Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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'A' LAUREL 'A' this time the company leaves and we prepare for supper if we are able. After supper we move out on the porch and watch the moon on the water while we enjoy telling jokes and stories. lust before we go to bed a swim is in order. We come in and as my father says, climb the winding stairs. The Htwitterpated come stringing up later at the the end of a perfect day. To others this may not mean much, but to me it means everything. It proves to me that we are fighting for something we cannot enjoy unless we have Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness . Law. Wright '44. Assignment: Original fable 2 THE NEGLECTED OVERSHOES H OW can you stand up under this strain? My back is growing limper and limper every second, commented Luke Overshoe to his twin brother Duke. These two over-sized black brothers were standing below the coat evening. Their owner rack one cold wintry had decided he didn't need them. Well, no one else will watch out for me, myself to be on guard so l've taken it upon every minute. This is such a dangerous place out, your toes will be that, unless you look stepped on and your neck nearly broken, was Duke's defiant answer. Agreed. Today's youth is so careless. Here, too, is an example of unwillingness to conserve war materials. I wonder-can we make him realize our worth? spoke Luke ponderingly. I think so, Lu. Let's go for a stroll,', sug- gested Duke. When he Finds us, I'll bet he will appreciate us moref' he chuckled. The next day and for two more days the boy frantically looked-at home in the corner, in the automobile, and in the school basement. At last he found them in a dust-covered shoe box in a corner near the furnace, Aha! he thought to himself. Thought you could run away, didn't you? Any overshoes that can teach me to care for my belongings the way you have done, deserve the privilege of going home every night. It isn't every day I can find as smart a pair of overshoes to keep up with me. I would not lose you for a dozen new pairsf' On went the overshoes. Duke and Luke just chuckled at their wisdom. Mortar.: In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us out. L. Wave '43. A fable is a short, fictitious narrative in which the characters are generally animals or inanimate things, though they are represented as speaking and acting like human beings. It is devised to convey simply and vividly a useful lesson in proper conduct. Tanner's Correct English. Assignment: Original fable, THE PEN AND THE PENCIL PHE scrubby old pen was fast nearing the scrap pile. As he lay on the table a bright young pencil was placed beside him on a writing tablet. Now the two clans of Pens and the Pencils are bitter rivals, so you see why the pencil re- joiced to have a chance to whack the poor old pen. But this time he had little sympathy and only wagged his tongue at the old pen for he was very conceited. The pencil liked to brag to people of his highly varnished finish and the soft lead that would write so easily. You're the laziest pen I have ever seen, he taunted. No answer. The pencil spoke again, Look at you! You could use a new point. You have a broken cap. The ink leaks. Still there was no answer from the pen. This made the pencil really angry. Why, he flared, you aren't even good enough for the Scrap Drive! ', The pen looked up slowly and spoke in his quietest manner. Be calm, friend pencil. You'll be in the same condition soon. At this remark the pencil laughed. He laughed for quite some time over what the pen had said. The weeks passed on. The old scrubby pen was donated to the Scrap Drive, while the pen- cil, worked to a last desperate point, was merely tossed into the waste basket. MORAL: He laughs best who laughs last. I. Waugh '43.

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'k LAUREL if A were passed along the pew, accompanied by stifled giggles. As soon as the pew began to vibrate, ma would give the'nearest of us a poke with her elbow. This was always a mistake. For the pokes Hew down the length of the pew, each with renewed vigor and more outbursts of snickering. Nearing the end of the sermon my father's head would begin to nod. Ma's elbow would then go to work again, this time on dad. This always brought forth spasms of coughing from him and uncontrolled laughter from us. The choir would then focus cold stares upon us. fl have always felt that they took the wrong attitude since we supported them most vigor- ously in the hymn singingj At last the final hymn was sung and we stood stiff as pokers while the benediction was given. Perhaps at this point the reader may ask, Why, pray tell, did your mother ever take you? ,I That is a hard question to answer. Maybe she thought through constant church attendance we would, of necessity, absorb some religious education. Or maybe she thought we could cause less trouble in church with her than at home alone. I. Austin '44. ,111-1 Assignment: Theme of reminiscence sug- gested by Bellamy Partridge's Many Happy Return: in the SCHOLASTIC. FOURTH OF IULY THE WRIGHT WAY NE of the few holidays all our family celebrates together is Fourth of Iuly. Although we celebrate birthdays, Thanksgiv- ings, and Christmases we all look forward to the glorious Fourth. During the first of Iune my brother and I prepare our order for fireworks. Last year I had thirteen firecrackers saved from the year before, which I was going to set off, but when I lit a match to all of them, none of them went bang . The week before is usually a busy week for every one. The fireworks have to be examined, although one of our rules is that no firecrackers may be set off before the Fourth. This rule has been kept since I was large enough to light a match. There is at least one trip to Farmington to get the needed supplies. We have, as a rule, two big pickles, watermelons to most people. These have been so called since I was about four years old. Once when my father came out of a store with a watermelon under his arm, I was sitting in the back seat of our car taking in all of the surroundings as it was a rare occasion to go to Farmington. When I saw him, I shouted and said, Oh, Daddy! What a big pickle! Another custom is ordering a crate of bananas, which last about three days if they are not well hidden. My brother has been known to sit down and eat twenty-one of them in a row. He now muses on the good old days. The night before the Fourth we close our house and go to camp for the first time in the year to stay over night. Louis and I used to stay up to our grandmother's and herald the Fourth in with appropriate doings, but since he has become twitterpatted and his Utwitterpatteri' spends the Fourth with us, he now celebrates a little differently. morning we have a breakfast. Then we Upon waking in the dip in the pond before play horseshoes, set off a few firecrackers, if we are lucky enough to have any, go for a boat ride or do almost anything to pass away the time till dinner. For dinner we have chicken with all the fixings, for dessert we have pie, ice cream and cake and last of all one of the big pickles . After the aspirins and sodamints have been passed around, we all run for a place to lie down. However, a couple of hours later we are up and at it again. Our friends have arrived by now, as well as our grandparents. My father and grandfather go to look at some lumber, and the younger generation as well as a few enjoying their second ,childhood prepare to take their annual trip around the pond. The cameras, which are always snapped at the wrong time, are dropped and we go racing off leaving our grandparents and a few laggers to keep camp. In an hour or two we come streaming back and don our bathing suits and take our big swim for the day. We then Finish taking pictures and also what is left of the five pounds of candy and forty pounds of bananas. During

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'A' LAUREL 'lr Assignment: Original fable. THE HANDSOME LEOPARD AND THE HUMBLE I-IARE' fPatterned after Guy Wetmore Carroll's Fables for the Frivolous J N Africa's damp jungles, A handsome leopard dwelt. l-lis coat was black and shiny And soft as finest felt. He was not very honorable, For he would slink around And skulk throughout the underbrush Without the slightest sound. One day he did an unwise thing, I-le pounced upon a hare. The scene attracted animals Till all the kinds were there. They booed him and they jeered him, Till he slunk away in shame, For picking on a humble hare As being his size of game. They told all o'er the forest What a poor sport he had been, Until he finally wandered off And never more was seen. Moral: Perhaps that you are handsome, too, As this black leopard was, But learn from his experience- That handsome is as handsome does.' B. Day '44. 'Accepted by SCHOLASTIC for their Student Round Table page. a til..- Assignment: Vignette. EYED WITH SUSPICION T had always been said that the old Mason Estate on the edge of town was haunted. It is true that it had all the characteristics of a haunted house, because about sixty years ago a rich man and his wife had come to this small hamlet to settle down. Forteleven years they had lived on the estate in a very secluded man- ner. The posmaster can remember of never having a piece of mail for the couple. To com- plete the supposition, they had never been seen in town, but they always seemed to have enough to eat and had quite a few luxuries. Then one morning they left for God-knows- where. Only a few people saw them leave, those that did eyed them with suspicion and spoke no word of farewell. The house has remained just as they left it- curtains up, windows unlocked, and most of the small surrounding buildings open to the trespasser. Over everything lies an ever-in- creasing layer of dust, which adds to the dreary aspect of the place. Mr. Ienkins, the nearest neighbor, once made a tour of the grounds, and found in a secluded corner, a small elaborate graveyard. After he had told several of his friends of his discovery, he grew curious. So he, with sev- eral other men, returned to the graveyard and started to dig in the musty earth. At an un- usual depth they came upon several large logs, which seemingly had been buried there for no reason at all. After disposing of these and digging deeper, they finally came to what ap- peared to be a roof. The wood was very rotten, which made it quite easy to hack through. The spectacle which was revealed to them was one of utter surprise-below them was an extravagantly furnished room. It had but one entrance which was a tunnel about five feet in diameter. ln the center of this room, on a small platform, were two mummy-like bodies of what must have been much-loved sons-each in the condition as he was when he died. B. Weymouth '45, Assignment fSenior English, College divi- sionj: Informal diary entries, Samuel Pepys style, depicting modern customs and manners. FRIDAY- Up early with a good breakfast in spite of rationing. fGrapefruit juice is now a swell treat.j VValked to school feeling very patriotic for leaving the car. Had a quarrel with my sister at noon over which program we should listen to. Settled by arbitration. Had a good, stiff six weeks' in Solid Geometry with only five propositions. Played basketball in the gym after school with some of the boys. An enjoyable