Bromfield High School - Beacon Yearbook (Harvard, MA)

Page 23 text:

Brrnmiijzel.-gl BG acon of obscurity to heights of recognition. After many months of rejection by editors, he sold his first article, To the Man on the Trail to the Oncrlanrl Monthly for the meager sum of five dollars. The beginning of a new century marked the beginning of Jack Lon- don's successful writing career. He set for himself a daily quota of a thousand words which he wrote early each morning. One of Jack's many hindrances in life was his unceasing craving for liquor. From early childhood the shadow of John Barleycorn had followed Jack London, first tormenting him, then delighting him. It took almost his whole lifetime for Jack to free himself from his thirst for alcohol. He told of these experiences in his book, John Barleycorn. After Jack's unsuccessful marriage to Bess Madden, he left her and their two daughters and began lecturing in Chicago. Once again Jack married. This time he chose Charmain, a girl who, like himself, loved adventure. The happy couple bought a ranch which Jack named The Valley of the Moon. By 1905 Jack London, the vagrant-the drunk -was the most fam-ous and highest paid author in America. Even with fame, Jack was lonely for the call of the sea gulls and the smell of the ocean, so again he followed the beckoning finger of adventure. After many months of discouraging defeats in the building of his newest craft, The Snark, Jack and Charmain set out for a cruise around the world. Just twenty-seven days out of San Francisco, Jack sighted Pearl Harbor. The happy couple were greeted by throngs of Hawaiians, who were shouting and singing. They spent months cruising the South Seas, having what Jack called his first vacation . The trip got no further for Jack became ill with a tropical disease and returned home to his ranch. Following his recovery he turned out two books which were greeted with little enthusiasm by the public: the Iron Heel and a biographical novel, Martin Eden. His next venture was to build a stone mansion. The cost was tremen- dous, but after many, many weeks of impatient waiting, the marvelous structure was finished. The night after its completion the mansion was gutted by fire. In 1916 Jack and Charmain wintered in Hawaii hoping that there Jack could regain his failing health. Upon his return to America Jack began living in a world of semi-realism, refusing to do anything to prolong his life of forty-one years. No one can ever know whether it was by accident that Jack took a fatal dose of medicine on the morning of November 22nd, 1916. The story of Jack London's remarkable life and climb to fame will live forever in the minds of the millions who loved and admired his courage and genius. Barbara C. Benjamin Pcrqe Twenty-one

Page 22 text:

Bromfiield. Beacon On our way home after the show we stopped at Howard J ohnson's for dinner. Prize speaking was held again this year. Frank, Wayne, and Jane went to Littleton for the finals where Frank won honorable mention. Just before our April vacation, Mr. Dunlap announced our parts for graduation, so we could have something t-o do during our week off. Now on this night of June twenty-third the history of our four years at Bromfield comes to an end, but in our hearts the affection for Bromfield will live forever. Sk Pl! Dk THE LIFE OF JACK LONDON In 1876 Jack London was born in San Francisco, the son of an itiner- ant Irish astrologer and Flora Wellman, a music teacher. When her son was but a few months old, Flora Wellman married John London, who gave his name to the child. In 1878 wanderlust struck the Londons, who gathered their few be- longings and moved to Oakland. As Jack grew older, he acquired paper routes which took him along the waterfront lined with saloons with which he later became so well acquainted. Life along the coast was fascinating to the adventure-hungry boy. There lay at anchor ships from distant ports, and each vessel spoke to him of far-flung adventures. Another gateway soon opened for Jack, and through it he stepped into the world of books. Throughout all his life Jack treasured these books. The year 1889 saw a small victory for Jack. He was graduated from Oakland Cole Grammar School and then, unwillingly but out of necessity, he worked for a time earning enough to support his dependent family. From his small wages Jack managed to save a few dollars to buy a leaky, second-hand skiff and spent his leisure hours sailing the Estuary and San Francisc-o Bay. The moon danced on the chopping waves as the Razzle Dazzle, J ack's newest investment, responded to his will. The thrill of his first raid on the oyster beds long lived in the b0y's memory as did his new title, Prince of the Oyster Pirates . This was a short-lived adventure, for Jack's con- science began to pirate his everyday thoughts. At the age of nineteen, Jack entered Oakland High School, supporting himself meanwhile. He then attended the University of California at Berkeley. Inevitably the call of the Yukon trumpeted in Jack's ears. Soon he had crossed the Divide seeking gold, had wintered in the Northland, and had graduated from a cheeckako to a veteran of the gold rush. His efforts left him penniless, and his zest for this great adventure suddenly evaporated. Back in Oakland Jack realized that the love of writing seethed in his veins. Although he had experienced much disappointment, his articles earning barely postage money, Jack was determined to rise from his pit Poqe Twenty

Page 24 text:

E Z:lBrom9iel.cl BG3.iCOT1'm3 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MASSACHUSETTS As far back as the year 1000 legend has it that Eric the Red and his Norsemen touched what is now known as Massachusetts, calling it Vinland or Wineland. Explorers came to our coast from time to time over a period of six hundred years. Discontented English farmers read with enthusiasm John Smith's ac- counts of his New England journeyings written in 1614, as he wrote of Many iles all planted with corne: groves, mulberries, salvage gardens, and good harbors. The landing of the Pilgrims in 1620 established democratic govern- ment on the continent in accordance with their Mayflower Compact . Dissatisfaction caused the Puritans to come to New England seeking religious freedom. In the year 1629 a royal charter was granted to the Massachusetts Bay Company to govern land granted to the Puritans. This charter was the foundation of our democratic government. It provided for two general courts to carry on the afairs of state: the first was to consist of all freemen and was to elect the constituents of the second court, which was made up of the governor, deputy-governor, and eighteen assistants. When John Winthrop brought to Salem the prized charter, democratic government was assured. More immigrants came in the years following. ln 1640 the twenty-year-old colony numbered about 16,000 settlers. Con- stant growth with democratic form of government formed our present background. Towns lying around a central green developed the township so characteristic of New England. Individual families dependent entirely upon themselves for the necessities of life developed that Yankee ingenu- ity which has resulted in the rugged individualism of New Englanders. The town meeting was practiced, which so greatly contributed to the present national government. About 1660, when the Stuarts were restored to the throne in England, there came stricter c-ontrol, which New Englanders strongly resisted. Losing their charter in 1684 they fell under the Dominion of New England and the rule of Sir Edmund Andros. Continued resistance to the will of the crown led to their being placed under a provisional government when James II fied in 1688. They became a royal colony in 1691 under a governor appointed by the crown with, how- ever, the right to two legislative houses and the abolishment of the require- ment that a voter be a church member. Due to the series of wars between France and England during much of the eighteenth century the pressure of English control let up. Yet inas- much as the colony traded with the mother country's foes and did not pay a part of the war expenses, the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act of 1764 and 1765 were put into effect. Resistance in many forms brought about the repeal of the Sugar Act in 1766. This by no means eased matters as other suppressive moves caused constant unrest in the form of defiance of each new ruling. The Boston Massacre of March fifth, 1770, was a strong and vivid forerunner of the Revolutionary War. The Tea Act, the Boston Tea Page Twenty-two