Fredericksburg High School - Rapahanoc Yearbook (Fredericksburg, VA)

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RAPRHPvHDC 1921 Higtorp of tfie Sophomore Class M OST Sophomores can hardly forget their Freshman year, and J. Everett never will, for the first thing that impressed upon him the fact that he was a Freshman was that he was initiated by the school barbers, the senior boys. While the job they made was not elegant it was very effective because the next day J. Everette went to the barber shop and was shorn of his remaining locks. Nancy, poor thing, grieved over our one-armed chairs, not because they were minus an arm, but she wanted a desk instead. How can one hide candy and cakes in a one-armed chair? To so delicate a one as Nancy it is very necessary that she eat something now and then to sustain her, and if “now” and “then” happen to fall within class hours, why. That was bad enough, but Alice was in a still more deplorable condition. The arms of the chairs are on the right side and Alice is left-handed. That’s what you get for being left-handed, Alice; the world wasn’t made for left-handed people. Mrs. Courtney was our teacher, and she was always so reasonable and patient that High School wasn’t bad after all, and if anyone can make a lesson interesting Mrs. Courtney can. At first we were in the Hotel Frederick (now Hotel Maury). It was an every day occurrence for a big piece of plastering to hit some poor unfortunate on the head; indeed it was interesting to wonder who would be the next victim. Some¬ times our room was hot and sometimes it was cold, but none of us took these little drawbacks too seriously, for we knew that it would not be long before we would be comfortably ensconsed in our nice new school building. For Mr. Link, in algebra, we had to write all of the examples in ink. For Mrs. Williams we had to learn poetry in English and conjugations and declensions in Latin; for Mrs. Courtney, ancient history, and oh, the awful names of those old characters which we had to learn to pronounce! Mrs. Blake kept study hall, and she had a hard job, for that’s where we “carried on,” and received marks and lectures from her. 55

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54 SOPHOMORE CLASS

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RPvPRHPvMDC 1921 As winter came on it got so cold in the school that Mr. Birchhead moved the whole High School to the Elementary School building. The High School pupils went from 12:30 to 5 P. M. because the elementary pupils used the building all morning. It was quite a novelty coming home in the dark on winter afternoons. Meanwhile our beautiful new High School was being built. The site was formerly a burying ground, and being so impatient to get in our new building made the time of waiting seem so long to us that Jebby declared that after the carpenters worked on it in the day time the ghosts pulled it down at night. During our Freshman term we never did get in the new school, and after vacation we started again in the elementary school building as Sophomores, with Mrs. Blake our teacher. When we walked into her class “wasn’t it a grand and glorious feeling?” Not many months, however, after entering our Sophomore class we moved into our new High School. Everyone was so pleased and excited. The library, which is also the study hall, is a large, pleasant room, with book cases, tables and beautiful big ferns. I must not forget to tell you about the Bible and Flag which the Junior Order United American Mechanics presented to the new High School. Our class was given the Bible to use. I wonder if Mr. Birckhead thought that we needed it most. Whether we do or not we are glad to have it. Old Glory floats gallantly over our building, and we take this opportunity of again thanking the J. O. U. A. M. for the gift of these two things precious to the heart of every American child, our Bible and our Flag. Our Sophomore year has passed, with its study and its play, its lights and shadows, its lessons, some hard and some easily learned, leaving in our hearts pleasant memories of the patience of our teachers, of the good-fellowship and cama¬ raderie of our co-pupils, and the affection of our own special school “chums.” It has been a happy year, made busy with study, lightened by a little mischief, helpful with lessons of perseverence, and beautified with friendships, which we trust will continue long after our school days are a thing of the past. We all want to meet again next year with the same old spirit of understanding, sympathy and mutual helpfulness. Until then. Adieu! 56