St Marys Academy - Chimes Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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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

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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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last very long for reasons which I'm sure are easily surmised by you, gentle reader. My final collection is at three o'clock-dis- missal time. Thatls really funny! I may get all of SOL but at least, I get something to add to the rising funds. And so at the end of a Monday, I feel like john W. Snyder and I look like G.I. Joe on his return from battle. Oh yes, I almost forgot, I also conduct a loan agency, which does a thriving business. Every girl, when her bank account is nil, pays her bills from the class dues. This has proved to be very beneficial, since each one pays, as soon as she can, the amount borrowed plus. Some of the girls ride home on the class dues they gave me that dayg but -the next day it comes back two- how proud We should be of . . . fold. Now and then, thirst prevails, and a few cokes are bought, or hunger strikes and the crowd moves to the local snack shop on a loan. This isnlt too helpful to me, because up there, we are inclined to go a little overboard. Even so, the -treasury is reimbursed promptly. At present, we are engaged in saving for our Senior prom. So, I have limited the loans to no more than 5045 per person. You see, we're going to have the best prom ever, because we are the UACESJ' Please don't think Ilm complaining about being the Senior tax collector. I'm just telling you the honor and fun it is to be treasurer for the H43 ACESY' Our Democracy EMOCRACY, a form of government, is a way of life that it sometimes taken for granted by the people who benefit from it. The American people realize what it is to fight for the freedom they know and need. Men have died so that their families and friends could enjoy life the way God intended it to be enjoyed. Anybody can just exist, but it takes a strong kind of person with the backing of a good gov- ernment to have the luxuries that will make his life happy and useful. Education is a main factor of American power. panic-stricken, I realized I was . . . ANNA BONELLI, '55 The happily playing children of today will be the serious, fighting men of tomorrow. They will be taught to decide for themselves, to know what they want in life, and to achieve and main- tain their goals in the best way possible. Today, men are dying for the right to be free, while in other parts of the world, men are de- voting their entire lives to building a govern- ment beneficial only to themselves. The will to work and be educated, combined with the desire for freedom, will keep America the most pow- erful nation in the world. Trapped I COULDN'T MOVE to the left. I couldn't move to the right. I was trapped. He knew it and so did I. I had gotten out of a lot of tough spots before this one, but now I did not know of a way out. There just wasn't any. His men were all around me, and, if I made ANN BEHAN, '55 one bad move, I was done for. But with all my carefulness and planning, he still got the jump on me, Then, getting up from my chair, I said, Gee, Uncle Sam, I don't -think I will ever beat you at a game of checkers!