Stockton High School - Guard and Tackle Yearbook (Stockton, CA)

Page 21 text:

I I :six 1 - W I I ' r' W 7 ' 2 nc I rr r- r -ou THE HAIRPIN By Ruth Baxter Having made a more or less exhaustive study of that often illusive but always necessary article of female habili- ment, that instrument of no little agony and perturbation of mind fancl headj, the hairpin, l find that in a less highly developed state of usefulness it has been used ever since the creation of the world. Eve, as in everything else, started the fashion in hair- dressing. l imagine she became tired of letting her abun- dant locks hang loosely about her shoulders, and, in trying to alter the arrangements thereof, stumbled upon one of the greatest discoveries of the age. No doubt Adam procured curved bones or bent twigs to be used in satisfying this whim of his exacting spouse. Right then another detail to make the life of woman complex was introduced by Adam. Of course it was his fault, for Eve never would have cared about her appearance if Adam hadn't been there to look at her. I have been unable to follow the evolution of the hair- pin through the ages in a minute way, but old manuscripts tell us of the elaborate hair ornaments used by the Persians and Egyptians. These, of course, were hairpins in a glori- fied state. The Greek and Roman women were more in I 31: nz Y F - - W Y 1 W -' :fu-no--nc -:Y-7' '- favor of ribbons and golden fillets, but at times resorted to the use of less poetic articles. Take a good look at the statues of Psyche and Niobe and even the Venus de Milo. Do you think such exquisitely simple coiffeurs could have been effected without the aid of the lowly hairpin? It is comforting to think that Minerva, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Queen Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, and the immortal Mary Pickford have sat before dressing tables and stuck in hairpins just as I have been doing the greater part of my life. Somehow I feel that these great women are slightly akin to my own humble self through their similar efforts at capital adornment. No one, I say to myself, is sufficiently great to be able to overlook the insignificant hairpin. But is it insignificant? ln size and appearance,-yesg but in utility,-no, a thousand times, no. l take an instan- taneous dislike to anyone whose hair is untidyg in fact, that is the first detail I consider on meeting a person. Possibly just one more hairpin would improve her personal appear- ance and win my approval and everlasting esteem. just imagine what would happen if the hairpin manufacturers should go on strikel Of course the article under discussion has more than one function. It occurs to me that l have read more than one book in which the noble hero or the crafty villain unlocks 1:37 1 1..1p.1..1..1.,1..... 1 i-Yuan-:: 1:4-::7:ia1a :: , - 1

Page 20 text:

I-....u.-q-u-1.1.4.-lp1W1..-....1g.1 .-1115.111-pq.--11.4-1.111-.g..l.1. u'u:n1ll1lp1un:u-ln1ll-:u1lc'- : -uni :: -ll1l: -za-n:fn-n-n:::-:u::u1u just got in, the voice continued. My wife and I have just arrived on our honeymoon. P'raps we'll run up to see you tomorrow. Phil dropped the receiver in his agony of thought. Was it--could it possibly be that Ted was married to Jean, his jean, the main reason for his coming to the city? He man- aged to answer, Oh, do, l'll be delighted to see you and fwith a gulpl --your wife. lt is needless to say that Philip spent an almost sleepless night. Perhaps it would only be fair to explain something of Philip Caster's former life. He was the only child of wealthy parents in the small town of Grantdale. ln his youth he had been much petted and pampered by a fond mother. After graduating from high school, he had entered college, and it was there that he had learned to care for Jean Marshall, a girl he had known all his life. But Jean, while she cared for him, resented his being supported by his father. She had a different ideal of a husband. He must be able to work for himself and for her. This was the cause of Phil's departure from college and from Grantdale. He now gave promise of fair success in newspaper work, but in his loneliness the petting that had been bestowed on him showed its effect in his jealousy. And Phil surely was jealous, although he would not for a moment have admitted it. sr- is as as as i'Parties to see lVlr. Caster. Sadie's voice roused Phil who was in a reverie of dreams in which Jean was the principal character. jumping into his clothes, he dashed down the stairs to find awaiting him Ted Buttrick and a strange young man. Wh-where's your wife? stammered Phil. u-an-111ml-in-nu.-u1ln.-nl1l 1un1uu-u-u1u-nu-Il1-uu-uu-un1:s1ll-pp-u1 Just a little joke on you, returned Ted. l'm in town to get married. Thought you'd like to stand up with me at the ceremony this afternoon. Jean lVlarshall's going to be bridesmaid. Phil grabbed a hat from the rack. Come on, he said, Show me to that wedding, and be quick about it! -Dorothy Stowe, '20. Left The sky is blue, the river bright, The waves are dancing with delight, The earth is glad, my heart is gay, Sweet Kitty Somers comes this way. The sky is dark, the river grey, It is a gloomy, doleful day, The earth is sad, and sad am l, lVliss Katharine Somers passed me by. -Borrowed. X A POSSIBILITY l only kissed her handg ls that why Bernice dislikes me? l cannot understand- l only kissed her hand l deserved a reprimandg - But another notion strikes me, l only kissed her hand, ls that why Bernice dislikes me? -Adapted. 1g..1pg1q1u-qq.,q..-.gin1.u-ql.-n-ql..gl-.q-.gg-u-.pg-.q.-g

Page 22 text:

+-qw-u1 nz. an-xii: 1: ::-::7:iu1u1u+:s:- 11.1.-4:1-gm ru.-gixmglg 171 gg 3 I ,I gig-'11 Jiqlg-'z 11173 1. something or other containing the heroine's most cherished treasure with the aid of that ingenious little tool. And there is the automobile, coughing with asthma or limping with rheumatism, that is cured by using a hairpin. l never could exactly figure how these colossal feats were accomplished, but they must have been, for l have read about it. If you are an amateur biologist, a splendid magnifying glass can be made from a bent hairpin and a drop of water. And, shall l mention it?-I have seen, yes, actually seen, a hairpin used as a substitute for that instrument outlawed by soci- ety, the toothpick! There are countless other offices which may be performed with that object, remarkable for its ver- satility, the hairpin, but I will not enumerate them. A Now, l like to have just so many hairpins. Each one has its accustomed place, and, once it is in, it is never changed. Nor can l use any one that comes first to hand, but must have a certain one for a certain place. This, of course, is unduly particular, but I do not like to see pins carelessly placed anywhere, or listlessly dropping out. If a girl puts a bone pin in one side of her pug, for goodness sake, let her put another one just like it in the opposite side. And what is worse than this, is to see at least seventeen steel pins sticking in all directions all over the head, giving the impression that the poor girl has more hairpins than hair. However, like all necessary articles, a hairpin has its drawbacks. Have you sat through a funeral service with your hat pressing firmly against a pin which seems to be implanted in your cranium? It is a thrilling sensation, to say the least, and would test the stoicism of a wooden image. l have had my recitations for a whole day ruined because l couldn't extract a pin which was tickling the top of my ear. Perhaps a similar incident so irritated Queen Elizabeth that she could not refrain from having Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded because, being a man, he never was an- noyed by the bothersome things. Thus it may be seen that the humble hairpin has pos- sibly played a greater part in the destiny of the world than has been accredited to it by the historians. It is an accepted fact that small, seemingly insignificant things have always played a large part in the lives of great men and the fate of nations. Franklin's horse-shoe nail is a notable example of this: and does the horse-shoe nail occupy a more elevated position on the social register than the hairpin? xi: 11 lc 1: J: ::1::7n: --1 --7-- -- zzizf- 1:71 : : :l1q1ul1al7:: in 2: '1 lil 1 lx-in lv-ur. .Ju1l:Tl 177: tl 1:7 7711-as