Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

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Tke Family Name of Waskmgton The Washington family was of ancient Eng- lish stock, and its genealogy has been traced back to the twelfth century. At the time of William the Conqueror ' s con- quest of England there were many wealthy es- tates and towers. One of these was the county of Durham, in northern England. This place was much noticed by William the Conqueror, because it was on the frontier between England and Scotland, and was liable to invasions from the Scotch. Among the knights who owned estates in this county of Durham was William de Hertburn, the progenitor of the Washington family. He was a friend of William the Conqueror, and was a prominent figure in the country. Later the family exchanged its estate for another one with the name of De Wessyngton. Consequently the family changed its name of de Hertburn to De Wessyngton, as was the custom of the time. Nearly seventy years afterwards the family still had possession of the same estate. The names of Boudo de Wessyngton and William, his son, appear on charters of land, granted in 1257 to religious houses. The De Wessyngtons took part in many minor battles, and a few major ones. In the reign of Edward III the name of Sir Stephen de Wes- syngton appeared on a list of knights who were to tilt at a tournament at Dunstable in 1334. For more than two hundred years the De Wessyngtons had figured in various activities and kinds of life — the hunt, tournaments, county councils; and some of the family were in the clergy. But by 1400 the estate was sold, since there were no immediate heirs to inherit it. How- ever, there were some descendants from William de Hertburn, who distinguished themselves in various professions. Their names were recorded in a few history books, and were engraved in chapels and churches. By degrees the name of De Wessyngton changed to Wessyngton, Was- sington, Wasshington, and finally Washington. One of these descendants of William de Hert- burn was Lawrence Washington, to whom George Washington ' s branch of the family im- mediately belonged. Lawrence Washington was Mayor of North- ampton for some time; and received, indirectly from Henry VIII, the manor of Sulgrave, in Northamptonshire, which remained with the family for many years. All of these Sulgrave Washingtons distinguished themselves in battles. Lawrence had two great-grandsons, John and Andrew, who were the first of the family to move from England. The two brothers came to Virginia and settled in Westmoreland County, near the Potomac. John married and moved to Bridges Creek, on the Potomac. He became an extensive planter, and in the course of time was elected a magistrate and a member of the House of Burgesses. The estate continued in the family. His grandson Augustine, the father of our Washing- ton, was born there in 1694. He was married twice. By the first marriage he had four chil- dren, two of whom, Lawrence and Augustine, survived. By the second marriage he had four sons, George, Samuel, John and Charles; and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mildred. Here we have the ancestry of George Wash- ington, and also, briefly, the characteristics of some of the ancestors. Washington ' s inheritance of their qualities — military aptness, managing ability, and perseverance — certainly showed in his life. Louise Merrill ' 32 A Coal M ine in New England 1 wonder how many people realize that within a distance of fifty miles of Boston there is a coal mine in full operation producing thousands of tons of coal a year. This mine is situated just outside Providence, Rhode Island, and on the direct road to Newport. It has been in opera- tion for a great many years. Perhaps the reason it is not better known to the people of New Eng- land is that it produces a low grade of bitumi- nous or soft coal, and with the supply of higher grade coal from the west the market for this Rhode Island coal has been limited. Owing to a new development of some Ger- man engineers, by which a number of foreign el- coal to be compressed into brickettes of such a consistency that they may be dropped on a con- crete floor without breaking, this mine is now flourishing and is destined to become one of New ements are extracted, a process which enables the England ' s large industries. N. Dresser ' 34 Page Fourteen

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A Mi ssion This story I found in Naval Records of Ships in Washington, D. C. While the battle was raging the extra radio operator threw this story, in dots and dashes, out in the atmosphere to be picked up by a special tug. It was Friday the thirteenth, December, 1917. A long, lissome destroyer bearing the name U. S. S. Kane cut through the rolling gigantic combers of the North Sea. A cold, biting wind came over her port quarter, which made the deck force shiver. It was a grey, somber, sul- len, freezing day that did not improve the spirits of the men. The Kane had been at sea for two months now, stopping for fuel and supplies. You see, she had a mission assigned to her. She was to capture or sink the German U Boat, U15, that had been sinking so many ships, warring and neutral, in that area. ' Way below decks in the bowels of the trim little destroyer the watch were working hard to keep the old crack under way. Sweating, swearing, working gobs stripped to the waist shoveled coal into the huge boilers. On deck men were cleaning, priming, greasing and oiling guns and torpedo tubes. They shivered at their work, and muttered a curse now and then. Up on the bridge officers were busily engaged pour- ing over navigating charts. Above them, on the flying bridge, signal men were busy at their work. And way up above them on the deck, at a dizzy height, the lookout hung on for dear life, but always alert and conscious. The most impressive thing was the way the men were working with silent, death-defying grimness. At that minute, from the lookout, there came a sing-song, mournful bellow, Periscope ho! From the bridge came the query, Where away? Then the answer, Two points off the starboard bow. A general alarm was sounded and battle stations were named. But before the Kane could fire, three lithe dirigible-shaped ob- jects left the U15, as it proved to be, in their white, foamy wake. The torpedoes from the submarine hit the destroyer amidships, before she could maneuver out of their way, leaving leaks hopeless to fix. Then the Kane fired her Completed first volley, but in vain. The U-boat had im- mediately dived, and the torpedoes and shells from the destroyer had been useless. To an outsider it would seem that the battle was lost, but to the Navy it had just begun. Depth bombs were heaved into the swirling brine, and on that sinking ship not a man so much as blinked an eyelid toward escape and safety for himself. Then came an eruption that seemed to come from the bottom of the ocean, but was only the U-boat blowing up. The depth bombs at last had found their target. The Kane had been almost cut in half by the torpedoes that had hit her. So the terrible strain that had been put on her broke the destroyer in halves. All hands were lost, but I know each man had a smile on his face, because he had helped to carry out their mission. Roy Tenny ' 35 Thoughts As I sat typing wearily at a letter which I had tried again and again to write correctly, my thoughts drifted away from the page in front of me. I still struck at the keys mechan- ically, but I knew not what I wrote. I was now a weary British soldier dwelling on unforgettable days of the past. My thoughts took me to an old Moulmein Pagoda in the far East, where a Burma girl knelt in devout prayer be- fore a huge stone idol. The tinkling temple bells made my blood pulse rapidly through my veins, and the soft, balmy, scented air, with the rustling and murmuring of the tall grass and underbrush, filled me with a feverish desire to be back once more beneath its spell, and away from the cold, gloomy fog of London. I sav- agely compared the heavy, beefy-faced, English maiden to that slim, dusky Burma girl. I yearned to rise once again with the dawn as it came from the depths of China across the Bay. Gradually the clicking of the keys brought me back to the dull, everv-day surroundings, and glancing at the copy in the machine before me, I found that I had typed the words to Rudyard Kipling ' s Road to Mandalav. R. MacDougall ' 33 Pane Thirteen

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Believe It Or Not— But It ' s True Shortly after the World War, a distinguished Congressional party from America made a tour of China. They were entertained royally by the Chinese Government and by the American Minister at Peking. At last one of the com- pany heard of Peitaiho, a well-known summer resort in northern China, and immediately they all asked for a special trip there. Not wanting to put the Government to further expense, the American Minister asked the American residents of that resort to welcome them for a day. Being a friend of ours and knowing that we could house them all, he asked us to let our home be their headquarters for the day. We gladly consented and they arrived, one hundred fifty-six in number. They went in swimming, rode donkeys, and explored the sum- mer resort during the morning. At noon, thanks to our wonderful servants, who borrowed from far and near, tables, chairs, table-linen, dishes and silver, and with the aid of native assistants, and two cooks, a full course dinner was served to them. After dinner, some of the people, including a pompous Senator, attended a tea party at the house of the American Consul-General. As those at the tea were to go to the train directly after the party, the Senator asked the Consul ' s wife if she would send a servant to our house to get his bathing suit, which had been left there to dry. A servant was dispatched, and soon return- ing with some clothing over one arm, he entered the screened porch while the tea was still in progress. He planted himself before the self- satisfied Senator, and, displaying a checkered bathing-suit, he asked, This b ' long yours, Master? Yes, meekly responded the portly gentle- man. And this? asked the servant holding out a tiny towel. Yes, put them in my bag, roared he — ter- ribly embarrassed. The servant, however, was still puzzled and he continued, But, Master, Dr. Nye ' s coolie say these b ' long yours. He savvy you hang these up with your bathing-suit. The ladies present, could not control their mirth and laughter which burst upon the ears of the mortified man. For the servant was dis- playing, carefully, to the horror of the corpulent Senator, and before the eyes of the distinguished company, a large pair of pink corsets. The poor Senator was greatly chagrined to have the secret of the sylph-like figure which he wished to acquire so brazenly disclosed. Helen Nye, ' 33 A Call at trie Dentist ' s The dentist may be a saver of teeth, but he certainly is not a saver of feeling. As the patient climbs the stairs to the waiting- room, he sincerely hopes that the doctor has some reason for canceling his appointment. He is greeted by a white-clad nurse, who assures him that the doctor is expecting him. The nurse cor- dially invites him to make himself at home; so he wearily sits down and attempts to interest himself in a magazine. Through the open tran- som he hears familiar groans, which are most encouraging. In a few minutes a man emerges from the doctor ' s operating room, looking as though he had been drawn through a wringer. Now the patient sits in the chair and tells the dentist about his toothache. The doctor decides that the tooth must come out. The patient ' s hair is on end, and he wonders why his knees do not remain stationary. After a few shots of novo- cain, the dentist bends over him armed with a wicked looking pair of forceps. A few yanks and pulls, and the job is over. Aw! That was not so bad after all, he is later heard to say. Marshall P. Bearce ' 34 Miss Brown: You ought to get married, Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones: I have wished many times lately that I had a wife. Miss Brown: Have you, really? Mr. Jones : Yes, if I had a wife, she ' d prob- ably have a sewing machine and the sewing ma- chine would have an oil can, and I could take it to my office, and oil my office door. It squeaks horribly. Page Fifteen