24
THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
Bennie, who had helped in 1913 to gain so many athletic victories for
Chemawa, was now with the Portland Baseball Club in the Pacific
Coast League and was doing very nicely in the game.
W hile everyone was busy relating different experiences Irene Martin
arrived. We were all glad to see her looking so well and prosperous.
She was now a matron in the Sherman Institute at Riverside, Cali
fornia, and was happy in her work.
The next to arrive was Ralph Sellew, a prosperous rancher in Kansas.
He looked much older, but insisted that he could still run as good a race
as he did in his Senior year. While he was telling us about his Kansas
ranch and his need of a housekeeper—of course he preferred a Chemawa
girl on account of her domestic science training— who should come into
the room where we were all gathered by this time but Emma Shepard,
who had just arrived from her home in Alaska. We all suggested that
since she met the requirements he might persuade her to return to the
ranch with him. But she told us she had a large music class at her
home, where she had returned after graduating from the Seattle Conserv
atory and she really thought she did not care to give up twenty scholars
just for one, musical though Ralph might be. We did not want to see
our matrimonial bureau fail on the first case so continued trving to show
Emma the error of her wavs. She at last consented to accompany Ralph
on his return and to take up the task of training him. Three messages
were brought to Joe. One was from Frank Johnson and read, “ On ac
count of a rich strike in my gold mine here in Alaska, I can not leave
to join you. Am sorry.” We all rejoiced with Frank, though we greatly
missed him.
Another from John Service told us he was the superintendent of a
cannery near Astoria and as they were having a very busy’ season he
could not get away.
The last one was from Dewey Billy, saying that his dairy farm in
Northern California had grown to such a large size that he was greatly
needed there; he begged us to remember that bis motto while in school
had always been “ Business before pleasure,” and he attributed his suc
cess to the fact that he still followed it.
As there were several of the class yet unaccounted for Joe went to the
postoffice in the hope of getting some word, as the train had just come
in. In a few minutes he returned bringing not only letters, but two of
our old classmates, James Evans and Callista Rainville. James was as
grave and serious as ever, though we scarcely recognized him as he now
weighed two hundred and seventy pounds. He was editor of the Chicago
Monitor, having followed the trade he had so successfully learned here
in Chemawa. He said his paper was about to print an account of the
Artie expedition which had sailed from Seattle two vears before under