Girard College - Corinthian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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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.

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6 In Retrospect Too soon, many of us will be readers of the Alumini Magazine, where we shall be able to find the details of our past school life lived over again. Dur¬ ing the last term Wesley L. Hoffman and B. Davis Fenimore kept the “ex-hum¬ mers’ up-to-date with the school through their contributions to Steel and Gar¬ net. May we have later news written in the same spirit. As another class passes in review may the readers of these pages realize that we did not do this entirely alone. After all, without guidance little is ac¬ complished. The work of Dr. Stewart, Professor Foust, and Dr. Haskell can¬ not be forgotten. May their wise leadership benefit us in the years to cornel And now we assure you that the life of the editor is a happy one. His pleas¬ ures liv e on after the vain have died. The realization that his pen has accom¬ plished something in an effort to raise the standards of his school is alone a reward. And so let the rest lie with our readers and those who succeed us. Music “And the night shall be filled with music And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs And as silently steal away ' ' F ROM the days of the tom tom beating to the evenings of pleasure among the inspiring strains of great symphonies, music has lived as the chief me¬ dium of inspiring men. As children men are lulled to sleep by the mother’s lullaby. Later they appease their emotions, dispel their worries, and live in the atmosphere of ecstacy among the songs which great men and women created for their relief or enjoyment. And finally the solemn tones of the dirge accompany them to their last resting places. But music elevates; it creates ideals, and ennobles our characters. Its spir¬ itual influence cannot be estimated. Perhaps it is Nature’s greatest spiritual gift to mankind because it prevented our return to savagery. It determines our degree of culture. “’Tis the language of the soul.” And so we count it one of the most important of our numerous activities at Girard. From the first crude rendition of the class rhythm band in the old Number Seven Building to the final martial air of pomp and circumstance played when we marched to our last auditorium assembly, music has influenced our lives and con¬ duct. When we entered Girard, we lived in contact with music. Every day be¬ gan with a song. Singing produced in us a happier frame of mind, made us more capable of better work and kinder in our relations to each other. We were little

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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