1
May 3, 1957
THE TWIG
Page three
WHO HID THE SHEPHERD’S CROOK?
By MARY ANN BROWN
Near the card catalogue a few
weeks ago was a well-worn object
which looked like, and was, a shep
herd’s crook. Those students un
familiar with Meredith tradition
may have regarded it with amaze
ment, if not horror, and wondered
just when Meredith College main
tained an agriculture department—
with sheep! That crook, however,
had nothing to do with the poor
little animals who have lost their
way, but rather with an exciting
Meredith tradition.
In 1906 Miss Caroline B. Phelps,
the teacher of dramatics, gave the
crook to the senior class to increase
class spirit. She had come to Mere
dith from Adrian College in Michi
gan, where such a use of a crook had
been successful. Hidden by the sen
iors before the opening of school
each year, the crook was the object
of many hours of junior searching.
When the juniors found it they were
allowed twenty-four hours in which
to re-hide the crook, and then the
seniors began to hunt. The class in
possession of the crook at the end
of the school year had “won,” and
their colors were tied to the crook
and carried on Class Day. If the
juniors were in possession when the
time limit expired, the seniors had
to carry junior colors, which they
topped by a big black bow of
mourning. In the fall of 1913, crook
ing was abolished when the faculty
ruled that the crook had succeeded
to well and that class spirit was turn
ing to ill-will.
On Class Day, 1929, the crook
was again presented to the incoming
seniors, and crooking continued un
til after 1948, when it was dropped
because of lack of interest.
In its heyday crooking was char
acterized by anything but lack of
interest. The juniors began to look
for the crook when they came back
to school in September, and any
hour of the day and almost any hour
of the night might find juniors or
seniors searching busily. The crook
had to be hidden between the high
way in front of the campus, the
railroad on the right, and the roads
at the left and back. It could not be
under lock and key; some part had
to show at all times, and if hidden
out of doors it had to be protected
from the weather. Each class tried
to find an unusual place to hide
the crook, and usually they suc
ceeded. Once it was hidden on a
rafter of the breezeway; another
time it was tied to a furnace pipe
in the tunnel; it was hung from trees
and hidden in the wheat field, then
near the highway.
The wheat-field episode was one
of the most exciting in the crook’s
history. Each year the college presi
dent was host to the seniors at a
formal dinner in the dining hall. One
year while the seniors were at this
dinner, two juniors were seen going
toward the field, supposedly to see
whether the crook was still safely
hidden. The rumor immediately
spread to the dining hall that the
crook was in the wheat field, and
soon the field was filled with seniors
formal dresses and heels, and
Found a Summer Job?
By ANN FINLEY
in
juniors determined to protect their
hiding place. In the struggle which
followed the crook was broken, and
had to be mended.
To the rules governing crooking
were added two which showed the
extent of crook enthusiasm and in
genuity. “The crook may not be
taken by force and no one may be
physically interfered with in search
ing.” “The crook may not be hidden
in or on any roofs.” (!)
Crooking became a problem when
girls began to spend more time look
ing for the crook than on more im
portant things like sleeping and
studying. Searching was then con
fined to six weeks in the spring,
and clues were hidden to help the
class that was looking. The clues
were in code, and sometimes all the
clues could be found and none could
be de-coded. Then the crook would
remain hidden, to be taken out of
hiding at midnight on the first Sat
urday night in May by the president
of the class which had last hidden
it.
A shriek in the middle of the
night, a mad rush to a rumored
hiding place, exultant juniors or
seniors on Class Day . . . these
things were characteristic of Mere
dith tradition at its most exciting
stage.
Girls, have you decided on a job
for the summer yet? If not. I’d like
to make a few suggestions which you
might like to follow up. There’s one
job which I know of that pays won
derfully well; let me see ... I think
it’s about thirty cents a month, and
one must admit that that’s pretty
good, considering what teachers are
paid these days. However, this is
not a teaching job; it’s a stewardess’
position on a cruise ship. I’ll have to
admit, though, that the cruise goes
a little farther south than Havana;
in fact, it goes all the way to the
South Pole. But just think of all the
magnificent sights you’ll see; polar
bears, snow, icebergs; and if you’re
like me, you haven’t seen any snow
(what’s that?) in ages. Think it over,
you could do worse.
Another interesting occupation
which I heard about was feeding the
lions in the Barnum and Bailey
Circus. With this job you’d be in
New York in the summer and Flor
ida in the winter. Of course, I must
tell you that it’s a rather dangerous
occupation, but who would mind the
loss of an arm if one could spend
the winter- in Florida? Another im
portant part of the job is its pay—
all the horse meat you can eat.
I’m afraid I’ve about run out- of
suggestions, but I do have one more.
I found the ad in Consumer’s Guide,
and that’s just what the job is, guid
ing around obese people who are
too busy consuming food to watch
where they’re going. It is strenuous,
and the benefits are not very good;
but maybe one of those gargantuan
eaters may turn out to be a million
aire; who knows?
Well, that just about wraps it up.
If you do decide to look into one
of these jobs, though, let me know
so I can wish you Bon Voyage!
Bonne Chance! or Bon Mangeant!
ADVICE GIVEN ON WRITING TERM PAPERS
during the day. After this, the reflex
of beginning must be learned. Put
The long, scholarly dissertations
familiarly called term papers re
quired for the B.A. degree, requires
a certain amount of mental and
Alumna’s Play Is Recognized
Bernice Kelly Harris, a graduate
of Meredith in 1913, has frequently
been mentioned in the Twig as one
of the college’s outstanding alumnae.
It is with particular pleasure that
we can again recognize Mrs. Harris
for another achievement. It is her
three-act play, “Yellow Color Suit,”
that has drawn attention to Mrs.
Harris recently. This play is the
story of the four elderly Gay sisters.
The story fiirst appeared in the form
of a short story in Collier’s Maga
zine in 1945. It was later elaborated
into the story “Hearthstones” and
now is making its appearance as a
play. The play was first produced
in the Seaboard High School audi
torium which was filled on the
opening night with interested play
goers from the Roanoke-Chowan
area. It was also produced at Cho
wan College at Murfreesboro on
April 10 and at the State Drama
Festival in Chapel Hill on April 12.
The results of the judging of the
plays at the festival were not known
as the Twig went to press.
Mrs. Harris is no new writer. Her
first book, in faet, was a collection
of plays: Folk Plays of Eastern
Carolina. This was followed by short
stories and numerous novels. Her
first novel. Purslane, won the May
flower Award in 1939. Mrs. Harris
the first woman to win the
physical discipline, not only to have
them written on time but to have
them written, period. This discipline
is acquired through certain process
es not unlike the Islamic religious
ritual and containing a good deal of
stoicism, stiff upper lip, and typing
paper. On the day that the paper is
assigned and especially in the class,
it is extremely important to “set”
the mind while the flesh may be
temporarily overlooked since ■ after
fifty-five minutes, it is usually numb
anyway. This “set” is acquired by
’.numerating all the reasons why you
should write the paper—like hat
ing to flunk, doing something hard,
becoming an authority on some
subject, improving the intellect, and
all the other bunk you can think of.
It has been proved time and time
again that if such a list is repeated
often enough, the lips will learn to
form the necessary words without
any help from the brain, which is
usually working in reverse and only
trying to make things more difficult.
The importance of this trained re-
iflex cannot be overlooked since
Pavlov proved that if you ring the
bell long enough, the dog will spit.
Through the coming days, other
certain reflexes must be learned, but
the lip service must be continued
also. In the morning, face the sun
rise and repeat forty times, “I like to
write term papers.” At sunset, face
west and repeat, “It must be done,
since enthusiasm is likely to fade
The Fifth Columnist
By PEANUT
typing paper in the machine, gather
the necessary materials such as note
cards, and then stand at the door
and practice the flying leap from
door to desk. With enough practice
you should be able to cut one or
two seconds from your time, but
don’t worry if it never equals the
time it takes to jump from desk to
door because the motivation is not
exactly the same.
The next step is essential to the
whole process: leam how to make
good, strong, black coffee. The best
method is to double or triple the
usual recipe, depending upon the
length of the paper. Usually double
strength is enough to curl you hair,
but for a permanent, triple strength
is desirable. Strong coffee should
sustain you in weak moments of
sleepiness.
At this point a warning should
be issued. If in the few days before
the mighty dissertation is due, you
begin to feel shaky in the knees
or dry in the mouth, and your mind
clutches as such excuses as poor
eyesight or total blindness, inability
to read and write, or other such
silly stuff, don’t worry. Four years
of research have gone into these ex
periments and for the most part they
have proved sound. In the mean
time, however, it is assumed that
some research has been done.
Boy, it surely does feel great to
have a real home to call my own.
What I mean is that at last I’m in
a regular perch. From now on, my
nonsense will appear at this same
place each time and with the same
title—that’s me, “The Fifth Colum
nist.” This is the fifth column. See
what a clever new editor you have.
What with spring here hitting full
force with that potent fever spray of
hers, I’m finding that my mind is
wandering to matters of more im
portance than the matters usually
considered important—pipy days,
sleep, sun bathing, long walks, and
love—yes, love! How I do love my
roommate . . . my buddie.
While my mind continues on mat
ters in a light vein, may I insert
a word of welcome to “Raisin”—
the mostly human dog who keeps
house for Dr. Lemmon and Dr.
Syron. She made a recent appear
ance at Play Day and seemed to feel
right at home again. Raisin, inci
dentally, has been banned from our
campus by her owners, who don’t
want her to beeome too attaehed to
Joyner Hall—they don’t want her
to know what she’s missing.
Well, now you have had a look
at the type of “poor pen” you will
have to tolerate for a major part of
next year—unless you act quickly.
Report all complaints to the editor’s
desk or consult my business manager
—that strange “Mr. X.”
was
award. Her new play has received
several favorable reviews, one of
which appeared in Margarette Wood
Smethurst’s column in The News
and Observer.
Dr. Tilley
Attends Meetings
Dr. Ethel Tilley has recently
returned from the University of
Tennessee, where she attended the
annual meeting of the Southern
Society for Philosophy and Psy
chology, April 17-20.
On May 4, at a meeting of the
North Carolina Philosophical As
sociation, she will read a paper. The
Aesthetic Aspect of Hagel’s Treat
ment of History.”
Miss Brewer
Gives Tea
Each home economics student
was eager last week to get her name
in the little blue tea pot outside Miss
Brewer’s door. The tea pot served
as an invitation to a tea given by
Miss Brewer Saturday afternoon at
her log cabin. This tea has become
an annual occasion every home eco
nomics student looks forward to.
KRAMER'S
'The House of Diamonds"
Martin & Salisbury Streets
MifcheH’s
Hair Styling
CAMERON VILLAGE
RALEIGH, N. C.
Phone: TE 4-8221
STEPHENSON'S
Record Department
NEW HI-FI
RECORDINGS
The Great Melodies of
TCHAIKOUSKY
Eugene Ormandy Conducting
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Fifth Symphony; Andonte Cantabile
V/altz from Sleeping Beauty Bollet
and many others.
CAPITOL LABEL
CHOPIN BY STARLIGHT
Carmen Dragon Conducting.
The Hollywood Bowl Symphony
Orchestra
Polonaise in A Flat Major (Heroic)
Waltz in C Sharp Minor
STEPHEHSON
MUSIC COMPANY
Herndon Presides
At State Meeting
Joyce Herndon, president of the
North Carolina Home- Economics
College Clubs, presided at the Caro
lina Home Economics Club Work
Shop held recently at Flora Mac
donald College. Other Meredith
Home Economics Club representa
tives were Jeanne Tong, who par
ticipated in a panel, “Our World
Neighborhood”; Faye Chandler,
president-elect of the Home Eco
nomics Club for the next year;
Marcia Allen, vice-president elect,
and Miss Brewer, state advisor of
college clubs.
The workshop program stressed
the contributions home economics
could make to our world organiza
tion. Program speakers included
Miss Carolyn Covington, Raleigh’s
Community Ambassador; Mrs. Anne
Ray Moore of the N. C. Depart
ment of Education; and Miss Loma
Langley, president of the N. C.
Home Economics Association.
Deft Definition—The difference
in drama and melodrama is that in
drama she throws him over, and
in melodrama she throws him over
the cliff.
BURNIE BATCHELOR
PHOTOGRAPHER
CAMERON VILLAGE, RALEIGH
TELEPHONE TE 3-7527
Willett's
Village Beauty Shop
2010 Cameron Street
RALEIGH, N. C.
!
14 STYLISTS
~
Phone TE 3-9735