Evening star., 1938-01-30
By John Claeen Proctor.

Il mating pleasure, seems quite a
record, and yet that is just what Miss
Minnie E. Hawke has been doing since
1887, when as only slip of girl,
she and her twin sister, Miss May
Hawke, now Mrs. Bert I. Saxton, first
began teaching children around their
own age.
However. the twins had not been
teaching for much over eight years
when young Bert Saxton began taking
lessons at their school. where was
also present that universally beloved
Dan Cupid with his bow and arrows,
and it was not long after this that
one of these early and irresistably
Indian weapons of warfare struck Miss
May Hawke right in the heart, and
soon she became Mrs. SaXton, with the
result that the partnership between
her and her sister terminated. and
since then Miss Minnie E. Hawke
has been going it alone. Today she
can look back upon a long and sue
ceSSful career, as well as ahead to
many more years of usefulness in this
line of activity, for no one, unfamiliar
with the facts, would suspect that
Miss Hawke had been teaching dancing
for so many years.
THE Hawke girls were pupils Of
James H. Vermilya. one of WASH
ington's earliest and best known terpsi-
chorean instructors, versatile man,
who came to Washington about 1870
and engaged in the making and selling
OF ladies shoes at 610 Ninth street;
later he handled pension matters snd
practiced patent law, conducted a
printing Office and taught dancing.
He is said to have originally been from
Baltimore. where he met Louis Stees,
one-time dancing partner of Fannie
Ellsler, famous danseuse of the Civil
War period, and Stees taught Vermilya
all Ellsler had taught him.
One OF Vermilya's programs before
the writer, dated May IL, 1886, gives
the order of exercises for a grand
exhibition and May ball at the Ma
tional Rifles Armory. the master of
ceremonies being w. F. Clark, and the
Floor Committee, w. B. Todd, DR.. F..
Donohue, E. K. Plant, w. F. Sinnott
(now a member of the Oldest In
habitants Association), L. R. Trembly
and j. A. Whitcomb
In his star attraction of the Three
Graces. Prof. Vermilya presented the
Misses Minnie Hawke, Lulie WitheroW
and May Hawke, and in the tam
BOURNE ballet the following young
ladies: Nellie Donohue, Maud Cor
ham, Florence Bingham, Blanche
Noble, Bessie Draney, Bessie Lewis,
Annie Moore and Lilly Payne, and Miss
Marie Plant had a part all to herself
IN THE gypsy dance, not to repeat
those already mentioned. were:
Misses May Belle Chambers, Irene
Cowman, Augusta Springsguth and
Masters Harry Sheridan, Harry Joe
hum, Howard Hodge, Gales Moore,
Percy Leach and Mortimer Caruana
Others taking part included Mamie
Moore, Celia Jones, Royal Trembly,
Harry Berlin, Marshall Candee,
Charles Candee, Florence Chambers,
Samuel Davis, Mamie Erdman, Nellie
Foss, Joseph Freund, Lizzie Gibbs,
George Good, Maude Good, George
Hartnett, John Hartnett, Gordon
Hooker, Lester Hooker, Enron Hart,
Ivan Jochum, Wallace Mclean, Ida
Morgan, Walter Morgan, Walter Payne,
Paul Scharf and Joseph Tyssowski
Those taking part in the May ball
that followed the exhibition of fancy
dancing were: Queen of May, Ida
Tyssowski; maids of honor, Sidney
Small, Belle Bingham, Blanche New
man, Louise Coffin, Nellie Suit and
Annie Newman; crown bearer, Ida
Morgan; flower girls, Pauline Springs
guth and Mamie Moore; herald, Paul
Scharf; page, Joseph Tyssowski.
The queen of the ballet was Florence
Chambers, and she had as maids of
honor, the Misses Witherow and Min
ME and May Hawke and the crown
bearer. Miss Noble Miss Plant was
the queen of the fairies, and her maids
OF honor, Misses Gorham, Payne,
Donohue and Draney, and the crown
bearer, Miss Lewis.
THOSE of us who can look back to
this period with such fondness
and pleasure that comes only to
those of mellow age, will no doubt
recall the many fine dances given by
Prof. Vermilya and his contemporaries
at the washington Light Infantry, the
National Rifles, Marini's and other
popular halls, and will, quite likely,
as the names on the before mentioned
program are read, wonder what has
become of these early friends; what
has been their career, and whether
they have passed on or are still with
us. All of which reminds the writer
of that dear old song we used to
sing called Far Away:
Where is now the merry party,
remember long ago;
Laughing round the Christmas fire,
Frightened by its ruddy glow;
Or in summers balmy evenings,
In, the field upon the hay?
fheS nave all dispersal and wandered
Far away, far away,
They have all dispersal and wander'd
Far away, far away.
Some have gone to lands far distant,
And with strangers made their
home;
Some upon the world of waters
All their lives are forced to roam;
Some are gone from us forever,
Longer here they might not stay,
They have reached fairer region
Far away, far away,
They have reached fairer region
. Far away, far away"
But, undoubtedly, there are still
many middle-aged persons living in
Washington who can vividly recall
the days when they danced the Vir-
gtnia reel. the Irish reel, the quadrille
and the lanciers, and feel as though
they could even do the same thing
today If given the opportunity, and
would not even balk at the rhumba
and the big apple. Indeed, Mrs. Sax
ton says her twin sister, Miss Minnie
r Hawka ran 6anca the hip annie