Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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Page 32 MOMENCE HIGH SCHOOL The Prophecy of the Class of ’20 By WILLIAM CONRAD. Little would one think upon seeing me now, penniless, ragged, and riding on a freight train, that twenty years ago I had been a member of the class of ’20. I had resolved to find out the whereabouts of every mem¬ ber of my class. With this great task in mind, I strove forward, thinking little of my appearance and financial con¬ dition. I alighted from the train at what I thought was a town. As I walked through a deserted park, I noticed a log fire, about which were assembled men who seemed to be fol¬ lowing ' the same path in life as myself. The gleam of the fire showed their faces very distinctly, and to my surprise, I ' recognized two of my old classmates, Francis Fetzer and Walter Scott. We talked over old times and I told them of my mission. They gladly consented to assist me. Moreover, they al¬ ready knew the whereabouts of some of the old class. They told me that Albert Hunte and Clarence Jones were making a fortune with their trans-Atlantic air line, carrying people across to see the ruins of the World War, which was rag¬ ing when we were in school. They also told me that Albert Bydalek and Ruby Bright were making important excavations in Egypt, and were adding many valuable facts to the history of the Stone Age. The thought of something to eat came upon us suddenly and we made our way to a chicken house on the outskirts of the town. We grabbed three chickens and some eggs out of the nests, and just as we were ready to depart we en¬ countered the farmer and his wife at the door. The farmer, with a long beard and very tall, reminded us of William Porter, and sure enough it was. His wife happened to be Hazel Mills. They did not recognize us and called the village constable, a short stubby fellow, but very stout. We were utterly amazed to have our old friend Charles O’Connell put the handcuffs on us and start toward the lockup. We begged him to set us free, but he was a firm believer of justice and locked us up. He brought us a good feed and showed us our sleeping quarters. The next morning we were taken before the Judge, whom we recognized to be Warren Gray. After a stiff cross- examination by the judge and his assistant, who was Lester Sanstrom, we were found guilty and given thirty days. One day a group of society ladies, who were the com¬ munity builders of the village, came to inspect the lockup. Horrified by our appearance, they shrank back in terror. We noticed that they were Genevieve Wilson, Leila Harms, Dorothy Zahl, and Helen Fox. To conceal our identity, we turned and walked to the opposite part of our cells. They left in about half an hour, after ordering Charles to make extensive improvements in the lockup. We were getting tired of this loafing, as we called it, and wanted to proceed on our mission. We decided to waylay Charles, which of course was a horrible deed to per¬ form, but it had to be done. The next morning Charles came in as usual, unlocked Scott’s cell and gave him his 30 Teachers will be teachers, (while in school).

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Page 31 MOMENCE HIGH SCHOOL 29—Beware: froth is not beer.

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MOMENCE HIGH SCHOOL Page 33 breakfast. As he turned his back, Scott hit him gently over the head, deprived him of his month’s pay which he had received that morning, and laid him on the bunk. He liberated us and we escaped, catching the next freight out of town. We rode for a few hours and jumped off at a fair sized town. We each bought a new suit and were all togged up, ready for a sumptuous feast (all with Charles’ money). We took in a show. The picture was named The Land of Eternal Snow.” It was very interesting and full of thrills, of course. The leading characters’ names were shown on the screen, and shocked with surprise, we read them. The heroine—Lucille Sharkey, Her friend— Pearl Deliere, the hero—Paul Sweeney. Paul proved to be a hero indeed, because he killed a big polar bear without weapons. Lucille risked her life many times riding on the floats of ice. In one scene she was on the top of an iceberg, which was trembling with her weight. A rather tall fellow, coming down the aisle selling pea¬ nuts, was none other than Elno Smith. He told us that the leading stars in the picture had been with the Triangle Company for years and were soon to retire, having made thousands of dollars. After the show we bought a paper and, looking over the society news we saw that The Misses Blanche Peterson and Clara Bydalek would enter¬ tain the newly elected president, Florence Busch, and other members of the Old Maids’ Club at a six o’clock dinner.” All the members of the old class accounted for in some manner or other, we felt as if we would do ourselves jus¬ tice by calling it a finished job. But our cash was getting low, having only fifty-three cents left. Telegram for Mr. Francis Fetzer,” came the voice of the call boy in the lobby of the Hotel Wilson. It said that his uncle Ike had left him his millions and all of his property. What a relief! We had plenty of money now. Francis loaned Walter ten thousand bucks, while I posed as Francis private secretary. The last we heard from Walter was that he paid Charles back his month’s pay. 31 —The old gates of wisdom are never nailed up.