Bristol High School - Green and White Yearbook (Bristol, RI)

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THE GREEN AND WHITE 7 “CAUGHT IN THE ACT” A big detective wearing a grey suit, bright tan shoes and a Derby hat. strolled leisurely along the sidewalk in a poor district of a large city. He was searching for clews to locate a bank robber who was last seen in this section of the city. The description the detective had of the criminal told that he wore a shabby pair of trousers, slouch hat, and a coat much too large for him. He was of medium height, fair of complexion, and had a small mustache. The detective soon reached a block where all the buildings looked worn and old. A peep through one of the windows of the oldest looking building in the block revealed a square court within, with many lines of wet clothes stretched in all directions; its sides hugged by rotten staircases that seemed vainly trying to clamber out of the rubbish. This place had everv appearance of being an excellent hiding place for this criminal. The detective gained entrance to the court thru a battered door. After passing the rotted staircase, he heard a steadv clicking, but he gave this little attention. Much to his surprise. he saw a man standing in a corner of the building with a club in his hands. This looked suspicious, so h immediatelv drew out his “blackjack and with a well aimed blow brought the man to the ground where be lapsed into unconsciousness without ever a groan. He grabbed the club and made readv to defend himself in case his victim should have help at hand. He cautiously peered around the corner and choked back a gleeful shout as h- saw his culprit sneaking along tin- old building, looking warily on all sides. Here was an opportunity of a lifetime. Twenty years a detective and no promotion yet; if lv captured this criminal and took him to headquarters—with a box of cigars for the chief—he would surely be recognized. He made a beautiful leap and knocked the man down. His fists flew for a full minute and he then indulged in the manly task of throwing his opponent from place to place. Suddenly a hollow-sounding voice shouted: That's plenty, let up. wi'l you. you'11 kill th poor fellow. He quickly stopped and look' d up into the smiling face of a small man with a megaphone in his hands. The stranger continued: Just because you had to act that scene over six times you needn’t get angry, but you sure did a good job. I think the poor fellow will recover.” The speaker th n noticed that he was not talking to the right man. Well, who are you and how came you to appear at the critical moment and carry out orders so well? I've been after that man all dav and he can't even act a sleeping scene.” I am Private McSnooze of the Doolittle Detective Agency.” replied the detective. I'm after this man for robbing the Crook Street Bank. His description fits perfectly with the one I have and 1 had orders to bring him in dead or alive so I barred nothing in my attack.” “No doubt you have your man. said the small man. “Our regular man was sick and this man. who has a very strong resemblance. came begging for a sandwich this morning; we signed him up until our man is better. But what happened to the man that was supposed to attack this fellow play-fullv? We are a motion picture company, explained the director, “and are working hard. In this scene the hero was in sad need of a clean shirt. He saw these clothes and proceeded to obtain a shirt while the wash woman's husband, who just finished hanging out a basket of clothes, was starting for the corner store. The hero was caught in the act and you know the rest. A check will be sent to you for your services and I hope you receive a promotion. Detective McSnooze took his victim to headquarters and will receive promotion as soon as those ahead of him retire. IRVING PEARSON. ’30. MY TRIP TO AFRICA AFTER BIG GAME I left New York July 8th on the ship “City of New York for Port Guinea, where the launch I had chartered would be waiting for me. The passage across the Atlantic was uneventful. Arriving in port on Friday, the 12th, I registered at the best Hotel and went to see about hiring a guide and a few natives as I wished to start into the jungle on Monday. After finding a suitable guide and some natives who were willing to go into the interior, I went to see if all was in readiness on the boat. Saturday and Sunday were uneventful as I did nothing but arrange the provisions that I thought we would need. 1 retired early Sunday night as 1 was to start the trip down the coast at five a. m. A few people I had met at the hotel came down to the wharf to wish my guide and myself godspeed and a safe re-turn. Arriving at the mouth of the Niger we stopped for a day’s rest before going into the interior. We started up the Niger with the natives (who were in dug out canoes) in tow. continuing up the river until we were nearly a hundred miles from the coast. We made cut headquarters where the natives immediately set to work making huts which were finished in comparatively short time. The first night in camp was peaceful enough, although near daybreak a few lizards ran over my bed. The lizards are not very abundant in this part of th- world as they are the chief food of the gila monster. The gila is of the lizard family and is the only poisonous lizard known to be in existence. The second day in camp we started into the interior after an antelope so that the natives could have a taste of fresh meat. We had only gone a few hundred yards when we came to a beaten path made by many animals, leading to a waterhole about a half mile below camp. We followed the path hoping to find a band of antelopes at the hole. On the way one of the natives who was in the lead came back to toward us yelling something in the native tongue. The guide who knew the native tongue fairly well told me that the natives would go no farther as there was a python (one of the largest snakes in the world)

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6 THE GREEN AND WHITE SPORTSMANSHIP A piece of Captain Jim’s mind. “Hello boys, what’s all this wind about? By gollv, I never heard such a chatter. You sound like a hunch of India’s sacred apes, that ye do. Come on now, can that gah and one of ycz tell me what is it all about. Sportsmanship is it ; well 1 never sailed on her hut.— what’s that. oh. go ahead. laugh, you don’t hear a joke as good as that too frequent. All through? Wal. as I was saying, I never shipped on her, hut I’m always glad to hear about any new vessel. Sportsmanship, y’ know boys, pears to me she ain’t a new one at-tall, just an old boat with a new name. What’s her old one? Why. I used to call her by several, but the best one’s Common Sense—just plain, ordinary common sense. What d’you think about it? Bill, what’s your meaning for sportsmanship? Hum. bein’ a good loser, eh, losing a race, or a fight, or your gal. without cryin’ about it. I suppose, and not actin’ mad, or as if your ship was sunk, and your best friend drowned, eh ? Mebbe so, sounds all right, got a good set of sails, spars seem to be strong, bottom’s good and clean, sure, she looks good; but there ain’t no wind. She won’t go a-tall. A feller can be that kind, and still be a blame poor sport. I ain’t done much winnin’; but what little I have. I find it’s just as hard to take right as losin’. Nothin’s easier than to get too big for your hat. if you win a good hard fight of any kind. Unless you’re the right kind of boy—’scuse me, mv mistake,—the right kind of man, you’re liable t’ get pretty chesty, and slap y’r self on th’ back, and mavbe get too high up in the clouds t’ speak to old Cap’ll Jim even, when you win the football game bv a two-mile run f’r a knockdown; what’s that? Oh. all right, f’r a touchdown then; don’t interrup’ me when I git sailin’ along at a good clip. I’m li’ble to jibe and break a spar,—well, as I was sayin’, you win the game by a touchout and act so puflfed up about it.that you do lose all your friends. You got to be a good sport to guard against that. And suppose you’re playin’ your best, and somebody else makes a mistake. You couldn't help it. but the game’s lost. If you’re a good sport, you won’t land on him with both feet, as the savin’ goes, and make fun of him and laugh at him, and make him mis’rable. iust because he made a mistake. That’s certainly common sense. Remember, you may make the next mistake, then where’ll you be? Then suppose you get in a fight. If you hit below the belt, or don’t fight fair, remember. the other fellow will be at liberty to do the same, and ten to one. he’ll do it. Sufferin’ catfish! I said I’d be home at 12 o’clock, and here ’tis ’most one. I'll have to hurry if I want my dinner hot. Just remember bovs, you’ll get what you give every time. Fight hard, but fight fair; be a game loser, and a modest winner, and you’ll come out on top. S’long boys, see you later. HENRY MASON, ’29. THE MERIT SYSTEM One day, at the beginning of thrt 1927-1928 school year, Mr. Lane, our principal, assembled the student body and faculty in the auditorium. He had what he felt was an important announcement to make. He announced that he was going to attempt to put into operation a Merit System. This system was to distinguish the all-around school activity students from those that did not co-operate and participate in school activities. This Merit System, as previously stated, was to consist of aM school activities, namely, scholarship, attendance, tardiness, banking, outside reading, school plays and organizations, sports, and other similar school activities. Although the intelligent and athletic students had an advantage, every pupil had an equal chance to win honors. The process of this plan was to be as follows: Each individual was to receive, if lie excelled in the above mentioned school activities. a certain number of points (graded as to their importance). The results were to b-determined bv finding the total number of points one had acciuired during a certain period of time, and the three bovs and three girls of each class that had scored the highest number of points were to be rewarded by receiving a certificate of merit. This Merit System has been in operation throughout th° school vear, and has succeeded. Manv puoils who would not hav excelled in scholarship alone, have had their abilities recognized. NICHOLAS PIRRI, ’28. MY IDEA OF SUCCESS What profits the gambler with his winnings? What profits the fool with his pranks? What profits the man with an umbrella on a desert, and what good does it do a man to have arms, legs, eyes and mouth, if he doesn’t bring these into use to attain something? At the age of seventeen or eighteen, a person gets his chance in life. Docs opportunity knock at the person’s door? Or does he have to knock at opportunity’s door? That’s it. He has to knock on opportunity’s door but where can he find it in order to knock? He finds it in his own will-power, his own soul. Now that he has found his opportunity shall he stop there or continue on? He must go ahead; so long as he is on the right road to success. The footprints of others who have turned back must not influence him. He should jump into the track of someone who has attained success. He is the man who has trod that road and left his course clear for one to follow. One who follows his footprints will get there, to success. He may have had to stop in that road to jump over a muddy hole but he will not forget. After a severe snow-storm or rain, the sun will always shine. JOSEPH NAVACK. ’29.

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8 THE GREEN AND WHITE laying in the middle of the path. The guide and I went to the front of the line and soon came within sight of the snake. We advanced a few feet more and raising our rifles which were Remington thirty-sixes, fired at the snake at the same time. The snake gave a few quivers and died. Upon measuring the snake we found it to he twenty feet long and nearly a foot thick. Two natives came forward and began skinning the snake while we continued on to the waterhole. I being a little in advance, saw to my surprise as we neared the hole a band of ten or twelve antelopes. I waited for the guide to come to my side and as we raised our rifles a tiger leaped from the brush at the side of the band and killed an antelope in less time than it takes me to tell it. The band started forward the minute the tiger leaped and were soon in front of us. but upon seeing us they turned and went off over to our right. All were gone before we had time to shoot, but we remembered the tiger across the opening and just as the tiger was preparing to drag his kill into the woods, we shot and upon nearing we saw that we had broken both of his fore legs. It took but one more bullet to finish him and cutting down two stout poles, we tied the feet of the tiger and the antelope to the poles, and with a native at each end of the poles, proceeded to camp. That night in the middle of the feast two sets of eyes were seen surveying the camp. I being in the darkest part of the camp raised mv rifle and fired two consecutive shots which brought all the natives to the spot where I was standing. Following my gaze thev saw a lion lying on its back with blood flowing from his mouth and nose. All was peaceful that night after the friendly visit of Mr. Lion. Next morning the natives skinned the lion and threw his carcass into the river. Tn a few moments the carcass was surrounded by many heads and was soon torn apart by the hungry alligators. We stayed in the jungle region for another month adding to our collection of skins. On Thursday, September 15th, we set out to go back to’ civilization and home where I gave the skin of the python and several other animals to the American Museum of Natural Historv. LAWRENCE ASHTON. ’30. HARVARD’S “GRAND ALLIANCE” The Grand Alliance was rejoicing. Harvey Humphreys—one of the members, was going to Amsterdam; at least Otto Gantz, whose father was a vice president of a chain of meat markets, and Roale Romanoff, a Russian lad, thought so. When these young men entered Coltian. they became close friends. Some witty sophomore, because of the nationalities of the .boys—English, German, and Russian, and be cause of their friendship had named them the “Grand Alliance.” Otto was a tall, strong, and rather clumsy led, Roale had the charm and grace of a dancing master, but Harvey possessed the combined characteristics of both. As an “all around track star. Harvey was a marked success. He was especially good in various sprints and had equalled Charlie Paddock’s record in the hundred yard dash that very day, the last practice before the “big three” meet. Otto and Roale were sure Harvey would go to the Olympic games, decidedly so. providing he were to win the hundred yard dash on the morrow. Crayton's best man in the hundred yard dash was very good, but the real trouble was the Siddell's man, Dalton, who would win if it were necessary to employ foul means. That night about ten o’clock, Harvey was rudely shaken from his berth in the training quarters. “Snap out of it. someone hissed near him —then there was a long silence. Harvey reached for his clothes and fumbled for a match. Striking it, he found a letter addresed to himself. Opening it he read: “Harvey dear, “Please come at once. We need you. “Elizabeth.” Harvey was a quick thinker and he instantly made up his mind. Hastily dressing in the dark he crawled out a window and hurried to the boys' dormitories. He threw three pebbles in quick succession at his chum’s window, and responding to the signal the “Grand Alliance held a council of war. Harvey told of the letter and outlined his plan. “I think it's some plan to get me out of tomorrow’s race,” he said, “but we’ll go to Betty's home and see if she’s all right.” The “Grand Alliance” all were letter men. Harvey, Otto, and Roale had each won a H” three times. Harvey had a track letter, Otto was a tackle on the foot ball team and Roales light feet and wirey body had won him a fencing letter. Dashing up Main street, scores of people turned their heads to watch three young men in scarlet sweaters, dodge in and out of the homeward bound movie throngs. Soon they were in the residential section of the city of Cambridge. Mass., and the three boys walked slowly until they came to Elizabeth Rowland’s home. Harvey stood still and pointed to a shadow outlined against the white wall of the house. The “Grand Alliance” squatted down on the grass and had a second war council. Upon rising again, Harvey stealthily went up the front porch and Otto and Roale crawled around to the side. The prowler, evidently was looking in the living room window. Otto crept up behind and punched him in the back of the head. Immediately the man slumped to the ground. Roale made an effective gag out of a hand-herchief, and both boys bound the sneak’s hands and feet with their belts. They then crept around to the other side of the house to see if there were any more visitors. Meanwhile Harvey who had been ringing the front doorbell and receiving no answer gave the door a push and entered the hall. In the dimly lighted room on a chair, tied and fagged so that she could not more was Betty. Harvey untied her and when she could speak