Roycemore School - Griffin Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

Page 8 text:

5 5+ at VL appreciation of her years of untiring devotion and interest that have implanted in all Roycemore girls a loyalty to our School, we, the Class of l94l dedicate this volume of The Griyin to our beloved Miss REBECCA Asniw.

Page 7 text:

THE GRIFFIN Roycemore School Evanston, Illinois 19.4.1 Volume XXIV

Page 9 text:

Have you ever thought of what it would be like if suddenly you were deprived of your steam-heated home, of electricity, comfortable transportation, radios, automobiles, and tele- phones? These things have all been developed within the last fifty years. My speech is not about the mechanical achievements of our twentieth century, but about someone we know who has seen these changes take place. Every interesting story must have a central figure around which it revolves, and I'll begin my tale back in the 1880's and carry it down to the present day. My heroine spent her early childhood in Wisconsin and Iowa. When she was seven, her courageous and pioneering parents moved their little family to South Dakota. They expected a certain amount of hardships and came prepared to face them, but they never anticipated the terrific storms that began in mid-October. There are tales of ,busy happy days when the children learned to ride the Indian ponies, feed the stock, walk five miles to the country school, and then retum home to help with the domestic tasks and even assist in gathering and twisting the tall field grass which was carefully stored away in the barn to be used as fuel when the winter's supply ran low. Night time was exciting, because after the dishes were put away, and the school tasks completed, the three little girls would huddle cozily in the large feather bed, while their mother sewed by a small kerosene lamp, and their father read aloud to them tales from Scott and Dickens. Character traits are developed early in our lives, and a trait that our heroine has retained, even to this present-day, is a reserved shyness. In childhood this was a great handicap, for her tears fiowed readily, but as she grew older this habit was corrected, though the shyness still persisted. Perhaps this very trait en- deared her to an aunt and uncle who lived in St. Paul, for when she was sixteen, they noticed that her interests were directed along educational lines, and urged her to attend State Teachers' College at Winona, Minne- sota. Here her work was of such high stand- ing that she was chosen valedictorian of her class. Her first position was at Little Falls, Minne- sota. This was a gay, happy period in her life. She was well liked by the young men and women of the town. She took her teach- ing seriously, preparing carefully for all her classes. Her ability was recognized, for the following year, at the age of twenty, she was appointed principal of the St. Cloud High School. We next find our heroine attending Ober- lin College in Ohio, and tales of young men serenading her, and singing Nut Brown Maiden, add excitement to her scholarly pursuits. The adventures of travel lured her and she spent the following year in France, living with a French family, studying at the Sorbonne, and gradually acquiring her ex- cellent pronunciation and understanding of French. Back at Oberlin her work in art and French history was accepted toward her de- gree. With this background, she was offered a splendid position at Mt. Vernon Seminary and remained there for many years teaching art. The taste of European life inspired her to repeat her travels, and every summer for many years she either took a group of students or accompanied her aunt and uncle to the continent. Her record of twenty-four cross- ings is an enviable one! Some of the places that this pioneer girl from the plains of South Dakota visited are the Italian lake country, Spain, the Dalmatian coast, Germany, and Belgium, where she acquired valuable mate- rial toward her master's degree in art. She lingered in England and Ireland, and stories have come to me that she kissed the Blarney Stone! After a number of years at Mt. Vernon, an exciting offer to become associate principal of a newly organized mid-western school for girls and a chance for promotion, influenced her to leave Mt. Vernon and affiliate herself with Roycemore. Miss Julia Henry was prin- cipal, and Miss Susan White head of the lower school. To this group the new associate prin- cipal was a distinct asset. Upon Miss Henry's death in 1924, this reserved, capable person stepped into the position she now holds. We, her students, realize the countless in- tangible things that she has given us: her understanding of nature, art, history, and the Bibleg her appreciation of music and drama: her skillful management of our school through times of war and depression, and her love and sympathy for human nature. As an outward sign of our love and gratitude, we set aside today to honor you-Miss Ashley. -Constance Klaner, XII Form