Lancaster High School - Mirage Yearbook (Lancaster, OH)

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(Tl a s a We, the members of the Senior Class of 1915, l ancaster High School. Fairfield County and State of Ohio, being of sound and disposing minds and memories, mindful of the uncertainty of longer continuance in this sanitarium for the treatment of ignorance, do make and declare this our last will and testament for the purpose of disposing of all our chattels, opportunities and advantages, and bequeathing our cares, responsibilities and burdens unto our successors, and to that end, do collectively and solemnly give, devise, and bequeath the same, as follows, to-wit: Item 1—To each member of the Faculty, we bequeath a small, yet mighty, flower—a Forget-me-not. Item 2—To the Juniors we give, devise and bequeath our right to the title of Seniors, and the power and author- ity that goes with the aforesaid title. The following are a few of the many powers invested in this mighty name: Power to show the green little Freshie” his place in this oasis-of-the-desert-of-ignorance. power to laugh at Mr. McCandlish’s jokes, and power to demand that Mr. Thomas change his green tie for a red one. Item 3—We leave our “Wilhelm Tell” to the Sophomores and to the Freshmen we bequeath our Caesar.” reserving only therefrom his Gaul, which, being divided into three parts, remains forever as the sole property of Robert Hast- ings, Howard Carman, and Emmett Speriky, share and share alike. 24 Will Item 4—To every boy in the High School, we give a ten- cent paint brush, to be used in shaving. Item 5—To the incoming Freshmen Class, we bequeath the hope of a new budding to be erected near this present school. We would remind the Freshmen that this is a be- quest of special value, since they no doubt will be able to cherish this hope the rest of their natural days. Item 6—To the school we bequeath those uniforms which have seen days of struggle and passed thru many a hard-fought battle, but which now lie moldy and moth- eaten in that dark and dreary recess known as the attic. The uniforms to which we refer are the football and basket ball regalia, and may the suits worn by the Senior athletes hereafter be donned by as worthy players. Item 7—To our Janitor, Mr. James Bloom, we bequeath all stacks and bonds, or chewing gum. which he may find in desks previously occupied by us. and we also hope that to him his keys may be as those of St. Peter. Item 8—Upon our successors, the class of 1916, we be- stow our beloved principal, Mr. L. D. Thomas, undiminished in h:s ability to furnish heat for the intellectual furnace, and we recommend them to use him liberally in the settle- ment of their disputes, and apply to him fully for consola- tion in their troubles. Item 9—To Stanley Garrison we bequeath a “Ford.” Those poor ponies are overworked. Item 10—To Wilbur Wolf we bequeath Howard Car-

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How changed we were! We could sew. We could farm, and had reached a stage of civilization greatly exceeding that which we had attained before crossing “Freshie Country.” We had made history; had attained a standard of litera- ture, and had become devotees of the drama. In honor of the feast. In Springtime.” certain members of our tribe gifted with dramatic ability entertained us on the moonlit terrace of Chapel Amphitheater” with a play. At a quiet, secluded stretch of land—the “Gym”—we treated with music and feast a band of thrifty young men who thought athletics would lead them to the golden path of success. A wonderful gift came to this country—a Hawk llew down from his perch and organized a Hikers’ Club. Well do we remember a sled party, which led us to a house on the hill. The marvelous feature was that, after traveling about a mile, having discovered a scarcity of snow, our fairy god- father, “Hawk.” sent us a hay wagon, and in the wee, small hours, in waning moonlight, we reveled. Having returned to our camp, we awaited the dawn of morning. The hap- piest event of the season, the Junior Senior, which occurred on a beautiful narrow plain of glassy smoothness. On we went and into the valley of Seniors stumbled our people. It was inspiring as the sun broke through the trees—so inspiring that a Civic League and a Literary Society were created. At this time our god, “Thirst for Knowledge.” rose up with mighty thunderings, demanding a special feast in his honor. Our first celebration was a lecture on the lives and habits of our feathered friends, the birds, by Mrs. Patter- son. Later we honored our god with a feast of music, by the Fry-Harris Concert Co.; the next offering was a lecture on the far, cold country of Siberia, and. having offered a feast of music and knowledge, we, as a last resort, enacted before the awful presence the wonderful drama. The Dis- trict Attorney.” In the last stretch of our journey, the government was changed; the faculty increased in numbers, with the mighty Herr Thomas as its chief, and they made for us stern laws, which we perforce pledged ourselves to obey—no chewing gum, no pony-riding, no lovers’ strolling, no frat visiting. These were among the most stringent of their laws, and he who dared to disobey was banished from the happy land of High School Days into outer darkness. We took the happy step of publishing a wonderful an- nual. “The Mirage,” and in this paper is found the mighty workings of our tribe. Gradually out of the valley we have been traveling toward the high mountain, “Graduation.” The way has been long and weary, but now, as we stand at the top of the world, and look out over the beautiful land of Real Life— so full of sunshine, so full of joyous work, so full of promise of success—our hearts arc filled with happy memories and loving thoughts for those older and wiser friends who have so kindly guided us through the land of our pilgrimage.

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man’s number twelves. May you fill Howard’s shoes as well as he has during the past year. Germany is looking for gunboats to use in the present war. so. Bill,” here is an op- portunity to make use of your inheritance-. Item 11—We bequeath to Ralph Webster the ability to get wise, now possessed by Phil Floyd, who has succeeded in graduating. Item 12—To Miss Perfect we bequeath the patience of Job,” to be used at times, but especially when R. Webster is present at the Civic League meetings. Item 13—To the girls who expect to be future voters, we recommend Mr. Thomas’ forthcoming work, to be called “The Female of the Species,” also his beautiful essay, to be entitled “Is High Thinking Compatible with Low-neck Dressing ?” Item 14—To our fond and loving teachers, we bequeath our memory. As years roll by and each succeeding class passes through these portals into a life of strife, may you recall the class of 1915 with fondest memories. Item 15—To our efficient agriculture teacher, Mr. Drinkle, we bequeath a bottle of hair tonic, to be used in growing a mustache, so that he can be distinguished from a pupil of the school. Item 16—To Mr. McCandlish, we bequeath a nickel with tails on both sides, so that in “flipping the coin” with Mr. Hickson he may be sure to win. We also wish him to take our advice and never gamble over the fairer sex. Item 17—To the school, we bequeath such fixtures as Red” Goss and “Toot” Groff, who or.ce upon a time lie- longed to the class of ’15. Our sentiments are those of the poet of old, who exclaimed: Remove not these ancient landmarks. Item 18—And, separately, we make the following indi- vidual bequests: Our class president. Fred Sexauer, leaves his chair of honor and wreath of smiles to his successor: Lucile Southgate leaves “City Life as Seen in Cincinnati,” in seven volumes. On account of the great amount of money and other valuables entailed in this will, we nominate and appoint the School Board as executors of this will. In testimony whereof, the class of 1915 have hereunto set their hand and signature this fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifteen. THE SENIOR CLASS. By Harry W. Myers. The aforesaid document, purporting to be the last Will and Testament of the Senior Class of Lancaster High School, is, on this eleventh day of June, 1915, admitted to probate. S. H. LAYTON, Judge Superior Court, Lancaster High School.