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

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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

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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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BEAUTY CULTURE THE ART and science of Beauty Culture is as old as Eve. There is very little in the field of Cosmetology that was not used by our ancestors. One great difference to-day, however, is that everyone is expected to help Nature if she has not been too lavish with her gifts. Probably the highest peak in the use of cosmetics and perfumes was reached in Egypt, with the endorsement of the beautiful and romantic queen, Cleopatra (68-30 B.C.). Shakespeare pictures the scene as she sails to meet Mark Anthony: Purple the sails, and so perfumed that the winds were love- • sick. But Cleopatra seems conservative when compared to Nero ' s wife, Poppaea (1st Century A.D.). She had her daily bath in milk. More per- fume and incense were used at her funeral than could be produced in a year at that time. It costs less and is easier to be beautiful to-day. THE GOAL in all work done by Seniors in the Commercial Department of McKee is to become trained workers in the various activities. A student is permitted to concentrate on the activity in which she shows ability so that at the end of the course she may take the tests for trained operators given by each of the manufacturers. In the near future it is hoped to place commercial work on the basis of a shop . This would lead to a diploma in business practice. We are proud to point to our graduates who are now working in banks, insurance companies and department stores. A good many are working in small offices. Remember that the girl who merely knows about a machine or activity but is not proficient in it does not make herself a valuable employee. OFFICE PRACTICE 55