The Bi

Rod

OF THE EmiVBORO STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
Volume II

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14. 1913

No. 16

—Photo by Kupper.

LAKE EDINBORO.
Setting out from Cambridge Springs, Penn­
sylvania, to venture by, trolley to Erie, the
chance traveler frequently remarks upon the
fertile farming valley through which the interurban cars carry him. He may note the signs
of thrift and prosperity. He looks upon the
homes of real farmers—those who till the soil
for a livelihood, not as an avocation. Six
miles on the journey he is carried through a
quiet, rural borough.
He observes that it
seems to be the trading center of the country
people. It is Edinboro. On the western bor­
der of this village his car swings unexpectedly
into sight of a pleasant stretch of water. His
eye sweeps the shores for the inevitable " de­
velopments " or summer parks and cottages.
Is it possible ! In Erie county, Pennsylvania,
there lies a lake undeveloped from a commer­
cial standpoint, such a one, in this respect, as
he has travelled far to reach, on long pilgrim­
ages, to northern Minnesota or Canada, and

even there each year he finds the retreat of
the year before has become the resort of the
crowd.
And so it comes about he manages to turn
back upon his travels, and, having a spare half
day he stops to examine at close range this
lake. The Conneauttee, or as the commerc al
spirit would have it. Lake Edinboro. He
visits Captain Vunk, who equips with all
the means of lositig his life—a steel boat with­
out air chambers. With a rasp of unoiled oar
locks he makes his way up the deep-shaded
outlet. He finds it all that it seemed. On
all sides fertile farm fields stretch down to the
reedy border of the water. If the season is
early spring he is entranced by the greens,
such greens as he has only seen every other
spring almost anywhere in the world, but this is
a new spring and a new experience, all very
wonderful. Surely, he thinks, at the head of
the lake there will be the pestilence of a sum­

mer settlement. Not so. The marshy head­
waters, the deeply wooded inlet, are really a
part of wild nature, the habitat of multitudes of
red wings, blue jays, water fowls, and even
the far-traveling eagle is there, watching his
undisturbed fishing ground.
On his return he falls in with the old settler
who laments the very qualities that he has
found so alluring:
" One of these days," he is told, " this town
may get a move on, and then we’ll have a
park here and a summer hotel, and a roller
coaster, and then there’ll be a chance for a
fellow to make some money. I hardly expect
to live to see it. Seems to grow worse here
every year."
Thus the little lake above must appeal to
many a stranger. May she long stay the
same, as long as they sing:
" Has she not been
Since we can’t remember when.
On the banks of the Conneauttee.*

Page Two

EDITORIAL STAFF FOR
NEXT YEAR IS ELECTED
Will Take Full Charge of “The Birch
Rod’’ May 28, 1913.
Owing to the fact that the staff this year
were greatly handicapped by having had no
experience working with the previous board.
They thought a better plan was to elect the
board early for next year and allow them to
work with the old board. Accordingly an
electoral committee consisting of five students
and three teachers met on May 7, and elected
the following staff: Editor in chief, Erma Gebhardt; associate editor, Arnold Nelson; news
editor, Lucy Lamb; alumni editor, Ethel How­
land; exchange editor. Fay Daley; athletic
editor, Carlyn Blakeslee; manager, John Harbaugh; assistant manager, Jerome Rusterholtz.
The present staff offers congratulations to the
electoral committee on their choice, and to the
new staff on the honor and trust that has been
conferred upon them.
We sincerely hope that the new staff will find
their task • delightful and profitable.
We
willingly offer any assistance that we may be
able to give. We are confident that "The
Birch Rod" will be successful next year.

Mr. Morgan Barnes Gives Address in
Methodist Church on “The Boy
Problem.’’
On Sunday evening. May 11, Mr. Barnes
addressed an attentive audience on one of the
^eatest problems that confronts the American
people today,—"The Boy Problem."
Mr. Barnes,- in addition to a tactful outline
of the problem, gave some very suggestive and
practical methods of solution. One of these
is the value of well equipped play grounds It
is hoped that the people of Edinboro will act
on these very applicable suggestions.

Dictionary of Errors.
Mr. LaBounty, of the English department,
has offered a liberal reward for the best
dictionary of faulty expressions that is recorded
by a Senior. The faulty expression and the
offenders name must be followed by a correct
expression of the same thought and the gram. matical rule violated.
The idea is to cause one to be more careful
of the speech one uses, and to cultivate the
observation regarding the wholesale slaughter
of our English; even by lecturers. Also it is a
good method of recalling and reviewing the
technicality of grammar.
John ICrasinski, ] 3, who^ was confined to
his room for several days by severe illness, is
now at home; and we hope will be back to
school in a few days.

THE BIRCH ROD
Y. W. C. A. Royally Entertains the
Y. M. C. A. in Potter Hall, Mon­
day Evening, May 12.
The pleasing manner in which the Young
Women s Christian Association received the
Young Men’s Christian Association, of Edin­
boro, was indeed a credit to I he entertaining
ability of the young ladies.
The plan of the evening showed remarkable
taste and care. The halls of the literary
societies, which were chosen for the occasion,
were attractive and convenient places for
entertainment. Each room was arranged and
decorated appropriately for its designed use.
The Philo Hall was used for entertainment
and was decorated with fragrant spring
blossoms and shrubs.
The seats were arranged in a crescent
facing the stage.
Here, the guests assembled.
Seeing Uncle Jack," a clever farce-comedy in
two acts was produced by the following caste
of characters.
Mabel, given to writing and reading poetry, very
affected in voice and manner......... Esther Averill
Juha, fond of imitating MabelSwift
Kate, very practical--------------------. _ _ i3^bel Homan
Helen, interested in natural history-------- Florence White
Nancy, a country girl . -----------------------Anna the tennis girl....-------------------Cynthia Frame
Mrs. Miller, young widow chaperoning the party
------------- Edna Sammons

Every character in the production was well
portrayed. As a whole, it was clean-cut all
the way through, well acted and carried to Ihe
end with much credit and realism. We must
admit that girls can do things and do them
right.
After the pleasant hour spent in Philo Hall

the young ladies had much in store for us.
The guests were directed into Potter Hall.
The room was artistically decorated with
Chinese lanterns and dainty bouquets of spring
flowers, and the arrangement of the seats added
much more to the attractiveness. Nearly in
the center of the room, the chairs were formed
in a circle to be occupied by the faculty. The
seats for the guests were so cleverly arranged
that we could attribute the convenience only to
a skillful geometrician or to the intuition of a
girl.
Dainty refreshments consisting of ice cream
and cake were served, after which a short time
was spent in social activities and singing familiar
songs, led by Mr. Barnes. Finally when he
started, "Stand once more in your places, loyal
comrades true," we knew what it meant. The
delightful event had ended.
To express our gratitude to the Young
Women s Christian Association we can only
tender a suggestion to new girl students. If
you want to be sure of an evening of perfect
sociability and congeniality attend the regular
Y. W. C, A. meeting held on Thursday
evening of every week.

Literary Societies Adopt a New Stunts
The Societies have decided to exchange
critics for a few weeks, hoping that each
society may be benefitted by the aid of the
other societies critic. The first trial was on
May 10, the results were highly satisfactory,
and no doubt of it, the members will show
greater interest in society work.
Hawkins-Blanden entertainment, May 17,

Edinboro State Normal School
STANDS FOR

A HIGH STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP
THE AMATEUR SPIRIT IN ATHLETICS
WHOLESOME SOCIAL ASSOCIATIONS
'■

IT ALSO

BELIEVES IN AND SUPPORTS

The Birch Rod
Address the Principal

• Edinboro, Pa.

THE BIRCH ROD

Page Three

Luncheon in the Heinz Pickle Factory.
Do you remember Martha Hawkins, in the
Hoosier Schoolmaster
How fond she was
of telling about the one adventure of her life,
which always began with, "When I was in
Bosting,** Well I have the same failing only it
wasn t Boston I visited.
"When I was in Pittsburgh" I had luncheon
in the Heinz Pickle Factory one day. We
were met on the first floor of the main office
building by a beautiful young mulatto girl, who,
when we asked her if we might be shown
through the fact<My, pleasantly replied that it
was just luncheon time, but if we would wait
until 12:45 she would be glad to see that our
request was granted.
Our train left at 1:30 and we were some
distance from the station so we had to forego
this pleasure and content ourselves with accepting the invitation to go up to the observation
room and have luncheon. This was a large
square room on the sixth floor of the building.
The tables, which were about three feet in
diameter, had places for four people. We
seated ourselves at one of these tables and
awaited further developments.
The napkins were about six inches square,
the plates about two inches across, and the
knives, forks and spoons were correspondingly*^
tiny. Everything reminded me of the days
when dolls and doll accoutrements were the
chief interest of my life.
We had not waited long before a waitress
(natural size) came in and began to serve us.
As the menu mdicated, everything that was
served had been manufactured in the Heinz
factories. Serving this free luncheon is one of
their methods of advertisement. I think it is a
very unique idea.
The first course consisted of a euchred pickle
which in its original size would have been
about two inches long. The next course was
tomato soup served in cups about four times as
large as a good sized thimble. It isn’t usually
considered proper to drink soup but what else
could we do? After this we had baked beans
and peanut butter sandwiches. They were
delicious, making up in quality what they lacked
in quantity. Spaghetti, horse radish, prepared
mustard, fruit preserves, apple butter and fruit
jelly came in the next course. The quantity of
each ranging from a toy thimbleful to a tea­
spoonful. The desert was plum pudding with
hard sauce and there was almost a tablespoon­
ful of it.
When the last morsel of dessert had disap­
peared we heard a voice from the doorway,
"Just step this way, please, when you have
finished," and we made our way to the
elevator, much pleased with our luncheon in the
Heinz Pickle Factory—when we were in
Pittsburgh.

»i.. i.. i.... :] 1II———

iii iliil i i...... i" ii

i Greater Erie’s Greater Store—Boston Store

A Comfortable
Store
A large, roomg comfortable store in which to do
gom shopping—that is what we claim for the BOSTON
STORE. In considering the comfort and convenience
of our customers, we have studied how best we could
arrange store facilities to make this the most attract­
ive store in Erie in which to do pour trading.
Our out of town customers we have had particularlp in mind and we have provided Rest Rooms, Bu­
reau of Information, etc., for their comfort. You map
have pour wraps mtd^her parcels checked at the In­
formation Bureau, Main Floor, thus leavinrgmtunem^
cumbered when doing pour shopping.
Then the Din­
ing Room in the Basement pou will find most restful
and cheerful after a shopping tour. Regular Dinner
served dailp and lunches at all times. You would not
expect better or tastier cooking in pour own home than
pou will find in our dining room.
The merchandise of a store, of course, is the
backbone of its success, and we claim larger and bet­
ter assorted stocks and as low if not lower prices than
pou will find elsewhere.
To the students of Edinboro Normal and their
friends especiallp we extend an invitation to make the
BOSTON STORE pour store home.

ERIE DRY GOODS CO.,
State Street, Erie, Pa.

Page Four

THE BIRCH

THE BIRCH ROD

A fortnightly newspaper edited bp the stu­
dents of The Edinboro State Normal
School, and published at the print
shop of the Edinboro
Independent.
TERMS—This newspaper will be supplied for the
school year, 1912-13, for the sum of fifty cents, or
five cents a copy.
This paper is entered as second-class mail matter at
the postoffice at Edinboro, Pa.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editors.................................Charles Marsh: Donald Richey
Athletic Editor_____ ____ _____ ______ Hubert Bentley
News Editor.................................................... Alice Walker
Alumni Editor.............................................. Helen Whiting
Manager........................................... William T. McKelvey
Assistant Manager......................................John Harbaugh

The criticisms on "The Birch Rod," favor­
able and otherwise are the product of the
Senior’s paragraph writing class.
The Editor, owing to the fact that the
athletic editor is the only member on the staff
who has written a line for the paper for the
last two editions, is forced to print them to get
material for the paper.
The new staff will find that getting the
material on time will be the hardest row to hoe.
The same difficulty is found in every school
paper and tasks the ingenuity of the editor in
chief. I suggest that co-operation with the
composition class may be helpful.
If each class and society would feel the re­
sponsibility of handing in their news items,
there would be no lack of material.
Each of the four classes, two societies, bowlock association, and athletic association has a
secretary but "The Birch Rod" has not re­
ceived a line from them this term.
The Bowlock recently gave a program and
social hour but the secretary gave no account
of it to the school paper.
The trouble seems to lie in the fact that no
one is responsible for certain material, and con­
sequently the news is not written. The sec­
retary of each organization should be re­
sponsible for reporting all news items connected
with that organization. And if no one can be
found who will do that and do it well, the or­
ganization does not deserve recognition in the
school paper. Even if it is the Senior class,
when the secretary fails to write; a new one
should be elected at once.

ROD

Criticism of ‘‘The Birch Rod.’*
If the progress of "The Birch Rod" during
the last few months is to be compaured to the
progress of a rabbit over a long stretch of level
land, after being driven from the shelter of a
brush heap, then we can only conclude that it
was a very tame, crippled and unhappy rabbit,
extend deepest sympathy for its saddened life,
and trust the end will be speedy and painless.
As well as that maimed and shivering creature
represents the whole race of strong, fleet
footed rabbits, so well does " The Birch Rod "
represent what we as a student body are ca­
pable of doing. It is a glorious paper. Think
of the stupendous amount of energy the staff
and the school spend in fixing the credit for its
success on each others shoulders.
Turn
slowly its leaves and mark closely the great
number and variety of its advertisements, and
consider what a blessing it is to know just
where to go to find iron clad hose and cheap
ready made dresses. Picture the flash of in­
telligence on the face of the alumni as they
note the length and breadth of some of the
words inserted at intervals in our school paper.
See with what eagerness they seek it out in a
much worn dictionary. Then finding no
possible connection between its meaning and
the one the author seems to wish to convey
they are deeply impressed. It is so significant
of the fact that we are improving. It is im­
possible for a mind of the common calibre to
understand the rich humor and ready wit that
brighten all its pages, but " Birch Rod" read­
ers are being taught to appreciate good litera­
ture, and when we read iii the last column of
the last page of the last number the surprising
assertion that it has fallen far short of reasona­
ble expectations, we feel it is a mistake, and a
sentence to be cut out and saved as a future
reminder of the modesty of a much abused
paper.
L. A.

Watch Us Grow.’

Osborne - Norman Co.
Erie’s
Leading Readg-to-Wear
Specialists

Coats
$8.50 up to $35.00

Suits
$10.00 up to $45.00

“ The Birch Rod.”
" The Birch Rod " professes to be a school
paper, but is it ? Anyone who reads it can
see that it is the result of the work of two or
three people instead of two or three hundred
people. We know that any paper must have
advertisements in order to exist, but why not
have them arranged more compactly instead of
being scattered on every page ? Why does
not the editor appoint, or have appointed, five
or more members from each class to act as re­
porters for him ? As it is there is little of real
interest in the paper for either the students or
the alumni. Surely there are enough people
in the school who are capable of furnishing
good material for a school paper. " The
Birch Rod " shows altogether too much of the
same persons work, and this should not be so.
C. M.

Erie's Fastest Growing
Department Store

1024-26-28 State St
\

Osborne - Norman Co. |
ERIE, PA.
L.

J

Page Five

THE BIRCH ROD
Criticism on “ The Birch Rod.”

Home of Good Shoes

Footwear
Elegance
For

Young
Women

Better, Daintier, or More
Elegant Footwear than
we are now showing
has never been
made
This fact is well proven bp the
great interest that women who
know are taking in our displap.
The real swell shoes come in
patent, dull or tan leather, with
all the new stple effects worked
to the limit.
Price, $3.00, $3.50, $4.00, $4.50

TROST & LACEY
Home of Good Goods

828 STA TE ST, ERIE, PA.

Of all the spasmodic, intermittent publica­
tions put into printer’s ink, " The Birch Rod "
stands first and foremost as a bright and shining
example of a complete fizzle.
To " The
Birch Rod" punctuality is a thing unkown.
No one would attempt to predict when a copy,
with its columns of editorial hash, will descend
upon them. Since the paper exists, we are
reasonable in supposing that it has a mission,
but it would be unfair to the students and fac­
ulty to claim it as a school paper. Might it
not more properly be called a factor designed
to bring back to mind events that have hap­
pened. so long ago that they have slipped into
the field of sub-consciousness? For when
something has occurred which we have long
since forgotten, then cometh " The Birch Rod"
with a one-sided account of the incident, that
we at first do not recognize, but by consulting
our calendars and diaries it comes back to us,
and we gradually come to understand what the
article is about.
Haven Hall, one of the most Important
buildings on the campus, is not represented in
the columns of this publication; the outside
students receive no recognition; the alumni
only now and then a chance word; and the
faculty, having been neglected throughout the
year, was appeased by a special number in
which the contributors, being afraid of their
final marks, strained their imaginations to such
an extent that had not the names and photos
accompanied the articles, we would scarcely
have recognized our own instructors.
E. W.

Trask
Prescott &
Richardson Co.
9th and State Streets
ERIE, PA.

DISTRIBUTORS OF
HIGH GRADE MERCHANDISE \
AT POPULAR PRICES

'

Special student number will appear May 20.

A Department Store where con-

|

fide nee in the goodness of the

|i

merchandise sold enables us to
sap, “ Your monep back on anp

|

unsatisfactorp purchase.”
We
attribute our success to the giv­
ing of the best values at prices at
all times lowest on dependable
goods. An ever increasing busi­
ness is ample proof that this as­
sertion is so.

Faults of “The Birch Rod.”
Of course "The Birch Rod" is only in it’s
infancy and we should not expect as much of
it as though it were of more mature age.
Nevertheless there are many ways in which
this paper might be improved. One thing we
never receive it until two or three days after it
should be issued. Then, when we do get it
we search diligently for some very interesting
article which has been contributed and fail to
find it.
The news of "The Birch Rod” is always so
old that it is of no interest. It is well enough
that about half the paper is taken up with ad­
vertisements for no one needs to read these
more than once a term as they are always the
same and we have no time for reading no
matter how interesting "The Birch Rod"
might be.
We cannot blame the defects of "The
Birch Rod" on the Editors for this is a school
paper and it’s prosperity depends upon the
students.
G. D.

\
HI

L

New merchandise on displap.

Trask
Prescott &
Richardson Co.
9 th and State Streets
ERIE, PA.

THE BIRCH

Page Six

Edinboro Again Defeated.
Edinboro received the second beating of the
season on the Normal field from Allegheny
college.
Errors were numerous, Edinboro
totaling fourteen and Allegheny six. Hitting
was heavy, each team securing eight safe ones
Of Allegheny’s eight two were two base hits,
two three base hits and one a home run.
Edinboro had three two baggers and five
singles to her credit. The game was interest­
ing and much closer than the score shows,
except for two of Allegheny’s innings, in one
of which eight runs were scored and in the
other, four.
First Inning.

Thoburn started for Allegheny by a clean
base hit. Thoburn and Crossman scored for
Allegheny in the first inning.
Fuller opened for Edinboro and drew a
walk, Shriver scored the one run that Edinboro
obtained in this inning on an error.
Second Inning.

In the second inning Allegheny was unable
to score and but one man. Rose, was able to
reach first. Edinboro did not reach first at all,
two men being caught out and one stopped at
first on a roller.
Third Inning.

In the third inning Robinson came to bat
with Thoburn on second and one, man down,
and knocked out a home run. Allegheny did
not score again this inning. Fuller, for Edin­
boro, walked, stole second, and scored on a
two bagger by Shriver.
Fourth Inning.

With one down Thoburn singled and stole
second. He scored on a hit by Crossman.
With Hawk and Campman on third and
second, Gilbert singled, scoring the base run­
ners. For Edinboro, Blakeslee drew a walk.
DeRemer hit and advanced Blakeslee.
Blakeslee was caught in an attempt at stealing
third. DeRemer scored on an error.
Filth Inning.

Rose scored on Rickard’s hit. For Edin­
boro, Obert got a single and advanced on
Fuller’s roller. Drake and Shriver were caught
out.
Sixth Inning.

Hawk scored when Richard was hit by
Edinboro’s pitcher. Rose scored Campman,
Rickard scored Richards and Thoburn scored
Rickard. Robinson scored Crossman Rob­
inson scored on a passed ball.
Campman
struck out, retiring Allegheny.
White singled and stole. Blakeslee was
caught out and DeRemer scored White.
Babcock struck out and Welker hit, scoring
DeRemer. Welker was caught between first

ROD

and second. With one out in Allegheny’s
half of this inning, Patterson was substituted for
Shriver.
Seventh Inning.

In the first of the seventh Gilbert hit. Then
after Richards was out at first Rose hit and
scored Gilbert. Rose stole second and Rickard
struck out. Thoburn filed out. Fuller, for
Edinboro, filed out. Drake hit, Oberl was
out at third. Patterson went to first and
White was caught out.

Ifs a store that was founded
in 1852 on such principles
that have built for Erie
a great store.

Eighth Inning.

Crossman and Robinson went out at first.
Hawk hit to shortstop, but got first. Campman
struck out. Blakeslee, for Edinboro, struck
out. DeRemer made first. Babcock got a
two bagger. Welker walked and Obert went
out on a roller with the bases full.
Ninth Inning.

Gilbert was caught out, Richards drew a
walk, and stole second. Rose was caught
out. Richards walked. Thoburn got first.
Richard scored and Rickards took second.
A double steal was attempted and Thoburn
was out at second. For Edinboro* Treigchel
struck out, Drake hit and stole second, Shriver
got first and Drake reached third, Shriver was
out at second. White was caught out.
The line up.
Allegheny, 17.
Thoburn, c.
Crossman, 3 b.
Robinson, s. s.
Hawk, r. f.
Campman, 1 b.
Gilbert, 1. f.
Richard, c. f.
Rose, 2 b.
Rickard, p.

Edinboro, 3.
Fuller, Treijchel, 1. f.
Drake, 2 b.
Shriver, Patterson, p.
White, c. f.
Blakeslee, 3 b.
DeRemer, r. f.
Jewell, Babcock, s. s.
Welker, I b.
Obert, c.

Strike outs, Shriver 3, Patterson 4, Rickard 5.
Home run, Robinson. Three base hits, Thoburn,
Gilbert. Two base hits. White, Shriver, Babcock,
Robinson, Hawk.
Time of game, 2 hours, 12 minutes.
Umpire, Karl Morrison.

In Praise of ** The Birch Rod.’*
What’s the matter with " The Birch Rod ? "
It’s all right! Who will say that " The Birch
Rod" is not THE paper among the thirteen Nor­
mal school papers ?
" The Birch Rod"
echoes the school spirit and loyal fellowship of
the students. The editors all do their part
and more ; all they need is the loyal support of
the whole student body. Athletics, the lit­
erary societies, and the Christian associations all
have their places in the columns of the paper.
What would the school be without "The
Birch Rod ? ” AH the school spirit would
vanish, and we certainly would miss that
pleasant hour spent with "the last Birch Rod."
M. H.

THESE
PRINCIPLES
ARE:
Recommending nothing which is I
not a true value; if found other- i
wise, a return of goods and re­
fund of moneg.
Alwags on the lookout for the new
things, and when such things
are created in the fashion cen­
ters of the world that co-operate
with good stgle and good judg­
ment, theg're brought forth and
recommended to gou, and noth­
ing that represents an exhorbitant profit.
IA

force of intelligent sales people
striving to be of service to gou.

A store where visitors are welcome
the same as customers to stroll
about and feel at the same ease
as theg would in their own
homes.

WARNER BROS.,
ERIE, PENN'A

THE BIRCH ROD
Edinboro Reserves Defeated by Waterford High School.
On Monday, May 5, the second team went
on a cross country trip to Waterford, where
they expected to duplicate the football victory.
But the Waterford nine proved their superiority
in a nine inning game. Although the game
was close the final score stood 14-11.
Edinboro complained that their pitchers were
handicapped with no "mound" as they have
been accustomed to on their own diamond.
Edinboro line up was: Trejchel, p; Gorman, c;
Scott, I b; Babcock, 2 b; Roberts, 3 b; Hood,
s. s.; Whitman, r. f.; Green, c. f.; Joslin, 1. f.;
Many changes were made during the game.
The Waterford players were Agnew,
Mitchell, Lee, Whittlesey, McKay, Chase,
Kirk, Mahan, Burroughs.
EDWARD AMHERST OTT.

"The Haunted House" by Dr. Edward
Amherst Ott, on May 3, was better appreciated
than any other lecture on the course this year.
Through the efforts of the Conneauttee
Brotherhood Mr. Ott talked in the Pres­
byterian church Sunday evening, May 4, on
the topic of "Improvement of Small Villages."
These lectures were undisputably the best of
the season and reveal Mr. Ott as a deep
thinker and a master of his art.

Sports.
Owing to the good weather the students are
very much interested in outdoor sports. Some
of the athletics are regularly employed on the
ball field in the afternoon after school.
The chief interests of the boys is baseball,
and some spirited contests are looked for be­
tween our team and visiting teams. The girls
seem to have the spirit of athletics as well as
the boys, for they may be seen on the campus
at noon and after supper, playing ball. The
fishing season is appreciated by the students,
especially by those who room in the town. It
is a common sight to see a company of seven
of eight with their fishing poles and bait slowly
going towards the creek or coming away from
it with a string ot fish.
H. S.

1913 Vita.
The year .book is progressing.
Every
evening a class or society meets in front of
Normal Hall for the use of Mr. Kupper.
The editor and manager are showing much
originality in the composition of this book and
webak forward anxiously for it’s appearance.
For the benefit of our disappointed readers
we will say that a joke department has never
been established in "The Birch Rod."
Hattie Morrison, ’ 12, of Seneca, spent a few
days at Haven Hall, the guest of her sister,
Eleanor Morrison.

Society Flower Beds.
In years past each of the literary societies
had charge of a flower bed that it claimed as
its own. These beds were artistically arranged
with flowers of various hues and were very
attractive features of the campus.
The remains of these beds may still be seen
in the form of a bare spot on the campus. It
seems that there is a great lack of pride, or
something is lacking, when the societies are
flourishing and these unsightly places are left
unadorned on our otherwise beautiful campus.
Where is all our society spirit ? Is there
not life enough left to keep on doing what has
been handed down as a tradition: It is time
that the societies either fix up these beds or
SOW lawn seed on them.

Old Glory.
Is It not appropriate to have the stars and
stripes floating over a school building ? Where
is our flag and why is it not up ? Every day
I look up at the flag pole and feel a sense of
keen disappointment when I do not see the
beloved flag.
1 think every country school in the land
should have a flag, and have it up! What
good IS it stored safely away ? How can we
expect our seniors to thrill the pupils with pat­
riotic devotion to our flag when we allow them
to remain in school all year and never put the
flag up except on Decoration Day ? It is a
grand sight to see the flag of a free country
floating over a free institution of learning. Let’s
put the flag up at once.

Mr. Thomas Visits Edinboro.
State Secretary Thomas, of the Students’
Young Men s Christian Association, visited
Edinboro Sunday and spoke at the Y. M. C.
A. in the afternoon, and at students’ prayer
meeting in the evening.

Page Seven

School Pride.
It is indeed a shame to behold our beautiful
campus so terribly cut up with unsightly paths.
It is not a matter of not having time, that causes
the thoughtless students to march in a file
across corners of the campus. It is proper to
walk on the campus, but when a path begins
to appear, stop it.
W^e ought to have pride and school spirit
enough not to allow that sort of thing to go
on.
It is unfortunate for any school to get in
a state of carelessness and lack social pride.
The work is soon infected with the same spirit.
And we fail to get fifty per cent of the
training we should get.

Foot Comfort
for the
Athletic Girl

In Patent
Dull Leather
or Tan

$3.50 and $4
H. G. GILLASPIE
EDINBORO, PA.

PROUD’S
Little White Store on the Corner

Lowne^’s Box Cand^
Ice Cream, Soft Drinks
Fruits, Cigars,
Magazines
School Supplies

Page Eight

THE BIRCH ROD

Schluraff Floral Co.
Leave all orders for
flowers with The Birch
Rod. We order them
free of charge bg tele­
phone.
MASONIC TEMPLE

ERIE, PA.

People’s Barber Shop
J H. BENNETT, Prop.

Shaving
Hair Cutting
Shampooing
NEWS DEPOT.

DAILY and SUNDAY
PAPERS

Students alwaps welcome

DANNY SULLIVAN
Ladies' and Gents'

TAILOR

Nr. Gleason’s Ten-Piece Orchestra.
The Normal is very fortunate in having such
an enthusiastic leader as Mr. Gleason, for it’s
orchestra. Since its organization in the fall
term,* the orchestra has grown in numbers and
increased in its ability to give polished selections
until it has become very popular, not only
among the Normalites but also throughout our
district.
One of the first ventures away from home
was to the Idle Hour Theatre at * Cambridge
Springs, April 28, when Mrs. Blanden gave
the popular play, "Madame Don’t Care.”
That was the beginning of a successful and
popular career for the orchestra.
On May 2, they were invited to go to
Blooming Valley to play for the Commencement
exercises.
On May 9, Elmer Frantz ’ 12, gave them
the honor of furnishing the music for his Com­
mencement at Wellsburg High School.
On all these trips, they have had all
expenses defrayed and have never failed to
receive a liberal renumeration for their time.
They have more calls than they can fill and
will be busy until High School Commencements

are over.
The orchestra consists of: Mr. Gleason,
director;
Madeline Scott, piano; Leo Afniagost,
Suits Cleaned and Pressed__ _
first violin; Harry Hummer, second violin;
zz^zz;zi
Ramirez and Gil, flute; Carlyn Blakeslee,
Archie Drake and Neff Cass, cornet; Jerome
NEW SONG
Rusterholtz, trombone; Harold Hood, drums.
A Grand Success
We are very proud of our orchestra and its
leader. Fortunate indeed is the High School
Written from Edinboro
that secures their consent to play for their
Normal School da^s.
Commencement.

Mr. Baker, through the courtesy of the ad­
vertising manager of Colgate and Campany,
distributed on May 2, to the members of the
school very attractive and useful packages of
soaps and toilet preparations.
The boxes
were artistically decorated with red and white
ribbon, the colors of Edinboro. The students
extend a vote of thanks to both Mr. Baker,
and his personal friend, the advertising manager
of Colgate and Company.
Marriage—The aspiration of two vowels to
become a diphthong.
Phil.

50c

WINDS of MEMOR Y
Send 15 cents for a copg.
MRS. D. G. CHURCH
Mesilla Park, New Mexico

A Bum Serenade.

Edinboro Hotel
E. J. SWANSON, Prop’r
^ '

Meals and Lunches at all
Hours.
ICE CREAM : SOFT DRINKS

John V. Laver
FLORIST
Greenhouses: E. 6th St.
■

■

Store: 704 State St, Erie.
PHONE YOUR ORDERS

' The customary midnight parade was
attempted on May 7, by a few would be
enthusiasts and turned out a fizzle from start to
finish.
The bunch, with no preparation whatever
for lights or music, rushed from their rooms at
10:30 with a mighty shout, and proceeded to
go through the usual maneuvers to the tune of
a tin horn and the repeated discharge of a
double-barrel shot gun; they soon were
accompanied by the ringing of the bell.
The bunch soon became disgusted with the
monotony of their own unoriginal procedure,
and bolted for the restaurant where they could
restore nourishment to their fatigued mind and
weary bodies.
We hope that the "rattle-heads” who led
this bunch and spoiled the pafade for this
term, feel better and thoroughly enjoy the
disgust that the girls have shown, for we are
sure that no one else does.

Out Theg Go
Time pou gave pour old hat a lift, anpwap. Change it for the snappiest siple
pou ever wore.
New spring things are crowding in
dailp. Come and see them; bup if pou
want to. You’ll see the qualitp at a
glance and our mirror will do the rest.
Needn’t look around, pour prefer­
ence is here at

$2.00
Exclusive Patterns in New
Caps for Spring.
Fancg Bands in all Class Colors

908 State Street
ERIE, PA.