St Catherines School - Quair Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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out the second sight of trained house mothers. The party saffered a blight. Enough said. Tenth Grade was a surprise to us in many ways. We had been positive that school work couldn't possibly be as hard as it had been in the Ninth. Our mistake. It was much harder. Aside from the increasingly distressing burden of academic tasks, we also had on our hands the responsi- bility for the Lower Study Hall, which clipped our freedom oi' action to a degree. VVe had so many new members this year that we were afraid we would never be able to get well acquainted with all of them. But where there's a will, there is notoriously, a way. We achieved comradeship by writing notes in class or Study Hall and slipping them on to our new enlistees. But our liencil Friendships were cruel- ly discouraged, even brought to a dead halt, when a sheaf of demerit slips descended upon us. We were regarded as the most social-minded class in school, which we considered a point in our favor. But other people seemed to have a dilierent idea. The faculty insisted that the Day Students stepped out nights. Fancy that! Uur ever vivid imaginations were not entirely dulled by regulations and excessive study. We still bubbled up in un- expected ways and places. lou will recall that uncanny epidemic of alarm clocks ingeniously hidden which went off at all hours of the night. Also the panic induced when some jokers got the fancy to tie some coat hangers together and swing them against their neighbors' screens to give the impression that provvlers were alloat. There were the dum- mies too, those spectral effigies of real people, which ap- peared unaccountably in bathrooms and caused many screams and much excitement. There were few dull mo- ments in the lives of the Tens whether they were Day Students or Boarders. Only once so far as we know did that rattlesnake appear in that hilarious room occupied by those rather special geniuses, lVladdux, Lunsford, Dunbar, and Potter. It was never known whence it came or to what bourne it vanished. lt was not that we couldn't behave with propriety il it seemed necessary or suitable. VVe could. HGHICIIIDEI' the time lVlrs. Blanton went to New York to see her oculist and how the whole school was amazed at the exemplary behavior of the Tens? lt could happen-but not often. All in all, that was an exciting Year. The school acquired its new Commander-in-Chief, lvliss 'l'urner. But we were to lose our lVliss Woolfolk! We were pleased to be pro- moted to the rank of daisy chain makers for the Seniors though there was a little sadness too. We liked the Seniors very much and were sorry to lose them. Upper Study Hall at last! We enjoyed a considerable increase of congenial members and were cordially greeted by the new Student Council. But we were also confronted with the mazes of the new-born Classification System, a rather portentious affair, considering our habitual light- hearted approach to life. We soon learned that the new system meant business and since cuts were a major neces- sity in the lives of all of us we buckled down and got otu' A Classifications-at least a majority of us did. But we were only human. Again, as Christmas approached, the Boarders on the Junior lloor felt the old urge to celebrate. Consider- ate of others as always some of them tip-toed softly other- where , but somehow Miss Hannah must have heard the patter of little feet. Anyway she started investigating. The room under suspicion looked innocent enough. ft was not discovered that there were two girls in each bed, and others underneath the beds. Nor did the searching squad open the closet door to behold eight Juniors concealed. But murder will out. In February, Jane Bassett gave us a memorable pep talk and a good many of the class found themselves ignominiously reduced to D classification for six weeks, due to our penchant for fire . Evidently there is some truth in the axiom: Crime doesn't pay. As the year went on we began to take things more seri- ously, especially when it came time for the candlelight service which meant so much to us all. Then there was the Junior-Senior Banquet for which we had all been working so long. It turned out to be one of the most memorable and effective banquets the school had ever held, thanks to Miss Franz' generalship and the magnificent ideas and prodigious efforts of Conroy and Dunbar, Inc. Then came commence- ment, with Beth and Marget walking off with Scholarship E281 Awards and Barbara deservedly honored wil.h the Integrity Award. At last we were permitted to carry that treasured token, the daisy chain, which we received from the Seniors, proof that we were almost Seniors ourselves. It gave us a queer feeling to think that when we came back in Septem- ber we would be in top command with all that meant of responsibility as well as prestige. As Seniors we found we had lost some of our old Corps but we had new members to fill in the ranks. We were glad to have such grand girls as Margie, Ann, Connie, barbara and Anne to help us through our last year and share all the fun. There are too many eventful occasions in this last great year for us to give space to them all. Per- haps our proudest moment was when we received our Senior rings witn the significant chapel service that accompanied the Ceremony. Un St. Catherine's Day it was Barbara blades, to the satisfaction of all, who represented our special 5a.nt in a reverent and beautiful pageant which left a oeep impression on us all. Our next public appearance was in lighter vein with Babs taming Shrew Adeline in a fine performance splendidly supported by other members of the class. Just before Christmas holidays we got down to brass tacks academically speaking so as to achieve as much dis- tinction as possible in our Exams to impress the Colleges. 'l he Candlelight Service and morning carols were followed by that grand breakfast of Miss '1'urner's. Then the vaca- tion. Every one returned full of glorious tales of festivities, a dream from which the imminent approach of College Aptitude Tests rudely awakened us. There were other small things to remember and chuckle over, like the time when Miss Hannah was disturbed because three Seniors were reputed to have severe stomach aches and had consequently gone to the sick bay. Upon investigation, however, it proved that the pains were connected with a jar of peanut butler and a loaf of bread. Strictly from hunger. After all, pain is bread in French. We can't forget either the awful but also humorous occasions when everybody unknowingly walked out on Mr. Harp before his sermon was delivered. He admitted afterward that it had never happened to him before and we sincerely hope it never will again. Naturally the highlight of the year socially was our Senior dance, a great event to which we had all been look- ing forward for what seemed like ages. VVe changed from our regimental outfits to beautiful white gowns and walked dreamily tl'u'ough the figure to the tune of lVloonlight and Roses hardly knowing whether we were real or not. The whole dance was a superb success, and the figure was declared by the onlookers to be exceptionally lovely. Much credit is due to lVIary Conroy and to Shirley Poulson for the imagination and hard work they put into the whole affair, particularly the figure. Alter the last dance we trooped to the dining room for our Senior breakfast. Alas, at one o'clock taps sounded for those who dwell in the barracks though some of the more lucky and freer souls went on to more gaiety elsewhere. Now with the dance over and the QUAIR at long last being happily put to bed, we are all looking forward to spring holidays, with only the lowering shadow of College l5OEll'ClS disturbing our joy. After vacation there were the Day School Dance and the various teas and parties which go with the season, as well as the Spring Festival. There will also be the Junior-Senior Banquet. It will be strange to be the guests this year, instead of the hostesses, but we know it will be wonderful and we shall love being on the receiving end. Then Commencement itself with all it means to all of us, both of sadness and rejoicing! The years have slipped by all too swiftly. As we enter the auditorium for the last time as Seniors, as students of St. Catherine's it will be a big moment, a beginning as well as an ending. We shall leave the school amid tears and laughter and we know that in our hearts we shall always feel ourselves St. C1'ltl'16l'll'l6,S girls, returning often in memory to the happy, rich days of our life here. ' And so we end the tale of the Corps of 1950, first called to the colors, thirteen years ago. fByj MERI HODCES TWEET GLOBE JOYCE WALMSLEY.

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hitherto. There are disadvantages in growing up. We were introduced to multiplication tables and divisions of words into syllables which was supposed to improve our spelling. VVe say supposed deliberately. Some of us are still remark- ably original in that line as well as in others. At long last came the long anticipated Home VVork in capitals. A doubt- ful blessing it seemed to some of us. The real delight lay in our Rest Period when we trooped up to our cots and lost ourselves in the adventures of the Bobbsy Twins. Our romantic souls reached the climax of satisfaction when our beloved Miss Watkins became Mrs. Leake, a denouement which intrigued us greatly. To our regret we had no new members to boast of the next year. But we progressed. Home Work attained such proportions that we had to buy book bags to keep our volumes and other paraphernalia safe and in one place. We were notorious losers. Some of us still are, as it happens. We also graduated from our favorite Twins to the Orljmsey -some jump-but we made it and looked forward even more than ever to the Rest Period. We also magnanimously organized a Caterpillar Hospital in the woods and proved our interest in public service by forming a Fourth Grade T.V.A. when a leaky water fountain prompted us to con- struct a rival Boulder Dani. Nevertheless, before long our advancement in civilization took a slight backward step. When lightning, quite helpfully from our point of view, felled a tree behind McVey Hall the whole class reverted to the primitive. We converted ourselves into Joe Youngs as we swung gleefully from the branches and spiritedly issued the jungle pass-word-Waah-eeh-ah-eeh-aaah! We had been afraid we should lose Miss Murray when we transferred to Fifth Grade but in response-we fondly believe-to our own ardent demands she was still in charge, though our satisfaction was faintly dimmed by chagrin when we discovered we were t.o stay on in the Bungalow instead of being moved up to VVhitlock. We were thrilled hy the poise and personality of our new member from California, Patsy, and welcomed her enthusiastically. We suffered bereavement when our favorite buddy, Hoiman, de Toitle , succumbed to the grim reaper and passed beyond our ken-and laid him reverently to rest in a box in our prized flower garden. But as spring came around we revived our humane and nature-loving impulses and again turned our attention to our Caterpillar Hospital, a project that had to be sadly abandoned when we discovered that our patients had developed ptomaine or something after a dinner of seemingly harmless flowers. It was inevitable that at this stage some of us should evince the homing instinct. We grouped ourselves into families and pitched our domestic life in the woods. It was a long time before we finally were allowed to bivouac in VVhitlock but in our Sixth Grade year we achieved the goal, only to find to our disillusionment that our headquarters academically was still the same old bunga- low in spite of our advanced years. But we had good for- tune too. Palmer, Barbara, and Jean Frazier joined us. There were numerous flu epidemics that year as well as an occasional case of mumps available for catching and very few of our number escaped the sick bay. But we recovered and put on two notable dramatic performances, Make Him Smile and, Paul, before Agrippa. We were convinced-and still have not changed our minds-that our class was a natural for the bright lights and we even then had visions of arriving eventually on Broadway to the advantage of some box-office. After the drama urge died down we busied ourselves with making a Year Book for our project, We were happy to have had Mrs. Durrett for a repeat perfor- mance and felt sad at leaving her, though we were some- what cheered when she gave us each an autograph book as a final renlembrance. At last we arrived and took over Cas we considered. itj, the Middle School Study Hall. We also added .lanet Swann, Carolyn, and Dorothy to our roster. fSee picture at head of this history if you can bear to be reminded of what we looked like then.j We were no longer vitally interested in dumb animals by then and turned our attention to male bipeds. Several of us wore dents in our elbows as we leaned precariously and hopefully on the window ledges of Miss Thruston's classroom, awaiting the daily quota of a fleet of gallant St. Christopbetds cyclists on reconnoitering missions. f27l Only too often however we could also cast an apprehensive collective eye on Miss Lena, on the horizon, arriving with her best quarter deck manner, ready to disperse any invad- ing forces. That was a very cold winter and our enthusiasm for the Eskimo life waned when the furnace went on strike. However, we were equal to the emergency and donned coats, ear muffs, gloves, mittens, which later accouterment proved useful as an excuse for illegible handwriting. We welcomed the arrival of spring but were not so overjoyed when it brought with it an invading host of termites, as well as the usual robins and daffodils. Miss Hood's Medieval History Class was the scene of many jousts with these winged pests. By June we felt very grown up indeed, were well aware of the allure of lipstick and even considered how we would look in stockings. When next September came we were, after a manner, heads of the Middle School and were definitely aware of our high position, as V. I. P.'s. VVe were still bent on being unusual, even to the point of radicalism. We had three new girls, two of them distinctly, like the rest of us, on the rebel side, Erwin and Jean Gillespie, with Rosie, our charming little conservative to effect a balance. In true French Revo- lution spirit CAuI armes, citoyennesfj we took to using water pistols-a demoralizing weapon second only to the atom bomb as a disruptive of normalcy. We learned to be highly expert at long range and staged a successful if brief Reign of Terror. Teachers fell to peering cautiously around corners before advancing and were constantly alerted to ferret out the ringleaders of this underground unit, who were as skilled in evasion as in execution. However, even this activity ran itself out in time and we concentrated on acquiring a hit the dirt technique. VVe were prompt in making our dives when planes roared overhead but equally adept in acquiring splinters in our knees from the Whitlock floors. Miss Chreitsberg, who had her own subtle brand of ingenuity also, strove to restrict our wild escapades and turn our esprit du corps to more constructive channels. She suggested that we organize as a Green Ring group, modelled on the idea of the Blue Ring of which we had heard vague rumors from the Upper School. The purpose of the Green Ring was to raise the standard of behavior in the Middle School. VVe can't imagine why anybody should have thought it needed it. Can you? Sad to relate, the Green Ring, though well intentioned, did not conspicuously bring to a close the number of uaccidentaln slamming of desk tops, extraordi- narily extended spasms of coughing, and the peculiarly regular dropping of those big, heavy red English books on the quarter hour. Somehow we did make some progress in education as well as ingenuity and achieved distinction, again in the field of drama, by our production of David Copperfield. VVe rather hated to leave the happy hunting ground of the Middle School but were elated at the thought that next year we would be actually in the Upper School- a long time dream. Accustomed to being top dogs we found it difficult to adjust ourselves to the notion that we were the least of the least as freshmen. We were dazed by the number of rules and regulations and even more stunned by the experience of rushing to classrooms in strange places at the alarm of a bell, a sort of stampede very different from our tranquil and leisurely procedure in the other Schools. Happily we were reenforced in numbers which spelled quality as well as quantity. Our major additions were specifically, Cynthia, Tweet , Bert, Nfattie, and our own little Quiz Kid, Polly. Intermingled with tl1e mass of chaos which is our chief memory of our Nines year are some bright spots, such as the thrill of the Gold and White games and particularly, the Senior Dance. We were hesitant about attending for fear our usual go-ahead spirit might be daunted in the presence of so many older girls, more accustomed to such functions than we were. But we soon recovered from any unprecedented shyness we might have had and found the ordeal of breaking tall, dark, handsome strangers was not so grim as we had feared. We did rather well for ourselves as a matter of fact. One of the chief memories of the year for the Boarders was the occasion when some of the clan thought it appropriate to celebrate, Thanksgiving with a small and exclusive party, after Mrs. Studebaker's bed time. They dragged their mattresses down to the four girls' room so as not to disturb other sleepers. But they reckoned with-

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