Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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L Z LIT country, as the Rocky Mountains arc of the continent and, as here and there among the mountains, some peaks rising above their neighbors pierce the clouds, so among the great numbers of active men, tliere are tliose who, by tlieir wonderful skill and ability, have become the railroad kings, the merchant princes, the inventors and the true scholars. But here are the passive men. What a strikiiig contrast in appearance! Men who are practically dead to the world, who care for naught but their own affairs, many of whom even de¬ pend on their active friends for their subsistence. It is unnecessary to call them by name. Next come defective verbs. In one sense of the word all would be in¬ cluded in this class. For who is ])er- fect? But here we mean men who have no strength of mind or will, and like the thistledown that is blown by the wind through the fields, they are influenced by the breath of pojiular o])inion. They may, indeed, possess many excellent qualities, which would enable them to better their station in life, but they lack a balance wheel. England and America, eacli mourn a poet of this class, and while admiring their practical genius, they acknowl¬ edge the weakness of their characters. Now come those who resemble pas¬ sive men both in form and appearance, dej)onent men. But, notwithstanding their outward resemblance, their char¬ acter is V ry different; they ])ossess mental power and latent force, which, if aroused, will perhaps make them distinguished before men. Like Gold- smith, who, from the foot of his class in college, rose to bo one of England’s greatest writei ' s. Here, side by side, are regular and irregular verlis. The one, like a strong current, flowing steadily down the stream of life, obcvs the laws of God aiid man, and is ever ready to help his fellow man, who may be less fortunate than he. The other is just the Q])po- site in every particular. Impersonal men follow next. Those who have no ideas of their own, but, like a mirror, reflect the opinions and thoughts of others; whether for good or evil, depends on the source of the reflected ideas. After these come inceptive verbs, or the men who are always beginning some great actions, but, for want of tact- or perseverance, fail in tlieir undertakings; like the butterfly, which flits from flower to flower, they flit from one action to anotlier, and the result is, they accomiilish nothing. Coleridge, the English poet, too well illustrates this fickleness. Now, reflexive verbs, or selfish men, pass before our view. The greater part of this class is represented by the misers, hoarding up riches, ]ierhaps dl-gottcn, which neither benefit them¬ selves nor any one else. The i-n g verbs are their followers in the verbal procession. These are the men who take as their motto in life, perseverance, the jiivot on Avhich turns all success. Indeed, what worthier or more fitting examjiles of this class can be found, than Robert Bruce, the tale of whose jierseverancc is known to every school-boy, and Galvani, and Kejiler, all of whom, by their wonderful constancy, and their great achievements have made others mindful of themselves. Others there are who go hurrying by, but they differ so slightly from those already mentioned, that we shall not detain them, for our allotted time is past, and we, too, must descend in¬ to the plain of life. There on the world’s broad stage, let each one play his part as a regular, transitive verb in the first person, singular, present indicative, active. A. A. T. c. Aprils in the History of Milford- It is a singular coincidence and an interesting fact that some of the most important events in the history of our town occurred during the month of April. A part of the territory which passes under the name of Milford was, with what is now known as JMendon and Ilopedale, the original Quinshi- paug plantation bought of the Indians who formerly lived on it. Quinshi[)aug is our Indian name and means “pick¬ erel pond.” The people who lived in the Easterly Precinct (as the land east of Mill River was called) wished very much to be set off by themselves and made into a town, separate from Men- don. The people on the other side of the river were o])posed to the division, and this, of course, occasioned many bitter struggles, lasting irom 1758 down to 1780; but finally, the petition for division, having been sent to the General Court and also having passed, after three separate readings, the East¬ ern Precinct was incorjiorated as the town of Milford, April 11, 1780. The new town had an area of about nine¬ teen square miles, and occupied the territory now bounded by Ilopkinton, Holliston and Bellingham; its po))ula- tion was about seven hundred and sixty, one hundred and fifty-two of whom were legal voters; the inhabi¬ tants were mostly hard-working farm¬ ers, with a few mechanics, and they live l in houses which were widely scattered over the town; the roads were in a very poor condition and there was not a schoolhouse inside the limits. After the incorporation of the town. the nex t stc]i was the organization, and so wo find the date of the warrant issued for our first town meeting, to be AjyrU ' lb, 1780, the meeting being held on May 1st. By an act of the General Court, on the first day of Aprils 1859, the boun¬ dary lines between Milford and llol- liston were changed. By the change the south-western part of Holliston (what is called Braggville) was an¬ nexed to Milford and the boundary between the two towns permanently fixed. A little over a year ago, the people living in Ilopedale and South Milford wished to be set off by themselves, as they had a sufficient ai-ea and popula¬ tion, and because their manufactures and business so widely differed from Milford’s; also, they thought that the distance between the two towms was a good enough reason for division. So they sent a bill to the Legislature |)etitioning to be separated from Mil¬ ford and incorporated into a town. After a hard fight, the bill passed both branches of the Legislature and re- ceived the signature of the Governor, April fi, 1886, on which date Hope- dale became a towm. By the division Milford lost about one-tenth of her population and one-fifth of her valua¬ tion. Perhaps other events as Avorthy of notice and as interesting, which took place in this month, might be recalled, but the preceding ones are naturally the first which would come to the mind. . av. p., ’87. Pure Drugs, Chemicals, Medicines and Physicians Prescriptions a Specialty. P. J.-DONOHOE, Assistant. MAIN ST., COR. COURT, MILFORD. Geo. H. Whittemore, Dealer in Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Silverware, Spectacles and Eye-Glasses. AVatch, Clock and Jewelry Repairing. 110 Main Street. Milford. ► CURRIER KENDALL. OWE PRICE Gentlemen’s Furni shing Goods, HATS, CAPS,TRUNKS, ETC. POST OFFICE BLOCK, MILFORD.

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O . I looked myself over I was reminded of a bear on my native hillside who, at the beginning of winter, came stag¬ gering uj) the hill under his load of fat, seeking for Ins winter-quarters; but, when tlie sun again a]q)roaehed the equinox, he went forth a living skeleton. Such was I; but excuse this digression, let us proceed. A man picked ]) a handful of these strips, pounded us on end and sides and worse yet, pushed us against a set of eleven saws. In we went until I gave up all hopes of longer clinging to my broth¬ ers, but just in time we were pulled back, cut off just two and a half inches long, and there we were in com])anies of twelve, held together by a half inch of wood at one end. A woman’s hand- next picked us up and deposited us in a long, narrow, box-like channel where some sort of machinery shook us about and knocked us on our heads until mine was nearly cracked with its a(;hes and bruises. I heard the woman say that we were being “racked.” I have no reason to dis])ute her, for I certain ly was racked—racked fore and aft. Much to my surprise, as we bounced up, I found that our sets of twelves were arranged alternately heads and tails, so to speak, just as you find ns in the bunches you buy. Then we were placed in jack-screws where we were squeezed and jammed to such a degree that I became so heated by my wrath and my sufferings I nearly set the whole establishment on fire. After a time a boy removed me to a shed at a distance from the main building—I heard someone say that there was dan¬ ger of fire—and there I found that “the terrors of the wicked awaited me. Brimstone, oh how suffocating! Phos¬ phorus, oh how hot! There was no hesitation on the part of him who held the jack-screw in which we were held fast. Down he dipped us right into the batli of melted sulphur and then into one of ])hosphorus. One would think that, by this time, the little life still remaining in us’would have been exhausted; but it’s wonderful with what a tenacious grip we all hold on to life in this world of struggling and suffering and—What ? Too much wan¬ dering? Well, well, bear with me a moment, I’m nearly through. A little time for drying was given us and then a thoughtless, unfeeling girl (I really couldn’t helj) admiring her dextei ' ity though) grabbed myself and my eleven friends together with seven othei- cards (that is what she called them) slapped down—What’s that? My dic¬ tion isn’t very elegant? Well, 1 know that, but that’s just what she did all the same—a piece of brown tissue paper and with a rapid whirl and a folding up of the ends, I was impris¬ oned in a cell. Although my eyes I were thus blinded I kept my ears wide ! open and so learned that our ninety- six were only one bunch of many— that thirty-five other bunches were with us in one package and that four of these made what they call a gross. Queer word, isn’t it ? I heard one of the clerks down to the store where I was sold say that it came from the Latin crassus, meairmg fat or thick. I don’t see anything fat about us. Do you? Yes, yes. I’ll hurry on. We were ])acked in great wooden cases and carried off a long, long distance and, after many vicissitudes on latid and water, here am I in your hand ready to do your bidding. I hope that you have enjoyed my lucid ex- planation and—What? Not lucid enough? Want more light? Well, strike me then. Oh, Ell and Eye. In a Milford Straw Shop. As I had resided in Milford for nearly twelve years and had never seen how straw hats were made, I de¬ termined to visit one of the principal factories. The foreman had a little leisure and kindly offered to show me over the woi’ks. He first took me to the stock room whore many different classes of braid were kept that came from different parts of the world. A few of the different kinds were Jap¬ anese Mackinaw from Japan, Canton from China, Leghorn and Milan from Italy and genuine Mackinaw from Michigan and lower Canada, He next conducted me to the reeling room where the girls were employed getting the braid ready for the sewing iiall by measuring, assorting and wind¬ ing it on wooden reels. In the sew¬ ing room we found the machines in constant operation. Some of the op¬ eratives begun the hat by sewing a part of the crown, some sewed the crown and others sewed the brim and put in the size marks. In the blocking room we saw the men pinning the hats to the 1)locks and then i)utting them in the drying room. When taken out of the drying room they were ready for the press room, where we saw the men sha])ing and smoothing the better class of goods by hand, but the cheaper grades were put into hydraulic presses. The hats then went to the trimming room. Here the girls were employed putting in leathers, sewing on bands and mak¬ ing satin tips. These tij)S were very neat and attractive, embracing all colors imaginable and each having a design upon it. The leathers were nearly all made of sheepskin. These were the most pmportant processes, al¬ though there were others, as the wash- ino- and bleaching and the steam blocking. As these hats pass from one room to another they receive careful inspection from each overseer. The number of hats finished here was about four hundred dozen a day in the busy season. The greatest wonder was the Ma¬ nila and Java rooni. Here we saw the hats as th ey came from the far-off Manila Islands , hardly bearing any re¬ semblance to a hat but under the hands of the workmen they were made to assume the sliapes tliat are so desirable and attractive. In the dye¬ ing sho]), which was in connection with this department, we had no de¬ sire to remain for a ' long time on ac¬ count of tlie steam and unpleasant odor. Here all the delicate shades and tints were brought out by a man who had made this a lifelong study. The foreman told me that one of the finest straw hats they made was the genuine Mackinaw of which I have spoken befoi-e. These hats were first introduced in Philadelphia by a man who had been making a fishing tour through Canada. He purchased a few at twenty-five cents each and readily disposed of them in Philadel¬ phia for five dollars apiece. They proved a success and he gave them the name from the Mackinaw Indians who first braided them. Fearing that we were intruding too much on the foreman’s time, we hastened on feel¬ ing very grateful for the attention shown us and well rewarded for our time and trouble. H. B. s. ’89. Human Verbs. As Anchises, from a mound in the realms of Pluto, pointed out to Aeneas, the long line of his descendants, who were to go forth upon earth, and by their heroic valor make Rome the mistress of the ancient world, so let us imagine ourselves on a lofty outlook, and, gazing down ui)on the familiar faces of our friends, try to characterize them as they pass. Surely they are acting, they are existing, and as this is the definition of a verb, or action word, why not classify them as human verbs? But since tlm abi lities and ]»dwers of men, as well as verbs, are very diverse, and “Man in his life plays many parts,” we shall assign to each one the part that he plays in the great drama of life. See how steadily these go pressing on. They are the active verbs. The busy men of the world, who, never wearying of work, ever strive for suc¬ cess in life and, not content with their own e.xertions, furnish enqJoyment to their fellow men by building factories, work shops, and other places of busi¬ ness. They are the backbone of the

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irpEv0 K,vWIiY|IVY. APRIL, 1887. Published Monthly During the School Year, BY The Senior Class of the Milford High School. PRINTED BY G. M. BILLINGS. GENERAL EDITORS. AMELIA C. HARRIS and W. PARKIIURST. PERSONAL EDITORS. LYDIA F. GOULD and FRED J. AYLWARD. LOCAL EDITORS. SARAH M. GORMAN and FRANK J.MORIARTY BUSINESS EDITORS. GRACE W. EASTMAN and MARY E. WHI ' l ' NEY. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. (Ten Numbers.) For the Year, . 40 cents | Single Copies, . 5 cents This paper is for sale at the well-known drug store of J. Allen Rice, where subscriptions for the year will also be received, and back numbers can be obtained. Address all communications to THE OAK, LILY AND IVY, Lock Box 137. Entered at the Milford, Mass., Post-Office, as second class matter. We, the first class, would like to tender our kindest wishes to the fourth. We realize that every due mark of respect has been shown ns by them during this, onr last year. How proud we feel of onr knowledge when we ai-e daily referred to as the best authoi’ity on all government questions, both concerning onr own town and the country. Could we ever be so grasp¬ ing as to ask for a greater compliment? Although they, the fourth, are repeat¬ edly forbidden to consult ns on that subject, still they persi.st. What else can they do when they are expressly told to obtain their answers from the best authority? We half think that he who makes the objection is a trifle jealous. The book-keeping class have just closed their first store (a grocery store) and have squared their books with a loss of about ninety-five cents. Masters Gibbons and Holbrook were the pro¬ prietors and every scholar in the class, their book-keepers. Their stock in trade consisted of cards on which were written the amount, the cost and sel¬ ling price of the goods. The scholars were the purchasers and they bought in the four usual ways—when cash was paid, printed currency of denomi¬ nations from one cent to ten dollars was used. The usual expenses of rent, express, clerk hire, et cetera were in¬ cluded in the accounts. The class seem much interested, and it is hoped that the practical nature of the work will produce more satisfactory results than the old way. Hand in your odes, colors and mot¬ toes for ’87. The symjiathy between the olfactory nerve and the tip of the no.se lias re¬ cently been made evident. Hither by the gases generated in the Chemistry class or a simple onion analyzed in the Botany class, a continual movement has been kept up. In some cases, by the amplitude of vibration, one might easily be led to think the tip was worked on a well lubricated hinge. We are pleased to learn that several of our recent graduates have become shareholders in the new co-operative bank. It is for just such young men as these that the bank was incorporat¬ ed. Habits of saving begun thus ear¬ ly will make a great difference in their lives, in their worth as citizens, in their finan cial prosperity and by their ex¬ ample, indirectly, in the general wel¬ fare of the town. It is of great advantage to man to have a memory (life’s great thesaurus), a storehouse of facts, and a fine educa¬ tion, but what is most to be desired is comraonsense. Memorize theories, if you please; but without common sense it would be difficult to apjily them, and so even with facts and an educa¬ tion they could hardly be made prac¬ tical. As all the other faculties are of greater value with it, a little, certain¬ ly, is to be desired if but for a pedestal upon which to base our different powers. After the snow, the cold and the “Tempest” of the past months, we shall eagerly look forward from the “Winter’s Tale” to a “Midsummer Night’s Dream. We hope that the disagreeable weather of the past sea¬ son may be made up to you, dear read¬ ers, “Measure for Measure” and just “As You Like It.” Perhaps you may say that this is “Making Much Ado about Nothing;” but we trust that ours may not be “Love’s Labor Lost.” Anyway we live in hopes that “All’s Well That Ends Well.” Julius Caesar! What are you “Lear-iug” at ? Worry is a universal disease, the epidemic infests all climates and all persons. No order given to rout it now and then is a safeguard against its grasp. Although it is of a disa¬ greeable nature, it is often uncon¬ sciously encouraged by us. No di¬ sease leaves more deeply indented marks than those of worry, and as with all diseases, the fatal effects de¬ pend upon the treatment received. Consult in those whom the fever has been raging they will tell you it ought to have been allayed at the start. Beecher said, “It is Avorry and not work that kills.” The following experiment from the Pottery Gazette will be of interest to Philosophy III. It seems that a man had brought suit for the loss of sight in one eye and he was proven a perju¬ rer by this simple, yet ingenious, test. A black card, on which there was a word in green ink, had been prepared and also a pair of spectacles with a red glass for the sound eye and a xohite one for the other. The man put on the glasses and without hesita¬ tion read the word. He must have done so with the eye claimed to be sightless; for the red glass and the green lettei’S together produce black¬ ness and, therefore, could not have been distinguished from the blackness of the card by the sound eye. Monday, April 18.—Sadly we lay aside our incomplete “Spring Poem” —as yet unconsecrated to any editor’s waste-basket—wherein we sing of bursting bud and briery bush, of bust¬ ling bird and busy bug, of babbling brook and birth and bloom, and bat and ball and—and-hand-organs. Balefully, yes, bellico.sely, we take down our snow-shovel, that shovel around which we had tied a gaudy ribbon and hung it upon the parlor wall to cover the flue left vacant by the stove sent to Nahant to escape taxes. With labored effort we send gutterward the ever accumulating flakes and wonder whv the legislature doesn’t set off a piece of the year for a real poetical spring, and then we poets (?) could tell the truth, even in song. In a H2SO4 Flask- “Oh dear, oh dear,” said a weary little NO molecule, “nothing but get¬ ting and giving, taking and carrying all day long! Here I am pulling to jiieces the air, Avdiich comes rushing in here, to get my load of O ; but no soon¬ er do I jierform my task than that greedy, suffocating SO comes in another door and robs me of it, and so I must begin all over again. Talk about that sieve and water story down below! why, it’s nothing when com¬ pared with my work. This alternate oxidizing and re lucing will be the death of me. Well, well, there’s one consolation : that nasty, old S ()2 grows so fat on my O which it steals, that it changes to SO 3 , ami when the steam, that 1 can hoar hissing over my head, gets down here, it will be dissolved in the water. Then, as HgSO , it, too, will be obliged to work for its living as the constant slave of man, as I am now doing. Mine is a hard life, but I suppose that I am of some use in the world, and as there is some little com¬ fort in this thought. I’ll try not to be discouraged. Oh, Ell and Eye.