Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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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

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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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THE CADUCEUS end, and challenged by human nature to create something better than ever be- fore. Will we meet this obligation and challenge by casting aside petty differ- ences and individual tasks and joining so that we may forge a set of reins to harness these powers, or will we stand individually to get the best seat on the wagon while the horse is running away? Will the world be left at the beginning or the end of the day when we leave it? Is it dawn or midnight? -Stephen Bradeen, '50. WHO WILL SUCCEED? Thoughtless, cruel remarks some- times will cause adolescent girls and boys to have inferiority complexes the rest of their lives, or will give them a determination to succeed in life. Sometime ago a boy in our neighbor- hood preferred to play dolls, with his younger sister, rather than to play base- ball and other boys' games, with the boys in the community. They called John a sissy and listed him as queer and finally excluded him from all school ac- tivities. These thoughtless boys didn't know that John, from a very early age, had a desire to cure the sick and help- less. He not only bandaged his sister's dolls, but if the pet dog or cat was ill, it was John that always nursed it back to health. John was a very studious type and regardless of the other boys' jibes he graduated from high school with ex- cellent grades. On graduation day, as John was walking down the auditorium steps, he heard Peter, one of his class- mates, talking with a group of boys. He spoke loud enough for John to hear and this was the cruel remark that he made. There goes John, the sissy, 29 now he can spend all his time making dolls' clothes. Fourteen years swiftly passed and Peter, a filling station attendant, be- came violently ill. The family physi- cian was called who told Peter that a serious operation was necessary and that the only surgeon that he thought was capable of performing such an op- eration was practicing in a city fifty miles away. Peter had a very large familyg therefore, he didn't have the financial means to employ such a fa- mous surgeon of his circumstances. Peter's doctor wired the surgeon, with- out Peter's knowledge, giving the pa- tient's name and case history and finally told him about the financial circum- stances. Peter's doctor got an immedi- ate reply from the surgeon telling him to bring the patient immediately and that money was a minor problem in a matter of life and death. Peter was given the anesthetic with- out having seen the surgeon. The oper- ation was a success and as Peter re- gained consciousness, a white clad fig- ure stood by the bedside. Peter studied the face of the figure for a time and exclaimed, John, how did you get here! John replied, Peter, I was your sur- geon. The operation was a success and you will be back with your family soon. Peter clasped John's hand and with tears in his eyes asked John to forgive the cruel remark he had made about him on that day long ago. John told Peter that he was forgiven years ago and that the only fee that he was charging for the operation was for him to bring his children up to defend all sissies because one might have a future goal in sight. -Donald McAllister, '51