Cogswell Polytechnical College - Cogswell Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

Page 28 text:

THE COC-:SWELL 29 The last part of our Freshman year was similar to the hrst part. just about that time Line Johnson won the first block in the '14 class. During that semester, several girls in our class won their blocks, but of them only one is left in school, and that is lrma l-lahrs. So the lfreshman year went by- some of the members succeeded in gaining positions on the teams, while others did not, but all knew a little more than when they entered. Next was our Sophomore year. A great year it was. W'hat our class had lost in numbers it made up for with vim. XYe began to take more interest in school lifeg in fact, it was during our Sophomore year that Joseph Pyne became so interested in school lite that for the first time he heard the nine o'clock bell ring-when he was only a block away. At last came a very important date. ln the spring of our Sophomore year we gave our dance. Yes, we gave a dance, one of the best dances ever held in the .-Xuditorium, where all the boys wore their Sunday best. The girls were certainly well prepared for the occasion. No thanks, ladies: I am engaged. It showed that the class was awake when it was able to aflord a dance and conduct it as smoothly as we did this one. Other classes might follow our lead. Next in rapid order came two other important events. One was the selec- tion of a class pin. After all sorts of pins had been examined we decided upon a neat little pin that attracted the eyes of many. Not that we mean to boast, but do you ever notice that the students who have been doing important things around the school are those who wear that pin? The other important event was the union of the lower and upper classes of l9l-l and the election of officers for that organization. Vacation had come and gone, bringing our Junior year. XYe all began to get important, Our girls by this time were doing great things. There was not a thing in the school affairs that the girls did not butt into, but they did it well. Of course, it is a notable fact that after they began to cook the janitor's cat died, but then cats are cheap and their heads make excellent shots for Little Pete to put. There were no real important dates in the junior year because everything ran so smoothly in school. After vacation we Hocked back to school for our last year-to be Seniors! But, oh, how few we were! Gone were some of our friends, but therrest were here to stay. In the autumn of the year we succeeded in giving a candy sale, but while it was a good one the proprietor of the drug store down at the corner reported that he had a good run on his store that day. Because of the interest taken by most of the class in getting a good foot- ball team, we were unable to hold any more social events for that term. With January, the big events arrived. First of all we presented a play, entitled The College Senior. Before the play was decided on, it was not thought that there was suffi- cient talent in the class to stage the affair, but as facts show only Seniors took part and made a Hhitl' with the large audience which was gathered for that occasion. The proceeds from that event showed that we were getting to be well off. Great credit is due to those who took part in the play and too much thanks cannot be extended to our instructors who so patiently coached

Page 27 text:

28 THE cooswant 0112155 Qiainrg Having been assigned the delightful task of writing the history of the famous class of 1914, I now take pen and paper to proceed. To tell the truth, I have borrowed a fountain pen from a dear friend of mine who owed me a nickel, so for that reason he could not refuse. Now, gentle readers, the following history is that of an eye-witness, who was one of the first of his class and-who is now the last. There was a very large class, when we first began, but all have not remained. One by one mem- bers of our class have dropped out. When the crowd gets together in any of the rooms and the talk turns back to a couple of years ago, the names of many a former classmate is mentioned with regret. Four long years ago on a pleasant morning, the writer started on his first trip to Cogswell I-Iigh. Clad in his first pair of long trousers, it seemed to him that he would make a great hit. As the car neared the school, he began to get smaller so that if he made a hit at all, it was likely to be on the floor of the car. Twenty-sixth Street, yelled the conductor, then our historian dismounted. So this is the school, well, here goes. So saying, the writer buttoned his coat and sort of breezed in. When he got into the school, he felt as though he were lost. Poor little scrub, five feet two, was surrounded by some intellectual giants, many of whom had been in the college at least six months. The poor little fellow felt lonely and tried to hide behind the umbrella rack but he was saved by an angel, Miss Padkin by name, who took him by the hand and escorted him to his first class-room. This promiscuous gathering of alfalfa was bad but there has been only one that was worse since then, and that was the '15 class. VVe were so green that when our first teacher asked a question and called upon Mr, Cate to answer, our friend Roland looked around to see where his father was. And the girls? Vlfell, say, if our girls want to know what they looked like when they first arrived in this school-aw, say, what's the use of rubbing it inn? In a few months the class thought that it would be a good idea to organize. Our first election was certainly an exciting one. There were sixty in the class and I regret to state that over one hundred votes were cast. At last, after a correct vote was taken, our first officers were installed. The next day the class officers put their hats on with a judicious use of their shoe horns. It is too bad to say that all cases of an enlarged cranium did not stop with the officers of the Freshman class. At last came the winter vacation, after which we were no longer lowly scrubs, but classed as 'fHigh Freshmen. Wheii we returned, we found around the school many hopeless cases. After calling in a couple of doctors for a consultation, we came to the conclu- sion that they were the member f tl l A fl with erasers. s o ie ower 4 class, so we welcomed them

Page 29 text:

3Q THE COGSWELL them and gave them much kind assistance. After the play, music was fur- nished for dancing until almost midnight. Another very important event was the Senior Luncheonl' on April 22. The menu consisted of cake and ice cream. Every one was well pleased with the affair. There are two great events left, namely, our graduation exercises and our Senior ball. The first one is the one in which we walk up and sit down on the platform before the gazing eyes of our relatives and friends. The nrst speaker will tell us how sorry the school is to lose us. The next speaker will tell us how much we should know and what we should do in our later life. After that we shall hear our names called, including our middle ones, and, amid great applause, we shall receive the prize we have struggled for during four long years. The following Friday night we will be hosts at our Senior ball. Gn that night the boys will wear their best full dress suits Crentedj, hire taxis, and escort their best girls to the building and enjoy themselves the whole evening as only graduates can. Wlien the last dance is over-when the last bit of music has floated away- when the last good luck and good-by has been said-then our happy high school days at Cogswell will be a thing of the past. FREMONT M. 0,BRIEN, ,l4.