Ensley High School - Jacket Yearbook (Birmingham, AL)

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Our Mag Raising Each heart beat with enthusiasm, each heart beat with wonder, each heart beat with expectation, each heart beat with a patriotic love for its country and its symbol—our flag. On April the eleventh, nineteen hundred and seventeen, came one of God's beautiful Southern spring days. Everyone and everything seemed infinitely happy; every face wore a smile; everyone felt a mutual love for his fellow student. Thus it was on our flag-raising day. We, wishing to show our patriotism, chose to raise the stars and stripes to the highest heights on our school building, so that it might float therefrom from day to day to tell the passers-by that English High loved its country. A short, but impressive, program was given before the flag was raised. The entire school sang My Country, Tis of Thee, as only Ensley High School can sing it. Miss Bertha Bates gave an interesting and educational talk on The History of the American Flag, after which everyone fully realized what our flag means. Next came Dr. Henry M. Edmonds' wonderful talk on Patriotism, and then every one realized the good and the necessity of being patriotic and also that he had a long and rocky road to travel before he could ever acquire an intellect such as Dr. Edmonds’. General Harrison, Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate Veterans, spoke on the hardships of the Civil War, the necessity of being physically prepared in case of war at the present time, and the necessity of planting home gardens for the feared food riot. Being such an old man and having had the experiences of war, he drove it home to us as no other person could. The most impressive part of the program was rendered in front of the school building, where the student body, teachers and visitors assembled to see the flag raised to its height. Two of our boys, who are Boy Scouts, blew reveille while the flag was being raised, after which, with the orchestra accompaniment, the school sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Then with glad hearts we marched back into the school to the tune of Dixie. leaving our flag floating proudly in the morning breeze.

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 of those friendships were made during the first year of school and they always lasted, even though in later years they saw each other rarely. “The year in which they were sophomores passed by without any unusual events. They were studying hard, and of course time passed swiftly. Many of them were having hard times sailing over the rough seas of ‘Composition and Rhetoric,’ while others lingered three semesters over ‘Wentworth and Smith's Plane and Solid Geometry.’ They say that it was the cause of the failure of many. I suppose that it was a good thing that the teachers had as much patience as they did or they never would have gotten through it. By this time most of them had become members of one of the various organizations. Some who were more gifted than others were chosen as members of the Lyric Club. At last the junior year drew near and they began to be of some importance in school life. Most of them were active members of the literary societies, and some were chosen as members for the casts of various plays given, while still others who did not possess histrionic abilities won places in the semiannual debates. The boys were especially noted for their activities on the field. Sometimes (although the case was rare) they succeeded in defeating their rival. Central High School.” She was stopped by a question from one who asked: “Did your grandmother ever tell you about the game they played with Central, in which some one from that team severely injured Leo Smithson?’ All nodded their heads, for they had been told that many times. “Do go on with your story,” said one of them who had not heard of these doings of the class. “They were considerably sobered on the first day of the term of 1916. Many of them had a year of hard work before they could reach the goal just in the distance. However, time flew and before they knew it, it was necessary to begin writing their essays—I do dread that part of it, don’t you?” She looked at all the girls for confirmation and each looked very serious and nodded vigorously. “That semester the grim visitor visited the school and left sad hearts behind. At last January came and seven of the members were safe. They were glad, of course, but they were sorry to think that their days in Ensley High School were over. The others who were to finish in June had as much work as they could very well attend to. but they also managed to get a lot of pleasure out of it. When at last the much-longed-for day came, they walked slowly down the isle with their hearts in their mouths and took their places on the stage. Oh, dear, there is that fifth period bell. Where in the world do we go?” 10 t t

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