The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-05-07
EPSON HIGH SCHOOL.

Closing Exercises an Event That
Would Have Done Credit to Any
SchooI-L4-gs Crowd in Attendance
Praise for tn. lien to When the
Community is Indebted for Suci, an
Institution.
Sunday, April Goth. the baccalaueat7
sermon to the senior class OF Epson High
School was preached by Rev. j. II. Hen
derlite, of the Henderson Presbyterian
church. The speaker was listened to
with rare pleasure by large crowd
which had gathered at New Bethel
church, and the sermon was rarely equal
ed and never excelled, and would have
done credit not only to country school
but to College of Bishops.
Epson and the surrounding community
has been in a culver of excitement for the
last month in anticipation OF the coming
event and when the morning sun rose
bright and clear Tuesday, April %, the
community with thankful hearts attrib-
uted it to their prayers, for doubt if
there was single praying man or wo-
man or sinner either, as to that, but had
prayed fervently that for at least that
occasion there might be cessation of
cises which would necessarily have to be
10 O'Clock Tuesday, the crowd began to
assemble and by II O'Clock it had as
sumed gigantic proportions.
The exercises were opened by the sing
ing OF My Old Kentucky Home" by the
entire school. The first thing on the pro-
gramme was the contest for the medals
by some ten or a dozen boys and girls OF
the senior class. The medal for the boys
was won by Mr.. George Tunstall of
Warren county, and that for the girls by
Miss LESSEE Ayscue. But Justice demand
ed, and the faculty, and committee Of
award asked that special mention. be
made of Mr.. Lowell Rogers and Miss
Nora Medlin, who only missed by one
tenth, in fact the crowd was about even
ly divided. 1t was a most craditable
effort and deserves special mention for all
OF them, but time and space forbid.
The next number on the program was
original essays by senior class, consisting
of biographies of noted men of today and
history. 1t has been the pleasure ofyour
correspondent to attend many com
mencement exercises, some OF the best
colleges in the Southland, and listen to
the original essays of their senior CLASSES
but he has never heard better at any of
them, while it is true we've heard more
elaborate and deeper subjects treated
This ended the morning exercises. At
1:3O O'Clock bountiful dinner was served
the people turning out just dis they do
at protracted meeting occasion, bring
ing their dinner and supper and camping
out. At 2:3O o'clock the crowd reassem-
bled to listen to the literary address by
prof 7 r CarlyIo nf Wolyn Eornct CoJ
lege. Prof. Carlyle is too well known to
need mention by our pen and it is enough
to say that his address was ornate and
exactly suited to the OCCASION At the
closing OF Prof. Carlyle's address the
school sang carolina, Carolina and
this ended the afternoon exercises. But
the best was yet in store for u.s. VIZ: the
concert and tableauX which were to come
Off at night and SO interested had the
people become some 600 or 800 brought
their supper and stayed on the grounds
in order to be in time and get good
seats.
At the closing of the afternoon service
Prof BraHnOck, the principal, announced
that the fun would begin with the open
ing OF concert exercises at 1870 O'Clock,
so at the appointed time when the curtain
raised and when Prof. Branuock stepped
to the front to announce the opening
song, MY Country, 'Tis of Thee he
was greeted with sea of faces pleasing
to behold, the crowd being estimated at
1000 or 2 900. Never before in our his
tory has such a crowd gathered and the
smile betrayed his pleasure for he recog-
nized it as a compliment to him and his
ably faculty.
AS announced the fun did proceed both
fast and furious and the parts played
were rich, rare and racy, especially the
Widow Struggles and her family of thir-
teen daughters. Miss Rowena Daniel as
widow Struggles showed superb train
ing and displayed ability and talent of
John Lowlow by Mr.. Charley Ayscue was
indeed good, creating rOars of laughter,
in fact his acting as clown was as good
as we ever saw at a circus.
After keeping the crowd roaring with
laughter for two hours, it would seem
utterly Impossible to get them down so
that they could correctly interpret the
next feature on the program for never
was the transformation from the ridicu-
lOus to the sublime more rapid or COM
plete as an examination showed that the
Testal Virgins We're to enter and worship
at the Holy Shrine This was acted by
ten of the largest girls in the school and
indeed was a most creditable portrayal
OF Nestal worship. To the solemn strains
of soft music and dressed in robes of
spotless white they indeed looked and
fully represented those Bible characters.
The crowd rose to the occasion and was
as still as death and showed a deep ap-
probation OF the solemnity of the occa-
sion. But the climax was reached with
the closing number on the programme,
Raise Ne, Jesus" (song). The preced-
ing scene, the Nestal Virgins, had gotten
the crowd in a solemn frame OF mind and
when Raise Ne, Jesus was sung in a
low sweet tone by Miss Eunice Bridgers.
OF Portsmouth. one of the faculty. and
Misses Rowena Daniel, Emma Aston and
Mabel Gooch acted in pantomime angels
at the Shrine of Mercy the crowd mani
tested its intense appreciation for they
We're now as ready to weep as they had
formerly been to laugh. Thus ended the
most memorable occasion in all the his
tory of Old Pungo. The next big occa-
sion for Epson will be the dedication of
Liberty church sometime in September
for they are building one OF the hand
soonest country churches in the State
Your correspondent has lived in and