East High School - Quill Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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I: xl, Q T,-0'-:il . X X v, 4 QQ, 4 X ' 'il ,V X-.4f. 1 5 N f J it-Jia? OUR ALBTTBI OI DIEBIURIES Our Introduction to Social Life . A coming-in party, more or less formal, was given for all the debutantes and debutantors entering the gay, social life of liast High in 1921. Some of the girls dressed up in their graduation dresses, but all of the boys, being much more vain than the girls, acquired a high polish to their hair and shoes alike, and put on their best polka-dot ties. We presented our invitation, engraved in very best taste on the opposite side of pink slips, to a Senior standing at the door, and, to make a good impression, knocked our heads three times on the floor to show our complete submission to the wishes of the upper classmen. A senior boy gave us our welcome in a low, dignilied, awe-inspiring manner, and a freshman girl returned the compliment in a high, trembling voice. Next, we played games and got acquainted with Seniors, and teachers who did not know us. Never will we forget the thrill received when asked if we were seniors or freshmen, and each of us was secretly glad he thought he didn't look as green as our other classmates. As all good children get rewards, we each received a stick of candy and an apple. l think that apple and candy furnished us with an incentive to be good for four years. Cliristnizts Carols Every year just before the Christmas holidays the students pause to listen to Christmas carols which are sung in the corridors by the Girls' Glee Club. These melodies, sweet and clear, suggest more than words can tell. Year after year the carolers go up and down the corridors singing the old hymns. The low, sweet strains of Holy Nightl' come floating into the classrooms. At once studies are forgotten and a solemn stillness falls over the classes. As the words of the old familiar song reaches our ears a beautiful picture rises before our eyes. We can see the Christ-child lying in the manger, the Virgin lylary watching over him, and the WVise lylen kneeling, offering their gifts of frankincense and myrrh. The music grows gradually softer and softer until finally it dies away in the dis- tance, leaving us with deep and solemn thoughts and a realization of what Christmas reallv is. The First Senior Meeting There will be a senior meeting in the assembly room the seventh period. For almost four years we had heard such announcements read, but each time they referred to another class, a higher, more distinguished group than ours. This time as the announcement was read, we slowly realized that it applied to us, and to us only- we were the elite of the school. We walked rather daxedly into the assembly room. There we saw faces as radiant as ours, each bearing that same perplexed look of ,ioy utoo good to be truef' ,-Xs the principal rose to speak, a thrill passed through each of us. We were Seniors at last, and this, the first senior meeting, was material proof that we had arrived. 25

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, 2 f .. .,. . ..,..-..ig',,g? N X 'f-W ' L9 - 'Fi' A. 'X L Pep Assemblies One other thing can never be forgotten by graduates of East High. Vivid in our memory will always be the familiar question: Will we beat West Highin And we can never rid our ears of the deafening reply, HYEAA BO! l The team seated on the platform, looking just a little nervous, the crowded assembly room-these are things which will recur to us over and over again. ls there one who cannot remember the famous Dr, Mayo's pep pillsn and the genuine enthusiasm which they inspired? Shall we ever forget the memorable con- flict between Prince Harris and the valiant Prince Hoyt for the beautiful princess, City Championship? As we look back over our days at East High, pep assemblies will stand out as an important and unforgettable factor in our school life. Our Main Highway Trying to get through the front hall about 8:25 involves more brain work than a cross-word puzzle. You start to your right, and then to your left. You begin thinking yourself quite ignorant for even having tried it. Why, there are Seniors who have been trying to make it for four years, and they havenit got any farther than the bulletin board. There stand about twenty-five of them all talking so loudly you can't understand any of them. Therefore, you have to find out for yourself, and you start making your way to the bulletin board, and there you see the cause of the excitement in big black letters, VERY IMPORTANT SENIOR MEETING THE SEVENTH PERIOD. DON'T FAIL TO BE THERE. That very sign reminds you that you had promised to meet your English teacher the 7th period in order to make up some work, and you had forgotten all about it. What would she sayl And then, a thought comes to you that almost makes you jump for joy. Why you are a SENIOR now, and just two more weeks till graduation, teacher won't say a word, for she knows that you will soon be gone, and she hates so much to see you go. Introducing Our Parents Of all our memories, the Parent-Faculty party will be one of the brightest. If Parents or Faculty had any sedateness or dignity it was lost in the whirl of fun. A dignified senior trying to maintain order in a room of noisy, unruly parents is a picture not easily forgotten. Nor will We forget the many times they were called to the oflice for chewing gum. We do not wonder that there was no order in the classes when the teacher tried to impress upon the parents the importance of letting the children rule the home. The fellowship that prevailed that night will always remain in our memory. An Impressive Spirit There are many impressive customs and happenings at East High, the Pep Assemblies, Noon Programs, Organizations, the singing of Christmas Carols, and even the building itself. Nevertheless, East has one thing which is far greater and more commendable than any of these. That is the spendid spirit of friendship and fellow- ship existing among teachers and students. A friend is the most prized gift that God bestows upon us. l am sure that anyone who traverses the corridors of this school, if he does but half his share, cannot fail to find the staunchest, the strongest, and the truest friends he ever possessed. l am quite certain that any honest conscientious person who has labored in this building a year or two will be able to say with Richard Watson Gilder: The years are angels that bring down from Heaven Gifts of the gods. What has the Angel given Who last night vanished up the Heavenly wall? He gave a friend-the gods' best gift of all. 26 '