Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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THE CADUCEUS 27 , --1 done then, so they let things rest 'till morning. Never in all of Karen's sixteen years had she ever been involved in a murder, or even done anything but read about them in the papers. She felt terribly guilty about the way she had distrusted Miss Hathaway and had said so openly only two nights ago. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling to know that a killer was running loose and might even be in her father's hotel. All the guests were questioned as a group and individually. It seemed that Miss Hathaway had gone out shortly after supper having expressed a desire to ski in the moonlight. Six others had done the same thing. One party of four young people had gone out after supper and had returned about ten. They said that they hadn't gone up on the mountain but had stayed on the smaller slopes as they were all begin- ners. The other two who had gone for a moonlight ski were men, apparently not knowing each other. One was Mr. Durand, a tall slim man in his early forties. He was wearing black ski pants and a light blue ski sweater. Mr. Durand said that he was out for only a short time and that he had come in when the storm began. The remaining suspect, Kent Walker, was a younger man just out of the Army and resting between jobs. He was very handsome and an expert skier. Miss Hathaway had been seen with him many times during the past week. Walker didn't deny this and even admitted being in love with Stephanie Hathaway. The four young people who had gone skiing during the evening were crossed off the list of suspects. Mr. Walker was first on the list, with Mr, Durand immediately after. Both men were released but were watched carefully in the days that fol- lowed. The F. B. I. agents worked day and night for weeks but didn't seem to make much headway. Karen and Jerry were also hunting for clues like a couple of dogs. One afternoon three weeks after the murder had taken place, Jerry was thumping the walk while Karen was looking through some bureau drawers. All at once Karen said, Jerry, come here. I think I've found something! With Jerry at her side she opened a small chest which had been shoved into a corner of the bottom drawer. Look, a letter addressed to Miss Hathaway! they exclaimed at the same time. The letter turned out to be from Miss Hathaway's husband who was appar- ently unknown to anyone. Miss Hatha- away, or rather Mrs. Williams, was try- ing to get a divoice from her husband who refused to give it to her. Im- mediately Mr. Williams was found leav- ing Idaho. He confessed the killing of his wife giving his reason that he was very jealous of Kent Walker and, if he couldn't have Stephanie then, no one could. The following month Jerry and Karen read about the death sentence of Mr. Stanley Williams and sighed a sigh of relief as they sat quietly before one of the many fireplaces in Sun Valley. -Mary Noble, '51 SHOULD EIGHTEEN YEAR OLDS BE ALLOWED TO VOTE? I have read and heard much about whether or not the minimum age for voting should be lowered to eighteen years. Now, I would like to give my own ideas on this subject. I believe that eighteen year-olds are perfectly capable of voting. Most of them are just completing high school and are probably better informed on current events and political problems than the average person over twenty- one. Most high school graduates learn little about politics in the following years. They forget some facts that they learned in school. They must usually concentrate on a job which they are learning and have little time to fol- low politics. Those who go to college will probably be better prepared to vote than a high school graduate, but the

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26 high school. He learns to meet and get along with people. It gives him a chance to see that someone else helps him a little in making the world go 'round. It teaches him to think clearly and logically and to express himself well. It brings out to himself and others his good and bad points, his gen- eral personality. High school is a mill in which a little polishing is done on the product before turning it out into the world. It doesn't eliminate all of the hard knocks, by far, but it helps. Besides that, high school can be fun if a student gives it half a chance. Cer- tainly with athletics, dramatics, clubs, social activities, other similar activities, and just the associations a student will make with other students, faculty mem- bers and other people whom he will meet, ought to provide enjoyment for everyone. There are other reasons, no doubt, but perhaps the preceding article has presented some of the good ones in favor of a high school education, which in general is probably the base for four of the best years of our lives. TRAGEDY IN THE SNOW Karen Turner and Jerry Stevens sat before one of the huge Hreplaces at the best hotel in Sun Valley, Idaho. The lounging room was filled with other talkative people of all ages. The at- mosphere at the hotel was always friendly and informal with folks clad in ski pants and bright colored shirts. The young couple by the fireplace didn't seem to notice the laughing groups around them. Karen said sol- emnly to attractive, eighteen-year-old Jerry, I just don't like that girl. There's something about her that does- n't belong here at Dad's hotel. Oh, Karen, sometimes you are im- possible. Merely because she's an ac- tress you have to cook up a melodrama. She seems all right to me, Jerry said teasingly. Yes, I suppose you would think so. She's the most beautiful glamour girl THE CADUCEUS that ever hit Sun Valley, retorted Karen. They sat quietly for a while and then decided to get a little shut-eye. In her room Karen shed her ski clothes and got ready for bed. Her long black hair and blue eyes made a strik- ing contrast with her pale blue pajamas. She began to think about Stephanie Hathaway, the movie actress, but soon forgot her and drifted off to sleep. The morning sun finds Jerry and Karen sailing gracefully down the beau- tiful slopes. They come to a stop near some firs and sit down to rest. It's pretty rough going after the storm we had last night. We must have gotten at least a foot of snow, Jerry said after he had recovered his breath. I guess you're right. It never bothered me before to-. Karen stopped short and gasped as she saw a hand protruding from the snow beneath a huge fir. Jerry must have noticed it too for they were both at that spot in a second. They began to push the snow away and soon the beau- tiful face of Stephanie Hathaway be- came visible. Not stopping to look up, Jerry or- dered, Go get help at the lodge. She may still be alive. He had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when Karen was off down the mountain slope. Jerry continued digging and soon dis- covered that it hadn't been an accident. There was a bullet hole in her back. Karen, her father, Mr. Turner, and two other men arrived within an hour. By that time the corpse was uncovered and lying face down so that the ragged bullet hole was visible. Mr. Turner was the first to speak. We'd better leave things as they are and go back to the lodge. You stay here, Bruce. I'm going to call in the F. B. I. Come on, kids, I think you could use some coffee. That evening two agents from the F. B. I. came and looked things over. They decided that not much could be

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28 THE CADUCEUS majority do not go to college. Most eighteen-year-olds regard voting ser- iously and would carefully study the qualities of the candidates and cast their ballots to the best of their ability. An eighteen year old is considered old enough to serve in the army. Many people say that this is no reason why he should be allowed to vote because, they say, the fact that he is capable of serving in the army does not mean that he is qualified to vote. I think it does, Army mental tests are very strict and no one is going to be taken into the army unless he is reasonably intelligent and capable. If a boy can pass these tests, he must have a mind that is in- telligent enough to vote. The voting age may never be changed to eighteen in Maine, but if it is I think that the young voters will prove sat- isfactory. -William Holden, '49. A LIBERTY BELL SOUVENIR When the Liberty Bell was in Den- ver on its way west, the authorities made special provision to enable the children to see it. Many of them hand- ed to those in charge of the Bell, var- ious articles for them to touch against it with the idea of carrying away the articles, so hallowed, as souvenirs of the occasion. Among the children was a small boy in trousers that were much too large for him. They hung in folds about his thin body, supported by a blue cotton band that was held in place by a large safety pin of age and experience. His shirt was faded to a nondescript color, and he was bare-headed and bare- footed also. As he saw the other children pass up pocket pieces, coins, knives, lockets, and trinkets of various kinds, he search- ed his pockets eagerly, and his wistful little face grew more anxious when his explorations revealed nothing whatever that would serve. But necessity had made him a boy of resource. Gathering up his trousers with one arm, he passed up the crook- ed safety pin. The oflicial made it clink against the side of the venerable Bell and then handed it back to the boy, whose face beamed as he restored it to its position of responsibility. In spite of his poverty he, too, has his souvenir of the Liberty Bell, he is prob- ably the only boy in the world who has a gallus that for one immortal mo- ment chimed with the Spirit of '76. Beverly Patten, '51, DAWN OR MIDNIGHT They say that it is always darkest just before the dawning, but it is also very dark just before midnight on a stormy night. 'Right now our earth seems to have an outlook as dark or darker than it ever has had before. Is it the darkness before a new day of pro- gress or is it the darkness before the stormy midnight of self destruction? Have the shortcomings and evils of men begun to overcome the good that has been done so that recovery is im- possible, or will man save himself and the world from complete destruction? Has man unleashed forces of mind and matter that he cannot control or does he merely hold the reins slack so that he may mend the weak spots before he loses complete control of these forces? Will he repair and strengthen the reins quickly enough and sutiiciently to de- rive the full potential benefits of the forces he is lax with now, or will these forces take the bit in their teeth and run wild beyond restraint before the repairs are Hnished? The first con- dition would be the sunrise of a nearly perfect day, the second, the hours before- the midnight marking the end of hu- manity. Man is in possession of the means to place himself at either ex- treme with the same ease. It seems fitting to me that we should make this the beginning instead of the end. It seems that we are obligated and chal- lenged to do so, obligated by the trust and faith placed with us by our pre- decessors who strove to accomplish this