John A Johnson High School - Maroon Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

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WW At the january class hneeting we did someiliin lly novel. We decided to get our class pins while we were yet Juniors, so while e Seniors were display- ing their pins we came forth with our own and the laugh was on them. When baseball time came again Lester Palmer and Leon La Motte were made regulars on the High School team and helped to bring to Johnson the second consecutive baseball championship, and another silver trophy was added to the collection in the office. In April the junior-Senior play, The Winning Chance, was given in the High School auditorium. Lester Palmer, Edna Ohlsson, Fred Howe, Algot Lindahl, Tom Moran, Hedwig Allen, Ambrose Lewis, and Aloysius Spellacy were the Juniors who took part in this very successful production. Lester as Junius, the fat and jolly music teacher, was irresistably mirth provoking, and his vain attempts to produce musical harmony from Sidell's budding operatic stars drew thundrous applause from the appreciative audience. The Juniors' party for the Seniors was held May 1st, in the school gym- nasium. The chairman of the various committees who had charge of arrange- ments were Fred Howe, Hedvig Allen, Ila Saul, Marie Fischer. Those Seniors who did not attend regretted it, for the party became the chief topic in school and remained so for a month. Those who attended will recall with little effort those impersonations, those novel races, and the deceitful quick-change artist. The attempts by people who came in costume to live up to said costumes added greatly to the hilarity of the occasion. Especially good was the portrayal of Inga by Marque Nelson, of Inga's Feller by Elmer Nyberg, of the Mexican by Dalton Salisbury, 'fUncle Sam by Harry Andreason, of Tootsy by Melville Neyer, of a brunette Chinee by Elsie Hoffman, of a Sultan's Favorite by Florence Peterson, Weary Willie by Roy Korfhage, and Master of Cere- monies by Lester Palmer. What time the juniors had to spare was spent in attending the meetings of the jefferson Literary Society and playing tennis on the grounds laid out by the faculty during the Easter vacation. Some of the class went in for extem- poraneous speaking, and a team selected by Miss Moore, class advisor, won for the class a silver trophy offered by the jefferson Literary Society. Lester Palmer and Tom Moran represented the Juniors. This unusually busy and interesting year was completed by the Juniors with their annual dissipation, a picnic at Wildwood on the last day of school. Of course it rained, but that did not interfere with the good time, for the rain, unable to dampen our spirits, soon let up, and we stopped bowling long enough to consume ice cream, lemonade, and sandwiches. The rest of the afternoon we spent recklessly and hilariously, glad that we had passed in our studies, and that we would now face new scenes for the three months best liked by the student, the summer vacation. The last long school vacation for many of us passed all too quickly and Fair Week, and we sprang blithly up at seven, then five, then thirteen steps, turned into a little corridor and into the ofhce to watch the Freshmen being enrolled. We had now arrived at the state we had envied some four years before, and the feeling was a little disappointing. It was not as we had then pictured it. We soon settled down to our routine again and the second week held our Senior meet- ing. Here on September 7, 1914, in room 29, the usual place, the officers for the year were elected-Leif Gilstad as president, Leonard Palmquist as vice- president, Lester Palmer as treasurer, and Paula Doerman, secretary, to relieve Adolph Hoffmann of the arduous work of keeping the class records. The result of the election met with a popular approval of the class, for it realized that it must have in this, its Senior year, officials both stately and wise who could com- mand admiration from the Freshmen and yet write legibly. We are proud of them, even of Lester, whom we cannot imagine as filling any specified require- ment. But console thyself, Lester, for none of them was on the football team, the debating team, the Senior basketball team, nor was captain of the High School

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In a special meeting November seventh the constitution of the class was adopted and David Hendrickson elected marshall. Thereafter meetings were held once a month at which the president and vice-president made fiery speeches in an attempt to make the students do something for the honor of the class. The difii- dence of the class could hardly be eradicated, but the agitation was successful in having the class start something novel at Johnson, the wearing of class buttons. When these had been sold it seemed as if everyone in school was a Sophomore. About basketball time the boys had sufficiently recovered from the effects of the first football scrimmage to organize a class basketball team. Those who played on this team were Fred Howe, captain, Algot Lindahl, Floyd Morgan, Dale Anderson, Adolph Hoffmann, and Herbert Schutte. This team played one game, that with Central High Sophomores. An attempt was made by Jennie Bloom to organize a Sophomore girls' team, but they never secured enough confidence to challenge other girl teams. This attempt by the girls to have the class support a girls' team was perhaps caused by the seniors of that year, who had had the experience of having the girls pack a regular meeting of the class, and elect a girl to every ofiice. The sophomore girls of course could not stand being outwitted, so they organized the shortlived quintette. Incidentally this marked the entrance of militancy into our class affairs. During the fall the first issue of the school paper, the Gleam, was issued, and we were being exhorted to scribble and subscribe for it. january came and we were stale Sophs. We grew better acquainted with Mr. Shakespeare, New- comer, Peabody, More, and others. No more were we compelled to write themes to be handed in Monday mornings. We became a little more communicative, for we wished to know what flowers our friends had found for their herberiums. No Easter vacation this year. Baseball season saw us trying out for the team with little success. Our president was sub on this team, which lost not a single game all season, winning the baseball trophy. At the May class meeting it was decided that we have a picnic at Wildwood, and Mr. and Mrs. Churchill were invited to come with us. At the meeting tan and purple were chosen class colors after six months of debate. The picnic was held the last day of school and everyone except the committee on refreshments had a good time. Those on this committee had the time of their lives keeping the ice cream from being consumed before lunch time. At this picnic class numerals were presented to the players on the two class basket- ball teams. The Class of 1915 started its junior year by holding its annual election of officers Monday, September 15, 1913, in room 29, reads the secretary's report. At this meeting Kieffer Vaux was elected president, Lester Palmer vice-president, Marie Palmer treasurer, and Adolph Hoffmann secretary. There were one hun- dred and nine juniors enrolled. About this time we again tried our heads at football. Three seniors, Lester Palmer, Leon La Mottte, and Leonard Holmgren, became members of the 1913 team which had the honor of being the fastest in the city. During October a class basketball team was organized by Tom Moran and a girls' team by Jennie Bloom. Tom Moran subsequently resigned this position to become manager of the High School basketball team. A tournament was announced by Coach Churchill for class teams, the winner to be awarded a trophy offered by the alumni. The junior team was composed of Fred Howe, captain, Aloysius Spellacy, Axel johnson, Herbert Schutte, Arthur Gilstad, and Algot Lindahl. This team beat out the Senior team in the race for the championship by winning the play-off of the tie and getting the custody of the cup for one year. Helen and Lucile Kranz were selected as members of the Gleam staff for the school year and by their faithful work aided greatly in making the school paper a success. A play was to have been given at Thanksgiving time, but the timidity of some of those requested to take part caused practice to be discontinued.

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baseball team, editor-in-chief of The Gleam, printer or type setter all in the same year, while indulging on the side in platform speeches, photography, literary societies, tennis tournaments, football dances, relay races, tenor solos, acting, bowling, selling shoes, English Literature, and some few minor activities too numerous for our cramped hand. The thing that confuses us, Lester, is how you've kept your taste for pie. That defies us. According to our way of thinking you should give up something, at least English Literature and United States History. Football consumed some of the Seniors' time and energy for two months, and when we returned from St. james of happy memory, after Elmer Nyberg's unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, the Senior girls gave a banquet at which speeches were made by A. W. Spellacy, Mr. Nyberg, Coach B. C. Korn, and also chief banquet planner, Miss Lucile Lindgren. Debating next held the attention of four Seniors-Lester Palmer, Mildred Lindahl, Alloysius Spellacy, and Ernest Oullette. Though they won no debates we have no regrets that we attended the contests. It was certainly worth while to hear Alloysius William thrill the audience with his A profit of twenty million dollars annually . We shouldn't have dared to say it so loud. As the winter came on basketball began to be discussed. Mr. Churchill again organized a class tournament which the Senior team entered. The players were composed of Arthur Gilstad, captain, Leif Gilstad, Axel johnson, Aloysius Spellacy, Lester Palmer, Caroous Wahlquist, Roy Korfhage, and Algot Lin- dahl. This quintet went through the tournament without losing a single game, besides winning two outside games with the Y. M. C. A. Employed Boys. In a practice game with the High School team the Class 1915 team, with a small handicap, lost out by only a few points. These games were nearly all closely contested, and the boys showed their mettle when they time and again overcame their opponents' advantage and scored the winning points in the last few minutes of play. This was true in the first game with the juniors and the last game with the Sophomores. The cup has now been won by Class '15 team the first two years that it has been offered, setting a mark for the future class teams to strive for. Good luck to you, juniorsg hope you win it next year. Theatricals have not been neglected in our Senior year. The day before vacation two little skits were given by the members of Class '15. One was the Bird's Christmas Carol and the other was Christmas at Johnson, written by Edna Ohlsson, Ernest Oeullette, Alice Montgomery, Mildred Lindahl, and Ida Nelson in collaboration with Miss Moore, class advisor, and Miss Morton, producer. Those taking part in this were Dalton Salisbury, Paula Doermann, Dale Anderson, Phoebe Erickson, Orrin Lee, Amy Wessel, Ethel Yost, Harry Andreason, Arthur Gilstad, Elmer Nyberg, and Vera Norberg. The parts in the Bird's Christmas Carol were taken by Elsie Hoffman, Edna Ohlsson, Anna Lindgren, Leif Gilstad, Aloysius Spellacy, Henrietta Hoffmann, Mildred Lin- dahl, Melville Meyer, Alice Montgomery, Vivian Woollen, Lucile Kranz, Cleary Fredell, and Ernest Ouellette. Both skits were well received by the students and the many alumni who were present. The Senior-junior play, The Butter- flies, was given April 30th and May lst, and the production certainly outdid the Senior-junior play of last year. With the passing of Easter vacation came baseball, and four Seniors have so far been successful in becoming members of the team representing Johnson High School in the game at which this school's team has heretofore been so success- ful, and we hope that Captain Palmer, Leon La Motte, Dale Anderson, and Bud Van Lorenz will earn their HJ . We also hope that these men will help bring to this square red schoolhouse on the hill the trophy, emblematic of the third successive baseball championship.