Classen High School - Orbit Yearbook (Oklahoma City, OK)

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The boys' pep clubs are the Hell Hounds and Blue t a decade ,teaching Llassenites orchestra and band, trying to educate inhabitants of Oklahoma City to ap- Qeciate and listen respectfully to good music. It was the latter, 11013 the former, that drove him from his post to a position as a guest conductor for the Victor Music Com- pany. QWill the few cynics who persist in mumbling about salary raise, please leave the room?D While some few will remember the artistic quality of his concerts, about I-lebe one most remembers his ec- centricities and tempers. A born flirt, he made eyes at Classen's prettiest girls, pinched their cheeks, and after the now celebrated band preview in which for the first and last time Classenites threw something more valuable than mills on a stage, firmly planted a kiss on Betty Escalanteis fair brow. But that last can't be called eccentric unless you want to consider Ned Nedved crazy, too. But I-lebels temper was epic. His savage denunciation of audiences, and his scathing lectures to restless students have left an image upon the minds of Oklahoma Citians that will wash deeper with time rather than be eradicated. As the semesters pass, Ludwig will become a legendary fig- ure, half monster, half genius, until the day arrives when todayls subdebs of Classen will make their children's spines tingle with tales of this artistic bogey man. ' Classen has one song which is its own particularly. It is not Dear Classen l-hgh, nor any of the pep tunes, but instead a popular song - l-loagy Carmichaelis lovely and unforgettable Stardust A year ago Guy Lombardo played the piece over the radio in response to a petition of Classcn students. But even before that, so far back no one can remember just how it started, 'KStardustl' has been the school anthem. Today to old grads the play- ing of the refrain brings back not only Classen but a host of half-remembered memories of years gone by. Because it is part of Classenls heart, Stardust'l remains above and beyond all other numbers, Classen's own song. lt is another Stardust which forms another Classen tradition-the annual school anthology. It has been five or six years since the first issue went to press, and since that time the fame of the volume has spread across the United States. No other Classen activity covers so much territory or reaches so many widely separated people. Be- cause of the excellent writing of the contributors, Star- dust has been acknowledged the best highschool publica- tion in the nation, and it, together with Miss Elorette Mc- Neese, who has charge of its publication, and the Creative Writing class, has become one of Classen's proudest tradi- tions. Like brandy, which mellows with age, faculty mem- bers who stay at Classen merely deny traditions about being tt-ched in the haul. Classenls old standbys who have been here longer than the mice in the halls, and the cafe- teria smells include: Ethel Basinger, Iulia Denny, Martha Denny, Isabel Eastland, Marguerite Flood, Edna l-ledges, Arthur Kincaid, Mary Lawson, Della Link, Emma Me- neely, Blanche Paul, Bess Snell, lvlarye Stevens and Edna Stevenson. They were here when they put the building up, rumor has it they'll still be here when the edifice gets C0111 down. Other Classen institutions which have made history include the boys' and girls' pep clubs. The Comes and Classettes have never as yet come to blows over their rival- ry, but you can expect black eyes or cauliflower ears any day. And about as close as Mrs. Stevens and Miss Hol- C55 fs To 4 rnmz who can unhena' without being political, and who can give jiistice f1na'fairnes.v without always being absolutely within the lizw, we give this hook. To iz man who is the stnricnts' friend, and who holds their sincere admiration with nom' of the zisiml student distaste for authority-to iz rnizn, not iz priiitiptil, to ii good sport, and ri gentlerniln, to iz lender, to Ira W. Baker, we give this, the Orhit of 1936. landl' is a darn good synonym for anything plenty far apart. lackets, or have you heard? Besides beating on each other, they beat on their pledges. CWe ought to know.j The Yellow Iacketsl initiations got so brutal last year that after one particularly bloody fray, Mr. Baker, who helps sponsor the organization, ordered all hazing cut out, and since that time the membership list has jumped remarkably. The Blue Iackets instead of having an initiation have six hot alleys, one a week, and the combination of a hot alley and a cold night is something that has left lasting impressions on more than one Classen lad. Between halves of all Classen football games the pep clubs usually vie with each other in marching Ollf on the field, waving flashlights in all directions, or forming curves and pothooks, generally giving the appearance of a bunch of Busbee Berkley chorus girls on a big drunk. This is known as a stunt, We've heard it called other things, too, but can't print them here. Normanfis filled with cases of spectators driven frantic trying tb figure out what these stunts were supposed to represent. No one has ar- rived at a satisfying solution yet.

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Classen renditions . . . Wim 3,t,,,,,,B91f9 p F X ax: VK. ' xxx . .K QW X X t by Herbert Gage and Hansford Martin 'K,4,f'L- AS a school, Classen is full of traditions. Along with its less pleasant side, such as grade cards, finals, and makeup time, one of the brighter aspects of school life is its past history. The most noticeable and the most important Classen personage is its principal. Call him lrate Ira, Papa Baker, or The Great White Father, and still everyone will know whom you mean. Whether Mr. Baker ever heard these nicknames or not, no one knows. Anyway heys in on the secret now, so we hasten to reassure the gentleman. Nicknames, at Classen, are usually pretty fair indica- tions of a teacherys popularity. As long as they're nickl names instead of just plain names tacked by the pupils, teachers can be called a success. Mr. Baker has a longer list of nicknames than any one else in the building. I-lis popularity with the students is based largely upon his willingness to see both sides of a situation. If he makes a mistake as he sometimes does, he will do his best to remedy it. It is this innate reasonableness that makes pupils tend to regard Mr. Baker as a human being. One of the highest tributes to his instinctive honesty lies in the fact that Mr. Baker has no more loyal sup- porters than the news staff, yet more than once have those twain tangled on school affairs. A man who can come out of a verbal battle with a dozen students and gain both the victory and their respect ITILISI be more than a figure head and have more than a stuffed shirt. Mr. Charles Wallace, vice-principal, is another man in a difficult position, who has managed to retain the admira- tion of the student body. As head of school discipline, it is Une' Charley who must call down any Classen student who steps out of bounds. Fair in all cases, Mr, Wallace treats a 10B with as much respect as a six-foot footballer, or, if the occasion demands it, as little. Miss Helen Nance and Miss Margot Gainor, those two furies that slap out the make up time slips to sullen students, have become as traditional to Classen as the guil- lotine to France. The chief difference lies in the fact that France has only one guillotine. While all of the faculty are more or less institutions, only a few have become traditions. Foremost of these is Mr. C. E. Grady whom everyone calls K'Pops', behind his back. Way behind. Mr. Grady's mania has to do with cigarettes. The smallest whiff of tobacco is enough to start a temperance lecture, and smoke from a paper match will set Pops' nose twitching like a jack rabbit's. Une of Classenls red letter days was the a. m. some sly prankster deposited a fag on Mr. Gradyys desk. Hold- ing his nose with one hand, and the nasty thing with two fingers of the other, Pops swept the room with a glance that would have withered a cactus, and in his best oratori- cal manner, impressively declared, I even hate to touch that filthy weedf, A former member of the faculty who has even in this short time become a legend is Ludwig Hebestreit. Hebe, as everyone called the tempermental band conductor, spent C45

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Another Classen group activity which takes the stu- dents back to their grade school days when they used to go wading in the rain, is the fire drills at Classen, staged every drizzly day for the benefit of the visiting fireman. practically every winter afternoon that brings rain, wind, sleet, and snow, will bring a fire drill with it. Students who have their choice of burning in the building or drowning in the gutters outside, prefer burning, as a rule. ltls such a prophetic way to diel Wliile December showers may be anathema to stu- dents, theylre rain from heaven to the cafeteria, that being the only time Classcnites ever lunch in the cafeteria. ln their customary loyal manner, on fair days, Classen stu- dents may be found in drug stores, pig stands, barbecues, any place but the cafeteria. The jernt may be an institu- tion but itls certainly not a tradition. Each year before painting the town i'ed, Classetfs senior class paints the tower gold. Like a little pixie, some moonlit night the senior president slips up to the roof and dabs on the class numbers. This story would be in1pi'oved a lot if this activity were only a little nefarious. Unfortu- nately it isn't, so 'the thing isn't half as much fun! For instance Classeifs favorite tradition, the one all the higher-ups strongly disapprove, is the rivalry between Classen and Central. The night before the Classen-Cen- tral football game is a night of riotous merry-making for all concerned. Some of the good clean fun includes rotten egg fights, paint slinging, and window breaking. Top stunt for all time was the night four officially unidenti- fied Classen heroes rode past Centrafs office and slung a bucket of paint through the window. Another dark chapter out of Classen's history con- cerns the bon fire of the V34 game. Authorities thought to forestall any foul play by holding the conflagration out- side the city limits. After the big blaze, all the partici- pants headed down town and started a snake dance and a mob scene down mainstreet that led through theatre lob- bies, hotels, drugstores, cigar stands-everything and any- thing that was open and some things that weren't. It took the two schools a couple of years and a fun night to pay off that debt. Last year's game was unusually quiet. lfveryonels wondering if it were just the calm before the storm. Clas- sen students have a way of breaking records, necks, and windows, and while faculty heads tremble Classenites sharp- en their pen knives, grind their axes, file their teeth and get ready for the '36 season and next yeaifs game. High among Classeirs traditions is one that draws admiring males from all over town to attend our fair institution. lr is, of course, her reputation as a haven for beautiful lasses. Charm and personality are put on an equal footing with pulchritude and many's the girl who combines them into what is indeed a pleasing combina- tion, New highs in excitement are produced each year with the run-offs in the queen contests. Especially im- portant to the feminine heart is the election of the Clas- sen Life queen, for this queen is really the queen of queens. A long line of gracious damsels has held this honor, and 'tis not hard to say that charming Uathel Haskins, this year's selection, is at the top in every bov's selection The definition of a tradition, taken from the Bible, is that which has prevailed, even from generation unto generation. Accordingly we nominate for traditions. the intellectual negatives who regard the old school as some- thing of a school of life---they'll spend their lives here, or know the reason whv. Richard Prank, Wlallv Dan- vers, Charlie Giffin are among those who someday should receive a degree in procrastinating. A bit of noise is always in line with a bunch of high- school youths, and to help them out we've always secured a group of red hot cheer leaders. lfvery year there will invariably crop up some leather-lunged human dynamo C65