Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

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M, Francis Drewry, - - - Editor. We extend a hearty welcome to our new exchange, The Blue and the Gray., a magazine which reflects ample credit upon the students whose talent and work have thus been combined to establish so worthy a memorial of their school days. In accordance with your own con- ception of the value of literary criticism, we take this opportunity to suggest that you arrange your excellent material in a more systematic manner. Certainly, none of our exchanges was enjoyed this month more than The Blue and White, an exceedingly bright and clever magazine throughout. The interest- ing stories, the practical editorials, and the originality and humor that shine on each page lead us to wish that this paper were published more than four times a ses sion. We have but one fault to find in this instance: the athletics are not made sufiiciently prominent. In most schools athletics occupy too important a place; yet no school should ignore them. We trust that in your next issue this failing will be corrected by placing the athletics nearer the editorials. Every department of The Lowell is exceedingly well balanced, full, and interesting. From the lengthy and excellent literary department to the humorous joke

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20 THE MISSILE. But what of the physicial training? Is not this also very important? Go talk to almost any father or mother about their children and they will almost invariably say, I would rather my child keep strong and well than lead his class.” We need a gymnasium dreadfully. Boys in the coun- try get exercise enough raking hay and chopping wood, but city boys, who are in large majority in our school, need just the exercise that a gymnasium offers. They need too a manual training course. Other places, smaller and less wealthy than Petersburg, have it; why should not we ? Our girls need a domestic science course. They who are to be the future house-keepers and home-makers of our city certainly ought to have the best possible means of preparing themselves to grace this position. The gymnasium is impossible without a new build- ing and, while we hope to introduce into our curriculum next year domestic science and manual training courses, we can only do so on a very small scale because of the inadequacy of our building. Furthermore, the school is growing each year. More are coming in from the seventh grade than are being graduated, and more room is needed. New graded schools have been built from time to time, but we have never had a new High School building. We call the attention of our School Board to these matters in an earnest attempt to help them see the neces- sity for, and benefit to be derived from, a New High School building.

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22 THE MISSILE. column the magazine leaves little to be desired except a few exchange and alumni notes, which would render The Lowell additionally attractive to outsiders. With the splendid opportunities offered by your school, its spacious new building, its numerous organizations, and its broad field of athletics — we are surely justified in ex- pecting great things of you. After reading what the Criterion has to say on the subject of exchange criticism, we hardly dare to express our opinion about this paper. Do you not think you are somewhat mistaken in the stand that you take? Your magazine is not “picked to pieces” in order to fill up ex- change columns of other papers, but in order to benefit you by pointing out your mistakes. Exchange notes are written in a friendly way; do you think it is just to take them otherwise ? However, since you do resent a can- did opinion, we will endeavor to mention the good fea- tures; of the others we shall only call attention to the fact that all your jokes are “exchange.” The literary department of the Criterion is surpassed by few high school publications. The story, Loverness versus Eaves- dropper is indeed entertaining and delightful, to say noth- ing of the other two stories, which are close seconds to this one. The February number of The William and Mary Literary Magazine, as we might expect from a college of such standing, offers an almost perfect collection of stories and poems. In the latter respect this maga- zine is especially remarkable, for good, beautiful poems are usually few and far between in even the best collec- tions of literature; while The William and Mary Liter- ary Magazine contains much verse, the quantity of which