THE CLASS OF '35

IT was cm September 29, that memorable Tuesday in 1931, that a few more than a hundred girls gathered from the swamps and forests of North Carolina and two or three of her sister states to hoard the Easl Carolina Teachers College bus for a four year trip through the Land of Knowledge. In this year of Roosevelt prosperity when one glances at our sophisticated seniors, one can scarcely realize that it is the same group of frightened Raggedy Anns who in the second ami worst Near of the depression dressed in the proverbial sock cloth, hand-me-down hats, and half-soled shoes, walked timidly into the door of the bus station. We- yes, I was in the group tearful little girls with our flat pocket hooks had little more than our share of ambition to begin such a hazardous adventure in those distressing circumstances.

For two days after our arrival we wandered about, but our wanderings guided by a few upperclassmen proved to be quite profitable. We learned who Miss Morton and President Wright were, we found out the new meaning of the word co-ed, we forgot a little about home, Mama, and Johnnie. Soon the old girls were coming in, our guides seated us in the back of the bus, and a group of merry people we soon learned to respect as upperclassmen filed ahead of us. The seniors, occupying the place of honor, sat next to President Wright, our driver. Miss Morton, Millie Moore, and their helpers patrolled the aisles to see that all was in order and that no cigarette butts were around.

September 31, 1931 we were off! Those first few days were a little heart breaking, but soon we adjusted ourselves and became more or less independent. Frances Newsome was chosen as our leader, and she, working with the class, managed to keep us more or less en- tertained in those "off moments" when we weren't gazing out of the windows at the Land of Knowledge as we went flying through it. Early in the trip we had a delightful surprise: at one of the stops near Singville the Don Cassack Russian chorus entertained us. Just beyond the city none other than the prima donna, Amelita Galli-Curci herself hopped the bus and honored us with an evening's concert.

Since we kept no diary there's little else we remember about the first lap of the journey except that the world was turned upside down and that we were unhappy. Then, before we realized it we found ourselves one step nearer the driver's seat, and we were sophomores. Frances Watson succeeded Frances Newsome as our leader, but due to an accident it was necessary for her to leave. Katherinc Hinson moved into that place of honor and guided us the rest of that year. The performance of Doris Kenyon, one of those Hollywood blondes, pleased us very much. Time was passing quickly, but one more moment was to come to us that year. Harold Kroutzberg came with his group and gave us a series of dances. Much to the disappointment of many he failed to include the Saint Vidas and the Carioca.

Then, to our Junior year - by this time we thought all the bumps, broken-in bridges, marshy swamps, or anything that might make our journey unpleasant had been passed. We were real upperclassmen now. Besides we had a lot of new travelers. The depression was still raging; therefore, many of our Meredith, Salem, and Duke friends joined us, and to the delight of some the number of "co-eds" increased. But in spite of that, this was to be our unhappiest year. When Ellen Baker, our new president, spied some thirty or more lonely children wandering about a school yard without a teacher, she yelled to President Wright to stop the bus, and allow her to remain with them. Her place was taken by Thelma Peel, who with Dr. Rebarker and Miss Williams, our class advisers, soon began to plan the Junior-Senior banquet, the Junior's formal farewell to their fellow travelers. Then a great tragedy happened. President Wright was stricken and in a short time died. No one in the great excursion bus wanted to go on. All banquet plans were dropped; our guides, the teachers who had been pointing out to us the places of interest, seemed to lose all enthusiasm; it seemed we were stuck in the mud ankledeep. Then, Dr. Meadows, who had held the road map for President Wright and aided him around every curb and across every crossroad, took the wheel in his hands, pulled the bus out of the mire, and successfully completed that lap of journey.

Now, we're at the front of the bus at the right of Dr. Meadows who has officially taken President Wright's place. Eloise Camp, the Ahoskie red head, is holding the band together. So far it's been a busy year: practice teaching, the Carolina Play-Makers, Football, Basketball, Senior Play, Carolina Glee Club (with all the boys to entertain et cetera). The end of the journey is now in sight. Now that we look back it seems a short time since September 29, 1931. We've traveled fast and have caught only a glimpse of the beauty in Land of Knowledge. There are yet fields untrodden, depths unfathomed, and heights unsealed. But the little that we have seen has changed us, and you'll hardly recognize us when we step off the bus at commencement town on June third and receive our tickets of dismissals - our diplomas.

Thelma Peel, Historian.