8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1932
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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.
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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 ."
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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
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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