Lancaster High School - Mirage Yearbook (Lancaster, OH)

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Swearing, the train crew got under way, now fully a half-hour late. A lit- tle later, the Flyer came rushing out of the black night bound for the great East. Suddenly a red light flashed three times and the engineer, seeing that he was almost on top of the light, jammed his brakes in stopping. Eor ten minutes the crew hunted but nothing could be found—no person, no lantern, and no damage. So things went on from day to day—a red- light, with a warning to it,—a log across the track with a request for payment on it. Thus did the widow push her course but without result. One day the superintendent of the di vision left Jeffcrsday on a special for an inspection trip. The same day Widow Wayland made soft soap. The next day just an hour before the special was due the widow came forth from her abode with two large water pails and poured something on the tracks up the grade. On and on rushed the special an hour late. Nearer and nearer it came to Widow Way land’s. Swiftly they hit the grade. The pistons Hashed back forth, the exhaust roared. The great wheels spun but—the train moved no more. The engineer backed up and tried it again, but to no avail. Then he climbed down from the cab in time to meet the Superintendent coming from the car. Together they walked to the front of the engine, stooped, put a finger on the rail, then to their noses and exclaimed, ‘‘Soft soap!” “Yes, soft soap and there’s more com- ing if I don’t get my fifty dollars!” The Superintendent whirled to the Widow Wayland standing behind them, her hands on her hips. “Fifty dollars! What for?” he in- quired. Then the widow told her story. When she had finished she said: “I’ll fight you forever if you don’t pay up.” Laughing, the Superintendent pulled a roll of bills from his pocket, stripped oft’ five tens and handed them to the widow saying: “All right, Mrs. Way- land. You can’t get. ahead of the Irish, so here’s your money.” A (gltmpap into jFuturr In 1906 the present High school was thrown open for the inspection of the public and reception of pupils. Prev- ious to and during its construction a great number of citizens of Lancaster objected to the size of the building, claiming it to be very much larger than was needed, thus bringing unnecessary expense upon the taxpayers. At the opening of this building there were en- rolled 230 pupils, at present there are 314. Now, behold in the short space of not quite seven years it is found to be 14 far too small to accommodate com- fortably the large number of pupils who seek admittance. The study halls where the pupils in former years could have quiet periods for the preparation of lessons are turned into class recitation rooms. Even the rest room, a refuge in case of accident or sudden illness, has also been convert- ed into a recitation room. Study halls are an imperative neces- sity. Not many pupils arc able to con- centrate their minds on a dry principle

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Mftmu WmjUutd a pg On a little farm crossed by the main line of the K. Z. H. H., dwelt the Widow Wayland. Childless, she had only her- self and her farm to look after. Kach year she raised a pig, only to butcher it in the fall, thus obtaining her meat sup- ply for the winter. Thereby hangs my tale. .Just as the tracks of the K. Z. line passed the front gate of the Widow Wayland’s place, they started on a sharp up-grade and many a wet, stormy night, when the rails glistened with wa- ter, long freights had trouble making this grade. One day in mid-summer, Widow Wayland’s pig escaped from his sty and after wandering aimlessly about for some time enjoying his new-found lib- erty, he hit the railroad track and began to count ties. The Limited was just due. It was on time. It came. It passed. There was one frightened squeal and then—pork dropped. Yes, that pork- er at least dropped, and in small pieces along about a hundred yards of rail- road. Imagine the widow’s anguish if you can, when she found her winter’s meat supply gone and pork selling at the highest price in years! Imagine, if you can, her feeling of grief over the loss of her sole companion, and her revengeful spirit against the railroad! Dressed in her best black, the widow drove to town and went directly to the railroad station. Here she went in to confer with the ticket agent. Loudly she told him of her loss and asked for a set- tlement of fifty dollars at once. He ex- plained to her that her complaint must go to headquarters, so he made out the blank and sent it in while the widow left feeling that a settlement would be made. A week passed with no word from the railroad. So the widow drove to town again. This time the agent asked her into his office and then told her that her claim had been refused at headquarters. Without a word she left and drove slowly home. That night the westbound freight came thundering along, gathering the necessary speed to go over the grade at Wayland’s. Already the freight was fifteen minutes late and holding up the eastbound flyer at C'rawfis. Suddenly the engineer gave the whistle a blast, and shut his air brakes tight, jarring the long line of cars into a sudden stop. Brakcmen came running forward to find out the trouble. “I’ve run over a man,” gasped the engineer. Flashing their lanterns here and there the brakcmen soon found the innocent cause of the trouble. It was an old suit of clothes and a soft hat, stuffed with straw which lay, cut in two parts by the wheels and to its breast was pinned a piece of paper on which was written: i xcant me $50, pay me or i’ll make trouble for you all. i’ll stop your trains from running. Widow Wayland.

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in Physics or a theorem in Geometry when another class in the same room is having an interesting lesson in Ancient History, English classics or the teacher is telling an amusing story in connection with the lesson. The classes have become so large that the teacher cannot give the individual pupils the proper attention. It can readily be seen that in a class of thirty it is impossible for any one pupil to re- ceive special attention when the recita- tion periods arc only forty-five minutes long. In fact, there is scarcely time to hear each one recite. This might be remedied by employing more teachers were there any class rooms for them to use. All over this country parents and edu- cators are beginning to realize that the most pressing need of the time is a prac- tical education, ('an a practical educa- tion be obtained in our High School? No! After spending four years here a pupil can not accept a position as type- writer, stenographer or bookkeeper be- cause he knows nothing of these branch- es. It is necessary for him to spend possibly,the best part of another year in a business school. Then there arc many boys, who in the regular course have taken Latin or German two or three years and cannot understand why the German noun, floicer, is feminine, or when the adjec- tives take endings or when they do not. Now, if these boys, who so far as books are concerned may be dull, were put into manual training classes, they might develop wonderful skill. Boys naturally take to tools and many a fine mechanic and craftsman might trace the beginning of his success to the man- ual training he received in High school. Why is it, then, that these boys arc re- quired to spend their time trying to 15 learn things which will be of such little value to them in the near future? In like manner how impractical the course is for the majority of the girls! What difference does it make to a girl after she is out of school, or, while she is still in school for that matter, wheth- er an elephant weighing 2000 pounds stepping on a barge sinks it five or six inches, and what an undcrslung auto is ? How all the girls dread Algebra and Geometry! It is often with the girl in mathematics as it is with the boy in lan- guage. She may take Algebra several years and yet not be able to understand that the square of two numbers is equal to the square of the first plus twice the product of the first by the second plus the square of the second. Girls should not be compelled to take these studies, when their time might be put on something which would prove more useful to them after school days are over. We refer to domestic science. What girl is not interested in the mixing of ingredients, having explained the chem- ical changes that occur in boiling or baking and who does not enjoy the re- sult, a tempting brown loaf of bread, or golden cake? Why is it so imperative that every girl should have a course of domestic science in school? The answer is this, that the girl of today has no time for domestic duties of any kind but the most trivial. Hence there is the present necessity of domestic science in the school, if there are to be good cooks in the future, who will know the scientific reason for things in a line of work that has been theirs for years. Most assuredly everything learned is of benefit in some way, but so much time is given to things which might be spent on the practical. Another thing that demands atten-