ZANESVILLE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Comus was one of the traditions that originated in the second Zanesville High School building. Miss Zella Harris of the class of 1897 visited friends in Toledo. There she saw a school paper. She presented her suggestion for a school magazine to the senior class. Corydon Haddox moved that the class adopt the idea.

Who named the magazine? Many years ago Roy Jordan, Sr., the first business manager of Comus, was asked that question. He thought that David Leroy Ferguson selected the name. David, a black boy, was admitted to membership in the St. James Episcopal Church and became a minister. He was located around 1943 in Boston, where he was pastor of a church. Rev. Ferguson could not remember naming Comus. But he did recall that he had written a poem entitled "Comus" for an early number.

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At that time and for many years later, a book entitled Milton's Minor Poems was required reading. It contained "Comus, a masque." Comus was the god of revelry. The first issue was published by the senior class in December 1896. Later, Comus became a literary monthly with some news and humor. The art department made cover designs for each issue.