DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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5mm? of 619cm; of i98. DEAR Mn. EDITOR: Having been in the class of 1898 longer than any other member, the honor of writing its history has been bestowed upon me. I have been in the class for about four years and am perfectly familiar with its history. This makes me think of the time when I was a little boy down on the farm at Buzzards Roost. We had two old hens CI mean chicken hens, and not no buzzardsl that was so awful anxious to set that they didnlt care nothing about the nest being upholstered with eggs. Now, that is just the way with the MnmeE Board. They are set on having a class history, but the trouble is that 798 forgot to make a history when it was in Prep, and it hasnit had no time this year, owing to the rush in Dr. Duvallls department. You know the profs. are so different now, for we Freshmen have to ask of the Juniors what the words mean that are used in the history and other lectures. I mightnlt have been able to have passed the first semester under Col. Weaver if I hadnit have set by George Kenney7 who translated all the big words and the 0013's hyeroglyphies for me. George said that the Col. had collected the ttdahtai, and had had a hand in composing the Rosetti stone, but this is off the subject, Knowing that he is a good hand to write, I asked Editor Cooper how to write a history 01 the class of 338, and he said to begin at the beginning and then write the history. I. would never have thought of that, and l donlt think Jim would have either if it hadntt been for Freddie Church and Eminie Schnepp. , When the class entered it was unsophisticated and innocent, and was at once taken under the fatherly eye of Dr. Bassett, who was always especially good and kind to me because 1 always went to the daily prayer meeting. 37 at this time were Middles and 96 were Seniors. 796 was a class that contained more knowledge and less conceit, more bright stars and less sports, than any class in D. P. U. To scramble to the high round of the ever-lengthening ladder of success and finally to stand upon the same elevated summit with the grand class of ,96 was and is our ambition. We was anxious to climb up to 796, where we could call our honored principal plain it Tommy B ll without any embellishments whatsoever. But we couldn7t rize all at once, so we had to go slow and steady-like and work up by jerks, and we worked up thnsly: We met 797 on the gridiron and were gloriously swiped, and right here was begun the feud that is still alive. So we decided to join our fortunes with 96 and trust to their superiority to help us out of our troubles with 197, but when a class meeting was called one of the loud- inouthed Middles, who has always carried 97 around in his vest pocket, succeeded in proving to us that the next year the class 0f 96 would be Freshmen and have no more interest in prepdom, so we helped to beat our old friends. 96 then gave us the cold shoulder and we had to beat around for our ownselves. The next year we beat 97 in base-ball, and, wishing to practice the Golden Rule, we put on their colors, and they, having a majority in brute strength and being mad because we beat them at practicing the Golden Rule, they stole the colors off of our coats, and beat us awfnl in the face with their fists. 19

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N ow, we have alw. ys been a peeeeable class, but when we get our dander up we aint to be run over by anybody. When we were Seniors we put up a flag that had cost 0111' girls many long, vacant hours of planning and had cost our boys 20 cents in cash tthis donlt count the cost of threadt, and, as everybody thought it was out of eight, ,99 got jealous and tried to pull it down off of the wall where it had been hung, and then you ought to have seen our boys g0 at7em, while our girls kept throwing kisses at us and telling us to go ahead. Even the theologues shortened their faces and fought and cussed as loud as Jim Sprankle, and we got back the 01d flag, but one of our boys, whe had thmked in Algebra in his Middle year, grabbed the Math. prof. by the nap 0f the neck and administered a few gentle rebukes with the front part of his Shoe before he found out that the prof. wztsnlt a Junior Prep. Now we have left prepdom and have put away preppy things, and now that we have stood before Dr. John without his quailing before us, we philosophize wh y it is that Dr. BIS N kind friends 73 and ti I beg of you ll-in his eubterreaenan voiceeused to send the St. V itus dance up and down our spinal column. If the Dr. had of had Charge of the English dept. this year Hamrick would now be wiser without first being sadder. e In September, 1894, a class meeting was held. After oilicers had been elected, the question was debated: thesolved, That 98 has a Brilliant future before her?, Fred Hixon led in the allirmative and Phillippi-Philipe in the negative. Alter protracted discussion, the vote resulted in a tie. President Boone took the matter under consideration, and after characteristic deep reheation said: HFellow classmen: According to W ebstei', tfuturei means to-morrow, in contrary distinction to yesterday. If to-morrow is yesterday, then our tfuture, is behind us; if to-morrow is the second day after yesterday then our future is before us. As the latter is the usual meaning we can only get arouiid it by creating a revolution in the dictionary, but as humanity is not yet reached my stage in the social evolution, I shall magnanimously save them time and trouble and decide that our future is before usW tVociferous applause, which a passel'eby mistakes for Prof. Stephenson7s lecture on Methods of Historical Investigationj tt This decision will be of great benefit to future Freshmen, and they will know just how to conduct themselves. Perhaps, when we grow older, our future will be behind us like the present Senior classfl Our president was right when he decided that our future was before us. AS to whether the future is brilliant, all I can say is that as long as we may have such men as Culp there can be no doubt as to the brilliuncy 0f the future. 20 d