Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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ing what would become of liini, nnd then of tlie proltahle fate of liis twci coiiipniiioiis. Thus in misery and suspense lie v.Lited theri ail hour. At last he was startled by his mother ' s gen- tle voice asking him wliat he was sitting there for? lie gakied courage and removed the bandage from his eyes — he was in his owji back .yard. IRENE GOLDTIIWAITE. is it any wonder that I look with pride upon this statue of a woman, brave in the face of horrible danger, who in the end conquered? RORERT H. SPROUL, ' 26. HANNAH DUSTIN Possibly none of you have ever seen the interesting staluc of a. woman, Hannah Dus- tin, standing in Haverhill Square, bnt I havi;, anil to look upon this statue brings to mind a story of this lirave woman, who was my great, great grandaunt, told to me by in nncle of mine. Hannali Dnstin was one of the earl.y settlers coming to this country in 1(570. She lived in the small town of Derry, N. IT., At tlrs tini ' several tribes of hostile Indians lived in the near-by forests, and it was liy a small band of Indiiins that she was ca])tured one day, after her small l)aby had been killed, and carried off by them. Mrs. Dustin was coniijelled to live with the Indians many weeks, and gradually began to learn their customs, one of which was tlie skillful way in which scalping was done. Now this woman was ;is bi-ave as slie was clever and quick -witted, so she naturally be gau forming a plan of escape from the In- dians, who by this time had begun to like the white woman. One night, while sleeping on the ground of the wigwam a short distance from wliere six stalwart braves, supposeilly on gu;ird, lay asletq), she i icked up her scalping knife and a tomahawk, which she had carefully hid den the day before, and suddenly made an at tack upon tlie sleeping Indians and soon dash- ed out all their brains while they slei)t. Slip thus escaped in the dead of night and, .jump- ing into a canoe, paddled downstream towar.l tlie next town many miles disl;int. While pondering over her miraculous esca])e, this biave woman decided that she would like to lia e proof of the killing of her numerous cajdors, and so she turned her canoe around, I ' eturned to the lonely spot, scalped ?rll six Indians, relumed to her canoe, .and continued on lier way. ' I ' his is the story of my brave ancestor, and A DISCUSSION OF CALIFORNIA AND MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOLS As 1 am only spending a. year in the Eas.!: and my home is in California, I have been in- teresited to note the difference in high schools. First, there are the buildings. The old Spanish style of architecture has become very popular in California lately. Most of the new schools are built of stucco, with tile roofs. They usually have only one or two stories and sometimes are built around a court, the various parts of the building being joined by arcades. In i)hysical education, the boys take gym ' ' instead of milit.ary diill. Outdoor sports are carried on all the year round; tennis espe- c ' ally, l)eing ii. favorite with both boys .and girls. The system of study is different in several w.ays. Vc do not have that bug-bear , col- lege entrance examinations, held before us. Most of the western colleges allow entrance on one ' s liigh school diploma, provided that non of one ' s mai ' ks is below B. Moreover, Livtin is not reipiired to enable one to go to college. Theic is greater freedom in choosing subjects. One must, however, meet the state require- ments for graduation from high school. The school hours are usually from eight in the morning till three in the afternoon, wit ' .i an hour for lumli. This gives some time for recreation and allows the students to eat at home if they wish. liesides ditfeiences, however, there arc manv similaritves. For instance, dramatic elul)S, football games, student government, school paiiers, and many other things. You would lind the same school sjiirit and i)ride in their high schools in California that you find in Massachusetts. RUTH PROCTOU, ' L ' (). COURAGE In the grim face of danger P e steadfast, liefore the tecitli of tyal lie br.ave. Hut ' t ' s greatest, in sni.all cares To be able To smile .and to bear them Always. MARGARET ATWELL, ' 20. 20

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THE NEW BOV Five school boys were lounging around the school grounds during the noon hour. Don ' t you wish tlie tire whistle would blow now? said Jennings, better known as Bryan. Yes, and I ' d like to hear it was the school house burnt to the ground. And dou ' t you wish tlie fire-engine woiiM Ijreak down ? ' ' Just then Eunton Fisher was seen hurrying toward them. Wliat you s ' pose! he ejacu- lated ; there ' ' s n new boy in town — maybe he ' ll start to seliool — he ' s from Kansas or soinewliere — and lie don ' t know what Ch!H is — n ' lie never saw a mountain before — ' n ho thinks— Enougli, enough! Jennings interrupted; what are you goin ' to do to him? Everything! ' ' exclaimed several in a breath. Let ' s make him think one of us is crazy! No, let ' s take him skatin ' . ' ' Skating! Why they have skating all win- ter where he came from. AVe can scare him about Indians, though. Suggestions came thick and fast, and when the boys reluct antly complied with the sum- mons of the school bell, their plans were on ' y partly completed. Threo toilsome hours were spent in study, candy-eating, and making plans. A commit tee of two was aijpointed at the close of school to call on the new boy at his home. They fed him two kinds of taffy and sMccecdi ' I in gaining his entire friendship and confi- dence. It was arranged to go to the river the next day, which was Saturday and there- fore a holiday. The walk was a little longer than the new boy liad expected, but he was well enter- tained by numerous stories of the Cotton- wood Gang, of boy desperadoes. He was told that they held the smaller surrounding set- tlements in terror, and that tliey were well known throughout that entij-e region. They were said to be boys that had been kidnapped by the greatest robber outfit on earth, and had grown up to their wild ways. Their cap- tors had all been hanged or imprisoned , and tlie boys were le t to do as they pleased. The new boy was mucli interested. He had never heard of this remarkable Cotton- wood Gang before, and he asked many ques- tions. The boys were just entering the nar- row strip of cottonwoods that bordered the river. And did they ever iiide around here? he queried. Well, I guess! Once they hunted ' em here three months and the gang never moved out of this patch of trees onee. But they ' d hardlj ' be here this t!,me (jf year? Oh, they may be, you never can tell. They may have held up an express and are hiding out somewhere from a posse. The three boys were penetrating deeper and deeper into the mighty forest — fifty yards wide. They walked stealthily and spoke only in the lowest of whispers. Do they ever hurt anybodj- seriously? ' the new Ijoy wanted to know. Never did more ' n four or five murder. , mostly keep ' em prisoners, was the comfort- ing reply. He wanted to run, but he might run straight into their arms. Tlic situation was becoming unbearalile. A dry twig in front of them cracked. The new boy glanced from the frightened face of one companion to that of the other. They stood motionle.?s awaiting the crisis. It came very suddenly. Four boys on horse- l)a( ' k burst througli the foliage. Tliey wore masks and had red l)andanas around their necks. The leader held two murderous-look- ing revolvers before him, and a broad grin was all that could bo seen of his face beneatli his wide-i ' inuned hat. The hands of the trembling victims were raised above their heads. Two of the robber.s dismounted and proceeded to relieve them of toi)s, marbles, pencils, and pictures of tlieir best beloveds, expressing no little disgust at the cliaracter of the booty they found. After a short conference, the higliwaymen began to bind the captives. T1ie new l)oy was blind folded first and set on the back of one of the steeds. He imagined his compan- ions were in a like condition and after a moment the seven l)0j ' s started away on the four liorses. Tliey went over various roada, and made so many turns, that our young friend lost all sense of direction. At last coming to a halt, one of the band an- nounced, the cave! and the new boy wan taken from his uncomfortable seat. He was hurried to a spot a short distance away and commanded to sit on the bare ground and wait. He was given to understand it meant instant death to remove the blindfold. He heard them gallop away, but he was sure there was at least one guard left. He sat there thinking of his home and wonder- 19

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A SONG OF PRAISE Tliank (lod I ' or the fresh green spriugtiine, For winds of M.ircJi and April ' s showers, For tlie soft blue skies and the birds ' glad songs And the scent of Maytinie flowers. Tiiank God for jojful sumniertiine, For the golden days of June, For the warm, sweet breezes, silvery nights, When all the world ' s in tune. Tliauk (iod for radiant Autumn, Foi ' her colors everywhere. Red and yellow, orange and purple, And the smoky, i ungent air. TluMik (iod, too, for cold Winter, With its steel blue skies and chilling snow, And Ihc crackling ice clad forest. Warmed by the sunset ' s rosy glow. FLORENCE BUTLER, ' 24. SUGARING IN VERMONT ir you ha e e ' er been in Vermont and seen sugaring done, you know that the work from tapping to sugaring off is of the most in- teresting nature. You know that sugaring is (lone something like this: On a very warm day in the latter part of February or the first part of ilarch, the sugar maples are tajiped. By this I mean that a hole is bored in the tree which is known lO be a sugar-maple, and a hollow spout is fitted into the liole. Then a pail is hung on the spout or on a nail driven into the tree Ti inch or so above it. Tliis is done to everv maple tree; and a sugar farm is usually so large and has so many trees that a whole day is required to do this. The sap is collecte,l once each day by a wagon which is driven through the sugar district and taken to tlic sugar house. There it is poured into long shallow vats, and these are i)lacod on large floors of br ' ck under wliich very hot fires are l)uilt. The brick heats slowly, but when it is very lioi it gives off just the kind of heat needed for evaporating the saj). As soon as the sap stops running in the trees, the fires under the vats are made hotter, and the sap is boiled down to maple syrup. Then that part which is to be sold as syrup, is taken out and the rest is left for sugar- in go ft . On the day reserved for doijig this, the whole family armed with spoons, marches o and takes possession of the sugar house. Then the fires are brought up so that they are very li( t and the syrup is boiled to maple sugar. During this process everyone is continually eating I lie maple jiroduct and having a merry time to see who eats the most. Anyone liav ing cavities in his teeth generally drops out o f tlie contest after about one mouthful. When the syrup has boiled down to that point where it sugars , it is run off into pai ' -i, cooled, sealed, stamped, and shipped away. Usually the demand for maple sugar is jo great, tliat it is sold before it is made. if the sugar comes out bad, whoever has pur- chased it, loses. But, when Vermont sugar comes out bad you may be sure that something very unusual has happened. WILLIAM WAITE, ' 2!!. THE STEAMER The stei ' .mer she ' s a lady and she ne t ' r has a want, For her husl)and is a tug-l)OiU and he tows her as he ought. And all the little soliooners that sail the ocean wide Have a merry time a sailing, a-sailing by her side. The steamer she ' s a lady, by the paint upon her nose, And the gaudy canopies on deck wouhl jiass for feminine clothes. The tug-boat is her husl)and and he ' s always ho ering near. For his duty is to see that her path is straiglit and clear. The steamer siie ' s a lady, y the stately way she sails, . nd she always keei)s her head when she ' j tossed before a, gale. !!ut her husband is a lug-boat and he patiently sits and waits Until he sees her coming with a cargo from the States. The steamer she ' s a lady, by her manner and her air. For her cargo is for the ci ' y and she ni ' ist be escorted theie. }U Y tug-boat luisbaud, on the watch, sails ([uickly to her side .Vnd hand in hand across the river, they float upon the tide. WALTER ALDEN, ' 24, 21