Newport High School - Live Wire Yearbook (Newport, ME)

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NEWPORT HIGH SCHOOL Woodworth! But when Mr. Wood- worth saw me coming, he jumped out of the way. C I was glad, because even though I'm large and heavy, I've never killed anyone!J Then Mr. Farley pulled a gun out of his pocket -and aimed right at Mr. Woodworth's head! I guess he was all ready to pull the trigger, when suddenly the door opened, and two federal men walked in! I was stunned when they said Mr. Farley was an old time crook! Then they took him away! Now it's very peaceful without Mr. Farley in the house. I have plenty of time to think. But I keep thinking of something Mr. Woodworth said. When the men had taken Mr. Far- ley away, Mr. Woodworth picked me up and put me on the desk, and then he said: Thank God, that no chil- dren ever had Farley for a father! b Jeanne Littlefield. FROM STAW T0 JAMES Staw came floating off a big pine tree early one blustery morning. He had been forced from his parents by the pressure areas over the nearby lakes. Staw was one of many seed- lings from the great conifers. Many of his brothers, and sisters had varied experiences, but Staw's life was most interesting. He landed in the middle of a much used path about one hundred feet from his parent pine. The shoe of a tramp carried him away many miles to a wooded lot. Here he rooted and grew to an enormous height with re- markable straightness. A lumber- jack shortened his life with even I blows of a doublebitted axe. He was dragged to a mill. Shingles, stove wood, lumber, fur- niture, plywood-hundreds of other uses were made of the remarkably well-grained wood. Much of the sof- tened pith went to a cellulose mill. Part of it went into plastics. A trum- pet, formerly purchased by its very famous owner, was fitted with a mouthpiece made from this very plas- tic. Soon Staw was appearing night- ly before hundreds of cheering fans and more hundreds of jitter-bugs. Moreover, he was the cause of the ul- timate happiness of Harry James with his trumpet. How consoling to be able to feel that well-controlled rush of air pass warmly through, to come out the me- lodious and harmoniouseffects of pop- ular music! How thrilling to feel the tickle of Harry James' eye-catching mustache! How enticing to be thought of as part of the idol of hu- man beings! Staw had become fa- mous. Undoubtedly, any blockhead can become famous if he lands in the path and can follow the trail. In order to be a leader, you must follow the fol- lower. Actual existence is the result of factual substance. John Webb, Jr. A LETTER In her hand Lee held a V-mail let- ter, tears were streaming from her eyes. The letter read: My dearest one, I know this is hard to take, but this is war. We must put aside our per- sonal happiness and troubles until l

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THE LIVE WIRE H LHTERARY MR. FARLEY'S PAPERWEIGHT I'm a paperweight. I belong to Mr. Farley fthe one that's in prison nowl and I'm always on his desk in the li- brary of his fine house. That is, I'm usually on the desk, but sometimes, Mr. Farley would pick me up and play with me in his hands, and once -But that's a different story! I must tell you, you see, it's so exciting to me, for a paperweight has such a mo- notonous existence! It was the last of May when Mr. Farley got mixed up in the Wood- worth project. Maybe you've heard of it? Well, it was simply that a Mr. Woodworth, who was reputedly wealthy, wished to rebuild the old school buildings. He thought that right after vacation began would be the ideal time. Well, each man insisted on having his own way: and even though Mr. Farley wasn't the boss, fHe was very unscrupuloush he was stubborn and stood up for his idea. As it happened, the quarrel got worse and worse! Hnally the two re- fused to speak to each other at all! Over a year passed, and the schools were falling apart like some old barn along the road, but still the men couldn't agree! Mr. Woodworth threatened through his lawyer, that he would hire a new contractor. Mr. Farley swore, through his lawyer, that if the contract were broken, he would break I Mr. Woodworth in business and body! Things were coming to a pretty desperate situation, and then-Mr. Woodworth turned about and hired a different contractor! That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Mr. Farley learned the news at breakfast, and-oh, he was in a ter- rible rage all day. He beat the dog, yelled at his wife, and shot two of the neighbor's hens which were in his garden. When he sat down at his desk, the pens rolled away, the ink tipped over, and I shook in fright! I feared the worst when I learned that Mr. Woodworth was going to call on Mr. Farley that evening. Mr. Farley, however, smiled grimly, and sent his wife and the maid to the movies. Well, Mr. Woodworth came just after dark. Mr. Farley met him at the door and invited him into the li- brary. Then they proceeded to get down to business. Mr. Woodworth was a perfect gentleman and explain- ed that since the project must be com- pleted at once, he believed that a channge of contractors would be the only way. Then Mr. Farley said fOh, I was never so astonished and shocked in all my existencelj that Woodworth was a crook and a liar, and called him everything he could think of. He got so angry! He picked me up and threw me savagely right at Mr. l

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THE LIVE WIRE this calamity is over. You know how I feel about it. I'd rather be there as we planned when last together. Lee reminisced. She and Dick were clinging to each other in Pennsylva- nia Station in New York. Little had they known that this would be the last time they would be together until the World again was at peace. They had planned to meet in sixty days in Massachusetts, Dick's base. Tragedy had struck Lee's family. She had moved to Ohio, still continu- ing to write to Dick. Because of this unfortunate experience they decided to meet in thirty days. Lee had most of her wedding ap- parel bought-nothing elaborate or fancy, for this was War-time. As she carefully packed each article, she thought how wonderful it would be to live in Massachusetts and be near enough to Dick so that they could be together as much as possible. At last all arrangements were com- pleted, and she was on her way to be- come a Navy wife! Lee had been in Massachusetts for three weeks now but hadn't heard from Dick. Then one day the postman blew his whistle. Lee dashed down stairs for her mail. A letter! A letter from Dick. Yes, Lee thought this was the irony of war. Dick had been transferred ahead of schedule. He was now some- where in the North Pacific. And so, my darling, until our plans can really come true, keep pray- ing that this mess will soon be over, and that we will be together again. Goodnight, my love, may God bless you, Dick. Shirley Darling. I A STRANGER IN TOWN As I got off the bus at Oakfield, my watch said it was 12:30. The night was pitch black, and the air was cold and damp. I was the only passenger who had alighted, and the bus was already pulling out. I suddenly felt lost and wished myself on the speed- ing bus, now quite a ways from sight. A stranger in town, I began looking around for someone to tell me where to go. Not a person was in sight. What a dump! I declared, as I started walking down the dark street to find a hotel for the night. As I stepped from the side street, a dark form strode from behind a group of store houses. Before I had a chance to ask him to show me, he had slipped across the street and behind another group of store houses. I knew he saw me. He looked startled when he saw me, as if he hadn't expected to see anyone step from that street. I walked rapidly down the street where I thought the stores Would be, but the face of the man was still fresh in my memory. I thought I heard someone cough behind me, and, as I turned, my arms were gripped by two firm, steel-hard hands. I looked into the eyes of the face I had seen but a minute before. Behind him was an- other short, stout man, With a cap slouched over one eye. I was so frightened that I couldn't speak. The short man laughed, We've got her, Pete, he said. We've got her. By this time I had gained my voice. What does this mean? I stammered. Surely you don't want me. Oh, yes, we do, said the one with l