Western High School - Westward Ho Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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tututut--i--YYF.5IYfAP.1?-H9irl5-A A A A H13 yr e ' 'Y 5 it Z1 Q5 T 'l 'IWl!Ill IiIii l bg, ,Qi V 2 llllmam' 5 470 L we .vt ACCE U5 UCUA A 'P E Traditions Out in the quiet road we stand, Shut in from wharf and mart, The old wiha' blowing up the land, The old thoughts at om' heart. Lizerrs WOODWORTH REESE- A Quiet Road. Many years ago, eighty-six to be exact, in a two-room building on Paca Street the Westeril Female High School opened its doors. The young ladies Who attended gradually increased in number-evidently it was an exciting occupation for them, until in Mother's time Western was one of the most flourishing high schools in the city. Its schedule was then so arranged that each period was fifty-two minutes long! Even then there were class feasts for all except the Freshmen. At that time each homeroom class fostered its own feast. During the lunch period-there was only one-it entertained the principal, vice-principal, homeroom teacher, honorary member, and some members of the faculty. This was indeed a gala affair. A section of the lunchroom was always gaily decorated, and only members of the homeroom class were privileged to attend. That part of the festivity which is really the Hbanquet' usually consisted of sandwiches, ice cream and cake, nuts, and candy. I The young ladies of the past decades took great interest in dramatics. Several times durmg the year the Senior Class presented playsg in fact, no Thanksgiving or Christmas assembly was complete without a presentation of some sort. Some Eight

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AAAAA WESTWARDHO! AAAAA of the titles, 'fShe Stoops To Conquerf' The Rivals, Twelfth Night, and MAS You Like It,', suggest that the School Board was averse to having school time used for plays of a non-classical nature. Strange as it may seem, Western then fostered a great many dances. Besides those such as we now give there was a Saint Valentines Masque, very popular with the girls. Eastern, our sister school, gave several dances for us, and we often entertained her students in the same way. Then, there was self-control Friday, which corresponds somewhat to our silence campaign. The classes moved through the halls the entire day without speaking. Strange to say, this plan actually worked for a while! VVESTVVARD Ho! was the result of an idea of Miss George. She suggested that Westerii publish an annual. This, although it was a modest book, was con- sidered a shameful extravagance by many. In 1909 the School Board forbade its publication, but for the '09 Class Day the honorary member arranged to have a girl appear as VVESTVVARD Ho! She was dressed as a book bound in maroon and gold, the colors of the year. Lettered on her costume were the phrases, Gone but not forgottenl' and Qur beloved. Finally, there were the commencements, which were then held at the Lyric. Every member of the faculty had the privilege of sitting on the stage. Speeches were the order of the evening. The principal, the superintendent, the mayor, and other notables found their names on the list of speakers. We can never fully realize the debt of gratitude which we owe to Dr. Becker, who shortened the pro- gram, which sometimes had lasted until midnight. Someone has said that time marches on. -lust so does XVestcrn march on, upholding old traditions and keeping pace with new ones. lt is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth 'make lllan better Img Or .S'llII'1dl'1'lg long an oak, tltrcff' lzzmdrvd year, To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and serv: A lily of a day Is fairer far in lllay, Although it fall and die that night- It was the plant and flower of Light. In small proportions we just beauties svcg And in slzort 77l8fl.Ylll'f?.S' life may perfect be. B. JONSON. Nine l l l i w l 1