Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

Page 33 text:

torches appeared here and there, throw- ing light upon the figures of two women dressed in the uniform of the “Holy Rollers” while to the accompaniment of drum and tamborines they were sing- ing “Hallelujah! Hallelujah.” As they turned their faces toward me I recog- nized in the singers Olive Pace and Phyllis Girard. As I gazed at them their faces gradu- ally became blurred and I saw that I was standing in the spacious hall of a beautiful house. Nailed over the en- trance door was a sign reading, “Home ' of the City’s Philanthropist”. Slowly descending the stairs, I saw a beauti- fully gowned woman, whose warmly tinted hair looked somewhat familiar. As she drew nearer my suspicions were confirmed, for the lady was Elsie Man- zer. Just as I laid my hand in hers, I heard a strong buzzing in my ears which gradually changed to the sound of mili- tary music, and as I looked about me I saw that I was standing near the parade ground of a military academy. March- ing towards me was a company of stu- dents led by an erect soldierly figure of a man. As I gazed upon him my heart beat faster and as he passed me with eyes straight to the front I saw that it was George Porter. George’s ambition was realized, for now at last, he was in command of a company of soldiers. I struggled to free myself from a sen- sation of falling and turning found Althea Carpenter Whittier by my side. At the end of ten minutes I was speech- less at learning that Althea was an au- thority on high finance, president of the Bankers Association of the Country, walking delegate of the S. P. C. A., a nd an active member of the Woman’s Peace Party. All this information coming at once, confused me, and as I gradually re- covered from my confusion, there fell upon my ears the deep toned voice of a woman crying, “Cherries, Cherries, fresh picked Cherries, twenty cents a box.” At that moment I wanted cherries more than anything else and as I turned I saw the tiny figure of a girl sitting upon a truck loaded with cherries as red as her own cheeks and from the mouth of this tiny girl was issuing the deep, mellow tones. She turned toward me and in the peddler of fruit, I saw Roseltha Witham. Our greetings over, I learned that Rosy was making a huge success of her cherry orchards and was making so much money that she cDuld afford to go twice a week to the Opera House where Julius Caesar Bean, the celebrated musician and past second fiddler in Sousa’s Band gave concerts. Admission $10.00. Rosy being a thrifty soul, apologized for her haste and left me, and as I sadly watched her disap- pear down the street, her cries grew fainter and fainter and upon my face in the growing darkness were falling drops of rain. I shuddered with sudden cold and opened my eyes. Hastily gathering up my books and chocolates, I beat a hasty retreat for home before the full force of the shower might come that had so rudely inter- rupted my journey into the future. Nancy Homans PRESENTATION OF GIRLS’ GIFTS It has been a very difficult task to se- lect gifts for the girls of the senior class. When I sought for inspiration among authors, poets, historians, and scientists, all alike proved unavailing. In my des- pair I resorted to Wool worth’s. Here, at least, were suggestions that were tangible and appropriate, if they could not honestly be termed “high brow.” As I wandered down the aisle I stopped and marvelled at the amazing 27

Page 32 text:

my newspaper I saw in headlines on the Sport Page — Manager Raupach of the Braves purchases Dondero, star pitcher of the Red Sox, for $10,000 and Robert Kent, his star sub thrown in. “Will wonders never cease ; ” I thought when a voice at my ear startled me and I heard in lady-like accents, “The Library closes at 5.30, Madam; so Pll have to ask you to leave.” I turned around and my reply never passed my lips for the librarian was none other than Anita Daniels. We fell in each others arms and, when we had our breath again, I learned that Anita’s assistant was Elsie Marr who had entire charge of the Art and Marine Room where Albert Spyut was a constant visitor. He was seek- ing inspiration for a new yacht to be called the “Elsie” and modelled after the “Hull” of his first. It seems Albert has been amassing a fortune since he and Jonathan Hall had joined forces building pleasure boats. John had am- bitions for a much larger boat than Albert’s and work had already been started on his masterpiece, “The Sway Easy”. During this last bit of gossip my sur- roundings had grown dim but as I waited objects became clearer and I found myself in a plain but dignified church. Directly in front of me sitting upright behind the reading desk sat a woman dressed as ’ a Quaker. Not a ' sound could be heard. Then abruptly anothe- woman dressed similarly passed up the aisle quickly and addressed the congregation. I held my breath. It was Ruth Gilday and the words she spoke were these, “Brothers and Sisters, the spirit has moved and I wish to an- nounce the world famous preacher. Sis- ter Helen Bruce who will favor us with an address on ‘How it is Possible to Remain Silent for Three Days.’ ” The shock of this announcement was too much for me remembering Brucy’s ability for having the last word in 1923 when her stage whispers could be heard in the noisiest of class rooms. Suddenly darkness descended upon me. This time I came to myself in the dusty street of a village directly oppos- site a store which bore the announce- ment on a huge sign over the door “Hamilton Bros., General Merchandise, Skowhegan, Maine.” I was about to en- ter when, with a rattle and roar, a huge jitney bus drew up beside me, and a verj business-like young woman descended from behind the wheel. As in a dream I watched her advance with out-stretched hands and with a start recognized in this spruce young lady Catherine Ryan. She suggested that we take a stroll through the village, and glad for a chance to talk over old times, I agreed. She informed me that any other day I should have met Ruth Brown, who was one of her regular passengers since she had been teaching school in the country. The scene changed without warning and I found that I was in the lobby of an enormous theatre, which was hung with portraits of the same beautiful young man, under each of which was printed in red and gold letters “William Burke the successor to Rudolph Valentino, sup- ported by Bernice Connor, his leading lady. All this week in his latest picture Wour eyes have told me so.’ ” Press notices attached to the signs explained the sudden rise to fame of the new star. The increased demand for Burke’s pic- tures by the flapper element of the coun- try had placed Valentino in the discard and he had been forced to seek employ- ment in a garage. In my eagerness to see my old class- mates in pictures I rushed past the man at the door and found myself in total darkness which began to grow light as 26

Page 34 text:

variety of articles displayed there. My attention was drawn to the jewelry counter on which lay a great assortment of rings, beads, pins, etc. To Miss Marr I give these ear rings. They are to be worn on one ear to aid her in the art of vamping. I continued jny search among the jewelry and found something for Miss Shaw, the class manhater. “In that capacity,” I reflected, “she is not likely to possess a diamond ring in the future. The class should give her one then as a substitution and consolation.” At my right was a book stand. Here I found Woolworth’s edition of “Road Construction.” Ten cents for every ten pages. This I will give to Miss Gd- day so that she may converse intelli- gently about the construction of our highways the next time the boys call. (Louis and Bernard, I think.) Mr. Woolworth was proving the man of the hour. I had found three gifts soon after entering. Surely I should And something for all the girls by the time I had investigated all which the store had to offer. Coming suddenly upon a counter of toys, I stopped. Here I found just the thing for Miss Connor. This is to re- mind her of the happy days in type- writing and to be used in the future to save her own tongue, and also her repu- tation for good manners and a lady-like attitude. (Rubber-ball with tongue.) To Miss Brown I give this toy piano. If you practise diligently you may in time be able to play hymns in such a way that we can distinguish them from jazz. Miss Bruce already possesses the gift of gab, so I will give her this talking machine in case she ever should want to rest her tongue. Since Miss Ryan is fond of imitating well known local dancers, I think it 28 would help her a great deal to have this dancing doll for a partner. For Miss Rogers I have this pair of stilts. She may now rise to the level of the rest of the world and command the same outlook upon life that we have. I was about to leave the toy counter when I found this for Miss Pace. It will solve her difficulty in getting to and from the Rowley Station next year. (A horse and team.) Miss Witham was a difficult person to find a gift for, but suddenly I struck upon it. Miss Witham insists that she will learn to swim this summer. I hope these “life savers” will help her in- the process. By this time I was getting hungry and began looking for something to eat. 1 bought myself a few cookies. I also bought a box of animal crackers for Miss Homans confident that anything in the eating line would meet with a welcome reception from Nancy. Here’s a package of oat meal for Miss Girard so she will fatten up. It would be a shame to see that child grow any thinner. And for Miss Daniels, this doughnut against the day when her hair gets so thin she hasn’t enough to make the usual number. Miss Manzer is so pale and so quiet that I could think of nothing more ap- propriate than a very delicate shade of rouge which will give her pale cheeks a little color but which will not clash with her hair. The last counter to inspect was the hardware counter. Here I found two gifts. A piece of rope for Miss Tufts so she may save herself when she falls over the “Cliff”. And the other for Miss Bamford. Miss Bamford is at her height of glory when she can knock someone. I had better be a little care- ful when I give her this hammer.