Eleanor McMain High School - Echoes Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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Memories Batya Mallet, '41 NOT long ago this house on Pine Street was dreary and sad look- ing. The glass in almost every win- down was broken and the shutters slammed back and forth on windy nights. What used to bc a garden was now nothing but a patch of weeds. A few weeks ago, a new family moved in. The house thought to it- self, How nice it will be to be clean and orderly again, and be surround- ed by a beautiful garden. But best of all was the thought of having children's laughter within its walls again. One night after everyone was asleep, the house began to reminisce about the wonderful old colonial days when she was in her glory with parties, barbecues, and was always filled with beautiful ladies and hand- some gentlemen. How could she for- get the night when Miss Nancy said goodbye to Mr. Robert? They were walking in a garden that was lovely with roses and evergreens but they did not see ,a thing but each other. Suddenly Robert broke the silence. Oh, Nancy, how can I leave you for four long years? You must, darling, for your sake and mine. I would rather lose everything that is worthwhile to me than go. Studying in Europe means nothing to me now, for, you see, you won't be with me. Nancy sighed and spoke softly. Four years won't seem very long be- cause we are so young and we already have so many pleasant memories. When we are lonely or down-hearted, we can remember the long summer days, that drive through the country yesterday and so many other things dear to us. How sweet and dear you are! I never realized there was such a per- son-always unselfish, always loyal. Before we go back into the house say, I love you, Robert. Nancy looked at him with all her love in her eyes and tenderly said, I love you, Robert. A few days later, Robert was ready to leave for Europe with four years of study ahead of him. Twent y-vig hi Nancy did not go with him to the ship but they parted in the familiar surroundings of the garden. The next dawn was the time for the sailing. With a heavy heart Robert boarded the ship, The Em- press. Just before the signal to leave was given, Robert was tempted to turn back, but he controlled him- self, for he knew he was doing the riht thing, they were both so young. The following days were hard ones for Robert. Shortly after leaving port, a blinding storm came up, toss- ing the vessel around like a leaf on the water. On the second night out, the storm had reached the peak of Cut by Robin Ahrens They were walking in cz. gardcw that was lovlely- its fury. Because of this rough voyage, the ship sprang two large leaks. Everything possible was done to keep her afloat, but nothing seemed to help. Despair was in everyone's heart. The boat was slowly sinking. Robert tried to help everyone as much as he could. Luckily, there were not many women or children aboard. When these were all ac- counted for, Robert and a few other men jumped overboard and caught hold of some timber which had de- tached itself from the boat. It was a wonder that they could hold on. The storm was raging-sending forth lightning, thunder, and tor- rents of rain. The next dawn everything was calm and quiet, but nothing could be seen of The Empress, or her pass- engers. Meanwhile, at home Nancy was do- ing the same things she had always done, but now there seemed to be something missing. Everywhere she looked she saw Robert's face, his dark hair, and smiling eyes. It happened that on the same night that The Empress sank, Nancy had a terrible nightmare. She dreamed that Robert was drowning and was calling- Nancy! Nancy! Nancy! With her name ringing in her ears, she awoke, shivering and screaming. Her mother, hearing her screams, rushed into her room. She took Nancy into her arms and gradually she calmed her. Nancy told her mother of her terrible dream. Tenderly her mother said, Don't worry about Robert. He can take care of himself. I have a feeling that he is safe. lVith that thought in her mind, Nancy finally fell asleep. But I wonder how it was that Nancy could feel that Robert was in danger? Maybe there was mental telepathy between these two who loved each other so dearly. A week later when Nancy was sitting on the porch with her mother, a negro came rushing up the long avenue calling, Miss Nancy, Miss Nancy ! When he reached the steps, he blurted out the story he had heard in town while buying some equipment. A tragic story-of a boat sinking and only three known survivors. Nancy gasped, The Empress? Yes, mam, said the darky, cast- ing his eyes to the ground, for he was ashamed to be the one to bring the bad news. Nancy just sat there, too dumb- founded to cry. She couldn't believe that the strong vigorous, laughing boy she loved so dearly could now be dead. Oh! How could this be true? After this heartbreaking news, Nancy changed. Instead of finding her a happy, laughing girl, we find her a quiet, reserved, mature wom- an. She stayed in her room most of the time, coming downstairs only in the early morning for a walk in the garden. QContinued on page 301 E-C-H-O-E-S

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The Little Hussy Betty Terroy, '42 AMES O'BRIEN, sergeant in the Medical Corps, stood and glared at the retreating figure of a Red Cross nurse, and, as she disappeared into a ward, he addressed the air bitingly in language that would have amazed Colonel Andersen-and the Colonel had been in the army twenty years and was an old hand at using biting language himself. Every hair on O'Brien's head seemed charged with rage and was standing on end, -even his mustache, which was two weeks' old and beginning to look vaguely like a worn-out tooth brush, bristled indignantly. Well, here it was the eighth month he'd known this-this hussy! Eight months and he hadn't gotten any- where with her! Him! James O'Brien! What did Casanova have he didn't have? Nothing! Nothing at all! Yet this little hussy wouldn't-- Ohl Hang! O'Brien was walking slowly down the hall and unconsciously he spoke in a high squeaky voice and wiggled his hips, No, I'm so sorry, but I already have a date for the Military Ball. l'm going with Colonel Ander- sen! A doctor and three nurses watched with amusement and finally burst into laughter as O'Brien uttered an emphatic, Ugh! , in his own voice. He strode back to the barracks viciously kicking the stones in the path till he heard an enraged roar and looked up to see the Colonel, hopping about on one foot, holding his right ankle in his left hand and giving sizzled evidence of his twenty O'Brien saluted years in the army. hastily and hurried on. Well, that him with the definitely queered Colonel, but shoot the colonel, he never had liked the old buzzard and he was going to get even with that uppity Carrie Wellington if it killed him. That evening at eight he entered the ballroom and was somewhat awed when he saw Carrie dance with Colonel Andersen and then Private Holome, then Corporal Tracy and then Colonel Andersen cut in. Really she should be ashamed flirting with all those men. He cut in. Hello, Carrie. E-C-H-0-E-S Good evening, Sergeant O'Brien. Gosh! She was icy, but he'd fix that. He hadn't seen a woman yet who wouldn't melt when he kissed her. Come on out on the terrace, Carrie. Oh! But-well, all right ser- geantf' He seated himself beside her in the moonlight and started in. He told her all about her beautiful red hair but all she said was that she knew it by this time, Colonel Ander- Cut by Mary Mac uowan O'Brien was walking slowly down the hall Home Connie Fleming Home is a place which is jolly and gay, A place to live in day hy day. It is a haven of comfort and rest The dweller, of course, will think it the best. Love and happiness will linger and slay Till the house is weatherbealen and gray. Many people will visit and say, Pd love to come here and live if I may. sen, Private Holome and Corporal Tracy had all volunteered that in- formation. He tried her eyes and hands and was just going to kiss her when Colonel Andersen came out and asked for his dance. He looked daggers at O'Brien and then limped off with Carrie. O'Brien couldn't figure it out. He tried so hard and still she didn't even look interested, and she'd left him to dance with a man old enough to be her father! Suddenly he felt sick, I must have heart trouble, hc decided. He couldn't sleep that night. He counted the legs he had amputated, the shrapnel wounds he had treated, finally the doors of the wards. At last he dozed. Next morning he put on his white coat and rubber gloves and went in- to the operating room. There was that Carrie Wellington handing him his instruments. Gosh! She was cute! But she mustn't have a heart or surely he, James O'Brien, would have found it! At that moment the air raid siren shrilled but work went on in the operating room. The bombs screamed all about the hospital, anti-aircraft barked and the bombing planes darted across the sky like mosquitos, -the kind you'd like to swat but can't. Suddenly the lights went out as a huge explosion shook the build- ing, throwing the doctors and nurses to the floor. After a moment's darkness, light flooded the room. There on the floor lay James O'Brien, Romeo of the 123rd Medical Corp, blood well- ing swiftly from a cut on his head. Carrie's eyes widened. 0h! she screamed, Oh! Jimmy! Kneeling beside him, she stroked his hair and cried until she raised a perfect fog. She was so busy being feminine she didn't hear him mut- ter, She loves me not, she loves me -I hope. All that she knew was that when she returned with some bandages, he had vanished. That night she was on late duty. At eleven she was walking to the nurses' quarters when a six-foot figure loomed up, grabbed her and roared into her ear, Kiss me, you little hussy, kiss me! What else could she do? Twenty-seem

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Ther And The NSW shine, Mae vnu., '41 IT was a cold winter morning that got Jerry out of bed that day, and I must also say, in a very bad mood. Why does the bell have to ring at this hour? I heard her say as she descended the long staircase. Es- pecially on a Saturday at that! Well, what is it? A young, not sturdy, but cheer- ful boy stood .at the door holding a yellow envelope in his hand. A telegram for Miss Marquis! It was a shock to Jerry as she read- Come at once. Airplane crash. Father dying. Love, Mother. She couldn't believe her eyes. Why, her Dad never had a crackup. Her eyes bore a bewildered expression as she hurriedly packed, and, as she went out the front door, I saw the tears beginning to roll down her soft cheeks. At the hospital Jerry stood beside her Mother, inwardly making a vow that if Father died, she would never again look at an airplane. I re- member her saying at the funeral a few days later that she hated the mere word aircraft. She was only fifteen then, but the memory of those few days lived on, and, often as I sat with her she would say that if it weren't for air- planes her Father might still be alive. One day she met a young man, Jack Bordon, who absorbed a great deal of her time. He took her to nice places and I saw little of Jerry, until one day she came into the house screaming that she never wanted to see Jack again. He was a pilot, and, as you know, Jerry dis- liked pilots, not because they were pilots, but because deep down with- in her she was afraidg-afraid that airplanes might harm someone whom she might care for. That is the rea- son I persuaded Mrs. Marquis to have a talk with Jerry. She was surely old enough now to understand that hatred was no way to feel towards a mere profession. Besides, years have passed since her father's day, E-C-H-0-E-S and airplanes are now much safer. You wouldn't think that the fear of the air would last as long as six years, but it did with Jerry. I saw the fear slowly leaving her as day by day Jack and she rode out to the airport,-no, not the same one Cut by Robin Ahrens 'fShe belonged to a family of pilots where her father's crackup occurred, but nevertheless, an airport. However, after she herself had fully mastered a plane, she took the job of housewife to a pilot. Yes, Jack and she were married,-not a large wedding, but a very pretty one. For five years they lived in a small three-room apartment located in a very aristocratic neighborhood, and then they moved., No, Jack wasn't raised in salary, but they were now a family. Yes, now they were .a family-Jerry had a child, a girl. They called her Marquette,-an odd name, but something like her grand- father's whose memory still lingered in Jerry's heart. It was after Marquette entered school that the misfortune happened. I recall that Jack was away on a business trip. Marquette came home from school feeling very ill. The doctor said it was a rare disease, so rare that I have forgotten the name. At any rate there was no cure. At least that's what they thought. Some- one, a neighbor, I believe, knew a doctor in Nevada who could help, but it was such a long distance, and time was short. The fever grew worse, and finally the idea came to Jerry to fly to Nevada. Who could take them - remember - Jack was away. Did Jerry have the courage to fly there with Marquette, and at the same time know she w.as re- sponsible for a small child's life,- her ehild's? It was all there was left to do, and so they left. I remember the day they reached Nevada. Jack was waiting out on the field. It was a fine exhibition of courage and bravery and he was proud of her. Well, Marquette got well. The doctor said the disease had received attention just in time. The family returned home when Marquette was able to walk, and I think I heard Jerry tell her husband as they entered the front door that a new member would soon be .added to their family A future pilot, no doubt? I saw Jerry as she thought about this. She belonged to a family whose pilots died and whose pilots brought life to future pilots. I believe she shed a tear as she remembered her father, and then, she smiled a little as she thought about the new life soon to enter the bewildering world which held joy and sorrow for both the old and the new. Twenty-nine