Sweet Briar College - Briar Patch Yearbook (Sweet Briar, VA)

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Briar Batch JrxE. Tlie end of tlie year has really come and I hate to sjo home. I never thouj ht I should. The spring has been so beautiful here and the swimming so nice. Then, May Day and Finals were such a success. Dear old Sweet Briar! Whether or not I return in the fall I shall love to think back upon the joys and sorrows which I have experienced here. Here I have met the Great Unknown and have conquered homesickness, have experienced the pleasures of friendship and the bitterness of vexations. Life is a wonderful teacher after all. SOPHOMORE YEAR September, 1913. Well, here I am back again after all. I knew last June that I should have to come, even though my roommate couldn ' t make it. We ' re all Sophs this year, and I guess we ' ll make those little Freshies sit up and take notice. They look like a pretty scared bunch, even thougli they have almost twice as many members as we. Tlie new girls are nice looking on the whole ; some sad birds, of course — that ' s inevitable in the best-regulated of colleges. I think I shall go in for the cinch courses this year. No more grinding than can be avoided for me. I really don ' t think the sole object in going to college is to learn a lot. I think one should develop in other ways as well. Our class has depreciated somewhat in numbers but not in quality. We are much more unified than last year. Can ' t wait to show the Freshies a tiling or two. ii ' i October. Have decided to go in for basket-ball and tennis. Anyway, there ' s nothing like trying. Had a slight skirmish with the P ' reshies yesterday, but not much success on either side. It was about banners, as usual. NoVEiMBER. Well, the biggest event of the year has transpired. To history it will probably be known as the Affair of the caps and gowns or What happened at the Martin- dales ' . ' The facts of the case are as follows: The Freshmen had stolen the Seniors ' caps and gowns which they were supposed to assume on the 19th of this month. Much agitation among the Seniors and consequently among us, too, followed by stern resolves to find the missing garments. By a telephonic ruse we ascertained that they were hidden down at the Martindales ' — so down there we went. The 27

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Briar Battl) .- 1 This afternoon we had our first class meeting. It was called by Henrietta Washburn, the president of the Junior Class. We have nearly forty members. For our president we elected Clare Erck, who is an old girl and who seems to know a lot. Then we decided upon amethyst and gold for our colors and Facta, non verba for our motto. We are going to ask Miss Gascoigne to be our honorary member. She is so attractive, I don ' t wonder every one likes her. I am beginning to feel like a real college girl at last. James sent me a W. L. banner to-day. That makes my 53d, and I have them all up in my room. October. Our first fudge party this evening. We did have such fun. We all wore boudoir caps and kimonos, and after the candy was made we turned out the light and told ghost stories. This must be real college life. I may come back after Cliristmas after all. My Senior (I call her mine, though of course she isn ' t) is so nice. I tliink if I were a man I should fall in love with lier. Elsie ! — tliat is my favorite name, so I call her that even though it isn ' t hers. November. I sent Elsie some flowers to-day witli the words From an unknown admirer. Dear little diary, I can pour out all my .secrets to you! I ' m afraid Elsie doesn ' t even know who I am. February. We had our first real class figlit to-night. Tlie So]iliomores were trying to get our banner from us, but we managed to elude them all right. At the blowing of a whistle by our president we all rushed out to guard the banner which we had put up on the cupola. The Sophs tried to lasso it and pull it down, but were unable to do so and the banner still waves on high. I guess they will realize now that they have foemen wortliy of their steel. March. I took over two examinations to-day — French and Latin. Several members of our class have flunked out. We have had two more class fights and Miss Benedict has had to pass her no-personal-violence regulations. Ours is certainly a fighting class. May. We won the tennis championsliip. How fine it is to be a Freshman ! 26

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Briar Batch T y Freshmen and Seniors went too. Obvious result — a huge fight, wliich promised to last until morning unless some sort of compromise could be reached. Result again — intervention from Miss Benedict. Eventually tlie gowns were given over into her keeping to remain there until Founder ' s Day. The poor little Freshies didn ' t realize that we were getting just what we had aimed at — the return of the Senior insignia — and that they were losing what they had fought so hard for. I repeat, ours is a fighting class. December. We pasted green labels — FRESHMAN — on all the Freshmen ' s trunks to-day. M. RCH. Well. I guess we got the Freshmen ' s goat to-day. tliough of course they don ' t admit that they ' re missing anything. Their class play was to come off to-night, and naturally they were just a bit nervous as to whether we would try to interfere or not. As a matter of fact there was nothing we could do. They liad taken so many precautions that there can ' t be many left in the world now, but we decided to heighten their nervousness just for the scenic eifect. An automobile drove up — ostensibly to kidnap one of their actresses — intense emotion — but nothing doing — increased apprehensions — redoubled precautions — the automobile drives away. The curtain falls. Class spirit certainly is a fine thing. ,IuNE. The end of another year. Would you belicvi Freshies. See you in the fall. Ta. ta. Sweet Briar; ta, ta. JUNIOR YEAR September, 191 1. A Junior! How old that sounds, and indeed how old it feels! There is a wide gap between the Sophomore and Junior classes. The puerile contests between the lower classes seem removed from us by aeons of time. How immature were we then with our undeveloped views of the exciting, of the pleasurable. It is incon- ceivable to us now that we should have derived so much enjoyment from such un- intelleetual pursuits. But I suppose it is to be accounted for by the natural fact of mental development. What pleases at one age actually annoys at another. There 28