Temple University School of Dentistry - Odontolog Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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not extract one half this number, broke a great many. Hut, too much space cannot be given to the various incidents of the Freshmen Year, frought though they were with many evidences of the wondrous quality of the Class. March drew near and as examination came close, the boys could be seen at all hours, most diligently consulting innumerable text books, in the endeavor to straighten out the phenomenon of tooth-development, to learn more of the nervous system of the star-fish, and reading with the greatest interest, the peculiarities of the habits, occupation and mode of life of the all important Staphylococcus, Pyogenes Aureus, Leptothrix Buccalis and others of this tribe. At last the examinations came on—needless to say they were very successfully negotiated and general rejoicing was everywhere evident. Now began the Spring Course, and as this is not a compulsory term, those of us who did not elect to remain, packed off, with all possible dispatch to other scenes. Of the Spring term and the Summer vacation there is nothing of importance to relate. The second stage in our advance began in October 1897, when we again assembled—this time as fully qualified Juniors. Again it became necessary to elect Class Officers, with the result that the following were chosen :—for President, H. G. Fischer ; Vice-President, S C. Frederick ; Secretary, A. VV. Walsh and Treasurer, Willing Vose. By the way, our Secretary this year was one who hails from the land of the Zulu, and if he is to be regarded as typical of the residents of that locality, it is a matter of much regret that some gigantic upheaval of nature does not occur, which shall forever obliterate that tract of country, for anything more fiendish than the expression of his countenance can hardly be imagined, when sadly questioned by some wearied classmate as to,“who lectures next,” he would reply with awful glee, “what does it matter—you have to attend every lecture every day. (There were about 19 lectures and clinics each day except Saturday, when there were only about 17.) Besides, this same gentleman, at a later stage nominated the importunate Class Historian—another reason for wishing him some condign fate. Now began the hardest year of our Course and if there be anyone who wishes to know what life in a Junior Year is like, it may as well be stated at once, that it must be endured before it can be realized. Indeed, life this term appeared to consist in a daily round of lectures and clinics, and no one, who has not tried the experiment can realize how hard wood can become. To anyone interested in the matter, we would suggest the experiment of sitting on a wooden bench for numberless hours each day for a period of seven months listening to lectures, and the knowledge thus gained will be vividly impressed on 42

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place, these seats being more remote from the Arena, were much more comfortable to sleep in, a fact very early recognized and appreciated. There was much to occupy our time and attention in this term. First, there was the upper story of the building to be explored, or that portion of it which was resigned to the occupancy of what are termed in Classical language “stiffs.” Here we were allowed—nay—very pressingly invited by Dr. Fritz, to spend several hours each day, and it was noticed, about this time, that some of our men were growing pale and nervous, due, it is said, to the fearful and awful nightmares, experienced by some of the more impressionable, as the result of their visit to this department. Then there was the Laboratory work to be attended to, and it is worthy of remark, that even thus early in our career, our achievements were great. A fair portion of each day was spent in “ drawing ” teeth—at a rough estimate, it may be said that a couple of thousand teeth were “drawn” in our Laboratory—a great number of them in a manner that can only be described as decidedly “ free-hand.” Nevertheless, out of this enormous number, it is undoubtedly a fact that not one was broken in the operation. This is certainly more than can be said of those extracted by the vain-glorious Senior Class, who, though they did 4

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the mind—also if there should happen to be any such trifling irregularity in the surface of the bench as a stray nail-head, or something of that kind, it too will leave an indelible impression. During this year we were afforded an opportunity to display to a wondering and admiring world, our remarkable skill in such matters as the making of all forms of fearful and wonderful crowns and bridges, orthodontia appliances and depositing plates. Let it be whispered, however, in this connection, that a very small drop of oil, carefully rubbed on a cracked porcelain tooth has been found most effective in concealing the existence of the said crack, and also that soft-solder when gilded over is somewhat hard to detect from the more refractory silver-solder. It was a matter of much satisfaction too—to a large portion of the Class, that the light is apt to grow dim about the hour of five p. m., in the months of December and January—possibly this may help to account for the large number of plates, crowns, and bridges that were “shown up” about this hour. The idea worked well for a short time, but Prof. Guilford, sees as far as most men and probably a little farther through such devices, and when after a little while the genial Dean would remark, “yes, sir, come this way,” and cordially usher the anxious student into his sanctum and proceed to examine the work in question before an electric light of what seemed to the now quaking individual to be of about 23,000 candle-power, the amount of work shown up at this time of day was greatly reduced and thereafter the early morning was thought to be a much more suitable hour for such inspections. Before arriving at this conclusion, however, truth compels us to state that mysterious consultations were constantly in progress between certain members of the Class and Mr. Perry R. Skinner, our electric wizard. It has been hinted that various flattering proposals were laid before this gentlemen, in fact it has even been suggested that a definite proposal was made, to the effect, that if on a certain day to be fixed in advance. 45