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

Page 29 text:

FRESHMAN YEAR .g 4. playing under the alias of Eva Galliennej. Last and, oddly enough, least, were the efforts of the Hyperion Repertory Theatre: here for about a buck an' a half you could see Charley's Aunt, i'Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ben Hur fwith a real horsefj, and many other Broadway successes just as good as you see in New York, that is, nearly. In other lines of show business you could see Samuel Heschewski, the ten-year old chess prodigy, and Sammy Kramar, another French child, who played the violin for two nights down at lwusic Hull- After flzc Game CZEIIZEIZCECIZI Visifed. The following incident was not without its humor. One morning your correspondent read the following notice from the erudite columns of the Pam' QFrancej New Tori? I-Iemld: After the game, Clemenceau visited the room of James Angell, captain of the team. Doc Jordan, on being interviewed, stated that the report is grossly exaggerated. Other interesting events in journalistic circles: first, an edi- torial against the good old Freshman custom of an- nouncing the presence of feminine visitors in the Oval by means of a lusty shout of Fire, a harmless, in- vigorating, and amusing pastime both to subject and object, second, an interview, published in the columns of the N ewf, with Philip T. Smith, New Haven Police Chief, declaring himself to be' strongly opposed to False Alarms and Sign Collecting by Students. The straight thinking and original viewpoint of Policeman Smith is to be thoroughly commended. Lastly, we had Dr. Trap- rock's lecture on My Northern Exposuref' a lecture which failed to convince your department of the au- thenticity of the rumor that said lVIr. Chappell was a humorist. On December 20 an institution known to some as e Compulsory Gym, to Dr. Anderson as Body-Building Jjlppft-fi Cnpmin, Classes, and to the Freshman Class as an unconscionable nuisance, was foisted upon us. It was a very pleasing sight, however, to go into our well-ventilated Gymnasium and see some of our more prominent ziesthetes raising the left leg twenty times, and even more pleasant to see the aforementioned robing and disrobing in the equally well-ventilated dressing rooms below, amid all the perfumes of Araby. 19

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

Page 30 text:

THE CLASS OF NINETEEN TWENTY-SIX r 4' Then came the Christmas vacation and we fled to the North and to the South with our suit cases carefully plastered with Yale labels. The hrst announcement of interest to the Class of 1926 on the return from the hinterland was the news that Popular Potts had been elected captain of the Eli Yearling Puck Chasers. In :esthetic circles there was the appearance of the short- lived Eljizzz, the performance in Sprague Hall of The Beggar's Opera, one of the most interesting and enjoyable events of this department's college life, and Walter Hampden's sojourn at the Shubert, during which time he played 'cHam- let, Macbeth, The Servant in the House, and The Merchant of Venice. Not only did this extraordinary man do all this in one week, but he played 'iMac- bethl' on Saturday at the matinee and Hamlet that night! As you read this, brother Elks, this is the point to start the argument as to whether his Hamlet is as good or better than John Barrymore's. Correct answer in a plain Wrapper on the receipt of five dollars to cover cost of postage. At this point, also, the colyum was taken from the hands of its parthenogenetic parent, H. Hartman, and was tenderly re- ceived by Norman Jaffray. A short interruption in the social days and ways of Yale then took place-in the form of mid-years. El! Tearlirzrj Park' C lm,vcr.r. Rosenbaumls and Roxbuflfs lnstl' i A tutions for the advancement of learning took on all the signs of a prosperous year. VVhen the smoke had cleared away it was found that our number had been seriously depleted. It seemed to be the almost unanimous opinion of the remnant that the old flag should never touch the ground-so we plunged on-on-on-period. The College then betook themselves to the Prom and we, denied the privileges of so participating, looked enviously upon them. The Dramat fearlessly attacked Singe's Playboy of the Western World and carrie off victorious, thanks to the aid of Oarsman Whitney and Actor Hoylstratt. The Prom itself was honored by the presence of Dancer Ula Sharon in spite of the attempts of The New fork 'Tribune to prevent same. VVe countered with the Freshman Ball on February 6. Your correspondent was unable to attend, but without doubt it was an important affair. Our Discipline Committee next made its appearance. The people's choice con- sisted of Dan Allen, Farmer Butterworth, Hoddy Cole, Modest Cottle, Popular Potts, Bill Riley, and Editor Stoddard. Athletic events included the election of 20