Evening star., 1936-07-05
<Dcpne SeImposed and of High Order Annapolis School
Typical of Those Scattered Throughout Country.
College Spirit Pervades Whole Group

Anyhow. the morning wears along
and the fresh smell of ferns, wild
flowers ard other scented growths is
diss;pztcd in the heat. as the sun
climbs toward the zenith.
Promptly at noon the morning
school session is officially over. But
at that it is not easy to bring the
work to a close, especially in the water.
There is no dropping the pick at the
toot of the whistle Still large crowd
is gathered about the door of the mess
hall when another gong sounds hall
hour later.
And is that food appetizing! Two
or three fresh vegetables. such as to-
matoes, fresh string beans or limas;
big piece of cod ham, scalloped or
mashed potatoes. both white and dark
bread, plenty of fresh milk or steam
ing coffee and a slab of cake or apple
pie. Such is a typical menu that
makes for wel!-fillcd stcmachs and
lots OF ZIP End go.
Once aTain at . o'clock the class
rccm resumes in earnest. With ell life
carcrs in the water or at least taking
en- instruction course nearby.
Graduates of the old-time swimming
hole, who began dog fashion, paving
the water forward and kicking aft,
and then advancing to man fashion"
(breast stroke). are astounded that so
much needs to be taught about water
maneuvers. Within the past 10 years
swimming, diving and boating have
made strenuous strides, developing
rather complicated forms of technique.
Life-saving is entirely a new science
these days, with as many different
points as boxing. wrestling or even
-jitsu. So an ol6-t.mer looks upon
the classes with q bewildercd feeling
of being pretty much out of date.
EOR instance, in an elemental thing
like the basic principles of SWIM
ming and personal safety, we find such
subjects presented as safe swimming
areas for various levels OF skill, panic,
exhaustion. physical adjustment to
water, simple rules governing safe
practices, cramp. currents, weed en-.
tanglementS, ways of adjustment to
water, cramp and manner of relieving
it. swimming in currents, disrobing in
deep water and the buddy plan for
mutual safety to two swimmers.
All this. mind you, is only prelim-
mary to learning how to swim. Since
the main object of the school is to
train the students in teaching meth
DDS. all have to begin at the bottom
and go through the work just as if
they were actual beginner. So they
take up questions of adjustment to
water. shallow water padding. play.
breathing, buoyance, back float in
shallow water, prone floating. opening
eyes. position OF body, getting off and
on feet, coordination of arms. legs
and breathing. changing from vertical
to horizontal position. and running
about on course. Whereupon the stu
dents take instruction on how to dra-
matize their swimming classes, how
to encourage timid beginners, what
artificial aids to give them, water
games and the like.
Boating has undergone tremendous
developments as sport in recent years
for several reasons. In the first place,
landsmen are now getting the benefit
of the long experience of fishermen
and seamen who have spent their
lives in boats. Secondly, modern in.
timacy between nations has enabled
us to borrow new ideas from different
parts of the world.
Canoeing is an Indian heritage, ro-
mantically associated with the large
regions of North America. AS a mod
ern-day sport. however. it is an Ameri-
can and Canadian Development Most
people think Of canoe IS committing
10 paddle about in, especially on moon
light nights. They also know a few
vague things about canoe racing. But
canoeing today is far m1rc than
sport; it's a science.
Students at the various Red Cross
aquatic camps must learn all about
the fine points of canoeing; under
what conditions a canoe should or
should not be used; types of canoes
and their various parts; how to select
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