Emerson High School - Emersonian Yearbook (Gary, IN)

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Curtains, Ogkts, fiction The focus of interest in this picture is easy to note —Hats Off,” an operetta on the life of John Jaul Jones— Gavel Club The ultimate honor for which every student in the Speech and l3rama Department at Emerson strives is an invitation for membership to the National Masque and Gavel Club. Miss Hazel Harrison has headed this organization in the state of Indiana since 19J6. In order to attain membership, the student must meet the following requirements: be a graduating senior; have the requirements for a vocational diploma in auditorium; have earned 60 points in extra-curricular auditorium, and finally the student must have the unanimous approval of the auditorium faculty. Nine aspiring Thespians achieved this honor. They were Bettie Beddingficld, Geraldine Boswell, Jack Bryan, Candida Garcia, Chester Henson, Edward Madden, Leo Noe, Cecil Oliver, and Phyllis Underwood. A banquet was given in their honor by the charter members of the society. It was held in the school cafeteria on May 25, 1943. There the new members were formally initiated and presented with pins bearing the masque and gavel. Dramatic Class Emerson students who wish to live creatively have taken advantage of the many opportunities offered by the Senior Dramatic Class. Ably guided by Miss Margaret D. Paul, this class developed a taste for fine literature. Not only does Dramatic Class serve as a pleasant diversion from daily studies, but it is beneficial in building persona.icy. The class calendar was a busy one, including individual skits and group work. Among group undertakings were The Little Minister, The Bond Between, Guns Against the Snow, Midwinter Nightmare, Everyman, and radio programs. Some individual skits were Androcles and the Lion, Belong, The Pied Piper, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Mary Queen of Scotland. Work was done by committee organization. The class held tryouts for new members at the beginning of the second semester and took in four. They were Louis Cina, Doris McDaniels, June Blecharczyk, and Betty Poulis. Page Twenty