Abington High School - Abhis Yearbook (Abington, MA)

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10- HURRICANE The night was dark and still. The world had never seemed more serene. I lay patiently awaiting the Hrst signs of the weather man's prediction. A breeze gently stirred the leaves, lulling me to sleep. While the church bells were striking twelve, I was awakened by a soft tap on the door. Fright- ened by the weird sound, I groped to a window and cautiously peered into the darkness. A voice softly called my name. It was a friend. My friend and her family asked me to ride to their cottage at the beach, where the surf was expected to be high. An hour later as we approached the beach the wind began to howl. Two policemen, dressed in shiny black slickers, ordered us to detour. The rough surf, flooding the street and hurling huge stones in the air, splashed viciously over the sea wall. The center of Brant Rock appeared as a street in Venice. The steps of stores and cottages disappeared in the torrents rushing down the main street. After parking the car, we headed for a water- front cottage, struggling against the powerful winds. The spray soaked the porches of the homes like a heavy downpour. Mountains of surf dashed against the sea wall, rising as high as the telephone wires. The swirling ocean glowed like phosphorous for miles. After arriving home again, we found it just as peaceful as it had been when we left. It was as if this odd experience were a dream and I had just awakened. ' JANET HULTMAN, '52 THE BEGINNING or THE END The night is quiet. The moon hangs, abnormally bright, in the sky, seemingly waiting. The earth is transformed by the moonlight. Places which by day are plain, ordinary, and uninviting, become, when touched by Luna's silver sheen, places of rare beauty. The night is so quiet that to the lonely watcher out for air the sound of a single falling leaf is greatly magnified. Below him lies one of America's largest cities. Its gleaming lights seem to be intruders in the light of the moon. The young man stops to view the panorama before him. From far off in the autumn sky comes a low roaring. From the same direction the sound of coastal ack- ack guns rolls across the countryside and little orange flashes pin-point the horizon. The roaring increases in volume, like a blast from a giant blow- torch. It passes over the city and gradually fades. Suddenly, from the midst of the cluster of sky- scrapers, a blinding, bright orange ball suddenly appears and grows larger and larger, noiselessly, THE ABHIS as the force which keeps the sun shining is sud- denly unleashed on the metropolis. The young man stands, fascinated, oblivious to the terrihc heat, by the spectacle before him. A sudden rush of sound and shock waves knocks him like a tenpin down the opposite side of the hill. He comes to rest in a bush, moves slightly, and then lies still. . Hours later he stirs, crawls out of the bush. and staggers to his feet. He is conscious of the burning sensation over his face and hands caused by the radiation he has absorbed and which will in time cause his death. His clothes are scorched and tat- tered. He climbs to the top of the hill. Below him, where once stood a great city, now burn hundreds of fires, whose light and smoke blot out the sink- ing moon. All around him the trees have been stripped of their gaily-colored leaves. On the hori- zon glowing spots testify to the recurrence of the event in other great cities. The watcher turns and walks slowly down the hill to be swallowed up by the dark woods. 'In the east an increasing glow heralds the arrival of a new day, a day which will dawn upon a ruined earth, upon destruction caused by men who could not learn to live together in peace. It is the begin- ning of the end of civilization. ORIN CUNNINGHAM, '51 A HAWAIIAN PENPAL My penpal is a Hawaiian girl. She is fifteen years old and a junior in a very modern high school in the center of Honolulu. Except for a few subjects, her high school course is the same as ours. One thing that is not true of our school is the fact that in her school such sub- jects as Art and Music are required. The school publishes a weekly paper in which there are many interesting things. It resembles slightly one of our small daily papers. My penpal's school has a foot- ball team, which is very lucky, for it plays all home games in the stadium at Honolulu. When my penpal explained the way in which she lives, she made it very clear that Hawaiians live in much the same way as any of us do. In fact, some of their homes are very modern in de- sign. She lives close to Honolulu Bay and goes swimming all the year around. Recently her class went on a beach party to the Bay. In ocean sports, which are naturally their chief sports, she indulges freely and she is a very good swimmer. Every year in Hawaii, a week is set aside as Aloha Week. This is a very festive occasion, unmatched in the United States. Each day during Aloha Week there is a special event. One day there is a parade and ban- quet, and the next a regatta, and on another sports events, and so it goes all through the week. This holiday provides some of the beautiful scenes of Hawaii.

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THE ABHIS 9 began to assemble at Centre Abington. Father said it wasn't proper for young ladies to be seen on the streets before eight o'clock in the morning, so we couldn't go out as early as Matilda and Caroline Bates could. At eight o'clock, Father said we could depart, Mother let Carrie borrow her pretty laven- der parasol and gloves for the occasion and Lucy let me use her yellow set. CI do wish Lucy would give that set to me-I know she wouldn't miss it.J On the way we met Sally Bicknell from North Abington, whose father was in the parade, and Sarah Donovan, whose father was also in the pa- rade. The procession formed on the green in front of Hatherly Hall and the big carriages with their shiny leather seats rolled by us. Even at that time of the morning there were many people in evi- dence. At quarter past eleven the parade came into sight, led by the Chief Marshal and a brass band from Weymouth. There was a floral procession, too, with a chariot drawn by six white horses. In it were thirty-six girls, all dressed in white and carry- ing big bouquets of flowers. Many of the flowers came from Grandmother Hobart's gardens, for yes- terday I helped her pick some of the Damask roses and the lovely foxglove and day lilies. Grandfather Whitten drove the big chaise up from Hingham with some of the sweetest Cinnamon pinks for Car- rie and me to wear at our waists like the older girls. Sally, Sarah, Carrie and I watched the parade as it passed us and went through Washington Street, Centre Avenue, and Plymouth Street on its way to Island Grove. After it went by us, we took the short cut and ran over to Island Grove to be there in time to watch the procession over again. By the time we got there, we were all hot and thirsty, but we couldn't get a drink anywhere. Sarah had tripped and fallen and had a big grass stain on the hem of the new pink dress her grandmother had just finished for her the night before. ' When the parade finally did get to Island Grove, all the soldiers stood around and fired their guns. Then the parade split and people sat around in little groups to hear speeches. The four of us sat in the shade of some pine trees, away from everybody else. By this time we were so hungry that nothing mattered until we had had something to eat. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the speeches were over and the people began forming the long lines to the tent where all the tables were Carrie and I had to go home for dinner because we weren't allowed to eat with all the grown-ups at the banquet. CLucy stayed though, because she's going to marry William Hathaway and he could get tickets for both of them. It must be wonderful to be a lady like Lucy.D Sally's mother catne to get Sally and Sarah to take them home for dinner too. Father almost wouldn't let us go back this after- noon for the singing and the games, but Mother said occasions like this didn't happen very often and we ought to be allowed to go back if we wanted to. Finally Father said he supposed it was all right only we would be terribly over-tired tomorrow and have horrid dispositions all day long. When we did get back to Island Grove, they were having speeches and songs, and after these there was a band concert. About half-past five Grandfather Whitten came after us to take us home, but Lucy didn't get home until nearly half- past nine. Carrie went to bed almost as soon as we got home, but I stayed up to write in my jour- nal. We had a wonderful day and I'll remember it all the rest of my life. P. S.-Father said there were nearly fifteen thou- sand people at Island Grove today. I truly never saw so many people in all my life and I don't know when I've had such a good time or been so tired. Written on this twenty-seventh day of july, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and sixty-five. CYNTHIA WHITING, '51 'All names, deter, placer and eventr taken from I-Iirtory of the Town of Abington by Ben- jamin Hobart. Chapter XXXVII, Page: 332- 341.

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--p THE ABHIS 11 My pen pal is very proud of her land and often speaks of its beauty. I do not believe that she is being boastful or over proud in doing so. Her let- ters only prove to me that Hawaii is truly a paradise. ALAN DAMON, '53 WHERE TO TURN I am a sixteen-year-old student in high school and at present a junior. You, the reader, will un- doubtedly make the remark, So what? But before you do, I should like you to read that first sen- tence again. After having done so, perhaps you can enter somewhat into my trend of thought, that is to say, you sense the fact that the sentence may have a double meaning. Yet it remains insignifi- cant to you. To me, however, it has a meaning which can only be got through analysis. This I shall endeavor to perform. At present the world is being slowly but as- suredly lowered into a whirlpool of war and chaos. Along with the physical world, many private lives are being torn apart, never to be rebuilt. These troubles which are plaguing the world at present are far from being all the troubles which have been so successful in disrupting my life as well as the lives of my fellow students. The majority of us were born in the heart of the depression and our families were constantly besieged by financial prob- lems. This financial crisis lasted in most cases until about '38. At last! thought most Americans, we can begin to spend time with our children, educate them, and enjoy them. Oh! how childish and pre- mature their dreams were. In '38 and '59 a fiend appeared on the face of the earth in the form of Hitler and he was joined by many willing confed- erates. Then began their march of conquest, lust, and murder in Europe and Asia. The repercussions were to be felt in America as well as in the other three corners of the world. In most cases our fath- ers were torn from us to aid in the defense of our nation for a period of almost five years. The end of the great period of suffering gave our young and hopeful hearts a short breathing spell. In 1945 I overheard my mother predict trouble, not to men- tion war, with Russia. This prediction brought in- expressible fear to my heart. I tried vainly to con- sole myself with the thought that if we did go to war with our ex-allies, they at least were good Christians and flike ourselvesj merciful. Oh, so little did I know! Oh, so much I was to learn! Within two short years all my hopes Cas well as those of my fellow-studentsb were but flimsy craft in this whirlpool, ready to be sucked under to de- struction. We, in high school, have no more than four short years in which to strengthen ourselves before being swept into this giant whirlpool, either to swim or to drown. In order to prepare ourselves we must receive help and consultation. To whom can we turn for this help? Shall it be our parents who have been so busy during these great crises? Our teachers who so often give us reason to doubt their wisdom? Our churches and religions which were developed for peoples and situations hundreds of years ago? Our government which is becoming so corrupt? These are only a few of the heart- sickening questions which confront a sixteen-year- old today. How shall they be answered? Can you now perceive a double meaning in that sentence? I turn to you, the reader, for an answer. Where are we, the youth of America, to turn for confidence to take that first and last step? CHARLES T. Nssatrr, '52 I DON'T KNOW One day as two teachers were conversing one queried of the other, What three words do you think high school students most often use? After much deliberation, the fountain of intelli- gence perplexedly answered, I don't know. Yes, next to the three little oft-used words of endearment these three gems of ignorance rank second. They are used in innumerable places by various types of persons, but we are chiefly con- cerned with their status within the walls of A.H.S., where our teachers are endeavoring to cram our craniums with knowledge. First, we have the carefree person, who, al- though when leaving class acts like a zephyr, to put it mildly, always manages to breeze into the next one late. When an interrogation travels in his di- rection he gives a frisky little laugh, and non- chalantly answers, I don't know, then goes back to filling the ink well with paper.