Chestnut Hill Academy - Caerulean Yearbook (Chestnut Hill, PA)

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CHESTNITT HILL ACADEMN lm l'l'lillllt'Il Pllllllglll xitality tu llLlXlllN'F liar in the- lil'z1tP1'11ity of lurush zmfl slmwl ni:-ii. Charlie' Iii:-svl :incl his UI'l'll6SlI'H wvrv prmwicling musit' llmr tlw clzulrv. For our edification. he burst forth in ai mail nn-locly on his saixoplium- while he performetl with great pr?- vision thv iimrv Cliflivult ste-ps of the Charleston. As hr von- vltulml his clvliglltful ollivringx. he lmiwfl in the- polislwcl num- iwr wliit-ti hv haul afqtlirvtl alt Clwstnut Hill. Ce-ni'g1v lfarling revitvcl HiiIlllK'l'5 famous soliloquy Wllf'lt his turn 1-uiiw. Uvnipti was tht- lezulingr avtor in Sliiike-slimiiwlii I'0ll'S'l'll0SPll. no clouht. ln-vause of his iiiagiiifiveiit indillivr- Pure to pc-tty things and the vlussim' lines of his l'ltll'l'yt114ll'l' HUFV. l uns uwi'islwlilic'4l hy the' lust ul' our 1-utvrie' to zippvm. 'K I gig f Toni lug. who hzul always lmvvn tlvau' tu alll ol' us tn-t.1us his clmrining lliiSlllilllIll'SS. had lm-mm' at hlutunt ti. f- S2llf'Slllllll. As his sliurc' of the viitwtaliillilviit, hm- llllllt 1 story uhivh was prmnptly and propvrly struvk from tht ii IIIPS. Xvvcllvss to sau. wi- tu-rv ull proliuluully slimwlwcl :Xml thus was l'UIlCl'llt'lf'tl thc- tvlmisimi rs-union ot th s lmys who. twmity yvurs prvviuusly. haul stu-ppc-ml out ul th s nut Hill. replvtv with umlrilion and sn-ll'-cmilialn-in-e-. 14.4 x sam'i'ifirc- vwrytliing tu Plltlllillf' tho Slll'l't'SSt'S ol the-ir rug 1 llf'l'0FS. lt was intvrvsling mul smm-xsliut tlisillusiomnf' pc-rvciw what tlmsv nnlwlm- lafls haul clam' with thc-ir In ll , what vmirsvs in lilir- tht-y haul 1-If-vii-tt. uml tu wtmt vmls lluy had finally arrix Q, N llomiizs th its

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44 THE CAERULEAN 0112155 lgrnphvrg l 4 ln the year of 1919, a meeting which had been conceived many years before, at last became an actuality, the Class of 1929 of Chestnut Hill Academy celebrated the twentieth anni- versary of its graduation. Unfortunately, circumstances pre- vented the members from attending in person, Thanks to the development of radio-television, however, this did not, in the least. detract from the pleasure or realization of our reunion. Through the new and miraculous invention. we were enabled to see and converse with our former schoolmates. Frank Laverell. the president of the Class, opened the meeting with a short talk from Shibe Park, in Philadelphia. At the time, he and George lVlontgomery were allowing full sway to their athletic ptroclivities 'by playing pro-fessional baseball under the guidance of Benny Nlacfarland. Each of the three delivered a short address, outlining their activities for the past years. Frank. it seems, was shortly retiring, because, as 'he said, he was no longer content to receive orders from such a perennial youth as Benny. I gathered that fifteen years of strenuous exercise had rather taken the spring from Frank and George. although Benny had bloomed increasingly as he grew older. Wes Woltman and Neil Bogert were the next to appear before us. Both, were professors at Yale-Wes, in the depart- ment of physics. and Neil in that of English. Wesley de- scribed to us in detail. the various theories of the universe which he had nursed to a stage of perfection. It was then rumored. I had heard, that he 'had completely surpassed Ein- stein in the accuracy of his conceptions. As Neil stood be- fore us, it was apparent that time had made few inroads upon his appearance. He remained a quiet, unassuming young man. In his short talk, he recited these few lines from his latest work. a poem which recently had won the Pulitzer prize in poetry : 'How many people we meet in life Who are just like the sea. They nod t'heir heads incessantly Afraid to disagree. We turned next to Bill Dilks, who spoke from his ma- chine shop in Detroit. ln the years since his graduation, he had given more and more of his efforts to the occupation that had always engrossed him-mechanics. As he stood before us, greasy and blushing, we could readily surmise that his chief interest of the moment was not his stammered speech. but the motorcycle which he had been avidly dissecting when we turned to him. Finally, we allowed him to continue his labors and set the dials for South America. Charlie Crane stood before us, resplendent in his latest sartorial creation. Vague gossip concerning his many con- quests in the game of love had reached our ears from time to time, and this wealthy planter, the cynosure of the eyes of girls on two continents, gave every evidence of his conquer- ing charms. We realized then why his whims were capable ol dictating the fashion in menis clothing. Larry llloway, Philadeltphiais leading sportsman, was al- most too occupied to entertain us. However, he was pre- vailed upon to speak a few words from a social function which he was attending. His quest had taken him along the path of bleeding heartsg for his principal attribute, the one which lent to him his former nickname, had little difhculty in inspiring eternal devotion in the debutantes at whom he deigned to glance. Charles Landreth and his business associate, Frank Gump, were revelling at a street cleaners' ball in Pittsburgh. Both otf these men were energetic go-getters in their youth. and we had always prognosticated great achievements for them. In Charlieis case, an unrequieted love affair had brought about disintegration of business verve. Yet both had

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-1-6 THE CAERULEAN Halvhirtnrg Today is a day which we. the members of the Class of 1929, have longed for and worked for since our entrance into this School. At that time this occasion appeared as a destina- tion on the distant horizon, a goal that has grown brighter and more beautiful with the years. Today, however, we awaken to the startling realization that our days here are over. and. as we look back over the hours of study, our smile of triumph becomes a tear of sorrow. We are happy to at- tain our graduation, but sorry at the same time to lose those things which we have found so precious in our life here at School. At this thought we awaken to a full sense of what this farewell means to us. One of the thoughts which persist in a school-boyis mind at this time is that of the real value of his education. This de- pends. of course, on his conception of what education is. Probably the most common interpretation is that education is that asset by means of which the individual can live an en- joyable and happy life in harmony with his surroundings and neighbors. Thus, the object of education is not the accum- ulation of wealth nor the acquisition of fame. Its purpose is to adjust the individual to his surroundings. To accomplish this purpose, some of the boyis studies seem useless. It seems unnecessary to consume time and energy in order to prove questions that have been settled long ago. He asks what ben- efit he receives from this, and what good it will do him when he is facing the problems of life. The main purpose of the school is not to teach a boy sundry facts so that he may apply them in later life: but its greatest value is in teaching him how to think. Mathematics stresses the clearness with which one should thinkg languages in the understanding of foreign people, of arts, and of for- eign civilizations. They present order in thought, also. Lit- erature and English instruct him to undersatnd the working of his mother tongue and to appreciate the fine arts. Memory training is also valuable for it trains the mind to remember important facts. The long hours and classes are not without value. Studies may seem monotonous, but life itself is, after all, tedious unless we have education with which to appreciate it. In the scientific world men devote their entire lives to the solving of a single problem. Should not we, then, spend more time in the solution of ours? The path to knowledge is not an easy one, for everything of value is difficult to attain. Hours must be spent in con- centration and days in the development of ideas. There is not a successful man who regrets the time he spent at school, and there is not an unsuccessful one who also does not wish that he had taken more time for the acquisition of knowledge. Therefore, we, as students, should make the most of our time at school. This is the hour of leave-taking. YVe hope that our learn- ing here will be of real value to us in making our lives those of happiness. And so, before we part, we would like to thank those who have given us this opportunity for education. Wie give our warmest thanks to the Board of Trustees, who have provided us with the means of learning, to Mr. Hyde, whose advice and assistance have aided us through our course: and to the Faculty, whose untiring efforts have made -this graduation a possibility for us. Fellow classmates, we are about to step forth into a world which is far different from anything that we have ever experienced. Each one of us shall make his way alone. with- out a guiding hand. Here at School we have been given the tools with which to work. How we use them is our own con- cern. But let us believe that there will be no failures where true knowledge and understanding exist. TVESLEY HENRY TVOLTMAN