Manual High School - Mirror Yearbook (Peoria, IL)

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FACULTY

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FACULTY School Days l934-1935 All lfae u'0rlJ'J az .rmge- I HE drama of 1934 and 1935 is finished, and we see it placed among those of preceding years. As we glance over the program, let us recall some of the outstanding events of the play. ' The curtain rose on September fourth and our cast was composed of fifty-one faculty members and one thousand, one hundred eighty-two students. Twenty-six of these expected to be graduated in january and two hundred eighty-five in june. We welcomed Miss Hazel Aitchison, who left us two years ago to teach at the Theodore Roosevelt junior High. Soon our classes were organized and work was begun, with organizations making plans for a successful season. Football games, mass meetings, plays, assemblies, and social hours helped to create interest in Act I. A play, The Thirteenth Chair, given in September by the graduating class of 1934 for the Manual Alumni Club, was coached by Miss Lilly Dean. The Senior Class Play was given in December. Miss Dean chose Skidding for this production. This was followed by The Gypsy Trail, coached by Miss Madge Kirkpatrick and given by the mid-year graduates. These plays were especially enjoyed for the velvet curtains for the stage and windows of the auditorium added beauty to their settings, later two new rugs for the floor of the stage were purchased by the Senior Girls' Club. In October Miss Sadie Meehan, head of the Commercial Department, was forced to leave school because of ill health. Mrs. Morrissey, who had formerly taught in this department, returned to teach during Miss Meehan's absence. The football season was a successful one for Manual, and many exciting games were enjoyed by the students. The city championship in football, a victory over Central in the annual Thanksgiving Day classic, and the Christmas holidays, followed by the final examinations, brought Act I to a close. When the curtain rose on Act II, the Junior4Senior Prom was the pretty scene, it was held in the boys' gymnasium of the school on the evening of February twenty-first. As the basketball season progressed, another city championship, the fifth consecutive one, was added to Manual's record, then followed a victorious district tournament, in the sectional tournament Manual placed second. And so the basketball season for the drama of 1934-1935 was finished. Many interesting assemblies were held throughout the year, some were in the form of mass meetings for the games, at others speakers representing many professions in life were heard, and the Student Council presented six attractions for the enjoyment of the student body. One outstanding assembly was given in March when twenty-eight seniors, six juniors, and four mid-year graduates were announced eligible for the National Honor Society. During the first part of Act II sorrow was added to our play when Miss Corienne Illingworth, a teacher of commercial geography for twenty years at Manual, passed away, leaving memories of her cheerful and willing ways. Her life was an example of courage and honesty which every student may follow. As spring approached, the walls of all the class rooms were redecorated, making a lighter and cleaner setting. The Speech Department purchased a davenport and chair to be used for the major productions. Another teacher was granted a leave of absence in March when Miss Gretchen Hulsebus went to New York to study. Mrs. Burdick came to teach in her place. As the school days of the drama of 1934-1935 drew to a close, many activities took place at the school. The Manual Alumni Club again presented a play, coached this time by Miss Hazel Wolf, president of the club, the proceeds were used to help with a scholarship for a Manual student. Another dramatic event was the presentation of The Patsy, given by the Speech Department and coached by Miss Dean. The Senior Boys' Club annual minstrel show, class night, and graduation brought the drama of the school days of 1934-1935 to a close. -Miss RUTH THOMPSON. PAGE