Bromfield High School - Beacon Yearbook (Harvard, MA)

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---V rg- ..- --..,. ,,.-...1Yv -vm- ----q..w.'- Y--. Bif om? ieiLcl B e acer. members of the city and town departments protect the citizens and their property. Sometimes the question is asked, Why should a policeman command respect? He tries faithfully to carry out his duties in serving his com- munity. He stands ready at a moment's notice to give his life in order to protect the citizen and his property. Therefore he should have the coop- eration and respect of all. Donald R. Crowther THE AUTOMOBILE The automobile industry has come a long way in the past sixty years, for in 1895 there were four automobiles in the United States and in 1949 there were 44,670,588 cars, buses, and trucks in the country. Today an automobile is just another convenience to us, but let us look back upon some of the trouble men had in putting the car, as it is called today, on the road. People did not like the automobile at first and made laws against it, some of which were that a man had to walk sixty yards in front of a car with a red flag to warn the people on horsebackg if a per- son on a horse put up his hand that signal meant that the car must stop. Another law declared that the speed limit was to be two miles an hour in the city and four miles an hour in the country. In the early days of the autom-obile, cars were very expensive because almost all the parts were hand made, but when Henry Ford developed his idea of the assembly line the price of the car was greatly reduced. The majority of the people could then afford a car. Painting the wooden bodies presented another problem because the paint would blister. Then the car bodies were put in heated sheds to dry. A new paint, which dried in a matter of hours was developed. Later metal bodies replaced the wooden ones. Today you see very few wooden ones. Ford wanted a poor man's car . With the aid of the assembly line he put a car on the road which was easy to repair and inexpensive to operate. By this time other makes, such as the Buick, Dodge, and Oldsmobile were appearing. Today we have many kinds from which to choose. The automobile today may be purchased at a cost of S1400 to S6000 depending on the buyer's tastes and pocket-book. There are many extras which may be purchased. Some are the radio, the clock, white-walled tires, seat covers, directional signals, and spotlights. Automatic transmissions such as the Dynafiow in the Buick, Hydra- matic in the Pontiac, and Powerglide in the Chevrolet make driving a pleasure. These automatic transmissions save wear on the tires and there is no clutch to burn out. There are many new motors almost all of which are the V-8 type, which develop great horse-power. These can be found in the Oldsmobile, Chrysler, and Studebaker. Page Twenty-one --1

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Bromzig eLd. Beacon faction of relaxation and the spirit to compete against others all through 1 e. Ernest A. Cregar, Jr. .111- CITY AND TOWN POLICE In almost all our large towns and cities, civil service examinations are required for new members of the police department. Examinations are given annually, and the list of the citizens who take them are given to the Mayor. A new member is appointed when a member of the police department retires. In towns where examinations aren't required the chief of police, patrolmen, and reserve officers are appointed by the select- men. In Harvard only the chief of police, reserve and special police are appointed. Boston has a commissioner at the head of its large police department. Under his command are the following: commanding officers, deputy chiefs, captains, lieutenants, sergeants and patrolmen. Smaller cities have a Chief of Police instead of a Commissioner as the head of the police department. A chief of police has a great many responsibilities. He has authority over all the men in the department as well as over equipment used. In the town or city where he is Chief, he has to enforce all the laws, ordinances, by-laws and regulati-ons that are carried out by the police department. He is also responsible for preparing cases for court in the town or city. The Chief carries many more responsibilities besides these. In the city the commanding ofiicers under him assist him in every pos- sible way. Many types of records are kept by them. Deputy chiefs, cap- tains, and lieutenants all have the same amount of responsibility in that they are the heads of the station houses located in districts known as pre- cincts. They follow out the assignments given to them by the Chief or Commissioner, but these men train for higher positions in case a member is absent, retires, or dies. A very important member of the department is the Sergeant. He has full charge of the patrolmen on duty under his command. Cities and prob- ably some towns have a roll call each morning. All the men are inspected for neatness of uniform and equipment used. Necessary equipment includes a badge, revolver and sutiicient cartridges, police club, notebook and pencil to be carried by all members of all departments in each town and city. There are night and day patrolmen in cities and in large towns. Patrolling the streets by walking or driving a car is done almost always by these patrolmen. They direct strangers to their destinations, at night they check stores and homes for unlocked doors, they are familiar with their route of duty, and they keep in touch with suspicious persons. Some towns have a Chief on call twenty-four hours a day. In Harvard a reserve ofiicer becomes Acting-Chief when the Chief of Police is absent. In a large town the Sergeant becomes the acting Chief of Police. The Page Tweniy

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ilgarnms z eta Be aicon U3 There is a great future for many young men in the automobile business and there are a great many fields to enter. There is the salesman who sells the car. It is up to him to make sure you get what you want as far as color and style go. This is a high paying job, but the hours are endless. The mechanic must tell you what is wrong with your car. He keeps it running smoothly. This job requires a detailed knowledge of all makes of cars. Some mechanics specialize in one make of car or even in one special part like the transmission. Thus some garages have a transmission-man or a motor- tune-up man. These are just a few of the fields open in the automobile industry to the young men of today. Paul R. Curley THE FIVE HILLS OF HARVARD Strangers who see Harvard for the first time are impressed with the beauty'of its hills. Perhaps they do not realize the part that these hills have played in the history of the town. It was over these hills that the Indians followed their trails, keeping always on the high ground. Such trails became so worn and well marked that the white settlers naturally used them until they became the roads and highways of today. It was from such high points that the tribes sent their smoke messages over the countryside. The hills of Harvard are part of the Wataquadock chain which extends westward through Bolton and Berlin towards Worcester. Each hill had its own special interest and beauty. The most beautiful and most widely known is Makamacheckamuck now called Prospect Hill. Command- ing the Nashua Valley, what a part it must have played in the years long past! How many war parties assembled there and searched the far-off hills of Shirley and Lancaster for signs of the enemy, or perhaps watched the enemy gliding down the river unaware of the look-out on the heights above? At a later date Prospect Hill was to see the trial and failure of the experiment of Bronson Alcott and his associates at Fruitlands, now the site of the most interesting museums of our countryside. The shrill whistle of the locomotive in the valley and the boom of guns of Fort Devens have replaced the piercing war cry of the Indians. From the Pin Hill quarries came the slate used in great quantities in local cemeteries and buildings. Today the abandoned quarries on the bleak hill top are only a memorial of earlier days. Bare Hill, holding within the circle of its reach the pond known as Bare Hill Pond, provided a fine hunting and fishing ground for the Indians. It was originally called the Bare Hill because it was the custom of the Indians to set a fire around their villages in November: the fire swept through the woodlands and destroyed the underbrush leaving the hill bare. In that way the land was prepared for the rich dairy farms of Bare Hill - which later gave way to the famous Harvard peach and apple orchards of the present time. Page Twenty-two