Herkimer High School - Ye Green Quill Yearbook (Herkimer, NY)

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The Green Quill 23 You made me a dress? Where did you get the material? How did you do it? VVhere is it? Nancy was astonished, but this time she was not speechless, On your bed, dear. Nancy went into the other room and brought out a creamy-white taffetta dress trimmed only with line aged lace. It is my wedding dress, Nancy, made over to fit you. I wanted you to wear it for your wedding but you can wear it now instead. O'h no. after a moments silence, You will buy a new one to-morrow. No, mother dear, I will wear this one. It is beautiful. To-morrow we will send the money back to the doctor, We must not accept charity. When school is out l will have a better paying Job. Just 'working after school doesn't pay much. The week later Mrs. Blake saw her daughter in the creamy taffetta, tihe most honored girl in the class graduating that year. The bill went back into the doctor's pocket. -Emily Yale '28 AN AFTERNOON TOUR OF WAQHINNGTON, D. C. There are so many interesting things in Washington and vicinity that it is hard to pick out the most outstanding. To my mind, the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery are among the most impressive sights, We will first take into consideration Arling- ton. The cemetery was once the Estate of George Washington Parks 'Curtis who built the Arlington House ln 18402. Thru a series of marriages and adoptions, Robert E. Lee, the southern General in the Civil War and the later owner of the Arlington Mansion, 'became the adopted grandson of George Washington. The Cemetery consists of two parts, the old and the new. The old part is devoted to the Civil War soldiers. For four-hundred acres all one can see is row upon row of plain white markers standing for the men who gave their lives for the Union. A careful observer will note that a Igwreat many of these crosses are square while the rest are rounded. These square stones mark the graves of the soldiers whose names are unknown. The new part is dedicated to the World War heroes. Our attention is first taken up by the Ampitheater which has only recently been built as a place in which to hold the Memorial Day exercises. It covers thirty-four thousand square feet and has a seating capacity of five thousand exclusive of the stage which will hold several hundred. This structure is 'built of marble as is the 'Tomb of the Unknown Ampitheater. I think that a great many people Soldier which lies directly in front of the are not acquainted with the way in which this particular soldier happened to be selected. Four unkown dead soldiers were taken from the fourmost noted battlefields of the war. These were laid side by side in a tent. General Pershing was given a white rose and he was to place the rose on the -fortunate soldier after being blindfolded. The bo-dy lay in state for thirty-six hours over there and then was brought to this country to be interred. Guards from the National Barracks at Fort 'Myer are constantly on guard duty 'before the Tomb. The watch is kept up for two hours by one in- d1vidual and then he is relieved by a. second. On our way out of the cemetery we pass by the field where the World War boys are buried. There are nine thousand graves in this field. From Arlington we pass out of Virginia into the District of Columbia once more where the Lincoln Memorial claims our attention. This Memorial was constructed for a four-fold pur- pose: first, the statue o-f a man: second, a memorial of his Gettysburg address: third, a copy of his second inaugural addressg and fourth, a symbol of the United States. Each of these four purposes was realized. The union is expressed by the thirty-six columns which surround the building, texistlng in Lincoln's time.J The forty-eight states of the present Union are symbolized by the forty-eight memor- ial festoons which surround the top of the Memorial. We will now enter the main hall of the Memorial which is sixty feet long, seventy feet wide, and sixty feet high. Ionic columns separ- ate this central hall from two smaller sections. In the South section we find carved in the Wall Lincoln's second inaugural address: in the North a copy of his famous Gettysburg address. These, however, are not the most impressive subjects in the Memorial. The ob- ject which commands our entire attention is the figure of Abraham Lincoln seated in a chair looking thru the front of the building toward the Capitol. Here is indeed a. mar- velous piece of sculpturing. The very spirit of Lincoln seems to ibe looking out thru those carven eyes. Above his head, on the wall, ls written this inscription: In this temple As in the hearts of the people For whom he saved the Union The Memory of Abraham is inshrined . forever. With leave the Memorial. Our sight-seeing trip ls over for the after-noon. this message iilllng our very souls we -Lona M. Bills '30 The clouds are angry lions And chase each other 'round the sky. How they do it, no one knows Not even you or I, - -Beryl Helmer '31

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22 The Green Quill A MODERN ODYSSEY Odysseus was a big handsome man of the Wide open spaces. In order to avoid going to war, he pleaded insanity. He hooked up his ten ton tractor and started plowing a field and sowing salt. All went well for a time, but the Senator from Missouri put Odysseus' son in the way of the tractor. O-dysseus turned away, showing that he was not entirely crazy. He had to go to the sieze of Troy, N.Y., the home of the Arrow Shirt and Collar. The dispute was settled after ten years of war, and then Odysseus proceeded to pillage Soconyland, otherwise known as the State of New York. Then he sailed down the Hudson till he came to Albany, the Land of the Cigar- ette Smokersf' The inhabitants of this place offered cigarettes to Odysseus saying, Eventu- ally, why not now? 'There is not a cough in a carload! Odysseus refused, however, and sailed on till he came to the prison at Warble-twice on-the-Hudson. Mr. Zeus pointed his toy cannon at Odysseus' private car. Then fhe shot it off, and the explosion blew Odysseus back to Long Island. Here he was royally entertained by Mrs. Calypso, a lady very prominent in social circles. After seven years of leisure, Odysseus de- cided he wanted to go home. Mrs. Calypso gave him a speed launch, and he set out. He landed in California. Will Hays, King of Movie- land, had Odysseus taken home in his Packard. When he got home, he found a, 'great many suitors on fhis ranch. They wanted to marry Penelope, his wife. wHe got together several of his old cowboys and soon killed all the suitors. Then he and his wife lived 'happily ever after, -Alexander Husband THE SPIRIT OF THE VALEDICTORIAN The rain poured down on the nearly deserted street. Dusk had deepened and the dark was broken only by the yellow street lights blinking grotesquely down at each passerby. All the people that night were passerbys save one girl. Night after night she had' come home down that street now washed by the rain. 'Other people had passed by a weather- beaten old house and had never turned in between the two tall elms. Each night she had turned in between the elms sadly knowing that not one of the passerbys had preceeded her up the walk. 'Thoughts had been racing through her mind ever since she had started home. Should she tell her mother that she was vale-dictorian? Should she tell her? She thought she should but could not. She knew it would thrill but hurt her too. Her mother was an invalid. The two of them had lived on the meagre income left by her father. Now it was nearly gone. If she told her mother that she was to lead her class, her mother would insist upon buying her a new dress. They cou1dn't afford it. They must use the money for doctors and good food for her mother. 'She could wear her old best dress and she would! Her mother needed the medical attention. Nancy opened the door and called cheerily to her mother covering up thoughts tumbling around in her mind. She prepared supper telling her .mother everything that had 'happened that day, as she did so. After the dishes had been washed and put away, Nancy sat down to the table- to study her lessons. It had been hard to keep her in school and to show that she had appre- ciated it, she studied very hard. Now she would reap what she had sown through her effort. Nancy, 'come here a. minute, will you, dear? Mrs. Blake called -softly to her daughter. Yes, mother, coming. , Mrs. Blake sat in a dim corner of the room watching her daughter. Nancy crossed the room and' dropped down on a hassock at her mother's feet as was her wont. I hear, my dear, that you are to be vale- dictorian and lead your class, Mrs, Blake spoke softly searching her daughters face. Why, why mother, how did you know? Nancy was so astonished that she could scarcely speak. How had her mother found out? You must have a lovely dress for it, Nancy. I have been thinking a'bout your dres-s for a long time but now that you are to head thc class you must have an extra nice one. No, mother, I can't have a new dress now. You must have Dr. Lostorn come to see you and make you well. You have waited for it too long to lose your chance now. The Doctor was here to-day. He says I will live for years but will never be able to walk again. Don't cry for me, Nancy. Weep only I could work for yourself. If I had my legls and 'buy you all the clothes you need for gra- duation and much m re besides. Well, if the doctor has been here, I guess there won't be any money left to buy anything. His bill will be big. Did 'he give you his bill? Yes, Mrs. Blake drew a folded paper from her cuff and 'when she opened it, Nancy saw a twenty-dollar bill. Nancy sat wide-eyed. It had been a long time since they had seen so much money all at once. He told me y u were to be valedictorian. He wouldn't take any money for his service and gave me this. I told him I could not accept it, 'but as he insisted it was for you I took it. I could not take it for myself. And you should not have taken it for me either. While you have been at school I have been sewing. I made you a dress for graduation, but now this money will buy you one much better.

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24 The Green Quill THE LAND OF FLOWERS In our great South-West there lies a ruin of prehistoric origin. No one knows how long it has been there. Some .say it was built by the Pueblo peopleg others say by the ancestors of the modern Pima Indians, who lived in that country at the present time. In the middle of the sixteenth century the country around this place was filled with In- dians. The only civilized people who dared to come into this country were the Spanish priests and adventurers. Some had come with Coronado, the great Spanish explorer: others had found their way up through Mexico. One of these early priests established the San Xavier Mission, to christianize the Indians. This gleaming white -church, with, its great oaken door brought on the backs of donkeys from Mexico, with the only green grass around in its patio, was a resting place of delight to all the desert travellers. In far away Spain two small boys 'played to-gether and dreamed of being explorers, but as they grew older it was Philip that loved to read the tales of the glorious past of S-pain while Fernando throught of the future. Philip was a typical Spaniard with black hair and eyes, while Ferando was his direct contrast, having light hair and 'blue eyes. Fernando wished to go to the Land of Flowers but that was forbidden since he was heir to the noble kingdom of DelVal1e. Oh, Philip would be a much better duke than I, Fernando said to his father telling him of his desire. Aroused by'this throught and having heard that Narvaez was sailinlg from 'Spain to Florida, he slipped away from his home and stowed- away on the 'west bound ship. His father, the Duke, disowned Fernando when he found he had gone with Narvaez and adopted Philip, his nephew, to take Fernando's place. Meanwhile on the good ship Isabelle, the 'Captain had found Fernando and was very angry because he said there were too many men and too little food. But .Fernando was very useful and Narvaez became very fond of him and allowed the boy to be his page and companion. The ship at last reached Florida, on a beauti- ful Spring day. It was so warm and the place so pretty with the bright colored flowers, that they expressed no wonder that Ponce de Le-on had named it The Land of Flowers a few years before, 'This was their only happy time for 'bad luck seemed to follow them thereafter. Then began the terrible destruction of these brave three hundred men. Lack of food, shipwrecks, and the Savage Indians in less than a year decreased this band to four men. One of these remaining was Fernando, who survived because of the hardihood of his youth. These men found themselves slaves to the Indians who treated them so cruelly that it was only a miracle that they were able to live. four men continent. Finally they -came to what in now called Ari- zona. There they were taken in by a.-De:-lceful place was For the next eight years these struggled on their way across the tribe of Indians. The ceremonial the ruins of 'Casa Grande, meaning' Great House. There they were treated kindly and they stayed there for nearly a year. Fernand-o's three companions became restless and decided to try to reach Mexico. But Fer- nando had become very fond of the Indians and wished to remain with them and teach them Christianity. And so one fine morning the three Spaniardswbade the Indians farewell and started on their long journey across the desert to Mexico. Fernando ran to the highest ledge on the main building of the Casa Grande, ruins and waved good-bye to them long' after they had passed out of sight of everyoneelse. Years passed, and still Fernando lived with the Indian tribe that he had christianized near the Casa Grande ruins. Far, far away in 'Spain Philip, Fernando's cousin, had grown up, and had been well edu- cated. He had taken his cousin's place though he never forgot him.. The old duke died and Philip became Duke DelValle. Often he thought of Fernando and finally resolved to' go in search of him. Philip gathered to-gether a band of men to go with him. After a st-ormy journey on the ocean they reached Mexico. Philip .asked everyone if he had heard of Fernando Del- Valle. No one had heard of him and at first he learned nothing. Then came a point rumor that he was living far to the north with a tribe of Indians near a 'place called Casa Grande. At once Philip and his men led by a Spanish priest named Tray Padilla started northwar-ds. Finally after many weary months this small band of brave men .saw the San Xavier Mission in view. How peaceful it looked! There Philip learned from the priest that Fernando Del- Valle still lived with his adopted tribe of Indians at Casa Grande. After resting a few days they took leave of the good priest and pushed on northward. By following the priest's direction and climb- ing the beautiful Catilina mountains, they came to Casa Grande. That day Fernando had climbed to the high- est point of the ruins and had seen the tra- vellers in the distance. He made preparations for their arrival and then went to meet them. When the Captain of the band of men saw the, golden haired man come toward him, he ran to embrace him exclaiming, Fernando! Fernando! Do you not recognize your cousin Philip? How happy they were to meet again after many years of separation. Philip and his men stayed at Casa Grande and explored the region around there for a few months. Then after much persuading Fernando agreed to go fwitii Philip back to Spain, vM. Moore '29