North Carolina School for the Deaf - Clock Tower Yearbook (Morganton, NC)

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CLASS PROPHECY By EpwarpD FARNELL NE SPRING day as I was walking along the street in Morganton, I passed by a tent. I noticed a large sign above the tent, saying, ““Come in and have your fortune read.” I entered the tent and there, sitting in a corner, was a man dressed in Eastern clothes. His skin and hair were so dark that I took him to be a Hindu. In front of him stood a very beautiful crystal ball. I told the man that I wanted to read the future of mysel f and my classmates. He invited me to look into it and read our fate. As I gazed into the ball, there appeared a minature figure of Wallace Kinlaw walking down Wall Street to the New York Times printing office where he was working as a linotype opera- tor. I could see by the cut of his clothes and his manner that he had been successful. Another scene appeared and showed me Wallace riding in a big, fine Cadillac beyond the city limits. I judged that he had a beautiful home and he did not want to live in the city so he had his home built beyond the city limits. Then I watched and saw the car approaching his house. It was situated on a big hill overlooking the beautiful Hudson River. When he was about to enter the house, he was met by several of his pet dogs which had come to greet him. This scene disappeared and another one appeared and showed me the interior of his home. The ar- rangement and plans of the home convinced me that his wife was an intelligent housekeeper with excellent taste. Another scene appeared and I saw Wallace sitting in a lounging chair by a cheerful blazing fire. A dog was sitting on the rug by him and he was reading an interesting book. Then the scene vanished and another came into view. This time I realized that I was looking at a Southern home. I saw Rev. Roy Chandler in his house looking all over his Bible, preparing a sermon which he meant to deliver on Qe %S wy Sat Sunday. The scene shifted and I saw a hand- some church, and from the looks of the streets, I realized it must be Atlanta, Georgia. Then I saw the Rev. Chandler in the pulpit preach- ing a sermon to the deaf. I could see by the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the con- gregation that Rev. Mr. Chandler was a success- ful preacher and that he had delivered a very good sermon. And the above scene began to fade away and { saw Paul Hemric with a big cigar in his mouth in his office in the largest shoe factory in the South. His feet were on his desk and he had grown very stout but a look of satisfaction was on his face. As the scene shifted and another one came into view, I saw the interior of the shoe factory and from the number of men emp!oyed and the large machines that were in cperation, I knew he had succeeded in building up a fine bus:ness and was prosperous and happy. And the above scene vanished and I was still gazing into the crystal ball. Another scene appeared and then I saw Albert or “Rusty Abe”’ working in the largest furniture factory in the South and he, in his white overalls, was working on a wood turner. I could judge that he was the best worker in the factory for I could see many different beautiful novelties near the place where Abe was working. As this scene shifted and a picture of the interior of his home came into view, I saw that Albert had brought much furniture and many novelties which he had made, into his house. His home was situated on a eautiful mountain not far from Grandfather Mountain and seemed to be comfortable and well-furnished. When the above scene faded away, another scene appeared showing me a small figure of Joe Rouse in his office. On the window I saw in gold letters, ‘“Rouse, the Tailor.” He had a huge cigar in his mouth and a big pencil over

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taken our lunch with us and enjoyed eating it on the mountain. Last February seven boys and I went for an- other hike to High Peak one Saturday morning. When we reached the foot of the mountain, we found a still there. Then we ate our lunch there. I think that High Peak is higher than Burkemont. We were very tired when we reached the top of the high mountain because the mountain is steep. We saw our water tank, Main Building, Morgan- ton and Drexel. There is a beautiful view from there. We took some pictures of ourselves and the still. We had an enjoyable time on High Peak, In March, 1933 we purchased a second hand bus to be used by the Athletic Association and for educational trips. Last March our boys and girls went to South Carolina in the bus to play basket ball against the South Carolina deaf boys and girls that night. Joe Rouse and I had been there twice before that, but the others had never been there before. We had supper at the school. After supper we played a double-header game. Both of our teams were defeated. After the games we had a party and returned here late that night. We enjoyed riding in the bus there and back. I have enjoyed going with the football team to other towns to play football against the hearing boys. I have been on the first football team for three years and on the first basket ball team for five years and have had many pleasant trips to neighboring towns. JI am glad I could take part in the games for I have had many pleasant trips. ,THE DEPRESSION CLASS NAME NICKNAME PET EXPRESSION HOBBY AMBITION Edward Farnell “Lanky”’ i “It’s dead easy” General Science Scientist Wallace Kinlaw “Wally” “Aw shux” Stamps Printer Roy Chandler The “Reverend” “Rotten’’ Politics Politician Albert Mathis “Rusty Abe” “A close shave” Novelties Carpenter Joe Rouse “J0-J0” : (CA Teenie Football Tailor Joyce Flynn el ly “I never did it” Pictures Farmer Paul Hemric “Wise Owl” “I saw you do it” Auto parts Cobbler

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his ear and he was issuing orders to the em- ployees. Then I saw fashionably dressed people coming out and going into the shop. I concluded from the cut of the men’s suits that Joe was a successful tailor. I wondered where his shop was, but just before the picture faded, I saw the outline of the dome of the capitol against the sky and then I knew he lived in Washington, D.C. As the above scene disappeared, another one appeared showing me the figure of Joe Rouse riding in his big car out to the outskirts of Wash- ington. Finally I saw the car draw up to a pretty house and a handsome lady came out to greet Joe on his arrival. Then I knew he was married and he had a nice home near Washington. Slowly the scene about the future of Joe’s glided away and Joyce Flynn’s figure appeared and I knew that I was looking into Joyce’s future. He had a large farm. Whe tertile land produced fine crops. I saw a substantial farm house surrounded by a lovely lawn. Near it were fields of tobacco, corn and cotton. Many men were working in the field. On the other side of the fields were cattle grazing in the pasture and great flocks of chickens dotted the land by the pasture. I saw Joyce mounted on a snow white horse riding through the fields giving orders to his hired men. He looked fat and pros- perous. I was still gazing into the crystal ball when the above scene disappeared and the minature figure of myself appeared and I knew that I was looking into my own future. Slowly scene after scene of my life appeared in the crystal ball and I read my future in them. I was a famous scientist living on the top of Mt. Mitchell, the highest mountain in Western North Carolina. The first scene showed me in a big observatory room where I spent my nights looking up at the sky. One side of my room was a huge sliding glass and before this was a big 200 inch telescope through which I gazed at the stars in the uni- verse, making some very interesting discoveries about the planets and other. heavenly bodies. Then another scene of my laboratory room ap- peared. I saw benches upon which there were row after row of test tubes, bottles and myster- ious looking instruments. There I saw a tiny figure of myself at work on the benches. I was making experiments which proved that some of the scientific theories were true and some were false. Then the above scene disappeared and I turned away from the crystal ball and looked about the tent taking a deep breath. There was a gloomy atmosphere in the tent. The Hindu was still sitting in the corner smiling and was watching me. I wondered if the future of my classmates and myself were true after all. I paid the man and strolled out into the sun light well satisfied to know that the ‘Depression Class” would turn out so successfully and I wondered if our motto “Strive and Thrive” would not help bring us success.