Page 23 - YB1939

went into pep meetings and out, into classrooms and out again-a procession slowly moving toward the end of that first year. And then when the end came, the seniors taught what the lantern chain meant-what it meant to see a procession come over the hill at night with lanterns carefully shielded against a strong wind. And the procession stopped a while to see the dark-robed seniors file into Alumni Hall to be graduated. It stopped for a moment to see and wonder. In the fall, the group was in formation again-smaller in size but gayer in spirits. The goose-step became exceedingly popular. It found a place in fresh- man initiation; it found a place in the victory parade after the Maryland game and even became popular on the campus. In and out of classes the goose-steppers went until they reached the "old gymnasium" ... and sophomore comprehensives. Into the junior year the procession marched, carrying with it little sisters and little brothers. There were laughter in the ranks and some "cavorting," but the goose-step had been laid aside for a more natural pace. Into the football stadium the procession went; into the teams; into the band: into campus life it went-always marching. And then having settled to a steady pace, it faced its last year. Its members began to turn and look back wistfully at the things they passed, saying. "That's the last time." They marched from pep meetings for the last time; they played their last games. In the early morning they marched together carolling, feeling the beauty of candles in a window, knowing the comradeship of singing and marching together. Into the last semester they went, first looking behind and then ahead. The caps and gowns brought a new bond of fellowship; the seniors marched shoulder to shoulder ... steadily ... earnestly. Through May Day and into the lantern chain they went, watching freshmen carry lanterns carefully guarded against the wind. Some went out, but the others went on, waiting to be shown what it all meant. The seniors tried to show them ... from the steps of Blanche Ward they sang their farewell ... and then came graduation. A dark-robed procession filed into Alumni Hall. Its pace was steady and yet ·the faces were tense with excitement. Up the steps and down the aisle it went. The procession was marching toward the end. Each hand reached for a diploma -in each hand were four years, and in each face were the results. The class of '39 had marched together for the last time, but the echo of those marching feet went on. Nineteen