1rect1on wouldn t be aware of my scrutlny It s very mterestmg to watch your nexghbor from such a van tage pomt I suppose I sound rather smug and self satxsfied but Im not really You wouldnt accuse me of such an mjustxce lf you could Slt back and study your nelghbor wxthout bemg too much observed I have worn glasses now for almost ten years and 1n all that tune Ive never allowed myself to become too fond of them If I should be allowed to lay them asxde I th1nk I would wxllmgly Almost wxllmgly' After you ve worn a th1ng so long rt becomes almost a part of you It would be like partmg wlth a leg or an arm My dependency on them would make me feel the1r loss more than those who wear glasses only part time I rather thmk my wnllmgness would be nungled wxth a lxttle wlstfulness I lxke to mmagxne that my laymg as1de my glasses would be lxke partmg from an old fnend a frlend nn need Perhaps some day Id wear them agam not because I needed them but gust for old tlmes sake SILVER SANDS I I Q 5 ' 5 I 1' . , . Q - . 9 1 ' ' l s 1 I ' ' 9 , , . . . . . . , , , , , , , . . I . . . . a ' ' . . , t ' U . . f . . . No one can say definitely the right color. This serves U ' 1 . 1 Q - - 1 - Q a Q 1 , D I ' , . . , . , D . . . . . ' , I Q n . . ' Q , . . - t , , . , . . . . . . . ' , . , . . . . . , . . 1 . I 4 v u ' - ' , ' . T- . . . I I . I S

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The next mornmg we were 1n Hamburg Mother and I stayed there for about two days watchmg the bxg ocean l1ners along the docks or v1s1t1ng the places of h1gh mterest Then we went aboard the sh1p wh1ch was to bnng us to the promxsed land As we were standmg on the deck leamng aga1nst the ra1lmg the tears were streaxmng down our faces whxle the band played an old German folk song Then slowly very slowly the Shlp left the harbor and before long we were out on the open sea Around me was water and sky beh1nd me a chxld hood and before be an unknown future A Cundul Camera Shot AKE a medlum portxon of a chubby l1ttle boy topped w1th blond curls and blue eyes and a dash of m1sch1ef and you have the 1dol of the famlly Charles the Baby It was the second bxrthday of our baby who was usually known as Ch1Ck and Mother wanted l11S PIC ture taken The photographer was to come at two o clock and Ch1ck dressed 1n a L1ttle Lord Fauntleroy su1t looked l1ke an angel1c cherub w1th every blond curl 1n place However Edward who 1S four years old and snn ply a larger ed1t1on of the baby havmg just a l1ttle more m1sch1ef 1n l11S make up dec1ded that Ch1ck looked much too S1SS1flCd s1tt1ng there 1n state Say Ch1ck let s make some mud P165 Allw1te agreed Ch1Ck who found It very dim cult to Slt st1ll for any length of tune Now to take a small boy 1n a velvet su1t 1nto a. backyard to make some mud ples IS sure to be d1S3.S trous Th1s case was no except1on When Mother came out some twenty m1nutes later she found two very muddy l1ttle boys lookmg aghast at her ap proach She reached them wearmg a very dec1ded look wluch seemed to say that a spankmg was m the ofling Ch1ck dec1ded to take matters 1nto h1s Own hands and gomg up to her took her dress 111 h1s gr1my l1ttle hands and lookmg up w1th a cherub1c sm1le sa1d Me be dood boy Mummy At s1ght of that sm1le Mother relented but hustled them both off for a bath and a nap photographer or no photographer She proceeded to the bathroom to d1scover that the hot water was not qu1te hot enough So Ch1ck 32 By REGINA c GAIN 41 and Ed were left alone 111 the bathroom wlule Mother went to mvest1gate As I have sa1d Cl'l1Ck dxd not l1ke to s1t st1l1 and when thus left alone he tned to ind somethmg to do to amuse h1mself On th1s occas1on he went to a small cab1net where brushes shoe po11sh and other thmgs were kept He took out the black shoe pohsh and a clothes brush and takmg h1s own small wh1te shoe set about pol1sh1ng 1t' You need use no stretch of 1mag1nat1on to reallze how Mother felt when she saw Ch1CkS work of Ch1ck greeted her w1th Me shoe sh1ne boy unwr1tten h1St0fY Scarcely an hour later the photographer arnved Wlth h1s ass1stant Mother had to awaken the baby who was by tl'11S t1me 1n the Land of Nod Cl'11Ck was 1n a very bad humor The photographer va1nly tned to make l'11ID look at the pretty l1ttle b1rd but Cl'11Ck d1d not tlnnk the b1rd was pretty and sa1d so Wlth a loud wa11 of vexat1on Thmgs looked pretty black for a time t11l the ass1stant con ce1ved the happy 1dea of playmg ball to d1vert Chlcks attentlon The baby melted under th1s charmmg mfluence and as the photographer stood wautmg the ass1stant h1t h1mself w1th the ball and Ch1Ck chuckled gleefully Thus a very charm1ng p1cture was snapped There had been no txme to dress Ch1ck up so that the hrst tlung wh1ch greets you as you step 1Hf0 our l1v1ng room IS the p1cture of a sweet l1ttle baby dressed 1n old clothes w1th an angel1c smxle on Ins ace SILVER SANDS . . ' . . , . , I l . . I I , ' 3 ' 9 . 1 ' 9 S l ' C 0 I ' I , . . . A y . . , . . . , .1 1 . , ' 3 . ' . I a . ' . 9 9 W . I a n . n n q U Q Q I , , , . . . . ' . . - s As 9 9 5 , n 1 n - Q if , art. . . . . . , - - u. - as , , , . ' ' ' ' ' . What happened after that remains in a sect1on of s f a . ,, ' ' I 9 9 - G G5 ' 19 ' Q ' 9 I ' . - 4 . . . . , , p . . . g b I I ' ' . n 1 QQ I . ' l 5 . 1, . . . . . 3 Q G 1 , . , . . 1 1 t . . . , U , . . , . . , , . . , . l , . . ' . , 1 I . if QQ n a . - 3 ' 9 , , . . . , . . . . . , . , , . . . . . ' . ' f .