West Philadelphia High School - Record Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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THE RECORD 1918 31 social reformer. After this they showed the Held on which the machines were tested. Gtto Osterlund was in charge of this work. The next picture to show any of my former classmates was dated june the twentieth, and its object was the Graduation Exercises at Penn. Robert Fulmer was now Provost, having gained this position through his researches in Latin and Greek, my informer told me. The Reverend Warren Reevetdelivered the Baccalaureate sermon. Among those upon whom honorary degrees were conferred was Harrison K. Sayen, former owner of the Daily Cheese, which had the reputation of being the strong- est paper in the country. He was granted the degree of Doctor of Phil- osophy in return for the good which he had done by discontinuing pub- lication, As views of various buildings were shown, -I noticed two of my fel- low students walking into the Chemistry Building. I asked my fair counsellor why they were there and he said that Ernest Choate had just been made Professor of Chemistry and Doctor Spackman, who was teach- ing in the School of Medicine, was showing him around. The next important event shown was a drill on Belmont Plateau, as a feature of a safe and sane fourth. Woodsman Krein was in charge of the Boy Scout Troop which won first place. Doctor Barlett command- ed a Hospital Unit which demonstrated the various methods of first aid used in the Great War. On the adjoining tennis courts former Davis Cup Holder Cook was refereeing a championship match. A great number of spectators were present. The guide pointed out some of these for me. There is John Owens, who is to sing in the open air concert to-night. He is considered by many, to be the greatest operatic star that America has ever produced. Irwin Adams is his only rival. On his left is Gilpin Allen, the renowned orator. He will probably address the people this evening at the beginning of the fireworks display. The man in uniform, on the other side of the court, is Alfred Ludwig, who was appointed the Chief of the Park Guards in Reel 1940. After this the opening of the Sub-Atlantic Tunnel was shown. It connected New York with Paris by railroad. This great work had been talked of for many years, my companion said, but it was left to the great engineer, Percy F oster, to complete. The conductor on the first train of the regular schedule was Houston Paxson. He was given this honor be- cause he had gone to school with Norm Williams, the bonded pluto- crat who had financed the project. Norm was tired of swimming. He wanted some easier way to cross the ocean.

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30 THE RECORD 1918 Neither minded the occurrence, as they had had frequent practice in the lunch room many years before. By the time the end of the dreary ora- tion had been reached, all the sober guests were asleep. The others were clattering their glasses against the table top and demanding the presence of the chef who had cooked the meal. At last to quiet them, the sunny face of Jack Robison was poked through the swinging door and after giving a mighty cheer for him, they left. As the diners passed into the hallway and stepped into the elevator l saw that that vehicle was operated by Ford, who had had his ups and downs in life and was still havingthem. The next event of interest to me was the inauguration of the Presi- dent of Palestine. I looked at prominent citizens assembled for the cere- m-ony and among them recognized the faces of Feldstein and Moskowitz. Moskowitz is the official scorekeeper of the jerusalem Giants, who cap- tured the World's Series last year, said the Angel, and of course he got front row seats for this performance. Feldstein wore the uniform of the Chief of Police of the city and was strutting around, butting in where he was not needed, and ordering the people about as if he owned the place, He preserved fairly good order until a little fellow who looked like Charlie I-Iaselnuss rushed up, complaining that he could not see over the heads of the crowd and demanded, as a prominent merchant of the city, that he be given a place on the front row. The crowd was blocking his way and he would undoubtedly have been injured had not the atten- tion of the spectators been drawn to a solemn procession which was coming out upon the platform. First came Chief justice Litt, of the Supreme Court of Palestine, who was to administer the oath of office to President-elect Schreibman, who followed him. After Schreibman had been installed in office, there was a parade along the main street. This was led by General Toll, a graduate of R. T. Shaw's Military Training Academy. When the ceremony was over the scene shifted to dominant Day- ton, Ohio. Views were shown of the Wright Aeroplane Company. First the interior of the plant was shown. In charge of the producing end of the business was Smiling Bud Knighton, quite at home amid the noise of machinery. Behind a wooden rail, barring the way to the office of the advertising manager, sat Brem, now head bookkeeper of the company. As I was looking, the door opened and Sam Yellin came out. He, by advertising, had made air travel popular. The plant as a whole was very well designed and the working conditions were excellent. This, I learned from the Angel, was due to the endeavors of Albert Spiegel, the eminent

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l 32 THE RECORD 1918 In the events of October, the last game of the W0rld's Series was shown. The crowd in line was visibly impressed by the dignity of Dea- con Erwin, who was taking tickets. VV hen the Athletics won the game and the series, Lefty Rhoads, the first manager to rebuild the wreck left by Connie Mack, was borne out on the shoulders of a cheering crowd. One of the most excited fans was the usually dignified James Franklin Makens, Professor of Sociology at West Philadelphia High School. The next important event was the annual gridiron clash between Penn and Cornell. Dutch Adam was coaching the Penn team and Gilbert was Cornell's tutor. Naturally, both teams had good lines and the game ended in a O-0 tie. Nothing more of importance happened until the end of the year. On New Year's eve, as usual, there was much happiness flowing about, as everyone was about to swear off again. The picture showed the excite- ment on Broad street. The crowds were following into a brilliantly lighted cafe. The sign above read- Spend the Happy Hour at Wilt's. Views of the interior were shown. . In a gallery above, I recognized Otto Borngesser thrumming away on a banjo in the jazz band. I did not recognize one person who seemed to be very popular with the ladies, until the guide spoke, There is Owen Sixsmith, who conducts a dancing academy on the floor above. She said, Over there at the table in the corner is Ambrose C. Beck, President of the Philadelphia Rotten Transit Company, trying to forget in enjoyment the way he robbed the poor of nickels. I As she was speaking the hands of a clock on the wall reached the hour of midnight. The crowd rose to wish itself Happy New Year and the end of the reel was reached. I was left in the original blue light. My fair companion was holding my hand and speaking to someone else. I think he will pull through, Doctor. It was a bad case of shell shock, and he has been raving in his delirium about motion pictures, but he is just coming now to his senses. I had him taken to the blue room because I thought at first he was partly blinded and the white light would hurt his eyes. EDMUND F. BURKE.