R J Reynolds High School - Black and Gold Yearbook (Winston Salem, NC)

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THE BLACK AND GOLD 27 grade, you remember, was considered High School when We Were members of it. It Was in the seventh grade, she continued, in a reminis- cent Way, that We were introduced to the departmental system, for there were so many of us seventh-graders that it took three teachers to keep us busy, or rather, I suspect, it was We who kept the teachers busyf' VVhat a time We did have, laughed I, in those early days of departmental Work, in the seventh and eighth grades, testing the different teachers, seeing how far We could go With this one, learning that We had to study for that one, that the other one couldn't make us behave, if he kept us in every recess. We didn,t mind staying in at recess. In fact, it was much nicer, We thought, spending our recess in a comfortable class room than breathing the air of a stuffy basement or prome- nading up and down Cherry street. ' Just then the maid came in With hot tea and sandwiches. Though very different, laughed Mary, 'I this four o'clock tea reminds me of those afternoon receptions the teachers, espe- cially the men, used to insist upon our attendingfl . How indignant We felt that Juniors soon-to-be should be treated so childishly as to be kept in, I replied, 'fespecially on bright afternoons When automobiles Hevv by our Windows, street cars Went clanging by, and the happy voices of more fortunate companions sounded from the Y. M. C. A. corner or the tennis court just beneath us. The expression you've used brings back that 'set-down' feeling We had When upon entering our Junior-year, as We thought, We found that an Eleventh Grade had been added to our High School course and that for another Whole year We were to be nothing but Sophomoresf, 'fThe news was stunning indeed, at first but it was soon forgotten in the excitement of getting our class organized, choos- ing class colors, and buying our pins.', 'f0h yes, I do remember that it Was not until the tenth

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06 Pd THE ,BLACK AND GOLD GBUPI' ihv Iva- up-0112155 'igiiatnrg T was a dismal afternoon in late February. I had stepped to the door to answer the postman's call, when my attention was attracted by a crowd of mer- ry school girls coming down the street. They were evidently seniors at the High School near by, for now and then I caught echoes of senior play, fourth year Englishf, the party the Juniors gave usf, in As I listened my thoughts went back to my school days, and the words of the old song surged in my heart, Roll backward, 0 time in your flight, Make me a school girl just for to-night. .So intent was I on the thought of other days, that I did not notice that the gate had opened and some one was coming up the gravel walk. I Is this wherel-Q-? a sweet voice broke upon my reveries. KWVhy-lldary Johnson! as sure as I'm living! Where did you come from, lklary? Isn't it funny? I was just thinking of old daysf' I rattled on, not giving Mary a minute to answer as I led her into the sitting-room. Can you realize, said lVIary, as we drew our chairs close together for a cozy chat, that it is almost ten years since we graduated from the old High School?'l . No, I can't, I replied. It seems but as yesterday since we were having class meetings to decide such momentous ques- tions as to what kind of blouse we girls should have our pictures taken in, or as to whether the boys should wear button bouquets or not on commencement night. l'How long that commencement night was coming, said lldary with a gentle sigh. Five long years we worked with that in view, longer than other graduating classes, for the seventh

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.28 THE BLACK AND GOLD grade that our entire class was organized, for you know there were two groups of us, I replied. 'lYes, the commercial students and the Latin students, and oh, how we hated each other, how we Latin students looked down upon the commercial students, and how the commercial students thought they were something because they could use the type- writer. It was in the ninth grade, wasn't it, that we had such a tussle with algebra, and in the conHict, lost many of our com- 73 rades? It most assuredly was, I replied. The next year we lost others in the fight with geometry. 'A straight line is the shortest line between two points.' Do you remember? Yes, and those awful originals. What tears we girls shed over them, Mary answered, smiling. 0ur dread of geometry originals was turned to mortal terror at the thought of physics problems, I said. To every original there is an equal reaction in the opposite direction, Mary gave as answer. 'cDespite all of that we were happy for we were Juniors at last. We had reached the point where we might have class parties. And entertain the Seniors, cried Mary. Oh, that reception to the seniors! What a time we had planning for it, trying to keep everything a secret, working be- fore school and after to make it the best party ever given in our old High School. And it was the best, too,-at least we thought so, when tired and happy we bade each other good night about eleven- thirty that night. This was but the beginning of many such good times, for the next year was marked by parties galore. Between parties and jollifications over base ball victories, planning for our Shakespearan play, having our pictures taken