Oshkosh High School - Index Yearbook (Oshkosh, WI)

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MAY INDEX FOR NINETEEN HUNDRED SEVENTEEN the influence of birds and flowers on one writer, suppose we continue and give otfiers. Emerson seems to have been quite a nature writer. What bird has he immortalized by a poem? The pupils vied with each other in an- swering this. Finally a fourth grader who had just finished reading this poem answered, The Chicka-dee. Now name another author who has taken up the cause of a simple flower, which, because of its abundance, is ignored. Probably many of you tO|day have trampled upon it, seeing many of the flowers less numerous ahead of you. Soon all came to the conclusion that it must be the dande- lion and that the teacher had in mind Lowell ' s poem To a Dandelion. Then Miss Jane asked her pupils what poet had sung the praises of the bluebird. All shouted, Longfellow. What bird does Thoreau tell us says to the farmer planting corn Drop it, drop it, cover it up, cover it up? Accordingly, as all were farmer chil- dren, they answered The Brown Thrasher. You see now how a very small call which you would not interpret at all probably is an inspiration to a poet or writer. Yes, the sparrow for example, some boys kill it simply for the sake of shooting something, said a girl who had hitherto remained silent. Mr. Lathrop wrote about the sparrow. The poem is in one of father ' s books at home. Another girl who had until now paid very little attention to the conver- sation, asked: Miss Jane, have you read the ' Skylark? ' Miss Jane confessed that she had not. Well you know at the Mother ' s club, the ladies were discussing the subject of birds. One woman told a story which John Burroughs wrote about an American. It seems the man became enthusiastic over the poem and when he went to England he went out with the book and wandered through the fields. He thought that it would help him to understand the bird language just as Shelley understood it. When he went back to the house he said he had heard no larks, although they sang and soared above him all the time. y Mfss Jane asked her pupils if they knew why the man did not under- stand the bird notes. She waited a moment and then said: Why, simply because he did not hear the song as Shelley heard it. So it is with us, even the commonest birds and flowers are looked upon as pests by some people while to others they are beautiful. Page eighteen

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MAY INDEX FOR NINETEEN HUNDRED SEVENTEEN A May Day Game IRMA NIGHTHART THE first of May dawned bright and clear. The pupils of the country school were going on their annual trip of gathering May flowers. At nine, the teacher and pupils had arrived at the school-house, and, lunch-boxes in hand, this gay procession started for the woods. Arriving in the woods the boys and girls scattered in various directions to gather flowers. After picking for some time, they returned to the place where they had left their lunches. Every one found that the lunches, which on starting from home were declared too large for such a tramp, were scarcely enough to satisfy their appetites. While the hungry childr en were eating, they became aware of a small pair of beady black eyes that was watching them. Soon a twittering was heard and a much enraged little black and white bird about seven inches long flew away but soon came back again. This act was repeated several times. The teacher explained to the children that they must be near his nesting place. Do any of you know the name of the bird? she questioned. Several voices shouted in unison the Bob-o ' -link. You are right, she said. Do you know a poem about him? This time only one pupil, a girl, answered Robert-o ' -Lincoln. That, explained the teacher, is the name William Cullen Bryant called the bird. To Bryant he is a bridegroom dressed in his wedding garments of black and white. Probably his stride has also influenced Bryant to call him braggart and prince of braggarts. His song as Bryant hears it is: Bob-o ' -link, bob-o ' -link, Spink, spank, spink, Chee, chee, chee! Give, me another poem which Bryant wrote about a bird, and then hearing no response, she began: Seek ' st thou the plashy brink Of reedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocky billows rise and sink. On the chafed ocean side? All the pupils at once responded, The Waterfowl. What poem did he also write about a flower which I think most of you picked this morning? A sixth grade boy sitting on the outside of the circle answered, The Yellow Violet. Now, said the teacher, you see the influence which a bird or flower may have on the life work of one man. Since we have commenced to give Page seventeen

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jM A Y INDEX [NETEEN HUNDRED SEVENTEEN U ' Boat Warfare HARRY BRONSON The Kaiser built a submarine To use upon the seas, He sent it out to keep unseen And strike what it might please. The U-Boat hit a merry clip In sinking liners great; It cared not for a neutral ship, If passenger or freight. Now ammunition, mules or food Are all the same it seems. For all are bad and none are good Is what the Kaiser deems. The Lusitania was destroyed, A hidden shot the cause; The Kaiser thought he could make void All International laws The Sussex, too, was sent below. Her hull a missle tore, Then Uncle Sam, to wrath so slow. Declared he ' d stand no more. Our people always have been told That they might cross the foam In safety, and we still do hold They have the right to roam. We gave you warning, Kaiser Bill, To call off your war cat; Of insults we have had our fill. Please just remember that. We have been thought too proud to fight, We did not want our youth To be gunfodder, but ' tis right To stand up for the truth And we must keep the Stars and Stripes Unsullied from disgrace Else we ' ll become the laughing stock Of every clime and race The call to arms has now been made Although we wanted peace; But we will enter unafraid And hope war soon will cease.