Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

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THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL 9 the quarrel. After dinner Jim told her about the bear. When he had finished, Jane cried, “O Jim!” “How brave!” “Fuh, just a lucky skid,” replied Jim. M. Hill, ’28 — o0-— — -— THE VANISHING AMERICAN J am an Indian The last of my noble race. Soon, I, too, will be summoned To the Happy Hunting Ground of my forefathers. ‘ Glad will I be when the Great Spirit Beckons for me to come; For in this world I am sad and lonely Gone now, are the tepees of my fa- thers, From the quiet woods; Gone, also, are all my brothers From native haunts ‘neath dusky shade, By lake and gliding stream. Never more will I see The fitful flicker of the Council fire, Or smell the sweet smoke From the Peace Pipe of my fathers. Gone, too, is the rythmic beat of the tom-tom So familiar to my ears, And the weird music of dark-eyed In- dian maidens, Seated among the shadows. Never again will I hunt the red deer, And hear the delightful sound Of an arrow, winging its way swiftly to the mark; Or spear the darting trout in hidden pool. For all these things belong to a nation Once powerful, but now gone forever! I, alone, await the beckoning hand Of the Great Spirit, that shall point the way To the land of Peace and Happiness. A. Cushing ’27 9) FIGHTING MOSQUITOES In the summer of 1926, the worst catastrophe since the burning of Cole and Marsden’s store visited our peace- ful community. There had been a rainy spring and the flats below the Corner had become the breeding place for hordes of mosquitoes. They spread malaria, the swarms becoming so thick that many families were driv- en out of town. The remaining inhabitants held a town-meeting to elect a mosquito ad- ministrator to have full authority and access to the funds of the town. Laban Thayer was elected unanimous- ly, as everyone’s hands were raised slapping mosquitoes when his name was called. Our illustrious fire-chief laid his plans with the skill of a Napoleon. His first step was to commandeer all available gasolene at the various gar- ages to pour on breeding places. Ken- neth Sawyer hauled it on his truck. When he reached the flats, swarms of furious insects made him lose control of his auto. The town erected a monument years later to Kenneth Sawyer, a martyr of Gray. As ordinary netting was useless, our mechanic, Wendell Tripp, invent- ‘ed a copper mesh uniform for Mr. Thayer and his volunteers. With the aid of this, they succeeded in oiling the flats.

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THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL bothered with a bear who had been seen at intervals, but who did the most damage at night. He had got- ten into the camps and taken meat and other things off the shelves. One night he had been attacked by a dog, but the dog had got the worst of it. At last the people could stand it no longer, and a posse of men was sent out to capture him. The day on which the posse was sent out was the day for Hood’s week- ly trip to Berwick for supplies. As the trip took four or five hours, Jim, after taking the orders, started off at about six o’clock in the morning. The trip down was uneventful. After purchasing his supplies Jim went to see Jane, his girl, and told her about the posse out bear-hunting. After having a quarrel with her, Jim decided to go back to Bear Creek that night, instead of waiting until morn- ing as was his custom. It was a beautiful moonlight night in early April and the sky was full of stars. Jim drove slowly partly to en- joy the night, and partly because the road was so slippery. Soon the side of the cliff obscured his vision, and he had to drive more carefully be- cause the road was so full of curves. Meanwhile, the posse had been gone all day, and the only evidence that was found of the bear was a cave where fresh tracks could be seen on damp soil. They had built a smudge at the opening, but, as no bear appear- ed, they decided there must have been another opening somewhere. By this time, it was growing dark, and the men decided to return home. As Jim rounded a sharp curve in the road, his headlights suddenly dis- closed a form in the middle of the road. Jim jammed on his brakes, but the road was so slippery that the car skidded, and backed against the side of the cliff. Fora moment, Jim could not imagine what had happen- ed. Then it dawned on him the shadow must have been a bear which was heading for a cave in the cliff against which his Ford had backed. Jim climbed over into the back seat and grabbing his rifle, rose up and fired twice at the shadow. At the second shot, Jim heard a hoarse growl and the sound of a heavy body drop- ping to the ground. Jim drove out into the road a little way, then used his axe vigorously on an old dead pine nearby. A little while later, Jim drove into Bear Creek with the bear dragging behind on a crude sledge made of rudely hewn pieces of dead wood bound with withes. After he had told his story, one of the older men piped up, “Well, Jim, my boy, this is one time you sure were lucky. Our men have been out all day looking for that bear, and here you come along and skid right into him.” “Lucky Skid,” sang out another man. After that Jim was known as “Lucky Skid,” which he liked very much better than being called “Un- lucky Jim.” The next day Jim took his bear skin down to Berwick to have it cured. After he had done this he went to see Jane who was already sorry for

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10 THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL Yhen he imported a breed of hawks, (not native to this town), which was fond of mosquitoes. These birds prov- ed to be a great success. They soon cleared the town of insects, small birds, poultry, and everything else they could carry. When the results of this brief but decisive campaign became known, Laban Thayer was hailed far and wide as Skeeter Thayer. He became a member of the Public Health Ser- ‘vice. But the world heard from our town again. The atmosphere below the Corner was so saturated with gaso- lene that a cigarette in the hands of Merrill Libby caused an explosion which shook the state. This explos- ion so changed the face of the country that Gray is now a busy seacoast town. H. Kent, ’26 Leet tee CINDERELLA UP-TO-DATE This was Carrie’s fourth year. The first year she had been carried along on the froth of things, as well went the second year. By the third year Carrie had acquired alittle set smile and the air of don’t care indifference as if she preferred to sit out dances and was bored with parties. She wasn’t unattractive, but her features were wholly ordinary. She thought that if a man was interested in her, he would come toher. She thorough- ly scorned flirting. She had a younger sister, Mae, very opposite in tastes and looks to her old- er sister. Mae was a blonde, petite, and very good looking. She, however, was but sixteen and her mother al- lowed her to go to parties and dances but very little, for she thought Mae too young for such amusements. At last the night of the ball had come. This ball was to be given in honor of the ‘Prince’s’” home-com- ing. He was the son of an ex-mayor and had gone away shortly after his father had died, ten years before. All of the girls and mothers in town had been anticipating this ball for a long time because it was rumor- ed that Bramhall had made a fortune and was returning for a wife. Carrie had a pale-green chiffon dress for this affair. As she was try- ing it on, the night of the party, she thoughtfully scrutinized herself in her mirror. She could see herself at the dance tonight sitting against the wall, her face aching from a forced smile. Would this one coming this way ask her to dance? She saw an interminably drawn-out evening. She, with her ugly looks, would never win the returning prince so what was the use? She suddenly exclaimed, “T will not, I’m done. I’ve gone to my last dance!” ‘Finally, when her mother came to her room and found Carrie in a ging- ham dress, she exclaimed, ‘‘You’ve been crying and you’ve ruined your face for the dance.” It took Carrie some time to convince her mother that she wasn’t going and that she had decided to give her new dress to Mae so that the latter might go, in- stead. She powdered, curled and dressed the astonished Mae in a short time.