Wheaton College - Nike Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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Senior Class officers announced September 28 “liewasa thes best; (of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of in- credulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Dark- ness....’’ The class of 1940 entered Wheaton when the atmosphere of international politics was surcharged with tension and dissonance. The conclusion of the Ethiopian war, the out- break of revolution in Spain, and British diplomatic defeats made imperative the stand of the United States for defensive preparation. While the shadow of instability and un- certainty fell over the world, one hundred and fifty-seven freshmen were privileged to enter a liberal arts college for unprejudiced instruction in the ideals of democracy, free- dom, and the will to believe. In these four crucial years, the importance of gaining knowledge, a fundamental personal philoso- phy, and of enriching our lives in every pos- sible way has transcended the significance of the traditional campus scene. Perhaps more than any other class, the ninety-nine members of the class of 1940 will graduate from Whea- ton on June tenth with the knowledge of a common ideal. Our atrival at Wheaton coincided with the anniversary of Dr. Park’s first ten years as President of the college. This we discovered at luncheon, which also disclosed every tenth girl in the tweed jacket suit prescribed by Mademoiselle. Jackets were exchanged for evening dress in time for the freshman ban- quet, where an awe-inspiring senior presided at each table, and officers of each organization explained why +¢heir activity was the most exciting on campus. These same officers later introduced us to the Alma Mater at the Mary Lyon sing. We passed in rapid succession through handbook quizzes, physical exams, the “‘Relatives’’ party, and Freshman Skits wherein Gerry Kane distinguished herself as a dastardly villain. Our first Community meeting was conducted by Miss Burton in the absence of Dean Carpenter who was on sab- batical leave. Shades of the prison house be- gan to close about us as the sophomores com- manded us to wear sandwich-board identifi- cation signs, and two of our non-conformists were forced to wear huge red bows in their hair. But then a new planet swam into our ken as junior sisters, old and infinitely wise, revealed the possibilities of butterscotch rolls, tandem bicycles, and visits to the Arboretum. Gradually we grew familiar with the violent- ly opposed Roosevelt—and Sunflower groups, the sight of the Hindenberg floating majesti- E25

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RUTH DARNELL, President Wes Gea OME of our nicest memories of freshman fall are closely connected with the ac- tivities of this organization; the blue-badged guides, the open air picnic, and especially the Candlelight Service. The land-star flames, dark lake, evening-calm beauty, and the fun of singing hymns together amid it all is typi- cal of the good feeling that flows from our Y.W. Candlelight Service and Vespers represent one phase only. Grand speakers which the whole college community enjoys are ‘‘Y”’ invited. In October there was T’an Pin Pin of Yenching University, and in November Wang Tse-Fu discussed the place of the Chi- nese students today. Henry T. Cadbury, professor at Harvard, spoke on the work of the American Friends Service Committee. Afterwards he answered many questions informally over coffee served in Hebe Parlors. Dr. Park, Hornell Hart, professor of soci- ology at Duke and Rev. Leslie Glenn of Christ Church in Cambridge are all on the Y.W. speakers list. Everyone knows about Practical Aid. We've all saved money by purchasing our easy chairs in the second-hand store in Lar- com basement, and stopped by the Lost and Found to see if the right mitten had been col- lected from the special box in the post office. These all contribute to the fund which Y.W. yearly distributes. Practical Aid can report a goodly commission from its activities as furniture salesman and candy shop (after they went on a strictly cash basis), and even Lost and Found makes a profit from the spring auction of unclaimed goods. Y.W. charities are numerous, World Fel- lowship gave away six hundred dollars to Pine Mountain Settlement School, Bettis Academy Hudson School, Bryn Mawr Summer School, and the Far Eastern Movement. There are collections of old clothes for the Norton poor, and now for the Friends of France to distribute. There’s the scholarship for the refugee student to which candy-selling profit goes, and this year Y.W. contributed to the Herbert Hoover fund for Finnish Relief. All this, and a certain amount for an At- tleboro colored church that had long been in extremely poor pecuniary position. Then there were the usual contributions to ailing children, mostly in need of glasses, through the district nurse, and to local scout groups. Other ways Y.W. has helped the community of Norton are providing the Night School (which presents a diploma and refund to those who successfully complete the course, usually English), and the Play Club. Student Industrial (another phase of “‘Y”’ activity) arranges for a group of working girls to visit us from the New Bedford ‘‘Y”’ and we had a fine time chatting together in the social room, going in the pool, and later having a more formal discussion of problems of immigration and unemployment. The present officers of our Y.W.C.A. are Ruth Darnell, president; Jean Nevius, vice- president; Mary Rhodes, secretary; Elizabeth Gibbs, treasurer. 24a

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Front Door for Seniors cally over campus, and fruit night at the Bates theatre in Attleboro. We made the acquaintance of the gardener, learned about late permissions, wore beer jackets and dirty saddle shoes with cultivated nonchalance. Correct in green and white, we filed into Chapel on Founder's Day to hear Professor Lyman Kittredge speak on ‘‘Hamlet.’’ Mary Cameron Buford was awarded a silver cup as victor of the tennis tournament, and the class of ’40 won the interclass tennis tournament. At this point fate stepped in and delivered several packages to the post office box of the junior president. Investigation proved that the contents were intact: Betty Conant, Mary Cam Buford, Mary Ann Hessentahler, Ger- trude Jenks, and Elizabeth King were un- wrapped and proved to be our class officers. We were amazed to find nine of our mem- bers participating in Riding Meet, while three freshmen made the undefeated varsity hockey team. Although strongly individual- istic, we all remembered certain things about that first semester: the rain falling softly as we sang “‘Follow the Gleam”’ at Candlelight service, a ted branch glimpsed through the Library window, the Christmas story, and standing in the snow around the lighted Christmas tree after Nativity. Our introduction to the rituals of exam time resulted in a Freshman Honor Roll of five students, who strove to Establish Aca- demic Standing for the class criticized as too social. We applauded the McCallum-Cahalane team at Geneva supper and again at Vaude- ville, ““Left Swing,’’ which was also memor- able for the superb characterization of the B’s by Dorothy Mountain and Adele Mills. Particularly vivid in our minds are the fiery mass meeting concerning News and the Cal- endar Committee, and the equally fiery June day of the European history exam in the Doll’s House. . The troubled years, the clouded years con- tinued. Hatred and injustice grew in the Eastern hemisphere, the League faltered, and Japan began to pour troops into China. The government, harassed by the labor situation, formed a peace policy of Watchful Isolation with Tolerance toward warring nations. College students everywhere were aware of the tremendous problems facing the nation’s leaders. Returning to Wheaton with grave sophomore responsibilities, we felt also the challenge to learn, to absorb wisdom, to analyze and decipher our minds. Slowly, during the year, we began to think more clearly, to puzzle out the macrocosmic and microcosmic relationships which lead to an integrated understanding of man. We again entered the Chapel in green sweaters on Founders’ Day to hear Lewis Mumford talk on “‘Modern Architecture,”’ and took part in the Barrie evening of Foun- ders’ Day Plays that night. One noon a russet clad messenger summoned passers-by to Hebe Court, where sophomores were holding an unveiling ceremony with statues of Roman mythology. As the sheets dropped from each figure in classic dress, the new officers ap- peared: Mary Cam Buford, Mary Ann Hess- entahler, Eleanor Wells, Ruth Warren, and Betsey Schadt. During the fall we paid Libe fines, worked in Nursery school, went to Boston Saturday on the C.G.A. bus and came back with a corsage of violets to wear to church the next morning. [ 26 | %