Yeatman High School - Yeatman Life Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

Page 41 text:

Q -25111419-,LQ'1-.5-.lf-.fQfff1l'fQ1-'Q'2-.lf .,-I QIZLQLQQ ,,' W a A f ff , f W , W gf! f I Z .. . . if3?Eif.fii51:ifi1:iifg?E,ff.iiiifzf iff.ifff,:E???:fiZi,ii11'if.f?EgiQ:.gfifiQiZ1if'j2E2.Qi2fQ11f,Qf1Ii.E2fjjS325 ..,. ,.'., fgfjfirgffiffifffiiliiififffii.,..fifQgfj.ii1if1QEEl31:1:i1::f'1,1:-gr::1iif?f?N'f:fij CORAL EARRINGS By ROMA SCHAEFER To begin with, the weather was partly the fault. It was a day in late March, be- ginning with a cold, blustery wind, turn- ing, around noon, into a veritable balmy spring day and ending with a damp, ugly, misty drizzle. Such a day would infiuence even the most calm and unperturbable per- son. So it affected me, who am not usua- ly one of the said calm and unperturbable. On the day previously described, my mother, my aunt and the laundress were in the throes of a violent orgy of spring house-cleaning. My aunt had been get- ting out and sorting old jewelry and trink- kets and deciding just what to sell to the antique jewelry dealers, but finally keep- ing everything instead. This was done yearly. The three unanimously told me, politely but firmly, that I should betake myself elsewhere, as my well meaning but awkward aid was decidedly not needed or wanted. Just then it commenced to driz- zle in an apathetic, doleful sort of way and prevented my seeking the solace of the companionship of my best pal There was no place to go on the whole lower floor. One had to mince along for fear of sitting on a cake of soap, stepping into a bucket of sudsy water or getting hopeless- ly tangled in the cord of the vacuum sweep er. I drifted upstairs feeling abused, neg- l e c t e d a n d altogether melancholy. There was only one room not cluttered with curtain rods, rolled up rugs and dust cloths and that was the one which be- longed to my grandmother. This was the largest in the house and a nice enough room on sunshiny days. On a dull, misty, gloomy day, however, it was a different matter This room was almost too full of furniture and this overcrowded condition, usually relieved by the sunlight coming from the three large windows, only seemed more oppressive because of the gloom out- side. The room was amply filled with two tall wardrobes, a huge wooden bedstead, Page Forly two very old-fashioned bureaus and the usual number of chairs. The walls were hung with perfectly enormous crayon en- largements, one each of my grandfather, my grandmother, my great aunt and my great uncle. The last one I must take the time to describe to you. It was hung over what should have been a fireplace, but it was closed up by the presence of a long radiator. The fireplace part, in fact, the whole side wall, projected about a foot out into the room, giving a particular promi- nence to the picture. The portrait itself was a full length one of my great uncle in his Civil War uniform. I have quite a clear recollection of this old gentleman, even though he died when I was only about seven. He used to come to see my grand- mother every Saturday and spend the day with us. The greater part of the after- noon he spent puttering around the yard, clipping the mulberry trees, nailing any loose boards on the fences, and, in fact, doing a thousand perfectly useless things, but enjoying himself, nevertheless. He was a very silent man, and never said a word about his experiences in the war. As I sat down and looked at his picture, half veiled in a smoky gloom, the half ri- diculous side of it came to me. My great uncle had been a very small man, scarcely five feet three nches in height and the or- nate captain's dress uniform looked just a little out of place on him. His face, too, had an indescribably Irish look, consider- ing the fact that he was certainly not Irish When he was younger, my grandmother said, he looked and walked very much like Napoleon. How that could be, I must leave to the imaginations of my readers. Our house had been built before the Civil War by a man who occupied a very prominent position in the affairs of St. Louis County, as at that time the city was apart of the county. This man was known as having decided sympathies with the

Page 40 text:

f .,,,,,,,,, Q ,.,, ,,i, . . .,.,.W, 4 ,' ' Q f ,f f fx ' f . X A X' f X seemed far off in the distance and we thought we would never reach it But we did get there and safely at that, giving thanks as we did so. The school was silent as Mr. Butler briefly sketched the history of the class and explained the meaning of Color Day. Then our President, Cyril McBryde, arose to explain the significance of our colors and our motto, Every tomorrow a vision of hope. Of our colors he said, White stands for purity and sincerityg green for freshness, youthfulness and growth. Now, what colors could be mo e appro- priate for a Spring class? Alt was with a vision of hope,'y continued Cyril, 'fthat Columbus sailed on before he discovered America. Edison was hopeful before suc- cessfully completing his invention of the phonograph So we are to be hopefulfl It was an excellent speech and we felt proud of our President as we marched out after singing the loyal song. The remainder of the day seemed end- less. But that is the way Time always treats us when we are waiting for some oc- casion, such as we were waiting for today. At last three-thirty arrived and by three- forty-five the class was assembled in the big Gym. to pass away an hour and a quar- ter in fun. We danced two or three num- bers and we were invited to stop. and go to the lunch room, where a surprise was a- waiting us. We hastened there and be- held a pleasing sight ln the center of a circle of tables, stood a dogwood tree and upon each table was placed a vase of dog- wood flowers. The spirit of Spring cer- tainly followed us around today. Then came a scurrying around to find places. After knocking over a few chairs, we lo- cated our seats and sat down to enjoy a generous portion of green and white ice- cream, cakes and candy. What a tempt- ing table to set before our poor athletes who are in training! Although our coach- es were kind enough not to appear and watch over each of them, we know that some of them acted very bravely and de- prived themselves of at least a portion of the tempting food. A half hour passed and we returned to the Gym. Music was again furnished by a lively orchestra so that it was hard for one to keep his feet still. Word soon went a- round that the party was to end at five, so you may be sure that no one that can dance lost any time in stepping out on the floor. Before we realized it, the clock struck five and those on the floor found themselves dancing to the strains of Home Sweet Home. Then the music stopped. Couples stood around waiting for more, but they soon learned that no more was to be given today. Color Day and our first party was over and we left the Gym. won- dering how soon we would again gather for a similar purpose. We ' r 'filivif V 'N f knead , ' i 'T X' f -Fi -. ' fi f Ibzge Thirly-.Vine

Page 42 text:

f 5 ......-...,..z, ,.,,,,V..,h,,,, ,,,,. , ., ,,., .,. ...., . ,,-. ,,.,. ,. .,..,,, ,, - ,,,,,,,..,. T.. ..,, I WJ ........ J .:..,.W!lZLJ 7.------3 W, 5p:t:,.,1 :.,.-...,f,, ,,,. ,, ,A,, f gn-,--,,,',-,f,:,a,,--,-,,-, -L-,-,1- ,, '-v' f ,,,,, , ,.,,, ! 2 f'v- in .Q.Qf'a.:,:3Zi,,m.f ...,, ,,,,,4g,,,g1-' .',,. 2':1 .7:L',':.':'. f,.:'g,1.:',t. -21:11 .,,., . ,,..,., .. 11:4 .':: ,111f,1 , Confederate cause. My great uncle, who was stationed for a while at Fort Benton, the present site of Fair Grounds Park, re- ceived orders a number of times to search the house for Confedertae soldiers or spies. When my grandparents moved in and won- dered at his surprising familiarity about the house, he told them that he had been through the place several times in search of a young man who was wanted by the Union Army Headquarters as a very dan- gerous spy. That is all we knew about his adventures in the army. I sat there staring at the portrait, the room getting darker and mistier. The spick and span blue of my great uncle's uni- form got darker and grayer and grayer, until it was almost black. In fact, the whole room seemed to be turning into a grayish black haze and for a while I seemed in a stupor. Then the haze seemed to lift and the furniture was outlined in a pearl gray light, like that of dawn just before the sun goes up over the horizon. I looked up and saw that the uniform in the picture had turned to a slate gray. All the gold braid trimming had disappeared and the whole figure seemed to be more slender and taller. My eyes traveled up to the head and there penetrated my mind the very startling fact that from under a slouched gray hat a new face looked out at me. Considering the strangeness of it all, I was not very much surprised, but merely sat there staring as though unable to move. A slight tremor shook the picture and then the figure stepped out of the frame, onto the radiator, and lightly down to the Hoor. It was the form of a Confederate soldier, a very young and slender man. He swept off his slouch hat and made a low bow, his sword touching the fioor with a very faint tinkle. I will never forget his voice as he said, How do you do, Miss? May I have the pleasure of a momentls conversation with you? My name is Sergeant Nelson. I answered rather faintly, f'Certainly. Where did you come from? I am not permitted to say, he an- swered almost sharply, but resumed his af- fable manner at once. Curiosity is in- deed a female trait still. Your esteemed great uncle had a considerable part in my death. For the first time I became surprised. My face must have showed it, as my Sir Confederate became very anxious. I pray don't be startled, he said. Are you subject to the vapors? My heaven! No! I answered. Your uncle merely did his duty as a soldier. He found me in this room and took me then to a court martial and I was hanged as a spy. This is my first return here. He said all this in such a matter of fact, amiable tone that it seemed rather foolish to be horriied. The soldier, seeming to think he had explained his presence suf- ficiently, sat down in front of me and ex- amined me from head to foot in rather a pitying manner. I see, he said gently, that there has been another terrible typhoid epidemic. They used to be dreaded in the camps. t'No, I answered. There has been no typhoid here for some timefl 'Well, well. Perhaps there has been small-pox. Still, your face is not pockedf' Murder! I explained. f'Do I look ready for the grave? What makes you think there has been an epidemic? Well, he said, fyour hair is cropped. ' I explained to him that bobbed tresses were distinctly the mode. Then it was his turn to be surprised. His boyish mouth widened into the semblance of a capital O and he seemed unable to find words to ex- press his amazement. After a moment he grew calmed and looked at me closely from head to foot. Then he said, I beg your pardon, Miss, but is it also the fashion to be so--ah--so wide, and to have the gar- ments cut so very skimpily?' I felt a little huffed at this because, though I may not exactly be called a sylph, I am not considered unusually wide Certainly, Sergeant Nelson, I replied tartly, wishing to shock him a little. 'Eighteen-inch waists are considered nei- ther healthful nor fashionable. I might Page Fwxfv-fine