Camden High School - Megunticook Yearbook (Camden, ME)

Page 32 text:

28 HMEGUNTICOOKU were hitting about 115 M.P.H., and making contact with the road ap- proximately every 50 feet, the front tire went flat! The machine then turned into a roaring demon, and the situation not being helped any by the gibbering idiot on back hollering for more speed, tore off the road, clear- ing its own path through the woods. Later, much later, we came to a skid- ding halt safe and sound on top of a hill from where we could safely coast into town. You know, sometimes I think if it wasn't for these dreams, life would really get me down. Jack Henderson '49 WESTMORE It was a damp, cold night when Vir- ginia returned home from work on the twenty-seventh of January. She was a singer in a third-rate night club in the lower east section of the city, not far from home, where she lived with her invalid father, Her- bert James. He had been an invalid since the first World War, most of which time he spent in an army hospital. Here he had met Marjorie, his understand- ing nurse, whom he later married. She was from a wealthy family and he very successfully played the stock market. By the time Virginia was born they had a lovely home in the residential section of a popular city. They called their home, West- more . Life went smoothly and was always very gay. The day before' Virginia was to leave for a very fashionable boarding school, however, two tragedies oc- curred. Wall Street crashed and Mar- jorie was instantly killed by an auto- mobile. These two factors considerably changed many things. Virginia did not go to Miss Fleming's. This was her own decision, she loved her fa- ther dearly and did not want to leave him alone. Slowly, one by one, the servants were discharged and then, the thing that broke both their hearts, Herbert sold Westmore . He bought a very small house in a poorer section of the city, they would just live here temporarily, of course, till conditions were better and they could perhaps even buy Westmore back. They lived as carefully as they could, with just one lady coming in daily to do the cooking and a little cleaning. Virginia went to the neighborhood high school, which was much differ- ent from the type of school she was used to. At first she was considered a snob, somehow she did not mind, but after several weeks of being ter- ribly lonely she tried to make friends. She did make friends, but of the wrong kind. Her father realized this, but she would not listen. He saw his daughter changing as well as the neighborhood, it seemed to look cheaper and poorer every day. One year later Virginia, Ginny, as her friends called her, graduated from high school. She no longer talked of going to music conserva- tory, and she now only sang, as Her- bert said, Hcheap and noisy songs of the clubs . Herbert suggested more than once that she try for a scholar- ship of some kind, but she was not interested. She got a job in a small store not far down the street. She was through working at tive, but never came home until almost midnight. This worried her father tremendously, and she would never tell where she spent her evenings. She never brought her friends home, Herbert disliked them and they despised him. The old fogy, said Red one day. Please don't say that, Red I I'll say it if I wanna, see! You know, without that pa of yours, Ginny, you'd be a lot nicer. He talks to you too much. This was the way all of Virginia's friends talked to her, and after a year or so of it, she believed it. She often found herself wishing that

Page 31 text:

CAMDEN, MAINE 27 to be treated like any other boy my age. The car stopped outside a two- story house. Well, John, my boy, I will speak to your mother and see about all these things. You put your case over very well. The boy's face was shining with joy and pride. Gee! thanks, Dad, he whispered. Peggy Connelly '50 THE MISSING LINK The fog rolled in from the harbor in a thick blanket which enveloped the dimly lighted street. From a far corner, a man walked slowly along. As he came nearer, I noticed that his collar was up and his hat was pulled down into his eyes. Also his clothes were shabby and unpressed. It's funny, I thought, what a difference two years could make, just twenty- four short months. Maybe you won- der what connection I have with this man, well, it's a long story . . . Several years ago this same man was president of a large importing firm. The world lay at his feet. Oh, yes, he was important, very impor- tant. But as all great men, he would meet his downfall. It all happened one night when his junior partner was found murdered. It wasn't one of those carefully-plotted story-book murders, because all the evidence pointed towards one man. News- papers flashed the headlines-- Presi- dent of Importing Firm Murders Partner . The reason was supposed to be money. It seems the senior partner was discovered by the junior partner embezzling some of the com- pany's funds. A quarrel started and in the confusion the younger man was killed. All this was reported by the janitor, a man of no importance. During all the publicity it was re- vealed that the black satchel contain- ing the embezzled money was miss- ing. Even after futile days of search- ing it wasn't found. But still the trial continued, and the president was found guilty and sentenced to two years' imprisonment on a decision of self-defense . . . As he spoke, the rays from the street light played on the figure of a wealthy-looking man. He was well- dressed and on his left hand was a large diamond ring. But let us trace this speaker back several years, to the night of the murder. At this time an insignificant janitor burned a small black satchel and moved to an- other town. Could this be the same man, now prosperous, living off the spoils of another's murder? He moved along down the street with a knowing smile on his lips. Because here was the missing link to a por- tion of the police files marked- Money Missing. Betty Thurston '50 ONE OF MY WILDER DREAMS I was walking along a country road one day when I noticed a sign on the lawn of a very expensive-looking farm. It read, Am Selling Every- thing at Great Sacrifice-Moving to S. America? Out of curiosity I wandered into the spacious barn where most of the selling seemed to be taking place. There was nothing very interesting and I was just turning to go when I sighted a Harley-Davidson 3-wheeled delivery model sitting under the raft- ers with a price of 310. I immediate- ly dug out the major part of my earthly fortune and bought the rig. I was just starting for home, which was about 11 miles away, when I saw C. Joyce standing beside the road, looking very folorn. His car had broken down. I offered him a ride and he very skeptically accepted. We tore off down the road and shift- ed into high. At 65 the machine hopped into automatic over-drive! It leaped ahead throwing gravel from under the drive wheel. Joyce, with his glasses hanging from one ear, was screaming, Faster, faster! At every bump in the road, fand there were plentyl my hand jerked the throttle open a little more! When we

Page 33 text:

CAMDEN, MAINE 29 something would happen to him, and she could sell their dump and marry Red. After six months in the store she found herself bored and tried to find something else. Tony Black, the owner of the Silver Star, discov- ered her voice and hired her. She liked working thereg the money was good and she met so many people. It did not take her long, however, to learn that the Silver Star was a cover-up for a gang of criminals, Tony, of course, being the leader. She was continually getting more and more involved in their dishonest dealings. The police suspected all this but had no proof. They told Her- bert and he immediately asked her about it. She would admit nothing and left the house right away. She went to Tony and told him that Her- bert and the police knew everything. He was furious and threatened to kill her, but she pleaded and con- vinced him that she had told nothing. She went home trembling, know- ing that Tony was going to do some- thing drastic. Red was now a member of the gang and he had always said that he would get even with Herbert. She quarrelled terribly with her fa- ther when she got home and she could not get to sleep when she finally went to bed. Her whole life seemed to pass in front of her. She realized how wrong she had been and was about to run to her father and beg forgiveness when she remembered Tony and Red and all the other crook- ed people she was now a part of. Their friends would never accept her now and they would blame Herbert for everything. She hardly slept all night and went out immediately after breakfast the next morning. Herbert was wise, he saw a differ- ent look in his daughter's eyes, min- gled with the restrained tears that were there when she spoke to him. He had heard her tossing and turn- ing all night, and he was sure that he had heard her crying. Although he said nothing, he had unconsciously forgiven her for all her mistakes. This brings us to the beginning of our story. As I said, it was a damp, cold night when Virginia returned home from work on the twenty-seventh of Janu- ary. She did not see me standing be- hind the car parked across the street. She entered the house cautiously as if she expected to see something un- pleasant. She switched on the light and a second later a blood-curdling scream came from within. Yes, Herbert was dead - shot through the head - and Virginia knew who had done it. I, the district attorney, motioned to my men to be on guard. I was go- ing to try to get Virginia into my car and to the police station where she would be safe. I expected a fight, she would, of course, think that she was being arrested for the murder of her father, which was not true. As I put my hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it, a shot was heard and a body crumpled to the floor. We were thirty seconds too late. Yes, Virginia James had taken her own life. She lay at the feet of her father who sat dead in his wheel- chair. She seemed to be begging his for- giveness, and somehow I feel that in the next world, free from cheap and dishonest people, they will again find Marjorie and peace and live together in another Westmore. Karen Hein THOSE CAMDEN STARS! You say you didn't know we had any? Well, grab a chair and prepare for a shocking expose of Camden's part in the State Inter-scholastic Track Meet. After a thrilling cross-country hare and hound chase consisting of three cars loaded to the gunwales with athletes and funny little teach- ers, they arrived at Colby Campus, the race being won by the great Le- roy Young.