Sheridan High School - Syllabus Yearbook (Sheridan, IN)

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The Syllabus 19 idiiiliiiuiiiiiiiiiniiiliiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiniiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM •‘fish! fish! fresh fish!” I looked in the direction from whence the voice came and saw a little old dried up man pushing a cart loaded with fish. He was a miserably mangled piece of humanity. He had lost one eye some way or another, was humped back, crippled and disfigured, but had a voice like a fog horn. My wife felt sorry for him and begged me to give him a dime. As I tossed the coin to him he turned his cocked eye up in the act of saying, thank ye, when he grinned a little and said, “Well I’ll be dog gone if it isn’t Long. I looked him over and discovered another of my long lost friends, Clair Linton. Of course he had a hard luck story to tell me and before I could get away he promised to bring his wife and children and stay a week or so with me. Well this was a great surprise to me, I’ll admit. But by this time I was getting rather accustomed to such things and felt as if I was prepared to meet almost anything. As we were passing along State street we came to a great throng of people who had blockaded traffic and seemed to be taking possession of the city in general. I tried to find out what all the excitement was about but all I could do was to find out that it was a suffragette meeting of some sort. Being interested in politics I edged my way through the crowd until I was within a few feet of the speaker. There I recognized Mabel Robbins and Edna Moore as leaders of the faction. Mabel was standing on a barrel gesturing right and left and talking like a mechanical parrot. Edna was standing beside her holding a large banner with the words, “Robbins for Senator'’ on it. Of course they didn’t know me so I thought I would stand there until the meeting was out and then introduce myself. W’eli I stood it all right for two or three hours and then I gave it up as a hopeless job and left without even getting to speak to them. Well, sir, do you know that everywhere I went on that trip I found someone I knew. So to make a long story short I’ll just tell you of the discoveries I made which concerns our old class of ’15. Justin Irick is located in a central Indiana town. He has lately discovered a process of compressing sawdust into boards. He declares that it is a perfect success and expects to erect a factory and become a millionaire and all without any manual labor; just think of it! Frank Cline is a wielder of the birch in a lonely little country school house in Missouri. He says it is a very difficult task for him to make the little tots understand how they will sometime grow up and be a great man like himself. Shortly after graduation Inez Swafford and Verlie Hundley joined the Salvation Army. They have accomplished some very effective reforms by playing tambourines at the head of torch-light processions. Maud Eudaley has developed into a notable singer. She travels from city to city singing in moving picture shows at night and teaching vocal lessons through the day. It was a great surprise to me to hear that

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18 The Syllabus ........................................................... teeth are set and he chuckles to himself: “Ah, that was the only game.” He again lays the book upon the table. This time the light falls full upon the title. It is the “Syllabus.” The next night and for many nights after the light did not appear in the large window. Nobody knew what had become of it. When it did appear again the old man once more might be seen sitting near it telling a story to his friends: “You see boys,” said he, “it was last spring sometime about the first of May that I decided to retire from politics and at last realize my chief and long fostered desire, a trip around the world. I had been rather successful in my vocation and had gained a considerable amount of fame. And as the saying is, “Laid up a nest egg for a rainy day,” in the meantime. Now that my fame was established and my fortune secure I became affected with that incurable disease the wanderlust. So I told my wife that we would now try and get a little enjoyment out of life before the eternal knell should summon us to check our baggage across the fatal Jordan. Therefore our plans were made and we set out upon our journey little realizing at the time the surprise which it had in store for us. The first stage of our trip was a transcontinental tour of the United States from New York to San Francisco. Our first stop was at Niagara Falls. When we reached the Falls everyone was in a high state of excitement. I asked someone what all the excitement was about and he cited me to a large poster which said, “Marcus De Wolf, the human dare devil will actually leap the falls in a barrel at 3:00 o’clock. As it was almost time for the performance I decided to hang around a few minutes and get my money’s worth. Just then everyone began to clap their hands and cheer. I looked up and saw the great hero approaching. He had a wild look and an ungainly figure. I began to think that if there was anyone on the globe that could do such a stunt this fellow surely could. While I was standing there trying to decide what nationality he belonged to he happened to look in my direction and upon my word if it wasn’t my old schoolmate, Cupid Butcher. That night we went to Buffalo and as we were taking dinner at a cafe I was suddenly attracted by a voice which sounded familiar. I looked around and recognized another of my old friends, John Nay. I introduced myself and in the course of the conversation that followed I found out that he was still a silver-tongue and was going to deliver an address on the following day on the subject of “Air Castles and Work Houses.” It was impossible for us to hear his address as we had to leave that night for Chicago. A fellow sure does see sights in the large cities sometimes that makes him wonder if the statement isn’t about true that one-half of the world doesn’t know how the other half lives. As we were walking along a street in Chicago we heard a fellow hollowing at the top of his voice.

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20 The Syllabus ...................................................................mil.mi she is an old maid. However, she has not lost hope and at her ripe old age has become infatuated with a Polish musician and expects to make a trip abroad next spring. LaRue Stout is editor of a prominent western newspaper. He is a great advocate of Socialism and Women’s Rights. He attributes his success to the training he received while a staff member of the Syllabus. While in Los Angles we attended the 1946 Follies at one of the large theatres. You can imagine my surprise when I found Dorley Melsor at the ticket window. The manager of the house informed me that she was a star at that position due to her knack of snapping her chewing gum and attracting the attention of the passersby. Chase Walker is a bug philosopher. At present he is in the jungles of South America making an extensive study of bird and insect life. During his leisure time he is accumulating data for a new dictionary. He has called this new work “Walker’s Simplified Definer.” At least one member of the old class has carved his name on the wall of fame. Marvin Barker majored in History of Indiana University and is now head of the History Department at Boxley High School. Every person has a talent if they will only develop it. Marjory Stahl has certainly struck the highway to success. She is a great theatrical star of London. At present she is playing the part of Portia in “The Merchant of Venice.” It doesn’t seem possible that she was ever a conspicuous character as Cindy in “Kentucky Belle,” does it? Shortly after graduation Ethel Stahl and Verna Thompson went to India as Foreign Missionaries. They are now making a tour of the United States giving stereopticon lectures on “Life Among the Natives of that Dark Continent.” Fern Harris is running a beauty shop in Paris. As a side line she is representing a hair restorer. She poses as a living example of the possibilities of that wonderful tonic. Bertha Phebus and Opal Stephenson say there is nothing so valuable as a practical education. Immediately after graduation they began to apply their art of Domestic Science which they received in High School. They both married farmers out by Big Springs. The last time I was in Big Springs they were having a big law suit. Mr. Teter was attorney for the state. From what little I was able to hear of the case it seems as though some of Opal’s chickens had chicken-like, crossed the road and torn up Bertha's garden. And naturally enough Bertha, woman-like, had wrung their necks. Being unable to settle the thing by arbitration, they had taken it to court.