Fredericksburg High School - Rapahanoc Yearbook (Fredericksburg, VA)

Page 43 text:

RPvPRHFvNDC 192 To Mrs. Blake we do will and bequeath 1. One yard of sticking plaster to keep Edith Janney’s mouth shut. 2. One dozen bottles of “Neroine” to build up her frayed nerves after the class of ’21 has contaminated her study hall for four years. To Miss Johnson we will and bequeath That good for nothing typewriter on the third table of the second row so that she will at least understand why William Russell could never average more than three perfect copies per week. To Mrs. Williams we will and bequeath A Virgil class without Carl and Alvin Rowe to exchange opinions and incidentally, blows, 1 o Mrs. Link we do will and bequeath One middle sized gas oven which will bake biscuits in from two to three hours. 1 o Mr. Swem we do will and bequeath A physical culture class who will grasp as he puts it, “The feminine accomplis hment of marching,” quicker than we did. To all the classes that come after us we do will and bequeath The keynote of our happiness, the secret of our success, the source of our inspiration and our most precious relic, the motto of the class of ’21, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” In testimony thereof we have set our hands and seals this first day of June, 1921. —Josephine Carter Barney 39

Page 42 text:

RPvPftHPvNDC J92! ®fje Hast ISJiU attii Testament of tfje Class of 1921 W HEREAS in the due course of human events we make our exit from the stage of school life, we, the class of ’21, being of uneasy and unsound minds, having been always the model class of our institution, leave to our successors a memory of so perfect a record, that, while they may despair of emula¬ tion. they should try to equal us in scholarly attainments, in affectionate regard foi our instructors and in scrupulous attention to the well-thought-out regulations which have so sensibly governed us during the last four years. Therefore — To F. H. S. we do will and bequeath 1. “Fussy Pants,” our janitor, so that next year every Senior may be reminded to “Wipe yo’ feet please,” before entering the building. 2. A physical culture “pen” minus the cows, barbed wire fence and male onlookers of the sophomore class. To Mr. Birkhead, we do will and bequeath I. A mint of money to supply the wants of the faculty. 2. One vanilla ice-cream cone as a reward for his continued though unsuccessful efforts to keep “those Seniors” in the straight and narrow path. To Mr. Link we do will and bequeath One curly brown wig to camouflage the bald head he has gotten from worrying over the annual. Eo Mrs. Courtney we do will and bequeath A door without glass panels so that her mind will be at ease should an unlucky Senior happen to come along and give it a bang. To Miss Rhea we do will and bequeath A talking machine and one record entitled “Hush, Be Still!” ( To be played during fourth English). 38

Page 44 text:

Fellow-Pupils, Men and Women: The parting of friends is the most living sadness of life, a sweet sorrow and compensation for which lies in grief’s beckoning toward better things. We are here this night to say farewell, to part from you and from each other, to say good-bye to friends. We have played and sung and quarreled thru the years, but we have loved and worked and hoped together. With one another we have struggled over the formation of Q, traced the curious curves of the Father of Waters, and were glad of the afternoon sunshine with its respite for play. We have heard the clock tick while with beating heart we fought the demon of forgetfulness and tried to be¬ come the hero of the hour in a spelling match, and on spring days we have trodden woodland paths in search of woodland flowers, that we might combine youthful theory with youthful fact. With flowing sash and freshly laundered blouse we have proudly trudged along the shaded streets of our town and thru the big arch of the cemetery on warm May days—our class. We sadly smile as we recall these incidents of our earlier years. These mem¬ ories were once passing incidents, living realities, part of our lives. The smile which they call forth symbolizes in the most effective deg.ee the tender emotions within us this night. With less aid of time’s reflecting power to stamp the memories in our hearts, we have expectantly awaited the first question on an examination, looking at one another in dread, and on cold fall days we have heard the shrill cry, “Ready High School?” We have become talented musicians in a Kitchen Orchestra, and we have lustily sung the finale of a Senior play—our class. We have loved, labored, and won, but we have lived together. Tonight we leave one another, our first companions. It is our first parting of the ways. Though we enter higher institutions, tomorrow we assume the responsi¬ bilities of life, tomorrow we enter manhood and womanhood. “We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds.” It is the spreading dawn of hope, and as the light slowly breaks upon the plains of the future, we are warm with the expectation, yet timid with fear, and filled with sweet memories of the previous day. 40