Smith Academy - Echo Yearbook (Hatfield, MA)

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16 PURPLE AND WHITE ECHO Washington Trip

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SMITH ACADEMY 15

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SMITH ACADEMY 17 Washington Trip On Monday, April 19, twelve S. A. seniors boarded a train in Northampton at 7:23 A. M. The annual Washington trip had finally started on this fine morning. S. A. students, six girls and six boys, including Evelyn Kacinski, Jeanette Niewin- ski, Ethel Omasta, Laura Pelc, Dorothy Skarzynski, Frances Zuchowski, Teddy Besko, Francis Dugal, John Foster, Richard Jandzinski, Richard Karpinski, and Frank Kochan, soon became acquainted with people from Hopkins and Deerfield, who went along on the H. F. Battey tour. Travel time went by quickly and merrily, and soon we found our- selves on a ferry heading for Jersey City Terminal. From the ferry we had a beautiful view of the Statue of Liberty on Bedloe ' s Island. We arrived at Union Station, Washington, D. C. shortly after six and a motor coach took us to the Burlington Hotel where we were given our room numbers and keys. After the long trip, we decided to write cards and retire early. (Some did, most didn ' t.) Tuesday morning, after breakfast had been served at the hotel, we met our official guide, Mr. Smith, and about eight-thirty we were off in our chartered motor coach 5120 for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where the whole group enjoyed a tour of the building where all the pa- per money and securities of the government are printed. This building is known as the largest en- graving plant in the world. A guide conducted the group through the especially constructed galleries and explained various operations in printing money. Next we made a visit to the Pan-American Union building. The chief feature of interest here is the typical Spanish patio at the entrance. The Washington monument was our next stop. Here the surrounding country may be seen from the top, 500 feet above the ground. Just before lunch we visited the White House; and after lunch at the hotel we went in our coach on a tour through the city, where Mr. Smith pointed out many embassies, foreign homes, and important public buildings. We stopped at the Arlington National Cemetery, where the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was the most im- pressive sight. We continued through historic Alex- andria, Virginia, and visited Mount Vernon. Re- turning to the hotel, we made a stop at Lincoln Memorial and after dinner visited Congressional Library. Wednesday the first locomotive, the first tele- phone, all the inaugural gowns of presidents ' wives and many other historic items were seen at the Smithsonian and New National Museums. Before lunch a visit was also made to the Mellon National Gallery of Art, a beautiful building of rose-white marble costing $15,000,000. In the afternoon, a long trip by motor coach took us to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Naval cadets were everywhere, and points of in- terest included the tomb of John Paul Jones, sur- rounded by solid gold rope, Brancoft Hall, the gym- nasium, and Severn River. (Five S..A. students will never forget being lost here.) In the evening, most of the party went to Glen Echo Park. Thursday morning started with a visit to the famous Franciscan Monastery, where replicas of the tombs of the Holy Land were seen. We also toured Zoological gardens, containing the most complete collection of animals, birds, and reptiles in the world. After lunch we visited the U. S. Supreme Court and made a most interesting guided tour of the United States Capitol building. Both the House and the Senate were in session at the time, and we visited both galleries, where we could see and hear what was going on. Other interesting spots in the Capitol were pointed out, such as the old Supreme Court, the old Senate, the old House of Represen- tatives, and many other places of interest. In th; evening, most of the party went to Loew ' s Capitol theater to see Xavier Cugat in person. Others went shopping, since the evening was free of plans. After breakfast Friday we left the beautiful, his- toric city of Washington, D. C. and headed for New York. From Jersey City we again rode the ferry and arrived on Seventh Avenue at the beauti- ful Victoria Hotel shortly after lunch on the train. Our first visit in New York was to Radio City Music Hall, the largest theater in the world, where we saw an excellent stage show which included the famous Rockettes. The party also saw a screen show here. Dinner was at the Down Under Restaurant at Rockefeller Center, and following dinner we enjoyd a guided tour of the National Broadcasting Studio. Here we saw the famous Waltz Time radio program rehearsing and all the various sound effects were pointed out. The party also made a visit to the Observation Roof at Rockefeller Center, which is 77 stories above the ground. Here we had a view by night of New York City with its Empire State Building and many other skyscrapers. We also enjoyed the beautiful night view of the Hudson River and East River from this point. Saturday morning we spent shopping in the great stores of New York. After lunch at the Down Un- der Restaurant, we took a motor coach tour of downtown New York. The Bowery, Chinatown, Wall Street, The Little Church Around the Corner, and many other places were pointed out. We then went to Grand Central Station and left New York at 5.25. Our trip came to an end when we arrived in Northampton shortly after nine. Evelyn Kacinski, ' 48