Phillips Exeter Academy - PEAN Yearbook (Exeter, NH)

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1 The Smile That XVon't Come Off. A Latin Classroom in the Third Academy Building. boundless opportunities the school would open to us. We cannot measure how much we have gained from these years, we cannot begin to express all the old school has done for us. In return for all this, if we cannot do anything more, we can, and will cherish for her, deep in our heart of hearts, a loyal and abiding love. If this is not the true reflection of the thoughts and emotions towards the school of some mature senior, then what is? It is out of this conflict between gaiety and seriousness that meaning comes, and it is gratifying to examine the '04 Perm where this balance was so well maintained. ln conjunction with the superb editorial writing came another advancement: sports stories. They have always been a headache to any editor, but they are necessary if the Perm is to be a complete reflection. The most amusing page in the '04 Perm, particularly to this year's executives, contained only a small portrait and a short poem: The Smile Thar W07l,f Come Off. The Pcmfs out, at last l'm free, No more of this hard work for meg And so upon my face you see The Smile That VVon't Colne Cfl. The '05 Penn was not unusual, but the 1906 Perm was the strangest ever. With a green suede cover, a colored frontispiece, and colored divisors, and the text printed in sepia, this Perm was novel. VVe hope the book will accomplish its object, that it will be a reflection of and not on the school life for the past year. The criticism has always been that yearbook writing is a glori- fled form of a chronological table, and in most instances this has been true. lt is always pleasant to remember only the successes and joys of Exeter life. Yet it is important and even necessary to remember the failures and disappointments. The '07 Perm deserves credit if it has helped any Exonian to reflect on his life at the Academy by presenting a reflection of that life. The '08 Perm was an increase in size, yet there seemed to be little originality to distinguish this Perm from so many others. The influence of '08 and '09 was very great, too great. It is important yet discouraging to perceive that, although there were short stories on the four class football teams, there were few articles on other organizations. It is amusing to peruse one of the poems-The Rbime of the B7l.Vi7IC5.Y Mnvmger. A student has just been caught by the Business Manager and has paid for his Perm. Then: He went like one who hath been stunned, And is of sense forlorn, A sadder and a wiser man He rose the morrow morn. There seems to have been a mould for all Peam from 1908 to 1912, the results were almost the same, except for KNOCKS, the humor section. But if there were no enlightening changes in layout, editorial, art, or photography there were some pecu- liar ones in content. In 1909 the Tenstickstoit Club appeared. What the club did has now become a mystery. The editors of the 1913 Penn stated their hopes rather well. Anticipation, realization, and reflection are three emotions com- mon to everyone . . . Reflection, to treat on the third emotion,

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The faculty in 1900 - headed by Principal llarlan Page Amen. lixternally imposing, internally it was not very good. But everything was not a step backwardsg one new addition, the POI'-l'0Il7'7'i Ca humor sectionb was superb. The one year lapse in the P01111 fit was not published in 18965 didn't seem to have inspired any great ambitions of the five editors of the '97 I'cfavr1. lformals and senior biographies added a great deal to the completeness of this Pearl. The most significant section of this annual was only one page-a biographical sketch of Harlan Page Amen, who had come back to Exeter as Principal in 1895. Could anyone have then imagined the influence of this man who was, to a great degree. responsible for transforming the Academy and setting it on the path to greatness? Of all thc f,L'i7ll.l' the '98 edition xi as perhaps the most conservative. There is a conflict in yearbook writing between a desire to be as accurate as possible and a hope to be amusing and interesting. This conflict is hard to resolve, and the editors of the '98 Perm did not succeed. XVith Hue venite pueri ut viri sitisf' a gold clock impressed upon a violent red cover, the '99 Penn made its auspicious appearance. Even with this it is dubious whether this Pean was indicative of anything more than the imminent arrival of a new century. The editors of this volume, while determining to follow the beaten path of their predecessors, have resolved not to be beaten in the path which they have followed. This one sentence from the preface to the 1900 Perm expresses the policy of almost all P61171 Boards. ln spite of the weather, the fates, and the Faculty, the seventeenth volume of the Perm bobs up serenely. And here's a smile for all who have helped us, and a grin for all who have hindered. The smile is brief and Hitting, but- watch us grin. I'ei111 Boards have always enioyed their positions, and part of their positions is the inherent, inviolable right and pleasure to grin at the rest of the school. To the rest ofthe school the editors speak a foreign language of ems, half-tones, and line-cuts. lt is significant to notice the senior editorial. Perhaps it has relevance this year. f'The class of 1901 has not been an extraordinary one in any way. 'VVe hope we have done some lasting good to the school, and we know it has done lasting good to us. There are very few experiences in life which can give us as much fl'llC satisfaction as our course at lflxeter has given, is giving, and will give. lt is no wonder that the '01 Perm is what it is, one of the best. Some of the interest and ideas of the executive board of the '01 Penn must have been transmitted to its successor ,... The P61111 of 1902 will be found much like the Pealfr of previous years, and yet we trust that it has an individu- ality of its own. Klaudy gold, daring red, and a photograph marked the cover of the '03 Peim. XYhether this was artistic or even attractive is questionable, and unfortunately this was almost all that was even distinctive Cgood or badl. The high and mature quality of the '04 Perm can easily be seen when one reads the senior editorial. . . . XVhen we came here, we little realized what

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., f'4' gay:- occupies a somewhat less important position, but it is concerning this same reflection that the Perm is issued. Through the utiliza- tion of a brown cover, this Perm could at least appear different from the last few. lf only the editors had continued to make changes in the stilted writing, in the regimented layout and spent more time on the humor section, this Perm could have been a real break with the poorer editions which preceded it. The quality of the 1914 Perm was only fair-due to the lack of writing, good art and photography-but it was presented in a very dignified and attractive manner. But this annual needed an element of realism, which in yearbook writing usually means a trend towards an analytical outlook. Perhaps the most significant feature of this Penn was the sixty-two page ad section. Since the start of the century the ad section had been increasing. This enabled the editors to produce a more dignified book and Cineidentally of coursej to make a small profit. The danger in any yearbook is that the financial will predominate and hinder the creativity. The next three Pefms-1915, 1916, 1917-were all very much alike, and what is worse, very much like the last ten. Faetually, they were quite complete. But as a refiection of the school year they were not very realistic or perceptive. And this was due to the excessive conservatism. Yet there are articles in the humor section which are still amusing and which still reflect the viewpoint of a good many Exonians. Of these three Peam' the '17 was the best. There were a few indications of what was to come in the 1918 edition. Per- haps this was all that could be expected from a board of eight of whom five resigned. Resignation has always been a problem of the Perm, and also the Exowiaw. No matter how carefully the senior executive board chooses its successors, mistakes are inevitable. 'No one can tell whether a certain individual will respond to the challenge and responsibility. To Those Exonians Who Have Dedicated Their Lives To The Great Causef, More of a tribute than this simple dedication was the content of the 1918 Perm, the best at that time and still one of the best in every respect. As early as May, 1917, we needed little urging to convince us of the need for a different Perm. The former Penm were good, but somehow or other a stereotyped form has been developed, just as if the point of perfection had been reached. The 1918 P61171 will have every- thing the former Pefms have had, PLUS: larger page size, con- forming to college standard, rearrangement of the entire volume into six separate 'books', six color inserts, a sixteen page section in sepia of school buildings, war time features, double the usual number of snapshots, and the PEAL. These last two changes are the most signincant. Photography was at that time an unexploited field as far as the Perm was concerned. The if 'Q i X: al 43 aww, 4 . . ,rm ,, .lzmx if V yrs, m t. ...i , , . . The Third Academy Building, 1872-1915. Note barge', at right that ran between station and Academy. 1 i The start of an Exeter-Andover track race - 1900.