McKee Career and Technical High School - Yearbook (Staten Island, NY)

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GIRLS ' COMMERCIAL ART THIS THING CALLED ART— The importance of art to human beings is too often forgotten. It has always been such a vital part of our lives that like walking or talking we don ' t think how necessary they are until by some misfortune we are deprived of them. Few people ever realize how dreary life would be without the creative instinct that nature has endowed us with. The eagerness with which every child plays with blocks and paints is a sign of that instinct in all of us. Because some develop it more than others and become professionals in later life is no indication that the gift has been lost to the rest of us. On the contrary, a quick glance at one ' s own person, noticing the care with which we select and combine our clothes is a sure sign that the artist is still in us. Wood whittling, telephone-pad scribbling, harmonica playing, tap- dancing, — these are all manifestations of the same urge, the will to create. Let these interests grow in you, guide them along production lines, and you will experience joys and pleasures that will help make your life a truly happy and beautiful one, and one that costs surprisingly little. BOYS ' C OMMERCIAL ART 53

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£k I :il WOODWORKING DUNCAN PHYFE, our most noted cabinet maker, was apprenticed at an early age to a carriage maker in Albany, New York. He later moved to New York and started a business of his own on Fulton Street, employing at one time a hundred men or more. Strange to say his draughtsmanship was poor (seniors take note) but every piece of furniture was personally inspected by Phyfe, himself, before leaving the factory. His work ranged from elaborate pieces made for the Astor family to the simplest kitchen furniture, from library table to ironing boards, and all equally well made. Such, in part, is the story of Duncan Phyfe, born in Scotland in 1768, who brought with him a tradition of the job well done. RICHELIEU said, If it is versatility you seek, go find an architect. He must be an artist, or his buildings will offend the eye; an engineer, or they will crumble; a lawyer, or he will get his patrons into trouble; a doctor, or his buildings will be hygienically unfit to live in; and last, but not least, he must be a gentleman or we will have nothing to do with him. Eminent men in the fields of architecture and engineering have often expressed the hope that students of these professions will not all actively work in them. Not that they are wasting their time, but that their training in ob- servation and orderly thinking will be of great value in many other types of work. MECHANICAL DRAWING 52

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HEATING AND SANITATION WHAT IS NEWS? — The early Romans were the first people to use lead for water piping and it is from their name for lead that the word plumber is derived. Their civilization contributed much to our modern sanitary advantages and it is interesting to note that they were also pioneers in air conditioning. The famous Roman baths were equipped with air conditioning in an elemen- tary form. Adjoining the plunge or pool were hot rooms, cold rooms and moderate rooms. The walls and floors of these chambers were hollow and heated to the required temperature by air passing from a central heating plant. A recent trade magazine article describes a patent granted to an Ameri- can inventor for a method of heating the floors and walls of a building through pipes imbedded in them. It is obvious that this new method of heating has directly descended from the Roman baths. ARTICLES that are comprised of sheet metals of one kind or another are numerous. It is no longer a tinker ' s trade, but a trade that is of equal importance to the other skilled mechanical arts. Aviation, air-conditioning, automobile, and truck makers, as well as metal furniture, kitchen equipment, and metal roofing manufacturers, are now look- ing to the vocational and technical schools for assistance. Sheet metal work is now, indeed, a most fertile vocation. Sheet metal work is not the vocation of a jack of all trades, but an occupation which provides the worker with a wide field for his talents. SHEET METAL WORK 54