Page 43 - 1934

M iss A n derso n, at that tim e our idea of the h eigh t of pulchritude. W e also had
M a d a m e W a r g e , w h o introduced us to that stran ge lan g u ag e , French.
A lth o u g h w e considered ourselves w ell a lo n g in years, w e still enjoyed the
sand-box w ith its in trig u in g forts and roads. U ncle R em u s’ story of the Tarbaby
w as read and re-read, alw a ys a favorite am ong our now advanced stories. D u rin g
the w in te r w e w e re g iv en a b ig th rill w hen allo w e d to enter and take a peek at a
la rg e snow -hut erected by the older boys. In the w arm e r w eath er w e w ere alw ays
g iv en a chance to "run around the tree an d com e righ t b ack,” and occasionally,
w h en our spirits w ere too h igh, w e w ere sent on an extended tour around the ten­
nis courts and back. It w as on these m arathons that the first "d o g-its” blossom ed
forth and held the rest of us up w h ile they slo w ly strag g led in.
W e ended this year w ith our h an d w ritin g im proved a hundred per cent, for
M iss A n derso n w as the p en m an sh ip teacher for a ll grades. W e w ere accom plished
in the art of m a k in g b arrel-rolls, gro u n d loops, and no end of stunts on paper w ith
our n e w ly acquired "arm -m o v em en t.”
W e left school that year b id d in g the prim ary grad es goodbye forever.
T h e First Interm ediate, one m ore big ru n g in the ladder, brought us several
n ew things. U n der M iss S traw in this g rad e w e m et discipline m ore strict than
that to w h ich w e had been accustom ed, but I do n ’t believe anyone envied M iss
S traw the job of ap p ly in g the pressure.
M r. H o w e ta u g h t us m an ual training, and w e fu lly enjoyed the chance to turn
out under his tu te lag e the useful products of our ow n hands. A nd, it w a sn ’t lo n g
before w e found that w e had a m aster of m athem atics in our m idst— N ate N ichols.
In no tim e at all he w as w eeks ah ead of us in our w orkbook— and he got his ex am ­
ples right, too. H e transferred to the class above us before the year w as far gone.
W e got our first taste of real sports this year, p la y in g football, soccer, baseball and
tennis.
W e ended this term feelin g that never had a school year passed so quickly, nor
h ad so m uch ever been accom plished.
A fter our vacation w e returned to start w o rk an ew under the tu telag e of M iss
C h ap p ell. W e soon learn ed that she had an obsession for m usic and w as determ ined
that w e should all becom e C arusos before the year w as out. In French w e had by
no w co m p letely m astered the Marseillaise, and M iss C h ap p ell and M a d a m e con­
spired to have us stru g g le th rough Le Madelon.
M r. W h ite , w h o had been m ad e head of the lo w er school the previous year,
w as k n o w n o n ly s lig h tly by those boys that had m ore or less behaved them selves,
but one d ay he cam e to our classroom to m ak e an announcem ent about sw im m in g,
a sport n e w to us at school. A fter finishing w ith the announcem ent that all boys
m ust w e ar b ath in g caps, he asked if there w ere any questions; at this up rose Bill
W h e e le r, w h o in a q u av e rin g voice asked, " D o n ’t w e even w e ar b ath in g su its?”
T h is year w e took a n atu re course under M r. Battey, w ho ap peared at each
class b ea rin g a h u g e box filled w ith endless exhibits. In g eo grap h y w e m ad e a
h u g e m ap of the U n ited States, w hich w e put together like a jig-saw puzzle after
groups of boys had com pleted various groups of states. In M ath w e tru d ged through
'T’age thirty-nine