Plymouth High School - Pilgrim Yearbook (Plymouth, MA)

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THE PILGRIM 7 I H , T Sp f? --4'TQL-' ,,i g',i,Q9,- . I 1-., M- 3 wfavff i - 1 i w M, c u.,.S.l..L., THE SODA-FOUNTAIN CLERK Mr. Alton Spruce was a most dapper young man. His trim, sleek figure could be observed, at various times during the day, en- tering or departing from the drug store where he worked. When one met him, one's eye was instantly attracted to his glossy hair. Mr. Alton Spruce was very proud of that hair. And he had excellent reason for his pride. No other head in the vil- lage could possibly acquire so bril- liant a sheen. Carefully combed and re-combed, slicked and re- slicked, greased and re-greased, its splendor was dazzling. His shoes, too, of the latest and most faddy style, were well cared for. Not that Mr. Spruce ever condescended to soil his smooth fingers by the application of shoe polish, certainly not! He had them shined every other day at the parlor opposite his drug store. He was indulgently sympa- thetic toward those who shined his shoes, it was such a nasty job! But then, the world must have its lower classes! Mr. Spruce had a very exclu- sive line of talk which he put across at the counter. It made quite a hit-with Mr. Spruce himself! Also, he had so persis- tently practiced sliding the sodas down the smooth counter that one was often startled, when being waited upon by that model of cor- rectness, by the precipitous ap- proach of one's soda. Timid old ladies were heard to utter modest shrieks of dismay and then, when the glass had stopped abruptly upon the verge of disaster, to sigh their relief at the absence of catastrophe. . Mr. Spruce was enamored of a most beauteous young lady! Nat- urally! It appeared strange to the uninitiated how her college ices were so very rich, so very creamy, and so very generous. One memorable night she con- sented to accompany him to a dance. Oh bliss! Verily I say unto you, the time spent upon the pol- ishing of Mr. Spruce's raven locks was outrageous!-And the di- rections which were given to the unfortunate individual who was entrusted with the shining of his shoes were too intricate for mortal comprehension. Mr. Spruce made it a point to dance every other selection with the young lady who had gained possession of his heart. During the intervals in which he was not proudly floating about the hall with her, he fied hurriedly to the dressing room, there to straighten his tieg dust his shoes, and give a few polishing touches to his gleam- ing head. After the dance, it was his pleas- ure to invite her to have a college ice at his store. How many tender thoughts aided the mixing of that refresh- ing ice! He gracefully slid hers to the young damsel, who squealed her appreciation both of the refresh- ment itself and the manner of presentation. His was completed. A swift turn of the wrist to send it close beside hers. A crash! A scream! And- a groan! Why had Fate so turned against him? The glasses collided

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6 THE PILGRIM OUR JOURNEY Do We realize what life really means? How long we shall be here we do not know. Yet here We are in a remarkably interest- ing, if uncertain life, while, most of us take this life as if it were going to last forever and put forth as little effort as 'possible to see the world and to understand the peo- ple around us. Because we are given eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and the other senses to use, we believe we are here to use them properly. Also because we are given minds that can reason and think and Wonder, it is quite likely that We are expected to use them in order to form some opinion of life and its meaning. We should train our brains to think. Training involves labor but happily there is plenty of opportunity for labor, plenty of whetstones all about us on which to sharpen our wits. Good or bad, it is the only world we are in at present and for most of us it is a pretty good World. So while we are here the wisest course seems to be to see and hear all we can and train our minds the best We can so that when we near the end of the road we may sit on a hill, look back over our journey, and feel it was well worth the ef- fort it cost us to take it. F. FERIOLI '25 A RESTLESS SPIRIT Ghastly shone the crescent moon Upon the tombstones white, Sadly moaned the dying wind Throughout the mournful night. Slowly rose a gravestone, then CDon't frown or disagree! Stepping forth a figure bowed John Barleycornf' said he. B. K. H. AN ODE Throughout the drone of full four years One marked the budding of a tree Silvered against the azure sky, Two waddling ducks that sought the shade, The green waves roar upon a sandy strip- And dreamed his dreams. The other listened to the master's voice, Heard faded dreams of other lands, Conned all the precepts of world's good and guilt, Malice and sacrifice, toil and vain joys, Burned at Ambition's sacred touch- And sought his goal. The one, crushed by the careless world, Sank to the grass he loved--at rest. The other, led by ghosts of men's desire, Borne on by laud and praise, Mounted the peak alone - and was afraid. PERILS OF PLYMOUTH A man stops on Main street and looks puzzled. Two boys stop. Four women and a child stop. An auto stops. Two men stop. Two policemen arrive. A car stops. Three more autos arrive. A fight starts. A boy is knocked down. A woman faints. Some one rings the fire alarm. The engines come. Main street is closed to traiiic. The man remembers the address and continues his walk. D. K. '26

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8 THE PILGRIM and overturned, spilling the full contents upon the gown of his dearly beloved. What wrath then darkened her eye! With what dignity did she rise to depart with a scornful good night ! The boundless cavern of utter despair yawned wide to engulf Mr. Alton Spruce. V. CUSHMAN '26 REWARDED MERIT A very acrobatic waving of arms on the part of Jimmy Parker at last caused the teacher to glance up from the arithmetic papers she was correcting. Fifth grade ideas on fractions are liable to be mis- leading. Well, James ? she said. Please, can I sharpen my pen- cil? he asked. Yes, she answered, ignoring the grammatical error. Again she centered her attention on the papers, and the class re- sumed its supposed study of geog- raphy. An observer would be puzzled to note that Jimmy's pencil had an excellent point and yet he made his way towards the sharpener in a most business-like manner. Far from being absent-minded, he had an end in view. His soul- mate, Eddy Black, well divined it and was ready to receive the note which was dropped on his desk. Wait for me after school. I got to stay for arithmetic. Tell Buddy to, was scrawled on it. When at length Jimmy was re- leased from the house of misery, he expressed his personal opinion on fractions. Gee whiz, I don't see what good the old things are. I can't get 'em straight. Oh, you must be a dumb-bell. Them was easy ones today. What you want us for? Good night, We almost fell asleep waiting fer you, Eddy tactfully changed the sub- ject. N ow you listen to me, and don't you dare tell anybody what I tell you. Cross yer heart and hope to die, said Jimmy solemnly. The rites were satisfactorily performed. You know that contest to see who gets the most kinds of wild- fiowers? The girls are 'way 'head of us. But, listen, I found two' corkin' places they can't go to. One's a swamp where there's loads of swamp violets. You hafta wear boots to get 'em. The other's 'way up in the woods. I betcha we can. get some kinds they ain't got yet. An' say, my sister in the seventh grade told me the prize this year is a peachy one. Some rich guy is goin' to give it, I guess. Now, you guys can help me an' then We can divide it, see ? finished Jimmy. Say, interposed doubtful Bud- dy, 'spose it's only a little thing. Who'll get it - you ? Aw, we'll take turns using it if it's like that, said Eddy. C'mon, Jim, when'll we go? Well, said the business-like Jimmy, I'll be busy every day after school makin' maps of how to get there. Let's go Saturday. O. K. with me, answered Eddy, echoed by Buddy, to equal Jimmy's importance. With a S'long, fellers, they parted. Sad to say the girls discovered their plans and the boys found it necessary to resort to strategy. Planned beforehand, their conver- sation at recess times ran along gruesome lines. Hey, Buddy, called Jimmy from some distance and from where most of the girls could hear, you better bring your father's gun in the woods today. 'Member what we saw yesterday ? All right, Jim, but say, you'll hafta shoot it. My arm's still sore from that snake bite I got in the swamp the other day. Their classmates appeared cred- ulous but they made no attempt