Mayville Central High School - Pacemaker Yearbook (Mayville, NY)

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THE PACEMAKER 195

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1950 THE PACEMAKER assi . ,VM 1 K

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1950 'ras PACEMAKI-:R WE VISIT THE CAPITAL At last all our planning, all our projects for the last four years, was finally topped off with the most important one of all-our Senior trip to the Nat1on's capital, Washington, D. C. Friday morning a group of 41 high-spirited Seniors and two chaperones leftla crowd of anxious but happy parents and friends on the steps of MCS. The bus .trip from Mayville to Olean seemed to take hours, but at last it was over. Our train arrived at 10:45 o'clock. All of us piled in, making ourselves ready for a very long and tiring trip. Lunches were dragged out when the train had gone only a short distance. There was little to do except play cards, talk and eat. The train seats, which turned around, had never experienced as much turning and twisting probably in the history of the coach. At 10:10 p. m., we arrived at the Union Station in Washington. Our first sight was the dome of the Capitol building which was brightly lighted. We Went to the hotel on buses. After unpacking, most of us went out for something to eat and a quick look around our new surroundings. We came back to the hotel tired and ready for our first night in Washington. Saturday morning we started out for a tour of the city, passing many places of interest and visiting the Rock Creek Zoo. This proved to be one of the most enjoyable visits of the week. Our next stop was the National Episcopal Cathedral which is as yet uncompleted. The beautiful rose window, at the front entrance of the Cathedral, is made up of more than 200 individual pieces of glass. After this inspiring visit we went to Arlington Cemetery to see the amphitheatre where we would attend the sunrise service the next morning. Many of us stopped to take pictures of the soldier who guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb is located at the rear of the amphitheatre and both are made entirely of gleaming white marble. The Lee Mansion, which was next on our itinerary, gave us a picture of the early life in the United States. After this we returned to our hotel for lunch. At 1:00 p. m., we were on our way again. On our way to Annapolis Naval Academy, we stopped at the Franciscan Monastery. As we were guided through the monastery we were awed by the beauty of the lovely paintings and altars. Our visit through the catacombs gave us a realistic picture of the original ones in Rome, which are said to be more than 600 miles long. At Annapolis we went through the chapel where the crypt of John Paul Jones is located. We also visited the large swimming pool and gymnasium. In the museum our interest was caught by the small model ships. W We returned to the hotel ready for a good meal. After supper many of us went to one of the many theaters. We were all ready for a good night's sleep after an exciting and fun-filled day. Very early Easter morning we arose and made our way to Arlington for the sunrise service at the amphitheatre. It was a very impressive ceremony with the famous Marine band furnishing the accompaniment for hymns and the procession Some of the lucky ones received tickets for the reserved section of seats, Following the service many returned to the hotel while others went to churches of their own denominations. With lunch over, we started for Mount Vernon. passing through historical Alexandria, Virginia. We saw many points of interest here, including Christ Church, the church George Washington attended. Our next stop took us to the Washington Masonic memorial. This building included many of Washingtonls personal belongings. A few of us were lucky to see a large Persian rug on display. It was over 300 years old and took 27 years to complete. Soon we reached Mt. Vernon with its wide spacious lawns. We went through the house first where one of the many old pieces is a grandfather's clock which is still running. After this we took in the spinning-house, smoke-house, stables, servants' quarters and kitchen, which were all separate from the main house. We then pro- ceeded to Washington's tomb and the docks, After wandering around the lawns and lovely gardens we went to the small museum located at the rear of the house. This proved to be of interest to all. After this we loaded into our bus and were on our way back to Washington for supper. Again we boarded our bus to visit the Lincoln Memorial. The beautiful, life-like figure gave all of us a feeling of sheer reverence. moving spotlight. An eerie blue light was cast on J efferson's Memorial which reflected in the still waters of the Tidal Basin. This gave us a scene of superb beauty. The cherry trees, which were all in bloom, were magnificently displayed with a