Morenci High School - Senior Yearbook (Morenci, MI)

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The elattcr of a horse-'s hoofs in the yard. Bang! i'olonel! Oh Colonel ! No longer is the house quiet and peaceful. The Colonel hurries intogthe living room. Hastily the kerosene lamp is lighted. Its brave light drives away the shadows. The Volonel glances at the clock. . t'Only twelve! What can anybody want at this hour? The voice outside calls urgently. The Colonel goes quickly to the door. He opens it. A man, covered with the dust of his long ride, thrusts a telegram into his hand. Quick, it's for Mr. Calvin Coolidge! The man steps into the house while the Colonel goes to the foot of the stairs and calls: Cal. Cal! In a few minutes Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge and the boys appear. The Colonel hands the message to Calvin. Quick- ly he tears it open and reads. Then he turns to the an- xiously waiting family. Mr. Harding is dead. I am to go to Washington at once. A gasp of surprise from the entire family followed this announcement. Washington I said Mrs. Coolidge. l'resideut! said the Volonel. The two boys merely stared. ' Yes, and I shall take oath at once. But first allow me to write Mrs. Harding. Picking up tlie pen Mr. Coolidge wrote a few lines to Mrs. Harding. He handed it to the man who had brought the telegram. Then he turned to his father.' ' - ' You are a notary? I 4- Yes. I - ' ' 75 The Uolonel reached to the table and got the Bible from which I'alvin's mother had always read to him. And in the light of the lamp. with his family and one stranger from the outer world. Ualvin Foolidge repeated afterffhis father the oath of office. At the last! l'So help me God from his son, old Colonelfi'oolidge bowed his head and said: Mary, your son has not failed you. '- - .Elizabeth Thompson. 1 7 ire :2? 'f-N J LL the rooms were lit up in the sumptuous hotel. The hall-room floor was crowded with gay whirling couples, and the shrill P laughs of the women heard above the din of the orchestra. Down in the basement in the furnace room, the janitor, tired with his day's work, tipped his chair against the wall so that his hack covered up the No Smoking sign. With a happy sigh he took out his blackened clay pipe. filled it with tobacco, lit it and gave the match a careless toss towards a pile of shavings. The janito1 s eyes commenced to blink sleepily. his head started to nod, finally it rested upon his chest. His snoring pro- 'claimed that he was asleep. 1 The pungent odor of smoke filled the air. The pile of shavings had caught fire. Eagerly the little, greedy flames licked up every shaving. and started to climb the wall. Soon the wall looked like a mass of fiery serpents. The janitor awoke with a start. saw his plight. and made a dash for the stairway. But alas! the fire monster had the upper hand. The stairway was full of dancing, mocking flames. With one pull of the fire alarm the jani- tor sank to the floor in despair. The flames danced and crackled around him in savage glee. A Outside the night was black and peaceful, Suddenly in a voice of terror the cry of Fire! rang out and seemed to rcverherate on the still air. Instantly the distant roar of the fire engines are heard. It grows louder and louder. It stops. A crowd gathers. Men are shouting out orders and advice. Now the fire monster is in all his glory. He sends mocking flames out the windows: he roars in his fury, and stands out in a strange and lurid contrast against 'the black sky: A ' f The air is full of flying bricks' and' burning embers, theiuner walls of the huildiuig collapse wiflra groan and

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The giiliionight Gbatli trees eurtsied to the flippant green maples in the breeze. The very flowers seemed I This story is based on the one-act play written by Esther Maurer! gm HE third of August had dawned bright and ID 3 clear-a glorious summer day! The gol- .S-EE den sunlight streamed down over the em- erald Vermont hills. The gracious elm to laugh and dance, flaunting their gay colors in Mother Natui-e's face. The birds sung and chirruped incessantly. Grace Coolidge. black hair neatly combed, dressed in a cool green frock, stood gazing out the window. Her glance passed over the sheen of the hills, softened a little as it caught sight of the dim burial ground under the dis- tant pines, and then brightened as she saw the nodding flowers. What a beautiful long. summer day! If only they could stay here. As if voicing her thoughts Calvin Coolidge glanced up from the newspaper he was reading and spoke: I wish we could stay here all summer. Grace. But I feel that I MUST :zo where my work lies. ' Grace sigflied as she thought of Washington. Tlien she suid. lJon't you suppose I could stay in Northampton? I would be much happier there. Ualvin nodded understandingly. But, said he. your duty- ' Yes I know l should he with you-and yet we both ought to he with the boys. Both seemed to be thinking the problem over. What should they do? Then young Calvin dashed into the room and thrust a paper into his father's hand. Oh, hurry. dad. hurry! A man on horseback came- it's from the president! Uh hurry, D0 hurry I In his excitement he raised his voir-e and John, hear- ing il. rushed into the room. Whats happened ? Mr. Coolidge quietly opened the message and read it. When he had finished he looked solemnly at his wife. Itis from Secretary Christian. I am requested to go to Washington. Cheerfully he added. But we'll make the best of it. John looked at his mother and father. How worried they seemed. What could he and Cal do? Suddenly it came to him. They could finish their vacation here, go to Northampton to school and get along without their father and mother. Immediately he voiced his plan and he was rewarded by seeing the worried ldoks leave. At last his father spoke: I believe that I had better leave as early as possible in the morning. Mrs. Coolidge rose, saying she would go and pack his bag. There was silence in the room for a few minutes. The clock ticked on its way to the hour. Mr. Coolidge's paper rustled as he turned it. Just as he finished reading it, his father. tall and sturdy. entered the room. Any news. Cal? , Cal put his paper on the table. Then he told his fath- er of the note, and his leaving in the morning. ' A look of consternation passed over the old Colonel's face. But what should he do for help. There was the hay and many other things. Calvin Jr. hopped up and spoke excitedly: Hurrah! We can stay here. John! Grandfather needn't worry about rain., We'll put the hay in. Grace Coolidge entered the room just in time to hear .lohn agree. By this time dusk had fallen. She glanced at the clock. How quickly time flies. We must go to hed at once. as we have to rise so early in the morning. At last the room was quiet. The clock ticked on. Ten o'c-look. Eleven o'cloCk. The moon shone into the room. Half-past eleven. One, two. three, four, five. six. seven, eight, nine. ten. eleven. twelve.

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crash, sparks flying around add confusion to the scene. The shrill cries of terror of women are heard amid the groans of the injured and dying. Above all this scene of confusion and terror the fire monster reigns supreme. The combat between fire and water is fierce. The crackling and roar drowns out the sizzling and splash of the water. One flame dies down only to have another take its place with defiance. It is dawn and the red-eyed monster proves himself the master. The crowd dispersesg the flames with one last taunt of victory leap sky-high in what seems like a roar of derisive laughter. and then die down. Off in the ristance the rumbling of the receding engines is heard, it grows fainter and fainter and is heard no more. It is dawn, the turmoil is over. Only a few people are remaining to offer help, to the injured who lie in huddled heaps on the grass. Where is the merry crowd? Where are the beautiful and laughing Women? Where is the music, the beautiful lighted building? All that remains are four blackened, ru- ined walls. The janitor awoke with a start, looked at his cold pipe and mopped his perspiring forehead with a large, red grimy bandanna. Thank my lucky stars, he murmured, it was only a dream. G. B. Ill.-XGINA'l'IONS .lust imagine Myrl F. in Golf Breen-hes. Imagine Vic K. in Short Pants. Imagine Glenn D. wearing a Plug Hat. Imagine lion S. in a Barrel. . Can you picture Eldena D. in a Hoop Skirt? Can you picture Esther M. and Bertha 0. with a beau? 4. l annieh Sophomore Class Story F course the house is haunted. Doesn't every- 'D QW body say it is? This outburst came from Dale Mercer, who was seated in the tree Q directly above me. Around me, lying in ks Q nervous positions on the ground, were 1-S' Roy Banks, Glenn Fox and Burton Wage1'. At the time we were discussing hotly whether or not a certain house in town was haunted. The house, which was on the edge of town, certainly looked haunted, but us boys were forever arguing over the matter. Which ever Way we argued, none of us would pass that house at night unless we had to. The talk grew hotter, as it always did, then: I say the house is haunted, said Glenn. I went past there two weeks ago and I saw something white in one Window. You're seeing things, came from Royg there never were any spooks and there never will be. What would a self-respecting ghost do in that old house. Tell me that. 0h. you don't know so muchf' Glenn shot back. A ghost don't like good houses. He wants an old one with the windows broken and boards loose. You know a lot about it. you do put in Dale. My grandfather know a boy who knew a boy that had an uncle whose father-'s house was haunted and he had to burn down the house to get rid of the ghost. Well. my great-grandfather saw a ghost once and would have caught it but. it vanished in the air, said Burton. You Q-an't catch a ghost. said Roy. There aren't any, so you can't catch any. I'll het I can catch one, burst out Burton. So can l, chiiued in Glenn and Dale. 'Well. why don't you try.'i I said, butting in.