Holbrook High School - Echo Yearbook (Holbrook, MA)

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THE ECHO Literature A Christmas on the Prairie. It was two days before Christmas in a little sod cabin on the prairie and Christmas was a dreary outlook for the inhabitants of the homestead on the wide and seemingly endless prairie, broken only here and there by a homesteader’s cabin. Jean and her mother and two younger brothers were trying to keep the land and cabin, for they were homesteaders; it was a hard fight and against odds that would dishearten many other people. When Jean was twelve she with her mother and fa- ther and brothers had sold most of their possessions and come to this p ] ace to see if they could not possibly cure her father of the dreaded lung disease, which, if he was not properly cared for would result in his death. To Jean’s mother it meant giving up everythng that meant happiness, but her love for her husband conquered that. They had been there two years when Jean’s father had died, leaving Jean and her mother to do the heavy farm work alone. Jean at that time was almost fourteen so she persuad- ed her mother to stay there and not give up their only home which rep- resented all the money and all their possessions. Over three years had passed and Jean was now seventeen and her brothers were able to help with the work which made things much easiei for Jean. The first of the year had been a hard on ; the crops did not turn out well, but their saving Grace was the pigs which Jean took to the neighbor- ing town and sold. But in the next two years they were still more suc- cessful for both years their crops had done well and they had been able to sell their cattle and buy two horses which would greatly help in doing farm work. They had plenty to eat and warm clothes to wear and they were able to afford a few luxuries. Everything had gone along finely for the first real Christmas the boys had known since they had come there but now Mother was sick and it meant a half day’s riding to fetch the doctor in the nearest town and do the errands she knew must be done. Her mother persuaded her to go to the town so the next morning as soon as it was light she saddled her horse and left. Three hours later the doctor was on his way to her mother and Jean was buying food enough to last them over the holiday so they would not have to break into the store they had laid away for the time when she would not be able to reach town because of the snow. She hurried around and bought some as her mother had told her to, even though she was ill. She bought some toys, as well as useful things because she knew her mother would wish her to. Last of all she visited a furni- ture store and bought a rug, some chairs and a couch, and other small articles which she knew her mother would be pleased with. These were bought with her own savings which she had accumulated in her three years’ work. All these she arranged to be taken home in a buckboard which would arrive soon after she reached home. When she reached home she found her mother was seriously ill but with the proper care would soon be on the road to recovery. The doctor ar- ranged for a woman to care for her until Jean would be able to do it. That evening when all the work was done and the bo ys had gone to bed she brought in a small tree and

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THE ECHO i This makes the second issue that has ever been issued by the Sumner High School paper, the “Echo,” and the first one by this years’ board. The one issued last year was a fine paper, considering it the first one ever issued by the Sumner High School. It showed a lot of thought and effort on the part of the students that helped it to be a success. This year we are trying to sustain the standard it has set and also to improve upon it. We wish to thank all schools who have helped to make our paper a suc- cess through exchanges and we would be glad to make exchanges with any others. We have received papers from the following schools: Quincy, Stough- ton, Taunton, Malden and Milton. Quincy: The Golden Rod is a fine paper. It is arranged in good order. Your athletics have a strong showing. Your cuts and headings are good. We think if you put in a few poems and stories it would improve the paper. Stoughton : The Semaphore is a good weekly paper. But we think you would improve it by having a poetry editor and putting in a poem or two each issue. If you put in a cut or two it would help the appearance of the paper. Taunton : The Tauntonian is a newspaper and considering so you have done well. The paper shows effort and interest on the part of the students. If you put in a cut or two we think it would improve your pa- per in general appearances. Malden : The Blue and Gold is a good snappy paper. You have a strong showing in athletics. Did you ever think of having an Alumni ed- itor? Milton: The Unquity Echo Echo is an excellent paper; in fact we think it is as good as, if not the best, paper we have received. It is well arranged and your cuts are fine. You have a good showing in everything except poems. Did you ever think of having a poetry editor?

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THE ECHO trimmed it. Then she got the pres- ents she had bought for them and tied them on it. Then she arranged the furniture and articles she had bought in the little living room. These things made the house seem much more homelike. The next morning when the boys awoke they were overjoyed at the looks of the little room. It was dif- ferent from what they had ever known, for ever since they had been old enough to realize things they had seen only a few pieces of furniture which did not make the room very cozy and inviting. After breakfast, when the morn- ing’s work was finished and the din- ner ready to put into the oven they all gathered around their mother’s bed while Jean and her mother told them of the Birth of Christ, the Old Story which is told in the Bible, then Jean’s mother told them of the many pretty customs carried out in different coun- tries. To Jean it was the happiest Christmas she had ever known, why? Because she had done something for others, to make their lives bright. Surely the spirit of Christmas can be brought to anyone, anywhere. Peace on earth Good Will towards Men ! M. P., ’26. The Mountain Rider It was a cool, clear night in No- vember, the moon was at its height, the clear outline of the mountains stood out against the moon-lit sky. At the foot of this mountain stood a lone cabin which housed a lonely old man. As he sat at his cabin gazing sor- rowfully at the mountain tops, ho gave a low cry, for clearly against the sky, at the very peak of the moun- tain, there stood like a statue, a horse and rider. They remained motionless until the first streak of dawn. Then as the old man watched eagerly, he saw the horse and rider slowly turn away. The old man, whose name was Hez- zy. watched night after night for the rider, but he did not come. At last a month later on a moon- lit night, Hezzy was again at his cabin door gazing at the clear moun- tain tops when upon his gaze flashed the rider going at full speed against the sky. When he reached the peak, he dismounted and stood by his horse until dawn. This strange occurrence continued for some months and the stars and moon watched over Hezzy for anoth- e ’ year. A year from that memorable night, Hezzy was again watching, for may it be known Hezzy once had an adventurous son who left the cabin at the age of twelve and had crossed the mountains, so Hezzy was always watching for his return. When the horse and rider came to the mountain Hezzy would watch more anxiously for his son to come back to him. The rider came one night before the moon rose and gazed, it seemed, at the sky, but at the stroke of twelve he turned his horse on the trail lead- ing to the cabin. Hezzy watched this action with his heart beating high in his breast. At last! The rider has alighted at Hezzy’s door, and as Hezzy looks at this strong young man with smil- ing lips, and eyes, he came up to Hez- zy and knelt before him. Was it possible, that after all these years his son had returned to him to care for him in his old age? Yes, Hezzy was bidding the young man to rise. He had him by the hand and was blessing his safe return and as the years went by, old Hezzy and David lived in the little cabin at the foot of the mountain and watched for the moon to rise behind the peak and bless the One who sent David to his father, safely. H. B., ’26.