Oberlin Academy - Etean Yearbook (Oberlin, OH)

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THE LITERARY CONTEST PRIZE STORY HTHE SAN 'FRANCISCO FIRE BY ANTOINETTE GUERNSEY About four o'clock in the morning of the eighteenth of April, nineteen hundred and six, I awoke with a start as the chiifonier fell across the foot of my bed. Everything in the room was swaying back and forth, and pictures, ornaments, and the chandeliers crashed to the floor. The house was rocking like a small boat on a choppy sea. Had not the foundations been more secure than the average, it would have crumpled up in a heap like the buildings on all sides of us. The first big jerk was followed by a series of small quakes that lasted several min- utes, and then everything seemed to come to a dead stop for nearly a moment. Then the shouting began, occasionally mingled with a scream from someone who was pinned under the falling bricks or timber. . My door had been shut and was so twisted that it could not be forced open, so Brother shouted to me to strip up my bed-sheets and make a rope on which to climb out of the window and slide down to the ground. There was only time to slip into a few warm clothes, and get out of the Window, as the house was tipped at a dangerous angle and liable to fall at any moment. Mother was able to save the most important of her papers, but the rest of us barely got out before the house collapsed like a card structure. Once out into the street, we looked first down toward the foot of Market Street, thinking there -might be a possibility of taking the ferry for Berkeley or Oakland, but a dull red glow and g'reat black clouds of smoke enveloped all the business district, and 0111: Ifu 1' I d 'I l

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SH URTLEFF COTTAGE Shultleff Cottage the dormltory for Academy g1rls 1S pleasantly s1tuated at the corner of Professor and Morgan streets and IS surrounded by beautlful trees and shrub bery Plumb Creek famous ln the poetry of Oberlm threads 1ts way thlough the spaclous grounds and 1S crossed by a 1ust1c brldge whlch 1S renowned for the pa1t 1t has played 111 Shurtleff romances As one enters the house he cannot help feellng the atmosphere of cheerfulness fo1 ou1 matron IS alvx ays t1y1ng to make thlngs as homehke as p0SS1b19 Our flrst party a plcnlc luncheon on the lawn was held the second vxeek aftel school opened wlth the boys of Allencroft as our guests We palred off by numbers and had a 1olly good tlme gettmg acqualnted and eatmg del1c1ous thmgs for whlch ou1 cook lS famous A week later 1n return we were royally entertamed by the boys at a cmmp fire suppel ln the Arboletum Halloween and Chrlstmas vsere the occaslons of gay mas querade partles whlch furmshed conslderable fun and excltement Soon after Chr1stmas vacatlon came our b1g dmner palty the prmcxpal event of the year Nlne th1rty perm1ss1on was granted and each gul 1nv1ted a man as her guest The rooms were decorated w1th the house colors green and lavender To carry out the colol scheme sm1lax festooned the chandellers and Vl0l6tS and ferns were scattered about on the tables vxhlle small bunches of v1olets were used as favols The d1nne1 was a fine one cons1st1ng of many cou1 ses da1nt1ly and appetlzmgly served Thls was followed by coffee and COl1V61S3.t101'1 1n the l1v1ng room Thloughout the year Thursday evenlngs have been set apalt as the At Home nlghts Card games and muslc are the favorlte modes of entertamment at these Very mformal affairs Now we a1e lookmg forward to the May Day garden party whlch by the precedent establlshed last year IS to be Shurtlelf s annual festlvlty Although we are all ant1c1pat1ng w1th Joy the 20th of June yet we feel that the year at Shultleff has been one of many pleasures and p1OfltS FJ A . . . . r I : , - . . . 0 - a 1 . A . Q . . . . A . 7 . 'I q , u 1 c , . , . , J 1 C 7 , . . ' v . , , c 2 '- A . N , . Y . k I - r U ' . 1 9 . - c ' . l. - , ' . l G a Y 7 . ' . Q . . A 1 r ' . . , ' , as as , a o I Q . - . . J 1 . . 3 , . . , L I . Q , . 'cn Y-five

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we-le rapldly approachmg the lesldence sectlons The filst b1g Jerk had broken the watel ma1n and when the fire had started 111 one of the b1g bu11d1ngs near Th1rd and Market Streets there was no means of stoppmg 1t The streets were jammed Wlth fam1l1es all headlng south toward Golden Gate Park whele there are acres and acres of land w1th no bulldlngs to fall O1 burn In a short tlme the soldlers from the P1es1d1o were on hand and were stat1oned about the stleets to dlrect the pamc StI'1Ck91'1 people Every glance took ln a tlagedy Here was a farnlly huddled outslde the I'Lll11S of thelr home whlle the father or brothels struggled w1th the soldlels to let them go back to look for the 1T11SS11'1g slster here a. woman kneelmg ln the street trylng to reV1Ve a hus band who had been stluck by falhng masonry Across the stleet a man who had been llllllllllg stopped, seelng some valuable 11ngs on a dead woman s hand and cut off two of them w1th the r1ngs stlckmg the1n 111 h1s pocket as he stalted off agam on the run But he only got a few yalds fallmg 1n h1S tlacks shot down by a soldler who saw the pel formance The sold1ers word was law and any person mtelferlng w1th orders was shot down on the spot The st1eets wele full of debr1s and We had to chmb ove1 p1les of bl 1cks fallen tlees dead bOd1GS of people and ammals and great twlsted PIECES of 1ron or steel g1rd1ng Reachmg the park at last we were d11ven on by the QOlCl1GI'S to the cemetery about half a 1n1le fu1the1 as the park was already over clowded and gettmg more jammed every mlnute We found an unoccupled spot undel a fir tl ee and between two tall malble columns r1gged up a sheltel w1th two comfolters g1ven us by the people next us Halry fastened 1 . . N . .- 4 . . A- c , . , c L ' c , ' ' ' c c ' . c ' c , c R . . . . ' . c c I . A . . N 7 , ' 2 f 7 ID . 1 c . . , A . . W. , , X c c , ' - , f. A c ' c . a ' ' ' 4 ' 4- . C Q 7 . . , . A . . c . c , A N - 0 . 1 ' 'I' 4 , 1 1 U c c c A ' '- c c A ' L , . 'I fi m 1 - . 1 C ' I A 1 C ' 'I 7 . 1 - 'I 11 . ' 'I ' ' . O H i 1' d Twenty- e' V