Germantown Academy - Ye Primer Yearbook (Fort Washington, PA)

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44-Ar++1L.e-+4-+4 enough to waken the Hessians lying deep under our Eastern goal posts and make them wonder whether or not a second battle of Germantown was raging round them. All this delirious celebration was the sequel to G. A.'s victory over her old- time and honored rival, Penn Charter. Long will that contest be memorable in the annals of the Old School, not soon will those who saw it, forget the lifetime thrill when at the start of the fourth quarter, the score, 7-0 against G. A., the heady Hoft picked up the pigskin after a blocked kick, and nursing it carefully under his mighty arm, breezed over Penn Charter's goal line. Our time had come and the victory fell on us-15-7. Then soon came the victory over Haverford-16-13, Chick White, '28, with his educated toe, kicking the decisive points. On the track Henkels has continued to flash by taking about ten points in each meet. This spring, also, G. A. has taken to aquatic sports, and for the first time in its history the school has been represented on the Schuylkill by a crew, in which two '27 men had seats, Bud Stier and Charley Morris. Their first race was a spectacular aifair, Joe Hoover, '28, breaking an oar-lock and plunging into the river to lighten the shell. And now, let me say, in concluding that, if my recital of the deeds of the Class of 1927 has seemed to border on boastfulness, my one purpose has been to do full justice and pay a well-earned tribute to my classmates who have given of their best for the glory of the Old School. May that glory never be dimmed! WILLIAM McL12AN RAYNOR. f-E',,3,, g:,lfse.. ' LE' ,ie A pig,- ff f is - ...E-f-st.-twist ' THE WYCK HOUSE 45

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+4++++++f+++4 ' With the addition to our ranks of those stalwarts, Bud Stier, Benn Foster, Bill Cooney, Dick Henkels and Herb Lawrence, our athletic prestige was heightened, notably in track and on the court. Henkels, who had made an enviable reputation as a miler, brought new glory to us as Fourth Formers by placing in the Swarth- more, Penn and Princeton meets. In another field, too, he showed his speed, being runner-up in the Oratorical contest, held at the school. On the scholastic side, about this time we were battling with College Board requirements, and here, too, '27 rose to the occasion, for after the smoke of the June examinations had lifted, most of us, it was found, had survived, though Il little shell-shocked, and in due time came missives from the ogres of the Board testi- fying to our general success. By the way of dramatic relief our school life in the Fourth Form period was varied and its routine set off by an event the haunting mystery of which has never been fathomed. It was at the height of the hatless craze, as if there were a con- certed movement to throw the hat trade into bankruptcy. G. A. Boys were regularly showing up at school with their shining morning faces but most of them without the semblance of a lid. Soon the masters became involved in the rising action of this tragico-comedy. The climax came in the middle of the third scene of the third act when the hats and caps of the Mathematical Department disappeared sud- denly and utterly on the Wings of the Morning. 'Not at one fell swoop, but one by one with deadly regularity to the Nth degree until X equalled absolute zero. Hurly-burly: confusion worse confounded, excited discussion, meeting of the Senior Council, dread mutterings from the powers that be, but no signs of the missing, they had gone to the undiscovered country from which no hats ever return. Yet sud- denly as if by magic the tense situation was relieved, the excitement died out, and the affair was speedily forgotten in the sweep of other events. Today, however, a lofty police box of burnished steel ornaments the room of each Master to serve as a storage warehouse for his headgear against a return of the mysterious juggler. And now our Senior Year-last scene of all in our eventful history. At the very outset matters started with a vim prophetic of the great things to happen. First, our Senior Council got off to a good start and has since functioned so effectively under the firm hand of the president that it has enabled '27 to make a noteworthy contribution to the value of student government. Our public speaking during the past year was centered in the Prize Debate, held in March, the question being the independence of the Philippines. Into the details of this debate I do not purpose to go, and I cite it only as an example of what real class spirit can achieve in other fields as well as in athletics. Most of the eight contestants had not previously gone in much for debating, but the repu- tation of 1927 being at stake, since their predecessors had won fame in this activity, all the debaters went to it with a six-cylinder enthusiasm that overcame all natural handicaps and placed the class high on the roll of Philo. And in the Held of sports, what a glorious year! It was late in the afternoon of the 13th of October when suddenly the old bell of G. A. began to ring, and ring, and ring and far into the night. In fact, its joyful peal continued, old grads, wild with enthusiasm, began assembling, a bonfire was soon blazing, the crowd, growing ever larger, was harangued by prominent alumni until the welkin rang with cheers: now just what a welkin is I admit I am not quite clear, but the vital fact is that it did ring and rang loud 44-

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1 'J 'Z' ily tr ll l +1-4-+4-ALJALJL4-+4A W' 'QNX' I it Valedictory 4' , 5 I Whig l E HAVE come together this evening for our last social function as a class. As you have already guessed from the previous speeches, we part tomorrow :I and begin another lap of the course of life. There is a certain lens about which we have learned in Physics. This lens has the property of taking a number of rays of light which come from points some distance away and Wi fi bringing them nearer together. Beyond this they begin to diverge and to grow farther apart. Some may be again brought together by the use of other lenses. Fellow Classmates, Ladies and Gentlemen: A QGAVDF M is' Life may be compared to a great many lenses. Each human soul is a ray of light. Our class represents a number of rays. VVe have been born in various homes in various places. The school has been the first great-lens. It has brought us together for our preliminary and elementary education. Some came a number of years ago, others more recently. Tomorrow we separate. Our preliminary work is completed. Small groups of us will once more be brought into contact in college life, and later on in business or in professional work. Although there are many preparatory schools in the world, I think that there are few students who have had the advantage of passing through a school like ours. Many schools excel us from the standpoint of equipment and material things, but there are none, in this country at least, which can look back upon so many historic events, or can remember so many characters of renown, or which can recall so many years of patient endeavor to bring forward generations of boys well qualified to take leading positions in the community. The school will forever stand as a monument to the settlers of Germantown, their sturdiness, their industry, and their desire for educational advantages for their children. It has been hallowed by Washington and Lafayette. It remains for us to strive to bring more honor to its name. In our simile of the lens we must not forget for one moment the hands which have guided that lens. To Mr. Osbourn, who has successfully piloted us through the years of our school life, we owe a debt of gratitude. No less thanks do we owe to the faculty by whose persistent efforts we are at last ready to graduate. VVe cannot thank them Withdripping eyes for the whippings with cat-o'-nine-tails by which the Valedictorians of years gone by were wont to assert that their char- acters had been moulded, and by which learning had been instilled into them. We do, however, begin to realize that the hours after school which we have passed, and that the stiff homework assignments through which we have plodded, have helped us to the desired goal. Nothing is so pleasant, in retrospect, as work accom- plished. To Dr. Kershaw, the class owes a tribute far beyond my humble power to set forth. His life of service has been an inspiration to every boy who has been educated within our historic walls. We shall always carry a loving memory of him with us. - 4-6