Louise S McGehee School - Spectator Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

Page 38 text:

Thirty-SIX THE SPECTATOR The Students' Institute-A Week in Washington A short While ago four tired but thrilled High School Seniors and their history teacher arrived at the Southern Station in New Orleans after spending a week in Washington. These girls had represented the Louise S. McGehee School at the Institute of National Government for Secondary School Students held in Washington from March 29 to April 4. This is a new experiment in education, for the purpose of the Institute is to develop leadership and understanding by showing students the com- plex, but efficient working mechanics of our democracy. The McGehee School sent its Student Body President, Patsy Gibbens, its Student Council President, Dottie Hecht, its Prefect, Connie Faust, and the chairman of the Social Service Committee, Marilyn Wellemeyer. With our chaperone, Miss Ruth O. Kastler, we made five representatives from New Orleans. The Institute encompassed a varied group of High School students and teachers-one hundred and fifty in number, representing many High Schools from thirteen States. The New Orleans school was the southern- most one represented, and the only one from Louisiana. The program of the Institute was necessarily an informative and educational one. Our first experience began when we arrived in Wash- ington in a snow storm. We Southerners were delighted at being able to throw snow balls and make snow men in twelve inches of snow. We re- sided at the American University and travelled about Washington in chartered busses to avoid the war time congestion on the streets and in the hotels. The mornings were mainly devoted to visiting various work- ing departments of the Government-such as the Department of the Interior, the National Institute of Public Health, and the Department of Agriculture with its Research and Experimental Laboratories at Beltsville, Maryland, the Social Security Office, and the Office of Civilian Defense. In auditoriums of the departmental buildings we were shown movies and heard vitally interesting and informative lectures by important people from each department who were interested in the Students' Institute and its purpose. The speakers told us about their work, how the war was affecting it, and how each department is helping in the war. After each lecture time was generously alloted for the asking of quetsions by the students. One noonday we visited the Supreme Court and saw the court in session. Perhaps the most educational as Well as entertaining morning was spent in a tour of Capitol Hill. First we visited the Capitol building, im- pressive with its huge dome and many white stone steps. Here we saw the Senate Chamber and the large Chamber of the House. We also saw

Page 37 text:

THE SPECTATOR Thirty-five must sacrifice personal comfort and happiness to achieve their goal. I only hope that I may have the courage and character to take whatever is in store for me, so that I may live up to the standards which my family has already set. The Theories of Thrackpzology The theories of Thrackpzology are: 1. Ideas pertaining to falling rain . . . That reminds me of one rainy day I spent in the attic. As I was hunting around, I came upon a very old doll. She had a china head with tiny painted features. Time had blurred her coloring and she seemed to have a tired expression. Her body was made of a kind of silky cloth. Her clothes resembled those of the Civil War period. Her dress was made of pink organdy trimmed with lace. It was smudged by many eager little hands, and the lace trimmings were tattered and yellow with age. One of her tiny boots was missing. On this foot there was stamped M. SMITHERS 1851. I sat there a minute looking at her with reverence. Imagine the many little owners that had cared for this tiny doll in her eighty-nine years! For a long time I sat in the creaky old chair and dreamed of her glorious history. Then as a rat scurried across the floor I laid her carefully back in her wrappings. Oh, yes - the the- ories of Thrackpzology - I know them well. O Charlene McCorkle, '45. Description Ada's qui-te average, but at times I'm inclined to believe that she has more faults than the average negress. She has thhat customary dis- pleasing odor, kinky, black, greasy hair, and large, thick lips. She shuffles around in dilapidated, rundown old shoes. She never wears stockings, but loud striped socks, which,don'.t,fit around her ankles. She drags her feet after her as if they each weighed a couple of tons. The morning isn't a success unless she stumbles over a few chairs, bumps into a breakfast table, or almost spills a cup of coffee down some poor innocent's back. J- Ada has quite a shape. It's,sognething like that of a box-car. Her top sags and sits qn her enormous bulging stomach. The appearance produced by this slovenly creation is,quite dismaying. Her most annoying habit is mumbling aftew order h een given her. Sometimes she voices her opinion on how tgllgeat lohnh5,s cold or why Susie should be made to go to school. Clomp, shuffle, clomp, shuffle! There she comes. We had better go before she sees us talking about her. Ruth Boulet '44

Page 39 text:

THE SPECTATOR Thirty-seven many interesting rooms such as the President's Room, and Statuary Hall, and countless works of art which decorate the building. After this, the students separated into State delegations to visit one of the Senators and their representatives from the respective states. We McGehee students visited the offices of Senator Allen I. Ellender and of Congressman Hale Boggs. Two of us went back to the Senate Office Building just before noon and Senator Ellender took us on the private Senators' subway to the floor of the Senate before the opening of the session, and even introduced us to Vice-President Wallace. We appreciated this, for the vice-president is indeed a very busy man. The other students went to attend some of the interesting Committee Meetings of both the Senate and the House. We found most interesting the Truman Committee, meeting in the Caucus Room of the Senate Office Building. Mr. Parish, President of the Standard Oil Company, was testifying about synthetic rubber. All of the students returned to the Senate Chamber for twelve o'clock in order to be present at a session of the United States Senate opened by the Chaplain's prayer, and presided over by Vice-President Wallace. That was indeed a full morning for us. After such interesting morning excursions as this one we had lunch either at one of the Government cafeterias with qovemment workers, or at a hotel. The afternoons were usually spent in sight seeing. One after- noon we visited the shrines of our American heritage: the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, Lee Mansion and the Tomb of the Un- known Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. Tuesday afternoon was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. The whole membership of the Students' Institute was invited to visit the White House and meet Mrs. Roosevelt individually. She received us in the beautiful oval shaped Blue Room. Each of us was impressed by the graciousness with which she received us and shook hands with each one. After this she had one of the guards take us through the White House and show us the State dining-room, the Red Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room and the Hall, showing the locked iron grill door on the stairway leading to the Presidents living quarters, and protected by another armed guard. The events of other afternoons included visiting the spacious estate at Mount Vernon, the lovely building of the Pan-American Union, the National Geographic Building, the Library of Congress, the Folger Shake- speare Museum, the beautiful new National Art Gallery, and the Smith- sonian Institute. Thus we students not only saw the actual workings of a democracy, but we saw many of our democracy's historic shrines. On every hand we saw evidence of our democracy at war. Wash- ington is alert for air raids. We saw the sand and shovels in each public