St Johns High School - Blue Devil Yearbook (Darlington, SC)

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Twenty-Two

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Twenty-One

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Class Prophecy PRINGTIME with its many voices called me to come out into the open. So I followed its lure down a narrow ar.d beautiful road, not realizing the distance I walked until I became tired and sat down beneath a large oak. Here I sat lost in thought until I was suddenly awakened by a shrill and cracked voice uttering strange words in my ear. 1 looked up and say an old woman in peculiar attire standing beside me. Her withered, wrinkled face gave me an impulse to flee. But she held me as if by magic and motioned me to follow. The next moment 1 fou d myself with her in a gypsy tent amid mysterious hangings of brilliant colors. From some hidden place plaintive strains of soft music drifted in. The fumes of sweet incense filled the air and seemed to overpower me. I lifted my eyes and met the stare of the old woman riveted upon my face. My will power was gone! I sank into unconsciousness. Just how' long 1 remained thus I’ve never known. I was aroused by the touch of cold hands on my head. When 1 had collected my thoughts I saw on the table before me a large envelope addressed in my own handwriting to Ambassador James R. Coggeshall, Constantinople, Turkey. In surprise I hastily opened it and found it was surely my own signature and handwri.ing. This is what 1 read:— Dear James:— April 20, 1944. No doubt this letter will cause you some surprise, as twenty years have passed since we graduated from St. John’s. A recent visit to our old home town brought back recollections of our happy school days and each member of the class of ’24 and is responsible for this letter. I was the guest of Helen Evans, now married to the present mayor of Darling- ton and presiding over her beautiful home with the same grace that was hers in school days. An invitation ot our class reunion given in the magnificent gymnasium hall of St. John’s was the occasion of my visit. It was certainly a joy to be there. The flowers used for decorations were “Larkspur” and the color scheme silver and blue. By the way, the flowers were furnished by the Darlington Flower House, owned by Mary jeffords and Wistaria Arnold. The ice-cream was furnished by Dick Hyman, who is the wealthy owner of several large factories in the south. It seemed only natural to have present our old class president, Louis Edwards. And to think he is now Governor of South Carolina! Dick Brown, our treasurer, who is now Harvard’s much famed football Coach, was present too. We received a telegram from our Secretary, Elizabeth Gray, expressing her regrets for not being there. She is a doctor at the head of a hospital in California. We heard of her work through Emma Rhodes and Virginia Flowers, head nurses there, who were present. I was appointed in her place to write you about our reunion. Twenty-Three