Greenfield High School - Evergreen / Exponent Yearbook (Greenfield, MA)

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THE EXPONENT 5 Yet, excepting our authors and considering only the common variety of American joke, the British, who should be the people if any to under¬ stand our slant of humor, think us very crude and coarse. Still, we -often have difficulty in understand¬ ing the English type of joke which seems so very fiat and dull. If environment has more to do with character rather than heredity, it must be our rough wilderness of a country with its elemental imperfections that has produced such a low-toned race as ours. Gilbert Chesterton, in speaking of Americans and their humor, cites the following anecdote w r hich he says, few Englishmen would appreciate. It happened that while he was traveling in this country during the recent World war, he saw a war poster depicting an American doughboy run¬ ning a bayonet through a great fat German. Under¬ neath the picture was the inscription: “Mr. Brit- ling Sees It Through.” Mr. Chesterton said that there were not many Englishmen who would rec¬ ognize that as the title of a book by a man of their own race, and that in addition, the apparent vul¬ garity of the joke would disgust them. Even among ourselves, there is a strange dif¬ ference of opinion as to what is really humorous. Our elders are comparatively unanimous in their consideration of “the giggling schoolgirl.” Her mind is filled with silly nonsense at which it is far too degrading to laugh. But on the other hand, what one of you, classmates, has not m-ore than once attempted to fathom some evidently face¬ tious remark of your parents? It is clear that an exact definition of humor depends upon the point of view. American humor, however, does fall into sev¬ eral distinct divisions, each popular with a certain class of people. One type of moving picture furn¬ ishes a rip-roaring entertainment to the admirers of an obvious joke. Charlie Chaplin and his throw¬ ing of custard pies is a standard laugh-producer. The very broadness of this kind of joke often brings laughter from people who ordinarily think it vulgar. A dry humor with a sharp tang to it pleases many. It is invigorating like fresh, salt air, and sometimes necessitates a close search between the lines in order to be found. Nevertheless, the re¬ ward for the hunting is a quiet, usually silent, laugh of enjoyment. Washington Irving, knowing the value of this sort of humor, gained an easy, dignified style part¬ ly because he dealt with subjects that were in themselves interesting, but for the most part be¬ cause he introduced into his stories an abundance of this silent humor. Oliver Wendell Holmes, fol¬ lowing in his footsteps, has inserted among his seri¬ ous paragraphs, dry chuckles which lighten the heavy weight of his philosophizing. A thorough search of practically any page in his “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table” reveals some suclv half- whimsical thought hidden among the more ponder¬ ous material. Quite different from this, is the simple joke that relies upon its narrator for success. It is not dry humor but dry humorist that causes laughter. The words, if spoken in an ordinary manner are entirely devoid of the comical; but when coupled with the serious features of the speaker and his apparent lack of humor, the situation becomes ludicrous. Then too, there is the anecdote whose suc¬ cess depends not upon the narrator, and not upon the words which are in themselves commonplace, but upon the circumstances that build up the back¬ ground. There is the story of the old Scotchman and his wife who were so pitifully poor that they managed to keep alive only by the strictest econo¬ my. One morning, the old man did not wake up at his usual hour, and his wife on trying to rouse him, found him dead. She stumbled out to the stairway and called down over the banisters, “Sary! Sary! Only wan egg this mornin’, please.” This illustrates also, the fact that some jokes are not always of a rc-of-raising humor—that they may even contain a pathetic element. There is something indefinable about a joke containing a play on words that makes its origin¬ ator much more adept at fun-making than the com¬ mon herd. Such a joke is most certainly one of the class which relies not on the setting but on the words themselves for its effect. As soon as the twist in meaning dawns on the listener, the sharp burst of laughter proves how sudden and unexpect¬ ed was this ' onslaught of cleverness. Sometimes rather deep thought is needed to get the full force of the humor, but the following joke is a very simple example of this type. One evening, a man and his wife were sitting by the fireside talking over the day’s events, when the man said, “Oh, by the way, I saw a stunning dress in a shop-window today. Just youi kind, I should say.” “Why didn’t you go buy it?” his wife asked. He replied, “I did go by it.” It may be that I have neglected to mention all of the types of our American humor, but when one gets right down to it, what does an enumera¬ tion of such divisions matter? Humor is humor, whatever its form and wherever it may be found. Its value as the seasoning of life cannot be too highly estimated; and its absence in any human being cannot be too deeply lamented.

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4 THE EXPONENT wealth is its manufactures. The oldest watch-fac¬ tory in the United States and the largest in the world is at Waltham. Massachusetts is the greatest shoe and boot-making state in the union. Boston’s shipping trade is next to that of New York. All these facts merely point cut how import¬ ant Massachusetts is. But we must not forget that we are truly only a very small part and unit of the whole United States. As a unit of the United States we must work in harmony with the other units, and our laws should be in unison with those of our nation. As future citizens let us think of what Tenny¬ son has said: Not clinging to some ancient saw; Not master’d by some modern term; Not swift nor slow to change, but firm And in its season bring the law. ESTHER J. SMEAD, ’21 , VALEDICTORY American Humor To see nothing at all amusing in life is be¬ yond my comprehension; to live comfortably and happily without ever giving way to a laugh seems outside the range of possibility. The few people whom one meets with this part of their characters undeveloped should be tagged and catalogued as soon as they are found, for they are rare specimens. Like flowers they press well, being fairly dry in the first place. To be sure, they may lead orderly, contented lives, but they never realize what hap¬ piness they have lost, or what capacity for worry¬ ing they have gained; for laughter smooths out the rough road and is a sure antidote for trouble, as the farmer in the following story knew. A small New England town of the usual sleepy variety, was waking to the quiet hum of an early summer morning, when a stranger taking a walk about, heard a loud, hearty laugh. What was humorous in that self-concerned, little village he could not see, but a good-natured farmer gazing at an open field evidently saw something amusing. The stranger approached him and asked doubtfully, “What’s the joke?” “The other answered, “Why, every mornin’, I come down t’ look at Jem Todd’s field. ’Tisn’t very fur from my place, and it gives me a good laugh t’ start off the day with. Y’see, Jem’s wife is sort of one o’ these interior decorators, only she’s exterior, and goes in fur purty plants. Wal, some years ago, she sent t’ some kind of a plant grower fur a—wal, it had one o’ these high-falutin’ foreign names.” He paused and began his rambling laugh again, but the stranger interrupted with “Well?” “Wal, y’ see, the purty plant jest grew an’ grew ’til it spread t’ Jem’s best field o’ hay. Jem used t’ have the finest field in town an’ he boasted pretty much about it. Now he’s jest durn mad; he can’t root the stuff up and so now I got the best field. Makes me laugh every time I look at it an’ I feel better the whole day through.” Humor is such a satisfying quality. Its appli¬ cation even in small doses is warranted to cure an average man of the dumps for a day at the least; that is, if he owns up to a sense of humor. T have often thought what a blank, uninteresting thing life would be if I were one of those few who are humorless. But there are so many things to laugh at,—even common occurrences or subjects at some certain times arouse laughter. For instance, one day I was walking along the street when I met a dog that had a familiar appearance. For the moment, I was unable to think of his name, although I was on the verge of remembering, when I said without realizing it, “Hello, Potato!” His name was “Spuds.” Mark Twain or rather, Samuel Clemens, was the greatest humorist America has ever had. Wil¬ liam Dean Howells, who knew him intimately for over forty years, even had well-founded reasons for calling him the world’s greatest humorist. Mark Twain went through life smiling even when entire business ruin overcame him. At times, when some petty chain of events overruled and spoiled his wish of the moment, he growled and grumbled, but al¬ ways laughed at himself and his adventures in re¬ collection. It was, one might say, Mark Twain’s profession and creed in life to laugh and make others laugh at or with him. His various experiences in what was at that time the new West, brought him into contact with all kinds and degrees of people. If it had not been for his humorous view point upon life, his career as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, a gold- miner, a newspaper reporter, and his holding of many other positions would not have made him sd successful when he finally settled down as a writer. His humor is so provoking and hearty, yet so kind and understanding, that his caricatures of different types of men and women can hurt no one ' s feelings. It is all generous fun that in its progress reveals the pathos of a life as well as its humor to •others. His sketches of Huck Finn and Tom Saw¬ yer are so very real and laughable that a good part of the interest lies in the fact that the reader may almost recognize himself (that is, if he were once a boy) as doing the things that Huck and Tom did.

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6 THE EXPONENT CLASSMATES: 1 We are setting forth on life’s highway, Leaving school days far behind; But in thinking of our work and play Years hence, we shall pleasure find. 2 We shall soon forget our arduous studies, And the hours we racked our brains; But we’ll keep all of our happy mem’ries, As the sweep of time ordains. 3 Though these years have made us many friends Whom we’d like to keep always, Far and wide through the world, life sends Us on our appointed ways. 4 It is folly that hereafter, All of us will hear the call, And once more returning, come together In some carefree banquet hall. 5 For the road leads onward; we can tell Nothing through the future’s haze. So it seems best here to say farewell At this parting of the ways. LOUISE D. HUNTER, ’23 CLASS DAY EXERCISES Address Parents and friends, we heartily welcome you to these public exercises of the class of 1923. We are met here as a student body for per¬ haps the last time. We have come to participate in a partly serious, partly humorous program pre¬ pared by certain of our members. Ever will there remain with us the memory of this impressive meeting. Never shall we forget the friendships and acquaintances four short years have made for us. Always shall we honor and re¬ spect this noble building which served so well our high school career and in which were inspired our future hopes and aspirations. Now, as graduating seniors, we have reached the place in life where we can look back and trace of Welcome our steady advance and at the same time look for¬ ward and marvel at the future with all its oppor¬ tunities. But the path we have ascended has been paved by the unbounded generosity of our parents, or other near and dear ones, coupled with the un¬ faltering efforts of our principal and teachers. Now we are at the foot of the broad highway of life v here our future depends upon the fundamentals we have grasped in our training as youths. Only the strong can hope to attain success in climbing this steady grade. Therefore I am sure the great¬ est compliment each senior can pay his school, his teachers, and his parents is his ability to say —“I am ready—I am ready to go forward.” ROBERT HALL, ’23 CLASS ORATION The Progress of Electricity in the World What is electricity? For nearly 2000 years men have experimented with various electrical phenomena, and although many theories have been advanced, we really know no more today about what it actually is than men did in the ages past. Both Gilbert and Franklin assumed it to be a fluid. To¬ day it is more generally thought to be a strain of some sort in the ether. However, the people of today seldom think about the nature of electricity. They simply push a convenient button in the wall and the room is lighted, the door bell is rung, or some other task is done for them without any thought on their part as to the wonder of it. The first discovery of much importance in the history of electricity was through an accidental observation in 1786 by the Italian anatomist, Gal- vani, who noticed that the legs of a frog which he had been dissecting twitched every time there was a discharge from his electrical machine. He thus found that if two strips of dissimilar metals were put together like an inverted V and placed in a solution that acted on one more than the other, an electric current was produced. Thus was in¬ vented the electric cell, which was the only source of electric current until the invention of the dyna¬ mo. From the invention of the electric cell to the present day scientists have been steadily in¬ venting and improving electrical machines and ap¬ paratus. The first invention of great practical worth was the telegraph by Professor Samuel F. B. Morse in 1832. This was soon followed by the ro¬ tary electric motor, the electric lamp, and the electric locomotive, and then in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell exhibited a strange instrument called the telephone, at the World’s Fair being held at Philadelphia. Although few thought the telephone practical, with the invention of better parts, such as the Blake transmitter, the telephone lines spread, until in 1914 the lines had crossed the continent from New York to San Francisco. Electricity advanced in other ways also. With