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

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LIFE IN THE. PORTABLES ROBERT FISHER-June, 1919 -,ii HEY were more intimately known ix! L as is 53,5 as' The Dog Houses, an appro- iyg' priate appellation bestowed upon them by an admiring public. VVhen viewed from a distance, they could easily have been mistaken for the residences of some pampered Canaries. On closer observa- tion, however, they appeared more like hideous monsters fattening upon a diet of small children, a ludicrous aspect produced by the arrangement of the doors and win- dows, together with a pronounced bulging of the sides. This effect was further height- ened by the bird yellow and grass green tints applied to the door and window frames by the master hand of the janitor. The chimney of one room slanted crazily to one side, giv- ing the structure a waggish look. In the yard at the rear of the buildings was a long trough, upon which stood a half dozen wooden buckets. Out of these, children. dogs, and other animals quenched their thirsts. These receptacles had a clumsy way of tumbling off the trough and drenching children who handled them too carelessly. The buildings and equipments were grow- ing old, and, as is often the case with the aged, had many eccentricities, some of which I vividly remember, especially one little trick of the furnace in No. 12. The pupils are sitting quietly at their desks, when suddenly there comes a loud creaking and rumbling. The teacher, quite used to the symptoms, rises quietly, and says, Stand! Get your wraps. The manoeuvre is carried out with the quickness and precision which is the result of long training. The pupils are soon standing near the door with an air of great expectancy. XfVith a loud roar, the furnace belches forth an enormous cloud of black smoke, which quickly fills the room. The janitor is sent for and the windows opened. A-fter a time, the smoke all passes away, the children file in, and all is quiet again. Who knew how soon the experience would be repeated? The janitor of the institution was a man of superior abilities, for, aside from pushing a broom, he had followed the professions of minister and physician. His practice of the latter had come to a sudden and untimely end by some neighborhood jokesmith's fast- ening his trade sign upon the cemetery fence. His name was something like Griller. He was usually attended by a mob of small boys hooting, Griller, the Duck Killer! Griller, the Duck Killer. They were always rewarded by a look of supreme contempt from this dignified official. ' At last came news of the building of a new school and vague rumors of a spanking machine worked by steam. Then, after a long period of waiting, we saw the portables taken apart piece by piece, and hauled away to grace some other growing community. One Hundred Five

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time ago. Never thought to see it again. Did you know jim Allen? He was ushering down at the Orpheum the year before you came. I settled back in my chair. VVhen Phronie begins this way, it means a story, and thereis no use trying to stop her. It can't be done. I always did like jimj' resumed Phronie, reminiscently, even thought he wasn't much account. Yet he was honest as daylight and the funniest kid to talk to. If he only hadn't been so darn lazyg He and indolence were twin brothers. The kid was bright enough, but he hated work and life seemed to have cast him for the title role of 'A Fool and His Money Are Soon Partedf Yet, he didn't blow all his money in on himself, mind you. That was the redeeming feature of his weakness. It was only that he and the little penny-in-the-slot savings bank hadn't even a bowing acquaintance. VVell, Jim went along this way for some time, and then-he met the Girl. 'KShe was a sweet little thing, one of my former pupils, and she and Jim fell head over heels in love with each other after their first meeting. For the next few weeks jim nearly drove me crazy with talking about that girl. Every time he'd come near, I knew I'd have to adore the name and listen to the praisesi of Maidie. If it had kept up much longer, I'm afraid I should have EIC- tually come to dislike the child. Of course, after all this, I was able to take it very calmly when Jim came to me, about a month later, and announced that he and lllaidie werelgoing to marry. 'I haven't got a cent to my namef he said, cheerfully, 'but I know that if I had Maidie to encourage me and a little money to get started on, I'd get along all right in no time. You know I never can save a blamed nickel-' One Hundred Four 'No, you can't Iim,' I encouraged. 'But if I once got started-Listen, Phronie, if you'll just lend me four hundred so we can get married and settle down, I'll pay it back within a year's time with in- terest. I swear I will, Phronie. You see, Maidie's father doesn't like me, so if we're going to be married at all, we've got to skip tonight while he's out of town.' Oh, well, what's the use? How could I dash cold water on all that enthusiasm? I knew very well Jim couldn't save a cent and they'd probably be unhappy, but I knew, too, they'd be ten times unhappier if they weren't married, so I took my four hundred from my stocking and told the youngsters to run along and elope with the cash. i'That was twenty years ago. I never heard from the kids after that night. It didn't surprise me, for I knew jim's failing too well, yet-I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. I Yesterday I received this cheque. It was from Jim Allen, and with it a long letter. He and Maidie had never written because, what with sickness. babies--there were four of them-and misfortunes generally, they had been kept poor, and were ashamed to write unless they could return the money. They have just begun to grow prosperous. The babies are growing up and -here Phronie chuckled delightedly- what do you suppose those two silly youngsters did? Named their first baby, a girl, after me! Imagine the poor child going through life with a name like that tacked to her. Shes eighteen now and looks like her mother, so she must 'be pretty. Say, come to think of it. you needn't bother about that investment. just make out -a bond for her with the money. It might sort of compensate her for having to he a 'Sophroniaf Phronie added, apologetic and a little ashamed.

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WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCI-IGLARSI-IIP AWARDS OR many years Washington Univer- sity has been a powerful .force m the life of St. Louis. VVh1le many ' may have been unconscious of its influence, they have, none the less, been touched by it, for its effect has been the gradual raising of our intellectual life. VV e all should feel indebted to it though we our- selves may never have entered its doors. Gertain former Yeatman High School pupils have particular reason to feel warmly grateful to it, for they have been the re- cipients of four-year scholarship given them by the University. These fortunate stu- dents, it is true, in a measure earned the honor by offering the University at the time of their graduation from High School the highest scholarship records in their re- spective classes, but they would be the first to acknowledge their deep indebtedness to a generous University. In the closing days of Yeatman, when we are reviewing its achievements, we like to think of the thirty-nine students who have been so honored and who have in almost every case carri-ed on in the University their records of high scholarship. The following are the names of those people: June 1906 Lloyd Faidley jan. 1907 August Nolte june 1907 Jan. 1908 June 1908 One Hundred Six Hyman Ettlinger Edna Sauerbrunn Louise VV enzel Jan. 1909 June 1909 Jan. 1910 June 1910 Jan. 1911 June 1911 Jan. 1912 June 1912 jan. 1913 june 1913 jan. 1914 June 1914 Jan. 1915 june 1915 Jan. 1916 June 1916 Jan. 1917 June 1917 Jan. 1918 june 1918 jan. 1919 .Tune 1919 jan. 1920 .Tune 1920 Jan. 1921 June 1921 Jan. 1922 june 1922 jan. 1923 June 1923 jan. 1924 June 1924 Jan. 1925 June 1925 Clarissa Brockstedt Adele Seifert Fred Griffith Elmer Niemoeller Florence Sisler Ben Goldstein Florence Wuensch Marguerite Raeder Alf red Goldman Lucille Bishop Helene Buss Herman Dacus Carla Gewe Clara Hopmann Adele Shea Theodore Braun VValter Goldman Raymond Schuermann Edna Rasmussen Velora Buscher Henry Stauss - Major Neely V era Oberschelp Grace Oberschelp Virginia Horn Lucille Ryan Leanora Reilly Cyril McBryde Frederick Hageman Adrienne Stoeppelman Roma Schaefer Alice Birr Mildred Helmholt Matthew B I cCauley