Goshen High School - Crimson Yearbook (Goshen, IN)

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22 THE CRIMSON June CLASS PROPHECY RY PAUUNE HATCH HE Class of 1910 of Goshen High School, having lived happy and use- ful lives and having climbed high on the ladder of fame, departed, as all must, from the upper world and des- cended into the world of shades. We wandered together on the hither side of the Stygian waters for a long time waiting for a chance to be ferried across the filthy stream by old Charon, the boatman. While waiting we saw many strange sights among the shades. For instance, the shades of Hercules and Sandow got into a discussion about their strength and to settle it had a contest in which Sandow was victorious. This somewhat shook our faith in the fable concerning the strength of the old hero, Hercules, but he explained that his defeat was due to old age. The contest was es- pecially interesting to Wallace Mehl and Tony Sperry, who had been foot-ball coaches in large colleges, and they were always looking out for new ideas in tackling. I also noticed Dean Binkley, formerly head of the Liberal Arts de- partment of the American University, taking notes. Evidently from force of habit in college. At last came our chance, for Charon, the old boatman, rowed up to the bank. His long matted beard troubled Ormonde Smith somewhat, so he drew out his razor and soap and offered to shave him. It happened that the knot which held up Charon ' s long, dirty cloak broke and he needed something to fasten it. Then Morris Elliott, who in life a jeweler was, stepped forth and of- fered him an artistic buckle which had been de- signed by another of our classmates, Irma Grove. Charon accepted these favors gratefully and agreed to take the Class of 1910 over all together. I remember asking him why he didn ' t use one of the new electric launches which had recently been invented by Sam Peck and for which Otis Kercher was agent, but he shook his head sadly and said that Pluto, and in fact, none of the gods, approved of the new-fangled ideas, so he still had to use his old barge. After Charon had landed us we were greatly frightened by the raving of Jack, Mary Butter- field ' s dog, which had recently taken the place of Cerebus, the three-headed dog that had guarded the entrance. It was well for us that our class- mate, known above as the learned Dr. Young, remembered the story of Aeneas and following his example, had previously prepared a cake which contained chloroform. This he threw to the savage dog, which devoured it and when the the drug took effect, we all passed the beast safely. When we had passed over a rough road we heard a great crying and soon came to the spirits of those who died in infancy. Here Naomi Brenneman and Cecil Coy wanted to stop and conduct a kindergarten but we urged them on to the place where Minos and his associates were holding perpetual court, for every shade must be tried there. Minos sat on a high throne and on each side of him was an associate while around him were messengers and guards ; as we came up we saw a number of shades being taken avray, some to one place and some to another and stood quaking while we waited to hear our fate. When we were arraigned before the judges, the renovvmed lawyers of our class, Forrest Funk, Lester In ebit, and Oren Batchelor, stated our cases with clearness, setting forth all good points, hiding the bad, and pleading with such eloquence that Minos, convinced of our goodness, com- manded that we should be led to Elysium. Elysium is the place where the good go and enjoy for a thousand years those pursuits in which they are interested, after which all, except a few chosen by the gods, drink the waters of forgetfulness of the river Lethe, and, uncon- scious of their former existence, return to earth and inhabit new bodies. Ihe palace of Pluto, the king of the lower regions, is at the entrance of Elysium, and there, with his beautiful wife, Proserpine, he questions all who enter. The king and queen were very much interested in our class and introduced us to many prominent shades. Prosperpine was especially interested in the wonderful gowns and manners of Mary Butter- iield, Pauline Piatt, and Ora Davis, who in the upper world had been prominent society wo- men. In fact, so murh was she interested in the ways of this world, thst she held long consulta- tions vnth Halcie Simmons and Henrietta Smith

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1910 THE CRIMSON 21 turing the track meet of ' 07 in which Franken- stein of our class won his G. In the fall of ' 09 the football team won the c ' nampionship. Eight of the eleven men were seniors and we are tak- ing them with us tonight. They are: Sperry, captain; Blough, Whitmer, Mehl, Funk, Leidner, Stetler, and Vallette. Berkey Miller, the famous high school punter, left school last year to join the ranks of benedicts and we regret very much that he is not with us tonight. When our senior year at last arrived we im- mediately assembled with somewhat depleted ranks and re-elected Oren Batchelor president. After numerous meetings we agreed to give a class dance. Did you ask whether it was a success? We were not long in discovering that the spirit of the class had waned exceedingly. More meetings were called in which we dis- cussed the possibility of giving a class play. The vote taken found the class in favor of it, save one who voted nay. We selected The County Chair- man, and Mr. Lowrrie of Chicago was consult- ed. He, with the assistance of two of the faculty, picked the cast. The manuscript vras then sent for and we commenced rehearsing as soon as it arrived. To Mr. Bailey, who directed us, is due our sincere thanks for his expenditure of time and for his untiring efforts. . Mr. Lowrie has been with us two weeks and we would likewise express our appreciation for his valuable assist- ance. The class play tomorrow night marks the close of our high school career. The aggregate weight of our class is 5,000 pounds and the tensile strength of their brains is in like proportion. My! what a load to lift from the faculty ' s care. Now let us go forth into the world strong of purpose and upright of character, remembering our motto that Fortune Aids the Daring, for tonight we stand on the threshold of life.

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1910 THE CRIMSON 23 on the mysteries of hair dressing, for that had been their trade, and she ordered several suits to be made by Frank Rhodes, the famous ladies tailor. The shades were very much puzzled by the long aprons and little white nurse ' s caps which Ruth Miller, Anna Violett and Ruth Larimer still insisted on wearing, for since the shades were never ill, they had no need of nurses and had never seen any before. Still wandering about, I was not surprised to see Calvin Madlem and Earl Weaver carrying on an animated conversation with Psyche and Daphne, for, although ne ither had married in the upper world, their chief occupation had been paying court to the ladies. Ever since Dido ' s disappointing affair with Aeneas she had made it a point to bring to- gether all lovers who had separated in the uppei; world. I noticed Vincent Vcdlette quietly con- sulting her and evidently urging her to help him find a beautiful shade of small stature and ex- quisite voice for whom he had been looking ever since he had arrived. We had not been there very long when the day arrived that Aeneas had set aside (in the upper world) for celebrating memorial games in honor of his father, Anchises. Now they still celebrated in the same way except that Anchises himself presided over the games and gave the prizes, while Aeneas made all the arrangements. We were cordially asked to take part in any of the contests and I was glad to see Harry Martin, who had won such fame as a runner in High School carrying off one of the prizes in the foot- race. Leslie Leidner also astonished the shades with his great strength in throwing weights. When Aeneas heard that Harry Whitmer had been a playwright, he urged him to give one of his plays so that some of the older shades might see something of the modem life in the upper world. Taking Russell McCann, Nelson Blough, Miriam Pickering, and Madge Butler, all of whom had a short stage career, and Glenn Wise- man and Donna Woodford who had charmed the whole world with their beautiful voices, Harry was able to make up a good cast for one of his plays. The shades were very much pleas- ed with it and especially with the minstrel stunt that Jack Frankenstein and Kenneth Knox did between acts. After Ralph Swoveland and Lloyd Stetler, the philosophers of the class, discovered the shade of Plato, we saw very little of them for they sat by the hour listening to him talk. Forrest Michael and the two Juday boys were also seldom seen, for together they were trying an experiment concerning the alternation of crops which had interested them very much in life, but which they had never been able to com- plete on account of the changeable climate. As for me, it was my privilege to return to earth without drinking of the waters of the river Lethe and to write this paper. Written in the year 2920 by PAULINE HATCH.