Mechanic Arts High School - M Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

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8 'T H E HM JUNE, 1924 Zliarmnell tu the Seniors Q The evening star has faded from the mists: We laugh as softly sinks its light from view. How small our sphere hefore!-we vainly thought Gul' world had ended with that nocturne hue. Across the Jim, horizon-bounded sea, We lift our faces to the glowing dawn, And stirs within our hearts a wistful sigh, The echo of a happy youth now gone. We silent cross the threshold of the morn, Our eyes uplifted grave and wonder-awed, To meet our goal halfway and hriclge the Jeep Between us and the covenant with our God. -Mabff La Dalia'

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Cover Design .... Greeting ..,..... Farewell to the Seniors Freedom , . . By Accident .,... Brotherly Discipline, . CONTENTS W' THE 191' june, 1924 SENIOR NUMBER . ,EUGENE KELSCH . , , .GILES MILLER MABEL LA DOUCRE .HARRY BLACKIVIUN . . ,MR. WOLTMAN . .AGNES SWANSON The Door .........,,.,.i.. . ,. SHELDON STAUBITZ ln Memory of Mr, Weitbrecht ..,,,. .4.. M AEEL LA DOUCRE Everystudent CSenior Class Historyb .... .... N EIL BOARDMAN Senior Pictures ...i...,.....,... ....i................. l 7- A Prophecy .... ...i,,..,,...,,. J ACK ELLIS AND EARLE CONE Pictures . ...............,........,..... NEIL BOARDMAN Illustrated by EUGENE KELSCH Senior Facts . . , ............,.....,...,,. . . . . Organizations . . , . Athletics .,.... . . Mourner's Bench I...,.., Cartoons .....I EUGENE KELSCH, Rocco VERDEROSA 44, 45, 58, 60, Snapshots .... . ,. .... 6, 12, 14, 52, -1

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JUNE, 1924 MT HhE IIMVY xg FTQCJOIH By HARRY BLACKMUN, '24 FIRST PRIZE Only during the intermittent flashes of lightning can one distinguish the huge, black walls of the great building along the river. It is the prison-that burial place of living men who have gone astray into the deep, sin- filled caverns of the underworld. Above the roar of the storm the only sound audible is the steady march of the sentinel. He plods on, back and forth, up and down, with unceasing regularity. Suddenly he pauses. With a feeling of uneasiness, he peers into the darkness about him. All seems well. Is it the storm that causes his sense of fear? Hark! Is that a footstep? Crouching silently, he listens intently for several moments. Then, apparently satisfied, he turns again to con- tinue his march, but before he has time to take a step, a tall, lithe form springs swiftly out of the darkness upon him, bearing him heav- ily to the pavement. A cruel blow is inflicted upon the guide's head and he rolls over unconscious. The lithe form quickly rises and glances furtively about into the dark- ness. He disappears over the prison wall. The lightning flashes. The thunder in- creases. The elements rage on in their un- governable fury. X se PF ak :of Amidst the wind-whipped waters of the river could be discerned the figure of a man, Grinnell, the prisoner, struggling onward, striving to reach the shore where safety was assured. During the flashes of lightning, one could see that a pistol, the weapon of the prison guard, was clenched tightly in the man's teeth. In the swollen river his flight seemed hopeless, yet, amid the debris, which was carried down by the turbulent waters, the man struggled on, centering his entire strength upon the effort to reach that stead- ily approaching shore. Gradually, slowly, painfully, he neared it, until, with a supreme effort, he felt his feet sink into the ooze of the river bed. He sank exhausted upon the ground only to rise again to struggle on. Suddenly, amid the howling of the elements, he heard the shriek of the siren at the prison warning the countryside of an escaped pris- oner. lt was the signal of the hunt, the death-note of many an escaped fugitive. In terror Grinnell fell back into the dense underbrush of the river's banks. With keen- est satisfaction he thought over his escape. He was free-free from the endless hardships and toils of a prison life-free from the con- stant watching of the guards, He ran for- ward in wild exultation. Suddenly he stopped. Down the valley he heard another shriek, not the wild cry of the prison, but the low toned whistle of a speeding locomo- tive. Slowly to his disordered faculties came reasoning. He remembered again the object of his escape. Prom his tiny prison window had he not seen, by the flashes of lightning, the queer actions of the i'gang working on the railroad tracks across the river? Had he not seen his chance to get revenge upon the leader of that gang, whom, by his far-sighted vision, he knew to be one of his former enemies of the underworld, the man who had sent him to this prison, to this living death? Had he not exercised all his faculties, trained in criminality, to plan his escape? And then had he not used all his cunning to overpower the guard and rob him of his weapon? His purpose was clear to him now. He stumbled onward in the direction of the tracks. As he clambered up the roadbed, his worst fears were confirmed, for there, across the tracks, was a pile of ties placed in the path of the oncoming train. He knew that the gang was at its old tricks-wrecking the train, then plundering the ruins, But what could he do? The task of removing the tie: was too much for one man. Besides the train was only a mile down the valley. In the midst of his dilemma he saw a man rise before him. The lightning again flashed and Grin- nell recognized the man as his former enemy. Deftly he raised his pistol and fired. The man sank to the ground with a horrible groan. Immediately other men seemed to rise out of nowhere. Grinnell was attacked from behind. With all his remaining strength he threw his opponent over his head. The men encircled him. His gun spat fire iliip., 4 1 i - .A