Kinston High School - Kay Aitch Ess Yearbook (Kinston, NC)

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KINSTON HIGH SCHOOI. THE KA Y A IT CHESS NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR Marie Williams! I never thought that of her! But then, the case of Grace Rouse is almost so bad. She has gone in for black-faced clogging on the stage. There was a sensational article in the paper about Grace, written by Kmmalie Taylor, who is now a cub reporter. The accompaniment for Grace ' s dance was played by the famous violinist. Montrose Tull, and the celebrated pianist, Irene Nachamson. I feel rather honored to have been to school with these celebrities , I said. Don ' t let me forget to tell you about Claire Worthington. She has lengthened her dresses, dyed her hair and is now an important business woman. Eldred Rhem is now an athletic coach in a renowned college, with Verna Smith as her assistant. Do Nellie Spencer and Ruby Lee Leggette still live in Kinston? Yes. Nellie recently won the Beauty Contest that was held in March. I can ' t understand how it happened, because, as she owns a garage and is the chief workwoman, she has to stay dirty all the time. Ruby Lee is the Senior Latin teacher in K. H. S. The latest news is that she had vamped the Principal, and he was on the point of proposing to her, when his wife came in. Ruby Lee, of course, didn ' t know of the exi ' stance of Mrs. Principal. The former is now ' a broken-hearted girl. Mary Cummings and Robert E. Lee are editors-in-chief of The Motion Picture Magazine and are both great successes. I saw Verna Hodges up here the other day, I said. I only had time to speak to her, since she was going abroad to gather antiques for her shop, which is located in Chicago. William, or rather ' Dog ' , Westbrook is a fashion model for one of the large firms, and a fine one he is. He is now the rage among the ladies and the envy of the men. But look at his friend, William Taylor. William is a farmer and cares nothing for style. And so William Taylor has degenerated into this? But, surely, our studious Vance Spcnce hasn ' t let such a fate overtake him? No. Vance has turned out to be a cake-eater, tea-hound, and lounge- lizard. Quite the stufT, you know. I never had any idea that Vance would end bp this way, I said. Neither did L but Fate laughs at us all. Look, for instance, at Helen Haskins. Poor Helen is still dreaming of Poughkeepsie, as James Dail never returned to Kinston. I heard he eloped with a schoolmate up there. And, then, too, Carrie Mae Dunn lives on golf links. She is a golf fiend. Louise Tull, her faithful companion, takes her stump-speeches that she wants to learn and goes with Carrie Mae to the links to see that she doesn ' t get hurt in any way. Carrie Mae Dunn, Louise Tull and Mary Emma Bizzell were great chums, but poor Mary Ennna is tied at home, now, with three kids and no nurse. Another interesting fact about Carrie Mae is, that rumor has it that she will soon take one-half interest in Heber Taylor ' s Jazz Orchestra. Here I interrupted her by asking her the whereabouts of Olive and Owen Sutton. Why, Owen is chief star in the opera Fly Away. His golden voice has won him fame. Olive was fioor-walker in Adler ' s Department Store, but was Thirty-Three

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KINSTON HIGH SCHOOL THE KA Y A IT CHESS NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR CLASS PROPHECY It was in the spring of 1942. I was working in New York at the time, and had been since my graduation from High School in 1924. This special day 1 was feeling blue and wishing I were home. As I walked along the street there came to my ears a famihar sound, one that I had not heard for a good many years; in fact, the whistle that was used among the girls of the Class of ' 24. Turning around, whom should I see but Elise Gray, my old friend. Joyous greetings and exclamations followed. Finally the talk ran back t(; our dear class, that of ' 24. It has been so long since I was hf)me that I have lost track of everyone, I said. Do you know what has become of Grace Wooten? Oh! Elise said, she is married. To whom? 1 asked, Vernon Cowper? No, not Vernon, but another boy from a different part of the State. Vernon used to be crazy about Grace, and when she was married he left for the South Sea Islands to try to find consolation. Dorothy Suggs went with him, and the last I heard of them was that Vernon had built up a great practice among the natives (having studied medicine), and that Dorothy was his invalu- able assistant. x nd Marjorie Hunter? What has become of her since Grace ' s marriage? I asked. Why, Marjorie is now a staid old maid. Plato Collins expressed the wish to be a preacher, after which Marjorie declared that as she wasn ' t fit to become a preacher ' s wife, she would prefer single blessedness to marriage happiness. Plato married someone else, and seems quite happy. Amie Jordan Parham used to want to go on the stage. What has become of this wish? I asked. Elise laughed, and said, Amie is teaching school somewhere out in the country, and has her time divided between the country swains. And what has become of the girl who used to slam Science so hard — Lillah Johnston? I queried. W ell, I guess she ' s sorry for it now. She was married two or three years after her graduation. After six months of married life, I saw in the paper that her husband was trying to divorce her. And the charges! She didn ' t know how to cook, and as a servant was not available, she had to make an effort. The result was — divorce! Poor Lillah! And that Latin brought her to this fate. Of course, you remember Ruth Palmer and Louise Tyndall, don ' t you? (This from Elise.) Sure, I replied. What about them? Louise and Ruth have gone into the millinery business together. Louise does the trimming and Ruth keeps books. I saw something yesterday that surprised me not a little, said I. It was a gigantic picture, sitting before a theatre on Broadway, of Marie Williams. Marie is in the biggest ballet dance hit of the season. Thirty- Two

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KINSTON HIGH SCHOOL THE KAYAITCHESS NINETEEN TWENTY-FOUR fired the other day because Mr. Adler said that she was abusing him with Latin words. Sadie Stadiem took her place. Sadie is a good bluffer, and so she fits right in. Hilda Adler returned from college and went to work in the hotel at Ayden. Hilda was always crazy about Ayden, and so I ' m not surprised. I almost forgot to tell you about Thelma Wooten, Elise said. She used to be a pretty girl, but you should see her now. She looks ten years older than she really is. Fate dealt hard with her when it caused her to marry a poor farmer. After the death of her husband. Ruby Mcwborne, the famous millionairess, played the fairy godmother to her and Thelma is now living with Ruby. Thomas Hewitt is their devoted butler. I heard he had formed an at- tachment for one of their maids, who is none other than Ethel Taylor. Ethel doesn ' t seem to regard him very seriously, though. And the aristrocratic Edward Lee ? Edward holds the lowly position of street-sweeper. Edward Lee a street-sweeper? Surely. Edward speculated and lost all his money. I hope no such sorry fate has overtaken Wilbur Stroud and Leonard Williams, I said. No, replied Elise, Wilbur is Governor of North Carolina, and Leonard is a street-car conductor. That ' s not so bad. But what has become of Nina Ruth Rouse, Neta Mae Stroud and Mab Stroud? I asked. Why, here lies the greatest wonder in the whole class. Nina Ruth Rouse is candidate for Congress in the next election. Neta Mae Stroud is renowned for her vamping qualities. She has taken the place of Pola Negri and Nita Naldi in the movies. Mab Stroud is a book-keeper. All she has to do is copy arithmetic from one paper to the other. Mab always was a good hand at copy- ing. Louise Stanford is the society lady of the class. She is very popular. Mary Faulkner is a telephone operator. When did you see Nancy Hinson? Has her hair lost any of its red color? I asked. Not one bit, was Elise ' s reply. I saw her the other day, and she was very blue. She is a Horsford ' s Baking Powder agent. So many children had shut the door in her face, saying that their mothers said they were out, that she was quite discouraged. I asked her if she knew what had become of AHce Jennette and Lillian Savage. She said that Alice was over in Africa hunting big game, and that Lillian is a great authoress and has written many fa- mous books. Frances Pollock is a director of big stage play, and Zuliene Johns- ton is a great success as an interior decorator, due to her course in House Furnishing, under Miss Tolbert. Elise, I said, all this time I have been so busy asking you about other classmates and you have been so busy telling me, that you haven ' t told me what you have been doing. I waited for her to answer quite a while before she did so. She then told me that she had been collecting old furniture and had quite a collection. At Thirty-Four