Muskegon High School - Said and Done Yearbook (Muskegon, MI)

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MUSKEGON -yaissmt-, FABIAN LAVEQUE RICHARD - FREYE -319- In the deep, damp gloom of a thick and wild stretch of hemlocks, the old Frenclnnan had built his shantyg I say 'fold Frenchman because his wind tanned, leathery hide, seasoned by many years of exposure to the ele- ments, and steeped in the wood smoke of innumerable campfires, was tell- tale evidence of a long life spent in the wilds. I can see him yet, pipe in hand, sitting in his tilted back chair by the door of his shanty puffing his pipe methodically and blowinsf the dark blue smoke in heavy wreaths about his head, smoke which was lost in the en- circling 'doom of the hemlocks. His shanty was 'built of slabs from an old saw mill dock. The interior was dark, almost gloomy, and smelled as though musty with age, for never rt ray of sunlight seemed to break through the barrier of hemlock boughs overhead. A spring some distante away furnished water for drinking and cooking in summer, while snow answer- ed the purpose in winter. In the summer he lived on berries, fish, and such woods pastries as flap-- iacks and sour-dough biscuits. No doubt such delicacies as mushrooms, water cress, herbs, and in the fall, nuts and wild honey, tended to break the monotony of his diet, for he seemed to possess some intricate knowledge of nature that he did not disclose to those who met him. He never hunted and MICHIGAN 27 he never trapped though the woods abounded in game, and he always seemed glad to receive the muskrat carcasses tl1at I offered him, and he converted into quite palatable food. To me he was somewhat of a mys- tery, for he was never quite open and frank, and he always spoke with an air of reserve that seemed to shade but not entirely conceal the shadowy haze that was lns past lile. As I have be- fore remarked, he never went hunt- ing, but hanging on two pegs just above the door was an ol'd 'Sperfeer, well oiled and sleek, which showed that it was well cared for. YVhy the old man kept such a gun, and ao- parently kept it ready for instant use, was sometlnng that I constantly won- dered on. Was the old man afraid? lf so, of what? Ifor certainly no timid man who would WVZIIIK to be within reach of a loaded gun at all times. would voluntarily live in such a lonely place. The next time my business took me near the Frenchmanls shack, I stopped in to have a chat with him. I had brought him some salt, flour, and lard, as he had requested me to do on my previous visit, and as I set the things on the shelf that was reserved for such purposes, he silently paid me for them in silver. As we talked about this and that, I referred to the old time smoke wagonl' that hung above the door and asked him if he ever intended to hunt bulfaloes. Before he could answer or perceive my intentions, I removed the rifle from the pegs and carefully draw- ing back its hammer to safety, I flick- ed open the breech. Out snapped the long brass cartridge and did a tail spin to the floor. I stooped, picked it up, and glanced at its owner. His face still registered the last faint trace of alarm and his wide staring eyes were rapidly changing to pin points of fire. Then, with a careless gesture he regained his self-control and told me the gun was an old keep-sake and that if I cared for it, I might take it along. The rest of the visit was of little importance, I told him of the important news of the last two weeks, and he in turn in-

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26 SAID AND DONE YOUNG, ALOUHA Value received. Said and Done Editor-in-Chief '34, Humor Editor 33, News Editor '34, Senate President, Secretary, Booster Club Execu: tive Committee, Old Grad's Dance, Stue dent Council, G. A. A. WESTOVER, BEVERLY Individually designed. Graduating, but no pictures shown. BACKSTROM, CHARLES He's quiet, but we all know 'Still waters run deep'. DULIBON, MADELINE She could think and ne'er disclose her mind. BOURDO, ERIC It would talkg Lord how it talked! isiffusiozze Marie Somzega, '35 They say that a true love can never die. On this my soul has feasted as the days went by, But now I hunger, . Long have I waited for this returning, My soul within me bursting, yearning For her love, But upon this great eventful meeting, So cold and haughty was the greeting that she gave 'I'hat now I walk the streets of evening, I alone with all my pondering Of My Love. Never again can my heart be merry, For memories of her, My Love, will tarry till the end. .4 CM!! WALLACE l'VooDRow, '35 lim saving to be a millionaire lfVith loads of money everywhere, I'm saving nickels, dimes, and dollars, Illll saving 'till my tullllhy hollers. l'll buy me guns and boats and fish poles, l'll make the trout and rabbits hunt their holes. I'll sail from here to New Orleans l've done it already-in my dreams. i'll buy me lots and lots of things ,-End say to heck with wedding ringsf' l'll be a rich guy yet, some day, I've got the secret, I know the way. Today I got my first big start, I found a nickel in front ofthe Mart L... I'd rather play my violin And fiddle through the day, Then worry on incoming ships And make my hair turn gray. Creighton Cook There is always a tie between father and son, but the son always wears it. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested, that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not cur- iouslyg and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Francis Bacon A Swedish statistical society has cal- tulated that, including losses from rev- olution, famine, and pestilence, the Great War deprived the world of no fewer than 4o,ooo,ooo lives.

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28 SAID AND DONE formed me that he had located a bee tree, and that if I wished I could help him cut it. I did a week later and we got nearly forty pounds of honey which we split fifty-fifty. The next time I met him was nearly three weeks after we had cut the bee tree, and it was indeed a memorable occasion as you shall soon see. On the day that we had cut the tree he had given me a list of supplies that he wanted me to bring him the next time I came by. Included in this list was the request that I bring him some writing materials. NVhen I left the supplies, mostly grub, at his shack he was I1Ot there, so I left them on the table and went on. I stopped in on my way back, ex- pecting that perhaps he had a letter for me to mail for him. I opened the door without knocking and stepped inside. He was seated at the half-cleared table, a lamp throwing its sickly light over the paper and making fantastic sha- dows on the wall. So deeply absorbed in his writing was he, that he didn't bother to raise his head, but nodded to me sort of abstractedly. I took a seat in silence and stared at the lamp while all the while he scratched away with his pen, until the paper was Hlled, then sat staring at the lamp in pro- found thought. He was the first to break the silence. You know, jack, its an awful thing for an old man like me to have to live alone like this, never seeing anyone, never hearing from homef' He paused a moment and then went on, Thirty years ago I was as carefree a lumber jack as ever birled a log. I was a champion then, and a wicked man in a iight. He paused a moment to park some rough cut into the blackened bowl of his corn cob. Holding it in- verted over the lamp, he puffed until the tobacco glowed, then he resumed his talk. 'iLife as a shanty boy was hne as long as the timber lasted, but when the last big companies pulled stakes from the upper peninsula I went back to Montreal. Later I Hshed on the Grand Banks. He stopped and stared silently at the floor. The fire was nearly out, so I got up and threw in some more wood. The spell was broken. During the rest of the evening l could not get him to talk on the subject, although he talked freely enough on other sub- jects. It was late in February when I again caught him in a reminiscent mood. HCertainly a man of your experience must have some interesting stories to telljl I said. Did you ever drive the Muskegon or the Saginaw? 'KX'Vell,y' he replied slowly, I couldnit tell you much of my past life, because of interest, nothing much happened but there is a story that I could tell about two Frenchmen on the banks that might interest you. Their names, as I lfabian Laveque andw-. The two of them were part owners in the Canadian Queen, a small fishing boat of about I5 ton. lt was in the middle of Octo- ber, a heavy fog was rolling in off the banks,I' and the small vessel was hove- to off the coast of Newfoundland wait- ing for the fog to lift so that they could continue to St. Johns, where the vessel was to be laid up for the winter. The riding lights had been lighted, and the two men sat in the narrow cabin playing chess. The game lost its interest however, because the long swells that swept in from the north Atlantic caused the boat to pitch to a degree that scattered the chess men across the Hoor too often to be tolerated. The fog failed to lift, and the time began to hang heavily on the two n1en's hands. Finally Laveque thought of the pair of rapiers that had been the property of his father, and now reposed in the locker that he was sitting on. He brought them forth and they cleared the table and lighted the battered old copper ship's lantern and hung it from a beam over the center of the table, which was fastened secure- ly to the floor and could not be moved. Stripped to the waist they took their stand, one on each side of the table and carefully gripped their weapons and eyed each other, calculating each recall, were