Grants Pass High School - Toka Yearbook (Grants Pass, OR)

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THE TOKA 25 stranger and the chief of the party knew nothing of his qualifications for the place. He was hired simply because no one else could be found to do the cooking. When the party was well under way, one of the men. a little dubious of the new cook’s abilities, went so far as to inquire of him whether or not he understood the preparation of a good meal. The man replied in his shrill falsetto, “You’ll find out.” So instead of making any apologies, I shall simply leave you to “find out.” You suggested “The United States Geological Survey Work” as a subject and since I think of nothing better, I shall act upon the suggestion. Of course any technical discussion of the work would be simply a huge bore and I’m not sure that a more general treatment will be much more interesting. This branch of the Geological Survey really has nothing to do with Geology and could better be termed a Topographical Survey. It is conducted under the direct supervision of the Government altho in Oregon as in many other states, the state goes dollar for dollar with the Government in having this work done. The work consists of making what are known as quadrangle maps of various parts of the country. One of these maps usually includes an area some fifteen or twenty miles square and Is named after the principal town, city or geographical feature contained in the quadrangle. Upon the map is shown every road, the leading trails, every railroad, house, church, school, cemetery, stream, mountain, and the elevation of any point on the map above sea level. A person can find his or her own house, scale off the distance that it is located from any neighboring stream, town or mountain and tell what its elevation above sea level is; by means of one of these maps. The maps are also valuable for engineers and surveyors when they are contemplating a new railroad or an irrigation system. The Grants Pass quadrangle was mapped some years ago and a copy can probably be obtained from one of the newspaper offices in Grants Pass or by sending five cents to The Director, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. The work is pleasant, being out of doors and very healthful. I recently heard the result of a football game with the Ashland High but trust that the next encounter may end more favorably for the G. P. H. S. team. 1 am also expecting to hear of successes along other lines of athletics and debating ere long. Wishing The Toka and the High School every possible success, I remain, Yours very truly, HERBERT J. GILKEY. 08. P. S. A short time ago I received a letter from George Harper, another G. P. H. S. '08, and it gives such a vivid description of his experiences upon the Des Chutes River, where he is engaged in work similar to what 1 am doing here, that I am enclosing it, at the risk of my own life, believing that Toka readers will find it both entertaining and instructive. Harper is not aware that I am doing this and if worst comes to worst and I perish for my indiscretion just remember that my life was given that The Toka readers might not lack a choice morsel. H. J. G.

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22 THE TOKA Alumni. Helen Clarke ’08 is receiving high social honors at O. A. C., where she is a Junior this year. • • We notice with pleasure that Errol Gilkey ’10 has attained the high honor of associate editor of the Willamette Collegian, his college paper. We are sure that Errol will fill this office well and hope to see him receive many more honors in his college life. • • • Max Tuffs ’ll visited school one day this month. He has returned from Dorris, California, to take a business course in one of the schools of Portland. • • • Three of our alumni attended Teachers’ Institute this year for the first time. Lolita Woodcock ’10 and Elizabeth Davis and Ierne Ahern of last year’s class, were the ones thus honored. They are going back to their schools with so much knowledge that they will doubtless bring under that contrary boy and help that ignorant girl who have been the bane of their teaching experience. • • • De Ette Tetherow, ’10, was married on October 18 to Lester Coburn of this city. The young people are both well known here and are popular in social circles. They have a fine new bungalow on B street where they will be at home to their friends after November 1. • • • Oregon City, Ore., Oct. 30, 1911. Mr. Vernon Basler, 934 N. Ninth Street. Grants Pass, Oregon. Dear Vernon: The request that I write something for publication in The Toka, received some days ago. The honor conferred upon me thereby is felt far more keenly than any inspiration wherewith to comply. My first inclination was to frankly acknowledge my utter inability to write anything of interest to Toka readers and out of consideration for them, to decline to comply with your request. Upon further consideration, however, I have decided as did the newly hired cook in a surveying camp, and go ahead. The cook was a small man of weak and squeaky voice. He was a

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24 THE TOKA The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 16, 1911. Mr. H. J. Gllkey, Oregon City, Oregon. Dear Kid: I suppose you are still of the same opinion that I am a poor letter writer. It’s true all right, and the disadvantages of living In camp do not tend to help me any. We had a thunder of a time getting started to camp. You know at the beginning we were living off the country, and while waiting for the camp outfit to come (it was shipped to the wrong place), we lost five working days. We are now in a camp about 22 miles up the river and move Wednesday to a place about 32 miles up. We have a good camp outfit; two sleeping tents and one mess tent where the cook also sleeps. Each man has a small folding camp cot, and Mr. Taylor and I have a small folding camp table. The cook is fine. Best man cook I ever knew. We have a big variety of things, too. Our bread and meat we get fresh from The Dalles every two or four days (by express). On the whole, this camping out isn’t half bad. It’s going to be quite cold later on, however. The mornings and evenings are quite cool now. I usually go to bed about 8 or S:S0, because it’s so cold I must do that in order to keep warm. Saturday I flagged the train here at the camp and went to The Dalles, comlig back yesterday. The trains go either way during the middle of the day. My trip was purely a business one. there being a lot of things we needed. We have the permission to flag the train at any point we wish to. which makes traveling an easy matter. We have difficulty in getting our mall out from here tho. You see the mail is carried by the Oregon Trunk, on the other side of the river, and there are no postoffices on this side. We have finally rigged up a stunt whereby we fasten the letters on a stl k and hand them up to the engineer as he goes by. They all know us and are very obliging. Our mail Is sent out to us from The Dalles with the meat and bread. I am suffering, have been suffering and probably will continue to suffer until I get out of this country, with a malignant, soul-terrifying, heart-rending attack of hay fever. There is quite a bit of sage brush on the less steep slopes and at this season of the year It has a sort of flower on it which is heavily laden with fine, yellow dust. This gets In my nostrils and T sneeze for half an hour steadily sometimes (almost). It even sets me going if I look at it too hard. Laying iokes aside, the case Is serious. If I accidentally brush against some of It and breathe some of the dust, a regular paroxysm (do you know what that Is?) of sneezing siez.es me and I rarely stop short of 1R sneezes. W'hen I am finally through, I hardly know whether my head is still on or not, and it leaves me with a weak, all-in feeling. They are not ordinary sneezes. I defy even you to choke one of them back. They start in my nose, run down my throat, grab my stomach at the bottom, drag that up to my throat, let loose, then run out my mouth, eyes, nose, and every other vent hole; from my mouth as noise and wind, from my nose as wind, from my eyes as water, and ro forth, et cetera, etc., etc. I guess I’ve told it all now. At least, I think I’d better stop before I think of something worse. Yours, GEORGE.