University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

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i 7 . History of the C ass o 44 Dear Students and Faculty Members: I am glad you have asked me to relate the history of my graduating class to you because l am sure we have all found it to be the hap- piest and most eventful four years we have ever spent. lflfhen we made our first appearance at Mississippi Southern College in the fall of l94O we had a freshman class of lO5. We were greeted on the campus by the upperclassmen and were taken on a tour of the city, introduc- ed to the mayor and other city officials and then back to school for a robin-hand shake and punch. Our class was just as green as they come, although we at that time disagreed: but of course we changed our minds on freshman day when we found ourselves crawling around the campus at the shout cf an upperclassman. We respected them, however-to the extent that we dressed quite attractively for the occasion. Our dress-all in uniform, incidentally-consisted of short dresses worn wrong side outwards, hind part before, with knee-length black bloom- ers, white cotton stockings, and unmated shoes. 'We also introduced a new coiffure, although we noticed not any of the upperclassmen ac- cepted our style to such a degree that they copied us. l really don't know why-it couldn't be because we complained, because we didn't dare! This new hair-do consisted of several plaits with coat-hangers hanging from them. As for the boys on this day-well, we thought they were very disrespectful. They didn't even go to the trouble to dress-they just came to class with their pajamas on. However, we will admit some were decent enough to wear nightcaps and robes. They all had the familiar hair out that is usually seen around college campuses at the first of the school year. We ended the day by entertaining the student body at the football game between halves. With our class there came a number of new faculty members. They included Miss Allie 'Nord Billingsley, Miss Willery lackson, Mr. S. A. Vlfilkinson, Dr. H. C. Steele, Miss Forrest De- Lano, and three new matrons, Mrs. S. A. Wil- kinson, Mrs. C. T. Singleton, and Mrs. Selah Carmichael. Mr. H. M. Craft was made vice- president and Mr. Balph Hayes, business mana- ger. Some of the events which we will long re- member as freshmen are the wonderful football and basketball games which kept us in such high spirits, and the friendliness of the student body and facultyp the time the student body and faculty members were up at dawn to assist in the registration out at Shelbyg the Bed Cross work that was begun on our campus: then of course the rush week and hell week held by our different sororities nad fraternities are add- ed to our precious memories. Our class was led through a very success- ful year with Moran Pope serving as president: Anne Gilliam, vice-presidentg Sunshine Mason, secretary and treasurer, lack Thigpen, reporter, and Dr. H. A. Shands as sponsor. At the close of our freshman year we were no longer green freshmen but were ready to be referred to as Hupperclassmenf' September, l94l, found us a large lively bunch of Sophomores ready for more work and play. We had to make new adjustments: world affairs were becoming more serious, and by the end of the year many of our boys had entered some form of service or were enrolled in re- serve corps. There was a drop in the student enrollment but even so our school continued with a high morale. We elected as president of our class Billy McLendong he served with Ormond Pringle as vice-president, Karl Bishop as secretary and treasurer, and Elizabeth Rischer as reporter. One new faculty member was added to the staff, W. E. Barksdale as Dean cf Students. Many events took place this year-some very good, some undesirable. We had a girls' honorary fraternity organized, Phi Delta Rho. This year we had an undefeated football sea- son and had one of the l8 unbeaten teams in the United States. This was also the first year for a girl to be the bell ringer and the first year since the name of the college was changed to Mississippi Southern that the school had an alma mater. Also in this year we will always remember the date December 7, and the way conditions changed after then. We will always remember, too, that it was in the spring of this year we lost one of our beloved professors, Dr. Peterson. After Pearl Harbor our school was all out for defense. 'We had organized on our campus a civilian defense school, in which every stu- dent participated. Blackout practices were often held and more students worked in the Bed Cross centers. The atmosphere had almost complete- ly changed by the end of our sophomore year. We had come from the fun and frolic to the more serious state. The girls continued in high spirits but the change was almost a sudden one and it took a student body with a lot of ambi-

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MRS. KA'THLEEN CHIPLEY L Forest Public School Music Major VERA BELLE DOOLEY . . L c,cc, Lessley Commerce Major CARRIE EASTERLING . . .L . . . Merton Home Economics Major MARY ELIZABETH GLANNEN cc.c . Hattiesburst Chemistry Major: Sigma Sigma Sigma MARY FLORENCE GRAHAM .ccc Waynesboro Social Studies Major EUGENIA KATHRYN GRIFFIN L ,Leakesville Music Major: Alpha Mu Chi, Mu Omega, Vesper Choir. NEVA GRIP FIN .....II.IIIIIIIIcc . I..IIII .,.I.,II..,, M eridtan Upper Elementary English Major FRANCES MARIE HERRON IIIIII . .,II., L Courtland English and Social Studies Major IESSIE HELEN HUNT c,acci. L , IIIIIII O ,I,. Saucier Lower Elementary English Major DIMPLE LANE ...I, L .IIIIIII ,,III . I,IIII,IIII.,.IIIII L Forest Home Economics Majorg Sophomore class, secretaryg Wesley Foundation, vice-presi- dentg Home Economics club, secretary: Best Dressed Girly Sigma Theta Kappa. VIRGINIA LOUISE LEWIS . L . . cI,ILLc,IIc. Iackson Home Economics Majory Mu Omega, presi- dent: Pan-Hellenic Council, vice-president: Home Economics clubp Miss M.S.C.p Best Dressed: Campus Favorite. LOIS CHRISTINE MCBETH cccc., , ..cIc.,...ccIc,... Lena Lower Elementary Education Major Avery, Mildred ccccrcccccc Aycock, Lillie Mae .iii.... Bishop, Hazel Slay ,iiiiiii,.,ii Blackwell, Rubie Mae MRS. GERALDINE MERCER Lena Commerce and Social Studies Major MRS. GRACE NESTER Rose Hill Lower Elementary History Major MRS. MARY IANE PARKER Moselle Upper Elementary English Major BILLIE IEAN PIGOTT Tylertown Lower Elementary Education Major ALMA SAUCIER . . . Perkinston Commerce Major VERA SMITH iiiiii I . iiiii . .iii ,,ii, .iiii L ucien Home Economics Major MARGARET KATHERINE STRAIT Brookhaven Home Economics Major MARY GRACE STRINGER iiiii, Summerland Piano majorg Vesper Choirp Band, l942-435 Sigma Theta Kappa, Alpha Mu Chi. ALFREDA LOUISE THOMPSON Holmesville English and Mathematics Major IEPTHY TOUCHSTONE Lciii Crystal Springs Mathematics and Social Studies Major EUNICE ELOISE TULLOS L L Philadelphia Lower Elementary History Major MINNA MARIE VINSON . .. , i,ii Waynesboro English and Social Studies Major MRS. THELMA WHEAT L Columbia Lower Elementary English Major NON -GRADUATIN G SENIORS Batesville Hillsboro Pinola Columbia Blakeney, Sammie Brinkley iii,,,.-,,,iii Booneville Brister, Roselle I ii..rrr . . ii,,ii . iiii ..ii . i.,.,i,, , West Crenshaw, Ernest rrrrrrrrr rr..rr.r ,.r,... N e shoba Cunningham, Florence ....i.,r .iii.,,,, N ewton Donald, Melba lean ,,..i ..iiiiii,,i,,,ii I. Lena Duncan, Ira Inez r,.. . .rrrr. .iii..,.. T ylertown Dykes, Rebecca iii.iii Fillingame, Ola Tylertown Purvis Hanna, Beulah i.,,.,.,. . .... Walnut Grove Hanna, Viola ,rii,iii,iiiii I, , i,i,i. Walnut Grove Hearn, Florence rr.,i,.,i. iiiii. I , i.,,,i,,,,,, Mileston Hightower, Elizabeth iiiii ,iiii,,i . Hattiesburg Holcomb, Frances ,.r,.,,,iii . iiiiii Waynesboro Houston, Gertrude .. ..,. ,,,iiiii. ,,,-iii U n ion Iohnson, Clementine , ir.I..,,, Poplarville Kyle, Mary ,.i,....iiii....ii i..i.iii G eorgetown Langdon, Mary Lee, Leonard .iii.,,. L Lewis, Eugenia .rrr..iii McKenzie, Buford McRee, Dora Lois . Miller, Almyra iiii L Moore, Myrtle . .iii.ii I Myrick, Ora ,r..iii,. Pettus, Lucille i,..i Phillips, Dean .,.. Purvis, Louise . ,,,i,i, I Rhodes, Thelma I Rimes, Blanche , ...ii L Magnolia Hattiesburg Star Collins Crandall Ouitman . . iiii Philadelphia Heidelberg . ...,i.. Eden Walnut Grove Star Union Church .. .... .rrr..i.. Summit Rutledge, Mrs. lohn O . Sandersville Simmons, Virginia ..ii . .. .,,ii Columbia Smith, Mary Critton . Hattiesburg Stringer, Norma Alice I .I Bay Springs Swan, Hubert I iiii , I Lumberton Turner, Iames H. . ,i.ii. ..iii H attiesburg Vtfeathersby, Margie . Webb, Maudine L .riii,. , I . ..ii I Hattiesburg . .ii.,.i ii,,,. F orest

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tion to maintain the pre-war morale. Besides many of our boys leaving for the service, we also had three instructors to go. They were Coach Vann, Mr. W. H. Ford and Dr. I. F. Wal- ker. Among our sophomores receiving honors during this year we find Elizabeth Bischer vot- ed wittiest in our annual Who's Who contest and Bill Mclsendon voted best-dressed boy. Those selected as beauties in The Southerner, our annual, were: Sunshine Mason, Lillian Cooper, Doris Evans, leanne Donovan, Anne Gilliam, and Tommye Lou Dabbs. Before the end of the year our class presi- dent, Billy McLendon, paid a visit to President Boosevelt, and later joined the Navy. The next year brought much excitement to our class as well as the rest of the student body. lt was in the fall of '42 that our college was honored to have an Army Administration school on our campus. lt was about the best morale booster we could have had, and l'm sure all of you enjoyed the good times that we shared together. There also came to us three new instructors this year: Mr. W. L. johnson, Mr. A. D. Gwings, and Mr. 'William V. Harlan. Mr. B. W. Curry was chosen as business manager of the col- lege. Among those teachers who left us were Miss Cora Webb Bass, English instructor who took her place with the Women's Army Auxil- iary Corps: Coach Beed Green, who went to the Navy: lohn M. Frazier, who joined the Army Medical Corps: and Business Manager Ralph Hayes, who entered the State Guard. Members of our faculty to enter the field of matrimony included Mrs. Angela Lacey McConville, Mrs. Gladys Bingham McAllister, and Mrs. Mary Theresa Poe Baylis. Sadness dwelled on the campus on Wed- nesday, September l0, when Dr. W. H. Weathersby, professor of education, died of a heart attack. Among our honor students we find john l. Hibbett, Frances Mclntosh, Moran Pope, Eliza- beth Bischer, and Bobert Thompson represent- ed in Who's Vtfho in American Colleges and Universities. Moran Pope received the good citizenship award. ln our Who's Who contest lohn l. Hibbett was voted as best dressed boy, Merle Carr and Perry Waldvogel as cutest cou- ple, and Bobert Thompson as most handsome boy. We were led through another successful year with President Charles Vifallace, Vice- President Dorothy Gentile, Secretary-Treasurer Sunshine Mason, and Beporter Dot Price. Ah! At last that long-hoped-for year has come! The lowly green freshmen of '40 have become the highly honored seniors of '44. This year has been one of great events. We elected as our leaders lohn T. Brent, president: Katherine Mobley, vice-president: Sunshine Mason, secretary-treasurer: Madelon McMul- lan, reporter: and Dr. McLemore, sponsor. Social life on the campus entered a new phase this year. The cooperation between our school and the Army Administration school offered much entertainment: but by the end of lanuary the Army school had been transferred and we were left almost manless again. Thanks to the Social Life committee arrangements were made for the Social center to remain open on Friday and Saturday nights from 7 to 9:50 p. rn. and on Sundays from 3 to 5 and from 7 to 3:50. The senior girls were also permitted FO have dates in the dormitory lobbies on nights during the week, and outside boys were allowed to come to school socials and date the girls pro- vided they were on the approved list. The enrollment was low but the spirit high. The girls showed their leadership ability. Last year we introduced Mae Elizabeth Brigance as the first girl bell-ringer. This year we have two other girls taking leading positions which have up until this year been occupied by a man. They are Alice Stringer, president of the Stu- dent Body, and Dot Price, business manager of the Student Printz and the college yearbook. lntra-mural sports played an important part this year and brought us all closer together. The night of November 20, l943, became a his- torical one for the sororities on our campus as the finest Pan-Hellenic dance made its debut in the college gymnasium. Later came the stu- dent body's second annual Christmas banquet, which is to be a permanent feature of Southern's social life. Seniors represented in Who's Vtfho in American Colleges and Universities were Me' le Carr, Dorothy Gentile, Sunshine Mason, Alice Stringer and lohn T. Brent. Those represented in our campus 'Who's Vifho contest were lohn T. Brent, Mr. M. S. C.: Virginia Lewis, Miss M. S. C.: Mary Bush Sheppard, girl with best line: Mattie Lois Barksdale, friendliest girl: Alice Stringer, most collegiate girl: Lillian Cooper, most beautiful. Those of our seniors who have married dur- ing this year are: Marguerite Thetford, Marvel Turner, Moran Pope, luanita Herring, and Elizabeth Brumfield. Few changes in the faculty were made. Dr. McLemore was made Dean of Students: Miss Mary Anne Oden, former M.S.C. student, and Mrs. lane Ballard were added to the music faculty: Miss Mildred Anne Martin was elect- ed Nursery School tea Zher, and Mrs. Schwartz became Physical Educatioii instructor. All through our college life improvements have been made on our campus, and this year especially we are proud to witness the beau- tification program which is underway. Vfe are also proud of the wonderful tennis courts given us, the sun-parlors on the dormitories, the new outdoor fireplace, and the new roofs which add much beauty to our buildings. All of these im- provements will remain in our beautiful meincr- ies of M.S.C. We are greatly honored to be a part of the college when it was chosen as one