The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1913-02-25
HOSE BOYS PRESENT
SCHOOL BURLESQUE
independents Annual Entertain
ment Included Novelties.

Independent Hose company's annual
Washington birthday entertainments
have long borne the reputation of be-
ing the most novel and jovial affairs
of the year and that given by the.
hose boys on Monday evening proved
not one wit inferior to those of pre-
yious years. The Citizens orchestra
was on hand and under the leader
, ship of ]. Fred Runyon played many
selections during the evening. After
an hour had been spent by the COM
pany members and guests in social
intercourse and games and refresh
ments were served, Eugene Carroll
| announced that there had been muc1
discussion of late in Morristown over
school affairs and in consequence
the company had decided to present
a model school for the evenings en-
tertainment,
| Curtains were drawn disclosing
stage setting showing an old time
country school room. The desks
faced the wall and at one end of the
room was the masters desk. On the
walls were various writings and pic
lures of animals, some of the latter
eing labeled so that there was no
question as to what they were in
tended to represent,
George c. Smith walked in, arrayed
as gentleman of the old time and
he proved to be the school master.
When he rang the bell a motley
crowd of children" appeared dressed
in childish costumes and burlesquing
the antics of actual school children.
These children" included J. Boyd
/ Hon E,Iiac h,,,r,, a,,,ox TSL~ II
Madigan, Frank E. Pierson, j. Fred
Runyon, Henry B. Hoffman, c. Frank
lin Wilson and Benjamin VanCleye
, as boys and Walter Selvage, Jack
Ayers, David Burr and James Ball
as girls" After one or two late
comers had presented their excuses
for tardiness the schoolmaster opened
the morning session of school by
calling for the singing of America
, j. Fred Runyon, as willie Good
child" played the melodeon and the
children" sang with a vim but with
no regard for the key, each one hav-
ing, 1t appeared, a different musical
: ear. To show what real singing was
quartet composed of DR.. r. V. d.
Totten, Harry A. Grove, Walter Berry
/ and William Johnson, sang several
. selections.
: The school committee appeared. in,
, cluding D. Farrand Sturgis, Eugene
: Carroll, Joseph Hinchman and George
{ Melick. All but Mr.. Melick were ar
rayed as typical elderly men of a
past generation but Mr.. Melick, at
tired in satin coat and knee breeches
of green with a green silk hat, repre-.
! sented a dandy of the eighteenth
, century.
) The class in geography was called
out and revealed some startling facts
about New Jersey and Morristown
: Then there was the class in spelling
making a hit with it's spelling OF
names of the members of the com
pany in answering to certain words
: that were jokingly fitted to the m.m
ber in point. The class in civics
too, proved wonder and the informa
: ton gained about the way Morris
town is run and the reasons for il
!, were startling. All the time the
scholars" left on the seats were up
to all kinds of antics. There were
several solos and choruses, the
: singers including David Burr, Jack
! Ayers, Walter Selvage and others
| and showed marvellous voices little
suspected by the friends of the singers
The school was given a recess af-
ter which the schoolmaster announce.
that the exhibition marking the close
:. of school would take place. There
were recitations and more singing
, and speeches were made by the mem
bers of the school committee with
the exception of Mr.. Melick, who Mr.
Smith described as too beautiful to
talk and only permitted him to stand
, up and be admired.
J c. Franklin Wilson during the ex
hibition read these lines which
though he said he had been asked
to write by the schoolmaster, were
afterward reported to have flowed
from the pen of Mr.. Smith himself