Chapter 1
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THE TATLER
1926
_The 1926 Tatler_
FOREWORD
School days are joy days; days filled with the pleasures of friendships and the gladness of intimacy, with the satisfaction of work well done and the pride in having done it for one's school. And we at Northrop School have been blessed with such days from the time of four entering as kindergarteners, up through grammar school and our subsequent joining of the League; on through these last days when, as high school girls, we took a real part in the activities of school life, and felt ourselves to have each one a share, however small, in the great whole, our Alma Mater. And it is to recollection of these joys and to the memory of our school days that we of the senior class wish to dedicate the 1926 Tatler.
EVELYN MCCUE BAKER President of the Senior Class
_"She's as good as she is fair"_
MARY BARBER EATON President of the League
_"She who feels nobly, acts nobly"_
MARGARET LOUISE NEWHALL Editor of 1926 Tatler
_"Young and yet so wise"_
VIRGINIA JOSEPHINE LEFFINGWELL Vice-President of League
_"The soft, bright curl of her hair and lash And the glance of her sparkling eye I saw, and knew she was out for a dash As her steed went prancing by."_
BERNICE ALYNE BECHTOL
_"Her hair is not more sunny than her heart"_
MARY ELIZABETH BRACKETT
_"She has a natural wise sincerity and a merry happiness"_
ESTHER MABEL DAVIS
_"The glass of fashion and the mold of form"_
LYDIA MORTIMER FOREST
_"She giggles when she's happy, and one might even say That when there is no reason, she giggles anyway"_
MARION JOSEPHINE HUME
_"For she's a jolly good fellow, Her school mates all declare, She's out for all athletics, There's nothing she won't dare"_
ANN WILDER JEWETT
_"True worth cannot be concealed"_
BEATRICE MYRTICE JOSLIN
_"There is mischief in that woman"_
MARION HARRIET MCDONALD
_"Happy I am, from care I'm free; Why aren't all the rest contented like me?"_
JOSEPHINE REINHART
_"Nothing is impossible to a willing heart"_
MARION JEAN SAVAGE
_"The will can do If the soul but dares"_
NANCY MORRIS STEVENSON
_"A perfect woman, nobly planned, To warn, to comfort, to command"_
CLASS HISTORY
A shiver ran down my back as the last chords of the Ivy Song were played. It was actually a reality--our dream had come true for we were at last garbed in those precious white robes for which we had been striving for four years. Memories of these years rushed over me. How burdened we were with our importance in being Freshmen; Seniors seemed very old and distant. Suddenly we slipped from cock robins to conscientious Sophomores. By this time rumors were heard of a financial problem that we, as Juniors, must meet. Immediately we began to save all our pennies in order to startle the Faculty and the Seniors of 1925 with a luxurious Junior-Senior ball. So our Sophomore year closed with many peeks into the class treasury.
Dancing, fortune telling, freaks, and so on, came to our rescue in preparation for the J. S. We Juniors, as financiers, staged a Junior carnival--and it was successful.
May the twenty-ninth, in the year of our Lord, one thousand-nine hundred and twenty-five, was the red letter day of our Junior year. Our hopes, not our fears, were realized. Gayly we danced to "Tea for Two" in the green and white decked ballroom (alias the dining room) and promenaded in a garden in Japan, otherwise the roof garden. Sadly--ah, yes--the music hesitated and then ceased--as we unitedly sighed, perhaps with relief, perhaps with weariness. Who knows? Our Herculean task had passed, and our eyes were turned to the magnetic red ties. Honored beyond recognition we were the first to abide in the new Senior room, south-west parallel room 40, on the third floor. June quickly slipped near and we fixed our hopes and ambitions on the now approaching goal, graduation.
THE CLASS PROPHECY
In nineteen hundred and fifty-six The year of our Lord, A. D., I sat me down, and put my specs on, An epistle of length to see. And that you may understand this better, I'll herewith disclose the news of the letter:
"Dear Mike," the writer began, "you know I'm feeling that life is far from slow. As Mary B. Eaton, instructor in war, My military academy's not such a bore; Between drills, and luncheon, and chapel, it seems That this life is not all that it was in my dreams.
"And Nance, instead of teaching the boys how to ride, Prefers to smuggle them food, and candy beside. By the way, did you know that Virge Leffingwell Has given up art and horses as well? She's opened a school, the dear old scamp, To teach all the young ladies the best ways to vamp.
"The other day, as I drove in my hack, I passed a familiar figure in black; 'Twas irresponsible Lydia, our giggler so jolly, Gone into seclusion to atone for past folly. She lives all alone, without any noise, Without any jazz, and without any boys! She told me with horror and pain in her gaze That Bee had turned actress, in movies (not plays) And that very same week was playing down town With R. Valentino in the 'Countess's Frown.'
"I didn't tell Lydia, but I thought 'twould be great To go to Bee's movie and see how she'd rate. So I left Lyd and started, and the first thing I met, Or rather bumped into, was a fair suffragette, Covered with signs 'E. Baker for Mayor'. So many there hardly was room To see our progressive young democrat Hume! Yes, 'twas none other than Marion, our businesslike girl; She's adopted the slogan of 'Death to the curl!' And she's canvassing the city, with a terrible row, To get votes for Ely, who's in politics now.
"And Bernice and Andy, have you heard of their fate? The last thing I know they had each found a mate. One of them's handsome and young, but no money, The other one's rich, but crabby and funny. But each one is happy in marriage, they say; And that's what really counts, say what you may. For Bernice is proud of her good-looking guy, And Andy knows the old man will soon die!
"Did you see in the paper Mary Brackett's new fad? As Sunday School superintendent I'll bet she's not bad. And, Mike, yesterday on some errands, I encountered another of our old friends. I'd hired a cab because I was tired. I thought the driver was reckless and ought to be fired; So I leaned over to express my opinion, you know, And if it wasn't our Esther, the pedestrian's foe!
"Did you know Marion MacDonald is engaged again? That makes five times now, oh, woe to the men! Jean's spoken to her now, a couple of times, Of reforming herself, but do you think Marion minds? Jean's slumming committees have had lots of work, Directed by Joey, who won't let them shirk.
"Well, Mike, how're your orphans, from Johnny to Bill? Are there exactly nine hundred and nine of them still?" And with this, Tony closed, and Ted Henry, Oswald, etcetera, I sent up to bed.
--M. L. N.
ELEVENTH FORM
TOP ROW--_Dorothy Sweet_, _Barbara Bailey_, _Shirley Woodward_, _Betty Smith_, _Mary Louise Griffin_
MIDDLE ROW--_Polly Sweet_, _Virginia Little_, _Louise Gorham_, _Betty Fowler_, _Mabel Reeves_, _Grace Helen Stuart_
FRONT ROW--_Janet Marrison_, _Frances Baker_, _Betty Long_, _Anne Healy_, _Charlotte Williams_
_Jane Thompson_
FRIDAY, THE THIRTEENTH
We worked feverishly and hoped that there would be no more disputes concerning the chairs. Some thought the ones from the dining room ought to be used; others thought not. The chairs were brought down and then taken back with much strife along the way. Would anyone want to play bridge? We wondered. Would anyone bring cards to play bridge with? We wondered again. The fact that wax was being applied to the floor caused a good deal of worry, for we were afraid we would fall and break our necks if too much was put on. However, even in that predicament, we were determined to be gracious and smiling. Did everyone know that all the autumn boughs in blue and silver were tied on with red string? We fervently hoped they didn't, for we were in no condition to do anything about it if they did. Thus our thoughts ran as we slammed down tables, tied on table cloths, and practised our Spanish dance in uniforms and low heeled shoes. At five-thirty we went home, thankful that we didn't have to wash the windows and clean up the furnace room.
Much credit must be given to those few guests who realized that the gym was supposed to represent a cabaret. We greatly appreciate their penetration. They perhaps didn't know that fortune-telling and fishing for tin automobiles in the telephone booth were a part of the procedure at a cabaret dance. But if they didn't know these things, they had much to learn, for that's what they did at our party and who were we to spurn their filthy lucre? They also danced and ate heartily of the ice cream and cake we served. Many thought the popcorn balls were a holdup, but they refrained from throwing them at us when we asked ten cents.
An attempt was made at amusement when we gave two dances; one with castanets and tambourines and much swirling and swooping; another with Spanish shawls draped on us. This latter one was more or less of a failure, for we couldn't seem to get into step when we did it a second time. The audience, however, applauded, regardless of the fact, and didn't see that the dance was any worse than it had been the first time. About eleven-thirty it was gently hinted that the time had come for the party to break up. We went on aching feet, hoping that since the party had been a success financially, the guests were not making too many derogatory remarks about it as a social function.
Dawn broke, and blushed to see the sight at Northrop School: packs of cards scattered in fifty-two different places, tables every which way, covers off, cake and popcorn balls scattered liberally on the floor. A few of us came to clean up, and cleaned with many yawns. After a few hours the gym began to take on its natural air of bleakness, and we left it to the tender mercies of Clyde and Mullen, hoping that the Junior-Senior would be a good one.
TENTH FORM
TOP ROW--_Dorothy Stevens_, _Louise Jewett_, _Ethel Conary_, _Jean Crocker_, _Elizabeth Dodge_, _Kate Velie_, _Elizabeth Jewett_, _Jane Bartley_, _Anna Margaret Thresher_
MIDDLE ROW--_Dorothy Owens_, _Nita Weinrebe_, _Helen Dietz_, _Jane Davenport_, _Gloria Congdon_, _Martha Jean Maughan_, _Priscilla Brown_, _Florence Roberts_, _Eylin Seeley_
FRONT ROW--_Jane Strong_, _Mayme Wynne Peppard_, _Eugenia Bovey_, _Mary Louise Sudduth_, _Eleanor de Laittre_, _Emily Knoblaugh_, _Elizabeth Pray_, _Maude Benjamin_
_Jane Woodward_
SOPHOMORE GIRLS' GAZETTE
Seven Shekels in St. Paul Published once in a while
GENERAL NEWS
The other day several members of the Sophomore class visited the studios of the famous Mesdames Dodginsky and DeBartley, where they were told their secret ambitions; and by special permission we have been allowed to print them. It appears that Annah Margaret Thresher would like to swim the English Channel. Jean Crocker longs to be a Professor of Music at Oxford, while Florence Roberts would receive all possible degrees at Columbia. Others seem to desire athletic professions. Helen Dietz would like to be the Football Coach at the "U," Jane Woodward to be the World's Greatest Lightweight Forward, and Kate Velie to be on the Olympic Sprinting Team. Mayme Wynne has a morbid desire to be a designer of Curious Coiffures in Paris.
WEATHER REPORT
By E. B.
The Sophomores suggest a soaking spring if the snow smelts. If it rains sufficiently to suit Miss Svenddahl, they forecast dancing in the Gym. The spring days will be either cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear. It will rain dogs and cats or hail taxicabs, although we may have snow, a tornado, a cyclone, a blizzard, a squall, a typhoon, a tidal wave, or a forest fire.
* * * * *
Last Friday evening the Sophomore Select Sewing Society met at the home of Miss Jane Bartley. A pleasant time was had by all, making rackets and nightcaps for the poor. Refreshments were served.
One of these fleas has been magnified 439 times, the other 438½ times. Which was originally the larger? Take 39 seconds in which to do this.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dr. Ailment's Post Box
Question: Dear Doc: What can be done to keep up one's hair when it is not entirely grown out?--A. M. T. B. D. B. I.
Answer: Cut it off, my dears.
* * * * *
Question: Dear Doc: What can be done for eye-strain caused by drawing maps of the Aegean Sea?--Sophomore Class.
Answer: Don't do 'em. You will flunk anyway.
ADVERTISEMENT
Take my three minute course and learn to study successfully. Astound your teachers in any way. See me about it.--J. Crocker.
Learn the art of putting up your hair in two minutes between bells. Don't be late for your classes. Follow my example. Easy lessons. Apply to B. Dodge.
NINTH FORM
TOP ROW--_Jane Robinson_, _Martha Eurich_, _Mary Elizabeth Case_, _Catherine Colwell_, _Caroline Doerr_, _Donna McCabe_, _Nancy Adair Van Slyke_, _Catherine Moroney_
MIDDLE ROW--_Edna Louise Smith_, _Margaret Maroney_, _Victoria Mercer_, _Mary Morison_, _Jean Adair Willard_, _Virginia Lee Bechtol_, _Elizabeth Heegaard_, _Mary Atkinson_
FRONT ROW--_Alice Tenney_, _Ann Beckwith_, _Carol Hoidale_, _Helen Tuttle_, _Marion Wood_, _Beatrice Wells_, _Mildred O'Brien_
GIANT TRANS-ATLANTIC AIR SHIP DOWNED
(Minneapolis Morning Tribune, June 21, 1932)
The giant airship _Coolidge_ was downed last night in a hurricane on the Atlantic. A terrific wind arose, which broke one of the huge wings. The ship dropped abruptly, and though the captain fired distress signals, nothing could possibly have saved the passengers but the timely arrival of the _Admiral Sims_, a destroyer, captained by Helen Tuttle, and the ship, _The Roosevelt_, captained by Caroline Doerr. The two crews worked feverishly, and in less than an hour everyone was off the sinking ship. Miss Tuttle and Miss Doerr were the heroines of the hour, keeping their heads and directing their crews with a coolness equal to any man's. Several Minneapolis people were on board. Among them were Miss Carol Hoidale, famous sportswoman, who was going to England to be in the Leicestershire horse show; Miss Marion Wood, accomplished pianist; and Miss Elizabeth Heegard, a well-known actress. Miss Doerr, Miss Tuttle, and these three ladies were classmates at Northrop Collegiate School and graduated in 1929.
FORMER NORTHROP STUDENTS CAPTURING TITLES IN EUROPE
Miss Nancy Van Slyke and Miss Mary Morison are capturing all the tennis titles. Recently at the tournament at Nice the two Americans defeated Mlle. Isabelle Lenglen, daughter of the famous Suzanne, and Mlle. Pavol, winning both sets, 6-3, 6-0. This gives them the world's doubles championship.
* * * * *
Last night Miss Beatrice Wells was proclaimed world's amateur champion fancy skater at the St. Moritz artificial rink.
* * * * *
Miss Jane Robinson and Miss Alice Tenny, the young American athletes, are doing well in the Olympics. Miss Robinson has set a new mark for high jumping. Miss Tenny has shattered all previous breaststroke records.
* * * * *
"Dee," or Donna McCabe, won the Sanford cup yesterday with her Packard straight eight. She lowered her previous record by several minutes. The distinguished monogram on the hood was designed by Mary E. Atkinson.
BACK FROM MARS
Miss Martha Eurich and Miss Margaret Maroney, famous artists, returned today from Mars, where they went to make sketches of an improved type of building that has airplane parking space on the roof. They were sent by Miss Mary E. Case, president of the Animal Rescue League, who contemplates building a new sky-scraper for animals.
* * * * *
Miss Catherine R. Mount, the well-known New York designer, says trains are coming back. She bases her claims on the present length of skirts.
* * * * *
"The Same Old Story," written by Miss Anne Beckwith, is a delightful book. The plot is very new and the book is very original. It is pleasantly illustrated by Miss Catherine Colwell, who is so famous for her drawings, and is dedicated in verse by Virginia Lee Bechtol to Miss Cordelia Lockwood.
* * * * *
Miss Edna Lou Smith will be the soloist for tomorrow's concert, that is if she doesn't disappear in the meantime.
TO MAKE DEBUT
Miss Mildred O'Brian will make her debut tomorrow at a tea given by her mother. Miss O'Brian will wear a corsage bouquet given by her mother, the first part of the afternoon. After that she will wear the corsages given by her admirers, a minute each.
* * * * *
Judge Victoria Mercer sentences Hard Boiled Egg for life.
EIGHTH FORM
TOP ROW--_Muriel Miner_, _Frances Lee_, _Betty Stroud_, _Harriet Kemp_, _Lorraine Stuart_, _Alice Wright_, _Betty Bean_
MIDDLE ROW--_Betty Strout_, _Grayce Conary_, _Mary Elizabeth Ricker_, _Esther Hazlett_, _Mary Elizabeth Thrall_, _Inez Colcord_, _Edna Nagell_, _Ruth de Vienne_
FRONT ROW--_Marian Murray_, _Marjorie Osgood_, _Virginia Cook_, _Eleanor Bellows_, _Anne Winton_, _Louise Partridge_, _Miriam Powell_
_Mary Eleanor Best_, _Ruth Alberta Clark_, _Aileen Stimson_
THE EIGHTH FORM PRIMER
_Lest the history of our year Through passing time grow dimmer, We've gathered the choicest bits And put them in a primer._
=A= stands for Athletics, Ambition, and Art, Since they're packed full of Action we're glad to take part.
=B= is for Bumps, got when sliding at noon; We often see stars and sometimes the moon.
=C= for Captain ball games, two of which we have won, And we all agree they are jolly good fun.
=D= is le Duc whose French we found charming, But a sky downstairs we think most alarming.
=E= is for Eighths. What else could it be? Energetic, ecstatic, emphatic are we.
=F= is Friar Tuck. In our Robin Hood play He was bluff, fat, and hearty in quite the right way.
=G= for Graham crackers. They're indeed simple fare, But they keep us from getting too much outside air.
=H= is the Hill, so covered with sleet That when we come down, we can't stay on our feet.
=I= stands for Icelandic. Though amusing to hear, We think we'll not speak it each day in the year.
=J= is for Joking. That is our folly For rather than sad we choose to be jolly.
=K= for Kicker Sleds. They arrived last December And furnished good sport for every class member.
=L= is for Luther--Burbank we were told, Who started the Protestant reformation of old.
=M= is the Mascot that brings us our luck, And we surely need him to combat Sevens' pluck.
=N= for "Noblesse Oblige," our chosen class aim. Though sometimes we slip, we strive on just the same.
=O= is Old Girls' Party, to which we escorted The whole seventh grade; a gay time was reported.
=P= is for Pageant we held Columbus Day, To tell how brave sailors to our land made way.
=Q= for the Quest the whole class did make When told to make rhymes for our Tatler's sake.
=R= for Radiators to which we all swarm To dry off our stockings and get our toes warm.
=S= is for Silver, that coupled with blue Is the symbol to which we shall ever be true.
=T= is for Tourney 'twixt the White and the Gold. But 'tis fought with balls instead of swords bold.
=U= is uniform. When that badge we wear We must look to upholding Northrop's standards so fair.
=V= for Valentine party, which the seventh form had. Favors, verses, and dancing made our hearts glad.
=W= for Winter Sports. There's no fun more thrilling, Whether skating or sliding or in the snow spilling.
=X= is unknown, so why trouble with it. We'll leave it alone and not wear out our wit.
=Y= is for Yells. We give them with vim When sports are on foot in our lower gym.
=Z= for Zipper boots, our greatest delights. Zip off the last minute and fly up two flights.
SEVENTH FORM
TOP ROW--_Katharine Simonton_, _Barbara Newman_, _Betty Goldsborough_, _Marjorie Williams_, _Louisa Hineline_, _Betty Miller_
MIDDLE ROW--_Laura Van Nest_, _Alice Benjamin_, _Pauline Brooks_, _Catherine Wagner_, _Catherine Piper_, _Ann Lee_
FRONT ROW--_Betty Thomson_, _Elizabeth Junkin_, _Jane Helm_, _Virginia Helm_, _Peggy Gillette_, _Emily Douglas_
SEVENTH FORM EVENTS
SPORTS
Early in the fall the sevenths and eighths had a number of baseball games. Although the sevenths tried very hard, they were always defeated. However, spring is coming, and they may have better luck.
In midwinter when games are indoors, captain ball is the popular sport. The two classes always play two games. In the first one the sevenths were badly beaten, but in the second they came close to victory with a score of 3 to 2.
The winter outdoor fun is on a bumpy, crooked hill back of school used for sliding. Down it goes a continuous stream of sleds, toboggans, and skis. Sometimes an overloaded sled drops a passenger on the way, and sometimes a load lands upside down in a drift, but it's all part of the fun.
PARTIES