Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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T H E cultivation The cheery rays of the sun, which streamed into the dining hall as the (’lass of ’41 gathered for its first supper, seemed to foretell the good times and exciting events which we were to share in the coming year. Peering at our Big Sisters, we were rather overawed until, when the evening had passed and we had all tried our luck in transforming vegetables into animals and people, we knew we were going to get on perfectly. Our first thrilling event was tin Bryn Mawr Horse Show on a clear October day And soon to follow, a wild scaven- ger hunt, in which the Seniors led us over hill, over dale, through the twilight. At the height of the harvest season and under the light of the harvest moon, off on a wonderful liayride with IVnnock’s team a-pulling away and Mr. Bush-Brown the Jife of the party. . . . Final round-up at the fireplace for hot dogs and toasted marshmallows. And so the autumn flitted by and the leaves fell lazily to the ground while we worked feverishly on preparations for a dance and play. Then came an exciting Hallowe’en party, with an eerie witch and scarecrow to enliven the candle-lit banquet (who would have guessed Mr. and Mrs. Bush-Brown?) and a jolly costume contest to follow. An evening in Philadelphia not to be forgotten was that on which the Dramatic Club saw “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” from the towering heights of the gallery. . . . Then all in a flash came Peanut Week, full of mysterious tiptoeings and whisperings, ending with a huge success of a party, wherein verses and packages were distributed by a benign and humorous (and oh! very Bush-Brownian) Santa Claus. The traditional ('hristmas Banquet was followed by a play, in which the continually precarious state of a certain dangling moustache sent the audience into tears of laughter. . . . And so at long last off for a whole mont h’s holiday. Back in a jiffy to be buried in huge drifts of snow and our first exams--But we came to the top and went whirling away in the midseason dance. Then the thrill of thrills: free tickets to tin Ice Carnival . . . with wonderful visions of graceful gliding figures to set us dreaming. Already it was March, with a welcome break in our work : the Flower Shows to which we carried minds dutifully tuned to Floriculture and thoughts of the spring to come. . . . Memories of a pleasant evening spent listening to the soft notes of Flizabethan recorders . . . and of a Penny Carnival where many a fascinating stand brought fabulous funds. One gray misty day we rode away to Lancaster and under the pouring skies absorbed a few ideas on Soil Conservation. Then another misty day and the circus was in full swing with bareback riders, clowns and balloons galore. May Day: on the greensward a mounted herald blowing his bugle, a stately procession with a lovely May Queen (Pip •bines full of dignity) and a lively Robin Food play . . . the perfect evening was over all too soon . . . we must settle down 25

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“Nan” Nancy Hamilton Wickes SI-I Thompson Street Saginaw. Michigan For out whose hair is red as Nan’s Her temper’s level; But when she laughs, her eyes twinkle The very devil. Drama Club 1.2; Hiding Club 1,2; Social Service 1.2: First Aid. Laughs Bird feed Aura Blue eyes Tiny Sweden Buti i Carlyle Yates 3214 North Second Street Harrisburg. Pennsylvania While others wear their leal her out Along the Butler Pike, Ruth studies all her Woodies As she pedals on her hike. Drama Club ] ; Hiding Club 1: Reading and Discussion Club 1.2; First Aid. Quiet Toscanini Brain matter Bicycle Food Miniature vases 'Kv ru Vi' Wur 24

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to work with exams in view. Then Commencement ... and rain ... so we gathered indoors and regretfully saw our Big Sisters go forth. Bidding good-bye until. . . . September . . . when we returned, a bubbling group of full-fledged Seniors... and Juniors, too, tagged with their names like so many Woodie specimens. Came tin final step in getting acquainted: our hot dog and corn roast around the fireplace and a ripping Virginia reel which made the dust Hy in the surprised barn— Once again to the Bryn Mawr Horse Show with glimpses of fine horses. . . . Then to a gorgeous Hallowe’en party given to us by the Juniors, where milking maids, fortune tellers and angels in Dr. Denton’s mingled happily. An entertaining evening while Miss Hess conjured up whole scenes before oui eyes on the bare platform of the dining room with her lifelike monologues. . . . And again Peanut Week, with its myriads of bells, wreaths and tidbits to eat, followed by an entrancing play (what lighting effects, they gave us the creeps!) after an equally scrumptious banquet. Then into the night a-carolling we go to Mr. llendery’s cheery house and elsewhere in the neighborhood . . . and then ... reluctantly ... to bed ... and speedily HOM ft. As winter lingered on, a touch of spring was brought to us through some beautiful colored slides showing Wild Flowers of the West. . . . Then one momentous day Mrs. Bush-Brown stepped forward and in a hushed silence announced the award to the School dairy herd of a modal for the highest production of butterfat in the state of Pennsylvania. What enthusiasm and clapping from the farm group!! Juba . . . Juba . . . the rhythm of it we shall never forget, nor the rich voices of the Hampton Quartet resounding through the dining hall. In March the Xew York and Philadelphia Flower Shows engrossed ns as never before, for now we knew things and could look with a professional (ahem ... at least . . . critical) eye upon the exhibits. The amateur night, after several postponements, set the dining room ringing with hilarity; and oh, those advertisements ! Warm days of spring, with dancing daffodils and blue phlox in the woodland . . . delicate cherry blossoms waving against azure skies and fleecy clouds . . . the heavy scent of the wisteria drifting into the halls . . . such are our memories of a season all too full of activities, of Monday jobs, of theses to write, of preparations for May Day .. . and what a success it was! There was Penelope Smith making the fairest May Queen, with fat little Tweedledum and Tweedledee adding to the gaiety of the occasion and the Dormouse and the Mad Hatter joining in to make the jolliest May Day yet. Now we find ourselves looking hopefully to tin future: first to the immediate threat of finals . . . then Commencement . . . and away into tin unknown. . . . 26