North Quincy High School - Manet Yearbook (North Quincy, MA)

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MAN ET 3 aturv in the iKauu STEPHEN R. PUTNAM, I2-I Some three years ago I expectantly visited my old friend. Captain Jonathan Bilgewater. then ninety-three years old. Hllll busy carving out ship models at a great rate. The morning I came up to l1is cottage on tl1e Maine coast, it was blowing a gale from the southeast. The wind carried salt spray to the front doorstep. In response to my o11e ring on the bell a genial white-bearded face greeted me. The captain cocked his eyes toward the sea. There was a peculiar light in those grey eyes. I knew it of old. Then he bade me enter. As he drew two comfortable chairs up to the fireplace. he ap- peared quite anxious to see me. When we were both seated, he handed me a five- center, lighted his from an ember, puffed away while he stared ahead, and spat vigor- ously from the corner of his mouth into the fire. Finally, after he had stared awhile at. a ship model on the mantelpiece, he shot a quick direct look at me. I caught that peculiar glint of the eyes again. I knew he was bursting with a tale. Roger, he said to 1116 in a very solemn tone, I'm now pretty well along in years, my boy, and as I'm likely to slip my cable any minute, there 's been one thing that I've been wishing to tell yer. That's of my Hrst voyage as captain aboard the clipper 'Yataganf I've never told a soul this tale before because I've always been afraid that they'd think I was a lunatic, but I know I can trust you, Roger, so, listen well. I thanked him for the compliment. After blowing a few smoke rings. the while he seemed to be looking intently at some far off land, he began his amazing story. IVell, he says. it all began in 1851. XVe had just discharged our cargo in a small port in southern Franceg but, as we were unable to secure a cargo for Singapore, we were forced to take on ballast in the only available form. which was five hundred barrels of rum. As we started out with all that weight aboard, the vessel rode as steady as the Rock of Gibraltar. However, after sailing along fine for about three days, the ship connnenced to act queerly. As time wore on. light breezes seemed to keel her over more and more. Day by day she ap- peared to draw less water. Then, to make matters worse, the crew said they were be- coming affected by the off motion of the ship. Now, they kept below decks more than usual. When they did come on deck, the way that they staggered around was frightful. I even caught whatever was in the air m'self, and began to feel dizzy-like and to roll round like the men. A certain day things became so bad that one of our most reliable seamen slipped off a yardarm and fell into tl1e sea. However. when he be fished out, it war amazing how normal he acted. though be it only for a few hours. In the meantime the ship seemed to grow lighter and lighter, so light that even a tive knot breeze canted her well over. And to make matters worse, during the night the barometer fell so far that the needle made several revolutions before coming to rest. which meant we were in for a terrific htu'ricane or worse. I ordered all canvas off her. That done, we were all startled by tl1e cry, 'Land, Ho !' from the starboard watch. I whisked out my spy- glass and peered at the land. A moment later. how well I remember. I bust out with. 'Holy Jumpin' Jehosophat. it looks like we must be makin' on the land like greased lightnin'! Must be a bad current herel' No sooner had I said it than we were close enough to make out the trees. They looked like giant twisted oaks. iIVow!' cried the Cook. 'thats no forest, them 's a nest o'water- spoutsf XVhen the truth bust on us, there was bustle, I tell yer, men goin' round like a lot. o' bees. I got two boats away in a twinklin' with all the crew safe aboard them. The crew. though. seemed to kind of leave the old ship reluctant like. They had kind o' sad faces as they gazed at her as we rowed away. A slight breeze whipping ahead of the storm caught her broached-to. Over the old ship went on her beam ends and then she sank right out .of sight. Next came the storn1. It made a joke out of the days of Noah's Ark. The roar of the wind and sea was deafening. A big wave circling round the thousands of waterspouts eaine on us and filled both life- boats to the gunwales. Before tl1e boats could sink. came the 111ain blast, the hurricane itself, such a wind never man saw before, I vow. It just whipped half t.he water out of the boats. Seeing that. the men bent to their oars. I dodged my boat in and out around and among them waterspouts. The other boat. was not so lucky. And what do you suppose? IVell, here 's the wonderful part. One of them waterspouts be so flung down by the terrific blast that it just flew itself into a slipknot and tied itself, as it were. right around that other unlucky boat. And with that perfidious blast still a

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strife 'hr Hianvt GS:-9 NORTH QUINCY HIGH SCHOOL NORTH QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS Volume VIII FEBRUARY, I93S Number I Elite Stadt' Qnntvnts EDitoRs-iN-ci-HEP PAC-QE Catherine Zottoli Russell Williams Literary '- ' 3 LITERARY EDITORS Starring Ioe P. P. Pennerl . . ll Ellzabellfl Wallace Edward Benlley The Spotlight .... . 31 ART EDITORS Editorials . . Bernice Lytord Edith Zottoli Alumni l l 36 .. ALUMNI Enitoizs Exchange . . . . 37 DOVOIIIY Plummer Cfefa Beach Clubs on Review .... . 38 SPORTS EDITORS Northern Rises and Falls Pau' LaH'Ve Agnes Laing Football ..... . 39 NEWS ENGR Basketball . . 40 Elizabeth Seavey Wrestling . . . . 4I JOKE EDITOR Locker Room Chat . , 43 Arthur Starratt Soccer .... . 43 SUBSCRIPTION EDITORS D Q Paging the Girls . . 43 Bertha Cummings lvlarion Acker School News . . . 44 FACULTY ADVISERS Big Hearted Herbert . . 45 Ruth Leavitt Ethel Crockett B l john Hofferty ubb es .... . . SO Staff Assistants Ahupmglng Staff Manager - Agnes Walker W'lt d B D ld K I re ettoney Ona em Alice Calnan Ethel Howell Ruth Channell Dorothy Nash William Crosman Nancy Maw William I-IIII Iames Rumllll George Crowdis Dorothy Rooney Frances Curtis Hilda Goldberg Grace Willy

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4 MANET howlin'. that slipknot of wat.-1-spout just strained tighter and tigl1ter and bust the boat to bits. Poor fellers. them that was in it. I be so moved to my very innards by the loss of them brave men. that I plum forgit to steer my own boat. And my men were all appalled like, still at their oars. So when all hands took a squint through the tlyin' spume all about there, we war blown way half up the side of a ugly tilted waterspout, wit.h the sea a-goin' away and the sky, so fur as we could jedge. a comin' nearer. As there was signs. then of a sudden, of the storm a-goin' to abate, there war but one thing to do. Them spouts when they die out split in the middle. And the splittin' war commencin' and our escape down the spout war cut oft. There warn 't but one thing to do. and that war to row to the top of the spout. And on reachin' near the top, all we cud do was ter throw out the anchor to keep us from a slidin' down. And now comes the incredible part. There we were anchored up there with the crew all prayin' for forgiveness and confessin' to me as their captain as how they'd drunk up all the ium. Then as they grew more hysterical-like in the tlyin' spray up there, for yer couldn't see nawthin' for the mess o' fiyin' seawater up the side o' that spout. the boat seemed to be kind o' gently settlin'. YVe war sort ol sinkin' down through the thinnin' waters of the, worn- out spout. And, just as we War all expectin' to suddenly drop miles down into the furious waters. there seemed to come a gentle scrapin' on the bottom of the boat and the sweetest smell like o' beautifuous flowers. And, would yer believe it, we found ourselves settin' right on mother earth. embowered in the sweet foliag'e of a tropical mountain paradise. That thar spout had stretched right over from the sea till it become connected and fastened like onto the summit of a mountain. So, when the cussed thing died away. we wafted gently down a few teet until the danged lifeboat was restin, on the handiest mountain peak I ever come 2lcl'oss, Q A Bag at the illnir I was one of the many fortunate people who spent a glorious holiday at the XVorld's Fair. Almost every industry believable was presented in some form of building there. If you should take the time to consider one-half of the num- erous types of businesses which we have today. you would maintain only a rough estimate of the vast collection and the time of planning and preparation which was involved in creating these wondrous marvels. It was indeed a ' C Century of Progress. The tall and short buildings were constructed of all sorts of geometric contrivances and shapes. One surpassed all feeling of dizziness in even attempting to gaze at the skyscrapers and towers. Besides height and structure. they displayed artful blends of color. The huge Hall of Science had the appearance of a bril- liantly illuminated metal and glass creation. soaring from colored terraces. Leading up to this predominating structure of magnificence, was the striking Avenue of Flags which lent an air of pomp and gaiety to the fair. Elec- tricity's wizardry was unfolded in a sickle- shaped group of buildings embellished with hanging gardens, steel cypress trees. and elec- tric cascades and fountains. The temperature registered by the great Texaco thermometer 1020. There had been a lack of rainfall which resulted in a drought and all the dilapidated corn tiields could be discerned for miles around the outskirts of the city. The intense heat made us very thirsty and we had to content ourselves by drinking tonic. as the scanty water supply was said to contain a form of poisoning. My greatest thrill was the sky ride. On this trip I reached a height of over a thousand feet into midair. I rode in a small cart which soared up, up into twin towers of a height greater than that of the Empire State Build- ing. I experienced a breath-taking sensation upon my rapid descent and witnessed another peculiar feeling when I reached good old Mother Earth once again. My condition might have been interpreted as an acute attack of both seasickness and dizziness. Despite all this nausea. however, I continued on my sight- seeing tour with much eagerness. Among the various villages represented was the Bowery of New York which portrayed the famous Brooklyn Bridge where that famed per- son, Steve Brody, accomplished his miracu- lous diving feat. The early Colonial and French periods were displayed in all their quaintness, and appeared very realistic. I con- sidered the Indian village the most interesting with its war dances and medicine chieftains. The Enchanted Island was a tive-acre won- derland for the children attending tl1e fair. They derived great pleasures from the magic moun- tain, tropical garden, children 's theater, and the miniature railroad. At dusk a glamorous dis- play of fireworks arrayed' all the heavens and