Dennysville High School - Dentonian Yearbook (Dennysville, ME)

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THE GOSSIP between the United States and Rus- sia. The United States is going to ad- mit the Philippine Islands as a state which will make forty nine states. Germany and France will come in on the:side of the United States. -Germany and France are supported by the United States, which makes a scarcity of food in our country. We should have a better and stronger government to control Russia. I think that Germany and France should furnish themselves with food so We could have more ourselves. We should build more factories, newer machin- ery, more homes and farms, and make this country the biggest and strongest country in the world. Colon Morrison '47 Guy Cook '47 Editors 4' if if Ik First Prize Short Story A BLUE STAR TURNS TO GOLD Sometimes the smaller children poked fun and called them names, but Franco Del Amico Wasn't ashamed of his name nor that his parents could speak only broken Engish. His par- '3ents had come fron. Italy, but Franco had been born in America. He had studied about Italy and heard his father tell of its great men. They were Americans now, there Was nothing to be ashamed of. They lived in a small town in eastern Maine. Their home was furnished better than some for they had known many hardships in the old country and their money was not to be wasted. Still they were known as those Italians when peo- ple spoke of them. Hardly anyone knew his name was Franco Del Amico. To everyone he was known as Lucky . When he told I Q.. Q 25 people his name in his heavily accent- ed English, they asked him to repeat and always a look of disapproval spread over their faces.'Lucky seem- ed to be just what his name implied, always the happy-go-lucky fellow., For Lucky there was fun in everything? but it was always on his mind that he' was that Italian boy . Lucky graduated in June of 1943 and the following December he was eighteen. Things happened fast after that. A month after he had become eighteen there was a blue star in the window of those Italians . Lucky was proud of his chance to prove to the people in his town that he was an American and loved his country as much as they did. The snow was falling softly when Lucky said good-bye to his parents and his girl, Carolyn. He didn't seem to take even this seriously. Rather jokingly he told his parents to look after Carolyn for him and Carolyn assured him she'd be waiting when he came home. It was June, and Lucky was coming home. He was a different Lucky, quiet and serious. It had been new and ex- citing the first few months and he hadn't minded taking orders. His of- ficers and buddies liked him and ma- n I rote home about their buddy, Sgt. Lucly, they called him, who never complained and seelned to have all the luck. During the first few months the crap games, boxes from home, week-end leaves, and talks with the boys about their girls had off-set hard- work. Now he was tired of it all. To him now it was just a hard daily routine and the very thoughts of it made him bitter. People had said the war couldn't last long, but Lucky

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24 THE GOSSIP Editorial FIRST HONORABLE MENTION . Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile delinquency has become an important incident in the Work of our law enforcing bodies today. Many cases are arising which are juvenile crimes. The young people of today are not entirely to blame. Now the war is over and the parents have more time at home, yet it does not seem to reduce juvenile delinquency. Not e- nough parent control is given to the children to take care of the ever in- creasing crimes by juveniles. Parents could help reduce the ju- venile crimes more than any of our law enforcing bodies. If they should give the child more attention and help to influence them in the correct ideas, it would be a great help. They also could see that their children at- tended schools and got the education which was being provided for them free of cost. With the correct influ- ence the young people could be made into helpful citizens of this country. They could see there was a better fu- ture in doing right than in doing wrong. Many young boys and girls belong to gangs which they themselves make up. Parents should look into the work they are doing and prove to the 'ld whether or not this is a good org' iza- tion for them tb belong to. In this country 4-H club is a great organiza- tion and provides part time amuse- ment for the young people. It gives the young folks something to do to keep the mind occupied and also pro- vides good times for the young peo- pe. The ever increasing threat of ju- venile delinquency will not be stamp- ed out by punishment of the guilty person or party. The parents too must do all in their power to correct this at home and set the young people of A- merica on the right track so they will grow up to become helpful American citizens who will be the head of our government in the years to come. Alton Ward '46 Ik HK IF il Editorial SECOND HONORABLE MENTION For A Better World It is the tradition of the Americans to rush to the aid of those in distress. Such a tradition is not born only of the natural charity in the heart of Amer- icans. It is born of remembrance. It may mean darker bread, less al- coholic beverages, even, perhaps, the rationing of food again. Yet who could object, who can object? We must all share and because We share, others will live. How its-.sh do we appreciate this land of nz xs? How grateful are we for our freeuom? Do we realize that for every minor hardship we endure, in other countries it is many times worse? We are not forced to givgg money to the Red Cross and the War Loan drives. We are merely asked to share and we should all share alike. We are called upon chiefly be- cause We have been blessed with a- bundance. That abundance may come of enterprise, skill, hard work and foresight. But we are also blessed. Marjorie Lund '49 HF ill IF IF WORLD POWER OF TOMORROW As things look today we shall have another war with all the World pow- ers. They will be united under one power. The war will be principally F

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26 THE GOSSIP could see it was going to be a long hard war. Lucky had turned more and more to religion since he had been in the army and he had found it very comforting. Back home they had gone to church every Sunday, but it seemed more important now. He wrote his mother once when he had heard a rumor about being shipped overseas, Letters may be few and far between, but don't worry, Mom, because God will see me through. Remember how we always called it luck, but now I know it was God who was always with me. He'll help us over all the rough spots. It was good to get home to his par- ents and Carolyn, but Carolyn seemed uneasy when she was with him and finally he asked her if something was the matter. It was hard to tell him she had found someone else. She tried to explain to Lucky that he had changed, that he had grown up all at once. She said the war was probably to blame but Lucky didn't wait for her to ex- plain anymore. He went back to camp that night, as bitter and discouraged as he was when he came home. Months passed, and he heard with great joy the rumor that his company was being shipped overseas soon. Since his furlough Lucky had been getting into a lot of trouble. He got intpmfights ev ytime he went into towrl and'M: P32 were always locking him up. At camp he didn't joke any- more. He wasn't the good-natured carefree fellow they had known the first few months. Finally the chaplain talked with him asking him if there was something wrong. Lucky wouldn't tell him and kept getting into trouble. One day Curly told him he had been issued all summer Clothing and the rumors were getting hotter. Some even said their destination was the South Pacific. Lucky hadn't been issued any summer clothing. Perhaps Curly was mistaken. Curly O'Neally had been Lucky's closest buddy since they entered the army. They were so fond of each other that Lucky sometimes introduced him as me brudder, Curly . Curley even stood by Lucky he changed so much. Lucky Curly wasn't mistaken, and he that secretly it was bothering after knew knew Curly too. The next day they went out drilling in the field and they practiced with live ammunition. All the boys were excited and some admitted a little scared. There was an accident. No- body knew how Lucky happened to get in the way. It all happened very quickly and they 'iinew before they reached Lucky that he was gone. Curly put Lucky's head in his arms and cried, over and over, Lucky, speak to me, Lucky. Lucky's eyes opened and he faint- ly mumbled, Don't waste tears on me, pal. I'm not worth them.. He stopped a moment and then continued in his heavily accented English, Tell Mom dat I love her and Pop. He squeezed Curly's hand very, very slightly and said so faintly that only Curly heard, God bless you always, brudderf' His body was limp in Curly's arms and the tears streamed down Curly's face. All the boys had known that Lucky's dis- charge papers were coming through any day. They knew he couldn't stand the humility of knowing he had been dishonorably discharged from the service of his country. Curly knew it and he might have thought Carolyn to blame but as it was he thought God