Pembroke Academy - Academian Yearbook (Pembroke, NH)

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1'H'E A C A D EIM I A N ON Y THE STARS ARE NEUTRAL by Quentin Reynolds Norma Cleveland This is a contemporary novel as told by the author, who was a news reporter in England for the Collier Magazine in America. In his work, he covered parts of the waring area abroad to gather material from va- rious incidents which have occurred in the war. He began in London, England, first, and was compelled to stay in bomb shelters and hideouts from en- emy bombs. He saw the small town of Plymouth entirely bombed out and said that if the people in Boston and Plymouth, Mass. could have seen this ruin, they would be over-an- xious to administer more Red Cross works and would be more eager to he1p,- although the people over there are said to have handled the affair very well. From .London, Reynolds went to France, then on to Russia. In these places, he came up against many great hardships and varied ex- periences. In Russia, very bad conditions' prevailed, such as mal- nutrition and diseases. HHQ also .said it was very hard to be ahfe to get anything that seemed at all Am- 'ertcan, and the men would go throughwanything-to get an American -ci rette ga . Reynolds -went from .France and Russia to Cairo, but had a hard time getting there. Transportation was poor, but he finally managed to get a plane. After having flown for about four ehours, something went wrong with were forced to for repairs to of plane travel the plane, and they turn back and wait be made. This way was also quite un- sanitary, and what food there was, was rather poor. At last, they got to a desert in Cairo which was a front trench in the war lines. A number of the soldiers and report- ers got trapped in this trench fer the night and lay there praying for a let-up of the enemy bombs. The Americans finally drove off the en- emy and all was a little safer fbr the time being. In order to escape safely, Rey. nolds had to ride out of the desert in a jeep in the black of night, and even this was constantly con- fronted with land mines and hidden enemy tanks. He and his men had to travel in complete darkness because of the hidden enemy with its camos uflaged apparel. After this ted- ious journey, they reached the Am- erican headquarters--this was about Christmas time. There were no ships allowed out, and only tanker transports came to America, so Rey- nolds had to take one of these in- convenient transports. He had planned to write a book of his experiences when he reached America, but due to the fact that all had to be alert at all times, he did it when he finally reached home. This is the book, and it was written when he got back here in America. pqga-1-y--4 A n aaa Robert In-this heroiccstovyg the author points out the courage and deter- mination of Harold Dexon, Gene Al- drich, and Tony Pestula, three fliers who lost their plane at sea. The story gives a day to day ac- 'ccunt, and relates all the hard- ships these three-men had to over- come. It tells of their 'eating 1shark's meat and.birds for food dur R.L.F T Trumbull ing their thirty-four days on the ocean in a rubber boat no bigger than a bathtub. The reading was very easy and interesting, This story makes you realize the difficulties that our boys are go- ing through, and I think the author did a marvelous job in telling the truth about these three brave men. Lily Houghton

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-assi' f: rx- ' ,,,:- , 'rf' e', -011 Life Compared to an Airplane Frederick Mindt '43 Life is like an airplane ride on a windy day. You choose first the destination you wish to reach. Then you lay out your course to get there. Finally you head your plane in that direction and keep flying. But sometimes the wind is blowing. Per- haps one time it is blowing direct- ly toward your destination. In this case you' might get there ahead of schedule. Another time it might be blowing against you. Then you would arrive at your destination, but you would be longer getting there. The wind sometimes blows from the right or left and blows you off your course. Then the chances of reach- ing your destination are very slim. Probably you would end up somewhere quite a distance from the original plan. Whether or not you reach your destination depends upon your skill as a pilot and upon the weather which you encounter on your 'flight of life.n .1---11 Life is Like a Book Madeleine Richard '43 Life is like a book-a book which contains, all types of literature. Some of the passages depict humor, tragedy, love, beauty, hate, greed, and despair, The first few pages contain the alphabet and the fundae mentals which will enable you to read the book. Once you have taken up the book of life you can neither lay it aside, turn back the pages, nor read ahead. It must be read, page by page. Your success in life depends on how well you interpret each passage, because each passage contains a lesson or a thought which will make the succeeding pages easier to read and understand. Life Compared to a Tree Phyllis Handy '43 Life is like a tree. When the tree first appears above the ground, it is frail, delicate, and sensi- tive to injury. This can be compared to our bnbye hood. As the tree grows older, its environment begins to determine how it is going to be shaped in future years. In the same way our envir- onment often determines which road we are going to take in life. Then comes the time when the tree map tures and begins to bear fruit. As we mature we, too, begin to take our places in the world, sometimes failing--just as the tree may fail in bearing fruit, and sometimes succeeding. At this time, -many diseases may hit the roots and go up through all the treeg so it is in life. If the tree is strong enough, it can fight these obstacles off. As the tree feels the effects of old age, it begins to deterior- ate and go back to its Creator, just as we, at the end of life, re- turn to our Creator. Edie is Like a Merry-Go-Rcund Elizabeth Silks '43 Life is like a merry-go-round. lt's full of up's and down's, stops and go's. From the minute we are born, we are placed on this merry- go-round, and until the day that we die we never get off. Just as the gsily painted animals go up and down, so do we. As we go up in the world we must realize that perhaps at some time we must go down even if it's only for a short period of time. Life keeps rushing on, round and round, trying to make us fall off, but many of us keep striving our hardest to get somewhere and succeed. Many times in our lives we almost topple from our individ- ual porches, but we cling on stead- fast and ride through safe and sound

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,I IHE ACADEMIAN g ,gp ns! Y , . Jrllreil., ll, ,. , . I I 1 l . .JU-wr 1 ,., , ,, I. lluli V, , Pleasant Street Suncook, New Hampshire February 26, 1945 Dear Eunice, My selection from the Book-of- the-Month Club arrived last Wednes- day. The name of it is NOur Hearts Tere Young and Gay.' It is written by Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough. They relate their trip to Paris in the early twenties when they were not twenty themselves. Many funny incidents occur be- even begins. their ship, Ehen they fore their trip abroad While they are aboard there is a shipwreck. reach Paris, they see many famous people, although they acquainted with them. Since Cornelia has before, she likes to tell Emily all she knows about the ship. Your interest in humerous books led me to believe that you would thoroughly enjoy reading this true story. If you cannot obtain the book, please let me know, and I shall send you mine as soon as I Cane Let me hear from you soon. Love, Betsey do not get been abroad Epsom, New Hampshire February 26, 1943 Dear Jeanne, Thank you very much for sending that book to me, I certainly en- joyed it. I have just finished an- other book by Nevil Shute called, nLandfa1l.n It is an excellent English novel, and I'm sending it to you because I think you will en- joy it as much as I did. It is the love story of an R.A.F. pilot who sank a British submarine by mistake. Because of this error he gets into many difficulties. In the meantime he falls in love -with a ber maid and through her interest, loyalty, and wisdom, he is cleared of the charge brought against him. She proves to the high officials that it was not a British, but a German submarine that he sank. There is a lot in the book about airplanes and the sea which make it an exciting war-time storya H.. we When you have finished it let me know how you liked it. Please try and get it beck to me within two weeks because it will be due at the library soon after that. Love, Jeanette --.-11-.- HEVEILLE IN WASHINGTONA Author Margaret Leech A ' Compton French '43 - Washington vas e country capitol stretizhed out in a muddy valley along side the Potomac river, It became a prize for which two armies contended. On its stage was played a mighty political drama of a nan tion divided by rebellion, This city was made up of all kinds of people, crooks, contractors, reports ers, spies and foreign adventurers. The book tells of the lady spies, Rose Greenhow and Belle Boyd, of the Union Generals, and also men- tions Clara Barton along with many others. . At the opening of the war, W P.Sh'vr ington was a barrack over-run by soldiers: a gay resort in which men and women laughed and danced and drank. This book describes life at the White House, and the struggle cf Mary Lincoln a proud woman in an unfriendly community. I would not advise everyone to read this book, Reveille in Washing ton, because of the lengthy descrip- tionz 'lf a person likes descrip- tion and history, then by all means it. read