Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

Page 15 text:

OMER MORIN: ASTRONOMER By John F. Flavin HERE is a great deal more natural genius C and talent in the student body of our J school than most of us even remotely suspect. Omer Morin is interested in astronomy. He has been interested in the stars ever since he can re- member and intends to continue on that line. One of his most remarkable characteristics is his whole-hearted devotion to his subject. He lives astronomy. In an effort to bring the object of his hopes nearer, he is completing his three-year high school college course in two years, completing twenty-six points each year and five during the summer. Not only is he doing it successfully, but he is also doing high honor work in every subject. To say the very least, he deserves all the credit that can be given him. About four years ago Omer’s real study of the stars began when he read his first book about the heavenly bodies. With the information he gathered from books and answers to his letters to world-famous astrono- mers of this country and Europe, and with the aid of a pair of field glasses that magnify but eight times, he began to gaze into the universe beyond, learning the names and characteristics of the constellations. Read- ing intensely, he concentrated on the books written by Harlow Shapley of Harvard, recommended to him by Miss Mary Proctor of the Royal Astron- omical Society of England. Morin has been his own teacher and has ac- quired a fine knowledge of the subject, though only in his junior year in high school. Becoming interested in theoretic science, which deals with the forming of various explanations of the origin of the universe, Omer began to attend lectures on subjects pertaining to astronomy. The lectures were given in the Harvard Observatory, a great circular room with a cone-shaped ceil- ing, which is adorned with the wrought-iron figures of all the signs of the zodiac. Drinking in all that was said at the lectures, Omer began to build for himself a background for his readings. Visiting the Observatory whenever possible, he attracted the attention of some of the astronomers and soon made the acquaintance of Leon Camp- bell, well known member of the Harvard University Observatory Staff [Continued on page 35]

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“Yes. We first found an old hot water boiler in a junk yard. With the help of friends we cut out the front. We then put in a pane of glass which was held in place by beading. Over this we superimposed a rubber facing to make it waterproof. Then there was the business of affixing the life line and signal line. This, of course, was of greatest importance and had to be done very carefully. When finished, the helmet weighed about seventy-five pounds.” “How did you get air?” “Our friends pumped air from an ordinary auto pump. As soon as their enthusiasm for pumping waned, they ceased operations causing us to cast off the helmet and head skyward with the greatest speed possible.” “Is there any single incident connected with the helmet which stands out in your memory?” “Yes, I told you that the helmet was held in place by beading. This beading was considerably frayed by rough usage, but we hadn’t bothered to repair it until it nearly resulted in a serious accident. I was down in a South Quincy quarry in about thirty feet of water. Suddenly there was a crack and the glass was driven with terrific force against my face, the blow nearly knocking me out. Taking a deep breath, I heaved off the hel- met and swam desperately upward. The pressure was making my temple throb and pound wildly. With senses nearly numb, I saw a snatch of blue sky and sucked in the sweet air. On examining the helmet, we found that the beading had given way. After that experience we made sure that the helmet was always kept in good repair.” “What are your plans for the future?” “We’re going to make a better one this summer. We’re going to use a five-gallon paint can as a chassis and make a very much improved helmet.” At this point, much to our regret, we were forced to conclude our pleas- ant chat. If this interview should, perchance, come to the notice of any residents of Quincy Point, let them take warning that the Quincy Point beaches will most likely be the scene of further experiments by Quincy High’s human submarine, Norman Satterthwaite. LOYALTY [Continued from page 12] hour he sat in pensive silence. Arising, he went to his desk, took pen and paper and after the first few halting sentences, wrote rapidly until he had covered three pages. For the third time in as many weeks the skipper’s cabin of the Polar Star was the scene of an announcement from master to mate. As he read the last sentence of the letter commissioning him captain on the Ames Company’s latest ship, to take effect as soon as she left the ways, Jenkins turned to his junior officer and this time the doubt was gone from Edwards’s eyes.

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HERBERT GAUDREAU TAXIDERMIST An Interview By Cliff Wilmath HE grubby-faced infant looked up at me with a glance which conveyed a mixture of hopeful curiosity and rather disinter- ested sympathy. “Are yuh goin’ ter get stuffed?” was the startling query which fought for issuance between two lic- orice-coated lips. ‘Surprised’ can at times be a very mild word. This was certainly no time when that statement was true. The cherub saw nothing amiss in his query, indeed he enlarged on his original theme without waiting for any reply we might have made. “Tha guy that lives in there,” pointing to the house which I was ap- proaching, “has stuffed everything but a red-headed ape.” I walked rapidly away from the urchin and took a dozen steps before the full portent of the childish speech struck me. Cold fear clutched at my heart, but mustering all my courage, I walked up to the door and boldly knocked. When the door was opened to admit me, imagine my surprise when I saw standing there, Herb Gaudreau, whom I have known for several years. “Shoot!” said Herb. I countered with a question about the processes involved in stuffing a bird and while he was making a technical reply, I took notes about him. Herb Gaudreau is a pleasant-looking, sandy-haired young man. It was only two years ago that Herb Gaudreau first took an interest in taxidermy. A friend loaned him a book on the subject which he eagerly devoured. The elementary knowledge which he gained from this little volume was all he needed to give vent to his enthusiasm for the sport. It was not long before his specimens attracted attention and soon he was mounting fish and game for sportsmen all over the state. Just a year had passed when Harvard University invited him to enter his mountings in their big exhibition. Here his work won the praise of experts throughout New England. Taxidermy is a study which requires a great deal of versatility. The taxidermist must be sculptor, artist, mechanic, ornithologist, zoologist, [Continued on page 26]