Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-06-26
Many Are Graduated
From Grammar School
Pageant Given at Exercises
and in Evening at Ameri-
can Legion Event


fifty students of the grammar school
received their diplomas yesterday af-
ternoon at the commencement exer-
cises held at the Majestic theatre
which was packed to overfiowing.
The feature of the graduating exer-
clses was the presentation of an
operetta and a pageant by the mem
bers Of the outgoing classes.
In the evening the operetta and
the pageant were repeated under the
auspices of the American Legion. At
this performance Harold E. Pickers-
gill, president of the Perth Amboy
Historical society addressed the
audience. A good sized crowd was
also present in the evening.
The program as carried out in
the afternoon follows; Invocation by
Rev. c. j. Conrad, of the First Dam
ish Methodist church; Operetta-
THE Stolen Flower Queen" by the
pupils of Rooms 301, 300, 306; Ply
sical Drill-"The Daily Dozen" by
Room 8; Pageant-"The History of
and 25; Finale song-'America" by
of diplomas by Paul Steel; Awarding
Thou Sail On, Oh Ship of State"
by the graduating class.
The operetta as given by the girls
of the class was a clever interpreta-
ton. The costumes, which were
made by the girls themselves. were
stunning and conglomeration cf
color Songs and dances were in
terspersed in the operetta The
Stolen Flower Queen" was tinged
with mystery and it was not until
the very end that their queen was
found. The flowers come TO greet
their king, but upon arrival the
throne where the queen is suppos I'd
to be is found empty. The queen
has been hidden in the wood king
dom and unless the flowers can find
her in the limited time of one day
the king of weeds will rule them.
The flowers call the fairy queen
who summons her messengers to
seek the lost queen.
The winds and the various MEM
bers of the flower kingdom seek for
the queen, but to no avail. Sud
denly. from the faraway recesses Of
the woods, a trumpet is heard. The
Girl Scouts now come into the lime
light as they triumphantly relate
story of how the queen was rescued
by them. The villain in this case
the king of the winds, is brought n
bound, a prisoner. The king of the
weeds is sent out west where he VIII
be transformed into a useful flower,
no more to bother the innocent. In
conclusion the queen bestows git
upon the Girl Scouts who have dor.e
their bit" The entire playlet was
entertaining and enjoyed at both the
Afternoon and evening performances
Miss Chisholm, music director Of
the schools, directed the singing.
A physical drill was given by the
boys of Room 8. The boys went
through the exercises with unusual
precision. Miss Ida Miller is in
charge of Room 3.
The pageant depicting the his
tory of Perth Amboy was one of the
best ever presented here. Besides
being interesting it was educational
throughout. The pageant was pre-
sented in four episodes, each relating
part of this city's history. To each
episode there were several scenes
all telling something about the set
tlement of the city up to present
times. The pageant was outlined
and planned by the Misses Ann Al
len, Margaret Slugg and Augusta
Martin, all members of the school
faculty.
The first episode gave the audience
a glimpse of Indian life here and
the settlement of the city in 1858
bv the Scotch who imm ediately name
the city and plan TO make 1t
port to rival London. The presen-
tation of the city charter by Thorn
as Gordon is also shown.
Perth Amboy in the days of the
revolution showed the governor
William Franklin, refusing to ale
the colonies although his famou:
father, Benjamin Franklin, earnestly
pleads with him. The third par
depicted Amboy in the Civil Wal
period when many runaway slaves
made their way North. The home o.
Mrs. Spring, one of the city's mos
famous women in colonial times, is
shown at her home in Eagleswood.
The closing episode was the most
striking all as in it Perth Amboy
was displayed as an industrial city
and a virtual melting pot. The scene
showed the spirit of the city, long
asleep. awakened by Progress who
calls the spirits of the Past Id
the Present to arouse the city "a a
realization of her great future In
conclusion Perth Amboy now arous-
ed from her slumber by Progress,
proclaims her faith in the institu-
tions of today and discloses a vision
of larger and finer achievements
which the future years hold for her
and her citizens
Following the pageant the diplo-
mas were given out to the members
of the graduating class. For tae
first time in the history of the
school, prizes were given out. The
Perth Amboy Trust Company prize
for arithmetic was won by Miss Mar
gare+ Cassidy, who also carried OF
the Parent-Teachers' prizes for the
highest scholastic average and the
highest average in English. Lavinls
Christopher won the Teachers prize
for the best work in penmanshlr,
while Vincent Hozeny was given the
Drake-Trainer prize for second best
work in penmanship. Mary Hughes
was the winner of the Women's Club
prize in art. Ruth Sullivan receiv-
ed honorable mention for the prize
in English while Isadore Shulman
was the second best in arithmetic.
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