Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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'A' LAUREL 'A' Finally the spokesman stepped forward again. Uses wanta white fella tell uses two words ' Rosevell' speakum, he muttered. Oh! replied the Marine, all he said was - ' My friendsf The natives didn't understand at all. The Marine broke out laughing in a hysterical voice. One by one the natives joined in until they all were laughing. They roared and roared. Then their spokesman stepped forward and put his arm around the tall Marine's shoul- ders. When he had stopped laughing he bel- lowed, Uses think this 'Roseve1l,' him some fella, and uses think you from 'mericy O. K. Only fella from 'mericy able tell such story as first one you tole about. Carlton McGary '44 Sardis, 42 B. C. Portia, my loving faithful wife, When thou receiv'st this epistle, Marcus Bru- tus will probably be among the good and valiant Romans in the Elysian Fields, for on the mor- row we engage Antony and Octavius in a battle to the death on the plains of Philippi. I pray that thou wilt pardon and forgive me for my abruptness on the morning of the Ides of March. My brain had been drawn into the dank, musty, swirling depths of a whirlpool by many sleepless, thoughtful nights. If I spake harshly to thee, please forgive me. I was not physically sick, but my mind was tortured that I must kill a dear and loving friend. I pray that thou dost not condemn me. That foul deed was not done with pleasure. Mine heart ached for the brave, noble Roman I had to kill, that all the great empire that is Roman might be more free. I durst not have told you my task, for fear thou mightst have turned me from it. Mine arm that held the sword was loath to thrust it into great Caesar's body. However, my mind overpowered, in the silent battle, my trembling arm. The look of anguish and won- derment that clothed Caesar's countenance as my reluctant sword pierced his breast will re- main in my mind even after death has claimed me for its own. I am not afraid of the grim, dark, dismal scep- tre of death, but what will befall thee, dear Por- tia? I shall pray with all my heart, body, and 30 soul for thy deliverance from evils. So, good Portia, farewell for ever and ever. Thou hast been the gentlest, bravest, kindest, most beauti- ful, and most loving wife ever to grace the face of earth. I pray that I am worthy of thy love. Your sad but loving Marcus Brutus. George Greenwood '47 HOW PEACE CAME TO THE WORLD Time: The year 2500 ' Speaker: Father Time In the year 1914, the God of War, Mars, and the God of Peace, Pax, had a quarrel, which Mars, being the stronger, won, temporarily. Pax, however, was growing stronger with every passing minute and by the end of 1918, forced Mars to terms of surrender. Pax wrapped Mars securely in ropes and thongs and threw him into a deep dungeon. The bonds that Mars was wrapped in were made of the League of Nations so Pax thought he had his enemy secure. By 1920, however, a weasel, whom we can call Mussolini, had started to work on the bonds of Mars, and rope after rope fell loose. In 1933 another bigger rat, whom we can call Adolf, started working on the bonds of Mars. Some of the biggest ropes fell loose in '35 and '37 and the last large rope holding the War Giant was separated in '39, Mars was free! Completely free! By December 7, 1941 he had set the entire world on fire. The God of Peace, Pax, had not been idle while this was going on but had begged a boon from lupiter. Pax was a peaceful god but once aroused he was a better fighter than any of his brothers. Pax was thoroughly angered by the War God's antics and he became determined to put an end to Mars, no matter what the cost. Securing the aid of his allies, Sam States and Iohn Bull, he crept up on Mars' castle through the back door fthe Balkans, on a dark night. Here the fighting was fierce and many gallant men died, but Pax won the field. Having cap- tured the War God, Pax then had the problem of what to do with him. lt must be something not too cruel but severe enough to punish him for the enormity of his crimes so that he would never again cause any more trouble. Pax

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'A' LAUREL t BUT ONCE A YEAR- THE bringing in of the Christmas tree is always a minor crisis in our house. Dad drags it in and sets it up. Promptly an argument be- gins- Set it a little more to the left - 'K Tip it to the wall. Such is the ensuing talk until Father in exasperation, leaves the house with this parting remark to me, It's all yours. Then the search for ornaments begins with the tugging and pulling of trunks around in the attic until the house is a bedlaml Mother is positive she put them in the big trunk, while Aunt Iane insists that they are in a packing box which is in the farthest corner under the eaves. Finally they are uncovered in the top of a bed- room closet. All hover around the tree for a short time, but their energy is soon exhausted and they sud- denly remember something that they just must do in some remote part of the house. Hence, Mother and I are left to tackle the job. The major operation is to get the star on the top. What a struggle! After toiling up over the cellar stairs bearing a step ladder attended by much jiggling and steadying of it, the star finally reposes on the tip-top branch looking very serene indeed. This accomplished, then begins the switching of baubles with the usual dropping and breaking of a few, the draping of the tinsel and the plac- ing of favorites in a conspicuous place. This goes on for a couple of hours and we finally finish only to Find that we never did get an electrician to put in that new wall plug. Eventually a network of cords stretches this way and that and the tree is ready for lighting. The rest of the family arrive with no great Oh,s and Ah's about how beautiful the tree looks, but to pass the remark that the room looks as if a cyclone had hit it. I We pick up and Hrmly resolve not to bother with a tree another year, but we always do and are glad it happens. But once a year - Ioyce Streeter '46 29 .764 .9 ' ' and Qcuwiful MORE ABOE'-TQOOSEVELT HE tall Marine was talking intently to the group of Solomon Islanders. Every now and then his lean finger would shoot into the air to emphasize a point. The natives seemed doubtful of his strange tales. I am a friend, he boomed, from Amer- ica-where the great buildings areg buildings as high as twenty of your palm trees stood end on end. America-where bridges are as long as your island is wide-I am a friend. The Marine looked at the natives, he saw their unbelieving looks, he saw the expressions of doubt on their faces. Surely, he thought, they have heard of our American trains. Maybe they'll believe me if I tell them about the steam engines. I am a friend from the great country across the sea, America. You have heard of the huge iron monsters which we use to carry our supplies on iron rails laid on the ground. They can go faster than the leopard can run, -much faster. One of the natives stepped forward. He spoke in broken pidgin English. We thinkey white fella speak with not truthem, he roared. If you from 'mericy, tellem us 'bout 'mericy natives. The Marine thought quickly. It was now or never, -he had to show the Solomon Islanders that he was from America. Well, he began, in America the natives are called Indians. They roam about the streets and scalp all the white men that show their heads. They drink fire-water and then go set the towns on fire. Many white people are killed. Then the White Father Roosevelt came along and make natives stop taking scalps and drinking bad fire-water. CEvidently the Ma- rine was a Republicanlj The big native stepped forward again. How do 'cm Roosevelt make natives stop be bad? he queried. Well, drawled the Marine, he just said two words. The natives were silent for a minute and then they started whispering to their black-skinned spokesman. -

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i' LAUREL if thought of ways and ways but there was always a catch in each answer to the problem. Finally, after considerable thought Pax decided to make the weasel and the rat into rugs for the fioor of the League of Nations hall, and the skin of the War God into a doormat for everyone to step on. Thus were the mighty humbled. George Besson '45 ENGLISH NIGHT ELL, Mom, another night to be with you. It's just the same here in Eng- land-peaceful, quiet, and so like the farm. Take that tree over there. It looks like old man Harlow's maple that we guys used to tap, just for fun. And that house reminds me of the one Mary and I dreamed up down by the river. We even had a room in it for you though we never told you about it. That was the same day the Kid came down with the mumps. Remember? She came running down to tell us. Didn't think about my never having had them. I got 'em right after. It was the day before the County Fair and Mary almost went with George Moore. I hired somebody to take her. We always did funny things in Centerville. Remember the day you took all the egg money to town and bought some new teeth? We'd been after you for months to do this. You looked awfully cute. Pop had to hang onto you because of the effect you had on the mailman. Or was it the tax collector? Gradu- ation day came quickly, too, didn't it, Mom? I'll always remember the speech Ioe Collins gave. He said, All of us are going to fight for what is ours then help our neighbor keep hisf' I've remembered this in every raid, every bombing, every fight. It was sort of a motto or shrine. Ioe must have been thinking about that speech when a sniper got him at Guadalcanal. I met his pal, Mike Iones, the other day. Re- member him? The kid who lived down by the railroad tracks? They said he wouldn't amount to much. Well, Mom, America has changed him in this war. I-Ie's a Looey g yes, Amer- ica will receive a tribute from me for that. I always liked Mike. We bowled together at Stovinsky's a lot before - Stovinsky! I-Ie was a good guy. Six sons in the service. The day he received his last naturalization papers-that was the same day word came of his third son's death. That's the way things happen. Well, Mom, you'll have to stay and wait for me 'cause I'm off again. Tonight we bomb Berlin. Barbara Ialbert '45 THREE MAGIC CHESTS HREE magic chests I open each night. Four out of every five of you have three chests just like mine. My invisible brass-bound chests are not so large, but a magic chest need not be large to hold many things. I open my chests one by one. The first is my chest of memories. This contains all my memo- ries, good or bad. As I lift the lid, memories overfiow the sides of their prison. Each night I have many different memories, but seldom a night passes that I do not have sweet memories of my mother. Some night scenes of different movies come out of my chest. On others the May baskets and tobogganning parties and the fun I had Freshman Reception and how silly I felt when I had to ask a strange boy to dance with me. The time I picked beans. What I did last summer down at my aunt's. This is only a part of the contents of this first magic box, but now it is time to open my second chest. This is my chest of the future. Although the past is interesting, I find the future more en- chanting. As this one is opened, I see that it is almost as full as the first. Out of this chest I can see the future world. My home and my husband. Things I am going to do tomorrow are all planned in this second box. If it rains, I know what I'm going to wear and dog or if the sun shines, it's all in this chest. My life is planned in this box, but it doesn't stay the same, for one night I may be an interior decorator and the next a seamstress. Every night my lessons for tomorrow are discussed. My memory and future chests hold about the same amount, for each night a day of the future has come and has faded into a memory, and each night I see a day further into the future. My third and last chest, if you haven't al- ready guessed it, is my chest of dreams. The contents of this chest are made up from both memories and thoughts of the future. Often my dreams go back to the past-the time when I was a little girl and fell from a horse. In life I