Newtown High School - Newtowner Yearbook (Elmhurst, NY)

Page 19 text:

JEWELS Can diamonds ever equal the dawn For pure majestic splendor? Can gold ever give you the thrill The fresh green grasses render? Can precious jewels cleanse your soul Like pure faith in God? Can anything equal the feel of the earth That once your ancestors trod? Is there anything like a human man Who strives on for his goal? Is there any beauty to equal The beating heart of a soul? Is there any thought so beautiful As that of a world without strife? Is there any story in any book That equals the story of life? ANNE LICHTMAN How does he know Which way to steer that pencil in his hand? It seems to go Quite, oh! you know, without the least command. It makes a stroke, It makes a scratch, all perfect in design VVhy does that pencil Choose a route so opposite from mine? My drawings look like big mistakes. Our works you can't compare. I think he must have all the breaks, And talent plus, to spare. The one essential difference is, And of this, I am sure, He knows his art, while I am called A mere rank amateur. CYNTHIA PRICE

Page 18 text:

JACK LONDGN , ,gh f -l EVER SINCE time began the Q V I! world has benefited from great ,.Jltg g,,:.,, ,,4:: 5 f., T E E men and their teachings. We :N AV,. p iv E Q must not forget the near-great ff M-' ,, 'l1lf.'L 43 3 5' teachers who have summarized M J! if I ,,,s the teachings of other , making , I3 ' V H X it possible .for the masses of s 1 A nf!! W, diggs 'X people to enjoy them. hp. . xhpf if -1. Libraries contain many Wi ' J r ': J ' ii1i in volumes of these books of knowledge, but the average person has little or no time to peruse them. He is too busy, for relaxation he prefers to read a short story or a novel. Yet in the reading of a good novel, a lesson may be learned which will be of benefit to himself and others with whom he is in contact. An American writer by the name of Jack London made efforts in this direction. In his first book, The Call of the Wild, he portrayed in story form some of the ideas of Charles Darwin. His story, The Sea Wolf, deals with the brutal materialism of certain German philosophers. In his story, Martin Eden, the artistic trait is brought to the foreground by the introduction of some of the ideas evolved by Kant, Nietzsche and Herbert Spencer. In the very interesting story, In the Valley of the Moon, his warning was given to the American farmers to hold on to their land, for being close to the soil and nature, they derived happiness. Thoreau and Emerson would have enjoyed reading this book. Michael, Brother of Jerry, exposed the tortures that animals go through backstage in learning to perform their acts. Jack I.ondon had an inborn ability to weave ideas from great men into mnnv of his stories and novels. He Wrote them with a charm that made in- teresting reading and in this way reached the masses. We should all feel proud of his accomplishments and that he was one of our own real Americans. Wrnma Prrrnnsnu 16'

Page 20 text:

IN DARKEST AFRICA How rr started I don't know. Perhaps it was the pickles and ice cream I ate, or maybe it was the fifth Welsh rarebit. Anyhow, I found myself in the heart of nowhere, a friendly little jungle on the African continent. Boy, was it friendly! The place teemed with sociable ten foot snakes, amiable man- eating lions, neighborly crocodiles, picturesque swamps, carnivorous plants, and other enjoyable forms of biological creation. I had just finished making preparations for a short hike, about 500 miles, into the interior. I carefully packed my razor blade, water pistol, sub-machine gun and other weapons that were later to be my protectors. I set out with no one as my guide. After trekking about fifty miles I entered a clearing. Looking about, I saw facing me three of the most ferocious lions conceivable. The lions were short, tall, fat, skinny lions. I felt my heart to see if I were dreaming, but it was gone. It had jumped out of my mouth in fright. Undaunted, I took a bowl of wheaties from my pack and quickly downed it. I now felt ready for anything-anything except lions. But was I afraid? Did I lose my courage? Did I flee toward the nearest tree? Yes! About a quarter of the way up an enormous tree my progress was halted. Why? Because I rudely bumped into a leopard. I wonder what Emily Post would say about that. The leopard glared at meg I glared at himg he snarled at meg I moved to another tree. A swishing sound caught my sensitive ears. I looked above me. There was the scourge of the jungle-a deadly python, or maybe it was a wha-sha-ma- call-it. I was too scared to find out. This time I could not flee, for below me was a man-eating gorilla. Heaven only knows that he would have gotten indigestion if he had eaten me. I reached for my pistol. It was gone, fallen s in my scramble up the tree. The lions 'E-gf' Ay' X were playing with the sub-machine J + gun, and all were closing in on me. I ' A still had a weapon more dangerous than those that I had lost. Besides, if things got too hot I could always give the denizens of the jungle an icy S e,wn.,A stare and then climb the stair out of danger. But back to that terrible 'eil if ' 'l 4 , ligjl s, :wi ii i . l . ' a ' A VIR . A 3.1, 2 Q11-1 ,FN . --' y , weapon. This weapon was so deadly j I 115' 6 - JM 6' Q' - X, fra and terrible that men cringed at the V' y I s if, sight of it. Without a moment's i3 ill, , fl' ii ,' hesitation, I drew my trusty sharp 5, wi . 'ex dangerous razor blade from my pocket. 18