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M E R C f M O T H t R T O U S f '

A R C H I V E S E K I E ,P N NA-

" $eace MERCIAD Cocqarbjfllen"Published at Mercy hurst College, Erie, Penn sylvania

VOL. XI DECEMBER, 1939 NUM BER TWO

J f f l e r r p C f ) r i t m a - J | ai ^ e t oe aActor Portrays

David CopperfieldOn Monday evening, November

20 , Mr. Frank Speaight, noted actor and monologist, presented fivescenes from "David Copperfield,"one of Dickens most famous novels.

His characterizations of theplayers in the various scenes werevery distinctive, particu larly hisportrayal of David Copperfield'schild-wife, Dora.

In closing, Mr. Speaight recommended tha t the classics be readaloud at least fifteen minutes aday for two or three years to develop I the power of distinguishingthe best from the large number of

books on the mar ket today. Healso fsuggested tha t no book beread until it is at least threeyear's old.

Marion Weschler

Junior Class HoldsCourtesy Campaign

Since 1932 the Junior Class hasha d kthe privilege of sponsoringCourtesy Week. This year thestudents of the college were reminded of the necessity of cour-

sv ^through appropriate dailyjpostersl and a program onfcourt-tesy. I

The activities period on Tuesdaywas devoted to the program whichopened with an introduction byth e presidents of the Junior Class.After the singing of the CourtesySong of ithe Class, of '40, originalpantomimes e n t i t l e d : "If WeDidn't Have Courtesy," were presented by the Juniors. The pen-tomimes, which were directed b yBeth Leahey, included the following girls: Doris Scalzo, Mary Winston, Jeanne Weir, Jean Prender-gast , Mary Klampher, MarthaHutton, Lois Blanchard, H e l e nSullivan, and Ruth Brugger.

A symposium on courtesy followed the pantomimes. The speakers were A n n e Boughton |whospoke on "Courtesy in the Hall,"Frances Gallagher, "Courtesy inthe Library," Catherine Bellucci,"Courtesy in the Dining Room,"and Rosemary Klos,I"Courtesy inthe Chapel." Betty Ann English

acted as chair ady.Betty Ann English

L R. C. Club MeetsTh e I international Re l a t i o n s

Club held its second meeting o nNovember 16. The subject was"PolandThe Key to Europe".

Jane Franklin, the first speaker, gave a very informative talkon the pas t h i s to ry and b a c kground of the Polish people. HelenSullivan then gave a brief summary of the book "PolandKeyto Euro pe" by Raymond LeslieBuell. In the absence of AlleneStevens, Anne Sawdey read a pape r , on the pre sent s ituation i nPoland.! k Helen Sullivan

Students AttendAnnual Retreat

Not that we were cowards butthe bravest knows that discretionis often? the better part of valor;that* the war is aften won by astrategic retreat . The evening ofDecember 7, we started our^re-treat and continued it, under theleadership of Father Ignatius Ryan, C. P., of Union City, N. J. until Sunday morning December 10when we decidedjto resume activefighting.

During these three days all routine was removed that we mightbetter consider our moral assets,liabilities, and net worth on theaccounts in God's ledger. And.it

seems tha t we should spend atleast three days-in such spiri tualinventory when the rest of everyyear is given over to mere material interestsfor th e ^welfare ofthe soul outranks that of the bodyas eternity outranks t ime.

Retreats are good for all of uswe rediscover that each year.They leave, if one has really triedto enter into the spirit of retreat,what we might term a "retrea thangover", that glow of self-satisfaction that accompanies a worthwhile thing well done. And if

Retrea t hangovers ^are outwardly discernible, I think it safe tosay that we collegians have themindicating a successful and beneficial retreat this year.

Eileen Rehler

News Of O. G. A.f [Sorority Meeting

The regular monthly meeting ofthe O. G. A. Sorority was held recently in the College dining room.Priscilla Jenkins, Secretary, readseveral let ters f r o m a l u m n a emembers of the club.

F r a n c e s Gallagher, PublicityChairman, called attention to thehonor of the O. G. A. inlhavingthree of its senior..members elected to appear I in the Who's Whoamong Students in American Universities and Colleges. They a r ethe Misses Marion Weschler, O. G.A. President; Rosem ary! McGee.Treasure r ; and Margaret Wadlin-ger.

One of the features of the regular meetings of the club is to havereviews of new business bookswhich are being added to the college library from-time to t ime.This month the subject of salesmanship, which is becoming v e r ypopular, was emphasized.

iMarie Madden brought out someof t h e interesting ^features inSalesmanship for College by Elizabeth Casey and Ralph Johns. Sheemphasized some of the specificrules regarding any type of selling, even selling oneself to an employer.

Margar et Wadlinger, who reviewed Salesman ship by C harles

(Continued on Page 3)

SonnetSerene and shining Star,

eternal l ight!Olthou who, silent, vigilant

above,Looked down that long-ago

immortal? nightOn blessed Christ, the Prince

of Peace and Love;Who led the pious Kings of

OrientTo seek the new-born Child,

their Lord to crownUntil at length thy glorious

light had beJojt - 4. 4,Its rays in peace above the

dreaming town:O' lead us now, grop ing, deluded

fools, To seek this night, as did Wise

Men of old, *That gleam, unti l we find that*God whofrules

O'er men ofttimes forgetful andtoo bold; %

0 bringlthat hallowed message *W' :once again 3

God's gift of peace on earth, *m&good will toward men! *?w

A. Bannister

Kappa Gamma PiN e w s W

A "meeting of the Erie Chapterof Kapp a Gamma P i, NationalHonor a n d Activity Society ofCatholic Women's College, w a sheld at the Villa Maria College onFriday* evening, Novem ber 2 4, at

8:30 P. M. ^ fhiy

.* H Officers elected for the year1940 are: Irene Haas, President;Mary Alice Kuhn, Vice-President;Jeanette Brugger, Secretary;* andHelen Murphy of Petrolia, Pa.,Treasurer.

The Chapter h a s taken!on aworthwhile project for the comingyear, namely, the compiling of^ar u r a l library list for Catholicschool children.

T h o s e attending th meetingwere: Thresa Kamiusky, I r e n eHaas , Annette Miller, Ritag Lohse,Margaret An n e Mooney, EileenRichard, Edna Londregan, MaryKuhn, Helen Murphy, JeanetteBrugger, Ellen McQuiston, Cathrine Can ley, and Grace Mosier.

Freshmen|PresentChristmas Frolic

As coming Christmas withinMercyhurst halls induces (car olingand lau ghter and goods cheeramong the collegians, so, too, doesit instill into Freshman ambitions,the desire to compete with, and topossibly out-do, in some mode, theclimactic {gestures of Hormer seasons regarding the annual Freshman-sponsored Chris tmas! Par ty.

This year the class of '43 hasanswered spontaneously to thecall. Our presentation on thenight of December 18? We {.hopeandjjwejfeel certain__that our efforts will not have been in vainyou see, we are looking forwardto that anight with! even as* muchexpectation, perhaps, as you are.Our spirits will beflight with thetheme of our " San ta's IcelandWorkshop." Mary Ellen Linney,the director, and her suppo rtingchairwomen, with their committees in whole the entireFreshma n Class,! are to be commended on the score of efficiencyand cooperation.

*We here comment justly andwith true admiration upon the;artistic tastes and achievement thatwe shall see reauzecl in the transformation fromfreality to fantasyof ourJ Mercyhurst "dining-room."The depth of blue, and the ice ofsilver displayed decorativelylbyour talented decoration committee,appropriately convey to us, as visitors in Santa's world for a night,th e I spiri t J off an I undiscoveredmake-believe lland. 1 Tha t our efforts will be successful keeping^ ^ B (Continued on Page 2) ^ H

Sophomores I Pres entProgram For S. O. S.

I The Sophomore class had chargeof the program for the Decembermeeting of the S. 0. S. club, whichwasjheld on Tuesday evening, December 15 , fin the college diningroom. I The|meeting|was {presidedover I by j President iMaryl LouiseHealy. Plans for lensuing|meet-ings were discussed.SKglRSifll

T h e I Sophomores presented aprogram of speak ers! whose jsub-jectslwere of particular interestto Home E conomists, j The speakers and the subjects on which theyspoke were: jGiovina JMus i , | Cansand Canning; Annette Morell, Information forfthe Canned { Fo odBuyer: Virginia Kopec, The Federal Foodland Drug Act; andjPaul-ine Lynch, Getting JAn AdequateDiet by the Use of Canned Foods.

Outside the realms of food, MaryHelen Walsh spoke on Scarfs inthe Nineteenth Century, and HelenMault spoke Jon Shawls. Severalattractive shawls were displayed.

The meeting closed w i t h refreshments served by a committeeheadedjby Mary* Hilkert.

Pauline Lynch

Father GefellSpeaks On Hitl

On Thursd ay morning, Decbe r 7, jMercyhurst had the honof hearing'Reverend Joseph Gef of Rochester, N. Y. address collegelon the subject of the Gman situation.

[Father Gefell is well informon conditions in Germany, havvisited Itha t country five timwithin the past ten years. Durhis stay, he lived at the home the Bishop of Berlin. He has excellent opportunities to mobservations and conclusions.

Father Gefell began his lectby explaining to his audience hHitler came into control in G

many. HeImentioned that a nuber of "plag ues" was the dicausejjof Hitler 's seizure of |powThe "plagues" as stated by FatGefell, are: inflation, leaving distinct classes in Germanytvery rich and thevery poor; athe economic and political bredown of the nation.

The speaker vividly related Hler's first public appearance Germany in 1933. At this time Germ an- people were convinthat Hitler was th e one man' wwould saye_the.CAUnt^ ' s\gj* ^p*their territories lost T in me waand? make G ermany a wondecountry fin which to live. Hoever, even at this early date, sFather Gefell, Jthere were maclear-thinking individuals! wforesaw all \ t h a t subsequenh app en ed. ^ H H ^ K S B ^ K ^ ^ SI On his visit to German y in 1Father Gefell found dt^ a changcountry. Many of his own friehad lost their lives in a ^ruthlemassacre. Nuns and priests wbeing mercilessly persecu ted. ther described the methods usedGerman!government to trick nuand priests into incriminating uations an dfun justly ! convict thwith trumped -up I evidence. Tpeople! w e r e I suffering* terrhardships but could not compor even speak about it for 1 f eaof losing theirI lives or endura life of misery in a concentratcamp. ^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^IHI This ! is the j condition j in whiGermany is today, j Hitler and band of followers completely minate the country a n d contB ^ B (Continued on Page 2) ^

I Spanish Club Meet T h e second meeting of the Spish Club was held Tuesday ening, November 28 . > After a shbusiness meeting, Spanish essawrit ten by the students, were rand discussed. Gloria; Lutz prsented a Spanish riddle as d iPeggy ISulli van.

Popular Spanish records wplayed.

Th e [ h i g h l i g h t of the meing was Clara Molini's talk on way the* holidays are celebratedPue rto Rico. Sally McClai

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Christmas ThoughtsWhat I have to say has been said over and over again, year

in and year out at the Christmas season, so many t imes, thatnow people are so tired of seeing it printed and hearing itread, that they refuse to give their time to it. However, Ihope that, for your own good, you readers of this page willnot pass up this article to turn to something perhaps moreinteresting on another page, simply becauseyou have toooften heard or read what I am writ ing. And I hope that thisnth repetition of Christmas thoughtswill^serve to bring hometo you the drastic conditions that prevailin the world todayconditions that mightbe remedied if more so-called Christian sheeded the words of the Christmas angel"Glory to God inthe highest ; and on earth peace to men of good will."

How ironic must 'these words seem| to Christ when Heleaves His heavenly home, where peacei-knows no bounds, tocome to us each Christmas Eveto a | world that has neverknown peace and from all appearances never will!]Why can' tpeople realize th at if they lived up to the f irst part of theangel's greeting, and proved to God their utter dependenceon Him by asking His help in difficulties, the words of thesecond part"on earth peaceto men of good will", just couldnot help but be fulfilled to the letter! Why can' t t h e y realize that God holds the fate of their universe in His hands,and'that He is waiting for them to recognize^His position asSupreme Master, to prove to them that He could straightenou t all their ills for them and give them th e peace that theyare trying to bring about through their weak at tempts!Whycan't they realize that God hates hatredthat He is so filledwith an all-encompassing love thatHe, as Christ, gave up Hislife, at the hands of those who hated Him! Evidently HisSupreme Sacrifice meant nought to some peopleto thosewho persist in living their own selfish lives, at the expenseof-iiPsettiagL^eace in th e lives of their associates; and yetthey are t rying to make others believe that they are "str ivingto attain peace."

So at this Christmas season, let us, as the good Christianswe profess to be, make an earnest effort to do our part tobring about a world-wide peace. Instead of spending so muchof our t ime on Christmas shopping and holiday festivities

instead of dashing into Midnight Mass, dashingup to HolyCommunion and back to our pew and distractions, and dashin g out as soon as Mass is over, with scarcely a word for theChrist-Childlet us spend just a few extra minutes each dayin th e Chapel or Church, as the case may be; let us ask Godto let the peace-hating people see the l ight; let us offer ourMidnight Mass and Communion very devoutly for the sameintention. So that when th e Infant Jesus comes to us onChristmas Eve, "there may be but one Fold and One Shepherd" to join with the angel in saying "Glory to God in thehighest; and on earth peace to men of good will."

I Jeanne Senior

Realism And Self

THE MERCIAD December, 1939

Miss Mulcahy To WedDuring Christmas

Democracy On The Campus

O wad some Power the giftie gie usTo see oursels as others see us!"

Robt. BurnsWith most of us, if there is one power we do not want, it is

the power to see ourselves as we really a r e ! Haven' t you foundit hard to be realistic with yourself? Instead of echoingBurns, we would rather say, ;,.

" 0 wad some Power the giftie gie usTo build a world of fairy dreams."

We would build ourselvesa lovely dreamworld of fairy talesand fancies about our lives, where in self-deceiving peace wecould pretend to be better and happier than we really are.

We are not t rying to i. defy standards of right; rather, weare sentimentalists. Believing ourselves realists,we are anything but realistic when facing life's deepest desires. W hatwe truly need is moral courage, self-mastery, and the joy ofgiving ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Thisis within our scope if we give a part of ourselves. If, in ourenthusiasm for our school and friends, we gladly weave ourselves into our experiences, we will be facing a deeper realismof living than we have enjoyed before. Right faceto honesty!

"The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self, is of all things, the most shameful and vile."

N. J. Brownyard

SeasonSt. Bernard's Church in Fitch-

burg, Massachusetts wil l be t h escene of a n attractive weddingwhich will unit e Miss Beatr iceAnn Mulcahy, Instructor in Dramatic Art at Mercyhurst College,an d Mr. John Francis Shanahan,field representative f o r Mercyhurst College. The bride will beattended by her youngest sister.

Miss Ursula Mulcahy.The bride will be a t t i r ed in a

royal blue velvet gown, designedon princess lines with a bustle bowand cowl neckline, daintily accented with a s t r ing of pearls . H e rhat wil l be a velvet turban ofmatching color. The maid of honor will wear a raspberry velvetgown similar to t h a t of the bride.

Mr. Will iam Shanahan, brotherof th e groom will be the bes t man.Mr. John T. Haley of Fi tchburg ,Massachuse t t s and Mr. F r a n k Nola n of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania wil la t t end as ushers .

A reception will be held at thehome of the bride following t h eceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Shanahanwill make their home in E r i e ,Pennsylvania after January 1.

The student body, f a c u l t y ,and administrat ion e x t e n d sincere wishes for a l i fet ime of h a ppiness to the bride and groom tobe. Doris Scalzo

Christmas ShoppingEver s i n c e St. Nicholas found

hi s wa y into th e homes and hear t sof men, autho rs, both renownedand unknown, have been singingthe praises of Chr i s tmas , p roclaiming to the wor ld tha t th eYuletide season brings out all thegood in people, making them morechari table, more fr iendly, morehappy.

The foregoing paragraph may bet rue enough, but, to my way ofthinking, Christm as also bringsout some very bad points inpeople, points that Mrs. Pos t andher gan g would he art i ly disapprove.

In th e long course of history, nomob violence or wholesale slaughte r ( example : The Boston Massacre, Beetlebee, Rollo. H istory ofBoston, Page 2, lower left h a n dcorner. Editor 's Note: Hornrimmed glasses might help) w a sone sixth and a half as gruesomeas a Christmas shopping crowd.The people comprising this saidgroup ar e more vicious, more violent , more intent on ge t t ing wha tthey ar e after, than an y Caesaror Napoleon ever thought of being. These two gentlemen looklike peaceful, contented cows compared to our modern Christmasshoppers. Professor Ignatz, professor of courses in miscellaneousat Podunk Universi ty says, quote,"Christmas shoppers ar e worsethan anybody." Unquote.

These Christmas shoppers tossinnocent bystanders about at aterrific speed, step all over theirunsuspecting toes, knock theirshall we say, hats, from theirheads, knock bundles from thei rfrost-bit ten hands, and in general ,behave as becomes no lady orgentlemen. When they ar e finished with a victim, he (the vict im) in a noteworthy manner, resembles a worn-out pretzel . Ifthey are not performing th e afore-

continued on Page 8)

(Guest Editorial by Rev. Edward Dowling, S. J.)Political science courses leave collegians witha foggy im

pression that laws are the product of the legislative brancof our governm ents. Likewise, many students think thstudent legislation is the product of the legislative body oftheir student government. If these beliefs are correct thethe collegians will know whereto look for improved legislatioon th e campus and in later civic life. If they are false, and wethink they are, then the student is looking for the right needlin th e wrong hay-stack. | i . %

Eighty-four per cent of the laws passed in a recent sessio

of the Ohio legislature were initiated, framedand pressurethrough by agencies other than the legislature according to astudy made by Dr. Harvey Walker of Ohio State UniversitObviously, if Ohio is to be a democracy then th e agencies thaare responsible for this legislation must be made democrati

Some of these are Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio Chambe r of Commerce, Ohio Manufacturers Association, Ohio Feeration of Labor, American Legion et al .

A survey of legislation passed by student councils, th e presumed legislative organ of student governments will probabreveal that a high percentage of the legislation is not a product of the student representative legislative chambers,butra ther th e product of cliques and factions, classes, and clubfraternities and sororities, faculties and alumni, groupschool-spirited and small-spirited. y

If student legislation is to be democratic, these sub-grouwh o are responsible for so much student legislation mustbdemocratic. The two obstacles to their democratization arthe delusion that they ar e democratic and, secondly, th e misapprehension that if they are run as most American associtions, parties, and governments they are democratic. Amercanism may be the most democratic of all the isms, but it isnot democracy.

Among th e anti-democratic aspects of private associationon or off the campus are in-breeding nominating committea "president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer" set-up,nonsecret nominations and several oth er convention al devicthat deprive th e rank-and-file of their mastery, relegate theto th e back row of ineffectiveness, apathy and obstructionand elevate their flunkies into bosses.' I*

With th e possible exception of Universities of New Mexicand City of Toledo and Antioch College, most collegesin theigovernmental set-up allow executive officialsto be memberof legislative assembly. Anyhtroest- ward-heeler could' explain to th e ivory-towered experts on student governmethat this type of structure went out with mutton sleevesandthe Model T.

| "Profoundly silly affairs" is the description of most Amercan and English elections by H. G. Wells in one of h is lucid intervals, except where they use the Hare System of Proportional Representation. The same is pretty true of most student elections, be they for the student council or for lessegroups on the campus.

A magnificent bit of trail blazing toward th e democratization of campus organizations has started this fall at the Universi ty of Detroit where All University Sodality legislativand policy framing councilis being elected by a stream-lineimprovement of the Hare System of Proportional Representation. While Detroit is the first college in the world to experiment with this plan, its academic first trial came layear at little Ursuline Academy, Kirkwood,Mo. i

Rank-and-file participation is confined largely to Electionday. So the Proxy Revision plan makesit possible for any student on any day to have an election. The student councimembers on each issue cast as many votes or proxies as werecast for them. Each student can change secretly his or herproxy at any t ime. It increases rank and file influence. Itdemocratizes,I The Proxy Revision Plan is an experimentaballot devised by the Student Democracy Bureau of The Sodality of Our Lady, 3742 West Pine boulevard,St. Louis, Mo.

Christmas Frolic Father Gefell(Continued from Page 1)

fest ivi ty and jovial i ty awakewehave yet to see.

Our plans ar e laid, our work isdone, our last minute detai ls shallbe taken care of. We have responded willingly to our responsibil i t ies and we are one and all assured that , s ince "Cooperation insures success," our ult imate goalshall be reached. We will be wai tin g for you with an eager

"Merry Christmas, Everyone.11

-Jeanne Hockensmith

(Continued from Page 1)the people. Just ice and : freedomsimply do not exist . The Germanlive in constant fear; at no t imecan they feel safe.

Father Gefell concluded hi s lectu re by emphatically impressinon his audience the need for prayer, prayer for the people who arenow suffering from war and persecution, prayer for our own count ry tha t we may be spared thesesame hardships.

Marie Kelehe

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December, 1939 TH E MERCIAD Page Thre

SOPHLY SPOKEN

A Freshman Letter

11 'Twas the night before Christmas" and all through the hall,

The Sophomores were camp used ...s trange, not at al l ;

And Santa was sad, his face wasquite grim,

For these are the things reportedto him:

Some Sophomores were bad, butothers were {. worse,

This fact Santa ponders whileplanning his course.

Miss Keleher's name is thefirst to be met,

AndBSanta, at once, shakes hishead with regret .

For this charming girl , greatthings had been planned,

But that was before Joe Biosought her hand.

Dorcille was attempting sohelpful to be,

The professor 's discomfort wassomething to see.

Valma has become a preoccupiedlass,

She sees not the stairs as shehastens to class.

The pran k was full wicked, thegirls were full mean,

When sentence was served,Dorothy Mae was not seen.

Norma Jean's record is reallyquite good,

But of an adventure we'd tellif only we could. ,. j

What would i t matterJ if Jeannebroke a rule,

For she's "the most populargirl in \ the school"?

(Continued on Page 4)

Christmas Shopping(Continued from Page 2)

mentioned crimes, they are tiringout a poor salesgirl, a victim ofthe cruel fates. They ask to seeeverything but the manager 'smustache. After th e sa lesgirl! orthe salesman (either is correct)has wearily but courageouslypulled out all the wares from thedrawers and put them in amuddled heap on the counter,these: cruel, mercenary creaturesturn soulful eyes on the clerk,sigh beautifully, smile sweetly andsay, "All these are lovely, but theyare not 1 just exactly what I am

looking for." Whereupon the poorclerk faints and an ambulanceand doctor have to be called in,thus causing more' trouble.

Just as soon as the scramblefor the last nut is over, Christmasis announced officially closed, andsigns immediately start appearingeverywhere v advising you to "doyour Christmas shopping early."These signs are to no avail, however, since the bettered bystandersneed a whole year in which to recuperate, and the I crowd-crazymaniacs need a year in which tothink of new and crueller devicesfor injuring the masses. As a result, we have t his menace to

Dear Betty:As I take my pen in hand, I

draw a deep breath and utter asigh-mid-semester 's a r e o v e r ,Frosh grades have been duly recorded and sent home, and eachand every one of us is still able tolaugh and be merry. And mostimportant of allonly three moredays until!Christmas vacation!

The Freshman corridor ranamuk Saturday evening and one

might have thou ght the ceilingwas leaking, especially in the bath,where Kirby's Dr. Denton's andGlo's flowery flannelettes r e-clined in grace, beautifully adhering to the forms of their saidowners. Frosh onlookers wereplentifulwith the exception ofJohnny's darl ing, who was irres-tible two nights in a row and alsoSanta , herself, who dined in Itruesouthern style.

The project of most concern tous "Frosh" at present, occupyingall our spare time and availablethought is the approaching-annualChristmas party. Anne Marie andD ot Szyplik are to be commendedfor th eir ef forts in behalf ofman's grea test needs, and DorisJean for her extreme cooperationin every respect, and "Shorty, "who is I so concerned about it all.

Th e topic imost analytically discussed in the last few weeks inMercyhurst 's surburban circle isthe episode in the South Parlorof recent date. Curiosity seekerswe might divulge! !

The furt ive Freshman "scamp"of tricks a n d trouble, o n l y r ecently uncovered in our own darling Derkie. QuoteI'd be satisfied if I even got C's in every subjectunquote.

While "ology" lab periods occupied our time |las t week, BettyDaily was "up in the clouds" andI do mean it literallyand someof us poor, forlorn residents got

mail for a change. Thanks, Betty.Maybe the reason Hocky wasn' t

paying attention in a certain classthe other day was because shewas too intereste d in h er intramural correspondence. By theway, Jeanne, when are those notebooks due?

And now ju st one last wordabout our latest boarder at th eSouth end here's to DottieO gore hock, she's a fine Mercy -hurst girl .

Until we meet again, I amAs ever,

Anna belle

civilization, this present day evil Christmas shopping.

I don't know about you, myfriends, (I hope I can call you myfriends) but as for myself, whenwrit ing to Santa this year, I amincluding a P. S.protect me frompers.

Santa, pleaseChristmas shop-

Marie Keleher

N EWS OP THEO. G. A . JSORORITY MEETING

(Continued from Page 1)Fern a Id, showed the importanceof the interview of the salesmanwith his prospective customer andthe psychology necessary |to meetsales resistance.

Rosemary McGee rated her book,Behind the Counter by Emily Van

Interludesan d

Variants

Miss Mulcahy Feted

"Oh, how I hate to get up in themorning!" December days a r ebrief. Day-hops rise in in darkness and variously transport themselves to 8:10's in the gray dawn.Comes I the climax! December 21begins a succession of longer andlighter days! Some bright scientific source proclaims Erie to bethe third cloudiest city of the nation. Erieites a n d guests grud-ginly admit: the honor. But summer and its sunshine are coming!

One of our teachers offers thehappy advice that the word "nice"has risen to grammatical respectability. No longer will it be abreach to use it for pleasing, delightful,) good, kind, and all t h eother words it has taken the placeof colloquially. Pictur esqu e: thefrolicsome accessories the collegians wear while campus-trott inggay, peasant kerchiefs and merry, multi-colored mittens.

The change President Rooseveltmade in o u r esteemed holiday,Thanksgiving, has aroused variouscomment. Happiest result is thehumor. Witness a revised maxim:

Thirty days has September,April , June, and September.All the rest have thirty-oneUnless we hear from Washington!

To the sportive and athleticallyinclined: Bring your ice-skatesback to school after Christmas.The pond will probably be frozento the right consistency soon andyou can twirl about the circle. It'sfun! For an excit ing and engrossing account of the beginnings ofAm erican national;! life and national philosophy read "The Tree ofLiberty" by Elizabeth Page , I Th eLiberty Guild of America, ;N e wYork, 1939 (plug!) Know the menand women 'whom you studied inhistory as real, living personalit ies. Meet Thomas Jefferson asa red-haired, freckle-faced b o y .

Grow with him. Follow MatthewHoward and his family throughthe years of laughter and tears,peace and war . This is one ofthe most vital and distinguishedhistorical novelst" y e t published.But don't borrow it from a rentallibra ry unless you are either aswift read er or a financial success. There are 973 pages.

Gift: A supply of Lady;Lovely(Continued on Page 4)

B r u s s e 1, as J th e "Book of theMonth" in t h e business field. Itdeals'with t h e ! same subject a sthe other two books, but in an en-t i r e 1 y different manner. I t iswritten in novel form-,and emphasizes the important role of sales

clerks in retail stores and in largedepartment stores. The authormakes an interesting classificationof five types of sales clerks, namely;! the si t ter-on-a-log,3the guess-o-maniac, t h e bluff-o-bug, t h efumble-bee, the bombsheller.

Th e guest-speaker of the evening was Mr. Joseph Martin, member of the Erie City Council andDirector of Public Safety, whospoke on the organization of thecityIgovernment and of the workin his particular department. Theevening was concluded by servingof refreshments.

F . Gallagher

On Monday, December 11, at8 P. M. the studen ts of Mercy-hur st College entertained at abridge shower in the students 'dining room in honor of theirfriend and teacher, Miss BeatriceMulcahy. Miss MuK ahy's tablewas'uniquely decorated by a centerpiece of banked snow with asnowman and his bride beneathan arch from which hung a sprigof mistletoe. T he initials of the

engaged couple were entwinedabout a pine bough on each table.After an evening of bridge, luncheon was served. J

Doris Scalzo

Janus Club MeetsThe second meeting f of the Jan

us Club was held on Thurs day,December 14. The meeting, whichwa s brief, was called to order byPresident Marie Callan. Roll calland the minutes of the first meet-i n g w e r e r e ad b y t h e n e w l y -elected secreta ry, Eileen Rehler.A treasurer 's report was made byMarie Keleher. At this time agift was presented to the directorof dramatics and the club, MissBeatrice A. Mulcahy, who is to bemarried December 26.

Plans were made for the January meeting which is to be underthe direction of Junior classjimem-bers.

Marie Callan

S P O R T Sby Pletz

Lights, action, camera! To saynothing of limelight! Happy hockey hours hectically hurried andhushed. You eat, sleep, and drinkit; and then fit haun ts you withmemories ofthat splashy "norainbut, my what a blizzard youmust have had" game at Edinborowhich Susan Cross refereed, whichsent Jane Dixon, Claudia Evans,Jeanne Maley, and - Gloria Lutzsliding down the field, and whichcontributed to g Jerry O'Connor 's"W.? D." t i t le . The Lake I ErieCollege a game I in jj the stadiu mwhich left An n Sto ut in a. state of"puffpuff," which saw the missingDoris .Scalzo calmly sitting on thebench when! the -; referee shouted"Are you captains ready?" whichbrought out the running streak inMartha Haley, and which startedthose | lucky sports photographerson our tracksand t hat Seminarian game which claimed a slice ofSis Patte rson 's trusti ly | wieldedstick, which establishedta's reputation besidesgoalie as a marvelousand w hich retu rn! game ^ ^ ^ ^ ^played with the :.Seminarians* thisspring. Not to forget, all the fun,knocks, and bumps that took a tollof legs, arms, fingers, and facesduring practice. What a time!

jYou'll be perfectly correct insaying as certain as swimmingevery Tuesday at 4 o'clock. F ornewly set coiffures and tired legssurrender to the;? undaunted spirit(and bulletin board notices) of thesylph and agile and of the floundering and floppy (or hasn't anyone missed me inl the shallowend?)

(Continued On Page 4)

Carmeli-that ofconsoler,is to be

SENIOR. . .. . . SIDESHOW

Action: Decoration to the acompaniment of M. J. Mahoney

Scene: Mercy hurstTime: Nearing Christmas vac

tion.

Enter Frostie balancing Chrimas tree on shoulder with tinin her eyelashes, followed Rosemary and Ginnie draped fectively with red and grelights blinking from their haMarie and Dottie wave flashornamen ts suspended from thfingers; all is sparkle and twink

Margie removes tree to the cner of the room and hands Frtie a baseball bat and footbClara murmurs something ccerning a beach tree being queffective and all emerge to gaat Dottie Davie who is chucklround the room. Sis stretches cannot reach the top of the tto pin the top star of the even"Butterball" on the tree. JeMcClafferty adusts the ligcarefully, and Mary Annice bloa fuse.

Enter the spiri t of Christmfollowed by Marie Madden last year's cedar chest, which places loudly in the middle of room. Spirit: (mounts ches"This being your last ChristmasMercyhurst, I wanted to be wyou especially. If you cannot me or touch me, please try reach me before you go home vacation." (disappears)

Several girls reported thadn 't known anyone was in j*eora-~whiei!t was a bad-sign; FrMiller waltzes around the rothree times and pins up mistletoe. All pause expectanbut nothing happens. Meg whpers to Allene that Tom has blooking for Jerry all afterno

a rare combination. Allene keon readings "Hai rbread th Har rin the funnies, a comic strip has been very fond of these lfew week s. Colette is off in

(Continued on Page 4)

The VogueDear $ Santa Claus:

I College girls are supposed toclothes conscious, aren't theWell, gosh, old top, we are no diferent from the rest of i them. spite of the things you see magazinesyou have Mademoselle, Vogue, and Harper 's Bazain the North Pole, don't you? -whate freakish things, but we Hothose'that-have distinction, verv

and oh yes, |oomph!So here goes. F or the pro

we'd love something frothily frillwith a rhinestone belt or straps, perhaps we'll be Hedy LaMarr a slinky affair of "dang er rewith its very own shea th-m iAnd, of course, a wrap with a hoor one of those stunning new evning coats in emerald grePlease, Oh please, give someoa bo ttle of Lt long's Jabo t, or, she's "woman enough to wear some of Ciro's Danger.

Then there are those slushcold, and unslu shy but still cdays when a trek to the Romay be thought of twice bef

(Continued on Page 4)

8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1939

4/4

Page Four THE MERCIAD December. 193

Interludes" an dVariants

Senior Sideshow SPORTS ALUMNAE NEWS A Blind Pianist

(Continued!from Page S)Foot Ba lm for the lower e x t r emities of lovely ladies with working ambitions.- For the musicalminds: The Metropolitan iOperasare again being broadcast on theradio each week. If you can't havethe pleasure of witnessing stageperformance, you can at least getthe operatic idea by ear. You can

follow cu l tu re f rom about o n e -thirty o'clock ^until five o'clockeach Saturday afternoon SantaGlaus Lane is the new name fora State Street transformed by bril-liant Christmas decorations. I fthe holiday spirit hasn't, yet descended upon you, try squeezingshopping grounds Do you adoreClark Gable? Does Leslie Howardvibrate your backbone? Are youjust dying to see the English Vivian Leigh? Prepare yourself tobe swept away in the breeze! Herecomes "Gone With Thejjwind" (a tlast and finally)! At present awhole showing takes four f u l lhours, so there will be time andmore t ime for laughter and tearsto have their way. And start pu tting the pennies in your piggy

bank because for the fir st yearadmission prices will be gently butfirmly lifted-J T h e Ghos ts o fChristmas Past , Present and Future will haunt you if your stocking isn't one of those Santa findshanging by th e mante l ! B eyoung again!__ For those in townwho want something different todo see "The Mad Hopes" at ThePlayhouse. I t 's fun to"ssee r e a lactors after a siege of beyootifulmovie stars. And those who areinterested in Make-up can sit 'wayup JXQX. to connt_hfiJKQgIdfis^andjcriticize me coloring of the characters. P. ! S. -It's only thirty-fivecents ,if ^you can beg, borrow orsteal a membership book Andnow a Merry, Merry Christmas ToYou!

Barbara Dawson

The Vogue(Continued from Page 3)

unanimity reigns supreme. Won'tyou make our eyes shine with delight over a plaid-lined woolylambskin jacket and a pair ofwhite Campu s Boots cheerfullysuggested for "duck soup" weather ? | B |

Did you ever go to co llege,Santa? Well then, you know that,unlike those movies we're foreverbeing shown, we'uns work, butslave! So, for these day s, pleasebring us something to liven themup a bit; something like a tweedskirt guaranteed not to sag, bag,or twist; a tr icky sweater withrows of buttons on which everybody will play rich-man-poor-manwhiles waitin g in the lunch line;a belt-of-the-month.

But now, before this assume sGone-with- the- Wind-like proportions, we'll close with a promiseof your usual on the mantlepiece.Don't disappoint us now, darlin',we wouldn't know what to do ifwe ever lost our faith in you.

'Bye now,

Merry Christmas and HappyNew Year

We-in-the-Dorm

(Continued from Page 8)corner staring pensively at a Tedd y ! bear who gazes beadily intospace. M. Louise Camella viewsthe decorations minutely, and decides that everything after all isvery "tony."

Enter Marie Mclntyre, M. L.MacMurray, Betty Blodgett merri ly roll ing holly wreaths. JanetGriffith? and M. L. Healy pauseand peer from behind vast quantities of evergreen as Betty An nMehl waves "h ello" from! a planebound for Seattle. B.f Donaldsonand Josephine rush to the windowlooking and listening J for SantaClaus, for Dorothy and Agnesswear they heard the cry of areindeer. Elaine Boyd smiles patronizingly and tells of her recenttrips to Alaska and real reindeerwhich hoot softly. A. Saw deyiin -forms us all we mus t be veryfrank concerning the lighting ef-.fects or she will get the jimmys.Helen Liu faints quietly away asPletzie and Marion Weschler adda jlast minute touch of livid pinkto her artistica lly planned tree .Betty Flavenjrushes to *her aid,but Helen has already raised herhead to bewail the laden e v e r

green. All is bedlam as ; th e girlsmumble together concerning thelates t effect. Sides are taken butit is decided it is too late to havea spelling bee.

Enter Sister Victorine, wearilyshaking her head. With her is theChristmas spiri t , who has grownbigger and brighter. Sister walksto the tree , looks and puts ondark glasses. The Seniors are satisfied, for they know no one willoverlook the decorations.

(Continued from Page 3)"Round and round she goes and

where she stops nobody knows" or"The Casejof the Dizzy Miss Tor-may at the skating party." A n dso-o-o-o, everyone had a good timeand aching muscles.

Jinny Bryant has the pleasantexperienced of being lifted off herfeet (and we do mean literally)and tucked snuglyf in bed. Cozy.Jinny? Isn' t* i t ; funny, you jus tcan't help yourself.

Fran Miller, the Globe-trotter(yes, i t 's true that she hasn' tspent* a w eekend a t school sinceyes, around*then) is a smar t galwhen it comes to readjusting furniture. In fact, she and RosemaryMcGee, Clara Molini, Mary Frost,and "Butter Ball" are at the headof the consolidated "We MoveYour Furn i tu re Anywhere!"Company.

Pat Conway has a way of stealing your nose. Do be careful,'cause you will want a nose to landon when Gloria, the tr ick tr ipstersister, and Mary Ellen Linney cuttheir capers.

The Athletic Association willhold a meeting shortly after theChristmas vacation for receptionof new members and for a lot ofother good reasons, too.

It will be al l right to count onbasketball Ito give you what f youneed just after Christmas andthat 's a promise. .

Is she realizing? or is she playing? Or i s ' she just submerginginto childhood again? The personunder observation: Miss McCraycomplete with baby doll. Notice toSanta Claus._. don' t let this thing

V". AiileiiicLrf liajjpCFi tt r Mui ' J T^ A - T H l l l e !

MERCYONUS!

Jingle bells and Santa Claus andsleigh-bells, red cellophane andsilver ribbon and plum puddin gand Christmas trees, white for-mals and black t ies and gardenias,poinsettias and mistletoe, hollyand soft snow, angorag mittens andblack |velvet and''tinsel 4 and carolsand shiny gold balls and red berries, and oh-h-h, i t 's Christmas! I tsneaks up behind you and bang!there it is, and you're about topop with excitement, with a capital X. K ; '{ *

But wha t was that you said?Oh"Information, Please"? Well ,under New Business comes Doris 'Bill and Dot Reagle's Wayne.Business is picking! up, wha t?Here's to success, but you don'tneed to worry, 'cause we know it'salready yours.

What is allgthis feudin' aroundup on the third floor, a n y w a y ?Seems like it's worth ajgal's lifeto go out insthe evening withouta burglar alarm on her room door,tear!gas in-*her drawers, a watchdog under the bed, and a wholeslew of policemen "beating" it outin front of the door.

"Blue Orchids."

And that brings me to thisWonderful W e e k e n d Business.

Jean Prende rgast found ^Pittsburgh and the "Boys from Du-quesne" delightful , andtvice versa,one week-end of late, and the NewYawk Central carriedI Power backto Yale'tforja$return engagement.Well , maybe not an engagement,bu t alreturn anyway. $f*

Does anyone need any bridgesbuilt , or tenements razed, or underpasses put up, or reading clubsestablished, or such-like? Thepublic speaking class l is great onreforms land will rent outito stirup sentiment at a nominal sum.And can they st ir? W h e w ! H ^f B

And i t ' s |OH, For The Twenty-first I $ We'll eveni'settle fo r i th etwentieth, which $| brings [iforthGlenn Miller, and! righ t here inour own fair city. Oh joy! Ohlaughter! Oh stuff! j$ lp

Rosemary Ulrich

Even the old Latins had a wordfo r Beththey got her numberways back then. | Jus t think ofiitlFor further information refer toM. E. L. **: :r |

The more we hear it, the biggerthe bunch of orchidsif or "Scatter-brain," and add an extra bloom for

Wel l , S ta t i a? So you#n e v e r

learned to write "F ' s" , eh? All wecan say is, why should you? whenyou never needlthem? It 's just awaste of effort. MsBr- K 9 *

Ou r v e r y ! bestNhanks ton th eFresh men for -a * grand Christmasparty. We're proud of our LittleSisters.

Welltempus does fugit, andhere 's a parting gifta snowwhite sleigh and six snow-whitehorses to each of the boarders tospeedjyou on your homeward way,and the merriest of j al l MerryChristmases from all of us tofallof you.

Jeanne Weir

With the coming of the winterseason, we find many'more alumnae skatin g along smoothly inpositions. Some have acquired duties as varied as the snowflakes.Bea Adolf and Jayne CottringerMeyer recently opened "The ArtBar", a gift shop in Buffalo.Here's Ito their success! On December 2, the Mercyh urst C ollegeAlum nae Club of Wes tern NewYork State | sponsored a fashion

show and dessert bridge in theTerrace -Roo m! of the Hoter Sta t -ler. The Alumnae Club of Erie issponsoring a project to raisemoney for the^Library Fund.

Reports are coming in! Wehear that Betty Meyer has, sincegradu ation, been in both officeand classroom. She h as finallydecided, "Teaching holds an indefinable glory." The Home "Ecs"tells us that Pauline Shanor hasbeen appointed dietician at HamotHospital . Florence O'Neil is stilla busy secretary at the FirestoneRubber Company in Akron, Ohio.

The first week of Decemberbrought? many alumnae l back onvarious errands . Bertha H alper-in was h ere on a speedy visit.June Strickler, whops!a practiceteacher at Academy said her"Helios,"M Mildred | Rosa, EdnaLondreganl and BMary Alice *Kuhnall paid us a "fleeting visit .

Your reporter signs off wishingyou a Merry Christmas and aHappy New Year.

I && Rosemary Klos

Sophly I Spoken

l (Continued!from Page 8)

Miss Compton's plight was Sr e ce n tl y s ad , f H | t r a E * Wm

When Joe called for her a 3 | E ^ Hcampus she had. -' : 'M : ''j^^^^^^^H

Sally's usually so gentle; but ^ Hwildly she>spoke, w^JH^^^HHI

T h e ! German situationI her wrathdid provoke. f ^ ^ ^ B H ^ ^ s S B B S

To the Notre DarnelPromt ou r Claudia!went, H H H H H H B S I E I

ButInow with the campus she Bmust be content. fttHBHPjftBjllffBi

Dear Eunice, could it veryBBMWWpossibly be ||Hsg^HHBBjBB8|aB

That transoms are quite ajJaHBEBtemptation to thee? ^^fl^BflntH

Annette would f more Iprofit fromhe r 6ducation,jHHH^^B9E3MB|i

If let ters from [Dick c au se d 9 H |less of elation. ^/HB^K^BSS^Si

Helen Klan turned the jet , she Hwaited, and then, H ' M ^ ^ B B B B H

Th e waterI streamed forth wherethe gas should have been. ^ H ^ H

The campus, this year, is fa- ^H jJane, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ H

No thought of escape doesshe' j^ Bdare entertain. j j | r ^ f l H & m ^ B [

It's plain to be seen that^^^^HSophomores weren' t good,j|{ ^jXfl

Will Santa relent or do as heshould ? [;;

But Pigeon intervenes in her*classes behalf,

And brings Santa around with along, hearty laugh.

Attention you lovers of swiand classics. How I wish ycould have been with me Fridevening, the first of December.had the |privilege of {hearing thtwenty-seven year old Englisman, Alec Tern pie ton This marvhas been blind since birth. At tage of five, he was improvising the piano. At first, he thou gthe piano was responsible for sound which came forth and

himself. In his blindness, he hcreated a world of his own.

Mr. Templeton devoted threfourths of his program to serimusic. His fine taste and techcal equipment was seen in his lections from Bach, BeethovChopin and Debussey. I notiespecially in the "Adagio Canbile" from Beethoven's "Patheque" his clarity and simplicity style. This was also presen t Bach's "Chromatic Fantasy aFugue." Instead of interpretwith the usual thunder and grdeur, he played it with a quietnand quality of tone |which gathe piece back its original signcance. Another reason for ^hacute imitation of Bach is the fthat he pikes Bach above ot

composers and believes his woare the simplest to 1play. My, hwe students wish we could say same thing.

;*: But Debus sy's "Eng ulfed thedral" with i ts skil l and sentiveness was* the joyjof the evning for me. I could close my eand see a deserted church, so quand solemn, standing surrounby rushing flood waters lappagainst t i ts walls, ! unti l threached their height, and thsubsiding until all was sil92jn

Then, Mr. Templeton came the par t offthe program which enjoys the mo st, that of the gensatir ist and humorist . He playhi s o w n composition entitl

"Mendelssohn Mows 'Em Dowa sequel to "Mr. Bach Goes Town" and "Mozart MatriculateAll of which? I iknowr you swiaddicts just adore.] He says himself {that, fori instance, "Old MBach, if I he Iwere 1 living todawould write swing musicat leasomejswing." One off his seriopieces was the "Sonatina BalladaIsentimental work in his Engliway, reminding one off;two lovebeside H a B rippling M streamhivoice everrjimploring for her lov

1 A mas ter of improvisa tion, used five notes to play in the mner 1 ofI Liszt,!Mozart, Gershwand J others. ! His perfect jjpitchanlindespensable j a i d . IrBut thmarvel of I all Iwas when he improvised on {four pieces sugg est

by the audience. It is enough be able to?play "Nola," but wha feat li t 5 i s 11 o 1 carry both thmelody and "South of the Bordeat the same time!

I I could ramble on for houabout'this genius. But I'm afraithat f such a course li s impossibso I'll leave you with the hothat some day all of you maylbable to see and*hear him. Nevepass up the chance!

s M. C. Sherwoo

The class has been saved, thetale is now done,

A very, merry Christmas toeveryone.

Pauline Lync