Wabash High School - Sycamore Yearbook (Wabash, IN)

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“Gee, that problem is interesting. After all that work it does “You mean to tell me that 5x + 3x = 8x. It can’t be . . . seem that 2 times 3 equals 6. Shame to make that mistake. oh, I guess I kind of multiplied instead of added.” GET YOUR EOWtONS, GRAPHS, AND TESTS WERE This year two plus two equaled four as usual—un¬ less some poor, deluded, frustrated Apache hap¬ pened to be taking a math test. Then two and two could have been equal to anything from —14 to 110 (all of them equally wrong). Apaches fought their way through mathematics, algebra, trigonom¬ etry, and more algebra. They swam through a haze of interest problems, quadratic equations, graphs, and a multitude of other exercises. When the Apaches had survived these horrors, they were sub¬ jected to geometric proofs, mathematical induction, and imaginary numbers. The problems presented by the imaginary numbers were real enough to the Apaches though. Toward the end of the year, the mists cleared, and Apaches received the biggest surprise of their lives. Lo and behold, they knew how to work these problems. Miss Mills explains the basic principles of logarithms and antilo¬ garithms to a bewildered Apache. 26

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f! “Does anyone want to give examples of crustaceans, arachnids, chilopods, diplopods, and insects?” asks Mr. Elliot. ra5J UENTANVON ? The ominous sound of freshly broken test tubes, the rustle of those little slips of paper accusing some¬ one of breakage in chemistry lab, the horror pre¬ ceding a physics exam, the delightful smell of frogs pickled in formaldehyde—these sensations faced every Apache science student this year. Apaches were enlightened (and sometimes momentarily con¬ fused) in the region where the amoeba lives or the space within the nucleus of an atom where the nu¬ clear force is greater than the force of repulsion between like charges. They tried to understand the intricate mysteries of chemistry, physical science, biology, and physics. Sometimes understanding seemed to be an insurmountable task, but it almost always got done. Apaches pored over their books, converted to the metric system, and did their best to adapt to a world in which science is supreme. “The atomic number of an element is equal to the sum of the electrons and the protons—unless it’s just the protons.” “If you’re lucky, the glass will stop at the bone.” Mr. Horne demonstrates how not to insert a glass rod into rubber tubing. 25 4

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These Apaches watch attentively as Mr. Aldridge explains how not to get horribly lost in bookkeeping. “Insert the paper, double space, use a 60-space line, and a five-space paragraph indention. Don’t make any mistakes. If you do, erase them carefully.” These commands or variations of them resounded in many Apache ears this year as students prepared themselves for careers in the cold, cruel business world. They tried to learn everything which might help them in their actual jobs after graduation. They tackled all kinds of difficult procedures from the proper way to write a check to the fastest method for inserting paper in a typewriter. The sound of teachers dictating, the puzzled look on an Apache’s face as he tried to find his mistake in record keep¬ ing, and confusion which came when students changed typewriters showed that the business stu¬ dents were on the job. THROW THAT CARRIAGE; ADD THAT COLUMN These alert business students are at their typewriters willing mistakes to go away—far away where they wouldn’t be seen.