Page 4
THE CHARLOTTE COLLEGIAN
May 28, 1954
BOYHOOD:
Made In America
(Reprint from “The Wonderful
World of Books”)
“What’s a poet good for? What
does he do for people? Let’s take
Walt Whitman. Walt was a car
penter’s son, a handy boy with an
ax and saw, used to plain ways and
hard work, pleased with everybody
and everything. In Long Island,
where he grew up, the many-sided
life of America swirled around him
—the farms with their growing,
the sea with its commerce, the cities
noisy with making and building.
Walt’s quick eyes saw it all, and
the stir and beat of it got into his
blood.
“Every good man eventuall.y
gives back to the world what has
been given to him. So Walt in time
took the great pulse of hope and
excitement that America had put
in his heart, and began to make a
book of it.
“ ‘Leaves of Grass’ he called it—
a book as boundless and free-grow
ing as an uncut field, blooming with
every fresh, green thought that
ever grew inside Walt Whitman,
American.
“We wrote of the lovely body of
his country, its mountains, rivers,
prairies, seacoasts, the wet smell
of its woods, the cool breath of its
winds.
“He wrote of his countrymen at
work; stevedores, herdsmen,
preachers. Congressmen; the bel
lowing auctioneer and the gentle
healer of wounds; the teamster
with his sweating horses and the
farmer with his whistling scythe;
all stirring, building, buying, sell
ing—a nation of brothers and
equals, happy to be going some
where together.
“What’s a poet good for? To
give us words for the music in
ourselves. To give us words to
live by; great, swinging words for
our dreams to march to. For jest
as it takes a child to remind us of
the joy in simple things, so it takes
a great poet to show us the wonder
for what is before our eyes.
“W'alt did this for us, and one
thing more. He showed us that
America itself is the great poem
to be written and each of us is its
poet, adding our verse to the big
book that never ends.”
LOUIS REDMOND
A presentation copy ... is a
copy of a book which does not sell,
sent you by the author, with his
foolish autograph at the beginning
of it; for which, if a stranger, he
only demands your friendship; if
a brother author, he expects from
you a book of yours, which does not
sell, in return—Charles Lamb
W'hen I am dead, I hope it may be
said:
“His sins were scarlet, but his
books were read.” —Belloc
Marshals Announced
Miss Cone has announced that
the marshals for this year are:
Louis Albert Hoover, chief; James
Owen Brady; William Gordon Crab
tree; Louella Robinson, and Donald
Wayne Tyser.
Congratulations, you people who
have worked hard enough to gain
this distinction. We are all proud
of you.
KEEVER AND STOGNER
[Continued From Page 3)
will receive papers every month.
In order for this to be successful
we will have to have a circulation
manager. If anyone would be inter
ested in holding this position it
would be greatly appreciated if
they would let it be known.
Also we expect help from the
writer’s club that Miss Denny is
organizing at the present time. I
believe that we will be able to pub
lish many interesting editorials
that the writing club will undoubt
edly turn out.
W’ith the writing club, advertis
ing, and the wholehearted support
of the student body, I think that
we will be able to reach the high
goal that was reached this past
year.
JOHN KILGO
A Genoa, Italy, gentleman,
charged with living with two wives,
indignantly replied, “I’ve got two
jobs!”
A native of the Tennessee moun
tains came down to Memphis for
his initial visit. When he returned
home, he was asked how he liked
the big city. “Never did see much
of the town,” he replied. “There
was too much going on around the
depot.”
A magician, entertaining aboard
a luxury liner, was heckled each
performance by a parrot owned by
one of the sailors. After each trick,
the parrot would squawk: “Fake!
Fake!” This continued for almost
a week and then, in the middle of
the magician’s act, disaster struck
the ship.
The sole survivors were the ma
gician and the parrot. Hostilely,
they took their positions at oppo
site ends of a board. For three days
and nights not a word passed be
tween them. It was the parrot who
spoke first. “All right, wise guy!”
he snapped. “What did you do w'ith
the ship?”
When I take up a work that I
have read before (the oftener the
better) I know what I have to ex
pect. The satisfaction is not les
sened by being anticipated.
—Hazlitt
Dance Big Success
The Charlotte College annual
Freshman-Graduate Dance was held
May 15, in the ballroom of the Bar
ringer Hotel. We wish to say that
this was one of the best dances
Charlotte College has ever had.
The attendance was good and so
was the participation. Some of us
felt a little sad since this was the
last dance we would ever attend at
C, C. as students, but all in all a
grand time was had by everyone.
If you were not present you don’t
know what you missed.
Many thanks from the student
body to the people who planned and
made possible this dance. W'e can
now look forward to the Class Pic
nic planned for May 29.
GLEN NKEEVER
The man accosting the cop was
badly pickled. “Offisher, I’m look
in’ for a parkin’ plashe.”
“But you’ve got no car,” replied
the officer.
“Oh, yesh 1 have; it’s in the
parkin’ plashe I’ mlookin’ for.”
Next to the originator of a good
sentence is the first quoter of it.
—Emerson
All are architects of fate,
W^orking in these walls of time;
Some with massive deeds and great.
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
—Henry W’adsworth Longfellow
I cannot see that lectures can do
so much good as reading the books
from which the lectures are taken.
—Samuel Johnson
SO LONG FOR A WHILE
(Continued From Page 2)
portion of our hearts. We leave
our best w'ishes for the successful
growth of Charlotte College as it
begins a new life and as it prepares
itself to become the queen college
of the Queen City. To the faculty
who have been so patient and un
derstanding, we say “thanks for
everything.” To those students who
remain behind to step up into our
ranks as Sophomores, we throw the
flaming torch; be it yours to hold
high. To those new students who
are yet to enter the portals of
Charlotte College, we express our
sincere desire that they may bene
fit as we have benefi'ed. And to
C. C., we say “so long” but not
farewell; we will be on the side
lines, cheering and rooting for our
Alma Mater as it glides to victory
and fame.
MARTHA STOGNER
Former Student
We have received some w'ord on
one of Charlotte College’s more dis
tinguished graduates and wish to
pass it on to you students.
David Littlejohn, a graduate of
Charlotte College, is really making
a name for himself. David secured
his Bachelor’s Degree from U. N. C.
in 1950. He was a Phi Beta Kappa
and majored in Spanish. He has
since studied both French and Por
tuguese. During the summer of
1950 David worked for the Health
Department in Washington. In Oc
tober he went to Spain on a schol
arship to continue his study of
Spanish and Spanish literature.
David was in Spain over a year
studying at the University of Bar
celona.
David is now in San Jose, Costa
Rica, studying Spanish Literature
and tutoring English. He earned
enough money doing this to buy
a Jeep. David is doing his teach
ing at the University of Costa Kica.
He expects to get his Master’s De
gree at the University of North
Carolina. Students at Charlotte Col
lege need only look at David’s
many accomplishments to see the
value of our school.
Mr. Littlejohn is the author of
an article which appeared in the
March, 1954, issue of “Orbe,” a lit
erary magazine published in Span
ish in San Jose, Costa Rica. “Man
uel de Jesus Jiminez y Sus Cuadros
de Costumbres” is the title of his
articles, which treats mainly of
Manuel de Jesus Jiminez Oreamuno,
born in Costa Rica in 1854, and his
contribution to Costa Rican lit
erature.
Don Manuel’s background was
one of distinction. His father was
elected twice to the presidency of
the Republic, and his mother was
a distinguished member of one of
the “first” families of Cartago, the
city in which he was born. Because
of this, Don Manuel w'as brought
up in an atmosphere of culture, and
he was surrounded by persons of
great intellectual capacity, which
influenced his life greatly.
Mr. Littlejohn includes in his
article three or four detailed pic
tures as told by don Manuel. Don
Manuel relates with a wonderful
sense of humor the episodes of the
simple life of his country in the
formative years, all the drama—
the love, hate, happiness and trag
edy—of the cities in those days.
His episodes tell of cockfights,
horse-races, humble festivals, ex
peditions against Indian rebels, and
the lictle political problems of co
lonial life in Costa Rica, which re
volved around the old capital of
Cartago.
There is no such thing as a moral
or an immoral book. Books are well
wiitten, or badly written. That is
all.—Oscar W'ilde.