Natick High School - Sassamon Yearbook (Natick, MA)

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PACK TEN THE SASSAMON tell a lie. ' He, of course, cooled right off and told me how glad he was that I had told the truth. From that time on I re- solved never to tell a lie. As I grew up, I became the leader among my friends and could always excel them in most sports. Well I remember the day that I threw a stone across the Potomac, after all the other boys had tried in vain. When 1 was eleven years old, I had my first sorrow, that of the death of my father. Then I, being the oldest child, had to take over the responsibility of the plantation, and although everybody said it was impossible, I managed in some way to do it. I went to school with the rest of the boys, my mother intending to have me take my father ' s place as a plantation manager. However, I had my own desires and U- though my mother did dissuade me from going to sea, she did not manage to do so when I decided to take up surveying. I started this at the age of sixteen, and by the time I had reached twenty, I had be- come public surveyor of the neighborhood. Soon after this the French and Indian War broke out. Of course, I know you didn ' t come for that story, because it seems everyone knows it, so I will just say that because of the great amount of faith the men put in me, I was able to help quite a bit in bringing that to a successful close. After that was over, I married Martha Curtis, who was then a widow, with two children, and I settled down to live here, but not for long, because soon the Revo- lutionary War broke out. I was called to take command of the armies. I am going to omit the story of that war just as I did the French and Indian War, because in time of peace, war is a dreadful thing to talk about. As soon as that was over, I retired to private life, only to be called back as President of the country. At the end of four years I began another term, not because I wanted to, but because I felt it my duty at that time, when the French Revolution was going on and we were being asked to enter the fight. Wheii my second term was ended, I again retired to private life, only to be recalled to take command of the army, because of the dan- ger of war with France. However, this danger soon subsided and now I am here again, where I hope to spend my few re- maining years in peace and happiness. When he had finished teling me his story, he invited me into his house for refresh- ments. I might add that I never met Washing- ton again and that he did spend the rest of his life at Mount Vernon. In December of 1799, he was one day making his rounds cf the plantation when it was raining and he became wet through. He did not mind it, and the next day he did the same, even when he had a cold. That night he became sick and passed quietly away, after a forty- eight hours ' illness. E. B. HEINLEIN, ' 19. CAPTAIN JIMMY Jimmy was a young fellow, the son of rich parents and one of the best sports in town. He was an only child and because of that had been constantly petted, and denied very little. He was smart in his studies and had graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. He had studied and fitted himself for a lawyer, but now that he was ready to prac- tice, he showed no intention or desire of doing so. His father was of the old school and a veteran of the War of ' 98. When Jimmy showed no desire to do any- thing useful, his father was surprised and ashamed that his son should be an idler. His mother, however, was a social figure of some prominence and thought that her son should be a shining light of the social world. Affairs had constantly been growing worse for some time, but still Jimmy con- tinued to idle away his time and his father ' s money. Many times his father had started to say something about it, but his wife had persuaded him to try Jimmy a lit- tle longer, so father did, although in his own mind he was beginning to be troubled. Things kept on this way until the Unite:!

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THE SASSAMON PAGE NINE LIFE OF WASHINGTON As it was nearly time to celebrate the birth of George Washington, I was call 3d into the office of the story editor of the Dover Tidings, and told to get a story of Washington ' s life, not one from history, but from the general himself of his life at home. I immediately made my plans for a trip to his home, at Mount Vernon, and went there several days later. As I strolled up the wide walk leading to his house, I was just a bit shaky to think that I was to meet the greatest man that had ever lived on the western continent. I knocked at the door and was admitted by a darky to a room where I met the charming Martha Washington. Having told her what I had come for, I inquired for the ex-President and she told me that he was out on the plantation somewhere. She said she would call him, but I expressed a desire to see the place myself. She then called an old servant, by the name of Erastus, and gave him orders to take me to Massar Wash- ington. We soon came upon the general, and then as Erastus tried to introduce me, he got tongue-tied on my last name and called me Mr. Hindlegs or something like that. However, as soon as my name was straight- ened out, I asked him if he would tell me his life story in his own words. At first he hesitated, but then, after a few moments ' thought, he began by telling me that he was born in a small place called Bridge ' s Creek, in Virginia, but when h« was three years old, the house burned down and they moved to a place on the Rappa- hanock, quite near to Fredricksburg. He said there was little left to mark his birth- place. However, I might add here that since then there has been a small monu- ment erected there in order to mark the spot. The first episode of his life happened when he was five years of age. This was the story of the cherry tree, which he chopped down. As the old general told it to me, I could see that in his eyes it seemed but yesterday. He had been given a small hatchet for his birthday and to put it in his own words, I then went out thinking I was an experienced woodchopper, cutting everything that I came near. I saw this little tree, and little did I realize how val- uable it was, so it went down along with the rest of the things. Later my father came out, and, seeing the tree chopped down, demanded in angry words if I knew the guilty one. At first I hesitated, but then I boldly said, ' I did, father, I cannot

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THE SASSAMOX PAGE ELEVEN States declared war on Germany, April 6, 1917. Then Jimmy ' s father immediately offered his services to the Government and was given a position of trust on the Ship- ping Board. Still Jimmy continued to idle away his time, doing apparently nothing. Sometimes Jimmy would take his hunt- ing outfit and go away into the woods for a week or ten days at a time, apparently on a hunting trip. His friends began to ig- nore him because the town in which he lived was very patriotic and had sent many men into the service. His mother beg ' an to wonder at his lack of spirit and his father became openly angry with him, but all to no avail, because Jimmy still stayed around the town, except when he left on his very frequent hunting trips. One day Jimmy went away and did not return as usual, at the end of the week. He did not return the next day, or that week, in fact, and then his mother began to grow worried about him. Two weeks passed and still no news from him. The woods where he usually went hunting were searched, notices were put in the papers, asking for information, and the news of his disappearance was spread broadcast, but still no news came. At last, one night, just as his mother was sitting down alone to her dinner, she heard someone come in the front door. She wondered which one of the servants had been out or who would come in with- out ringing. Then someone appeared in the doorway and she looked up to see a man in uniform standing there. She rose quickly from the table and walked toward him. As she was quite near si ghted, she did not notice who it was until she was very close and then she discovered it was her son, in a fine, new Captain ' s uniform. After the greeting was over, he led her to the library and there told her all about his apparent idleness, his mysterious dis- appearance and his unexpected return. Well, mother, ' he began, I suppose all the people had a pretty bad opinion of me and I don ' t blame them, because I ought to have been in uniform, but the depart- ment wouldn ' t let me until I had finished the job of running down the spy who had a wireless secreted in the woods. That is why I went on those hunting trips so often. Then one day when I went there, I found the man operating the wireless and tried to arrest him. I succeeded, but only after he had wounded me, so that I had to remain in bed for two weeks, after I got back to town. I didn ' t want to make you nervous, so I didn ' t write. That is why I disap- peared. Then after I got out of the hos- pital, I had to report at Washington and receive my commission and now I am home for a week before I leave with my company for France. H. PRESCOTT, ' 19. THE SOLDIER We sent him away a bright, clean, up- standing lad, perhaps a trifle inclined to like play better than work, but that was only natural, considering his bringing up. From the training camp, where he was stationed, he sent us humorous letters, lively descriptions of what the sergeant said to the rookies and how the buck pri- vate saluted the lieutenant. His letters, too, would make one think that camp life was all fun and no work had it not been that we privately knew from a chum that he was working hard for admission to an officers ' training camp. Then came a week when no letter cam?, two, three, and finally four weeks went by and still no word. We knew then what had happened — he had gone. When at last his letters came again, they were much the same as before. A jumbled lot of first impression — naive expressions of delight over the French peasants, and his accounts of parley-vooing, as he called it, with one old lady, were surely amusing. He was having about six weeks of intensive training, so he told us, but believe me it ' s both intensive and exten- sive (but especially more of the latter), ' he wrote. In the trenches he didn ' t write regularly, of course, but Kept a diary, which he called Bits ' here, ' ' there ' and ' everywhere. ' When any of his friends