Yale University - Banner / Pot Pourri Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

Page 27 text:

F RESHMAN YEAR .3 g. who of us can forget the Roast Philadelphia Capon, improper on a Held of poison ivy with Plaster of Paris gravy l The first demonstration of our intrinsic individuality as a class came about two weeks after we had arrived. In the column labelled communications in the Oldest College Daily appeared an opus from the pen of one Robert Joyce which was typical of the attitude of re- fusal to conform that characterized that fiery young radical. In it he cried out against the childish fancy of 1925 in refusing to permit us to keep our lights on after ten o'clock and in punishing such offenders by smashing our win- dows. The College was quite shocked by this utterance. To show in what antediluvian days we lived be it recorded that he was visited and Physlcfllly Chagtlzed two Sapa' Jllore Gzzsfrozzomic I fzzpossibilifies. rate and distinct times by groups of the righteously indignant. And the last state of that man was worse than the first. The first signs of discord within the walls of Commons soon became evident, and it occurred to the N e-ws that the best way to deal with the question was to appoint a committee. O admir- er m I able perspicacity! This was duly done and guess, children, who was the lucky boy to be elected chairman. Well, it was none other than C. F. Stoddard. This committee was supposed to be a means of liaison between the Freshman Class and Burton G. i Kelloggg well, they were a good looking re Jresentative bunch of , , rs l . O F, B, GV young American manhood and W ff-if Z9 'UW' I guess that's about all you can expect from a college committee. About this time we read that University Scout Club Will lVIeet in Dwight. On inquiring further into this momentous project, it was learned that the purpose of this meeting was to provide an opportunity for men in the University who have been scouts to get together and get acquainted. First Class Scout Rowell immediately took the matter up. On returning from the meeting he said: S'Gee, it 17

Page 26 text:

THE CLASS OF NINETEEN TWENTY-SIX .g 3. trip upstairs to that auditorium of unparalleled magnificence-speech from Presi- dent Angell: Better get to work, boysg Yale's ideal is Service Y -speeches by Max Foster, Tick Houk, Hayden Smith, Doc Jordan fincidentally no relation to Fred Pottsl-oh, it was all very impressive. Then Saturday, the day of the rush and our first glimpse of the new dynamic mentor of the Eli sweepswingers and unequalled giver of nght talks-Ed Leader -and of our own Mike lvllurphy. A bacchanalian snake dance through the streets -the impressive sight of a very small Freshman calling out, Here we are, Sophomoresf' from safe position between two doughty friends-wrestling on the Campus, in which Pete Capra came off well and the most admirable Ben Cutler not so well-the sweeping wave of Sophomores-a rather unwilling shower in Farnam-the retreat to the Oval-a few intermittent window smashings-and the next day, the indignation at the News for the award of vic- tory to the Sophomores. Then Sunday, Matriculation Sermon in that strangest of religious edifices, Woolsey Hall, good Dean Brown in- 7 quiring of us What Is Your Boo 1. ,i if Name? and subsequent vi- .4 E ' - lg Wx, A sions of major Y's, and much - f H-Yee I., 'Q'-eg ff' - - ' is .F'W i i Glory in many waysg Phi Beta , F ,. , ...N ,c ra 1. ' ' -L ffrif, 'UN ' 'N' .z,,....:'--Y' .TP --ii , f 'if 'W ., Kappa-that was good too. Dyymmgg Mem-gf, Hazy memories of days and nights-so far off-years ago! The next thing that your correspondent finds worthy of mention in this chronicle of our pupa stage is the Preriderzfr Reporf for the preceding year, headlined University Shows Signs of Enduring Vigor g published after we had been here a week, this article shows that the President knew a good thing when he saw it. At this point in our meteoric career we were introduced to the Honor System by the Discipline Committee of the preceding year and it was a very solemn affair indeed. We were lectured by Lovejoy and Blair. We signed cards and swore fealty. We suddenly felt very noble and ideal. Truly Battell Chapel was the scene of religious activity for once in its life. Commons- there's a name to conjure with l This institution in the somewhat impotent hands of Burton G. Kellogg proved to be the canker of our year. Would that your correspondent had the tongue of Student Beebe, this subject demands such delicious mouthfuls as gastronomic impossibilitiesf' culinary stillbirthsf' 'fworm-rotted belly timber. These, and their ilk only, could do justice to that most remarkable torture of the digestive apparatus. In the words of Student Beebe, 16

Page 28 text:

THE CLASS OF NINETEEN TVVENTY-SIX .g g. was bully! We sat around and tied knots and things, and talked over the piles of fun we had on that Long Hike to Little Boys' Neck and then we had chow and loads of ice cream! Oh, Boy, Whee li' When the Playcraftsmen announced the casts for their first group of plays it was not surprising to see that 1926 was well represented in the persons of Basil Davenport, Howard Brown, Joe Reed, H. C. Thompson, A. H. Connell, J. Bar- rett, VV. B. Butz, J. MCA. Hoyscraft, R. Sander- son, J. H. YVhitney. The boys did well, said Reviewer Perry. Actor Hoostragt, Oarsman Whit- ney, and Scholar Davenport all gave great promise. Another of the interesting extra-curricular activities was the series of discussion groups held in the Freshman dormitories by prominent Seniors QO.C.D.j. Now some of your correspondent's classmates may have listened to valuable informa- tion from the lips of worthy men, but I would beg to depose that what I heard was of little conse- quence and no value. Well, anyway, it was a nice try. Another nice try was the attempt of the au- thorities to get us interested in the R.O.T.C., an attempt which acknowledged defeat when the tour of the University Band through Berkeley Oval failed to draw out any recalcitrant embryonic Re- serve Ofhcers. Our first inkling of the fact that maybe this Compulsory Chapel thing was not so good after all came at the Union Debate. Thus was planted a All-Freyhmgm Sim, seedg who can say that it bore not fruit? The first athletic group to close its season in triumph was the Fall Crew, which won the Fall Regatta in good style. Came the next triumph, the Fall Track Meet, which we also annexed. The third was the inclusion of Admirable Cutler and Explorer Frissell in the ranks of the Glee Club. Most important, probably, of all the fall glories was the championship Football Team, which took healthy falls out of the Jungletown Striplings and the Crimson First Year Men. Dan Allen, Farmer Butterworth, Shep Bingham, and Bill Biley were picked for all-Freshman teams for their good work in biology. Things were booming in dramatic circles. The intrepid Dramat not only an- nounced that if it was all right with us they were going to do Caesar and Cleo- patra by a rnan called Shaw or something, but they also declared that among those present would be A. H. Connell and Oarsman Whitney. The Theatre Guild countered by playing the Shubert for one solid week with Liliom,,' in the cast of which were Joseph Schildkraut and Eva Le Gallienne Cwho was at that time 18