Abington High School - Oracle Yearbook (Abington, PA)

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the sea anenomes kept time with their ten- tacles, searching for food with their pul- sating motions. Myriads of tropical fish sailed slothfully by, completely ignoring their visitor from the outer world. The lazy opening and closing of their mouths and the drowsy fluttering of their fins fitted perfectly into Anything There is nothing more beautiful in the world than lovely bells, but there is also nothing more nerve-racking than wild, uncontrolled bells that never cease clang- mg. This particularly tormenting charac- teristic of bells is exactly what one en- counters at Zermatt, Switzerland. There were all sorts of bells-cat bells, goat bells, cow bells, and, especially, church bells. The cat bells are the ones you hear all night long, accompanied by' eerie screech- ings and wailings. The goat bells are heard only at 5:30 a. m. and at 7 p. m., when the small boys run through the one and only street of Zermatt and shout after the goats, which nibble on the red flowers in front of the largest hotel. The cow bells, however, can be heard constantly- that awful jangling Cthough some claim it's musicalb up and down the hillsides at the foot of the Matterhorn. When I Hrst heard those bells, I was humbly thankful not to have to live next to such a racket. But we were not spared, the worst was yet to come! There are church bells clanging all the time. One simply can not escape them. Thetownsfolk start off at 4 a. m. by ring- ing two bells of conliicting tones for fifteen. minutes without a stop. During the week only two bells are rung at a this scene of breathtaking beauty. I had at last discovered a spot left com- pletely untouched by the fast-moving world in which we live. Here was a scene virtual- ly the same now as it was a million years ago. WINI HARPER, '52 but Bells I ' A f ' .2I7.' ' . i 1-4 ' if 'V I ., l V V -1' ' Ivfff' ' Tk L V V. . FQ' ' - , . , 'V -- '59'l.'?.r . ' ' -' :I 'P' . - 'ff-ifv ill-. 'Tia . - I f . . i- . Q va-fl.e.ax,'.i,r,5,..'s'j', 4 gqgifse- . 1 . . , . ---2 . ' CAROL BOURNE, '51 time, whereas on Sundays ten of them clang together. CThere must be sixty, thoughlj All are of conflicting tones and completely inharmonious. These bells are neither musical nor rhythmical. They are simply fierce! The natives of Zermatt must certainly be immune to these bells. I think we were becoming immune to them, too, but not quickly enough. When someone mentions the name Zermatt , most people think immediate- ly of the Matterhorn. But I don't, I im- mediately think of bells. For me, these bells have really become an inseparable part of the character of Zermatt, and even though they nearly drove me crazy, I would, nevertheless, be terribly disap- pointed if I ever learned that these bells had stopped ringing. 4 ' MIGNON LINCK, '52

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everything. Lean dogs are slinking here and there around the village. The men return to tell me my hut in readiness for me to move into. This hut is made with poles, sticks, boka ia type of bambooj, mud, and grass. I inquire how it was made. They tell me that poles were put upright in the ground in a circle, then long sticks were tied on either side of the poles all the way around. Boca is placed upright on the outside of the sticks and tied. Mud is then placed all over this. The roof is thatched. The inside has a mud floor and mud walls. After I inspect my dwell- ing, I set up my camp cot and go out to join the natives. Do you Want to see our villagef' they ask. 'tBoyo CyesD, I say. The first thing I see is the inside of one of the huts. On four poles is a rude platform with a mat on which two or three people could sleep. There are two of these platforms. Earthen pots, spears, mats, bows and arrows are strewn around the room. It is apparent that the goats and chickens sleep in the hut with the natives at night. I am directed down a well-cleared path lflil I. . '.l,f - M 2 ' Q 'Viv' I I I ..-, A . ELLI RICKERT, '51 toward a stream. Here I see the women carrying pots of water ou their heads while others are filling theirs. The water is crystal clear and very cool. Wearily walk- ing back toward the village after seeing many interesting things, I notice the gar- dens where men are working in the cool of evening. At night I stand around the fire with the natives and have my meal While they eat theirs. After the meal we sit and talk about hunting experiences we have had. l go to sleep with joy in my heart that I have been able to visit this village and see the many different native customs and the people's way of living. ROY BRILL, '53 My Aquatic Refuge With a final adjustment of the air valves, I began my descent into the tepid crystal-blue Waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This was my first dive into the realm of Neptune. As the water flushed against my face mask, a tremendous sensation of excite- ment sped through my body only to be overshadowed by awe and amazement when I was completely submerged. There, spread before me, was a world of peace and tranquility never equalled in our world of air-breathers. I had never seen such an exquisite shade of aquamarine. The sunlight, reflected from the surface, sent lazy beams of prismatic colors .danc- ing along the ocean floor. Instead of a horizon there was a miraculous blending of the massy bottom with the enchanting water. This combination of color and at- mosphere reminded me of an oriental garden with soft lilting music filtering along the tide. Life in this newly found haven seemed to move at a pleasantly slow and easy pace, set to the rhythm of the ebbing of the tide. The long, deep-green seaweed, which covered virtually everything, swayed to and fro in the lazy, systematic motion of a pendulum doling out the seconds. Even

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My First American Christmas I was on the list of Displaced Persons from Holland for a year and ten months. Finally on December 16, 1945, the chance was given to me to go to America. Several hundred of us sailed on the eighteenth for the United States. This was my first chance to go on a ship, and I was so thrilled with the prospect that I almost forgot my belongings, what few there were. We had just about the poorest ac- commodations that were available, but it seemed we were riding in luxury com- pared with what we Were used to. We sailed for five days and five nights, and on December 23 I crept up on deck to get my Hrst glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. When we docked at tive o'clock, I was met by four of the most wonderful people I have ever known. There were Mrs. Janson, Mr. Janson, 15-year old Eve, 17-year old Lawrence, and Sparky, the cocker spaniel. When we got to their home on Long Island, Mrs. Janson explained that the house wa.sn't very neat because they were getting ready for Christmas. They all were very helpful, and I was delighted ELLI RICKERT, '51 2 1 with the room I was given, a bright, sunny room with white ruiiied curtains on all three windows. The furniture consisted of a bed, chair, bureau, dressing table, and a bedside table. I changed for dinner and went down stairs. After dinner everyone was busy wrap- ping packages, baking cakes, and cooking desserts, and Mr. Janson was out looking for what he called a Christmas tree, some- thing I had never heard of. When he came back, I saw that it was a big six- 'foot pine tree. He told me that they hung balls and tinsel and a lot of other things on it. He also said that they put presents under it and on Christmas day they opened them. We went to bed about nine-thirty and got up at eight. I did more to get in the way than to help, but altogether we got everything done. After dinner Mr. Janson brought in the tree, and after Watching a few minutes to see how it was done, I helped in the decorating. That night we all went to bed early with pleasant dreams. Everyone was up at six the next morn- ing, and in an hour the place looked as if a cyclone had gone through it. We all had a very pleasant day looking at each other 's presents, and that night I thought to myself that this had been the most wonderful Christmas I had ever ex- perienced. I knew I WES a very lucky person to have such wonderful foster parents. FREDA SCHENKEL, '53