Central Manual Training High School - Record Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Mr. Green, the Sprayer, and Mr. Porter made us experts with the saw, chisel and hammer to such an extent that now we are all great knockers. Entwisle, or generally called Tinwhistle, was the man of I am it quality. He used to tell us the plane facts, or how to make a piece of board square. In Prof. Jarrett's room we were instructed in Freehand Drawing, or where sawdust baths were given free of charge. The boards which covered the floor above had warped, and the sawdust from the wood shops dropped down our necks, and thus we spent many a pleasant period in drawing. Last but not least comes our sand modeler. Mr. Minnig. His subject was the making of tin pans, and occasional storms were also indulged in. , Surely our freshman year was a grand success. It is easy now for me to sit here and write until I lose myself in pleasant memories spent in all the rooms at different times. But we have another side to our school life, that is the athletic end. This by no means should be forgotten, for it upholds the school spirit. Q Under the leadership of Ralph E. Harcourt a speedy football team was placed upon the field. It looked as if, at last, High School's time had arrived, but just like our rivals, who possess very keen foresight for side-stepping things and not giving a thought to true and manly sportsman- ship, a satisfactory date could not be agreed upon. Thus we lost our great chance to defeat our rivals. We defeated our sister school, Northeast Manual, and also the strong Penn Charter team, 5 to 0. Before we had half aired our freshman year it came to a close, and we now' told our friends we were juniors. but at school we were just plain Sophs. September 8. 1908. brought back many fellows who were sunburnt, and some who were burnt so badly that they had to repeat their freshman year. This year we met new Profs., and thus new troubles started. We were taught that great men group together and have great cause to believe it in the cases 77

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Upon our appearance the Principal addressed us with a short talk, now gone down in history as the heart-to-heart talk. We then received a piece of white paper which so closely resembled a chink check that some fellows began wondering if they taught laundering at Manual. After gen- erous instruction by our beloved Principal we were informed of its meaning-how to trace the class from one square to another, and keep going the same direction, because of the wear on the floor. This was our First experience with a roster. - For the first week our minds were full of instruction, names, rooms and warnings not to call Doc. Konzelmann, Mr. Grillon. We received the ways of the different teachers, and like lambs did we take in their good advice. We found we had a dandy faculty, and that granite walls do not make a school. '- Dr. Gerson seemed to be quite amusing with his long A, and chart on how to mark the paper in accordance with big words. X Prof. J. Alexander Clarke, commonly known as Fudge, and his lessons on how to book it in Algebra, made quite a hit, with his dance floor head and open roll sheet. By the time we had grasped Mr. Grillon's way of pronunciation we had missed the most im- portant principles of Grammar which he had been teaching. How well we remember his fa- vorite expressions: I strike the desk, and See him talking to the pole in the room. Louie and his Herbarium classes were surely blooming good times, even if the class did look seedy. Microscopic lessons or seeing things you know you don't, made quite a hit with us, especially the story how Louie rescued the microscopes from the fire. H. Clay Borden-Scientific Bubbles Borden-the man made renowned by stuttering, stalac- tites and general errors in everything. How we used to bring in maps of places, goodness only knows where they were situated, and yet receive a ten. After all, Old Bubbles was a goodfhearted chap, and we often showed our appreciation by helping him in his additions, such as telling him that four and four does not equal eight, but sixteen. 76

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of James Henri Donnely, Dr. Burch and Dr. Zieber. It is quite a task to tell which to place first, although I think jim reigns. Jim really seems to have more to do with the running of the school than President Sayre himself. He is always ready to help somebody into trouble, and has the reputation of never even displaying half a civilized smile. jim does not believe in saying much, be- cause he knows we could not understand him anyway. James Henri gives us exciting periods by allowing us to read up-to-date novels, such as Burke's Speech on Conciliation, The Vicar of Wakefieldu and others of the same blood-curdling type. I think jim is the right heir to first place of the trio, because no other Prof. could possibly surpass him. Now comes Doc. Burch who, with all his education, takes longer than I do to say Ah! He pulls his nose, wipes his glasses, turns around, puckers his mouth and then waits. After Waiting for quite a while he speaks in a low, soothing tone, just like our old grandmothers. We all know where old ladies go, but surely they would not take Dr. Burch from our beloved ranks to make a sy- nopsis of their meals. Dr. Burch, never in his mind, overworks us. He says, 'II will take a vote of the class if this should be done or not. If anyone votes no, why he is a candidate for some feeble- minded home. Of course the work gets done, and so do we. Dr. Zieber made quitela rumpus upon getting acquainted with the class. Doc. gave us lectures on .smoking while the string of a tobacco bag was being exposed from one of his side pockets. He introduced us to Trig. and Algebra, through whom some of us met Miss Fortune. Doc. had at combination soft hat and a derby all in one. On clear days it was called a derby, on rainy days a soft hat. I don't know whether the head changed with the hat or not. g We met Prof. Connor, the History teacher, who received the cognomen of Zeus, He is quite as slow as Doc. Burch, only twice as easy, everyone getting tens galore. His tests are given to see how fast you can copy from your books while he writes the questions on the board. Now for Melchior Lang. our sweet little German Professor: he tried to imbed in our block- heads the foundation of German grammar, but without success. Herr Lang was at one time in the German army and was quite a marksman, although he still lives up to his reputation by giving us a small show against his marks. -78