Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

Page 17 text:

— M. E. CHURCH. VIEW OF THE OLD DAM. CENTRAL SCHOOL. ST. PATRICK ' S CM U KCII AND l RMnN (U MOMKJNCT, A TKK WORK IM T

Page 16 text:

4 JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. OUR SCHOOL HOUSE. == -• -=i A tall, old brick building Is the school house in Momence; No walls are around it— Not even a fence. The school is located In the center of the block. Looking as large and as roomy As an old-fashioned clock. Two beautiful vines Climbing over the wall Of the school house so dear, Make it look much less tall. Long walks of concrete, Encompass it round, Which quite clean and neat Are generally found. From the street to the school Immense trees form a line, And these with the lawn, Make a view very fine. The lawn is a beautiful Carpet of green, So soft under foot, So cool, fresh and clean. I have tried to describe Our old school house so dear, Which is filled to the top, With wisdom and cheer. Emma Pittman.

Page 18 text:

JUNIOR YEAR BOOK. 17 WAS HE JUSTIFIED? STORY BY BONN IB ELL WE A VER. “And, Dollie, if I make a home tor you and the boy, will you come?” ‘Yes, Jack, have I not followed you north, south and east, when you did not promise, but now you have promised and Jack, your word used to be as good as another man’s bond, why should I not go west, but oh, Jack, don’t fail me, for I feel that this is your last chance, and if you fail this time, you fall forever. “Hush, little woman, we have weathered some pretty squally times together, but please God its over now, and I can see smooth waters and a quiet harbor ahead for us, so don’t be pessimistic, but look on the bright side, and remember, I will keep my promise, or die trying. Good bye, sweetheart, one kiss for yourself and one for the boy, God bless him, may he be a better man than his father, and oh, Dollie, teach him to say no , and keep on saying no , when temptation stands in front, then he will not have to flee as I am doing, but Dollie, little wife, it won’t be for long and you will come and what a pleasant home we’ll have some day! The train is due in just fifteen minutes and I’ll just have time to make it, so be good to yourself— yes I will write as soon as I see what the prospects are.” A rush of cold air, a slam of an outer door, and the crunch of hasty steps on the frozen snow, and for the third time Jack Der¬ went had started out in the world to make a home for the wife and boy; while back in the lit¬ tle house, Dollie, with sad eyes and pale face, moved silently, straightening a chair, picking up some of Jack’s discarded clothes and swiftly removing all traces of his presence, and she felt as though he had passed from her side for always, well knowing, that where he went, there went also, his besetting sin, and his eagerness to get away was that craving for a change and excitement only possessed by those cursed with the “wandering heel,” and doubly inten¬ sified by his frequent lapses in that little village where the saloons outnumber the churches six to one. “Boys, this is my last drink, and I mean it. Back in God’s country I’ve a wife and boy waiting for me to make a home for them, and a year ago I promised her, (my little Dollie,) to let this stuff alone, and I meant it then, but I trusted in my own strength, and fell after keep¬ ing my word six months “Do you know how I came to lose my grip?” “Love for the red¬ eye,” suggested one. “Got lonesome from home and kid,” hazarded another. “You are away off, both of you,” he said contemptuously, and turning from the bar in a sudden fury, his somber eyes sweeping the crowd that surrounded him, he thundered, “No! it was neither, tho God knows with the longing for them and the curse in my blood my life was a hell, but I would have conquered, if you had left me alone, but this treating, this forcing a man to drink, or be branded as a coward, led to my undoing, and I tell you now,” reaching round and touching a forty-four at his belt, “the first man that asks me to take a drink with him, dies. Now, remember, I’ve warned you,” and while they stared at him in open mouthed astonishment, he shouldered his way through the crowd and in a moment was out under the stars; throwing back his head, he drew in a long breath of pure night air that seemed doubly pure after the tainted atmosphere he had been breathing. Somewhere a shrill voiced clock struck the hour. He paused in his walk and muttered, “eleven o’clock and the 24 th of De¬ cember. Just a year since Dollie and I filled the kid’s stocking. Oh, Dollie, Dollie, when shall I see you and the boy again? Grant it may be soon.