Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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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

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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 On Wings of Time T would be difficult to discover a more unusual celebration than that which was held in and around Hagerstown, Md. this fall. This Little World's Fair , with its unique standing, marked not one anniver- sary, but six. . . From September 4th to September 17th, Hagerstown bade welcome, to help observe this astonishing coincidence of dates: B The 75th anniversay of the Battle of Antietam The 200th anniversary of the settling of Washington County The 175th anniversary of the founding of Hagerstown The 150th anniversary of the cruise on the Potomac River of the first Steamboat invented by James Rumsey The 100th anniversary of the first railroad in that section. A quarter of a million people crowded into Hagerstown in those two weeks, and their visit was rewarded by parades, commercial displays, a sham battle on the held of Antietam, an address by the President of the United States, athletic games, balls and dances, and numerous other public festivities. In such a mixture of solemnity and gaiety were the six events commemorated. Special emphasis throughout was placed on the anniver- sary of the Battle of Antietam, partly because the funds appropriated by city, county and nation were for that specific purpose, and partly because of all divisions of the joint celebration, Antietam offered the mast unusual opportunity. . , Activity in Hagerstown centered at the Fair Grounds, where corps of workmen labored to prepare various buildings, displays, attractions and settings for the big pageant. Some 10,000 trees were shipped to the grounds by the State Department of Forestry to lend additional atmosphere to the Hfty-two acre Fair Grounds. Every conceivable type of object of histori- cal importance or interest was displayed in a Historic Objects Museum. Flanking the approach of this building there was erected an amphi- theatre, sponsored by Baltimore City, seating 2,500 people and presenting daily vocal and instrumental concerts together with two Little-Theatre productions per week. Farther down the midway there was plenty of excite- ment to be found in the Wild Life Exhibit. From the east came the constant pufhng and noise of whistles of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road's priceless relics, the same which drew people from every section of the nation to the Fair of The Iron Horse in Baltimore some years ago. Rich in museum pieces, the railroad ran special tracks to the Fair Ground and into the pageant path for its use in that connection, and opened for inspection their proudest possessions in modern railroad equipment. The principal event of every day was the pageant, for which selected 9 1.33 B9