Clifton High School - Rotunda Yearbook (Clifton, NJ)

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THE REFLEC TOR grunted an' rolled over on his stummik. Arter a while Ole found a newspaper wrapped around the salt pork bait and commenced readin' 'loud. It seems thet people had been a' goin' crazy with histeriks around thet part o' Florida from stayin' out in the hot sun too long. Ole found a piece in the paper thet told all about it and read it through to Brownie. When he was finished, he told Brownie, 'Yo' better not lay in thet sun. Yo' go crazy like them peepulf Twarn't no use, though. Brownie jus' grunted an' shifted his back square inter the blazin' sun. From then on Ole read his paper to himself. On an' on he read, an' the sun got hotter an' hotter. just as Ole was dozin' off, Brownie gave a yell and started jumpin' up an' down around the deck. Ole war pretty near scared out o' his pants. 'Yo' see,' he says, 'now wha' I tell yoP' But Brownie's only answer wuz another screech what wuz turrible to hear, an' with the bay teemin' with sharks, he dived overboard and disappeared. Ole ran to the rail, but 'e could see nuther hide nor hair o' him. Arter a while, Brownie came ter the top an' struck out fer the boat. Ole grabbed a boat- hook and was goin' ter pull him in, but when Brownie busted out lallin' like he war a' goin' ter bust, Ole changed his mind an' held him off with it. Brownie took one look at them big fins circlin' closer an' let out another yell what shook the timbers an' nigh scared the sharks. Ole ducked 'im with the boat-hook to cool 'im off. 'Twaren't no use, though. Fin'ly Brownie got .x enough wind ter holler at Ole, 'Lemme aboard ye ---- fool. Are ye crazyP' 'Naw, oi no bane crazy,' he jaws back. 'Yo bane crazy, but I no got scared.' No, Ole war'n't scared all right. 5 X Him with a oak deck unner 'is feet an' J? K' a six foot by two pole in 'is hands. fi gi ,fisw , 's-- Naw, he war'n't scared. X lf yi il I l . . , . :Brownie managed ter say suthin f ' R-my 'bout a pack o' matches what had ablazed up in 'is pocket, an' then he yelled that the shark had got 'im by ' the foot. Ole quick started pullin' him x E - in with the hook, but thet war too slow fer Brownie. He started shinny'n up the pole with thet shark ahangin' on- V?Tf f E rf! X-- ter ,IS foot. The extry weight war too fx N ,Q . - Ya: much fer Ole, an' he let go. Brownie K i an' the shark went in again with a x 'pf , splash, but he'd grabbed fer th' rail, 3 -17 Q , , , 7? S, and when e did thet he pushed th A, boathook down the shark's throat and y W A 'uf nigh out 'is tail. iff! 'Pnfyr X .fWall, somehow Brownie got disat- Z! If lfli--.N tached from the shark in the water an' ,f,,,l,,,mllf fva tg' Ole got him aboard. 'Oi thought you H' i i:': B X 12

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THE REFLEC TOR sails, double-reefed, mind ye, were tearin' away, so they stripped 'er down to the bare poles. Even so they made twelve knots. The Maine, thet bein' the pinky's name, war a stout ship, though. New England oak, and not a nail in 'er. Wood pegs. Fact! So she weathered the blow an' Brownie and Ole put into Tampa Bay without so much as her main-truck split. The engine war a wreck, though, an' when they tied up at Bert's wharf the bilge war leakin' fast. They put 'er in drydock, where she sorta sighed and collapsed. Bert war an old friend 0' Brownie's what was druv south 'cause 0' the the competition of steam trawlers. Him bein' a doryman for a cod schooner he natch'r'ly wouldn't have anythin' to do with steam ships. Him bein' a old friend, he natch'r'ly didn't want ter take money fer his work. He took a percent'ge of the catch, though, 'cause Brownie and Ole insisted. All that day Bert and his carpenters worked on the hull. Ole helped a mite, too, and by the time evenin' come along she war as tight as a drum. Both boys slept on the boat, neither one nor t' other havin' much cash. Next day dawned bright an' clear with a fresh southeast breeze a' blowin' out inter the Gulf. Thet bay war swarmin' with sharks, an' they was all signs of good fishin'. Sharks, yer know, is sold by ship-load to the big canneries 'long the coast. They can thet shark meat in sauces and disguise it all up like mack'rel. Nice, tender, juicy meat, shark. Fact! Th' skins are tanned an' sold too. They fetch a mighty fair price in season. Wall, seein' the breeze an sharks, an' considerin' thet the bilge war tight, Ole persuaded Brownie to sail without the engine. On the way out they brought out the shark tackle. Yer have ter have special shaped hooks fer sharks, with a iron shank near half's big as my arm. A shark's mouth takes up half his head and is where his belly ought ter be, only it ain't. His teeth slant innards, an' when he's got hold o' su'thin', there's no lettin' go. On the way out, they wiped the mildew off'n the lines and scraped the rust off the iron with pumice. The job was done when they reached the middle 0' the bay, an' all they had to do was slap a half a' pound o' salt pork on the hooks and let go. The sharks wuz hungry, an' as soon as the hooks hit the water they got strikes. lVall, 'bout noon they wuz pullin' in fish so fast they didn't notice the sails go slack. Thet fresh breeze had sorta petered out, and the pinky was calmed. VVhen they had the boat filled ter the waists, an' yer know it takes a lot 0' sharks to fill a pinky, Brownie lets Ollt a yip an' hollers, 'I told ya sol' 'You bane tall me wha'?' Ole yells back. Yer know them Swede fellers has a funny dialek. An' so they jawed back an' forth while the sun beat down, an' it com- menced gettin' so hot yer could cut the air with a knife. When it got too hot ter jaw, they flopped down in th' bows. Arter awhile Ole sings out, 'Oi bane roast like chicken here', an' he got up an' sat down on a pile o' dead sharks under the awning they had rigged over the deck so the Fish wouldn't get ripe afore their time. Awful strong stummiks them Swedes got. Brownie jes' ll

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THE REFLEC TOR 11- ii-. .1 bane one 'them crazy fellers.' 'Never mind thet,' Brownie hollered at him, all excited-like. 'Get that shark.' Ole looked at him like he war really crazy. 'Wa' fo' yo' want thet sharkP' he says. 'Yo' got whole boat shark'. But Brownie only gets more excited-like and says, 'Yeh, but thet's the only shark in the seven seas what is got my toe in 'is jawrsl' Wall, they got the shark aboard. Brownie's foot war bleedin' turrible, so Ole goes down the forehatch and gets a handful of cobwebs an' sticks them on whar the toe uster was, only ain't. He bandaged it up slick's a whistle, and they waited for a breeze. Ef'n Ole hadn't jumped ter conclusions like he thought Brownie war crazy, maybe he'd be havin' 'is toe today. After the old fisherman had finished his tale, he sat silently as if reminis- cing. The young man looked at him scornfully. Do you expect me to believe that? he asked. I'm not askin' yer, I'm tellin' yer. l've still got thet shark stuffed with thet toe between his teeth slick's a whistle, and he looked around at the rest of the group. They nodded wisely. U Well, I've got to End a mechanic for that motor, aiiswered the young man, rising from his seat. Probably cost me plenty. Thar ye go, jumpin' ter conclusions again. Ef'n ye'd put some gasoline inter thet motor instead of stuff from thet kerosene jug I seen ye fussin' with, maybe it'd go. Rain Alberta Oosterhout, june '36 Rain-silvery drops on my window pane, Beautiful, silvery drops: Angels' tears are falling down to earth. Flowers lift their faces to be cleansedg Trees and bushes wave their hands and bend. All grows calm-creation is renewed, And angels' tears have ceased to fall. Hope ' By Barbara Trojan, Post-graduate The air is sweet, and the dew sprinkled grass glistens in the glory of the sunrise. The sunrise-the beginning of a new day. One which may bring happiness, sorrow, death. What if sorrow? But, O friend! there is always a sunset, and a new sunrise that ushers in another day. 13