Maynard High School - Screech Owl Yearbook (Maynard, MA)

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THE SCREECH OWL 9 less of any reasons, war materials must not be made by German manufacturers. Any diplo- matic troubles should be referred to the World Peace Committees that are formed. Complicated plans for an eternal peace may be necessary, but education, long the forgotten element in our history, can be the easy way out for improved world relations. Roger Compton, ’ 45 . The Road Back As peace is not far away, we must begin to prepare ourselves to receive our sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers who have gone through the horrors of war. It is not easy to greet a returned veteran who left whole and is return- ing physically disabled in some manner. The returning servicemen are eager to get home and begin peace-time jobs again and they need our whole-hearted help. It is up to the sweethearts, wives, and mothers to restore their self-confi- dence and set them on their feet. They feel self-conscious because of their battle scars, but it is our duty to show them that these do not matter and prepare them to help us build the world of the future, one in which there will be no w ' ars. Many here at home have lost loved ones, but these, too, should and must help our veterans to stand on their own feet once more. Gloria Novick, ' 48 . Youth Problem Today’s courts are filled with juvenile cases which result from the fact that parents who are working cannot give their children proper care and guidance. Many children are left at home to do as they please. Although they are ex- pected to take care of themselves, they roam the streets at night, gather at forbidden places, and come in at all hours. This results in lack of sleep, which produces a dull, sluggish feeling the next day. This is one of the principal reasons for poor school work. Many of the children involved in these cases never dreamed of being delinquents, yet that’s just what they are. Take Midge Larsen, for instance, whose story was a tragedy in itself but turned out to be one of the most fortunate things that ever happened. It began when Midge went along with the gang to the Star- light Club, a local roadhouse, for some clean, honest fun, which resulted in a police raid because the owner was selling liquor to minors. Midge, along with all of the others, spent that night under police protection. Next day at the trial they were questioned, and each was asked why he had gone to a place known to be watched by the law. The answers were all the same: They had nowhere else to go. They told the authorities that they had been wistfully dreaming of some sort of recreational center, but they had no idea how to go about getting one. After the trial the town’s leading citizens held a meeting in the judge’s chamber to see what could be done about organizing a teen-age canteen. Many suggestions were offered, and finally, after much serious discussion, it was de- cided that the best suggestions be taken up with representatives of the teens”. This was done, and in the next few days things started rolling. Everyone pitched- in, coming after school on week days and staying all day on Saturday. In two weeks the canteen was finished and the citi- zens of Redding, U. S. A., were proud of their newly-acquired recreation center. But, still more, they were proud of the fact that their court house was free of juvenile cases. Sophie Novick, ’ 48 .

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Re-Educating Germany As our soldiers fought their way through stubborn German resistance, they discovered that this haughty super-race despised them and did everything possible to hind er their progress. This proves that the German people in general were not the poor down-trodden mass that was anxious to get rid of Hitler as we had supposed. Hitler taught them well what he intended them to believe and it will take long, patient years to revise this condition. It has been impressed upon their minds that they are a superior race which cannot be dominated by inferior beings. They think us soft, lazy, and irresponsible. They lie in submission only until another savior” like Hitler comes to reinstate the Ger- mans to their rightful place in the world — first. Educate them,” our armchair politicians con- tend. Who are to be the teachers? If we allow their same teachers to go on, I need not tell you how much Americanism would be taught. Send over American professors”, is the cry. That’s another good idea that won’t work. The Germans, young and old, resent our interfer- ence and would pay no attention to such mis- sionaries unless forced by guns. But that is not our American way of life. Can you imag- ine our children going to school and being forced to learn a new doctrine of life? They would oppose it and would be taught the old way by their parents. So it will be in Germany. With these two plans invalidated, the out- look seems gloomy, and so it does to our au- thorities on the subject. The Russians have a way of educating and influencing great masses of people. Rebellions are few in countries they have occupied, but conditions in those con- quered dominions are relatively unknown. If the Russians took over the education problem, that would decrease a large area of influence that we would appreciate having on our side if differences with Russia ever become great. Our greatest hope is to occupy Germany for a num- ber of years, prove to them that our rule is favorable to their best interests, and obtain Germans that sympathize with our ideas, ming- ling them with our own professors who get along with the German people to make a sound basis of co-operation. Success from this or any other plan will certainly not be instantaneous, but a gradual form of education of young and old will be much more effective. Our press has proved in this country that it can influence great numbers of people. For this reason we should install a powerful German-American press to give the final touch to complete re- vision of their principles of life and govern- ment. The German press after the last war proved how much it influenced the American people. Poor, desolate Germany was stripped of its only riches and could never hold its head up again. We fell for it last time, but we shall not make that mistake now. We must take away the war-making facilities but leave the Germans enough resources to maintain a reasonable living standard. Ger- mans must be allowed to operate a navy made up of merchant ships, not war vessels. Regard-

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■I II ■! LITERARY. I II II The Light at Jagged Reefs It was one of those ancient structures, the type that is so old no one knew just when it was built or who built it. Crumbling slowly but surely, rock by rock, the Jagged Reefs Lighthouse still stood like a sentinel on guard perched precariously on a solid sheet of rock that jutted out of the ocean. It had been va- cated three years ago because the fishing smacks no longer brought their loads of fish to the small port of Harwich. Many tales had circulated among the super- stitious fisher folk about Jagged Reefs Light- house being haunted. Many times when a Nor’easter lashed the waves of the Atlantic into mighty sheets of water and turbulent whirl- pools, more than one fisherman had seen a light from Jagged Reefs flash on and off as if guiding mythical fishing smacks to their home port as it did in the days of old. This had been going on for many years, but the good fisher-folk were too easygoing and too superstitious to interfere with the supernatural. Then came the war, and the small coastal town became overnight a busy port with a large naval base. An expedition made up of a de- molition squad was sent out to investigate Jagged Reefs Lighthouse. Their orders were to demolish it and survey the small area of rocks to determine whether it could be of any further use in building a lookout tower. When the party was halfway to its destina- tion, a squall descended with a great rush on the small craft. Instantly the boat was tossed to and fro like a tiny match box caught and trapped in a giant whirlpool. All was lost, for the gale was too strong and the boat capsized and sank. Out from the depths of the ocean emerged one wretched survivor, who clung desperately to a piece of driftwood. In the distance through the torrential rain he could see faintly the Jagged Reefs Lighthouse looming gaunt and spectre-like above the tempest. With a final spurt of dying energy the lone survivor pushed on toward the reef. After a few min- utes of swimming against the strength of the waves, he attained his goal and pulled himself up with great effort onto rain-soaked rock, im mediately lapsing into an exhausted stupor. The storm let up and night descended. The lone man, still caught in the clutches of a death-like sleep, finally awoke. Too weak to move, he just lay there and gazed into the starry heavens as if thanking God for his de- liverance from such a horrible end as had befal- len his companions. A cold spray of salt water drenched him to the skin; he became chilled and numb from the cold. So, with waning strength, he turned on his stomach and commenced to crawl up the rock to the lighthouse. There would be shelter at least from the bone-chilling spray, if not from the biting cold. As he glanced toward the lighthouse, he realized it was the first time he had had a good look at the famed Jagged Reefs. It was constructed of gray fieldstone and banked with concrete. At intervals of about ten feet could be seen gaping holes that had been presumably at one time windows and at the very top was a huge circular, dome-like piece of which the roof had partly fallen away. When the waves crashed on the rocks, they threw a spray on the sides of the lighthouse, causing the stones to glisten in the pale moonlight. All this to- gether gave Jagged Reefs a very eerie appear- ance. The lone survivor was walking now, and he headed for the door that was slightly ajar, swinging back and forth with a creaking noise. Then it happened. Just as he started to push the door open, the whole reef was illuminated by a beam that blinked on and off in the lighthouse tower. The survivor drew back, alarmed by the sudden brilliance. He crouched down beside a boulder and watched the light as it cast its rays over the ocean. The poor wretch thought at first he was suffering from