Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE LAUREL 21 When Bill wrote to Ted of this new job it seemed fine-wonderful, but he smiled wanly when he received his younger brother's thoughtless reply. It was fine he had the job, sure-But the letter was mostly of the cute little colleen he had met at one port and of the exotic French femme in another. I'm versatile, he wrote. Give me ad- venture and plenty of it Cwith dashes of romance here and therej and I shall be tres content. Didn't he too long for excitement and action? Didn't he too, want to really serve his United States? ' His chance to do this came sooner than he thought. It was during those grey, dis- mal hours of early morning. Things were pretty quiet when Bill was suddenly all at- tention. Z-38 off Brazil was sending a message to X-21 stationed on a submarine somewhere in the Atlantic. Bill became more and more excited as he adjusted the recorder to take the message. When it was decoded Bill knew that Z-38 had given to X-21 the location of an American airplane carrier which they were planning to torpedo. Thrilled and excited, Bill called his chief. His official duty done Bill's next impulse was to get home and shout aloud his news or write a letter to Ted. Hadn't he saved an airplane carrier from being sent to Davy Iones' Locker? Hadn't he done- On second thought though, would it be wise to make known to the public this little lfit of glory that was his? Bill, always prac- tical, always careful, decided not. But inside he was happy- for always now, Bill could have a sense of equality, a sure confidence in himself. What was that quotation they had learned in high school? Milton said it- he was blind-Oh, yes- They also serve who only stand and wait. Irene Goodspeed '42, ADDRESS T0 UNDERCLASSMEN T is to you, Underclassmen, that I dedi- cate this address. I will not attempt to advise, but I will attempt to point out to you some facts that I, as a senior, think are im- portant. We seniors are today confronted with the question of the future as you too will be in your time. To our minds come these ques- tions: Does your high school record really count? ,I Can your school be of any help when the time comes for you to look for a job or to go on to college or university? Will your superintendent, principal or teacher ever be called upon to recommend you? Have you ever asked yourselves these questions? Perhaps you have been saying, Iill get down to business after I get out of high school. I'll have my diploma and, after all, that's the important thing! Have you ever stopped to realize that this is not the important thing in whatever Held you may seek? The attitudes and qualities which you are developing in your high school days are important factors in your future success, and it is certain that sometime in the future-next month, next year or per- haps several years from now -your superin- tendent, principal .sr teacher is going to be asked to recommend you. Their recom- mendations will be based on such qualities as courtesy, dependability, cooperation, and industry, as well as your scholastic standing. If, for instance, you have decided to further your education by study in the col- lege or university, have you ever thought seriously what qualities will be required? Curtis Merriman of the University of Wis- consin says, quote, state laws and college regulations require that the student present a certain number of units of work that must be arranged to fit certain patterns of work. These are important, of course, but really the admissions officer wants some evidence along at least three other lines. He wants the freshman to come with a rather well balanced broad training. Many students have specialized too narrowly. He wants, in the second place, the record to show high quality because he knows that, in general, the student who has graduated from the high school in the lowest quarter

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20 THE LAUREL fear, and a great deal of excitement. Dimly he heard the instructor tell him to circle the field twice and land. Iimmy climbed into the plane, muttered l'll need it, to his instructor's Good luck, and taxied down the runway. At first the instruments danced before his eyes and nothing seemed to work, then all at once everything became clear, and he felt as if he had always been flying. All of his instructions came back as the plane took off and he had a feeling of exultation as he set it down gently and killed the engine. After a few more practice trips, Iimmy was trans- ferred to Randolph Field, Texas. Here he received sixty hours of solo flying with in- struments. From here he went to Kelly Field, where he finished his course in forma- tion flying, received cross country flying and some work with guns. Here also he won his long coveted wings H and commission as second lieutenant. Because of his skill as a pilot Iimmy was chosen as a test pilot for the army. It was exciting, dangerous work and essential to the safety cf other pilots, but Iimmy wouldn't have changed places with anyone. He had reached the necessary altitude for the dive and pointing the nose of the ship down, he gave her the gunf' The power dive is to test the strength of a plane going at the speed of 600m. p. h. 400, 500, 525, 560, 580, and finally 600! Iimmy slowly and steadily pulled the big ship out of the dive and straightened it out. Coming down to the runway Iimmy was conscious of a feel- ing of entire satisfaction. Once more he knew a man's pride in the perfect work- manship of a huge plane. Once more he had done his bit for his country. Annette Vose '42. var THEY ALSO SERVE - - - HE Armstrongs, five in number, are just a typical American family living in a typical American town. Sam Arm- strong, the father, is a forty-six year old welder in a nearby defense plant. Mrs. Armstrong, forty-three, now that her chil- dren are all grown, spends her leisure time sewing for the Red Cross and attending First Aid classes. Ted, seventeen, is serving with the United States Navy somewhere in the Atlantic. Healthy twenty-two year old Dorothy, R. N., proudly holds the title of second lieutenant in an army camp in the South. Bill, twenty-four and the eldest, is -Bill is a decoder-But you shall hear his story. It all happened several years ago when Bill was still a student. Infantile paralysis, that scourge of youth, struck him down and left its devastating mark- crippled legs. But has that prevented him from doing his bit for his country? Far from it! Bill is a fighting man-Oh, probably no more than any other true American-but you know how we Americans are. When December seventh aroused the patri- otic fervor and indignation of the country, Bill's friends and associates immediately be- gan to join up with some branch of the service. They tried not to cast pitying glances at Bill and promised to write regu- larly. Bill smiled bravely, but then and there he vowed to invest every cent he could possibly get in War Savings bonds and stampsg for to him that seemed to be the only way in which he could help. But as time passed and Bill read more and more about the war, he began to get familiar with various jobs that such troubled times as these create. Among those attracting his attention was that of decoding messages. Now Bill has always remembered that he does not think with his legs. Bill's mind is keen and active .... During his years as a student he had displayed a special aptitude for real learning, his interest centering chiefly on foreign languages-Spanish and French. Thus Bill recognized Opportunity's knock. Immediately he began inquiries concerning the qualifications and duties of a decoder. . . . . The Listening Post on Long Island, where he is now on daily duty, is the result.

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22 THE LAUREL of his class, has only about one chance in eight of surviving the freshman year. He notes, in the third place, the attitude that the student has towards his work. Is he satisfied to 'just get by'? Is he in school just to make grades? Or on the other hand, is he working up to his limit, and is he de- termined to gain real mastery of his work? Has he developed a life long interest in some worthwhile problem? If the student has learned to place supreme emphasis where superlative values lie, there is high promise for genuine suc- cess in college. All colleges have a hearty welcome for students who come thus en- dowedf' End quote. From William S. Carlson, the Director of Admissions and Records from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, we learn that, quote, The first evidence as to how well a student will succeed in college is found in his success in previous school work. Gen- erally speaking, those who do well in high school will do well in college. Those who get through high school with low standing cannot expect to succeed in college. Some students spend their high school years in play and do better work in college because they have become more mature and serious, but the number of students who show this change in attitude is small. Usually it is too late for this when students come to college. We are constantly searching for addi- tional means of making the prediction of college success or failure more certain and dependable. One valuable source of infor- mation is the estimate of the high school principal or faculty advisor regarding those qualities which largely determine the out- come of the student's efforts. The student,s high school principal or teacher will be glad to discuss these things with him. Another source is the information given by the stu- dent himself in his application for admis- sion. All this information is used judicially in the light of long experience to supplement and correct the college aptitude rating and to help or guide the student to do that which will be to his interest. End quote. Lctls take the University of Wisconsin for example. Some of the questions that they now ask about a student are these: How does his appearance and manner affect others? H Does he need constant prodding or does he go ahead with his work without being told? Does he get others to do what he wishes? How does he control his emotions? What progress has he made in learning how to think? Has he developed habits of study? The Uni- versity of South Dakota asks for such traits as the ability to study effectively, ability to read intelligently, curiosity about some in- tellectual ideas, love of books, willingness to work, good character, high school grades that are average or above. These are typical questions of universities and colleges all over the country. But, perhaps you are not going on in an extended phase of education. Nevertheless you will find that the qualities required in the colleges are very similar to those required in business corporations. Seventy-live cor- porations were asked to list, from their own experience, the most common causes for the discharge of office and clerical workers. Fol- lowing, in brief, are the results of this study. About ten percent of the people who lost their positions lost them because they lacked specific skill in shorthand, typing, English, bookkeeping, the use of office machines and the like. The thing that may be surprising to you, however, is that the approximate re- maining ninety percent were discharged be- cause they were considered deficient in cer- tain character traits. Among those which led in importance were non-cooperation, careless- ness, laziness, lack of ambition, dishonesty, lack of courtesy. I. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation states, quote, There is noth- ing secret about the manner in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation operates. Its formula is a simple one- intensive training, highly efficient and carefully investigated