Fredericksburg High School - Rapahanoc Yearbook (Fredericksburg, VA)

Page 35 text:

History of Class of 1922 T HE voyage of the class of 1922 began with the launching of our ship, “The Adventure”, from Port Frederick, on Septem¬ ber 9, 1918. Each passenger boarded the ship with many fears and horrors of the sea, for they that had traveled the same ocean in times past brought back many startling tales of examinations and foreign languages that had to be mastered while on board the ship, and the many hours that had to be spent in the “Brig” for the least offense, such as chewing gum or being disorderly in public. But these tales did not discourage these adventurous passengers for they had planned and prepared for this voyage, and “SUCCESS” was their aim. With Prof. E. F. Birckhead as Admiral and Mrs. Courtney as the faithful Captain of our group, we sailed forth with ardent hopes into the seas of Algebra, Latin, History, English and Science, with a chance to either “Sink” or “Swim”. It required much unusually hard work on the part of the officers to keep these new passengers in order; in fact it was whispered among the officers and crew that the “Freshmen”, as we were called, were the worst that had ever been on the ship. But then at first we could not be expected to settle down because we found many conditions that were not to our liking, so we started at once to let others know we were present. Just as we were getting familiar with our surroundings everything was upset by the “Flu” epidemic among the passengers and crew; by this we were forced to anchor and leave the ship, in which we were given one month to be victorious in the battle for “Life, Liberty and the Pur suit of Happiness”. At the end of this time we were summoned to file into rank, and the rest of that part of the voyage was completed in safety. The next year we started our voyage again upon the “Adventure” with bouyant hopes, but the old ship soon became unsafe, and we were forced to land and board another, which was called “The 31

Page 34 text:

Ra palm noc ’Twenty-two Salutatory A FAVORED thought with poets and philosophers is to liken our lives to a voyage upon an unknown ocean, whose farthest shore is eternity. I will adopt their idea tonight and liken our commencement to a voyage upon the sea of life. Our parents, teachers and friends are gathered here tonight to bid us God-speed, for in truth the class of 1922 are launching their barks upon their first real voyage. All the years of infancy were guided by a mother’s hands who shaped the timbers that were later fashioned and sup¬ ported by our honest teachers. Each ship tonight contains timbers that were seasoned in an atmosphere of honest toil. Many lessons have been learned that will guide us through the storms and fogs that will await us, but if we fling aloft the pennant of hope and take with us the compass of truth and honesty, we may christen her “Success.” Let us hope that we have learned to row against the tide, not drift with it, for ’tis rowing, not drifting, that makes men and women of us. We wish to thank both our parents and teachers for their help in the building of our vessel; and trust that at the end of life’s journey each member of the class of 1922 may anchor far from the isle of unrest and glide safely within the harbor of peace. —Marion M. Weedon. 30

Page 36 text:

Rapahanoc ’T wenty-two Hopeful . This time we sailed from Port Elementary in a pretty ship but with little room. Our new captain was Mrs. W. N. Blake, who stood for our rights with grim determination. The pleasures aboard this ship were few, but we endured it all, for we were told that this was only a temporary one, and that a new ship was bei ng built, which was strong and comfortable, as well as beautiful, in which we could finish our voyage. Of course we grumbled and complained over our hardships, but that only made it worse, for here we were out upon the Sea of Caesar, which was the roughest one we had yet encountered, and the worst part of it yet was we had to go through this sea from 4:50 to 5:30 in the afternoons. But worst of all, we were calmly riding the Sea of Algebra when along came a big breaker in the form of Geometry, and almost swept us back to Port Frederick, but we were rescued by the worthy assistance of Captain A. P. Link. As we were nearing the end of our journey for this year we celebrated by a big party, at which the costumes shocked all officers on board, and ever since then we have been confronted by a big sign on the smoke stack, “No Dancing Allowed”. The next year, the wind having blown us back to “Port Elemen¬ tary , we sailed forth again with flags dying and with hopes of soon reaching our final destination. But we had only been sailing a few weeks when Admiral Birckhead rushed up on deck with his usual composure, saying the old boat was sinking but the long looked for new one was in sight. Of course the excitement was great until we were all landed on board the new ship, which was christened “F. H. S. The next week or two was spent in becoming familiar with our new surroundings, which were very beautiful. The only fault we could find in our new ship was the lack of a gymnasium, for the only gym. we had was Jim Johnson, the steward, who was continually warning us that this was a new boat and was not to be defaced. On September 12, 1921, we sailed forth from Port Potters Field in F. H. S. on our last voyage. Never before had we felt so great our importance, as now we were termed “Seniors . Captain Rhea 32