Cleveland High School - Beacon Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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OM! ibbmlfelflff AAKQJLQ It has always seemed to me that one of the things lacking in our education is a general knowledge of Alaska. Perhaps I was the only one who came to school year after year not knowing much more about Alaska than the facts that there's a lot of snow up there, that it gets rather cold and that it was sometimes referred to as Seward's Icebox or the land of the midnight sun. True, there is a lot of snow up there, but itls not all snow and ice as I had imagined. There are the beautiful mountains, most of which are picturesquely decorated with pines and spruce, which tower to amazing heights so that they may not remain unnoticed. Inci- dentally, these supply the source of one of Alaska's most important indus- tries, lumbering. Where there are mountains there are valleys, and these present a display of sparkling brilliancy as the sun plays upon their white softness. To the observer of these wonders there often arises doubts as to whether his senses are playing with the fairies as his imagination wanders over the things too beautiful to really exist. But, even this is not all of Alaska. This does not include the quaint towns with their small curio shops and their frontiersmen nor does it include the fox fur farms, lumber camps or salmon fisheries--yet these things play a very important role in the complete drama of Alaska. The different sections of Alaska differ from each other just as Alaska differs from foreign lands. It is not all backwoods any more than it is all small towns or mountains, wilderness and plains. Some parts of Alaska are just as primitive as they ever were, while other sections are quite well advanced. For example, it is not at all uncommon for one of the larger towns to have within its limits a school, church, post oflice, factory, department stores and other buildings always associated with prosperous towns. I hope that some day I will make the trip to Alaska and maybe then I'll Wonder how I ever imagined Alaska as I do now, just as now I can't understand where I acquired my former impression of it. ANNETTA MEYER. lbataW slraflls l Ill II II Il ll ll ll ll u Pfcif

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.fgfcwgah .Zfem 19045 In Southeastern Alaska, there can still be seen the totem poles that date back to the customs of the Hydah Indian tribes. The natives re- garded these poles as tribal crests or coats-of-arms. They knew what each sign on the pole meant and could read them as we read a newspaper. It is said that the totem was invented by these Hydah Indians and that there were three kinds of poles. The most common kind was that which was placed in front of the dwelling places of natives. At Alert Bay, Alaska, there can be found a Raven totem, topped with a huge head with red eyes and a bright blue beak. On this is set a stove- pipe hat! Beneath the raven is an odd man-like figure, hunched-up and almost covered by great wings. Below this is another head with a beak that protrudes at least two feet. The fourth figure on the pole is another man wrapped up in wings while at his side is a horrible looking hawk with large green eyes and a Vermilion streaked beak. The last figure on the totem is an ugly, crouched man holding a spear. The raven was often used on the totems because it was symbolic of something superior. The Indians believed that these figures had jaws that bite and claws that scratch. They also believed that the fabulous, eagle-like Jabberwock bird hurled rocks. Totems were symbols of the ancient belief in human kinship with the animal world. That is, that men and animals can interchange ideas and are on the same footing. To the savages the poles were family trees or registers and they were to those who understood the figures, a history in pictures of the family who lived in the house before which they stood. The Hydah Indians were divided into three classes: the rich, the middle, and the slave classes. The slaves were never allowed to own totems, but the rest of the tribe took great pride in their poles. The higher and more elaborate the pole, the richer and more aristocratic its owner. Some poles were found to be as high as a four-story building, and were valued at several thousand dollars apiece. When the poles were being made, the most perfect cedar trees were chosen and cut down. They were hollowed out by burning out the inside, with a slow and careful process. The artist then worked skillfully and carefully with special tools, carving the various Hgures and symbols. These Indians were once great artists in wood carving, but all this quickly vanishing race left for us to see are the rotting totem poles. I5