The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-30

JuBx HeW days ago nad tne pleasure of meeting Father Germaine the cultured and able young priest who iH q member of the faculty of St. Bernard college, at cullman. oc- cupying the chair of English and Public Speaking in this institution.
 We had such A nice talk; Father Germaine. enthusiastic in his work, told me Of the splendid progress the students had made in literature. Eng lish the drama and music and while the work has been done under great difficulties an .up hill" sort of p- osition yet with persistence. perssr- veranoe, and a determination to oulti- Vate in the young minds of the stu dent body at St. Bernard college the beautiful things of life Father Ger maine has succeeded.
 Each year the Dramatic club" of the college prepares an entertain ment; a play; several plays; readings, recitationa. music and song, and this year flight deviation has been made, 6 Minstrel Medley being the offer ing that the Dramatic club will pre- sent to Birmingham on next Friday evening, May 5, at the Jefferson thea ire.
 When Father Germaine heard my lHCSIiVnS-- &HASk Ah0 fast---as to how he had arranged his Minstrel Medley-and how the stu dents take" to the joy and fun that usually Accompsnys such things, he smilingIy saidi
 Many people are wrongly inform cd when they let others lead them to believe that monks are mon with big boards and long faces. and that those under their care and instruction I N..F. |, nothing but monoeony, silence, and prayer. The n0nasteriea of old were the homes of all the arts. and just so ! today. monks love music and song and all that tends to elevate.
 '-Tho Dramatic club of St. Bernard college. has been for years. and still is, one of the chief sources of amuse- metit at St Bernard. The histrionio attempts of tho students, while they afford pleasant break in college routine and monAstin discipline, pre- sent a valuable opportunity to the boys to advance along the lines of dramatic art and vocal expression. This club was organized In the pio- neer days of the institution and like Topsy, 1t seemed to just grow up In those years, there ware nc such things as moving pictures or cheap shows, and patronage was easily se- CuT6Qs 4OE 4 Q18y AL lAS EOAANR6 WAB hailed as a red letter day in the his- tory of the district Those were the days when oil lamps supplied the stage light and roaring stove 1 furnished the heAt that made a two hours performance most comforta- ble for some and a real purgatory for others. The writer can well re- member of sitting for hours with numbed feet and a roasting back en- AAL NA 4( ka various actors, while fretting chill dren whined and pined for their beds, or some oold-blooded gentleman poked away at the fire or rattled the coal scuttlo, in an effort to render comfort or discomfort respectively. Those were the days l say in which thespic art attracted, and discomfi- ture went hand in hand with the amusement. Electric lighting and | factors, yet our auditoriumn were filled to capacity. but now-what a change; No longer do our boys and girls look forward to their exhibi- tions as mile stones on the path of ] life; no longer are sons and daugh- | ters the 'cynosures of neighboring | eyes, It ts now the moving pictures or the cheap vaudeville, which in themselves supply an end, but can. l never h0FAnCo VdI pbSo AaO BAE1S to that seif-oonfidenee. that poise, that independence or character, which of old. began with their teens and made men and women competent of facing their fellow men and standing shoulder to shoul- der with the best orators of the time.
 "St. Bernard has never lost its fondness for home talent. Possibly it's isolated location may answer for the lack of perversion. still we do not | complain, rather we are grateful. for the lack of temptation must keep the moral atmosphere of the college un- tainted by the many new-fangled and untried innovations of the age. Yet, we are progressive. and though we confine our histrionic attempts chiefly to the drama and the comedy. we can appreciate the relief afford ed by a good hearty laugh. Conse- quently, this year, the Dramatic club has departed from its long known custom, and has put it's efforts to q minstrel. for mistrelsy is the rage today. Though minstrelsy is in cer- l tain sense, burlesuue. nevertheless, there is an art in 1t all, 8 harmony and unity which, when properly di- rected, cannot but meet the approval and applause of well thinking men and women"
 "Our minstrel medley, which we will present at the Jefferson thea
 Ire next Friday evening Is a com. bined effort of our dramatic and