10 ACORN The Christmas Story 'Twas long ago, on old Judea's plains, Shepherds stood watching o'er their flocks by night; When, lo, the air was filled with sacred strains, And in the east a star shone wondrous bright. The glory of our Lord shone round about The lowly shepherds, who were sore afraid; Their simple minds were filled with fear and doubt, And one and all fell on their knees and prayed. Then, from the heavens, a host of angels came To bring glad tidings of great joy to earth; They sang "Hosanna, Glory to His name," And told the shepherds of our Savior's birth. The brilliant star now shone in front of them They followed, and it led them all the way; And o'er a manger stood, in Bethlehem 'Twas there they found Him, cradled in the hay. 'Twas long ago, but still in every tongue At Christmas time is heard the sacred story, And still in every Christian land is sung The angels' hallowed song of praise and glory. So when, at Christmas time, a gift you give To relative or friend, remember then This story, which shall through all ages live The story of our God's great gift to men. 'Tis not the worth of gifts that we receive The joy of giving makes us glad and gay; This spirit only shows that we believe In Christ God's gift to us on Christmas day. S. A. PURRINGTON, 11. Christmas Greetings "The Acorn" wishes Christmas and New Year's greetings to all of its readers and advertisers as well as those who should read it and advertise in its columns. We believe that this includes almost everyone. To the first class we wish a continuation of their present prosperity and happiness. To the second class we wish the most pleasant Yuletide possible under existing conditions, but we fear that they have not obtained the highest degree of success. It is the successful merchant who does the best advertising. We feel that advertising through our paper should bring the best results possible, therefore we draw our own conclusions. Only the live students patronize "The Acorn," either by subscriptions or by contributions. The same students are the leaders in all other school activities as well as in their class work. Taking a broader view, we wish you all a joyous Christmas hoping that by the time another year comes around we will all belong to the first class. That Gymnasium Fellow students, do you believe it? It hardly seems probable, yet they say that we will actually have a gymnasium a real one the pride of the city. We have heard a similar story before, but this time it looks as if it were going to be more than a bluff. In fact the plans have taken such a shape that we have sufficient reasons to feel quite secure. The benefits of such an addition to our institution have been told to us so many times in the recent past that they fairly ring in our ears. The mere sound of this tale no longer interests us. What we want is the realization of some of these things. The more substantial business men of the city are getting interested in this movement and are offering us assistance. Our board of education is behind us with their pocketbooks as well as their influence. What are we going to do to be of some use? We need neither political power nor influence nor a high worldly standing to be made use of in this undertaking. Everyone, if he be a good booster, can do something to further our