Western Military Academy - Recall Yearbook (Alton, IL)

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grades and home-grades periods alternated through- out the school year. The campus was a site of many moods when grades came out; some of us were exceedingly happy, some were mad, and then there were a few who wished they had not had fall, winter or spring fever. As time went on, there were certain holidays on which we were excused fro m school work. They were few and far between, but oh, were they welcome! Christmas vacation came, and so did misfortune. Because of the army draft, Captain Teal, our stellar social science instructor, was taken from us to be placed in charge of the various public high school R. O. T. C. units in Chicago. During his nine years at Western, Captain Teal had taught everything in the high school social sciences, giving special emphasis to United States History. He was also one of the mainstays of the athletics department. From Christmas furlough until the end of the first semester, Dr. S. C. Beard, of the University of Illinois, came to take the place of the missing pillar. In the short time of one month that Dr. Beard was with us, he not only filled his position as instructor magnificently, but also won for himself the deepest respect and admiration of the cadet corps. Dr. Beard taught U. S. History in a college manner. Instead of having daily assignments, the cadets listened to lectures given by Dr. Beard, and kept notes on them. At the end of the semes- ter, each cadet wrote a two thousand word theme on a subject of his own choice from the notes that he had taken. Dr. Beard made a talk before the Major Persing confers with Hamilton, F. Haisley, Vog- ler and Endsley about College Board examinations. entire battalion summarizing his previous lectures and his impressions of Western, on one of his few remaining days here. Every last man was sorry that he would no longer be with us. This speech and the semester exams concluded the first half of the ' 40- ' 4l school year. Speaking of exams, they were really tough this year. Just ask any of the victims! They took place on the last two days of January, and because of their difficulty, a short vacation of a day and a half was given to us. It was a wonderful relaxation and One of the new classrooms — Glass bricks and Captain Hin- ton cast a new light on the subject. — I? —

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NOW LET ' S GO SCHOOL T O School Coil’s Gone. On Monday, September 14th, we started the nine-month grind of learning. It was the most rapid beginning this school had seen in many a year. Major Persing, our Headmaster and principal, bore down on the instructors, who in turn bore down on us. To the old men it was like old times; the plebes were somewhat awed by the stiff schedule they were going to have to follow. But everyone seemed ready to work. We started the new school year with a change in schedule, having six academic periods a day instead of seven. There were three academic periods of fifty minutes each and a military period before lunch, with three academic periods in the after- noon. These periods were the meat of the seniors ' four years in high school. Yes, Major Persing was really bearing down on the academic work. We found that out when the first grades were issued at the end of two weeks. These progress grades did not go home to our parents, merci a Dieu, so we had another two weeks in which to redeem ourselves. The progress- Concentration camp, Western style — new Biology lab. — 18 —

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gave us an opportunity to get in shape for the next semester. At the beginning of the second semester, a great deal of reorganization had to be done, and Captain Nachtmann and Lieutenant Fossieck took over the task of teaching U. S. History. A course in Latin American History was started. With the world situation as it is, America has had and will have many relations with South and Central Amer- ica. There is no man more competent to give us information about this section of the world than Captain Williams. He might almost be considered a native, since he was born there and has spent a great deal of time there and in Mexico. Western was proud to be one of the very few high schools in the nation that presents a course in Latin American History. This year, as last year and the year before, the seniors and juniors had an extra burden to carry. They were required to make twelve- and seven- minute speeches respectively in front of the entire cadet corps. This sort of public speaking is excel- lent training, for it builds up self-confidence. The speeches were given during our assembly periods, after lunch. Sometimes, before Major Persing in- troduced the cadet speakers, there was a short period of singing. A dub for boys who made perfect grades in one home-grade period was begun several years Captain Williams ' s new Latin American History course furthers the Good Neighbor policy. Malting history live — Dr. Beard lectures on the Reconstruction Period. ago. Perfect grades meant an average of 4.00, so the organization was named the Club 400 . Membership in the club has been the objective of many boys this year. Each cadet, no matter whether he got 4.00 or not, had a batting average that he had to maintain in order to study in his room at night instead of in the study hall. On the basis of tests and achievements, Major Persing assigned these averages after the first two weeks of school and then again at the beginning of the second semester. Early to bed, early to rise, mokes a man healthy, wealthy and wise! That was the way things were worked around Western, especially after the be- ginning of the second semester, when the schedule reverted to the seven-period day. We were up by 6:10 A.M. and by 8:00 we were ready to start a new day of school. There were four forty-minute periods ending at 10:55, after which the time was devoted to military until that welcome mess call at 12:05. School was taken up again at 1:15 P.M., after a twenty-minute assembly formation, and there were three more classes until 3:30. Usually each cadet had three study periods during the day in which to prepare his next day ' s assignments. From 3:30 to 5:30 everyone had a period of relaxation from academics excepting those poor, benighted members of the detention squad who were making up for lost time. At night there was another study — 20 —