Weber State University - Acorn Yearbook (Ogden, UT)

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Cl)t iScorn of tfje S Ieher italic £eabemp Brighter days are in store for the commercial departmen The increase in facilities and additional teaching force to 1 added next year will make it possible to introduce advance ideas and to strengthen, very materially, the present work. Next year the bookkeeping department will occupy the lar$ room on the second floor of the new building. This room w be newly and specially furnished. The students in first year bookkeeping have done better at more work than students of previous years. Most of them w complete the three budgets of the Sadler-Rowe system. The first year phonography students completed the manu about April first, and since that time have been reviewing ai practicing for speed. fEfje TSMay of a Ptrb One afternoon while I was sitting on a box at the south ei of an old shack, my attention was attracted by a male sparro looking for straws with which to build his nest. He was, as afterward found out by comparison, an unusually large ar beautiful specimen. He seemed to know that he possessed mo: than ordinary strength, as he seized a large straw from whic hung smaller ones and a bunch of matted string. I thoug that he had got hold of more than he could carry to his nes but I was mistaken. He dropped his load, hopped around several times before he could decide on the best way to tal hold of it, picked it up, and flew with it to a nearby fence. I- rested there for a moment and then flew to the roof of a bar From there he hopped with his load to a place under an eav where he was helping his mate to build a nest. I sat and watched the two work for some time. Then tl thought came to me, “catch Mr. Sparrow, and see what h mate will do.” I got a long piece of string, made a slip-kn loop in one end, and greased the loop so that it would si easily. I then got a ladder and climbed up to to the nest. 20]

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tEfje Scorn of tfje fEHcber tafec Scabcm? years in length has an opportunity of becoming efficient,—yes expert in commercial branches, in connection with general high school work, if he but have the desire and determination. In this line of work there is an urgent necessity for high ideals. The student who starts his work in typewriting and shorthand with the intention of learning enough to enable him to take a position at the bottom of the stenographic help in some office, realizes his desires to the extent that he is able to take a letter at a moderate rate of speed and make a fair transcription. But the student who enters the work with a position as court steno- grapher in view, who sees a speed one-hundred-seventy-five or two-hundred words per minute ahead of him is the one who is going to get the position that pays the salary, and it is he that is going to make rapid strides in the business world should he choose to leave the stenographic profession. And in book- keeping the student who desires to learn how to keep books in a small grocery store or meat market usually acquires enough knowledge of the subject to post sales slips, and keep a simple ledger; but it is he who is determined to be the head book- keeper of a large business office that usually fills that position. Efficiency should be the watch word of every commercial student. It is within the power of every one to be an expert. Skill in shorthand is but the conscious training of mind and body to act unconsciously. Skill in typewriting is but training the fingers to obey, me- chanically and with mechanical accuracy, the command of the brain. Through a commercial course there is an opening to the business world for any young man. Why not be a good penman? You can. A halt should be called on the poor penman. It would add very much to the appearance of the bulletin boards and to your work. How would it be to have a whole school of at least mod- erately good penmen? The best student in bookkeeping is the one who does en- tirely individual work—dependence never develops independence. [19

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Cfje Scorn of tfje {KEleber intake Scabnnp set the loop in a place close to the nest in such a manner that the birds would have to hop within the loop to reach the nest, and then ran the string down to my box seat. I sat down to wait for the sparrows to fly to the nest. I had to wait about fifteen minutes before the birds would again approach. Mrs. Sparrow was the first to fly to their fu- ture home. She hopped within the loop and I gave the string a jerk. She dropped the straw that she was carrying and flew away before the loop had time to tighten around her leg. I again set the trap and sat down to wait. This time neither Mr. nor Mrs. Sparrow would come near the nest while I was in sight. I ran the string through a crack in the shack, and went inside to watch and wait. As soon as they saw that I was out of sight, they began in a timid way to approach the unfinished nest. Their caution almost outdid my patience. They would fly to the roof of the bam, then in a tree, back again to the barn, then to the fence, until it seemed half of an hour to me before one of them got courage to fly to the nest. I thought that I would wait until both became careless before attempting to catch Mr. Sparrow. After they had been working for some time, Mrs. Sparrow took hold of several straws broken and twisted together, and tried to raise them to her nest. She tried twice without success. Each time she dropped the straws before getting to the roof of the barn. Mr. Sparrow then took upon himself the task of rais- ing the load, fie also tried twice without success, but being persistent, he tried again. He got a good hold of it, flew to the fence, and from there to the barn as he had done several times before with large and heavy loads. He had some trouble in adjusting it, however, and for a few moments hopped around within the loop of the string. This was the chance that I had been waiting for. Just as he went to pick up the straws, I gave the string a jerk and had the satisfaction of seeing it tighten around his leg. Mr. Sparrow was mine. 1 drew him to me and picked him up. No sooner had I touched him than the courageous little fellow took hold of my fore-finger [21