Ferndale Union High School - Tomahawk Yearbook (Ferndale, CA)

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'yfbraham fincoln, gentlemanv C655-ay! fPRIZE WINNER or THE LINCOLN EssAY CONTEST, Cgl' WAS on the eve of the greatest crisis in the history of our country. For more than three quarters of a century the Union had prevailed. Our Constitution had held the United States indissoluble through the trials of a youthful nation. But now we were on the brink of dissolution. A competent pilot was needed to guide the ship of state through the threatening rocks of disintegration. And, as had often before occurred in the history of man, when, on the eve of some grave crisis, the future of a nation or of all mankind was at stake, a great figure appeared to shape destiny at the critical moment. From the wilds of the frontier wilderness he came: unschooled, but Wise in the ways of men, rugged and unpretentious, yet beautiful in his homeliness. His clothes were illfitting, his voice was high and shrill, and his accents slow and burdened with deep thought. From a mean cabin on Nolin Creek came he whom Lowell called the first American, Abra- ham Lincoln. A satisfactory intimate description of Lincoln has never been written. None of his friends really understood the sad, lonely man. Some com- pared him to Socrates. But Leonard Swett gave a more vivid impres- sion when he said, No one who knew him ever knew another man like him. The keynote to Lincoln's character was gentleness. His very being radiated this quality and his every action verified and increased the con- viction implied by his bearing. As President he felt keenly the responsi- bility for every soldier slain on the battlefield and rarely was a pardon from the death sentence petitioned but it was granted. Although sensi- tive to the point of fault, neither prejudice nor taste for revenge partici- pated in his character. Edwin Stanton never lost an opportunity to ridi- cule the lanky apparition from Illinois, yet he was made Secretary of War by the subject of his scorn on the latter's ascension to the White House. Lincoln loved all mankind and the more widely he became known the more he was appreciated and loved by his fellow men. Even the stern old Stanton was moved at Lincoln's deathbed to murmur with tear filled eyes, Now he belongs to the ages. Such is the picture fof a great figure traced on a background of a great hour in the history of the world: firm, yet gentle, rugged but capa- ble of the finest of thought and expression, godlike, yet human in every detail, sad, but prone to lighthearted moods, he lived to serve his purpose at the critical moment in our history and died beloved by all the people, his name the more consecrated for the manner of his passing. GLEN RUSK. Page Twenty-eight

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ff Qsummer Cfdragedyv IContin1. all carried it in either hand or, more likely, in his teeth. I shut my eyes to concentrate upon a means of escape for the illstarred hero. Now the weather was warm and drowsy and my position in my tilted chair was one of great comfort so in spite of the condition of my mind I must have gone to sleep. It seemed that I was on the deck of a ship sitting against the cabin wall. I became suddenly aware that someone was approaching. Upon glancing about I beheld a sight that froze me with terror. A man was coming across the deck. He crawled toward me with a rapidity that was marvelous yet it appeared hours before he got to me. It was not his ugly scarred face nor' his bloodshot eyes that held me transfixed and caused the cold perspiration to stand out upon my body. It was the sight of a gleaming dagger held in a business-like manner in his right hand. Needless to say I at once recognized in this apparition Israel Hands. With a thought of no feasible method of escape so I shrank back against the cabin wall. The wall moved! A sudden wild hope flashed through by brain. Hopeless as was my condition, the plan form- ulated in this extremity seemed plausible to my straw-clutching mind. I would push the wall over! Just as the buccaneer hurled himself upon me I pushed with my feet with all my strength and the wall behind me gave way with astonishing case. I fell over backwards and I seemed to fall for hours. Although I lit with a terrific impact, I was on my feet in an instant, striking wildly at the dim figure before me. A straight blow to his chin stretched him upon the ground and I leaped upon him to finish the work. An un- piratical cry from my victim awakened me to more rational reasoning. Poor Fritz! I explained myself as best I could to a man so poorly acquainted with the English language. He had been resting peacefully beneath the window when my violent shove precipitated me out upon him. Doubtless some day when he has mastered my language thoroughly he will appreciate the reason for my unceremonious attack. At least I have the satisfaction of actually having encountered Israel Hands, a real pirate, and noting exactly where he carried his dagger. G. O. R. '25. Zi fir' , FV, ,li fp ivl' i l!! Page Twenty-seven

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A Qgenioris .Bament fQ0emJ Four years have We spent in this old Sehoolg We have done our best to obey the rules, But still they think us a bunch of fools. Ah me, Luek's Hard! We think we're clever so we pull some Wit. Do the faculty see it? Not a bit! We 've done our best, but we cau't make a hit. Ah me, Luck's Hard! In Study it's Be quiet you noisy gang, Emphasized with a book on the desk with a bang. All we did was Whisper when whang-- A Ah me, Luek's Hard! Now what have we done to be treated thus? Why are We always in for abuse? Why are We always so frightfully used? Ah me, Luek's Hard! C. A. '25 V A Page Twenty-n