Conshohocken High School - Echo Yearbook (Conshohocken, PA)

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THE BLUE AND STEEL 9 Tap! the outside. I was saved! Then I knew—they were signals from Eleanor G. Caine, ’28. History of the Class of 1928 TH E good men do goes before them. Shakespeare never said that but that’s because he never knew our class. Long before the Class of 1928 entered the portals of the Conshohocken High School the fame of its originality and willingness to help was well known, and although we entered in the approved fashion of Freshmen—excessively green and intensely bashful—our ability was shown the very first year. We scarcely had time to get acquainted with our numerous classmates—there were 108 in all—and to spot the location of our class- rooms, when preparations for the foot- ball season and the annual operetta were started. Immediately the Freshmen of- fered their help, and many being ac- cepted, proved their worth by working hard and giving splendid support to both enterprises. Many also joined the orches- tra and when the other sports came along the same thing happened. Basketball, baseball, and track all had their quota of supporting Freshmen. At one time during the year the Blue and Gold, our school magazine, was in a very precarious state. It looked as though it would have to be discontinued. But as soon as the situation was made known to the school, the Freshmen came to the rescue, forming a volunteer ad squad and turning in all the class notes and stories possible. Thus the Blue and Gold was saved and we have been able to maintain a successful magazine ever since. The year came to a close, final exam- inations were met and conquered and the Class of 1928 completed its first year at high school. Vacation over, we returned in the Fall to again take up the duties of high school students. But though there was no difference outwardly, a subtle change had taken place. No longer were we little Freshies, meekly enduring the taunts or indifference of the upper-class- men. We were Sophomores—a year older, about five times wiser, and at least ten times more dignified. Now we were the Lords and Masters, with the Freshies to obey our every command. Even when we looked up the meaning of the word Sophomore in the dictionary at the re- quest of a Senior we were not very much taken aback. The dictionary might call us “wise fools” but we knew better! Taking stock of our classmates and teachers we found a change in both. Some of the teachers had gone and others had taken their places, while a number of our classmates had either been trans- ferred to other schools or had left for good. Still we were a large class and a number of rooms were needed to hold us all. We greeted old friends and new and then settled down to work in earnest. Again the operetta, the orchestra, and the different sports were staunchly supported by members of the Class of 1928. This year, too, there was an essay con- test on the lives of different composers. Members of every class in the High School entered it but I am very glad to say that it was won by a Sophomore. Another high spot of the year was the event of the orchestra’s first broadcasting over the radio. Here the Sophomores not only played with the others but rendered many fine solos, both vocal and instru- mental, and if we are to judge by the fifty odd telegrams we received, the con- cert was a huge success. Thus the year went by with everyone busily and happily engaged in school work and play. All too soon our Sopho- more year was over and our second vaca- tion arrived.

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THE BLUE AND STEEL 8 nature of that play. Besides the few instances that have been discussed in this essay, there are countless superstitions, customs, popular sports, and proverbs that have been made immortal by the pen of Shakespeare. If there were time and space, pages upon pages could be written about the curious and varied forms of folk-lore abounding in Shakespeare’s plays. In this essay I have tried to give some small idea of the wealth of information contained in Shakespeare’s artistic productions con- cerning the imaginative realms in which I believe no other dramatist had such an intimate relationship as did Shakespeare. Elizabeth Koch, ’28. In the Depths His Majesty, our Superior I War Lord, the Kaiser!” Amid JL shadows cast from bulbs swiftly dying to flickering yellow upon the dark cylindrical interior of a maimed U-Boat now to become a sea tomb, my men slowly raised their wine glasses, each hollow stem containing a lethal dose of poison mingled with sparkling cham- pagne. The glasses were drained and stems snapped in the clutch of stiffened fingers so instantaneous is their death. While I watched, they were gone—gone! And I—alone! A shudder ran through me and I flung an arm up before my face to shut out those dead, gaping eyes staring so life- lessly at me. I tried to face what was before me— death. Death—for me who was so young and prized life so dearly! In despair I whirled around to seize the glass upon the table whose contents should instantly reveal to me the secret of death and free me from the tomb, but in my haste, my rl-cve had swept the glass upon the floor where it shattered into a thousand pieces, mixing its contents with the sea water which had seeped in. For a moment I stood—aghast— scarcely breathing. Then it registered at last upon my brain. I who did not wish to die would have my desire. Death was denied me for the last of the poison was gone. I laughed aloud in a crazed sort of way. 1 was trapped—trapped—and doomed to wait for slow suffocation and probably madness with my dead men for com- panions. Still laughing rather madly at the irony of Fate I stumbled into my own private apartment and closed and locked the door to shut out from me those white, calm faces. Trapped! Trapped! The words beat against my brain until I thought I would go mad. I shut my eyes and tried to make myself believe it was all a horrible dream. Once more I lived through the happiest moment of my life when His Majesty, the Kaiser, decorated me for bravery and bestowed upon me the finest U-Boat in the Royal Navy. Gaily we set forth to win the war— my men—and I with my splendid ship. Then what followed that was only a part of the horrible dream. The depth bombs had found their mark, tearing open the outer shell of the ship, crippling the diving tanks so that now they acted only as anchors to hold the hulk, a bat- tered captive upon the ocean bottom. Once more I reacted the failure of the efforts to raise her, and then how I had supervised the suicide part of the crew, and as was the custom in the Royal Navy, how I had waited to make certain that all of my men died as they wished before I should cross the void. Then—ah! my blood chilled ! Once more the words beat against my brain—Trapped ! Trapped! I jumped up in a frenzy and flung myself bodily against the wall, screaming now rather wildly. Suddenly it dawned on me I was be- coming crazed. Wild laughter shook me. Then my heart stood still. What was it ? Were the dead men tapping at the door to add more to my torture? Once more it came—a slow tap! Tap!

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10 THE BLUE AND STEEL Looking back on our Junior year it appears we did so much that it is impos- sible to set it all down. It would take a good-sized volume to do justice to that year alone. From the day we entered in September to the day we left in June we were on the go, accomplishing an incred- ible amount of work at an amazing rate of speed and deriving great benefit and enjoyment from it, too. Foremost in the mind of every student who becomes a Junior in C. H. S. is the Junior Prom. Though this is the last social event of the year—the Juniors’ farewell party to the Seniors—work on it is begun very early as much time, labor and money must be spent upon it. With this and other important events in mind we set about organizing our class so as to make of it as closely co-operating a body as possible. First we held a class meeting and chose our officers. The following were elected: John S. Blackburn..........President J. Bradley Elzey......Vice-President Elizabeth Yost.............Secretary Ellwood Bickhart...........Treasurer Emma Ruth. Corresponding Secretary The rest of the class was divided into committees as needed. Thus organized, we began the real work. In previous years the various Junior classes had col- lected the money for their proms in many different ways, mainly a series of pie and cake sales, candy selling, rummage sales and the like, necessitating a great amount of work for all concerned. We, however, devised the plan and by doing so estab- lished the precedent of having a Junior play. Acting on this plan we staged the delightful little comedy entitled “Honor Bright,” affording the townspeople with a fine entertainment and netting ourselves the required money. Moreover, it gave us good practice in dramatics, stage-set- t'ng and the management of our financial affairs. It was a great success in every way and we felt our efforts well repaid. As a result the Prom which we gave at the end of the season was a brilliant affair. All who attended it had a won- derful time and it will linger long in the memory of both classes. Another event which will not soon be forgotten is the program which we held on Junior Day. Each class has set aside for it every year a day on which it takes charge of assem- bly exercises and renders a musical pro- gram. When our Junior Day arrived the school was given a great surprise. In- stead of the usual ordinary method of presenting the musicale, we held a radio program, heightening the novel effect by displaying a real radio set and conducting the entire program behind closed cur- tains. Needless to say, this was also a success and afforded greatest enjoyment to all. At the end of the year we held another new affair—a great Lawn Fete which lasted an entire day. This increased our treasury and gave us an excellent start for our final year. And at last that final year arrived! I wonder if any of us will ever forget the day that we became Seniors. As we entered the old familiar doors, we felt ourselves endowed with new power, great authority and real dignity. Each scene was clouded with the misty haze of mem- ory. As we took the foremost seats in the auditorium for morning assembly we could remember the time when, as lower- classmen we sat in the rear of the great room and wondered how it felt to sit in front; or when as Freshmen, while the auditorium was still under construction, we held our morning exercises in the Gym, with the knees of the person behind boring into our backs and being forced to crane our necks to see what was going on. Every classroom we entered brought forth new memories of happy days passed there. But we could not spend much time dreaming of the past. The present was here, clamoring insistently for our atten- tion, and drawing us immediately into a whirlwind of activity. If we thought we had been busy in our Junior year we completely changed our minds the last year for then it was that we found what work really meant. Leisure was an un- known word. The teachers piled upon us more and more work, fearing that we