St Marys Academy - Chimes Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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struggle and of their children, who now had families of their own. HNow, Peter, said Pop, Uyou will begin your first job with me, tomorrow. Peter was thrilled. But, where? he asked. At my shoe-repair shop, of course,l' an- swered Pop. The next day, Peter learned from Pop the art of shoemending, and before long, he was speaking English and mending shoes with equal skill. Peter soon had many friends and was learning -to distinguish between the successful people and the unsuccessful. These early ob- servations and his humble past filled him with the determination to be successful himself. Hard work and a frugal life, he thought, f'were the keys to success. He practiced this motto and soon he had, with Pop's blessing a shop of his own. In less than a year, Peter had sent home enough money to buy his mother new clothes and his father new farm tools. The little village was buzzing with Peter's success story. Those few who were not convinced had their doubts dispelled when they learned that he had now arranged passage to America for his bro-ther, Nicholas. Before another year had passed, their brother, Anton, was joining his older brothers in the travels of . . A penn? There they all lie in a copper mound. What memories in them are found? See this tarnished one, new in '48. It has seen worry, every form of fate. Bright, new, without any trace of wear, Clutched tightly in a hand, pink and fair. The child watches closely and lets it drop, As the pile mounts higher to the piggy bank's top. The gaunt, old man, tottering and pale, Assured it will clink without fail Into his battered, old metal cup, Knows soon, he'll have a morsel to sup. Carelessly it passes from hand to hand, To some it means less than a grain of sand. Others, it beckons on like a flame, Attaining its grasp is no easy game. So it has traveled among varied and many, This tarnished, this whitened, this tired, old penny. Suzanne Simard, '55 America. By this time, however, Peter was planning new ventures and greater successes. Soon, the three boys were able to move west- ward. Here, Peter's honesty, good judgment and hard work launched them into a flourishing business, which was to grow and prosper until it became one of the outstanding enterprises in the country. Its founder, the skinny. immigrant boy, became one of America's millionaires. Anyone less sincere might by now have for- gotten his friends, helping hands, and encourag- ing smiles, but not Peter. For, true to his promise of long ago, he brought to America all of his family and any of the townsfolk who wished to come. More than that, he befriended, literally, thousands of people, personally, and later, thousands more, regardless of race, color, or creed. Peter's only regret was that he could not live long enough to see the whole world recognize and 'appreciate the noble purposes to which the American way of life is dedicated. In his last will, dictated from his death bed, he said, HI leave to the government of my be- loved America, a sanctuary of liberty, all my remaining worldly goods, in appreciation for the good, happy and free life she has given me. May this land never perish from the earth!'l-Peter. My queue! I have a Friend who walks with me, Down the path of life. He is my Comfort and my joy, Through gladness and through strife. I always put my hand in His, And let Him lead the way. Soon I find that we grow closer, With each passing day. He kneels beside me when I pray To His Father up above, And helps me ask for many things, To give the ones I love. I guess you know His name by now, His Kingdom has no end. He's Jesus Christ, the Son of God, My Savior and my Friend. Mary jo Checchia, ,55

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PETER'S GIFTS FROM AMERICA ANY PEOPLE CAME to pay their re- spects to Peter. He had a host of friends because during his life, this generous German had befriended his fellow man whenever pos- sible. His love of humanity was nurtured by the memory of his humble beginning with its poverty and hardships. His family had been good and holy, and long ago, they had prayed for deliverance from their difficult life. One day, Peteris mother had said, t'Let us all sacrifice and save every bit of money possible, so that we can send our eldest son, Peter, to America, that he may have an oppor- tunity to rise above the poverty in which he has been reared. After many months of hard work and self- sacrifice, the ambitious family had saved enough money to send Peter on his great adventure. His father had contacted an old friend in the New World who would gladly welcome and pro- vide a home for his son. Nearly everybody in the village knew of Peter's forthcoming journey, and when the day arrived for his departure, all the villagers ac- companied the traveler to the station, where, after kissing and embracing all, our young ad- venturer boarded the train. There was scarcely a dry eye in the crowd as the small train pulled away from the platform. The excited Peter enjoyed the new experience of riding in this strange vehicle. As mile added to mile between him and his home, his joy changed to sorrow at the thought of leaving his family and friends, and he became fearful of the task confronting him-that of making his own way in a country far from his family. Is it any wonder, for our young traveler was but twelve years of age? The little train rolled along and after a day and a night, Peter arrived in a great city, with its large station, great buildings and wide streets. All of this Peter greeted with astonishment and curiosity, for he had read of such places, but had never imagined they could possibly be so magnificent. As instructed by his parents, he went to the information desk in the station and inquired ADRIENNE M. DONAGHUE, '58 where and how he could reach the port from which his boat would sail that evening. Follow- ing the directions given, he walked along, en- joying the shop windows and the busy, crowded streets. Finally, arriving at the proper pier, he was more astonished than ever when he sighted the huge ship. He boarded the vessel and was simply amazed at its wonders. After much excitement and many questions, Peter was shown to his fourth-class quarters which made little difference to him because each new step of his journey became more revealing. Peter was to spend many days in crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and, except for two spells of sea sickness, he enjoyed it more than anything else in his life. Finally, he sighted that wondrous land he had read about-that land called America. It was as he had heard, a country with many tall buildings, a huge harbor and most important, a Statue of Liberty, which seemed to express the many freedoms of his new home. As his boat drew alongside the dock, Peter anxiously sought Pop Zeitsinger, wondering all the time whether the old gentleman would recognize him. All of a sudden, he heard a deep, German voice calling to him, t'Peter, Peter, over here, mein liebchenf' The boy's attention was drawn to a rotund man, hurrying -to embrace the little foreigner. Peter, with tears in his eyes, put his arms around Popls neck and sobbed, You are Poppa's friend, no? 77 f'Ya! Ya! Welcome to America!'i greeted his friend. 'fDry your eyes, you shall come home with me to Anna and have a good supper. Away they went, arm in arm, each carrying one of Peter's old bags. Anna beamed when she met Peter and pressed him to her bosom. Then she took his bags and showed him to his room. His foster mother filled a basin so that he might wash his hands and face. Then, all sat down to supper. When the meal was finished, they went into the parlor and listened to Peter's tale of Germany and of his family. Then, Pop Zeitsinger told of his long-ago voyage to America, of their early

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COLLECTING OLLECTING! That's my job, and it has been all through high school. fAnd I'm not referring to trash or knick-knacks.j Up until junior year, it wasn't taken too seriously, but in my third year, we all settled down to business. That was the year of your prom. As you may or may not know, proms require money, and lots of it. The weekly dues were upped to top notch and taxes were imposed on all un- fortunate members whose articles were left on the tops of desks or in lockers. We became rich over night! Then, after a whirlwind of planning, we held our prom, the one, the only, Christmas Rose Cotillionf' And over night we became poor! But, as we all agreed, it was well worth the money spent. Then, after all bills were paid, we really began to save again. We spent these savings on Senior Day, which turned out to be wonderful. We 'fAces had a marvelous time and so did our Buddies And now Senior year is here, and for a change, I'm collecting class dues. Let me attempt to describe to you a normal day of TRYING to collect these dues. Let's say itis a Monday morning and there's a handful of girls standing around, waiting for the 8:45 bell. I walk in and ask if anyone has class dues. Somebody screams, f'What, again? I just paid 254' last week. CI guess she has forgotten that dues are a weekly occurrence.J I explain this to her and she comes up with a quarter. I express my thanks. In the meantime, everybody else has sneaked into a huddle of conversation hoping I won't see them, but I do, and as I approach the circle, I hear a welcoming voice say, Oh, no! Not again! I just bought a dress last Saturday and I'm broke. Come around next week. CThis is usually from a girl who is one week in ar- rears.J I leave her and move on to the next. She stands there laughing. HI can give you 124' now and maybe the rest tomorrowfl I take it! ! ! Then, to find some change! After I give her back 136, she decides she wants to pay 1545 in- stead. And, of course, she wants her change in nickels, so she can be the first in line for the cokes at lunch time. Since then, a few more LETTY REMV, '55 girls have arrived. Once in awhile, somebody comes up and hands me a quarter before I even have a chance to suggest it. CI never come so near to fainting as when this phenomenon oc- curs.j As a rule, I PLEAD. I continue on my way, resolutely joining each circle. I get a few answers such as: Just put it on my bill. or My tuition will handle this. QThat's what they thinklj Then a girl runs up with a five dollar bill. UI-Iere, mark me down for the last four weeks and -the next week after thisf' I do, and there goes my change! Usually, after I lose all my change, I get another bill and I have to shake the bank for some small change. This is quite a job, but I get it! And so on my way,-out into the hall. There, I'm greeted with, Scatter! She wants moneylu QThank goodness I can run a little. I usually catch up with one or two unfortunates.J I'm in luck if they happen to have their pocket- books with them, otherwise, I just get an I.O.U. or a solemn promise to get it at lunch-which, by the way, is eaten up by the time I get there. Then, the last of my collections for the morning takes me to the powder room where everyone is taking off lipstick, taking down pin curls, putting on f'Trimfitl' socks, and polishing 'fsaddle-shoes. I usually get rich here because I take a firm and unyielding station by the door and nobody gets out without enriching my coffers. This is how I play doorman! While I am standing there, somebody comes up and points to my lips. This is to inform me that I have lipstick on. So,.I rub it off, still holding out the other hand for money. Another helpful soul tells me that I have the wrong socks on and so I try to change them. It is when I bend down, that I usually end up in the hall. By this time, the bell has already sounded, and I close my book Cfor awhilej and go to assembly. My next collection starts at lunch. This is murder! Everybody pays me in food. QI'm kidding, I love it.J If I ask for dues, I get two spoonfuls of ice-cream Qworth sp a spoonfulj or a couple of sips of coke. fThis runs about a nickells worth, too.J This collection doesnlt