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

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' - -:1f.,yK:-5:513g,j ti V:-H+ . , . 1 , ,U V . I 1 ...--....,At-.ve .gg 15 2,-,fern-uigar -r 1 1.451 wah? R- X 'sz iw., x. - -. ,ev . 5, . M K-H.- .- - ,,.f. '-A ' --. ,:. ' ' ' ' 1 ' 4552- :Wi-215425:-azuvff-1'-'V .1-1 'fs .. ' . 1 ' '- Q- 1 ' ' f.1'-: . , , . ,N , .115-f.-'f -3.-3.M'1f.'-5. az, ' ' 1 ..,,,- -1 1' ,, -- . 1 ,., -,-aa-.. .,.1:,., e.a1,.,.H ' A fx ,W 1 , - .4-.gn-1-'Q 4 ,. -, -Q-:, ,gf-: -g-.1 .rw , - 3.1 -, , '5- ' -' - :-- '- Wi'-'-ei-'Z . ' ' -4' '-l!f'i2 Q I U V My library rcas IIILLTPIIOTII large enozigll.. -Sl1ak1'spmr1'. The Charm of Words Simultaneous with the rapid growth of unfversal education has been the de- velopment of a wider l'LfilliZIllLl0ll of' till! power lllld beauty of words. Since reading with intclligciice is an esscnt :1l off lllGLl,.Yll mducation, people are be- Cllllllllg more illlll more impressed and moved by ingenious ability ill the art of word-craft . Hence the great expansion ill the field of literature. Ill the pres- ent era of lcarliing, everybody can read Illld write with at least comparatively mediocre ability. Modern invention, besides'ope11i11g 11cw fields for writing, has provided more leisure time to be devoted to literature. Nowadays, if a scavenger snatches a little girl fI'0lll thc path of an onrushing automobile, l1e formulates 'l'l1c Story of My Life , or if a naturalist discovers a peculiar fossil new to science, he writes a set of' bool-:s about it. 'l'hereforc, the 111odcr11 flood of lit- erature has emanatcd from two extreme channels-the trashy a11d the refinede which ll!lS sharpened tl1e faculties of the intelligent 1'eader to detect and appre- ciate the genuine quality that really exists, but which appears not to exist to many people who are blinded by the cnormity of cheap, degenerating stuff. Thus, after a rather lengthy digression, we have reached thc true text of our venture, which is th:1t fi11e literature is beautiful, exhilarating, consoling, enter- taining, inspiring, educating, :111d as YVordsworth puts it gives IIS nobler lives lllld nobler cares . 'Many pcopleidclight i11 merely discovering fresh, fascinating words a11d phrases that are powerful ill their beauty and Cl'.fCCtlVCl16SS. The aestheticism of the literature lover is enkindlcd to CVXC'lt9llltiI'lt4lJy' the very sight of printing. Nowadays, WVllCll he visits a public library his blood tingles with ardor, he is literally overwhehned by the vast amount of books awaiting his perusal, a11d he is swept by a great passion to dcvo11r their contents illld absorb the knowledge, thrills, andg choice literary food therein. And so all down through the ages, reading has been the very spice of manfs existence. Through books lllf has been consoled, entertained, guided, and in- gformed. In the middle ages, only tl1c scholars a11d principles of culture and learning received till? blessings derived fro111 books, but i11 this great modern day, cvcn the ditch-digger-the humblcst laborer-when he comes home to his family after the day's toil, lllily bathe his weary brai11 ill as intricate a work as that of Shakespeare. Yes, the ditch-digger is enchanted by words as well as the professor. . Each ,period of',literary development l1as produced its own idol of fiction, who ll2lS.llVCf,l.l ever after to thrill succeeding generations. Just what would we- do today without the friendship of such wonderful characters as faithful Hector, tl1e intrepid Trojan, dauntless D'artagnan, the fighting Gascong orilovable Ton1 Sawyer, Wll0lll we all know so well? V , Now let ,us think for a moment. Can wc, the fast-moving, devil-may-care youth of 1927-young America-continue the pace set by our illustrious prede- cessors? Can we create another Hamlet? Our opportunities are almost ines- tilllillllli, lllld they say we arc inventive. As far as present coliditioqushareicon- cerncd, our posterity should not suffer from a lack of virile literature. Page Eleven

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3 X Which Way Do You Tumi? It is generally conceded that a person will seldom lay down a book by Hamlin Garland once he has started read'ng it, so effectively do these books hold the reader's attention by their extremely interesting style. llaving lived with the pioneers and been a pioneer himself, Mr. Garland relates from actual experience the joys and hardships of the early settlers. Histories do not give all of the history of the settlement of the Middle YVest and however complete they may bc, they fail to leave in the mind of the average reader a clear knowledge of the period. Novels written with historical back- ground impress one with the history of a pa1'tieular period in American history since the facts are interwoven with the characters and plot of the novel. Today Mr. Garland's works arc to be found in all public libraries and schools throughout the United States and as a result, students in the East or elsewhere may know as much about the carly Middle YVest as we who live in its center. From all appearances, at least, the golden corn is responsible for the prosperity of Iowa and not her industries. Those who know Iowa say, that east, west, north or south, nowhere in the world is there a better land for the industrious, and that is the reason it did not take two or three hundred years to settle it and to develop its farms which reap such golden harvest. There were no trees to cut d0XV11 or rocks to remove from the soil before the hardy men and women who made the Middle Nvest guided their plowshares through the virgin sod which nourished the waving prairie grass. Hamlin Garland was only a boy during the period that the Middle WR-st was being settled, yet he made the decision then to be an author when he should. grow to manhood. No living author has so well portrayed the people who struggled to conquer the prairics as Hamlin Garland has done. As we know him today, he is a man of imposing stature, friendly character, and a kindly countenance. Members of the Quill staff who acted as ushers when Mr. Garland gave a lecture at the Hoyt Sherman Place in June, 1927, found that he had a mighty handshake. Because the experiences of a boy and girl are told in his books, A Son of the Middle Border, and A Daughter of the Middle Border, girl and boy alike enjoy to read them. Not every student intends to be a writer, for the simple reason that he does not have that inclination, but he may be able to excel in something else. YVhat- ever one may do best, that work counts for nothing if it is 11ot gone into with the idea of putting one's all into it. Hamlin Garland had a definite mission in mind, that of preserving to young Americans the traditions and customs of the early middle west. He saw in himself a literary trend and with self confidence, which is needed by all who would succeed, he strove to educate and prepare him- self for the task of writing stories which would keep for Iowa the history of its forefathers. VVhen today we see his works widely read, we see a challenge to the stu- dents of Iowa high schools, that of producing literature which will distinguish this period. The Middle West needs participants in business and trade, but she also needs writers. VVhicl1 way do you turn? Page Ten

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e Collegiate Fords As I was meandering home from school one rather damp afternoon, I felt as if I would rather gaze on at the world than try to keep up with it. One of the most amusing sights I witnessed was a Collegiate Fordf' Due to the rainy weather, its fresh coat of 5 whitewash had almost disappeared, reveal- ing the city directory for young men. I Q-fi was rather thankful to be walking instead 5 i, of getting the 9,999 jolts it advertised, EN me f J, and by all outward appearances, the ad- vermsement gvasda very truthful. onci, H We , Q .- le poor or was very wise in o ow- : ' - -4 ing the president's statement, I do not -i - EI choose to run in 192S g in fact, I do not think it chose to run in 1927. On the hood of the engine the following epitaph was written, Engine room, for employees only, but I'm afraid that it was unsafe for even employees to touch the intricate machinery within. On the door, a sign warned everyone, Pray before you enter. This was quite unnecessary, as anyone who thought anything of his life would do so without being told. A person with little will power would not heed the inscription, Don't push, I think I can make it, but would instinctively give the car a helping hand- It has been quite an easy task to keep u J with the St. Vitus Dance , which has been jumping up the street, but I feel that it would be a much more ditli- cult task to originate the titles which adorned the body of the Ford. Donorxiv VVASIIKOVVSKY, '28- The Golf Gallery Imagine, if you can, five to ten thousand persons pushing, squirming, run- ning, stumbling, all straining their eyes and necks to witness a single human execute a golf shot. Kodaks click here and there, movie cameras buzz, pressman stand with notes in hand, messengers run to and fro, and ushers shout loud commands at the milling crowd. I was in such a crowd to observe the golfing skill of Bobby Jones, but found my attention equally divided between him and the gallery. An elderly man at my right touched my arm. Say, Buddy, has Jones shot yet? He is on the tee now, I answered. Jones is dressed in white knickers with sweater to match. His opponent, 'Chick' E-vans, is dressed entirely in brown. The gallery lines up each side of the fairway, leaving an opening about thirty yards wide for the players to shoot through. The exclamation, Oh I forms on every tongue as Jones places a beautiful drive down the middle of the opening. The crowd moves forward a little, but waits for Evans to shoot, and then rushes madly forward, each on-looker seeking a point of vantage for the next shot. The spectators form in a semi-circle around the two white balls, and after a brief wait the two players appear and play their next shots. Again the gallery surges forward, each one praising the two previous shots. On and on they go, pushing, elbowing, shouting, with no respect for anyone else, such is the Great American Gallery. DoN l ALI.s, '28. Page Twelve L 1