Oxford High School - Ravelins Yearbook (Oxford, MA)

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RAVELIN'S LAND OF VVONDERS By Elsie Willey N certa'n portions of our globe Almighty God has set a special imprint of divinity. The Alps, the Pyrenees, the Mexican volcanoes, the solemn grandeur of Norwegian fjords, the sacred Mountain of Japan, and the sublimity of India 's Himalayas have filled the soul of the observer with awe and admiration. However, there is no sight so picturesque as the inde- scribable Yellowstone National Park. To call our National Park the Switzerland of America would be absurd. It is not Switz- erland, it is not Iceland, it is not Norway, it is nnioue: and the unioue cannot be compared. Perhaps the only description that would do it justice is to say that it is the arena of an enor- mous amphitheatre. Its architect was nature, and the frladiitors that contended in it were volcanoes. During unnumbered ages these rladiators struggled to surpass one another by pouring forth great Hoods of molten lava. Even now, the force behind them still shows itself in other forms, though the volcanoes give no sign of life. They are the dead actors in a fearful tragedy performed countless centuries before the advent of mankind, their only audience the sun and STaI'S. Manv people make the great mistake of associating Yellowstone Park with Geysers only. There never was a greater mistake. Were there no gcysers, the Yellowstone water- shed alone, with its glowing canyon, would be worth the national park. Were there also no canyon, the scenic wilderness and its incom- parable wealth of wild-animal life would be worth the national park. The personality of Yellowstone is threefold. The hot-water man- ifestations are worth minute examination, the canyon a contemplative visit, and the park a summer. Even though Yellowstone National Park is not assocated with geysers alone, they are a beautiful sight. There are more than forty geysers accessible in the three large basins on the west side. Some of these geysers spout every few seconds, some every few minutes, others at intervals of hours or days, and a few at irregular intervals of weeks. The eruptions I2 3 vary from several feet to two hundred and fifty feet. One of the places of interest in Yellowstone Park is the Upper Geyser Basin where the gey- sers, like gigantic censers, are wafting their vapory incense skyward. A geyser basin is the area where the crust of this great volcanic re- gion is the thinnest. When you venture out on its surface, you can hear hollow echoes from the tread of the feet. It gives you a feeling of t'midity and awe. As you pick your way through steaming pools, and as columns of steam end boiling water suddenly spout up- ward on all sides of you, a sense 'of the super- natural overtakes you. The theory of geyser action as advanced by Bunsen is: A geyser crater is usually a deep well-like fissure filled with water, it is of unknown depth, near the bottom there are volcanic fires or heated rocks that act upon the lower section 'of the watery column enclosed in this deep narrow well. There is one geyser that has been named Old Faithful because it is the only one that makes any pretense to punctuality. Every hour, this geyser shoots forth steam. In one day Old Faithful furnishes more water than would be used for the needs 'of a city of three hundred thousand people. Excelsior, another gey- ser, spends seven years in preparation, and then begins a series of imposing outbursts. Geysers do not constitute the only marvels of these volcanic basins. The beauty of their pools 'of boiling water is almost inconceivable to those who have not seen them. No illustra- tion can do them justice for no photographer can adequately reproduce their clear, trans- parent depths, nor can an Artist's brush ever quite portray their peculiar coloring, due to the minerals held in solution, or else deposited upon their sides. It is safe to say, however, that some of the most beautiful objects ever seen in any portion of the world are the su- perbly tinted caldrons of the Yellowstone. The hues differ greatly. Many are blue, some green, some golden, and some wine-colored in all gradations of tone. If this view were seen from an airplane it might seem to us a silver shield, studded with rubies, emeralds, tur- quoises, and sapphires. Found in these minia- l

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RAVELIN 'S the attire of Mahatma Gandhi. You would be surprised to know that Gandhi the Dandy was the nickname of the Mahatma M. K. Gan- dhi during his university career, when he was known as the best-dressed man on the Oxford campus. Gandhi, it appears, was a sheik with the ladies, as a youth in England where young wealthy Indians were pampered. I don 't know that anyone could call him well-dressed now unless the well-known human race imitated his fashion and draped sheets around themselves. With Gandhi on our minds we immediately think of originality which everyone should pos- sess. Tolo many people are cast from the same molds. They talk, dress, and act the same way. Why not break away from the monotony of it? If the Jones family buys an expensive car, why not be different and buy a cheaper one, even if you can afford one as expensive as theirs. Be original! ln France years ago, a diminu- tive actress cherished a desire to be taller so that she might better portray a certain charac- ter. As a result of this, French heelsn for the womanhood of the world followed. You can start being original tomorrow by thinking your own thoughts. Change your diet, your conver- sation, and habits all for the better, and be or- iginal. Conversational ability plays an important part in our personal make-up. The chief fault with poor conversationalists is cramped vocab- ularies. People may have splendld ideas but lack the words to express themselves. Too of- ten a person makes use of one adjective for everything he talks about. As an example, some well-meaning folks verbally feel that ev- erything is gorgeous from the Grand Can- yon down to the latest idea in canned goods. Then, too, many people lack the knowledge on different subjects of the day. A good conver- sitionalist is always welcome and popular, so start now using a dictionary to enlarge your vocabulary and read magazines to become ac- quainted with the interesting topics 'of the day. And don't forget that newspapers contain. be- sides the funnv strips, important knowledge on many subjects. When you have talked over all your defects and good qualities with yourself, make up your mind to correct the defects and strengthen the good qualities which make for a better person- ality. Even if you have always had a fierce temper, you have the power to rid Yourself of it if you really desire to do so. Don't think your personality is something you possessed since you were born-learn that it is something you must shape yourself with your own will power. Archimedes is a follower of the first faith. He said, Give me a standing place and I will move the world. We should say like Goethe, Let us make good our standing place, and move the world. ' ' CLASS SONG By Edith Munn. Tune: Flow Gently Sweet Afton Dear Oxford, we are leaving, we bid thee adieu, Our four years are ended, our courses we're through. VVe leave all our teachers of whoni we've grown fond, We depart with the knowledge of what 's right from wrong. Let's remember each classmate as onward we go- Let us cherish the memories as older we grow. Now, hold wisdonfs lamp us, with spirits held hi h We say once again fond farewell, Oxford High! l 22 l

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RAVELIN 'S ture lakes are gardens of mushrooms, banks of goldenrod, or clusters of asparagus, which ap- pear t'o be growing here, created by the Archi- tect and colored by the Artist of these mineral springs. The most renowned of these is called Emerald Pool. Another beautiful sight is Lake Yellowstone. It is an inland sea nearly eight thousand feet above the ocean level. If the White Mountain monarch, Washington, were planted in its depths, there would remain two thousand feet of space between its summit and the surface of the lake. This lake has only one real rival. It is Lake Titicaca in the Andes of Peru. To appreciate the beauty of Lake Yellowstone, one should see it when its waves are radiant with the sunset glow. It is not only beautiful at this time, but mysterious. Let us leave the lake and enter the loveliest portion of the park.-a level sheltered area of some fifty souare miles to which has been given the name of Hayden Valley, in commemoration of the distinguished geologist, Doctor Ferdi- nand V. Hayden, who did so much to explore this region and to impress upon the HOVGFII- ment the necessity of preserving its incompar- able features. This part 'of the park also con- minq fierv forces, but they manifest themselves in different wavs. In the midst of this natural beauty is an object known as the Mud Geyser. Unlike the gevser which spouts steam, this gey- ser spouts mud. Another striking feature of our National Park is its Petrified Forest, where, scattered over a large area, are solitary columns, which once were trunks of trees, but now are solid shafts of agate. The substance of Wood, how- ever, is still apparent, the bark, the worm-h'oles, and even the rings of growth are distinctly vis- ible, but every fibre has been petrified by the mysterious substitution of mineral deposit. An excavation on a side hill proves that there are eleven layers of such forests, one above an- other, divided by as many cushions of lava. Think of the ages represented here, during which all these different forests grew and were successively turned to stone! Yellowstone Park is above all a great animal refuge. In fact, it is the largest and most suc- cessful wild-animal preserve in the world. Since its establishment in 1872, hunting and fishing has been strictly prohibited. Elk, bear, deer of several kinds, antelope, bison, moose, and bighorn mountain sheep roam the plains and mountains in large numbers. Thirty thou- sand elk, for instance, live in the park. Ante- lope which are nearly extinct elsewhere, abound here. These animals have long since ceased to fear man as wild animals do everywhere except in our National Parks. Few tourists who follow the beaten road see these animals, but those who linger in the glorious wilderness see them in an abundance that fairly astonishes. Very different, indeed, from the beasts of the after-dinner Story and the literature of adven- ture, are the wild animals of the Yellowstone Park. Never shot at, never pursued, they are comparatively as fearless as song-birds nestling in the homestead trees. Large wilderness bears cross the road with haste a few yards ahead of the solitary passer- by. Deer, by scores, lift their antlered heads above nearby thickets to watch those who come that way. Herds of antelope on near-by hills watch. but hold their own. Only the grizzly and the mountain sheep, besides the predatory beasts, still hide in the fastnesses. VVith the founding of Yellowstone National Park, a new wonderland was found and Con- gress decreed that this territory where Nature had assembled so many of her marvelous crea- tions, this land she had so long shrouded in mystery, should be set apart as a perpetual plav ground for the Nation. No one who has visited National Park ever doubts the necessity of having soldiers there. One of the most important duties of the United States troops stationed there is to save its for- ests from destruction. They also have to pre- serve the game within the Park, and build and repair its roads. The park has entrances on four sides. Three have railroad connections. Five hotels are lo- cated at points convenient for seeing the sights, and are supplemented by a dozen or m'ore pub- lic camps at modest prices. If you wish to study nature in her myriad wealth-and live, l24l