8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1932

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-merciad-december-1932 1/4

mPublishedtat'Mercyhurst College, Erie, Pennsylvania

VOLUME IV DECEMBER, 1932 NUMBER 3

/ "AND IT GAME TO PASS'*

At the close of the day

when all nature was still,

There came a sweet message

of peace and good will

A whisper'from Heaven

to hearts all aglow,

That the Christ Child i£was cradled in manger so low.

These tidings were wafted

by angels with care

And'their paeans resounded

through clear, crispy air,

As shepherds were watching their

flocks lest they stray

To dangerous pitfalls

besetting their Sway.

The ewes and their lambkins

were taken along

As rustics and angels

assembled to throng

The cave which the Savior

had blessed by His birth

And whose name would be

precious to Heaven and earth.

They entered the dungeon and

low bent to praise

The dear li t t le Infant

so tender and grave

Whose advent was heralded

by angel and men

Whose choice of a birth place

was fair Bethelem.

Afar in the distance

a star did appear

Tha t hunglin the Heavens

with message' so clear,I t came'to the Wise Men who

followed the light

Of the beacon Jehovah

had sent for the night.

Rich treasures they gathered

to take to their King,

And weary long wastes they

traveled to br ing

Their gifts of bright gold,

frankincense and myrrh,

To Jesus, the Infan t; the ir fa ith

to aver.

Through the vista of years from

that f irst Christmas morn

All mankind has worshipped

the tender Babe, then born

As Lord and Redeemer, as

Brothers and King,And unto Him gif ts of rare

vir tues they br ing.

—Sister M. Pierre

: -o - ;

SCIENCE CLUB

At the second monthly meetnig

of the Mercy hurst Science Club

three very interesting topics were

chosen by the speakers. Laura La

Cavera gave a detailed discussionon Petroleum, Verle McQuiston

reported a research on the Scien

tific endeavors of Benjamin

Franklin and Current Topics were

rela ted by Katherine Egan.

During the course of the meet

ing it was suggested that a,small

paper be published each month. A

new Staff is to be appointed for

every edition. We are looking for

ward with great interest to the

success of our paper.

—Costello Ressler, '34.

B I S H O P ' S G I F T

£Whon the new Mercyhurst Cha-

pel is ready for use, the beauty

of its interior will be enhanced

by a copy] of Andrea del Sarto's

famous painting, ' \Assumption of

the Virg in." This splendid ex

ample of del S arto 's beautiful

coloring, 8 by 14 feetju size, en

cased |i n a \ magnificent golden

frame of Florentine design, will

grace the rear wall of the sanctu

ary, high above the main altar,

the most ^commanding position in

the chapel. The painting, a pro

duct of the Pitti Gallery, Florence,

is the gift of His Excellency,

Most jReverend John Mark Gan

non, Bishop of Erie , and is but

another evidence of his high R e

gard for Mercyhurst and thestand ards of excellence it repre

sents. In its place in the chapel

this lovely pic ture of lthe Madon

na borne heavenwards by the

angels, will be a source of endless

enjoyment to the many art lovers

at Mercyhurst, an inspira tion to

all who worship there, and a con

stant reminder of the $ generosity

of the Bishop who fosters a love

of the beautiful in letters, in reli

gion, and in art.

PROGRAM

The following program* wa s

given in the College Auditorium

on Wednesday, December 7, hon-

or ng Bishop Gannon onjthe occa

sion* of his annual fall visit toMercyhurst: 5?

Ecce Sacerdos Magnus—Stu

dent Body.

Welcome — Betty Danahy.

Reading— (a) In an£*•Atelier;

(b) Betty a t the Baseball Game—

Mary Lucille O'Donnell.

Song—(a) The Smil in ' Eyes

o' You (Stou ghton ); (b) The

Pine Tree (Salter)—Mary Moran.

"Fourteen''—One A ct Play—Gerstenberg. Cast: Mrs. Pr ingle ,

the Perfect Hostess, Costello Res

sler ; Elaine Pringle , the Daughter ,

Margaret Clark; Duncan, the But

ler, Dorothy Mooney.

| Thank s Be To God — College

Cho ral! Club.

Address M The Most Rev. J. M.

Gannon.

Recessional.

; -o - :A MESSAGE TO OUR SIOE

Mrs. Relihan,

Libby's Mother ,

J a n e : —

We want you to know we are

thinking of you, and that you are

rememberedlin a ll our prayers. I t

is Christmas, and so we have an

extra wish for you, of course. Etis that you will be up from your

sick beds, and will be able to join

in the adoration and the rejoicing

which come with the ; beautiful

Christmas tide . The happiness of

your loved ones will be increased

by your (.presence and partic ipa

tion in the holiday ceremonies and

celebrations. May the Christ Child

smile happily on you!

•—Kay Bar re t t , '33.

*

T H I S M O N T H ' S W H O ' S W H O

Hails from the Empire!StateH a s :

Fiery brown eyes

Short brown hair

A beautiful ?tanHands of character

Looks extremely well in:

Browns

Reds

Blues

Velvet

I s :Very small of sta ture

w

ReliableKeenly sympat hetic

A \ great leaderA|true friend

Most happy on a "gym floor",

hockey field, or tennis court.

You've guessed it r ight — Miss

Geraldine Heil, our director of

physical education.

: -o - :

LATIN CLUB

Under the direction of Siste r

M. Ethelreda, the Latin stu

dents of Mercyhurst College met

Thursday evening, December

eighth, to launch plans for a Latin

Club. &

The f irst step toward organiza

tion was the election of officers.

This new Club now takes pridein announcing as President, Eliza

beth McDonald; Secretary and

Treasurer , Katherine Barrett . Sis

ter M. El helreda will be the

Club's advisor .

A suitable name for it he Club

has no t fully bee n! decided upo n,

and will be announced*at a la ter

date. Meetings are to be held on

the second Th ursday of each

month. All Latin students are

eligible for admission to the club.

The organiza tion of such a

club as this has long been antioi-

pated, and it promises! 1 o be a

thr iving and enthusias t ic ' group.

It seeks to cultivate the intellect

of its members as well as to pro

vide occasional entertainment forthem.

Here's hoping that the Latin

Club may enjoy many fruitful

BIOLOGY NOTES

>A Mercyhurst has organized a new

club! On?December 1, the«Phylomeletic Club^of M'-rcyhurst held

i t s ! first meeting. The Club consists of all those ̂ interested in the

Biological Sciences, each class be-

ing well represented. The members

of the Club plan to do many "big

things" during the year under the

direction oflthe faculty advisor,

Mother Pierre, who is the head of

the Biology Department, Miss Ry

an, the president andgMiss Mont

gomery, the secretary. Be sure to

watch the progress of the Phylo-

meletic Club, for we are resolved

that it will do much for Mercy

hurst.

" Evolut ion ' li s a much discussed subject in the Biology 14|

class. Bui* we havejcome to the

conclusion that poor Darwin really

meant well, after all.

Mary i Francis Welch and Ruth

Eichenlaub are two promising

Biologists. Have you heard why

Mary Frances likes Biology? She

just loves it. Be sure to ask her;

it will be well worth while. Ruth

is doing the experiment in "Etio

lation. " Each day we find her

travelling " Via e leva tor" from

the second floor to the sub-base

ment to study the growth of a

tiny plant in darkne ss. All this

for Science!

When the Art Club of Eriecame to Mercyh urst to examine

the various works of Art which

Mercyhurst possesses, we were

more than pleased to f ind that

some of these people were also in

terested in Biology. They asked

to visit our Biology laborato ry

and were delighted with our won

derful equipment.

The Field Botany Class are

^planning to have a Food Sale soon

after Christmas. We hope to be

welll patronized as the proceeds

are for a worthy cause. And now,

I the Ph ylomeletic Club wishes you

all a Merry Christmas and! a

Happy, New Year!

—Elizabeth McDonald, 'S3.

: -o - :

I D E A L

I wonder how I ever spent

My days before I knew youAlone, I guess, that 's why

God sent

My angel out of the blue.

I 've just been wondering

all day long

If I slept, and if I ate;

Felt the rapture of a song?Knew I love? knew I hate?

The green of spring, the

summer 's sun,

The fluttering of a snowfall

I 'd never noticed; or thatGoes harvesting in fall.

on e

yea r s

The fa irest

God gave

•Lucille Meehan, '37.

work of all creation

to me for inspira tion.

—Kay Barrett, 'S3.

A LITTLE ANTICIPATING

I'm going to do a little lookingahead! and give a description gofus as we appear to the public the

first week of school after the

Christmas holidays.

We're supposed to be thorough

ly rest ed; deeply imbued with

high scholastic ambitions and

ready to face about five or six

months of heavy studying — but

are we? We are not!

As for being rested—we simply

are not. How could we be? What

with the thrill of being home and

seeing the same old gang, and the

old familiar house where the

n am e s " H o t " a nd "Cold" on

the water faucets-are reversed,

and we stand for hours with our

fingers under a stream of water

waiting for it to get hot, before

we realize our mistake. Who

could rest. I ask you, with people•» XT F

coming to see you and inevitablyasking, " M y , my, how does it

seem to be so far f rom home?"

or "W eren ' t you homes ick?" o r

"W ha t do they g ive you to ea t? "

or that 'famous silly question:

"Aren ' t you g lad to be home?"

We rush, rush, and rush. Ah,

too soon it ' s over and we 're back.

Oh, what a le t-down, af ter that

blissful two weeks, to awake and

find ourselves in our rooms a t

Mercyhurst with an English theme

to write before second period.

We feel perfectly awful. In the

first place we ate too much, espe

cially of those prov erbial five-

pound boxes of Christmas candy.

There is sure to be the headache

and muscle soreness accompany

ing the long tra in r ide .

Maybe we ' ll feel a tr if le ambi

tious and decide [to get u p e arly

and get a star t on the rest of the

hall — only to stick out our feetonto the frigid floor and remem

ber we'left our house slippers a t

home under the bed — ugh! Back

in bed for us I

Who can study the f irst couple

of weeks just af ter vacation?

Just as we get a nice Chemistry

problem well unde r * control, we

think of a very important incident

about which we simply must tell

Janey. That plunges us into a deep

discussion of the mer its of this

Stand that — woe to Chem istry;

igbut war to us, if we don' t have it .

We spend most of our time

writing to all those people we saw

back home and receiving innumer

able letters from them for an ap

proximate per iod of two weeks.

Suddenly* we ifind ourselves faced

by^mid-term tests. Then do we

oram? Wow! Well, by this t ime

the fight is on I

Maybe I 'm an old wet blanket

or something, but wait and see ifI 'm no t r igh t .

Nevertheless -— Merry Christmas and a Happy and ProsperousNew Year (you' ll need it ) l ^

—Ruth Headley, »36.

8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1932

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-merciad-december-1932 2/4

Fage TwoTHE MERCIAD

December, 1932

x THE MERCIAD x

Published monthly by the students of Meroyhurst College

Address all communications to

THE MERCIADMeroyhurst College Erie. Pennsylvania

Subscription RatesON E DOLLAR S YEAR

Mary Carlos, '33

MERCIAD STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFKay Barrett; '33

ASSOCIATE EDITORS JElizabeth McDonald. '33

NEWS EDITORSMary O'Dea, '35Eileen Foster, '34 r

Eugenia Sproat, '36

EXCHANGE EDITOR * | BUSINESS MANAGER

Ruth Sterrett, '34 Jane Turgeon, '33

a

YOUR LAUGH"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;Weep, and you^weep alone."IWh y do so many people suppress a real, tru e lau gh?

It were far better to let it ring forth than to stifle itto death in the heart. Ever after, the heart may be aweak and vulnerable thing with this suffocated, lifeless laugh couched in its d epths.

Just as truly as you speak, so ought you to laughtruly. A real laugh is one of the truth s of God. And,just as all the others of God's trut hs, a,;laugh baresdisguise and artificiality. Granted, the voice may betrained to flow in sweetest softness, the | lips to

wreathe into sm iles," but, as soon as the laugh comesforth, the mockery comes forth with it, and betraysth e inner person. When you laugh truly,jyour heartwill rejoice, and will reflect your joy in your everyfeature.

If you would keep your youth and your beauty,laugh heartily! There is no need to form wrinkles and

furrows from frowning and scowling; no need for dull,lifeless eyes! Tour eyes should be two fountains oflights the sparkling insight into|the peace of yourmind and hea rt. I would]even go so far as to choosemy friends by the quality and the ring of their laugh!

Finally, laugh to live! Don't^merely drag out yourdays by existing,? Livejand let your heart ever carrya laugh to help you in the fashioning of your own sunshine, guided by the light fronuthe smile of God.

"Care to our coffin ad ds a nail, no doubt;And every laugh so merry draws one out." f

I I f| *> «Kay Barrett, '33.

:-o-:

WHY WORRYThere is a familiar quotation: "He worries more

than necessary who worries before it is necessary,"and I have been wondering just how far it might applyto many of us. jj § * '; |

Take life too seriously land what is it worth? Thefogs of discontent, of worry and care shut out the sunlight of happiness from many a life. Yes, and it isoften needless. Con stant contem plation of troub lestamps itself upon the face. If we hug worry to ourselves, by the unerring law of the tides of weakening,unhappy thoughts set toward us, flow into our being,rising higher and higher until we become submerged.Keep your mind free from worries, forget them; because it is the mind that colors the personality, givesMe its tone and character.! Worries, doubts, fear aivtelltales that you are losing out£n the game of life.

But why worry? We shall come to happiness if welook upward, live upward, work upward. The seed inthe earth does not doubt that it will sometime developinto stem, bud, leaf, flower and fruit. It does not com

plain because there are stones •; and turf in the way,bu t it gently pushes its tender head up between thestones and against the sod, and by the very persistence of growing, break s out into the light, ^buds,tlowers, and fruits. The agencies^which draw us out

of obscurity into prominence, out of ignorance intoculture, are as much outside ourselves, as the light,the dew, and the shower, which unfold petals and callout fragrance, are outside the seed. r r u ^ ^ i

There is no real life but cheerful life. Cheerfulpeople are always popular; tliey are not only happy.mthemselves but the cause of happiness to ot hers

Foreet worry! Look ou the bright side! There isno bright side? Very well, then polish up the darkone, for a sunny disposition is 1 he soul of success.

'«J

Elizabeth McDonald, '33.

:-o-:

We

GREETINGS fTh e Christmas season is withfus again and the ex

citement grows keener -as eac h hour passes. The thrillof coining pleasure seems to prevail everywhere,look forward to each new day with a sense of something about to happen. Yet underneath the sparkleof fun and excitement the true Christmas spirit of loveshines forth like the Star of Bethlehem over snow-clad hills. •* „ \

The small glittery Christmas 1 rees of our pleasureare outshone by the calm enduring glow of pearl andtrue happiness. And in this spirit we wish for everyone tha t lovely gift, a tru ly happy C hristm as. J

Ir- —Mary Carlos, '33.

THE ISTAGLINE

11

One of the most horrible mon

sters ever known to mankind is

loose! I shudder when I think of

it and my knees knock together

when I see jit. Oh — I have seen

it and I wanted to run from it and

hide from it — but it is no use;

one can' t escapejjthe stagline. I t

is present at every dance and

hovers overhead like a b lack

cloud, casting a dark shadow over

th e dance floor. I t watches the

dancers as a cat watches a trapped

mouse play. It holds your fate in

its hands and is cruel and heart

less when it delivers the verdict—

popu la r " o r "unpopular."

It is a Jhorrible looking Ithingtoo. It li s black land white with a

hundred or so faces, with as many

individu al bodies and double as

many arms and legs. Every face,

though different in shape and size,

is identical in expression. Every

eyebrow is lifted just so high and

everyjflid dropped just to give an

expression of boredom. The lips

are drooped to denote scornvandevery^individual body sways back

and forth to express rhythm. But

most terrible of all! Steady scru

tinizing eyes gaze into your very

soul! There is something uncanny

about those eyes Cor as you dance

by and feel their- gaze concen

trated onjyour size — five feet,

why they actually grow to sizeten! Your body takes on at least

one hundred and fifty pounds and

your awkward steps drag your

weight down on your partne r 's

feet .You feel like an elephant

dancing with a mosquito, but you

smile, and like it!

As you pass by the stagline, if

you remember to grin from ear to

ear and shake your body and kick

your feet — why then, if you are

very lucky, one of the individual

bodies will detach itself from the

whole and with languid grace

walk across the floor to you, and

" cu t - i n . ' ' Then, if you are only

able to follow his big feet as they

guide (as an ant guides a hippo

potamus) in and out and around

the other dancers, and if you can

smile ^sweetly as his heavy shoes

bear down on your big toe, and

laugh politely at his dull humour

—whvfthen you will belcut again

and again.And if your partne rs change

every thirty or so seconds, and if

the stagline casts admiring glances

your way, then you-know — you

are popular! But don't forget the

power of the " b l a c k , t h i n g " tha t

stands in the center of the hall,

for, t hought ' s nice to youjtoday,it can be cruel tomorrow. It has

a memory like a sieve and a heart

like stone and if you lose for the

moment your j cherished " i t , "

you'HJbe doomed for the rest! of

your dancing days — that 's th e

power and etiquette of the stag-

line. —Jean Reese, '36.

:-o-:—

••v...

NOEL

To see beauty where others

see only poverty, to acknowledge

good where others think all is evil,

to praise where others condemn—-

i sn ' t tha t Rafter all the greatest

of gifts? It |may not cost dollars,

but it exacts a high price of pride

laid down, self-seeking overcome,

personal ambition set aside.

Yes, I 'm speaking of Christmas.

That good old holiday that is as

old and glamorous as the star

that hung over ancient Bethlehem.

The story never grows old; th e

sparkle and spirit are never j

dimmed and they diminish not as

the centuries wax and wane.

Christmas Time I There seems

magic in the very name of Christmas. Petty jealousies and discords

are forgotten. Kindly;,hearts t ha t

have yearned towards each other,

but have been withheld by false

notions of pride and self-dignity,are again united, and all is kind

ness! and benevolence!

We pretend, some of us, to be alittle bored or a tr if le indifferentto this particular season.*But t ryto stand out against it! You can' tdo i t !

I don't try. A good many hemlocks will soonfbe t ransplanted

from forest to living room, and

there will be more wreaths on

front doors than I could count.

Th e man! must not be human in

whose mind some pleasant associations are not awakened by^therecurrence of Christmas.

"May your Christmas be merry

and your New Year a happy one . ' '

—Elizabeth McDonald, '38.

ANNIVERSARY

F a the r s Wm. L. Sullivan, Ph.

D., celebrated the tenth anniver

sary of his ordination to the

priesthood ? on November 1, 1932.

The college students offered their

congratulations at a breakfast in

his honor Tuesday morning. The

students sang a song composed for

the occasion by Elizabeth Wil-

bert, as Father Sullivan entered

the dining room escorted by Vir

ginia Duggan and Betty Danahy.After breakfast Fath er Sullivan

spoke briefly, expressing his sin

cere appreciation of the courtesy

shown him.

Wednesday evening, Father Sul

livan was guest of honor at a din

ner given by the Sisters of Mercy.

The state dining room was ex

quisitely decorated in red and sil

ver. Suspend ed above the table

was a la rge numera l "1 0 " fash-ioned of tin, and the tin motif

predominated in place and menu

cards and table decorations.

Guests at the dinner includedRight Reverend Monsigneur L. A.

McBride, and the Reverend Fath

ers James O'Connor, Gerald Dug

gan, Martin Noon Gylnn, Aloy-sius A. During, Patrick Harkins,

Thomas Cauley, and Joseph Kerin.

Fath ers Hark ins and Cauley,

school friends of Father Sullivan,

came from* Altoona and Johns

town respectively to be with the

guest of honor for the occasion.

Betty Danahy, '33.

: - o - :

W H A T ! NO j COURTESY!s.

Not so many months ago, we be-

•came engrossed in a "courtesy

d r ive , " i n a I determined effort to

stamp out the inconsiderations,

neglects and over-sights which had

begun to be noted throughout the

student body.

Almost immediately it took ef

fect. A gentle reminder, a subtle

implication were all we heeded to

remind us that courtesy was, af

ter all, one of the most delicate

and effective .weapons in this life

of ours.

We suddenly realized that our

attitu de toward the Sisters, our

conduct in their presence, did not

reflect the admiration and esteem

that we felt for them. Through

our neglect and thoughtlessness,

we had unconsciously lowered our

standards. Not for long however!

Their gentle 'presence and noble

example were our salvations. ?

Upon further consideration, it

dawned upon us that our fellow-

students might appreciate a littlemore consideration. Because of

privile ged| friendships, we had

overlooked the fact that each and

every one of us was entitled to

certain, definite rights. Upper

classmen, classmates, all deserved

their just due.

And so today, let us reopen our

campaign with one united effort.

Let us make it one hundred per

cent successful, for after alle.'Courtesy i s the law of kings ."

—Alice Summers. 'S3.

: - o - :

Definition of a gentlem an: A

man that is clean inside and out;

who neither looks up to the rich

nor down on the poor; who can

lose without squealing, and canwin without bragging; who is con

siderate of women, children, and

old people; who is too brave to lie,

too generous to cheat, and lets

other people have " the ir s ."

8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1932

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-merciad-december-1932 3/4

December, 1932 T H E MERCIAD Page Three

K A Y ' S KOLUM

My, 0, my! how times does fly .

here it is anothe r Christmas

for the Seniors, 'twill be the lastat Meroyhurst ., and for the

Freshm en, the first but one

you will never forget will be the

nite before vacation, when the stu- |

dents, pajama-clad, and bearing

lighted candles, carol their way

around the College at midnite.

the memory of it will always bewith you We 've never seen

Marg Hanna look so well as she

does in her scarlet Letty Lyntongown Liz Hamberger tells us

that she likes the Merciad Liz

was Edito r two years ago and

we're wondering if she 's been

writing any more poetry la te ly,

l ike "S ta r s , " and the "Mud Pudd l e " 0 Marg Cantaloupe has

been a visitor in our town severaltimes recently we ran into her

during the Thanksgiving holidays

in the V and X We'v e heard

Mary Moran sing now, to hear

Winnie play we've only been

waitiiig since September, y'know

Do some people get all the

thr ills? Kay Forquer is the

lucky person who is flying hometo Tulsa for the holidays "h ap

py landing ," Kay Where does

Helen Crowley keep herself ?

we can' t even catch her long

enough to get her to wri te us ;

something We re just wonder-

in ' if everyone 's over ta lking

about Kay Callanan's hair yet,

and, if we dare mention it again!

maybe Kay'11 become plati

num blonde for awhile Bar

bara Hammond, who is now bet

ter known as Mrs. Victor Wesch-

ler, is still as charming as ever...-!..

Betty Danahy star ted something

for herself when she wrote that

ultra-clever article for the last

Merciad ..JL now everyone wants

to see more of "Betty D a n a h y "in the paper.„ how about it,

Bettyt Mrs. Relihan parted

with a much disliked appendix at

Montefiore hospita l in | Pittsburgh

a few weeks ago all of Mrs.

Relihan's well-wishers will be glad

to know that she is recovering

famously and will be back in Erie

After Christmas... Bessie Green

is one of* those $persons whose

peaceful countenance makes you

want to take a second look so that

you may carry a picture of its

repose with you.... Kay Strahl

do you ever get ruffled ?,||.. Verlewas quite shaken up not long ago

she tells me, when another car ran

in to her.,,..... we re just mighty glad

^it wasn't more serious Verle

Margaret Clemens ^recently found

out that she is a very sarcasticperson......... and is telling everyone

abou t it or else is tryin g it out

on them Something in Marga

ret Boyd's and Jane Pritchard'seyes tells youjthat the y are Spike

two little boys, thinking up some

kin d of m ischief ...The Kolu mheartily congratulates Mickey who

wa s elected president of the Latin

Club she 's going to make

things mighty interesting for the

members Lib's favorite expres

sion of la te is , " 0 , my heart!" I

Did anyone, by some misfortune,

miss Gene Spro at in the Regis

t r a r ' s bootsf too bad, 'cause

it was worth seeing. The Wil-bert-Elliott combination is still

existent, and they still get along

as famously as always......,., indeed.

JM tV I I

many a gathering would be a big

yawn ii <At weren't for them

Ruth Headley is another we'd liketo see more off than usual

Mini'siPontiac may be an1

" o p e n

air are na ' ' to some people but

it does seem as though they have

to fall back on ii once in a;while

too <|Mary Jo Cleary brings

news from a very dear friend in

her home town to your writer......™Haven' t seen Maurene for

quit e some time now.... gu ess

she's being kept pretty busy...,Mary Lucille O'Donnellfis somejjdramatic ar tist and the fresh

men should feel mighty proudthat they have her to their boast

an d Ruthie's pro! ege*s ar e

gettin g more professional with

each play they g ive both the

players and their talented direc

tress receive a lot of credit

Aside, to Mr. Relihan: MargueriteChaplin and Gladys seem to have

tha t "far-away look "..«,.... an d

Marg Clemens hasn 't lost it yet

Jane Conner and Pat Dean aregreat ^friends and so are Kay

Egan, Laura , and Sarah Brown

we hardly know you're here thisyear , Sarah i Iva never looked

so cute as she does in her black!

and white dress you wear it

very well, Iva Mrs. Miller,

we're going to surprise you some

one of these days .won't yo u

be glad?— Louisey's been a good

litt le Christian gir l visiting

the sick but look who was sick!..

Dot Cronauer loves poetry and

we think she writes some too

Mary Carlos ' theme song now is

"P lea se" Found ou t no t long

ago that Jean nette 's real f irst

name is Sarah doesn' t i t seem

funny 1. We like Dotty Bryan

to wear green something in the

combination of that and her red

hair and blue eyes While we 're

on the subject of green, we simply

must mention Grace Kane 's newgreen coat awfully good-looking

Now, weren' t we r ight — that

Sister Ethelreda had something

up her sleeve and will Sister

Agat ha be surprised t hat it fi

nally happened? Allie Reeder

is still making a hobby of ear

r ings Don ' t le t anyone kid you

Elsie has good taste in colorschemes .,i.....Don ' t mind, Elsie ICatherine | McCarthy and Eliza

beth Montgomery are pals

Mary Aline Paure is very willing

to do anyone a favor at any time

.........people like th at are ple nty

scarce Ellen Steveson always

looks happy Everyone admires

Bobbie McEvoy Someone re

ports that Natalie Frye has a

beautiful French and I ta lian pro

nunciation....^, bet Sr. Mercedes

could hug her A certain shade

of rose is very becoming to Julia

Belle.,.. a contri butor would like

to see her wear more of it Why

does the Engl ish Methods class

always Spick*on JjDot Mooney todraw its tr iangles ? When Eileenwears her hair a certain way, and

also wears that white blouse with

big sleeves she very much resembles some temperamental lit-

erary ar tist Jean Reese and

Eleanor are both such very like-

able girls 2 and are going to be

^excellent members for the Pega

sus club too........ Mighty keen pic

ture of Sara Reed in Ericson'swindow Mary Francis and Ruth

Eichenlaub are just loads of fun

and so are Peg Kinneysand

Mary Rot el la........ Car olin e has a

perfectly gorgeous collection of

mounted weeds Jean and Alice

Summers are very hospitable

You J can always count on MaryStout...*... her "wo rd is as good

as tfher oa th ' ' Marge Potter is

so aliveThe Kolum Iwishes everyone » a

most happy Christmas and very

merr y New Year .....Till '337

—Kay: - o - :

BALLADRY -

In the daily round of schoollife some olassfhours stand out as

breaking away from the hum

drum monotony and drudgerynecessarily acoompaning the learn

ing process. Such an hour was en

joyed recently by the Sophomoreswhen it was their pleasant duty

to report upon national ballads.

What a variety was presented IIEach student read and discussed

her favorite jba lad, in many in

stances drawinglher material fromlong-forgotten folk-ballads brought

to this country by? grand-parents

and great-grandparents.

Marion,! Carlin illustrated the

I ta lian ballad, Miss Eisengart

sang of German peasants. Irelandand her history were recreated bv

the Misses Toomey, Edlen, Eagan

and O'Day. Bonnie Scotland wasnot forgotten in Miss Crowley's

"M y Bonnie Lies Over the

Ocean " and Miss McGrath refreshed us all with the universal

"Annie Laurie ." America , our

own native land, however, seemedto be the favorite theme as manvmembers of |th e class turn ed to

he r for^their themes and whatpretty ones were obtained. Among

these were: "Nancy Bel l ; " Mont

gomery ' s Peggy;" "Goodbye , MyLover , Good bye;" "Sw eet Ade

l i n e ; " " M y M o t h e r' s R o s a r y ; "IlYoung C ha r lo t t e ;" " Migh ty

Lak A Rose ;" "Bye Baby Bunt

i n g . n

Following reading of the bal

lads various members of the class

intoned their own themes and a

jubilant chorus of Sophomores

swelled the song. Altogether, the

time spent oniballadry seemed to

me the most enjoyable and the

most profitable hours of the se

mester and I think each of us per

sonally has taken away something

from this lesson to encourage an d

stimulate^our life.

HERE'S TO BALLADRY.

—Leonji McAllister. '35.

• - 0 - :

B I S H O P ' S D A Y

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, Mercy-

hurst was honored by the presence

of Most Rev . J. M. Gannon ,

Bishop of Erie. The students were

formally received by the Bishop

and later gave a short program in

his honor. Bishop Gannon gave a

very interesting ta lk, te lling the

gir ls of his tr ip to Ire land and the

Continent. He spoke very beauti

fully of the Eucharistic Congress

which he attended. His description

was very lucid.

After It he solemn and beautiful

service? of Benediction, the sen

iors enjoyed dinner eaten with the

Bishop. There was much gaiety, so

much so that the time spent%atthe table sped past without notice .

The day was a most pleasant onefor the students 1at Meroyhurst

who wish to thank their Bishop

for so much pleasure.

—•Alary Irwin, '33.

A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

" It was a bleak little cottageresting on the edge of a little

woods which was really very beau-

til'ul*in th e summertime,{but nowit was a cold lonely place as the

wind howled around the door and

the snow beat on the window pane.

Christmas Eve was here and

MTS. Casitv wa s sitting by the fire

saying her rosary. In the oneother little room of the cottage

were Jimmie and Marilyn, her twogolden-haired children. Both weredeep in conversation as they

stood with their noses pressed

against the window.

" J i m m i e maybel we shaven'tbeen good enough and Santawants to punish us," sof tly spoke

Marilyn with a quiver in her

voice.

"Maybe that 's r ight, I broke a

bottle of milk 1 was bringing

home for Mr. Bane yesterday jand oh, there are so many thingsI 've done," responded Jimmies

"Come, children, it 's time forlit t le ones to be in bed," said

Mrs. Casitv coming into the little

back room.

"B ut, M other, we won' t be able

to see Santa Clau s," answered

both children in unison.

"I 'm afraid, my dears, that

Santa will never find us out here&jon the edge of the woods, but letjLus try to be happy and remember

it is the Christ Child's birthdav

tomorrow and we should be giving to Him instead of taking," re

plied the 'frail flit tie woman; but

her heart was aching, thinking oftomorrow w ith* no Christm as for

her little ones.

This just couldn' t be , so af ter

Marilyn and Jimmie were tucked

in bed Mrs. Casity left the cottage

and set out for town. The wind

was sharp and nearly downed this

little woman more thanjonce. But

her rosary was in her hand and it

seemed to be a helping hand every

time she nearlv fe ll . H er tired

eyes wandered to th e lighted

trees in the windows strung high

with gifts. One in particular at

tracted her a ttention and her

footsteps just seemed to turn to

ward th e house. Just as she

reached the steps the door of the

mansion flew open and six young

people laughing and talking came

out of the door. Her light blue

eyes took in their atti re which

was strictly formal, the girls in

the colors of chartreus e, cerise

and pink, with warm fur wraps

about them, and it he men looking

very dignified in their black der-

| bies and formal scarfs showing

just at the neck of their heavy

coats. But they didn ' t see Mrs.

Casity in their rush for fun, they

didn 't know what a feeling th ey

gftcreated in her heart because she

couldn' t help thinking'that some

people have everything and others

nothing in this world. Just as she

was turning away a friendly voice

came to her ears.

"M y dear , aren' t you coldtCome in by the f ire ."

A strong arm went about her

1 slim shoulders and guided her in

to a warm room. Two hours la ter

Mrs. Casity, who had fainted from

cold was awakened to what seemed

tike fairyla nd. A gorgeous tree

stood in one corner of the spa

cious room with gifts wrapped in

gay green or red paper surround-

came into the room. She was far

from being pre tty ; but if onelooked closely, fine character

showed up in her face. She said

to Mrs. Casity, "I 've a lways beenthe wall-flower of the family and

I^never seem to go to the gay

places my sisters do or *have th egood times they have, and I was

crying a couple of hours ago when

I saw them go off to their funand I was left behind. However,

I see how foolish I was now and I

never would have seen you only jthat I was looking after them out

of the window. If you feel better

now, Jackson and I will take youhom e; but first vou must have

something warm {to e a t . "

To the extreme surprise of Mrs.

Casity the big limousine drew up

before the cottage without hereven telling them where she lived.

But then maybe chauffeurs knew

where everyone lived, was thethought going through her mind.

As they opened the door the

two little tots came ^scamperingover to her.

"Oh, Mother , he didn't-forgetu s ; look at my big fire engine and

see the tra in," cr ied Jimmie, his

face ia wreath of smiles."And look at my doll, Mother;

| i t goes to sleep and everyt hing,"chimed! in Marilyn.

Mrs. Casity sank into a chair

and gazed around her little cot

tage, which had become a place

full of Christm as cheer because

they too had a huge tree with

gifts wrapped in-- greenjand re d

paper .

" H o *

wig i t . Just then a young gir l

did you know, why I

can' t imagine," sa id Mrs. Casity,

a ttempting to explain to the gir l

without beautv of face.

"Y ou see vou went into a de-

lirium when you fainted and told

me all about what had been upper

most in vour mind for weeks, and

I felt so foolish to think I had |been crying over not going to a

party that I w anted to make you I

f ee l happy . ' '

"You cer ta inly have, my dear;

and never again feel you are the

wall-flower of the family because

beauty of character is much more ibeautiful in the eyes of God than

| beauty of face. ' '

—Jane Conner , '35.

: -o-:

IDLE THOUGHTS

It is very difficult to write an

article for any occasion when your

mind] dwells on one thought,

when you repeatedly catch your

self gazing out the window, or

day-dreaming, when you come to

just as the bell rings.

I believe the tw o word s or

thoughts uppermost: in my mind

are a lso uppermost in yours;

none other than CH RISTM AS

V A C A T I O N . fp IWe students are not a lone in

these thoughts. The Faculty will

also appreciate a vacation. They

have worked since September for

the benefit and interest- of the stu

dent body.

It seems but a week or two ago

that we were becoming acquainted

with the Freshmen, wondering

who that ta ll blonde was or that

good-looking brunette ; and to

think that the f irst semester is

nearly over; it doesn't^seem pos

sible, but? it is; and so we wish

all of you who read this a

" M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S . "

•Pat. Dean, ? ' ' 35 .

8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1932

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-merciad-december-1932 4/4

Page FourTH E MERCIAD

December. 1932

THE TRUE CHRISTMASSPIRIT ..

T

b

We stood in the middle of theUnderwood Company's store surrounded by gay holiday|deoora-

; tions. As you watched it, an automatic attachment struck the keysand it wrote, "Merry Christmas.Make your own or somebodyelse's" Christmas merry by buyingone." Make somebody else 's

^Christmas merry! That 's justwhat Elsie Morton was trying to

k do and the little typewriter wasjust what she needed to accomplish her purpose.

Her mother, highly gifted intell ectual ly , bu t physioally frail and! weak, often wrote beautiful little

stories but was always greatly disappointed^when the manuscriptswhich she sent in to the variouseditors were returned labeled,"Hand-writ ten manuscripts not

accepted,"f£

While Elsie stood gazing into-the window, she decided tha t bysome means she was going to getthat typewriter for her mother.That evening after supper, she

searched through the want-adcolumns of the pape r until shediscovered this advertisement:

' ' Waitress wanted to serve atnoon and from seven until eightin a second-rate restaurant . ' ' JSonever I What' would ber mothersay? She read the other ads thruagain from beginning • to end,cooks, agents, stenographers; |none would do, for she had no experience. Finally, however, herpride went down to defeat andher love for her mother triumphed.Mother must never know. So,early the next morning she hastened to the hotel and obtainedth e work.

8.;:

- During the next four weeks that |

Elsie worked, she noticed that hermother seemed* thinner and paler

than usual. Elsie rarely found herat home when she returned in th e

evenings, but thought nothing of jthis as her mother was in general idemand on account' of her skill in

' nursing. She found it r athe r a re

lief, as she was saved the troubleof giving an explanation of her

own delay.It was a hard experience, andl

after the first two weeks shewas tempted to give up, but at

such moments the thought of hermother joyfully striking the keys

of the typew riter gave her courageto keep on with her self-imposed

work. So the weary weeks crawled I

by and the little typewriter stillclicked out i t s . cheerful. messageto her as she passed on her ""wayto.and from, work.until at last itwas Christmas Eve and her last

M

night at the restaurant. .

The precious typewriter hadbeen bought that day and its possession made up for the drudgeryof the preceding weeks. Worn outbut happy, she was leaving therestaurant with th e typewriterheld tightly in her arms when shebumped into a little old lad ycarrying a bundle as big as herown. Elsie turned to say, j \ Pardonm e , " but instead cried "M other!" For a moment neither spoke.Mrs. Morton was the first to re

cover herself. "Elsie, child, whatare you doing here 1'i "Oh mother ," cried Elsie, " I had to getyour, typewriter and this was the jonly way. And you, mother

3$fc 4- S a

d ea r ? ' ' Mrs. Morton laughed happily. "W ell, dear, this {bundlecontains the new coat you wantedso much."

"But mother how did you get

the money?""By washing dishes in t ho res-

t au r an t . "Perhaps there were others hap

pier than these two that Christmas day, but if so, they wouldhave boon* hard to find, W hen a

few ' weeks had passed, Mi's. Morto n ^received a check and a request for more stories from a company that had before refused thehand-written manuscripts, so their

joy was complete.—Mary O'Dea, '35.

THE SNOW THE GOLDEN MEAN

:-o-:

CHRISTMAS OOMES

The night withdrawing {behindthe roiling hills and a pinkish glowbat lung the silent, snow coveredworld; the new-old miracle of therising sun painting the giganticdome* of the sky withfigreatsplashes of crimson , gold, androyal purple; the waking sparrows

and snow birds rustling and chirping in their nests; all bespeak thebirth of anotherjday as the firstfaint flush of dawn etches the distant naked trees against the sky.

Another day, thel birthday ofthe Christ Child, Christmas! Bells

ring out beautifully, clearly, clothing the world in glowing'happiness. The swell of music is caughtup in the ryhthm of the universe

and lifted by numberless voices toa crescendo of worship. Fac es,

transfigured by prayer, gaze heavenward, and j the earth becomes

one perfect whole, in tune withthe music of the sphere.

All;this is as it should be. But

regretfully, there is another aspectin which, • if we search deepenough, we find again an essenceof beauty, but a beauty that hasbeen torn and crumpled by self

ishness, k £

We do not know how manytimes that we. have heard thissigh of relief, "Christmas comesbut once a year.'' But we do knowthat the festival thatSthe Christian world considers as the mostimportant finds many echoingthis sentiment and even wishingthat, Christmas might not come atall. These are the people whomake the season a weary one bythe burden of their giving. AndChristmas should not be like that."Who. gives himself with his

alms, feeds three—

Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me." f,

Think of those to whom you aregiving, those5 whom you love, andgive them? something that meansYOU to them. Do not give because, I " it is a family customor because "Jane gave-me a lovely compact last year;" give fromyour heart, expect nothing in return, put no one in your debt.

Send out your light, and let it bea guiding star, with you aloneknowing its source. But why goon? We all know, it 's only thatwe do not heed, that it is never

"What we give, but what weshare |

For the gift without the giver h.

is bare. ' I ©—Elizabeth! Lippart, '33.

tt

For a long time, at ^least itseemed so to me, Mother Naturehad forgotten her friend, MotherEarth, and her sleeping children.For days, Mother ?Earth hadlla inshivering in the cold from thefrosty, snappy airJjShe had lain(here and worried about how tokeep her children warm; but itwas so very hard to do. Poor

mother, fearing for thejwelfare ofher flowers and the tiny sprouting wheat-seeds; she gave sojmuchjoy and beauty to the world insummer, wou ldn't someone helpher now?

And as day followed day, and

th e last\ leaf had finally flutteredto the ground, the tree raised its

arms tow ards the (heavens.There it stood on the*jhill-top,

exposed to tho winter's winds andstorm, always faithful, alwaystrue, and acting as a sentinel.Mother Earth's worried frown annoyed that kin111v tree and thatis why it raised its naked! armsin earnest supplication

Th e rivers J and streams seemed

not to mind the fortune of others,for, in the«first days of winter,the waters, always cold and care

free, had quietly donned! theirlittle coat of ice. They went to

sleep; but Mother Earth was fran

tic and made a last appeal whichthe Tree devoutly echoed.

Today, Mother Earth is happy.Her children are warm. Mother

Nature sent help — she sent alovely, white blanket, so big and

warm, that everything iis coveredand protected with it — the trees,

the earth, the buildings,>>and even

the thoughtless, selfish water has. / -

its icy coat adorned with glisten

ing diamonds.Children are happy, too. Won't

there be snow for Santa C laus'ssleigh? And won't there be snow

for them when they try out theirnew sleds that Santa will bring?And the children's parents ar eh ap p y , | too,

a sthey Say, "Looks

as if we'd have snow for Christ

m a s , " and every one'wishes everybody a Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year, while the littlesnow crystals cheerfully cover the

hills and valleys and cities andtowns and all await with excitedhearts the coming of£ the ChristChild. L * j

— B. K. Banner, '36.:-o-:

THREE CHEERS FOR H. E .

The Home Economics Depa rt

ment is "Up and at 'em" with abang this semester. In any department you may select, you willfind a H. E. major, full of vimand vigor, headed for success. Enthusiasm, interest and perfection,have become their by-words. Competition is keen and progress isastounding. •

Wo all admit we have to struggle every step -of the way, butit is worth it. The end justifiesthe means. And our teachers morethan supply the incentive.

If any one of you should careto develop a sense of humor, to derive real pleasure from study, lether join our ranks.

—Alice Summers, 'S3.

: - o - :•

"A man can keep another'ssecret better than his own — awoman, her own better than ano t h e r ' s . " i * i

In the rush and bustle of our

mercenary, mechanical age itseems that we fail to find the

beauty of living. We go along, asa part of the world's sweat-shopdrudging p fo r i llusory rewards,perhaps money, maybe fame orposition. Despair and hatreds are

all*we have as long as we makeof life only a financial statement

of material gains and losses. Lifewasn't meant to be discounted on

the dollar, it was meant to belived. A life to live, but how?

That'sj the job, to live life.Centuries ago a man had that

same job and even though a paganhe? built u p a Christianized phil

osophy for a science of living. Heformulated simple rules that

would make each day become precious.

The contentment and happinessof each day well spent became an

inspiration to the gifted mind ofth e philosopher, [n lyrical rhythm

he gave to his fellowmen hisclever slant on life which so sat

isfied him that he sung its joys

in verse. Both would have beensoon forgotten had there been noideals. It 's that we're interested

in: the standards or i deals, oiwhich he wrote.

Perhaps the greatest rule was

"the golden mean." He preached

the worth of finding the happy

medium. Poverty is bitter and de-pressing, lavisnness brings discon

tent. Thus he besought the godsto give him what was enough; not

meagerness, which meant misery,nor excessive, wea lth, which

brought with it greed. Not only inmatters of material conditions did

he desire that moderateness, buthe strove to keep his ambitions

an d ^hopes j in an even-tempered

order.Extremes always seem to occa

sion unrest. Indulging to the very

end, stretching out for the last bit,

driving and forcing to the limit,

we become as he said : "B y seeking many {things they desire even

more." If the fact is really facedsquarely it must be admitted that

too much of anything produces asickened distaste for it. The in

terests in our lives, pleasures andwork, should be proportion ately

balanced. Even a specific form ofrecreation or occupation should

not be unceasingly pursued. Extremity of action and thought are

responsible *for monotony and theso-called ' ' one-traok'*| personali

ty. A reasonable moderateness inall things must eventually produce

a desirable well-rounded life.

For a second key to happinessthis humble man of wisdom said:

"B e glad in the pres ent." It 'sjust another sub-heading of the

golden mean: to seek happiness inour present state. This man meant

to say what we may put into common vernacular, " t ha t he was

mighty glad for what he had.''

Human nature is parodozicalin that it seeks happiness, expeot-

ing it to be tied up, waiting on ashelf to be purchased at some great

sacrifice. When instead, it is within us ,  waiting to {thrust itself up

on us when wo develop the proper

attitude of mind|toward life. Ad

mitted that there is a necessaryfuture goal as everyon e's aim,

there should be no dissatisfactionwith the present. There is a se-

curencss from despair for the manwho realizes that today has it 'sown joys, as well as tomorrow.

How well this ancient saereknew to find the best as it camealong in each day, always cherishing secretly t hat far-distanthope. He knew that there are bitsof enjoyment to be found alongthe path to great dreams.

Why not bring out of the past

into a twentieth century daythis delight of living? We can

make ourselves glad we're aliveby uncovering the charm of a

well-moulded life. If we should attempt to put into the hours of

our day these level views of aLatin poet , perhaps our view of

life would change from drabnessto colorfulness. From the cruel

reality of modernness let us'turnback to the gentle wiseness of a

man who dared to make a successful job of life by teaching him

self to be happ y by following' ' the golden mean."

—Martha Myer, '35.

: -o-:

THE PRESIDENTIAL OHAI R

I wonder why men want to bePresident I Is it because of the

glory which the title implies ? Th ePresidency is not all roses. But

neither is it all thorns. A greatdeal of nonsense has been written

about the physical;, toll w hich theoffice takes j from its occupants.

Few, if any have died of overwork. The emotional stra in has

cracked; the physique of Pres idents who have had to read the

casualty lists after sending youngmen to war. Most of the others

have come out of the office ingood health and have lived their

alloted period of life.

Mr. Hoover seems well and

strong. There are cushions in thePresidential chair against the

shock which lesser citizens mustmeet. He does not have to be

bored very long at a time, sincehis engagements are made on thebasis of a time limit.

Whatever form of physical ex

ercise he may take, he does notlack congenial companions. They

wait around, hoping to be asked....even to turn out for a fishing trip

at seven the next morning. Handshaking obligations are a strain

and the official dinners and receptions must be painfully boring!

But these evenings are brief.

Those who have been close tothe Presidency well know that

"fame is no plant that grows onmortal soil, nor in the glistening

foil set off to the world.'' Theyrealize that it may not be until

Jove pronounces lastly on eachdead "that they, in heaven may

expect their. meed'' of fame.

Yet they hope that their lot

may be different and even if itshould not be they would rather

be President than anything elsein the world.

However, Congratulations!.,Mr. Roosevelt.

Do not ask us for wha t iseasy I Ask us for what is hard! •.

•—Elisabeth McDonald, 'S3.

: -o-:

In life it is difficult to say whodo you the most mischief j ememieswith the worst intentions orfriends with the best. 'f

•Bulwer Lytton