the merciad, december 1935

8/6/2019 The Merciad, December 1935

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THE VOICE OFMERC YHURSTf

_ "sHSCHOOL SPIRITI IN ACTION t

Published at Mercyhurst College,! Erie, Pennsylvania

VOL. VII

Holiday Anticipatedj By H BF r o s h Chr is tmas Par ty

Freshmen Hold VariediDn Deferrari LecturesProgram In Colorful

Surroundingsif 1A pretty Christmas motif of

red and silver greeted the guestsas they entered the Students 'Dining Room on the evening ofDecember 17, whe re they weretagged with one-half of a Christmas card, on the back of whichwas printed a part of a wordfre-lating to the Christmas season.The guests found! the i r par tnersfor the evening by matching thesecards. Alternate panels of red andsilver were hung the full length ofthe walls; bell-shaped shades weresuspended from |th e fligh ts; garlands of holly graced the walls atintervals, while two very largelighted wreaths were placed overeach door. Pict ures of jolly oldSanta Claus appeared in each window, where this generous old mancarefully guarded the pyramids ofmysterious-looking boxes of redand silver. In the center of theroom, a mammoth silver-trimmedChristmas tree sparkled under therays of a red spotlight.

The following arranged progra mfilled the air with Christmas spir-it: M

Orchestra Selection,IvtercyhurstOrchestra; Christmas Wish, Frances Hauser; A Christmas Awakening, A play. Characters of the castwere played by: Eugenia Andro-covich, Ma ry Alice Kuhn, RuthHays, Katherine Knauer, EleanorEisert, Patsy Morin/Jean S tamm;Orchestra Selection; Origin of theMisteltoe, Christmas Tree, andChristmas Candle, Aimee Johnson; Little Empty Stockings (songMrs. M. Wilbert; A Chris tmasBlessing (Poem), Maria n McLaughlin; Bits of Christmas Cheerfrom Other Countries, Elba Armstrong, Lillian Alemar, Ida Moore,Miss Mathieu; Orchestra Selection; Nativity Scene, Fresh men ;"Mercyhurst, We Love You"(song), Ensemble.

The Chairmen ofcommittees for theGeneral Chairman:|O'Donnell, President of the Class;

Decorations: D onna Henna, Lu-retta Kellogg, SaralouiseSchmitz;| Publicity: MarianP r o g r a m : ! FrancesFamily: Cather ine

the var iouspar ty were ,Marguer i te

Refreshments,McLaughlin;Hauser; PoorKnower.

Esther Young, '38; -o - :

SODALITY

Important plans were discussedat the Sodality meeting held Sunday, November 24. Final arrangements for the CommunionBreakfast were completed. Invitationswere issued to all the Sodalitiesof Erie to send two members toth e Communion Breakfas t . J

The Sodality party held on Friday evening, November 22, at the

Roost was the first of a series offunctions planned by the Sodalityfor the year for the purpose ofbringing the Sodalities togethersocially. Bridge and Bingo provided entertainment for the eve-

(Continued on Page 2)

On lot* AugustineThe second of a series of\ lec

tures sponsored by Mercyhurstwas given at the College Saturday, December 14, at 8 P. M. byDr. Roy J. Deferrari, Dean of theGra duate School of the ICatholicUniversity Washington, D. C. Thesubject, "St. Augustinea n d ! H isContribution to Latin Literature"was treated so l a s to emphasizethe quality and worth of St. Augustine's writings, and the \ placewhich both the Latin language andSt. Augustine's philosophy shouldhave in \ the curriculum of\ th eCatholic college. | The lecture was

informative, stimulating, and soeffectively delivered as to hold therap t attention of the audience.Dr. Deferrari is chairman of theClassical Languages Departmentsat Catholic Univers i ty :and is alsoa member of the Executive Boardof the Middle States Associationof Colleges and Secondary Schoolsand of the Association{of American Universities. He is internationally known as an authority onGreek and Latin, his publicationsin these fields being well known.1 I d Ruth Eichenlaub, '36

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JUNIOR NEWS

O ut an dcomes "me"

goes "Mickey," and injust for one issue

however. Here's hoping for yourcomplete recove ry, M ickey . .Well, our rings are ordered; wejust have to wait for dear oldSanta now . . Doesn't Betty makea grand presiden t? .. . "M arty"an d "Mar m" are stil l inseparable

. . Pauline has quite th e pho togallery. All those interested,please see the above-mentioned.Make sure you tack those "snaps"down*before the ru sh, Pauline.We certainly are proud of ourPractice-Housers. Nice work, Kay,Virginia, Treva, Edie, Pauline,and Betty may you have loadsof luck in your future house-keeping . . Jan e Sawdey is a pal . .The Juniors in English 15 surely

enjoy reading one novel a week. .Isn't "Sully's" new coiffure becoming ? . . We'd like to hearmore of Adaline's piano playing . .Quite a relief to have those lesson plans out of the way'tillnext year , anyway . . "Murph's"hand-knit sw eaters are honeys . ."Mary" had and still has a li t t le"Lamb" . . From all reports, Winifred Welch and Alice Lymanseem to be enjoying thei r newabodes, Nazareth |and AlleghenyColleges, respectively. Of coursethey doilike to |hear from oldclassmates . . Things we Junio rsca n be j proud of:Anna Fox's co-operativeness . . Sully's whiman d wigor . . Jane Hurley's acting ability . X Annej ' Chamber ' scheerfulness . . Marge's knack forwearing clothes . . Alice's sweetness . . Fran 's syllogistic ability

. . Mary Lou's cleverness . . andEdie's pep . . Take it away,Mickey.

Rita Rectenwald, '37

DECEMBER, 11935 N U M B E R T H R E E

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P a g e T w o Vjt _

5Published!monthly by the students ofMercyhurst CollegeAddress all communications to

J | THE MERCIADMercy hurst College Erie, Pennsylvan ia

Subscription'BatesONE DOLLAR THE YEAR

MERCIAD STAFF iEditor-in-Chief -i . *. 1 M Ruth EichenlaubAssistant'Editors _M. fiurnette Rickenbaugh and Ruth Mae HeadleyAlumnae News Susan NeinerBusiness Manager Mary Therese KlanAss't Business Managers.._ Margaret McMahon and Anna Neuberger

T H E M E R C I A D December, 1985

DIARY OF A SOPHOMORE

ChristmasThe season \of Christmas is with us again, a season which

^brings to this sublunary world a message from] the skies.This message the world of to-day has in great measure ap-propriated|to its commercial advantage; yet theworld, eventh e commercial*world, might do well, even financially, tostudy this message in its spiritua l significance. One seesthe world of to-day toiling with uncertainties, bewildered by

^negative philosophies, torn by a thousand loyalties to athous-and kinds of aimless progress, disappointed in its possessionof a material happiness too obvious and immediate to endin anything but disillusionment,a world though rich inwealth yet hungry in unemployment, miserable in social insecurity, faced with the thre at of almost inevitable wars.Some historians of to-day, observing the tendency of themodern world to destroy truth simply because it is true, toscoff at certainties simply because they are definite, to weaken traditional institutionssimplylbecause they are traditional, and to uproot the ineradicable bases of living simply because they are ineradicable, have predicted that westerncivilization will be overtaken by a cataclysm of destructionunless it takes steps to set itself to rights. Whethe ror J no tthe views of these historians are overly pessimistic is notour concern here. {Suffice it to say that the world, by itsown^.admission, is in difficult straits and that western civilization is making desperate efforts to save itself from ruin.

Now it may not be improbable that in the message whichwas given to the world over nineteen hundred years ago andwhich is annu ally called to mind w ith special e mpha sis atChristmas time may be found the remedy for the threateningsituation which confronts the world on all sides: for thatmessager~be -ft remembered,-brought "good tidings of great!joy." Certainlyithese are the tidings which the world hungers for to-day. Certainly these are the tidings which theworld would realize in its daily life. But th e hea rt of the

world will never know the full radiance of these tidings until there has been established"on earth peacej-to men of goodwill." Perha ps there lies the essential lesson of this messagethat man must have an operative will to good if hewould possessa I peace full of gre at joy ! Surely the worldwould be much more at peace with itself iffit were full ofmen of good will.JAnd to-day, most assuredly, our spiritual,economic, social, and political crises call upon men, perhapsmore loudly than ever before, to manifestthat! good will towards one another which will fill)the}world!with the goodtidings of great joy announced by the angel and which wasmade the birthright of Christendom through the birth ofthe Babe of Bethlehem Iso many years ago. It is our wishthat the whole world will enjoy a Christmas made merryby thejoy of good tidings at home in the hearts of all men.

Burnette Rickenbaugh, '36.

FACULTY NEWS

Sisters M. Colette, M. Fidelis,M. Angelica, M. Bernadette, andmembers of the Chemistry department were present at a lecture on"Organic Chemistry inJ Law Enforcement," delivered November11, at the University Club, underthe auspices of the Erie sectionof the American Chemical Society,by Professor Alexander Lowyofthe University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. M. J. Relihan of theDepart-m e n t of | Education addressedmembers of the alumnae of VillaMaria, Mercyhurst, and St. Benedict at a Communion breakfastheld at Villa Maria,Ining, December 1. |

Miss Ruth Whalen of the De-partment of Home Economicsspoke of "Character Training inHome Economics" a t a countymeeting of teachers of Home Economics held in Edinboro December7. | I |

Mr. J. A. Donatelli of the English department spent the Thanksgiving holidays with his parentsin Scottdale, Penna.

tday moi -

Miss Margaret Mullaney of theBiology department visited at herhome in Lockport, N . Y. during

the Thanksgiving recess. TheMisses Rita Tierneyof I the Athletic department and Beatrice Mul-cahy of the Dramatic department,finding Massachusetts too faraway to be visited during a shortholiday, spent Thanksgiving withfriends in Erie.

Miss Mary Therese Mathieu ofthe Italian department spent theholiday with MissBurnette Rickenbaugh in Osceola Mills, Penna.

Sisters M. Fidelis and! Clotildaof the Physics departme nt andmembers of the Physics classJattended a lecture entitled "TheYouth of Physics" which was delivered at the Erie Museum, November 18, by Mr. T. Phalan, principal of the Roosevelt School.

Sister M. Victorine of the Sociology department attended aConvention of the PennsylvaniaSocial Workers held fat WebsterHall in Pittsburgh, December 6and 7, for the purpose of discus-ring "Crime Prevention." j& |

Olive Schroyer, '39

Nov. 14Pick your perfume inthe new vogue use Caron's"Fleurs de Rocaille," Toots Le -long's "Indiscret" for you, Senori-ta and for Anne Morin| "Gardenia" like the touch of velvet.

Nov. 19Even th e Sophomoreshave their troubles "and after 1studied two hours for the oldthing, too knew the persecutions backwards" we're on yourtrail, Fathe r Powers This from

Bunny Haule "a canon is a biggun " notice the spelling.t*#Nov. 20Sophs at it again

entertainment in the day-bops'room for the seniors bridge, asusual Mother Borgia and he rundefeated partner, Sr. MaryAlice Sr. Fidelis, Sr. Philippa ,and Sr. Clotilda from the faculty.

Nov. 21Epitaph on* a tombstone "Here!lies the body of anatheist __ all dressed up and noplace to go" Mary mead turn sthe table s all dressed up andout she goes Betty Gentleman'snew mink coat is doing some tallstepping lately And our Elbathe eyes have it.

Nov. 23The rush is on wha ttrain do you take? Is the cab allmade up? ask Mother Borgiahowjthe chapel got its name.

Nov. 24Nicknames among theSophomores dLToots, Fleetie, Tripsin, Chirp, Pinkie, Pee-Wee, Baby(not Harrington-noted by request), Petunia, Bunny, The Goon,Rene, Benny.

Nov. 27On the way to thestation.

Dec. 1And now comes Christmas!

Dec. 3Nice work, Ginny Doyle.'"Father, in wha t class would

you put those people who are brilliant, yet kind of funny?"Reply __ "Well, not in the ^Sophomore class, for sure!"__. Is that acompliment, orS Dr. Relihan attributes the recent hatless crazeto the men says they knew

women would take it up savethe bill-fold. S

Dec. 6Talent in the | Latinplays Pauline has an innocentgaze Freshman Christmas party all the fun and no work thisyear for us Betty parks hercurlers in the library Pagea ntby the Sophomores.

Dec. 8Activities begin watchour smoke till Christmas andso, till next time

> f Edith Regan, '38:-o-s

LATIN DEPARTMENTSPONSORS PLAYS%

(Continued from Page 1)"The Collaborators" was cast as

follows:Sidney March Jane HurleyLouise Somers ' Pauline O'LaughlinEdith Powers

Marguerite O'DonnellThe players of "The Patterson's

Dinner" were:Mrs. Pattersonf Peggy ColbertAunt Clara? Anne MorinBarbara Francoise RibletHelen Edith ReganRoyal Bretta Marie SullivanEvangeline Rita Ressler

The committees under the general chairmanship of Marie Dillonwere: property, headed by RitaMaley and assisted by FrancesMalaney, Mary Lou McGrann,Marian Sullivan,! Helen Younie;

tickets, Patsy Morin, chairman,and Bertha Halperin; advertising,headed by Anne Weiner with Peggy Colbert, Patsy Morin, Francoise Riblet, Edith Regan,Mar di eO'Sullivan; | programs, D o n n aHenne, chairman, and InezljBel-lotti .

-Margaret O'Sullivan, '38.

ALG'S ANGLEDO YOU KNOW

Speaking of trite expressions"Will you ever forget the Thanksgiving vacati on?"- and now._just a few more days to go before the | Christmas holidayswhich only "show s to go "|youhow fleeting a thing is timeand life But why philosophize?Things aren'ttoo bad school'snice girls are nicer and men

are nicest which, "after all is allwe're after.""Happy Feastday" to Bret ta

Marie Sullivan not excludingyou, too, Ritai_-We're glad thatCarl's tonsils came out all rightFrances Hauser reminds us a bitof Lucille MeehanHelen Gowansis busy building "romansions" inthe air over those two Southerngents who trained it west withher__And it 's been RINGINGaround tha t Adelaide Salisburyfell in love over Thanksgiving--Someone offered the similie: "Iwas disgusted as a moth in a suitof armor." Reports have it thatthe only thin g left in * Africa tohunt are the Martin Johnson'sI can't resist the temptation to let

you in on one of the rarer moments of Scrip ture Class: saysFather Powers to a Junior (5 ft.4 ins.; dark, cur ly hair; glasses;Room 58) "Why did temptationappear in the form of a serpent?"Answer from described student:"Because Adam and Eve wereonly acquainted with animals"Who's the JAN E always goingdown in the "estimation" She'sonly cheating herself Exerciseis good for "young folks"There's nothing like getting rightdown to the point of things. Takefor example this slogan of theMacbeth Cleaners, Grand Rapids,Mich.: "Out,; Damned Spot!!". J"Go home , and SEYMO UR" isBobbie's motto Ann Fox d is

covered a "BONA"-factor in herTi tusvi l le "VE NT UR E' . . Sul lybites on everything includingbedtime "snackwiches" filled withLePages paste Grayce Marie ishaving, trouble with all her "SOU-DERS" More similies: "He softened up like a dunked doughnut"and, for that ticklish situa tio n.,be as "cool as two women outwith the same man"fe If the Dean sent a telegram toElmer Layden because of the outcome of the| Notre Dame-Pi t tgame, nothing less than? a cablewould do for the South ern Cal.romping,Z No one could have beenmore excited than Mardie O'Sulli-

(Continued on Page 3):-o- :

SENIOR NEWS

We wonder if the Freshmen hadas much fun chasing clues as wehad placing them*for th e h u n t -Ask Marge Potte r; and WinnieO'Dell what it's like togp "berrying" in.November__Have you seenthe physiological monstrosity inthe Senior classHer heart is absolutely functionlessAnne Hei l -man sends her love to all of youKay Forquer spent the holidayat Grayce Marie Souder's homein GenevaWhat is the cause ofthe light in JaneUprichard's eyesBurnette Rickenbaugh had theMisses Mathieu, Alemar, an dArmstrong as guests for the holi

daysBetty Killeen plays in luckWhere's our cut,B e t t y ? . . P r a ctice teaching with all its attendant joys and sorrows still goes onDid you know tha t diffusiontakes place between sarcastic materialsAnd so, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Winifred O'Dell, '86

exercise some

drinking fountains isspouts water when

Abou t the onlyfolks tak e is jumping at conciu~sions The newest thine-"

I o ne which- t h e drinker

merely bends over i t ._ TheTj q| jbrought only 192,369 woundedsoUdiers f rom France ; but in 1933630,987 m e nwere drawing paym 'der tha t law__ What is anJJIwind which nobody blowsg00 d?A saxophone! A certainreporter

j was assigned to get a statementfrom Mrs. Roosevelt on one of her

I man y trip s to New York. The*j scribe mapped out hiscampaign

an d ? decided to call the 65thstreet house first. ] When his callwas answered he asked for MrsRoosevelt's secretary. "I'm sorry"said the feminine voice,"MrsRoosev elt's sec retary isn't in, butthis is Mrs. Roosevelt.Gould Itak e the me ssag e?" She could...Nap oleon at t he ag e of 17 wantedand tried to become anauthor,there are parties where they burnthe scandal at both ends., thereis a flight of little steps at theside of t he bed of the prince ofWales so th at his favorite but olddog, Cora, can climb up to sleep.The wolf at Cen tral Park Zoo

had a nervous breakdown duringthe last depression becausethron gs made faces at him andsang "W ho's Afraid of the BigBa d WoIf"__ A barber pole isacarr y o ver from the days of illitera cy when trade s had to bedesign ated by signs__ A gamecock, confrontedlby a rival rooster and restrained from fightingwill refuse all food and glare withhatred at his rival until he fallsdead of starv ation to some people Hi ier sm is positively Naziat-ing It is a "big business" inJap an to furnish the firefliesfo r social functions. It seems they

are essenti al Thomas Gray wrote75 draf ts of his famous "ElegyWr itten in a Country Church

yar d." A liar is one who has nopartition between his imaginationand his information.

Rosemary Haule, '38:-o-

SODALITY(Continued from Page 1)

nin g. M other M. Borgia wasawarded fir st prize in Contract;Rut h E ichenlaub in A uction. Tastydoug hnut s and steaming hot choc-olate were served. Those attending, abou t 60 in numb er, spent avery enjoyable evening. The Mission Committee of the^ Sodalitywas in charg e of th e party. Members of the committee w ere: Mar-jorie fAlge, Jane Uprichard, Mar-die O'Sullivan, Betty Meyer,MarieO'Malley and Elizabeth Montgomery.*fThe Sod alit y! held its annual

breakfast and reception^on Sunday, December 8, the feast of theImmaculate Conception. AfterHigh Mass seventeen studentswere received1 into the Sodality.Eac h new member presented arose at the Blessed Virgin's altarbefore the reception. Thebreakfast took place in the college dining room at ten-th irty. The Reverend Arthur Finan of North Eastwas g ue st sp eaker for the occasion. His talk, vivid and moving.dealt with love of Christ andstressed sacrifice in the attainment of this love. Bessie Green,studenti speaker, eloquently *"pounded on devotion to the BlessedVirgin. The Reverend James Powers aptly closed the programW.commending the speakers &sayin g g race. A mong the one hundred and fort y socialists presetwere members from f. S t Anne ftSacred Heart ' s , S t Michael's,andSt. John's parishes. j

Anne Weiner, 36


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ywpmber, 1935

PERSONALITY OF THEr MONTH

T H E M E R C I A D Page Three

Marie (Dilly) DillonFive feet of pep and persever

ance. She is a good winner and ag 00 d loser, wears dresses size 14and does her hair up on pinsevery night of her life. "Dilly" isone of the more popular girls atschooland in a girl's college,that is saying something. Mercy-

1hurst maids are continuallyboundsling in and out of her room if she

served free candy to all callers,their visits couldn't be more frequent She never lacks a companion to the "Roost" and is'always

I i n the middle! of the crowd once there. She andÊleanor DeVeaux,her room mate, have a reputation

BW being those "friends in need"who, besides ad minist ering helpful advice to the Freshm en, areglad of a chance to be of use tothe upper classmen. "Dilly" likesto play pranks. But her pranksare never of the "deflating" type:for they give even to their victims moments of laug hter. Shehad her own ini tiation of the"froshes" his year. And her ideasfor letter writing oh my! you must ask her for some of herstock phrases.

Marie's feelings are made ofconcrete: you can't hurt them. Asdshe doesn't take anybod y, evenyou, too seriously. She has a system, tha t of sleeping "fas t," tokeep her vim, vigor and vitalityabove par: and incidentally , itworks. Even though "Dilly"doesn't grind, she manages to topher classes. Her aim is to teachLatin to înnocent children. Ormaybe to be a welfare worker:her sister, Faye, whom she adoresimplicitly, is in that field. "Dilly"is fond|of housework and cooking(don't crowd boys, she is toofootloose and fancy-free to tie downright away.) Next to dancing, herfavorite pastime is driving a caror just riding in one. She is veryefficient, was s ecret ary to herclass as a sophomore, presid entas a junior, and re-elected to thatoffice as a senior.

In spite of her popularity, sheis very modest and$ unpretent iousand will probably think tha t 1made a lot of this up as I wentalong. i M

Fran Riblet, '37: -o - :

ALUMNAE NEWS

One of our busiest! alumnae isAlyce Reeder, '30-'34, of Jam es-town. In addition to her reg ularposition as teache r in the n ightschool in Jamest own , Alyce nowhas a position as substitute teacher of Commercial subjects in thehigh school.

Kay Reiser, '31-'35, was a. member of the comm ittee which directed the recent! CommunityChest drive in Erie.

Virginia Dugg anJI'29-' .33, hasbeen transferred to the Pi t tsburghoffice of the Department!of Jus -tice.^Since shortly after her graduation from Merc yhurst , Ginnyhas held a position in the Harris-burgh office. She received her appointment by Civil Service examination. Her work is concerned withthe supervision and parole of convicts in western ^Pennsylvania, andwith social service work amon gthem. Though th ere's "many atear," the work has its share oflaughs. 5 | |

Wejvhope, dear Alum nae, tha tyour week-end at Mercyhurst wasa delightful one. We enjoyed yourvisit and J we trust vthat you twillvisit us again before another|Alumnae Dayrolls round.

Susan Neiner, '36Margaret O'Sullivan, '38

A I D I I M M A E I D K T T M IALUMNAE WEEK-END

Dear Alumnae,By the timetthis reaches you,

Thanksgiving vacation! will havecome and gone and Christmas willbe merrily on its way. The Alumnae Week-end is also a thing ofth e past,but an event of thepast which we hope will remainever present to you.

Mercyhurst is proud ^ off thespiri t of good fellowship'whichexists among you. She is alsoproud of the loyaltyof her daughters who, this year, met for Alumnae Week-end in greater numbersthan ever before. Thelattendanceof the Class of '35 was especiallynoticeable since fifteen of itstwenty members were present.Many Alumnae who were notpresent wrote? letters regrettingthe fact that circumstances madeit impossible for them to come.Here is a list of those |who attended the event, a listwhich,!wehope, is c omp lete: T he M issesJane Conner, Anne McGrath,Mary Skene, Catherine Egan, Leo-na McAllister, E velyn Donahue,Helen Crowley, Martha Myer,Kathryn Harrington, Laura La-Cavera, Marion Summers, Dorothy Mooney, Margaret Mullaney,Madelyn Hall, Jean Summers,Alice Summers, Dorothy Morard,Mary Irwin, Julia Belle Gallup,Jane Turgeon, Regis O'Leary,Grace Rechiche, Mary Ann Woods,Kathryn Reiser, Marian Carlin,Marg aret Hanna, LuElla Haaf,Mary Ellen Wilbert, Elizabeth Wil-bert, Barbara Wilbert, Mary Mc-CradyJMary Carlos, Grace Kane,El izabeth! Hamburger, KatherineBarrett, Jeanne Elliott, MiriamShalkham, Helen Huether, TeresaA'Hearn, Margaret A'Hearn, Jane

Senior - Freshman TreasureI t Hunt

On Iwednesday afternoon, November thirteenth, the Seniorclass entertained the Freshmen ata cleverly plannedTreasure Hunt .The Hunt was followed by a formal dinner for members of bothclasses in the IStudent's DiningRoom. i J*

After dinner, treasu re chestsfilled with wealth were given tothe winners of the hunt: MaryAlice Kuhn, Olive Schroyer,Gladys Anderson, and Ida*Moore.The lucky winners of the boobyprizes were: Mildred Rosa, Dorothy Kalivoda, Frances Orzel, andAdela Ossowski. Dancing in theDining Room brought to a closea most delightful day.

I M Ida Moore, '39-0-:-

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

It 's a coat colder these mornings, {don't you think? But th eelements will ha ve! to showusjalot more stormy weather, beforewe forego our Roosting. Mr. Sy-rak's fires are a bigattraction after the trek, however, and |jus tabout as hot as we ever want toexperience. |$y

The Roost isfstill playing hostess for Club affairs. Last monthwe had three imajor partiesandseveral minors|fRight, Toots?One fair damsel mentions tha tshe's "not her old sylph anymore!"

We've heard that you can't mixbusiness with pleasure but th eMerciad Staff seems to inauguratea little of eachand more of thelatterinto its monthly meetingsat the Roost. We like them loadsin fact those meetings provideexcellent refreshment.!

"""{""J" ' !!"! ' !"" miiii,.i..niui.ii..iM..in Miami^>iii.H.:."1r,..i11ii|u;,uî;s1,.,ji4uiis.>,iJiiIi!l..;.i,,i;I

Mulherin; the |Mrs. MargaretKirk (Burkhardt), Dorothy Car-rick (Meyer), Irene Miller(Strahl), Ruth Roland (Wilbert),Ethel Shapiro (Levick), CatherineMcMinn (Egan). This you see, isquite a collectionoff Alumnae, acollection which, if we understandaright the fine spirit which dominated the recent reunionwill? begreatly augmented in number atnext year's Alumnae Week-end.

The Merciad Staff issorryfithatcopies of the paper were not received by some of you as soon asyou should have had them; and ithere promises that injthe futureyour copies ofthe Merciad will bein the mail as soon as they areoff the |" presses. The MerciadStaff let it be known, welcomesyour complaints and suggestion sfor two reaso ns: first, becausethey point out to us ways of improving our service to you; andsecond, because they imply anactive interest in the paper andin the school and that interest is,whether you know it or not, anincentive which stimulates theStaff to better work. That I youdo stimulate oUr interest is manifested at once in the followingrequest. We have often wantedto run pictures of members of ourAlumnae but we have had to dowithout them simply because wehave no plates of you. Consequently, we here appeal to thoseof you who have plates of yourselves to send them on to theStaff. These plates will be indexed and put away for safekeeping against r'the time whenjit willbe opportune to use them in thepaper. The Administration, theAlumnae, the Student Body want

TYPISTS GOA-TINKERING

(Continued from Page 1)stallation attracted our attention.It comprised a Sprinkling Systemand a system providing protectionagainst fire and robbery. The explanation given w as very enlightening.

With this fund of information,we returned to school fillediwithgreat aspirations for future

achievement in the business worldand the slogan "Accuracy First"firmly impressed upon our minds.

f Rita Maley, '38

Lillian is |happy these days,and&keeps us all in a gay moodwith her Spanish songsEnglish,too. Bu t wefwant to knowwhathas the "Owl" to do with it? S

Congrats to Marge, Your Sodality party was certainly fun oneof those gatherings at which"happiness wags its tail." Bingoand Bridgedoughnuts and hotchocolate marsh mallowsprizes dancing and general hili-arity all to theftune of MarieO'Malley's radio Mother Borgiawo n| the bridge prize, whichshegave to Peggy, her collaborator inthat battle with Sister Mary Aliceand Dolores. Beware, you Roosters! The Dean and the Registrarmust practice their Contract in

B

|Marie's radio |livened||up th eRoost that week-end beforeThanksgiving. Jane, Ruth, Elbaand Marion studied to the thrillsof ithe Notre-Dame-Southern Cal.game . Could this, perchance, bethe time and place to suggestthat a radio decorate the mantlepermanently? A small contribution i from each Rooster woulddo the trick. How's aboutit you who are good at "collecti ng?" 1

to see your pictures in the paper.The paper itself wills take on added life and color from picturesof yourselves in its pag es. Because we know you will notfailus in this matter, we look forwardto an avalanche of plates in thenext" few weeks.

Here fare some odds and endswhich might interest you. At itslast meeting, t he M erciad Staffvoiced its appreciation of your assistance in the recentI ticket salewhich? it sponsored. The PractiseHouse has been a forlornI building since ! November 23 whenitwas vacated by the Home Ecgroup.. The library is pleasantlywarm this year: the new furnaceis living up to all that the salesman said of it. Sister Liguori'sdesk is right beside the door now,a strategic move which hasmuch to do with discouraging ourinclinations to "borrow" books onreserve. And the Christmas spiritis in the air. We first noticedjUtabout a month ago in the V's &X's. This impression was soon authenticated by the appearance onthefbulletin board of the committees for the Freshman J Christmas Party and the Omicron Gamma Pi Sorority (Home Ec Club toyou) Christmas Party. And thencame the cold weather and thesnow which reminded us more thanever tha t there are only! a fewmore shopping days until Christmas. Then, the December numberof the Merciad. And at this point,we take our leave of you by wishin g youf a merry, merry Christmas and a New Year happy andfull of good J things.

Your correspondent,-Ruth Mae Headley, '36

C L U B S

(Continued from Page 1)Neiner, and Elizabeth Montgomery werejiplaced in charge of thecommittees.

STUDY CLUBStudy Clubfmet November 17.

Betty Killeen and RuthfEich en-laub led an open discussion? onCommunism. Comments pertinentto the matter discussed were madeby Father James Powers.

MATH CLUBThe Math Club met November

20. Officers were elected as follows: President, Mary Agnes Lo-baugh; Secretary, |Rita* Recten-wald. The club is composed ofMathematics majors land such

Mathematic students as care tojoin. The monthly gatherings arein the form,of business meetingsfollowed by a social period.

1 | MariefDillon,'36

These vacations lare causingBernie's, Bett y's sand Catherine 'shearts to stutter And what'sbeen bothering you, Mary*Lou?The trut h will ouch, y'know.Watch your step-on-it.

The afternoon of the NiagaraClub Bridge saw the Roostjfilledto overglowing and the top ofConversation. Our guess is tha teveryone enjoyed herself. W e,from Niagara say, "Thanks a million." There were almost enoughprizes to go around, and did the

lucky persons win "just what Ineeded?"JBetter grease and oilthat phrase. Christmas is almostupon us! Here's a suggestion get rubbe r gloves for Miss DeVeauxa young lady who sweepsthe Roost with gusto, and the resultblisters on both hands. Betty

Without doubt, one of the mostdelightful and long-to-be-remembered social affairs in the annalsof Mercyhurst was featured in therecent Alumnae Home-comingWeek-End of November 9-10.From the moment the guests bega n 3 to arrive on Friday eveninguntil t he! "farewe lls" of M onday,there prevailed a spirit of wholesome pleasure and happiness.

The affair opened in a formalway with the Banquet on Saturday evening, where a very largerepresentation of the Alumnaemet in the decorated dining roommid "flowers and friends andfood," to renew old friendships, toreminisce over college days, to delight and share-in each other'ssuccess, and to appreciate the atmosphere of being "at home" oncemore.

Miss Grace Kane, '31, was "theperfect toastmistress," as Mrs.Ethel Shapiro, '32, so aptly saidthat evening. A novel feature ofthe program!was short speechesby various members. For instance,we recall;how well Elizabeth Wilbert, '38, pictured for us in hertalk the work of the Alumnaein

the field of Social Service. MissWilbe rt is now actively engagedin this work in Erie and so couldspeak from experience. LuEllaHaaf, '33, handled ve ry well nersubject, "What My College Eduoa-f. (Continued on Page 4)jag- : - o - ;

ALG'S ANGLE ;(Continued from Page 2)

van during the lasthalf._"LAR-DIE! HOW'E can take it!__ Whilewe're on football have you heardof the new Dionne pass? Youguessed it Five men handle thepigskin _~_jBeIly-Harrington thinksLITTLE of MAN in general ...Patsy Morin's new theme song is"Lookie, Lookie, Lookie, HereComes COOKIE'__ Academy students aren't as dumb as reported:They told Muriel Lehman that shewas too pretty to teach which is"pretty" smartRuth Eichenlaub,ed-in-chief, and Pe g! Colbert tookin the bike races on one of theweek-ends and have been runningaround in circles ev er since._The Cummings sisters are a talented duo Why hasn 't someonethought J of the brig ht idea ofturning out Major Bowe's gongsfor practical use We could usethem nicely for public sspeaking

and other things|_ And thanksto the New Yorker: "Men are likecorks some will pop the question, others have to be drawnout" Betty Killeen better"WATC H" out that she has nomore nephews Betty Gentlemanhas a gorgeous mink coat"Worts" this we hear about yourdouble-header, Rita? Safety directors say that there are threegreat menaces to safe driving inAmerica today:Hie, hike, and hug

Logic?students at least get thegeneral idea of one syllog ism:Logic is IMP__ Logic is POSSIBLE Logic isIM-POSSIBLE__Miss Mathieu is terribly fascin a t i n g - Muss-olini seems to be"muss-ling" in on"D'EATH-opia'sterr i tory.

(Continued on Page 4)

Gentleman, Florence,| and Ruthiear e grand- to work withnot tobelittle your columnist 's young

sister. Not affew were* a lamp orso heavier on the return trip Sunda y night. J; y

Here's wishing you all the bestof vacations.And don't forgetDo* your Christmas shop-liftingcautiously!

I I Sully, '37


4/4

Page Four T H E M E R C I A D December. 1935

ALG'S ANGLE ALUMNAE WEEK-END(Continued from Page 8)

And now list , my Dears, andyou shall hearA Yuletide story

about one of our better -know nI M B E C E L E B S :

Little |Marie Dillon rose HURLEY on Christmas morning, feeling', in spite of her 21 yea rs,YOUNG and cheerful as a BURD.She was COL-BERT she QUIG-LEY GOWANS and calledjto he rbrother, whom she loved dearly:"UP-RICHARD, | WHIT-COMBis mine?" And he, being a sarcastic I sor t of GENTLEMAN responded: "SIMS to me that yourPOWERS of observat ion are a tlow tide this merry day. HAULEknow i t by the GREENE^trimming." So lit t le Marie being takendown a "peg" or two by this saucyrebuke, said to herself. "STAMMit all , he'l l take tha t BACH ."Thereupon she KILLEEN-ed he rface with "Lady Esther" and dashing on a spot of lipstick, shetripped gaily downstairs to see theChristmas tree. There in a cornerstood the most beautiful tree Marie had ever seen in all her 21years. Its multi-colored lightsmade her EISERT to look at them,and the presents: ah, these gladdened Marie's l i t t le hea rt, for,there, all neatly stacked were

NEI NER ten packages and a l lfor her. Clapping her hands, inglee, she FALLON herfknees an dopened them all . There was astory-book, with the story of thelitt le red HENNE; and all aboutJonah wi th the WHA LEN everything. ALGREM'S fairy tales werein it , and historical facts aboutthe DUERING pirates]of old. ButMarie receivedMORIN th is . Therewas a tea-set, with a knife, cup,FRYE-ing pan, saucer, spoon, andFORQUER what have you? But ,as the last knot was untied, shebegan to sob exclaiming: "Oh, Iknow SANTA J didn't come here,CLAUS my doll HAUS ER myGOULD watch isn't I around, andMcGRA NN mother promised mehe'd surely br ing them.

But Marie was not selfish athear t, so drying her tear s, shewalked happily into th e diningroom to eat her Christmas morning breakfas t . "LOBAUGH", shecr ied , "Merry Chr is tmas! How'sMa w?" Marie ' s fa ther, however,was a discerning sort of man andSAWDEY traces of tears lurkingin Marie's eyes . r 'My, my,' he said,"such CUMMINGS and goings on,and on this merry day. Dry yourtears , my daughter, KNOWERleave the table immediately." Atthese harsh words, she began tosob again. "O'Dell mewhere | m ydoll-house is." "Quiet, ' said hermaw, "what MOORE do youwant?" Maw was mad because shehad forgot ten to MEHL ER Chr is tmas cards . ,,

No w Richard came in the roomand blew a screeching BLAIR onhis toy horn. |He saw Marie ands tar ted to RESSLER 'round jtheroom, until their fathe r intervened and separated them. "SUR-GO to your room," he commandedRichard, "andf Marie GUM upstai rs after you eat yourbreakfas t . " " I WIL-BERT LACEYfthepaper first , ' said Marie.

fPawidid not i go down TOWNEbecause it was Christmas, so hej u s t POTTER-ed around the houselooking at this present and that.Soon Maw came ANDERSONfollowed. "Richard is sorry, dear,"she said. "Fine/ said Paw, "tellMarie she KUHN come downnow." Spoooooo-everything w a sMEAD al r ight by th is , and thehappy litt le DILL'N-family had averyvery**; B|j[

|MERRYf C H R I S T M A S !W IMarge Alge, '371

(Continued from Page 3)tion Has Done for Me;" whileJean Summers, '33, gave us several secrets as to ways and meansof making our Alma Mater betterknown. Several valuable suggest ions! were gleaned %from her talk.Our enviable dramatist, ElizabethHam burger, '31, indicated to thegroup how the Alumnae may function in Catholic Action. One ofthe most recent members of theAlumnae, Catherine Egan, '35,who traveled all the way from,Rochester to be present for theoccasion, spoke of her work in thefield of Dietetics, and brought toour attention the varied activitiesin which the Home Economicsgraduates are now engaged. Therare treat of the evening was MissNaomi Larkin of Pittsburgh, whoas guest speaker, painted a beautiful pictu re of the delight s ofreading when well directed andproperly supervised. Miss Larkinalso emphasized theimportance'ofthe cultural Catholic backgroundin education, and commended theMercyhurst Alumnae members onthei r choice of colleges. M issLarkin is chairman of the literature committee, International Federation Catholic Alumnae.

Later in the evening the guestsadjourned to the Roost where theUpper Classmen had arranged foran evening of fun.

On Sunday morning, the Alumnae, attired in cap, |gown, an dhood, attended High Mass in theChapel of Christ the King. FatherPowers' sermon made one realizekeenly the beauty, dignity, andpower of womanhood. His message was most inspirational, andone tha t could be carried],awayinto the routine of daily life.

Again a t breakfast, the spi r i tof "being at Ihom e" was noted,particularly in the strains of"Mercyhurst Melodies," and in therather informal manner in which

the Alumnae took possession ofthe dining room, marching aroundamong the students in much thesame way as li t t le ones returninghome from a long vacation.

Someone!said tha t one of thepeppiest and liveliest businessmeetings ever of the Alumnaewas held Sunday morning. AliceSumm ers, '33, presided. Such ma tters as ways and means of raisin g money|to increase the Scholarship Fund for worthy students,and "The Merciad" distributionand subscription plan evoked manywise I and worthwhile suggestions,comments, etc. The election of theofficers for the ensuing yearbroug ht this meeting to a close.The officers are: President,*!Barbara Wilbert, '30;vice-president, Teresa A'Hearn,'31; secre tary, Margare t Dean, '35;t reasurer, S is ter Mary Esther,0. M.| I |

Mercyhurst is delighted to hearof the notew orthyi advancementsthatfhave come to the$ Alumnaewithj their experience in theirvarious lines of work. We wishyou continued success, dearfriends, and look forward withpleasure and joy to next year ' shomecoming to your Alma Materover w hose doors "W elcome" lal-ways gree ts you.m- Wm P . D '35

BETTER LATE THANNEVER! I

MEDITATIONS OUT OF ASCRAP BOOK

: -o - ;A thing of duty annoys forever.

Collegian* * *I f I

Of His earth-visiting feetNone knows the secret, cherished,

perilous, ;*. |The terrible, shamefast, fright

ened, whispered, sweet, |Hear t -shat ter ing secre t of His

way wi th us . ^Alice Meynell

common! li sthrough nojust never isplace at the

There are different varieties oflate comers. The first and! most

the person who,malice aforethought,able to arrive any

stated Ihour. He, ormore probably she, begins with theintention of being punctual, but,after a few unforeseen mishaps,finds that he is already forty-fiveminutes late. By that time,li tmakes little difference one way orthe other, so he reads the newspaper and makes sure a reallygood job will be made of |hiscarelessness.

Then there is the one whojust does not care. What possibledifference can it make if he arrives at nine for a seven o'clockdinner? It is he who has to eat thecold meal or go without any foodat all . Had he called at the lastminute to decline, the table wouldhave needed rearranging, and theplace cards a ltering. This waythere is just a vacant chair at thetable, and everyone worries forfear there might have been an accident.

Then we come to theftype w hoshould be exterminated either by

not granting him an invitation orby feeding him a dose of arsenicpoison. It i s | the man or womanwho thinks that by coming late theeffect is improved. It makes himappear extremely busy and permitseveryone else to see him as he arrive s.! He feels t hat the entranceis more dramat ic ;2 and he woulddress more than once rather thanbe among the first arrivals. For aperson of this sort the only probable remedy is to tell him tha tdinner is an hour earlier.* After

V

that, one may at(least hope thatthis will not be the one occasionfor which he is not tardy.

A less numerous type of | latecomer is he who simply forgets ormisunderstands the hour for dinner. We can, nevertheless, quitesafely consider him as annoyingas any of the former varieties, theonly difference being that he offers an excuse which we must accept, no matter how overwhelmingis our disbelief.

If everybody werejjon t ime, thissquib would never have been written . For th is presumption$on yourwillingness to listen, a thousandpardons 1 But, speaking in bald sincerity: it is a good idea to be ont ime for any engagement .

I l l Sally Blair, '37: - o - :

SOPHOMORE SAYSNOTHING ABOUT SOMETHING

Chesterton has said tha t if a

thing is necessary it is an evilbut if it is unnecessary it is good.An d so, since | i t is necessary formelto write "something on anything," I, who agree most emphatically with Chesterton, consider the writing of such a themean evil but, unfortunately, a necessary evil. Now if the idea of composing an essay had been purelyof my own making, anpdea conceived in my own mind, a self-imposed task, as it were, in aword, unnecessary, then, and thenonly, wouldl the composition ofthis piece of writing have been adelight to its author. And so, because 11 can think of nothing elseto write about, and because it isagreed tha t something must be

written, I shall endeavor to setforth, for my own satisfaction, atleast, some ideas upon the subjectof writing.

In the study of li terature, onenever reads of the compositions oressays which Bacon orf Carlyle orPope were forced to hand in asclass assignments. Perhaps in

Hidden BeautyInfthe rush and hubbub of this

mechanicals age thereseems Ho beno time for concentration or evenfor a pause in which one maylook into the heart and meaning ofall things. Of those things whichcome home to our bosoms with aprimal urgency, thereseems to betime for a superficial knowledgeonly, so that we are but dimlyaware of their intimate nearnessto life itself.

No one is ent i re ly!insensible tobeauty almost everyone can appreciate Ibeauty which wear s itslovelinessfupon i ts sleeve. A dew-drop in the heart of a rose, thecomfortingisilence of a chapel, thesudden magnificence of a sunsetall draw us to themselves. But,aside from this, therefis hiddenbeauty, hidden to this extent onlythat not all are able to see it , hidden in so far as it is found inthings which, in many minds, arenot considered beautiful.

We are, for instance, vexed ingreat measure by the rain. Itforces us, so we think, to remainindoors or to suffer the discomfort of wet coats and wet hats and

the nuisance of umbrellas. Yetthere is so much to walking inthe ra in wi th the ra indrops s t reamin g downjone's face! It gives onea sense of exhiliration and vigorand, afterwards, of pleasing lassitude such la s comes after allstrenuous and healthful exercise.One feels in everyi loosened fibrethe beauty of the quieting qualityof rain. Yet physical and mentalrelaxation is only one of the manybeautiful things which*are to bediscovered in the rain. One may also see, if he will, the beauty of itsdeep significance: "How s ingular,and yet how simple, thephilosophyof rain !| Who but the OmniscientOne could have devised such anadmirable ar rangement for watering the earth!" One can also med

itate on the fact tha t the rain,when it depar ts, leaves to theworld purity, sweet freshness, and,perhaps, a rainbow, "that graciousthing, made up of tears and light."

those days of enlightenment suchthings were notfrequired; andfifthey {were andf if the essayists already-mentioned did comply, thoseenforced writingsfhave certainlynot been numbered among theirfamous works. In my opinion, li terature must be the voluntary expression of thought and one who writesunder compulsion writesain acramped and unimaginative style.

"The freest man is he who isbound by laws." This quotationapplies rather well to the questionat issue. For, given the wide,wonderful world from which tochoose I cannot select one topicwhich appeals to me as a subjectf orf my literary efforts.| f

My mind wanders vaguely frombirds to bricks, from rain to radiators, and from duty to doorknobs. Ye*t nowhere does it find aninspiration. The field is too corn-

ex, insomuch as I lose my wayin the maze of opportunities; i tis too indefinite, insomuch as anelusive thought escapes my gossip. So once more I find myselfgazing into hopeless space, searching ever, ye t in va in "Whatshal l I wr i te about?"

The zero hour draws closer, thebrain grows dimmer, al sort ofwild hysteria seizes on the mind,the pencil moves swiftly across thepaper, writing unintelligible wordsand phrases. The product, as youwill no doubt agree, of trying towri te something about anythingis my idea of nothing fI

M a rg a r e t O'Sullivan^'38

To one indo ors, rain bringsfeeling of security and peace, ftis seldom, indeed, that I canescape the charm of an afternoonwhen "the rain is playing its softpleasant tune fitfully on the skylight, and the shade of the fast-flying clouds passes with delicatechange across my book." a

Thus it may be seen that rainneed not be looked upon onlyassomething which creates discomfort or low spirits, for itsbeautiesare many and apparent. In itselfa raindrop is a marvel and a miracle: only if one's attitude towardit is d istorte d by the accidents oflife will its beauty be perverted.So also in the snow, which is another miracle of creation spreading upon the dead, colorless eartha white blanket of cheer, there isbeauty and grace and a blessing;and in a plowed field; and inacrooked path; and in a ramblingtumbledown shack: there is beauty everywhere if one has learnedhow to look for at.

Sentimentality

Sen time ntalit y has never beenso out of place in the world as itis to-day. Although there hasnever been a time when it wasconsidered to be desirable byeveryone, it was more in keepingwith the courtly, affected mannersof the too-feminine ladies and thetoo-gallant men of past ages, suchas, for example, the latter part ofthe sixteenth century when thethoughts of the fashionable youngman were centered on the writingof sentimental love lyrics to hislady love. And how thoselyricsreeked of sentimentality and related affectations! But to-day, ayoun g lady, walkin g in fromMtenn is cour t, all strengt h and vital ity or red cheeked andfwindblown from a speed-boat racewhich she has just won, would appea r rid iculous if sh e, because ofa mom entary crochet, were tolapse into a fit of sentimentality.Be the situation what it may, sentimentality^ is alwa ys sickly andincongruous; and it is unlikelythat it will ever % be loved for itsown sake.

Ri tua l

III Let us see how differently children and adults are impressed bythe religious services of somegreat holy day, such as Christmasor |Easter. Ceremonies j"which to achild are but vagueJ observances,either the same or similar toothers which the many holydaysbring, which he takes almost as ama tter of fact and likes well, andunderstands, as he thinks, clearly,in his own budding imind, arerea lly and finally intelligible tohim, only afte r long years andmuch i experience of life, andarouse him, as if he had never until then beheld them, to their deepsignifican ce and spiritua l beauty.Then he begins to see|how it li stha t religious* rites an outwardexpression of ? the profound sentiment and faith f of mankind, and,above all , Christian mankind-have endured, centuries after centuries, a consolation to the inconsolable years, with a hold on manand a peace which the meaningless pursuits of the world, with alltheir shallow pleasures, are entirely unable to give. Perhaps thisis the reason for the high estimation of Christmas, as ifa! solaceandjan eleva tion: its sacred joysand spiri t, its sublime MidnightMass, bringing peace, as the presence of God Himself, to the wearyand | burden ed, w ith th e hope ofgreater tranquillity, which is thehaven offthe spirit in this world.

I Anne Weiner, '**

the merciad, december 1935

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