Dexter High School - Signet Yearbook (Dexter, ME)

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THE SIGNET 17 The Purpose of a School Paper Every school that can get -sufii-cient finan- cial support should have a paper. Its .ad- vantages are numerous. It -represents Our School and therefore we w-ant to make it the finest, cleanest, and -sn-appiest -school paper in the state. One of its outstanding purposes is that of advertising the school which it represents. Through the Exchange Departments our school pa-per travels many miles away from us-across the state, out of the state, and possibly even out 'of the- country. It passes through many unfamiliar hands' and is read by many 'unfamiliar eyes. By -this paper our school is characterized, summed up by those who have no other means -of knowing us. Any where it is s-een, in a store with other ma-gazines, in the home of a friend, anywhere, it attracts attention, it radiates the spirit of our school! Another purpose is the keen competition it arouses among .the students. Naturally, all of us -are eager to see -something written by us, perhaps a -story, possibly a poem, somewhere between the covers of our own sch-ool paper. It gives us a thrill t-o see our article or our poem in black print with the author's name at the bottom. As there isn't room for all the articles written, it causes us to try the harder to writ-e some- thing that -will out-do something written by a classmate. And so I could -go on but- remember this-our school -paper represents our school,-so4let's 'all strive to make its publication the best ever! Helen Hale '31, How High Can You Jump? Hav-e you ever watched a cat jump up a 'tree or onto some high place? How easily and without apparent effort he can jump four -or five time-s -above his own height. Most of us can jump only two or 'three feet, only half our height, and then nearly break our backs. Have you ever 'thought how nice it would be, if we, like the cat c-ould jump four or five times above -our own heads. What a bo-on this power would be 'to the poor pedestrian, who -w-hen about to be stru-ckdown by a blood-thirsty .taxi-driver, cou'ld neatly spring to the top of a .passing trolly-car. How odd, to see -a man shing- ling a house, snatch up a bunch of shingles and leap up to the staging. Wha-t would be done with all the unused ladders? What would happen to the game of bas- ketba-ll, if the baskets had to be raised ten feet to prevent the play-ers from jumping up and -dropping the ball :down through? How could a baseball player hi-t a ball through an infield that could ju-mp around the catch every Hy ball? 'How could the rules be changed t-o -prevent a football -play- er from hurdling the opponents' line high a-bove :their reach and running for a touch- d-own? Then again think -of the advantage the firemen would have in rescuing human lives by simply leaping to a window on the third or fourth story, cautching up the fair maiden and then 'leaping back to safety. Think ho-w lu-cky these felines' are and yes,-how o-dd are human be-ings. Ronald Hall '30. Story In this age of specialization, story .tell- ing is now a profession. lit is no longer consede-red mer-e amusement. This profes- sion, like others, takes many hours of study and practice. If one is interested in chil- dren ilt is a good prof-es-sion but one should work for wh-at he is best fitted to do. Many Telling of the professions :to-day are -over crowded 'but story tel'ling is a n-ew but promising field of work. Story telling is a very -old but beautiful art which is being revived. There 'was a time when story telling w-as the chief art of entertainment. Kings, queens, .and war-

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Il 6 THE SIGNET that he wanted to fiy and then set out across the Atlantic on his maiden voyage. Hundreds of fiights as a -mail pi-lot had taught him what to do in every emergency. Behind the shining dame of his achievement were years of training, without which he would have soon crashed to oblivion. , Everybody wh-o has ever do-ne it says its Ia grand -and glorious feelin ' to receive rthe long-coveted diploma on -graduation ni-ght in the presence -of proud relatives and friends. But, leading up to that evergreen- banked stage is a long hard path which takes 'one thirteen years :to travel. Even the glory of possessing a lifttle white piece of paper can not be attained withfout the en- during foundation. Ever since, as children, we flearned the nursery rhyme about the butcher, the baker, and the candlesvtilck maker we have somewhat belittled the last-na-med gentle- man. However, when we realize just how important he is, let's compose a new nur- sery rhyme in which the candlestick maker is given his just 'due for his share in the brilliance of the candle flame. Doris Hutchinson 29. i Two Kinds of Pep We all know -the individual with pep. We know him by his 'bouyant hail, or his hearty -slap on -the back, but do we ever think of the kind of pep he exercises. In school life, we have two kinds of pep. There is the fellow whom we hear yelling vociferously at the games, backing the team, urging school spirit, but not only if -the team is the winner. He stands by through victory 'or defeat. In later life, he is still expounding -his energy in boosting fthe town and inciting town spirit. We don't 'think -of him as a big noise, for he is also a man of perseverance and indomi- toble will, who succeeds in instilling some of his enthusiasm into -others. The other kin-d is he who degenerates into a more jazzy sort. He, too, is full of vim, sometimes boisterous, but his vigor is expelled to no purpose. He wishes to he a social lion, but with all 'his talk and seem- ing pep, he is unable to arrive. It's a.ll very well to be the hail fellow 'type if you can employ your vitality in the right way. Which kind of pep have you? Pauline Ramsay '29, Opportunity As we approach the goal for whi-ch we have so industrio-usly worked during the past four years, we are able to look back- ward and deftect -our various mistakes. We have-, now, a far more co-mprehe-nsive'view of life. Soon we shall pass from this school, forever. Many 'of u-s are to- carry still furtfher our pursuit of -education, others will 'take up life's work, but all will have to f-ace the world. No-W is the time when we should be able to make good 'use of our past experiences. Many of us who have not made the most of our opportunities are now seeing the folly of unprep-aredness. But alas! It 'is too late, we are the losers. As we embark upon life's journey may we take with us a vclearer understanding of 'pers-everanlce and determinfation-pers-ever- ance to -carry out all that we start to do, and determinaltion to do our best in all that w-e do. Then -as we look back from the -summit of a difficult 'task successfully per- formed, we may say with a clear conscience I have done my best. , Vance Wakefield '29.

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18 THE SIGNET riors could ask for nothing better. Serfs and childre-n were satisfied with nothing less. But never since the earliest days has story telling reached the height which it is now attained. Young wo-men are training themselves for the purpose of bein-g able fto stand be- fore a group of children and not only tell a -story but make is so interesting that they may live through the- scenes as they are told. Stories are not for amusement alone. They teach something in a more intreest- ing way than reading the facts in -text. -Every story, if properly and interestingly told, will have something in it which will especially be remembered by the listeners who will later profit by the lesson learned. However, story telling is no-t only applied to children. Anyone who can tell a story is always welcomed in company. 'In every community, especially in the cities where there are so many children, at le-asft one day a week should be set aside for a :story hour under the supervision of the librarian -or some educational society. A good story interestingly told will teach a le-sson and give the children a glimpse of better things, that they might never get in any other way. The children are the lcitizens of the futureg for their sake we' should respect the old arty we should become good if not profes- sional st-ory tellers. Grace 'Call '31. - The Be truthful. Whatever the loss, always tell the truth. By telling a falsehood, the one who lic-s may convict the innocent but the conscience of ithe guilty will always re- main guilty, and th-ere will be a stain on his soul that will never be erased. If we lie in little things we will find it easier to lie in bigger things. Our lives are what we make them and rather than live the life of falsehood, let us live one of tru-th. Probably at some time in our lives we are all tempted to tell a falsehood. Would it not have be-en easy for Washington to have told ia lie? He too probably was tempted but fighting down the temptation, and looking his parents straight in the eyes, he valiantly told the truth. And so, when that temptation comes to us, if it has not Truth already come, let us be able to meet it with an iron will and thrusting it aside, stand up and tell the truth. We cannot all be great mein like Wash- ington, before the eyes of the world, but if we live a truthful life we shall be as great before the eyes of God. It is not for me to say that if Washing- ton had yielded to his temptation he would not have been as great a man as he was, butthat struggle helped him win the great- er problems that arose bc-fore him, which he met always with the -greatest of honesty. On the long road that we must travel the-re will come before us also many prob- lems but they, too, may be overcome, if be- fore us, goes this fwarning, Be truthful. Glenis Merrill '31 Note To In past editions of the Signet there have been published stories, articles, or poems which unbeknown to the editorial board have later been deounced as not original productions. The Signet is not the only paper that has had this troubleg copying has frequently been noticed in many other school publications. This imposition must be stopped for it is in no way fair t-o the aspiring and hope- ful young authors. Alumni The- editors are constantly 'trying to rid the Signet of all such deceits for its aim is to produce a magazine every word of which is written by a stude-nt of the school. In order to attain this success the coopera- tion of the a-lumni is necessary. The editors ask them to read each issue carefully, and, if they discover --any article which is not entirely original, to notify the board imme- dia-tely.