Evening star., 1925-04-14
TAKONA SCANDALS
SCORE DESPITE BAN =.
Black Hose Cover Fair
Knees, But Crowd Finds
Show Is Entertaining.

Willing to be shocked. perhaps, hop
ing to be, as many of Takoma Park S
citizenry as could pack into the Pres
hyterian Church hall turned out last
night to pass personal judgment on
The eleven pairs of fair Takoma knees
that shocked the church, minister and
some of the elders the other night
during a dress rehearsal of the Volun-
teer Fire Department benefit Min
strel Frolic"
But not Il shock was recorded. ac-
Cording to Takoma Parks official
seismologist. Just a ripple of ap-
plause that soon turned into a tidal
wave of pedal, manual and vocal ap-
proval.
It was not because of the fact that
the knees were in a state of official
censorship that nobody gasped and
walked out last night. because every
body was allowed to take a good long
looked at the knees, draped though
they were in sheer black hosiery.
Curtain Finally Lifted.
A llnee-high curtain, bearing the
significant word Censored which
shielded the troublesome limbs when
the girls of the Mud Pie chorus
walked onto the stage, was lifted as
soon as the audience let it be known
they were prepared for the worst.
Perhaps the shock was lacking be
cause the knees were peeking
through black chiffon stockings. If
they had exposed themselves be-
meath the rompers and above the
rolledtop socks of the original. un-
abridged costumes which greeted Rev.
DIR. Thomas c. Clark last Friday
night when he dropped in casually
during the Mud Pie Days scene, may
be the spectators last night also
would have turned their eyes away
and exclaimed, Outrageous
But the black draping, according to
the elders and minister of the church.
had made the knees respectable" !"
and at the same time smoothed out
the shock that unclad, girlish knees,
blushing right at you and everything,
especially in a Sunday school room,
would tend to give.
Pyjamas Score Heavily.
Nor did a single seat become vacat-
ed when the same aggregation of
knees, this time enCased in enhancing
satin pajamas, amble plump into the
audience with an air that said: IF
this be treason, make the most of ii"
While their owners sang languorous-
~ Good Night, Sleep Tight" the
knees paraded down the center aisle
and back to the stage again, to group
themselves around those of Miss Nora
Lane, in scarlet satin, who LED in the
song with Chester Wilkens.
Rev. DIR. Clark was not present at
the opening performance, although it
is understood he may attend tonight.
The pastor previously had approved
the pajama scene in its entirety.
1t was merely those bravenly bare
knees to which he and the elders had
voiced objection, even though the
shapely joints were proudly claimed
by some of Takoma's fairest, most de-
corous and ladylike daughters and
wives, as follows: Florence Burdine,
Louise Goodacre. Ivay Randall, Mar
garet Lane, Winifred Coye, Amy Wal
lauer, Nora Lane, Naomi Weaves,
Myra Herst, Vivian Weaver and Mil
dred Heale.
Something Besides Knees.
Oh, yes, there was a lot more to the
fire department show than the now
famous knees. Even without the
knees it is an unusually good show
for an amateur affair. Other mem
bers of the cast who help to make it
so are: Lloyd B. Gosorn, James
Doten, Charles Brisco, Oscar Scher-
ger, George c. Burdine, Jack Hamil-
ton, Frank Hayes, Harold Heffner,
Helen lager, Lee Angerman, Pansy
Herst, Wilfred Smith, DR.. D. Shade,
Edith Baldwin, Lee Wilkens, William
Wilkens, George Vass, Dick Nash,