Salem State University - Clipper Yearbook

Page 30 text:

stood, too excited, during the whole afternoon, to once neigh or eat any of the food we gave him. Country lasses in sunbonnets and pinafores and a lad in overalls and jumper received our guests and tried to give them a good time. When they got hungry we gave them doughnuts, peanuts, corn balls, molasses kisses and new sweet cider sucked thro' a straw. Did they have a good time? Ask them. You have heard of gathering chestnuts cf course, but have you ever heard of gathering caterpillars and earth worms? We do it at Salem. It was no uncommon sight a few months ago to see a crowd of students on Lafayette street, gathered around one of the girls who was holding a wonderful something in her hand that looked like a curled up leaf. A Sphinx, girls! she would cry exultantly. The rest would turn away with wistful faces, sigh and say, O why didn't I see that lovely caterpillar! We are not partial creatures, but are just as good to earthworms as to caterpillars. We collected a great many of these worms in a box of dirt. We watered them, we fed them, we tended them for hours until at last they grew to be nice, fat and healthy worms. Then, with hearts almost bursting with pride, we carried them to school and exhibited them toagroup of envious girls. Sleepy when juniors, we are sleepy as Seniors. One day especially that feeling of drowsiness came over Senior I in Arithmetic class. Sally was asked to do a problem involving the laying of a carpet. She fopened her exercise with the casual remark, Now, I am going to er-stretch. 24

Page 29 text:

there was the work with the real children, in a real school, and soon we began to feel like real teachers and talk about my school. We elected our president, Miss Callahan, and her staff, and then began our class meetings. Now, we have many level-headed girls and one level-headed boy in our class. They won't be bossed, so that's why our class meetings have such a reputation. hive have quarrels to be sure, but the most bitter opponents in the meeting are seen walking the corridors arm in arm fifteen minutes after, so you see these quarrels are not really in earnest. On October 25, 1903, our teachers entertained the Seniors and juniors in the gymnasium. A daintier and more pleasing afternoon could not have been planned. Didn't we have a good laugh at Mr. Whitney's disks? The silhouettes of our teachers gave us a good chance to see if our mental pictures of them were correct. We could guess the men easily enough but it was hard to guess rightly as to the ladies, for we had forgotten how they did up their back hair. The whole afternoon was just jolly. Next came our Senior reception to the Juniors. We'll let you into a secret. It has been said that we are a very original class. You may see if this is so. We gave our party on November I4 in a barn, that is, what had been a gymnasium in the morning became a barn in the afternoon. We had vegetables, jack o'1anterns, hay, and all sorts of farm implements all around. On the blackboard were several beautiful Jersey cows, peacefully eating their food from the manger, while at the end of the barn our .family horse

Page 31 text:

Seniors expecting to go out to teach should be able to address a large audience without embarrassment and with easy conversational tones. That is why we have had three minute talks. VVe know now what it means to lecture to an audience and most of us have fully made up our minds that we do not care to lecture for a living. Even though we do not like to do the lecturing our- selves, we do like to hear others, and our principal has several times invited professors or superintendents of neighboring towns to visit us and give us a little sound advice or entertainment, as the case may be. Marks have come the same as usual, four times this year, but it was passed or not passed with us Seniors. We had no short breaths and quickenings of the heart. VVe like our work better every day, We can visualize now, we understand that all things being equal ------ g we've learned to teach rote songs, but even now there's a suggestion of a tremble in the voice, we are just getting able to look at' a caller without seeing his internal organs, we know how to please our supervisors in drawing and can evolve any example in percentage and illustrate as we talk. Oh, yes ! we are brim full of good ideas now and expect to be launched out into the world next September, when we may show the people what the Salem Normal School has done for us. For many years the numbers of the morning hymns were written on the blackboard but when these boards were tinted, cards with numbers printed on them were hung on the wall. These cards looked very much out of place beside the beautiful decorations of the hall. 25