Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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The Awakening by LAWRENCE HAAS, 812 Illustrated by john Sanchez, 810 In the Northern Ramapos there stands a small cliff on the side of a moun- tain, All about it the virgin hemlock tow- ers high above the forest floor. There is a small crevice in the side of the cliff, long battered by winds and gales. In the trees above, brightly colored warblers are singing merrily, while throughout the forest, sunbeams are widely scattered. One beam falls on the crevice, lighting the entrance. Slowly, two eyes open, two nostrils scent the warm pure air, the ears that are not hear the singing of the birds above, and a small body begins to live. A young timber rattler, having slept throughout the winter, awakens to the joys of spring. Happily, he vibrates his tail, and the buzz- ing sound that he hears pleases him. Slowly, and rather awkwardly, he moves toward the entrance and as he nears it, warm beams of sunlight fall upon his body, He pauses. Then he moves on to- ward the forest floor. The going is slow, but why hurry? As he enters the forest, the friendly shadows close over him. He stops! His sensitive tongue has picked up the sound of tramp- ing feet, and before he can turn about, two boys break through the brush. They see him and stop short. He sees one of the boys cutting a limb from a small maple. He does not understand what is going on. His nervousness causes his tail to rattle, giving off a buzzing sound. But now it does not please him. Suddenly he finds himself pressed to the ground. He thrashes his body about wildly, and finds himself loose, striking in every direction. Then he ceases. His brain is numb from a heavy blow, Life is slowly ebbing from his body. He is dy- ing, but he does not want to leave the pine scented forest, he wants to hear the birds singing, the frogs croaking, and the l. He is dead. In the Northern Ramapos there stands a small cliff on the side of a mountain, and all about is virgin hemlock, and as soft shadows of evening fall, the crickets and katydids can be heardg but above their sawing is audible the buzzing of a young rattlesnake, as it calls to its mate, calling in vain. 5

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The Blueprint Staff William Enes, Editor-in-Claieff Charles Lichtenberger, Art Editorf William Jaques, john Costain, Arroriaie Editors. DEPARTMENTS LITERARY-Thomas Coronis, Oscar Dieterich, Arnold Edwards, Paul Hubbe, Francis jopp, Eli Kanew, William Knudsen, Herbert Lowe, Benjamin Maksym, Alfred Meliere, joseph Milgram, John Schepp, Norman Schwarz, Robert Search, Eugene Sokoloff, Ludwig Vetere. ART-Stanley Bentzen, Arthur Berlin, jack Berrill, Frank Blumetti, Alfred D'Aquino, jesse Davis, Frederich Elbrecht, Ivan Hogan, Henry Kane, Jack Levine, Richard Raushkolb, john Sanchez, Hyman Spieler, Hector Tomassi, Nicholas Vitko, Robert Vogel, john Wachter, joseph White- head, Henry Zelwian. PHOTOGRAPHERS-joseph Milgram, Robert Taub, Robert Bearse. SENIOR SUBSCRIPTION-Donald Chilton, joseph Milgram, Nathan DuShey, Harvey Foure, Norman Schwarz, Emanuel Costas, Joseph Carman, Frank Claro, Albert Lemaire, William Jaques, john Flannigan, john Costain, Henry Mangels. SCHOOL SUBSCRIPTION-Members of English Department. CIRCULATION-Members of English OHice Squad. TECHNICAL-The Marlin Printing Co., Primingf Scientihc Engraving Co., Engmvingp The Arthur Studios, Porlmitr and Groupr. ADVISORY-Mr. Philip Gucker, Mr. Alexander Flaumenhaft, Literary and Burinerrg Mr. Louis Sandhusen, Art. Culture: The Foundation In these days of the specialized job and the highly trained Workman, all too little emphasis is placed on the importance of a cultural background. Especially is this likely to be true in a technical school such as ours. From incoming freshmen, who hasten with unbounded interest to their Industrial Processes lecture rooms, to seniors who stroll blissfully to their shop classes, we stress technical subjects. True, this is a specialized school, but subjects such as English, History, or French are not given to fill up an otherwise empty program, nor are they given merely because they are required for entrance to college. The importance of these cultural subjects is not recognized until, as seniors, we apply for admission to college. The first marks most universities look for are often in just these subjects which we tend to ignore. These subjects stand us in good stead when we apply for a position in the business world: The prospective employer of an engineer expects the applicant to be more or less well grounded in the fundamental principles of engineering, but he discovers the applicant's abilities largely in terms of the ability to express himself, and to impress the interviewer. In other words, upon entrance into the college of hard knocks we are forced to sell ourselves. Our penmanship, our diction, our ability to state clearly and accurately what we mean, and our knowledge of common ideas are the things that do the selling, The ability to make a good impression is first and fundamental. Lacking this, we may never get an opportunity to make use of the specialized knowledge upon which we pride ourselves. THE EDITOR 4

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Oasis by PETER LAURIDSEN, 713 Illustrated by Hector Tomassi, 712 In the middle of a war-torn, battle-scarred area, raggedly plowed by shot and shell until it presented a picture of utter desolation, there lay a small field, somehow still unscathed by the claws of this mad war-fury of mankind. Here all was serene and quiet. The outside din and devastation did not seem to penetrate this last outpost of nature. It seemed indeed quite another world to the young soldier who weariedly stumbled onto this oasis of life, so surrounded by death. Instinc- tively he felt that here he could get the rest that every fiber of his body seemed to be crying for. Here he could sleep and be in harmony with everything that lived. Here at last was a field where everything 6 lived and was ton- tent to let live in peace and harmony. Private john Doe awoke after a re- freshing sleep. Stretching lazily, his eyes still heavy with sleep, he heard a humming drone. The thought of airplanes flashed through his mind, but it proved to be merely a honey bee angrily buzzing J U43 -alight around. Presently the bee alighted on his hand, which, as he stirred in wakeful- ness, had covered the flower the bee was earnestly draining of nectar. Instinctively he raised the other hand on its errand of destruction in an offensive defense against a potential sting. Meanwhile high over head, returning from a successful flight over enemy terri- tory, a lone plane really was passing. The patch of green, unscarred by shell holes, did not escape the watchful eyes of the young pilot. Its peaceful contrast to sur- rounding evidence of destructiveness caused the pilot to nose down his plane for a closer lookg and then his scrutiny disclosed the helpless enemy. Ha! Another feather in his cap, and an easy one at that! Back on the ground reason had taken