West High School - Hesperian Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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Classes If F THE saga of over twenty years at West could be written, it would be written in faces. Friendships through the high-school years should be lasting, and acquaintances should not end with graduation. These pages will help us to remember our classmates; perhaps Sandburg would call them a little bundle of Remembers. Photographs are more to us than mere pictures; they will evoke much that cannot be caught on a page or in a picture frame.

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the National Honor Society, which includes schools all over the country, and which, in addition to scholarship, puts stress upon leadership and service. With this change the medal of the national organization was also adopted, although for the first year students were permitted their choice of key or pin. A Juniors who have a 2.8 average are eligible; B Seniors who attain a 2.5 record are accepted, and A Seniors who gain a 2.3 rating conclude their high-school course as Key members. FASHION FANCIES Time marches on” and close at her heels runs fashion. Miss West High, following always close behind, must ever change her stride to keep up with her swift opponent. In this order has the race been run for twenty-five years. In the years of its infancy, West High was graced by demure damsels discreetly and completely clothed. Lace collars, held rigid by strips of metal or bone, protected delicate throats from the unfriendly gaze of the world. Sleeves, likewise, were prudently lengthened to cover the entire arm, exposing only the hands which, even in school, are indispensable. Correspond-ingly, skirts swept the floor. In accord with this voluminous appearance, girls encouraged the natural growth of their hair by adding rats and puffs. To complete the top-heavy appearance were Merry Widow sailors with a circumference of approximately three feet. In 1914 comfort triumphed over modesty and necklines dropped. Head-gear added birds of paradise and graceful ostrich plumes, contributing immeasurably to the festive appearance. During the next four or five years the blouse and skirt (still all-concealing) came into its own as the sensible garment for the high-school miss. The crowning glory, although close to the head on top, seems unable to surmount the obstacle of ears and protrudes as great earmuffs. Along about 1922, the prominence of Peter Thompson dresses would lead one to suspect that the fleet must be in. By this time woman had invaded man’s sanctum sanctorum, the barber shop, and emerged with the first bob. The marcel was also much in evidence. The following four or five years see a great change in the high-school lassie. Hair grows shorter and shorter, the boldest girls copying their brothers’ cuts exactly, while the more retiring content themselves with a shingle and a ragged windblown. Waistlines have now reached the lowest limit and skirts have come to the knee. Judging from appearances, prices have gone up, for skirts appear to be made from one yard of material with enough left over for a handkerchief. Whether influenced by the crash or not, no one knows, but at any rate, in 1929, Miss West High again inclined toward long tresses, curling delicately upward in the back. At this same time those creations of beauty and practicability (for Spanish dancers) known as butterfly skirts were in evidence. Two years later waistlines climbed; at the same times heads were decked with silly little pieces of felt and feathers named after the French arbiter of fashion, Empress Eugenie. Last year, in a flurry of patriotism occasioned by the Washington Bicentennial, female America sported the colors of the Grand Old Flag. With the beginning of school, Miss West High appeared resplendent in wide collars, the huge sleeves of her grandmother, and innumerable blouses. And this brought with it huge bows tacked here and there on practically any type of dress or hat. Speaking of hats, designers forsook their usual fields and sought the culinary art for inspiration. Would some power the giftie give us, to sec ourselves as others will see us” in 1958!

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CLASS HISTORY (14 71