Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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THE TOWER LIGHT Baltimore County Tournaments HERE origniated in Europe, during the Middle Ages, a game or pastime that was destined to carry on into this modern world of today. During the Middle Ages, lords and nobles always kept knights to do their bidding. Their bidding consisted mainly of fighting the lord's battles. ,During peace time, however, the knights often grew restless and desired some means of physical exercise. There was, too, a need for the knights to practice their aft of combat. Both of these necessities were realized and fulfilled with the introduction of Ujoustingf' 'floustingn was a very simple game as far as rules and regulations were concerned. The sole object of the contest was to win. The knights, mounted on magnificent chargers, entered an inclosure that was especially built for the game, the contestants lined up at either end of the field and at the bugle call charged upon one another with set spears. The results of these games were often fatal to the losers but the winner was acclaimed as a hero. As years went by the game was modified by giving the knights blunted spears. With these spears they were able to unseat their opponents with out causing fatal injury. This modification changed the aspect of the game because it eliminated almost entirely the possibility of fatal in'ur to either of the articipants. l Y P r In modern times the game of jousting has been modified still further. Today's conception of the game is based on the same principles as those of yesteryear. However, our method of determining the winner is entirely free of any possibility of fatal injury. I shall try to explain our conception of the game but only actual observation will show you the skill, training and sportsmanship that is required of all who participate. First, three arches are erected in a straight line, twenty-five yards apart. These arches consist of two uprights with a cross piece at the top. Hanging downward from the center of the cross piece is an iron rod with a clamp in the end of it. A ring, ranging in size from one inch to three eighths of an inch, is inserted in that clamp. First, the one inch rings are hung in each of the three arches. Each rider, mounted on a horse that has been especially trained for this work, gallops -through the three arches. His object is to secure all the rings on a lance which he carries under his arm. He is given only a limited time to get through the arches, usually about eight seconds to cover seventy yards. The riders who are skillful enough to get all of their one inch rings are then forced to ride at smaller rings. Those who miss are eliminated. The rings are diminished in size until all but one has missed. That man is adjudged win- ner because he has taken more consecutive rings than any other knight. The riding is only a part of the game. The best part is yet to come. 7

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THE TOWER LIGHT make them seem, in the company of their class-mates, strange creatures, if not eccentric ones. Situations will confront them in which they will ind themselves at an utter loss, not having one inkling of an idea of what to meet or how to meet it. In short, they will ind the going tough-all because, it must be remembered, they have not yet mastered the habit of adjustment. In no manner are they any less intelligent than their com- panions, and to maintain that they are, would be distinctly in bad taste and wrong. It is to be hoped that in time these individuals will fall in with the rest. At any rate, it will take time. With themselves they must be, if nothing else, patient and understanding, allowing as little rashness and youthful impetuousity as is possible to govern their thinking and doing. In the end they will win out and they will ind their reward a generous one. LEON L. LERNER, Fr. 4. 69.935 Cinquains A friend Is one we love - With whom to laugh and Cry- Whose love for us will stand unmoved Always. Teacher - Leader of youth - Stimulator and guide- What joy and help a kind one brings To us. Shoot it! I am on side linen Familiar echoes of Basket-ball's happy, exciting Ventures. Letters What do they mean? A.M.g B.A.g M.A. These things for which we try and try Again. BETTY STRAINING, '37, 6

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THE TOWER LIGHT The winners of the first four places in the contest are given cash prizes totaling at times as high as one hundred dollars. In addition to that they are privileged to crown a girl who is their choice as the queen of love and beauty. The winner crowns the queen, the runner-up the first maid and so on down the list. Jousting , or tournament riding, as it is sometimes called, is to me one of the Hnest contests or exhibitions of skill that has ever been intro- duced to this continent. To become a good rider one must first secure a fine horse and work hours and hours to train him. It makes for a finer understanding between humans and animals. Secondly, it gives a man the feeling that he is a part, a vital factor, in the progress of time. Jousting has been handed down to us and we are passing it on, keeping alive in the memories of the ages past, present and future, a very in.terest- ing part of the life of the Middle Ages. Certainly the characteristics of the knights of Chivalry, namely, honesty, courage, sportsmanship and kindness, would be an attribute to any of us today. Participating in the game of jousting is a means of accomplishing those ideals. Men like Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Richard the Lion Hearted exempliied men to be emulated by a rising generation. Finally, but no means least, tournament riding tends to provide for a wiser use of our leisure time. To be a success one must practice at least an hour and a half daily. This practice gives one an opportunity to develop mental alertness, physical capability, and a deeper understanding of the fact that history is a series of steps marking the progress of mankind. MELVIN COLE, '3 6. CEM Return to Life In the past when one was offered green vegetables in mid-winter, he coud be fairly certain that they had come from that great American tradition, the tin can. The frosted peas, beans and corn served to the students in the dormitory gave the first hint that civilization had ridded itself of tin shackles. These vegetables look and taste as though they had just been plucked from the vines. A scientist on a vacation inthe Far North, by making a hole in the ice, caught a fish which froze very quickly when it reached the below zero atmosphere. Stiff and hard it was dumped into warm water to thaw out before it could possibly be fit for the frying pan. Several hours later the scientist was amazed to see his catch swimming serenely in the tub. This return to life puzzled him until, by experimentation, he found that not only fish, but all kinds of flesh, vegetables and fruits could be kept fresh for an indefinite period of time by a similar quick freezing process. M. T. AND H. D. 8