Madera Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Madera, CA)

Page 11 text:

HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL. On, Ghose Seniors! .wyHE Middlers of last year were always 4) sighing and saying how they wished they —- were Seniors. We little Juniors really ; thought there must be something won- But how those changed. about being a Senior. Middlers of recognize derful last year have this merry You not same people, they clannish, going off by themselves in pairs. trio as the sedate would aud Oh ! my, how big they do feel, especially in the region If one of the Seniors ever smiles are sO very of the cranium! it shocks the Junior: their last year’s grin, vey wear a solemncholy ad Middlers, for instead of expression on their sober brows. During the term when the Debating Society held its weekly meetings the jolly Juniors and merry Middlers were see while the solémn Seniors were sitting up as if at »@ fun in everything, a prayer meeting. One of the Middlers chance, he overheard a Senior say, ‘‘Oh, Ido wish we didn’t have to take chemistry with those Mid- I am afraid they will make higher marks was amused, when, by dlers. than we do, for they are not as green as they look.’’ He told the rest of the class about it and we all laughed heartily, thinking it a good joke. Then and there they determined to surpass these How diligently they all have worked and it has not been in vain either, for nearly every month the highest marks may be seen in the chemistry record of the Middlers as well as of the haughty pupils. We are only middlers now, learned people at all hazards. cruel fate will make us one of those horrid Seniors. We will then look back upon the time when we were thinking these mean things about our fel- low schoolmates. And perhaps as the recollec- tion of the kind deeds they did for us rises up be- fore our eyes like a panorama, we will think that but soon, after all perhaps they were not so bad and did not hold themselves aloof from us, intentionally ; but that we ourselves were a little distant be- cause we felt that they were our superiors in knowledge. Judging from the general impression, our salutatory was a howling success, Automobile, HE automobile is one of the principal de- velopments of the late mechanical pro- gress. a di : For over a century men have been en- deavoring to contrive a self-moving conveyance of greater speed, less cost per mile of travel and greater value both for business and pleasure than Some of these conditions have for many years been met; but it any that can be drawn by horse. is only recently that all these objects have been realized. The late de- velopments in gas and steam engines and in Power has been the problem. electric motors have been so great and yet so equal as to leave a question as to their compara- tive merits in the minds of automobile builders. Itisa generally accepted fact that the electric motor is the lightest, most noiseless and the most But it has its faults. It is propelled by a storage battery, the best of which run but convenient power. will about twenty-five miles at one charge. It is necessary then to recharge at some dynamo, which process generally takes about two hours. For over sixty years steam used with power. Considering the state of mechanical arts half a has been great success as a century ago the steam-auto was a complete suc- cess in every respect. But adverse legislation aud sharp rivalry of the stage-coach, railway and other similar enterprises, discouraged the pioneers, and the steam-carriages until recently have been prohibited on the common road, thus entirely stopping their manufacture for over forty years. But at present steam-carriages, or, in the vernacular of the ‘‘mobile man,’’ locomobiles have many supporters. The heavy boilers, in- tricate engine and the indispensable water tank make a locomobile very heavy, and, hence, of great cost and low speed. For heavy work, such as traction, trains, dray-wagons, fire-engines and trucks, there is no doubt but that steam will hold the pre-eminence which it has gained. Compressed air autos bid fair to compete for superiority soon. It is necessary to have suf- ficient air stored in accessible places and ample volume. Thus until convenient re-loading places are established, the air-auto like the motor- auto cannot be run outside of large cities,

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HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL. Smelter. = HE vast copper belt and the recent activity || in copper mining in this county has led this locality. The California Copper Company has recently in Uy : . “| capital to invest ; erected the largest smelter in the State within half a mile of Madera. The plant consists of several buildings of masonry. The house consists of a slag dump built of brick furnace 40x60 feet, and 8 feet above the general elevation of the smelter site. The furnace is a steel water jacket, and stands in the center of 100-ton, this ele- vation. The fire is sup- p loie)d with ore and coke from a- boveand is blown with a bolvarsrt The fumes and the smoke are car- ed throug h a brick du chamber oa Sent 100 feet to an iron long about 60-per cent copper, is shipped East where it is refined and gold, silver and iron are ab- stracted, leaving the pure copper. ‘The ore used is brought from the Ne Plus Ultra Copper Mine by railway, a distance of thirteen miles. The new principle of Bessemerization of cop- per matte is the main feature of this plant. It de- pends upon the production of its own heat by the of those ingredients of the matte which it is intended to eliminate, principally sul- phur and iron. The oxide of iron formed must combustion be provided with silica to form a fusible slag while the oxidized sulphur escapes through the flue as sulphur dioxide. The c onvert- Cia which Op- eration the is con- ducted is lined witha siliceous Joye Stamce su which is rapidly cor rod- ed the flux- by ing ac- tion of the ox- ide of JHE SMELTER. stack 1oo feet in height. ‘Thus the noxious gases are prevented from jeopardizing the public health. Just beyond this is the blacksmith shop, electric plant, blower, engine, all under one roof, and next beyond this is the boiler room. Still fur- ther is the office and assaying rooms of the com- pany. ‘he elevated railroad can right of the illustration. Reduction of oxides by means of carbon is the be seen at the principle involved in copper smelting. The matte, or final product, consisting of iron at present under the efficient management of Super- About 1oo men are constantly employed and it is a The capacity is 125 tons in 24 hours. It is intendent Nichols and Foreman Leland. great boon to Madera. ‘Now, if I treat this substance with alcohol, what will be the result?” Taber (in chemistry): Class (in chorus): ‘‘Intoxication.”’ Many men are willing to serve their country — in an official capacity.

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HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL. At the present petroleum gas is used with most satisfactory results. ployed is nearly the same as that used in the The mechanism em- gasoline engine, and the two are used in connec- tion with great success. Simplicity and power of machinery are combined in this case with great safety and econdOmy in operation, making One difficulty, This is obviated to a the most practical power known. however, is that of noise. great extent by the use of a ‘“‘muffler’’ into which the exhaust is directed and most of the danger of frightening horses on the highway is overcome. This defect will be of no consequence whatsoever in the near future when no horses will be met on the common road and autos can vie with each other ad libitum, both in respect to speed and noise. Every manufacturer profits by the ex- perience of others and at present the construc- art. Automobiles are made at a cost of from $800 to tion of these machines has become an as high as $4,500. Some very expensive racers M. Jenatzy holds the automobile kilometer record of sixty- are built in France. One owned by five miles per hour. ‘These machines are mere playthings to amuse ‘‘Sports’’ and fulfill no use- ful purpose. Many mobiles are running in California and numerous others are being made. Madera is not behind the times in this respect. The Hely Bros. have recently made a successful automobile. It is propelled by a gasoline and petroleum engine of 490 revolutions per minute. A sprocket chain connects the main shaft to the rear axle on which is a ‘‘compensating gear.”’ This device enables the driver, paradoxical as it seems, when going forward to stop, reverse and run backwards, or in turning around, by merely pressing a lever, run but one of the rear mp: This wonderful little gear has solved the greatest prob- wheels, while the other remains standing. lem in the construction of horseless carriages. It has been for several years in almost universal use. The wheels are of wooden hub, spokes and felloes, on which a steel rim is shrunk. ‘The 3% inch pneumatic tires are cemented on these rims, and then inflated. as iron the resiliency of the tires is a highly im- Although seemingly as hard portant consideration. The air and gas mixture is regulated at will by simply turning a supply lever. Thus the speed is at the driver’s com- mand—there is practically no limit to the speed except that which reughness of the roads offers. The average road rate is about fifteen miles per hour. When J am a Widdler, F I were a Middler, life would seem worth living. But of all things despisable, the scold word very Junio: dlers Ye: Theil Junie 5 P. M., while the three happy ° ping down the stairs, hand in o’clock. Teachers look very cross at us are fun in school. When we will be different. We can study to. We shall get out early and h smiling at us all day long. We will come to school each m faces washed and our hair com that the teacher won't dare to sen hall to have some one comb it for We will be respected by the c We can snub them as the last ck snubbed us. Mr. T. ink or make a racket. will not reprimand us He will n any way and we shall all be as ha birds that sing in the springtime. some of us feel like attempting st nice it will be when I am a Midd One thing only makes us sad. ing boy Senior of the class of r¢ with us. Alas! how we shall mis vice and fatherly counsel. H« very grateful for his kindness « year.