Cochran Junior High School - Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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70 COCHRAN AERIAL When I reached the speed of sixty miles an hour, I turned up the elevators and left the ground. I was now off for a two weeks vacation, which I had planned to spend at Philadelphia. Nothing seemed to be wrong with the plane, so I did not think of using or trying out the elevators or rudders. When I got up to five thousand feet, I tried to turn the eleva- tors back to a normal position so that I would not go up any higher, but they refused to move. I could not go down or fly level at full speed on account of this, my only chance was to fly on. At last I decided to fly as slowly as I could. If I flew slowly, I knew I would not go any higher. I tried my plan immediately and found it worked. All of a sudden the air became bumpy and I had some hard work keeping the plane level with the aerolooms. After a little while I noticed that it was necessary to make a landing because a storm was coming up, but there was no place to land. Then I learned that the plane must be flown more swiftly or it would stall in the air. That would have been worse than ever because the plane could not be voloplaned to the earth without the use of the elevators. These thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the plane stalled and ran into an air pocket. It fell toward the earth like a rocket so that a wreck could not be prevented. My only chance was to use my parachute. I jumped out of the cockpit and pulled the ring which opened the parachute. Slowly I came down moving with the wind all the time, till the parachute caught in a tree, suspending me in mid air with the nearest limb fifteen feet up. Climbing up the rope I cut the many tangled ropes that held me a prisoner. The rest of the way to the ground was very easy to cover for it was only a job of swing- ing down from one limb to another to the ground. After reaching the ground a report to the commandant, under whom I was flying, was a duty I must perform. Then all of a sudden a man came out of the woods and said, I saw the wreck of your plane from the fire tower and reported it to your commander by radio and he said that a plane was being sent. You must make a report to him if able. I followed him to his station at the fire tower and made my report. -Ialarry I-Iavnilton MARY'S MISTAKE Say Jim, you shoulda been here this morning. A farmer girl came into our room yesterday. Gee! she looked funny, but she was

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COCHRAN AERIAL 69 hand holding over the fire was a forrest ranger. He looked up and said, Hello and asked if I would eat with him. He said, My name is Angus McDougal of the forest rangers. He asked what I was doing away up in the mountains. I told him I liked the woods and was taking a walk with my dog. He told me I had a fine dog and a smart one too. I saw two horses, a gray and a black, eating grass. He told me they were furnished by the government. In his pup tent was a bed on the ground and on the pole of the tent was a large ham. By the tent was a large saddle. On the ground a few feet above me were two feed bags for the horses, and a shovel. Spread on the ground by the fire was his table and on it was a can of baked beans and a couple of tin plates. I asked, Have you fought any fires latelyn, and he said he had fought a big one. About one o'clock M1'. McDougal began to pack. I helped him and he let me ride the gray horse until I was nearly home. I thanked him, and watched until he was hidden from view by the trees. Often afterward I visited his camp and we became good friends. -Frank Campbell WHAT THE SEA GULL SAW A sea gull was still following a ship the second day of the voyage. After what seemed like ages to him the usual garbage was thrown out. Breakfast was over on the ship. As he neared the ship after his feast, he heard a bell. Immediately the crowds on the decks disappeared except the crew who were lowering life boats. The bird was puzzled, he stayed near. Maybe the ship was going down. He did not have long to wait, for soon another bell rang, the people came out on the deck again with life belts around their waists. Everyone seemed to be looking for something or following something. What was the matter with the ship? Why were the people looking on the lower decks? In a few seconds the people had reached the upper deck and had assembled about the life boats. Why don't they get in? Poor sea gull, he doesn't understand all this. Every one is ready to sinkg why don't they? Oh! he sees,-a life boat drill. -Polly Barnhart, Term VII AN AIRPLANE WRECK After the inspector had looked at my plane, I climbed in and signaled to him. He jumped up and pulled the blade of the pro- peller to the ground. As soon as he swung it, two men released the blocks. They then fell flat so that the wings would not touch them.

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COCHRAN AERIAL 71 sorta pretty and she looked bright. She had on awful funny clothes, high top shoes and woolen stockings an' a funny old long gingham dress, an' her hair was in two long plaits down her back. All the other kids laughed, but I didnlt 'cause she seemed to be such a nice girl. I heard the other girls talking about her hair but I thought it was awful pretty. Talk about crowning glory! Gosh! Heris sure is. It was real curly and long and all fluffy around her face an'- Well say, Bill, give another fellow a chance to get in a word. I don't blame Miss Burton for giving you a C in conduct. What did you say her name is? Mary-Mary-something. I forget the last name but wait 'till you hear the rest of it. Poor Mary! Today she came to school again, an' the teacher sent her to the principal to take her card to him an' you know the cupboard where the teacher keeps the drawing things ? Yeh, right beside the hall door, isn't it? Uh-huh. Well Mary was talkin' to the teacher an' she thought she had hold of the hall door, but she opened the cupboard door an' turned around an' walked right into it an' closed the door after her. All the kids roared, but I went over and opened the door and showed her the way to Mr. Smith's office. Poor kid, she looked so scared. It was mean of those kids to laugh at her like that. It's nothin, to go in the Wrong door. Well, so long Bill. So long Jim, see you tomorrow. The next day after school they met again. Gee, Jim, you remember that Mary Blake I was tellin' you about? You shoulda seen her today. She beats every girl in the whole school building. Yeh, love is blind. Go aheadg rave on, brave knightf' No, but really! Gosh, you haven't seen her yet. Boy! She sure looks spiffy. She's dressed just as nice as the other girls an' she wears her hair in curls now 3 an' say, she lives in that swell house We were looking at the other day. I-Iuh? Gosh, Bill. Yep, an' boy, she's bright! She spelled every one in the class down an' she can do problems that I never saw. An' she said that I was the nicest boy that she ever knew. So she's goin' to be my girl an' I'm going to start saving my money so I can buy her the prettiest valentine I can find. Gee, I'll bet those other boys are sorry they laughed at her. I know the girls are 'cause they're all