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

Page 43 text:

wwf WWW 9 y C f My XZ Q f7 QQZ'7? gif T1fill'f.fQZ'Q1QQQ,f'-Iff-fQl,f-:Ei , '-' ' , ,. ,.,, ,,,.,,,,., f f ...,,,- 'Q ' gh f.2' 1 ffaaww A cc., IQ. Q75 ,.,, also add that 'skimpy' dresses are a good deal cheaper and let people know that most girls have pretty legs. And I might also add, my dear Miss, he shot back at me, that Well bred young ladies do not talk about such things and if the distasteful subject must be mentioned, they say 'limb' instead. Oh, fiddlesticksln I retorted. 'Such nonsense disappeared long before women got to vote. Please do not be so vexed he said courteously, his momentary anger gone, 'I did not come here to quarrel with you. Indeed, -I didn't think anyone wou'd be here, as you are, in the day time. I must accomplish my purpose. ' Is your purpose a secret? Oh, no, he answered I may as well tell you the story. You see, before my death I was about to marry a very charm- ing Georgia girl. It was the custom then for the soldiers to carry some trinket or piece of jewelry which belonged to their sweethearts. Elizabeth gave me a pair of coral ear-rings to carry as a luck charm. I kept them both until the very end, when I was captured by your uncle. In the struggle one fell into the Hreplace and I have come back forit, merely to see if it is was still there and--and well--perhaps be- cause I used to be very sentimental about such affairs. See, here is one of them. He Page F orgy- Two 42 f Z we f f QW f 1 f f M ff 2 .'.., :.'.::.:,. ,::' ,.5':,.:s,.:::,g:::.::.::',.:',.1Lj1f,: ..,, ,c,....,, drew a leather case from his breast pocket and took out the ear-ring. It was very small and dainty, just large enough to cover the lobe of a small ear. It was of gold with a piece of rose coral fas- tened to the top of it in a peculiar fashion, as though held there by two tiny bands. When I had expressed my admiration, Sergeant Nelson hastily took back the trin- ket and turned about. I heard him utter a cry of dismay and he looked anxiously at the concealed fireplace and then at me. Why, what has happened? he ex- claimed. It is replaced by an iron grat- ing and-oh! You are waking up and I won't be able to get it It will stay there now forever. Just then a sort of golden light filled the room. My eyes became dim and I heard a faint Good-bye as I saw the Confeder- ate turning to misty haze. For a moment everything remained in perfect darkness. Then I felt a heavy jar and I became broad awake, half of me on the floor, the other half on the chair. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and wondered if the lemon pie we had had for dinner had affected me so seriously. The room was filled by a momentary ray of sunshine and I cast down my eyes to avoid the glare. I saw something which startled me exceed- ingly. Of course, it was only a coincidence but at my feet lay a tiny coral ear-ring. 2 5

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

Page 44 text:

1 l -4 f I f ,V !1, , .I 1 123 ' ' 16' ' 1 ,Z 42 CAL, f f X 4 f Z THE DIARY OF A POTATO By GENEVIEVE VVIPPO APRIL 10.-A Red Letter day. I have emerged from the dark obscurity of the pantry. My resting place now is the ground. After we had all been given place in the earth, we were left undisturbed. My colleagues and I consider ourselves so much above the common every-day pota- to, since we live in the back yard of a pro- fessor's home, that we have formed a po- tatoes' union. Naturally, our scope of ed- ucation is widened tenfold. Only those who are enough sophisticated and live in our acre can become members. I am re- garded as a leading member, because my ancestors were among the largest in the town. APRIL 25.-The ants, board of religious organizations in our lot called a mass meet- ing to discuss the moral and educational deficiencies of the modern ant. A motion was passed to limit the skirts of the flapper ants to a certain length. This motion caused dissatisfaction among the afflicted group. APRIL 26.f One of our bolder members decided to sprout once and start out in life for himself. Unfortunately, as he sprouted he struck an ant-hole. He was nearly tickled to death with all the ants running over him. As a result of his boldness, I fear that he will never mature and grow up into a large, healthy potato, because he has his roots in a foundation of sand. You well know the Bible verse, the house built upon a foundation of sand shall perish. APRIL 28.-We have sprouted. Before breaking ground we held a religious meeting in which we prayed for success in the future, a dense foliage growth, and for complete freedom from potato bugs, who inhabit our leaves whether we wish to rent them or not. The parson assured us that all our pleas would be granted. Person- ally, I have my doubts. You know, I felt so proud and happy in sending up that little sprout, that I ac- tually winked at the sun. He merely rolled his eyes in answer. MAY 5.f-My neighbor eight inches away and I are engaged in a deadly feud. It started like this. Just yesterday, both our advance agents, the roots, stretched out in search of food. They collided with each other during the search. An insult- ing remark as to my size caused me to re- ciprocate with one just as biting, hence the feud. INTAY 10.-Well, dear me, the professor was investigating the progress of our growth. He is a wonderful farmer! An innocent neighbor of mine who had ac- quired a denser growth of leaves cruelly deceived the poor man. He thought she was full grown and jerked her out. She was no larger than a small radish. We held a funeral to pay our last sad homage to her, and we gave full vent to our grief, plus anger with the ignorant agriculturist. MAY 15.--Mother used to say that the life of a potato is grand and glorious if you don't weaken. That is my chief trouble-- the weakening clause. To see others of my friends in the same acre of ground having bushy green dresses, and not troubled with those bitter enemies, the dress ruiners, alias the potato bug, is very discouraging. Now, although my dress is green, after a fashion I have been honored with the company of so many of these pests that my once beautiful apparel resembles a sieve Though I am not bothered with a clean- er's bill, thanks to Mr. Rain, it is quite dif- ficult for me to attain the to height of cleanliness that my neighbors do, for the rain simply falls thru the worm-eaten holes and misses me altogether. MAY 20.-My health has not been of the best for the past week, but it is now im- proving. I have adopted exercise as a health-restorer. I have joined the Calis- thenics Club. Every day from nine to ten we take a drill provided the wind is blow- Page Furry- Thrre