Cochran Junior High School - Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

Page 72 text:

COCHRAN AERIAL nail the sides and ends of the box together, all but the front end. Then take the top of the box or the lid and nail on the front end. Now drill a hole in the end and fasten a rope in the hole, then put hinges on the lid and fasten them to the box. Now drill in the back, big enough to put a small stick in, to fasten on the bait. As the back is higher than the box, you cut a notch in it to put the rope through so that it will not slip. Pull the lid back and fasten it to the stick in the back. Your trap is now ready to catch a rabbit. ' CHARLES REAM, Term VIII. .lt-o. L-. HOW TO DECORATE A CHRISTMAS TREE In trimming a Christmas tree, the main idea is to make the tree look brilliant and gay. To secure this effect the tree should be deco- rated with balls of bright colors such as red, orange and gold, because the darker colors are not so noticeable on the dark green tree. At one time bright candles formed the chief trimming on the tree but in these days most people have various colored electric lights instead. This method is much safer and adds greatly to the appearance of the tree. Strings of popcorn, tinsel, and bright buttons or berries are often used and make a clever trimming. To me, a Christmas tree never looks complete without a star at the top, for we always associate stars with Christmas and think of them as high as possible. Miniature towns are often laid out beneath the tree. Railroads carrying a train of cars always delight the children, while tunnels and bridges with electric lights are wonderful. Sometimes a scene is laid out in the country. Various toy animals and fowls are standing in the barnyard, while several ducks float on the pond. The pond can be easily made by filling a low bowl with water and surrounding it with moss. If a bunch of dried grass can be procured, this can be arranged as a hay- stack near the barn. The trimming of a tree depends largely upon the materials at hand but if the ideas mentioned here are carried out the WI LDA LENHART, Term. VIII. l HOW WE MADE A BOAT One fine day last summer some boys and I were talking about making a boat. Where can we get the boards? I said. We have no money to buy any. Herman suggested that we hook some boards from the school property nearby. And that was what we did. We took two boards twelve feet long, eight inches Wide and one inch thick. Then we got three spikes and nialed the two ends together. After that we got a piece of wood two feet long and forced them apart. It now looked like a boat without any bottom. Then we went and got two more boards eight feet long and the same width. With nails three inches long we fastened the boards on, then cut them into shape. Wlieii finished, it was ready for tar. Herman started a Ere, put the tar in a bucket, and heated it. When it was melted, we poured it in the inside of the boat and spread it smoothly around. We then let it dry. We got an old piece of tin, and nailed it on the front because it cut the water better. We carried it to the river and let it slide in. It did not leak. Herman handed me a paddle and I rowed across the creek and then back. Herman took a ride and when he came back he said, Oh, boy! it's a dandy!', ' , HAMILTON LAVELY. ti,-O-. HOW WE BUILT A CLUB HOUSE One morning after we had our club organized, John Heuston said, Let's build a club house. We decided we would all go to our homes tree will look very festive. Csixty eightj

Page 71 text:

COCHRAN AERIAL , the ground, glided along a short distance, settled to the ground and stopped. Nothing' could be heard but the terrible roar of the motor and the whirr of the propellor. A tall, husky, ruddy faced man leaped from the cockpit and dashed towards the hangar. What had happened? Had the mail been stolen? Was there an accident? We both ran forward to nnd out. No, he had just hurried in to snatch a bite before leaving on his way to Chicago. The mail was taken from the side of the giant bird and a new plane was run out on the field. The mail was put safely away in the cockpit of the new plane. At the southern end of the field was a long wide building which housed the planes for repairs or storage. This building was of massive steel and bore above the doors the word U. S. Air Mail. I stepped into this building. It contained three remarkably large planes of De Haviland design. The first was an emergency plane. It had a wing spread of ninety feet and a twelve-foot propellor. The wings were covered with dark brown canvas and a part of it had been freshly painted with 'fdope, the aviator's term for varnish. The other two were express planes. The motor of one was idling and although not running fast enough to pull the plane, the propellor made a light cool breeze in the hangar. I walked up to the emergency plane, jumped up on the fuselage and looked into the cockpit. Such a jumble of mechan- ism was set before my eyes that I almost lost n1y hold on the grips. Gears, wheels, sticks, meters, and switches-I couldn't see how one man could operate the whole layout. Later in the day my friend took a trip with the pilot in the emergency plane, but I went home without having accomplished my purposeg I had not had a flight. LLOYD STAHL, Term VIII. ...-1O.l,. SIXTEEN ROWS One Saturday morning Freddie and I were sent to the potato field to cultivate potatoes. The rows were half a mile long. Freddie told me to take hold of the cultivator. The first blow in the ribs was not such a bad one, but the second one made my sides sore for two days. Freddie told me he would tell me the secret of cultivating. When the cultivator went too close to the roots of the potatoes I must lean the cultivator to the right and when it went too far away I must lean it to the left. I tried one row that way, but my sides were sore when I got to the end. The horse and I trampled out twenty-four stalks al- together while I was cultivating. We had started to cultivate at eleven minutes after seven and had finished sixteen rows by twelve o'clocl-:. By that time I had learned to cultivate. HARRY BURKETT. .....i0L. D. D. He is a husky little boy of almost three, with merry blue eyes so full of merriment they just make you laugh when you look into them. He has pink hair, he says. His nose is a short one, while his mouth is always open for talking or laughing. He is never still except when he is asleep. His temper is quick to rise, but he forgives you very readily when you tell him you will buy him some candy. His chubby hands are always into mischief, but he always has an excuse ready. When he is caught at the sink playing in water, he says, D. D.'s so IRENE BELL, Term VIII. .i..-0. . HOW TO MAKE A BOX TRAP The first thing to do in making a box trap is get some nicecboards, a saw, a hammer, and some nails. Cut the boards the right size, and furstyf' Qsixty scvenj .

Page 73 text:

COCHRAN AERIAL and ask our parents for some money to get some lumber. After we had the lumber, we decided that John could saw the boards and we would nail them together. I went over to the house and got a bucket of old rusty nails which were hard to drive in the boards. When we had all the boards nailed on I went and got some tar paper and nailed it over the roof so that the rain would not come in. We got some old glass from our cellar and used that for Windows. CLYDE BURKE. l,lol..1 MAKING A RAFT One fine day last summer I decided, with the help of my friend, Russell Mills, to build a raft. The Hrst thing we did was to walk up the creek to our old swimming hole. When we got there I started off through the woods in search of some wood with which to build the raft. I hunted until I found eight logs, about eight feet in length and five inches in diameter. I carried two of the logs back to the creek and my chum and I made two more trips after the remaining six logs. When this was done, we laid them in a row and nailed them securely with four other boards. That much of the task completed, I set off again to look for a long, slender, but strong stick. I soon found it and I returned with it to the raft. DIXON LEES. 1 TRAPPING RED SQUIRRELS Last summer my uncle's orchard in Maryland swarmed with red squirrels. They clipped apples off at the stem, causing them to fall to the ground. In one day they could make a heavy laden tree look bare. A rabbit trap that worked automatically was placed under the porch. Although it was not the season for nuts, we used chestnuts which we had stored away as bait for the squirrels. Every ten min- utes a squirrel was trapped. I had Five in a cage and as I was putting another one in, the five that were captured escaped. They jumped all over me and skirmished towards the woods. Although I had trapped nearly a dozen, I could only save six from escaping. I was going to bring them home with me, but the hired man let them out. ' ROBERT ANDERSON. . 0i-..- - LOADING BRICKS One of those very hot days last August, I was down at Bolivar visiting 1ny brother. He had been building a home at that time and the bricks for it had just come in from Ohio by railroad. Seeing that he was short of men, I said I would try to help a little. I put on some old clothes, hopped on the truck with the rest, and started for the station. My job was to throw the bricks to a man on the truck, and he would pile them up. After I had helped to load about three truck loads, I thought I should never be able to stand straight again. We quit at four o'clock but I did not work during the rest of my week's visit. ISADORE KLINE. .ii0.i.i THE WOBBLE DOG In toy making last term the class made wobble dogs. Mr. Mc- Gahan laid out the pattern and told us to divide into groups so each one would have his own task to do. This dog consisted of five pieces, head, body, tail, axle, wheels. After all the pieces were cut on the band saw, we had to drill an eighth of an inch hole in the wheels so as not to split them when putting in the screws. We also had to drill Csixty ninej