Burr and Burton Academy - Burtonian Yearbook (Manchester, VT)

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THE BUPTONIAN a surveyor he was very accurate and some of the measurements he made are consldered ofiiclal today He was an excellent matnematlclan and records show that before he was slxteen he had as good a knowledge of th1s sclence as most college graduates have today He was a Hrm behever 1n the value of educatlon and was always actne 1n pxomotxng any project on thls hne As a farmer he was one of the flrst to mtroduce sclentlfic methods and he sought to make h1S farm a model for all others 1n Ameuca The achxevements of Washlngton wlll always l1ve ln our hearts and we must be ever grateful for what he d1d for our country The man Waslnnfrton d1ed many years ago but the personalxty of Washmgton can never dle Hxs advxce h1s lniluence IS wxth us stlll and must contmue wlth us as lone as there xs any heart left beatlng 1n a loyal Amerlcan breast We can be Justly proud of our country as we remember such leaders and heroes as Washmgton As we study hxs hfe hlS deeds h1s ldeals we feel an mspzratlon a challenge to that wh1ch IS best ln us to follow the thmgs we know are rlght and to make the most of the natural glfts m us And m nts deepest meanlng we cannot fa1l to see the Just1ce m the trrbute Fxrst 1n war first nn peace and first m the hearts of hlS countrymen' A DREAM By Barbara Young 32 To say tha I had slept tranqullly would be far from rlght All nlght I had been pursued by nameless people and met wlth terrors beyond descrxp tion At last after I had run a long ture through a forest wlth somethmg after me I came out 1nto a clearmg and found shelter 1n the house there When I had recovered my breath I was ve1y tlred and lonely and wandered almlessly to a wmdow I remember that lt had four panes Why that should have 1mpressed me I do not know From the wlndow could be seen a place somewhat l1ke a lawn on the other slde of wh1ch stood at least twelve of the most beautlful trees that I have ever seen I remember thlnkmg how nlce 1t would be lf another row as beautlful was on the other slde of them to form an avenue At that moment there came out of the woods ubehxnd the house a tall slum young man He walked toward the row of trees ln the clear space I watched hlm closely for I reallzed that somethxng dramatlc was about to happen The man seemed to me to possess a great deal of power and poxse He stopped about five feet from the trees and looked up at them Suddenly a great lxght shone on hlm and he slowly ralsed hls arms above hls head The whole row of trees slowly fell to the ground I say slowly because they dldnt crash hke most fallmg trees but seemed held 'back by a mxghty force The man lowered hls arms and the whole row stood up agaln as before The hght faded and the man dlsappeared I remember th1nk1ng to myself I mustnt forget thxs I mustnt forget thlS It means somethmg for me but what Whom can I ask? Then I remembered that ln all the tlme lt happened wh1ch wasnt long I saw only the mans back Never once dld he turn so I could see even his profile The next day I trxed to laugh xt off but I couldnt It seemed more symbollc than other dreams and I have thought of lt often smce Some day I should lxke to have someone mterpret It for me 24 x, . . ,. I . 1 e C , Q I , U , . I X 5 , Y , Y . v i , . . . . . H . . . , , . - - H , Y L . . . L ' A ' ' 1 A ' 1 , . , 7 Y 1 W 1 , . , . . , ,. . . , . , . , . ' V 1 . . . . , Y Y , - . . . , , X 1

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THE BURTONIAN 23 group of his oflicers about a. table for a prolonged dinner where there was much gaxety Indeed lt seems quite unreasonable to think that a man who knew as much sorrow and trouble as Washington did could have ever recovered from it had he not :been alble to let go completely at times in an unrestrained peal of laughter This Slde of his character has been neglected and almost forgotten He was not of course and did not try to be a clown or a humorist But lf one looks carefully in his writings he w1ll und many very lngenxus sudden and amuslng comments reactions and characterlza tions And in other people s writings We find many more instances which show his love of a good time There are instances too which show the presence ovf the opposite emotion 1n h1s life There were tlmes when h1s over burdened spxrlt gave way and he broke down and wept Once when his dearly loved little niece died and again when Arnold his loved and trusted officer tumed traitor A letter which Lord Fairfax wrote to Washxngtons mother while he was still a boy mentions several traits which he had at that time and which we may see he bore all his life He says the boy was unusually serlous for his age and was not a great talker He had an intellectual conscience he was very exact and method1cal and he was rather quick tempered which how ever the old gentleman said he believed George would learn to control As we never hear it spoken of later we may imply that Fairfax s prediction was well grounded He says also that the Hooy was a rather slow thinker but generally arrlved at Just conclusions As we see him in later life we see that he developed himself in this line to a high degree of perfection His president have withstood the test of tlme and appear as sound and unques tlonable now as ever and during the Revolution he worked out remarkable strategic tactics and though forced to make many qulck decisions lt appears that he made scarcely any mistakes in Judgment Then too his wonderful albxhty to control people must have come from a. careful most minute study of human nature There are other characterlstlcs of his which are so well known as to make lt unnecessary to descrnbe them again In ubattles h1s personal bravery and disregard of danger caused his friends much worry for his life Then there is his very rellgxous nature and deep rooted belief in God which pulled him through many try1ng times and bolstered up his spirits in hours of trouble His ability to reason clearly when all the odds were against hlm shows strength of the rarest and most magnificent type His magnamlnlty to a defeated enemy IS a trait of character perhaps not as widely realized although Just as much a part of him as any This IS probably one of the truest marks of a great leader In the same way he was always generous and gave away conslderalble money without expecting anything in return A man with the natural talents and physical albxlity of George Washington could scarcely fall to stand out among his fellows as unusual But to ralse himself to the leadershlp of a nation took good hard work He was not merely a leader in one field but in many fields in which he was interested We all know that he was leader of the American forces during the Revolu tion yet thls in itself necessitated that he be chxeff in many lines He had to be chief engineer chief of intelligence sanitary head an exceptional soldier a wlse Judge and a skillful statesman He had to advise Congress and then take Congress orders In clvilian life also he excelled in different ways As . , ' b . . Y , . y . y . - - J . i . , . I u' ' .an - , ' Q ' , ' , - , . . m 1 ' Y 4 ' v decisions and opinions as one of the founders of our government and as first . : . . . . 1 l . . . V . . . .V . , , . , , , . . . . . . .

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TLNINIS FL XXI 193, T' Qhvldun T lullu H bowler G Beckwith D Povkwlth I ROQEIS G Stonn Coach Swan TENS IS COURTS