Wicomico High School - Tom Tom Yearbook (Salisbury, MD)

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THE TATLER 1927 25 tory in his Junior Year. When we had fought successfully all the wars from the Revolution to the World War, school closed. On the night of commencement we, Juniors, sat in the balcony of the Arcade Theatre, look¬ ing down upon the graduates and thinking how r impressive a sight we would make a year hence. Such is the folly of youth. “Another fall came, and we were eager, for the first time, to get back to school. Why had we changed so suddenly? There is no mystery about that, for we were Seniors. Soon, however, we lost our conceit, threw aside our pretended dignity, realized that we had some real work to do, and got at it. “The Senior Class was organized at a meeting which was held early in the fall. We elected the following officers: President, Carroll Long; Vice-President, David Fields; Secretary, Irma Pollitt; and Treasurer Maria Thoroughgood. We elected Miss Winnie Dryden and Miss Mildred Morris as our class advisors. We are indebted greatly to them for direct¬ ing and helping us in editing the ‘Tatler.’ “At the second Senior Class meeting it w-as decided, after a heated argument, that we could order only rings and not pins. Accordingly, the rings were ordered, and several w T eeks before Christmas, Carroll Long re¬ ceived a shipment of jewelry which made the Seniors joyful and excited. After the novelty of the rings had worn off, the excitement subsided. “Death, that relentless reaper, entered even the doors where only youths holds sw ' ay. On a bright, crisp October morning, the Senior Class was called upon to attend the funeral of their much-loved classmate, Wal¬ lace Mezick. The flag on the school building and the flags in our hearts were at half-mast, for we realized that our school had lost one of its most promising pupils. As w r as done last year, a prize was offered to the home-room which sold the most tickets for the school play, ‘Bimbo’. Miss Porter’s home¬ room, which is composed of the Seniors, had in it the best salesmen and saleswomen. At least, it was that room that gained the prize. Perhaps the rest of us were a little jealous when we saw each member of the suc¬ cessful room receive a complimentary ticket. We are glad, however, that the Senior Class can boast of its hustlers. “The members of the class of 1927 have a great diversity of talents. We have several promising young actors, including Woodfield Tindle, Howard Layfield, David Fields, Franklin Fields, Ford Brewington, Edward Betts, and others. These boys, who were in the Governors army, made their debut in the High School play, ‘Bimbo.’ We wish you much suc¬ cess, boys, hoping that each of you may become a second John Barrymore. “After the Christmas holidays, Mrs. Pope greeted us with the an¬ nouncement, that, in about three weeks, she intended to give us a series of final English tests. Since English seems to be our bete noire, we be¬ gan to tremble from head to foot lest we should fail. Everyone has heard the proverb, ‘Don’t cross your bridges until you come to them.’ We, students in English, however, seemed to have forgotten it. When the suspense was over and the tests finally came, we enjoyed them more or less—probably less. Our only compensation was, that when we emerged from these ordeals, were were full-fledged Seniors. We were exceedingly glad to belong to the 4B class, but we were equally sorry to part with those of our friends who left us at the mid-year. “Again Mrs. Pope startled us when she broke the news that we must get busy immediately on our Old Home Prize Essays. We finished them in due time, handed them in, and survived the sentence (the mark). “One sixth period w r e were summoned unexpectedly to the assembly room. When we were comfortably seated, ready to hear a nice lecture, or to go to sleep through it, we were told to get out our pencils. Pencils? Could that mean a test? Horrors! What next? Soon we were informed

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24 THE TATLE R—1 9 2 7 A History of the Class of 1927. (.Continued from “Tatler’’ 1926.) Synopsis: An elderly lady accidently found in an old chest in the attic, the lavender dress that she had made in her Junior Year at High School. Searching further in the chest, she discovered a mildewed copy of the “Tatler” for 1926. As she turned the leaves of the book, she came to “A History of the Junior Class,” which she read eagerly. That evening one of her former classmates came to take supper with her. After supper, these two old ladies sat by the fireside, and together, with the aid of the open “Tatler,” they lived over their happy school days. The clock on the mantel struck eleven, and still these two former classmates alternately laughed and cried as the memories of t heir High School days were recalled to them. Realizing that it was growing late, Meredith, who was the guest, said that she must be going. As Claire, who was the hostess, assisted Meredith in putting on her wraps, they made a mutual promise that on the morrow, each would search diligently for her Senior “Tatler.” The next day and the next week, both Claire and Meredith looked carefully in every nook and corner of their homes for a copy of the “Tatler” of 1927. Finally, becoming discouraged, they decided to give up the search. Meredith believed that her “Tatler” had been destroyed, but Claire, on the other hand, was convinced that hers was hidden away safely, somewhere. One day in late April, when Claire was doing her spring housecleaning, she found in an old chest of drawers in the attic, the “Tatler” of 1927, for which she had been searching in the winter. This seemed to be the only place that she had never thought to look. When she found the object of her search, she was so surprised and happy that she suspended her house¬ cleaning for a half day. Se went out into her garden, and there, under the shade of the beautiful pink and white blossoms of an apple tree, she sat down on a rustic bench. Here she whiled away a glorious spring after¬ noon, reading the old book that was so dear to her. When, finally, she came to the history of her class, she read these words: “What a wonderful thing it was for us, more than one hundred strong, when we entered High School in the fall of 1923! It was even a more wonderful thing for the Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. What a nice lot of ‘Freshies’ there would be to initiate! After the season of initiation was over, we had an opportunity to get accustomed to High School life and High School ways. When we were finally ‘broken in’, we were not the greenest bunch of Freshmen that ever had honored W. H. S. with its pres¬ ence—at least we didn’t think we were. After a seemingly endless time, the school year drew to a prolonged close. “We went back to school the next fall thanking our lucky stars that we were Sophomores. Naturally we took much delight in harassing the newly arrived ‘Freshmen,’ for their unpardonable mistakes—mistakes that we would never think of making. The first of June came again, and we left school joyfully. “The following autumn we embarked on our Junior year with some hope at last. We entered gladly into the new privileges that were ours. We deserved and received a little respect from the Seniors, and, above all, we enjoyed preparing for the Junior-Senior Banquet. But by no means was the whole year spent in idle fun. There is not a member of the class of ’27 who has forgotten the struggle that he had with United States His-

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26 THE TATLE R—1 9 2 7 that we were to take a test to prove, or disapprove, our business ability. We did nobly with this test, as with the others. Just before Easter, there was held a Senior Class meeting, at which Edward Betts, who won the highest score in the above mentioned test, was presented with a certificate from Strayer’s Business College of Baltimore, Maryland. Three cheers, Edward! We wish you a long and prosperous business career. “We are really getting afraid that our schoolhouse is a fire trap. A fire every year! What excitement! Hiram Hammond played the hero again, when he discovered that the school roof was on fire. For his timely services we say, ‘Long Live Hiram Hammond.’ “The Senior girls were as busy as bees until the last stitch was sewed in their white dresses. We appreciate Miss Parker’s patience in listening to our complaints about the many ailments of the sewing machines, the missing bobbins, or the crooked French seams. The boys, also, worked hard until they had finished their wood-work, exasperated Mr. Waller, and mashed their fingers with misdirected hammers. “A history of the Senior Class would be incomplete without mention¬ ing the part that the Seniors play in athletics. Several of the Senior boys are on the soccer team, the baseball team, and the basketball team. The girls’ basketball team and volley team are composed almost entirely of Senior girls. Walton Parsons, George Tilghman, Franklin Fields, David Fields, and John Miciotto have fought valiantly the battles of the W. H. S. Among the girls, Hilda Heath, Dora Taylor, Nellie Loomis, Nellie Mae Turner, Irma Pollitt, Alice Elzey, and Gladys VanHorn, are bright and shining stars. “With the Junior-Senior Banquet begins the preparation for the close of school. The Juniors at last organized their class, collected dues in a whirlwind campaign, and served a banquet of which they were justly proud. We thank them for the good time they gave us, and will always have a soft spot for them in our hearts. In these closing days of our High School life we look back over the four years that we spent at W. H. S., and begin to realize that those will be the fondest days of our lives. We are looking forward to the success of our class play, and to the privilege of receiving our diplomas. As we take leave of our classmates and teachers, we wish the best possible future for each of them.” When Claire had read the very last word of the history, she let the “Tatler” slip to the green grass, and laid her head against the trunk of the apple tree nearby. Her eyes were closed and she was thinking. Just then someone called, “Claire, Claire!” It was Meredith. Startled, Claire opened her eyes and gazed a moment at her friend. Then she told her about finding the old “Tatler” of 1927. The two old schoolmates sat down together on the bench under the apple tree and, as they had done before in front of a glowing fire, laughed, and talked, and read about their happy High School days. The brilliant sunset, the fresh green grass, the vari-colored flowers of the garden brought back to Claire and to Meridith all the joy and fragrance of a springtime long ago. Pleasures many may be ours, And our pathway strewn with flowers; Some may famous come to be, Others rich and quite carefree. Not an hour, however sweet, Not a day that brings some treat, Do we cherish more in measure Than those days of countless pleasure. —Maria Thoroughgood.