Girard College - Corinthian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 10 text:

8 In Retrospect Footlights and Flashes G IRARD has always held the reputation of being well advanced in dra¬ matics and public speaking. Our class, we feel, but not in a boastful spirit, has contributed as much as any other class and perhaps more to the excellence of this work. In dramatics, probably the outstanding “actor-actress” was Wesley Hoff¬ man. Actress, because he starred in three major plays as the feminine lead and held a very important woman’s part in the fourth. The fourth, Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” had no feminine lead; therefore “Wes” couldn’t take it. He took, however, the part of Mrs. Cratchit, and did an admirable piece of work. He made his debut as Mrs. Credulous in “The Scheming Lieutenant,” a comedy by Sheridan. His second success was the lead in Tolstoy’s “What Men Live By.” Here he portrayed excellently a Russian peasant woman, the wife of a poor cobbler. His most important role was as Mrs. Hardcastle in that comic classic of Goldsmith’s “She Stoops to Conquer.” Here again he was a huge success impersonating that difficult character as well as Mrs. Hard¬ castle herself could have done it. How a boy can take those women parts and make them so realistic is a wonder to many of us. We congratulate him for his splendid presentations. Another well-known feminine “actor” in our class is Howard Gill. How¬ ard has also been very active in dramatics at Girard but usually has taken the younger heroine parts. In “The Scheming Lieutenant” he was the tempting “pretty young thing” that caused all the fuss. This was his debut, and was it successful ? Howard next appeared behind the footlights as a member of the cast “She Stoops to Conquer.” Again he captured the hearts of the audience and that of Mr. Hestings as Miss Constance Neville, Hardcastle’s neice. From his first appearance to the last curtain, Gill drew applause from the house—and we truthfully say he deserved it. In the “Christmas Carol,” he took a minor part but played it admirably giving the audience genuine pleasure. Leonard Wendling has proved himself worthy of a great deal of praise for his work in three plays. He first appeared as a monk in “The Little Father of the Wilderness.” Although the part didn’t call for a great deal of acting on the stage, the time present was sufficient for all to see just what he could do. In “She Stoops to Conquer” he added a few years to himself and gave a very excellent presentation of young Marlow’s father, Sir Marlow. Deaf in one ear and unable to hear in the other, in need of a cane, and without teeth, Leonard put before an eager audience a character that was alive and portrayed it in a pro¬ fessional manner. In “Christmas Carol, he subtracted all those extra years and played the part of Young Scrooge. What he gave in realism to an old man, he also portrayed in the young thus proving his versatility. We have another actor in our class who has taken part in three produc¬ tions. He made his debut as an old, miserly, Russian Jew (Trofinoff) who came to get credit from a still poorer Russian cobbler in Tolstoy ' s “What Men Live By.” Behind a heavy, black beard, Francis Neibert actually became Jewish

Page 9 text:

January 1934 7 boys then—happy and energetic. Therefore, as singing goes hand in hand with happiness, we found ourselves naturally adapted to it. The hold that music had on us then grew stronger with each succeeding year. At last we had opportunities to display our musical talent. First there was the Junior Hundred. In this organization Antonio Caruso won first prize for posses- ing the best soprano voice in the choir. But, as we grew older, our soprano voices changed and mellowed into more mature tones. It was then that we found it necessary to leave the choir and confine our musical activities to other groups. Many of us tried for membership in the band and orchestra. The as¬ pirants for the band were either handed bugles or drums, and a bugle and drum corps grew. For awhile our enthusiasm led us far. There was the Founder’s Day parade and the Boys’ Week parade which presented us opportunities to dis¬ play ourselves before the world. But after those events were over, much of our enthusiasm died away. The bugles and drums did not seem to respond. Many of us found it necessary to leave the band and join the battalion. However, a few remained to carry on their interests in instrumental music. Thus in our last term at Girard, we find four members of our class in the band. Francis Neibert, trombonist, was elevated to the position of captain of the band in his Senior-two term. His work in raising the esprit de corps of this organization proves the inherent qualities of leadership which he possesses. He was assisted by Ernest Hall, French horn player and first lieutenant. Hall’s performance on the most difficult of all band instruments is a credit to both him and his instructors. Wesley Hoffman, second lieutenant, was solo flutist in the band. His willingness to cooperate and the skill with which he played his in¬ strument made him a valuable asset to the organization. The spirited drumming of Charles Green, second lieutenant, added the necessary color. In the orchestra our class was represented by three musicians. George Delaney, leader of the orchestra, was solo trumpeter. Few of us will forget the fine solos he rendered in the orchestral concerts. He was ably assisted by Robert Ross and Neil Gilchrist, violinists, who acted as assistant leader and manager respectively. When we entered Junior-two, many of us found our opportunity to join the Glee Club. At the end of our Senior-two term, we find that twenty-four of our members belong to that organization. The officers of the club were Frank DeSanto, president; Philip Bavuso, vice-president; Leon Brandolph, secretary, and Francis Neibert. In the tenor section we have Caruso, Delaney, Gill, Green, Hoffman, Price, R. Ross, Swavely, Wendling, Callendar, Hall, and Nichols. Among the basses the members of our class were Buckley, Kerlin, Waters, Gilchrist, Dittert, Frankau, F. Ross, Neibert, and Ziegler. We leave the College with a precious memory of those happy days spent with our leaders in these activities. When the formulas of mathematics and the lessons of the classroom have long faded away, the lingering strains of Girard music will still remain with us.

Page 11 text:

January 1934 9 for the few minutes he was on the stage transporting the audience to a Russian hut. And then, to another extreme, from that part he took the lead in “She Stoops to Conquer” and gave the audience a real treat as Mr. Hardcastle, the fat. bouncing. English aristocrat who was mistaken for an innkeeper. Here Neibert gave a very mature performance and deserves all credit given him. Another change in makeup and Mr. Hardcastle became Marley’s Ghost in the “Christmas Carol.” The stage was completely darkened, and the Ghost aroused emotion among the spectators by his voice only. The scene was quite effective, and once again members of our class brought honor to dramatics in Girard. But a play may be made or broken by a supporting cast. Every one can¬ not take the leading parts because in most cases there are not enough of them. All of our plays have been successful mainly because of the minor characters. Among them we find Earl Price, a servant of Hardcastle’s; Robert Ross as Kate Hardcastle’s maid—a very good comedy interpretation. So ends a resume of our most important dramatic performances here at Girard within the last four years. It will be safe to say that somewhere some¬ place along our line of march nearly every member of the class has participated in some sort of play. Our public speaking activities have been just as successful as those in dra¬ matics. We have had all types of Friday morning assembly talks, and numerous Sunday evening reports. The latter were delivered by Hoffman, Fuller, Bavuso, Davit, DeSanto, Fenimore, Gill, Nichols, Dittert, Bower, Spiegel, and Neibert. The most important speaking contest at Girard, the Declamation Contest, found four of our members on the platform out of the six contestants. They were John Fuller, who delivered a very interesting talk on “Preparation for Leisure”; Robert Ross, who gave an “Appreciation of George Arliss”; Francis Neibert, who talked on his “Preface to the Future”; and Wesley Hoffman who gave a biographical sketch “Out of the Darkness” on Helen Keller. It is a pity that there were not six prizes for every talk deserved recognition, but the judges were instructed to pick three winners. Our sole prize winner was Francis Neibert. Neibert left a message for us that ought to be very useful to all those who heard it. He talked intelligently about his philosophy of life and how that philosophy may be practical. For this talk he received second prize in the contest. He has since been appointed the Class Speaker at the Commence¬ ment Exercises. We have been telling you how enjoyable and how beautifully done all our plays and speeches were. We have been the interpreters in different produc¬ tions, and in many cases received the praise. But behind it all there was a directing power. And at this time we want to extend our sincere thanks and deepest appreciation to Mr. Henry V. Andrews, our coach and teacher, for all his efforts to present through us Girard plays and speeches of quality.