Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

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THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL 7 where, The sight of their bankrolls gave des- pair, For money took wings, do what they might. They got an airplane ride in Miami, But were wrecked in the great Ever- alades. They walked for miles on swampy land With alligators on every hand That seemed to wait in ambuscades. They straightway left the land of the orange And returned to their homes in Maine The sight of hills was good to their eyes, For the beauties of Maine not one denies, And they vowed they never would leave again. Kent, ’26 10) SPIDERS In 1874, a doctor by the name of Wheeler found two huge spiders as large as cows. He managed to drive them into a deep pit with the help of four friends. These spiders spun a web the size of an inch cable, as strong as steel, but very p liable, across the middle of the pit. The doctor found that they were man- eaters, and twice a day they had to have human flesh. He studied them with a strong microscope and found that they had powerful jaws and teeth. Prisoners who had received a death sentence were used to feed the huge creatures. When a prisoner was thrown in, he would be caught in the huge mesh- like web. No amount of struggling would free a person from that death trap. The two spiders would creep slowly up towards the doomed man, than leap upon him. There was an agonized yell or two and then silence. The spiders always fought it out to see who would get the choice parts. One day when the doctor visited his pets, he found that they were sick. The day before, they had eat- en a sick man, and this the doctor thought, was the cause of their ill- ness. After they died, the doctor hauled them up from the pit and cut them open. To his surprise, he found ews eee .. nothing, for he woke up then. Gray —— LUCKY SKID The road which led from the min- ing camp of Bear Creek to Berwick ran halfway around a mountain. On one side of the road was a high cliff, the top of which hung slightly over the road. On the other side were rows of bushes beyond which ran a small stream. The only way of transporting the mail and supplies from Berwick was either by mules or by a Ford owned by one of the miners. As it was hard to get feed for the mules, the Ford was used most of the time, The owner of the Ford, a miner, who had been at Bear Creek less than a year was a lank fellow whose name was Jim Hood. He was always the joke of the miners because of his lenethy build and his unluckiness. For a month the town had been

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6 THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL sentatives of Maine. Our fellow citizens have chosen us to represent them and not ourselves; so let us represent the people back home and not our own selfish interests. Our grievances against Massachu- setts are many and great. ests of Maine and Massachusetts are on an entirely different plane. Mass- achusetts is a state of farmers and tradesmen, while Maine’s chief occu- pation is lumbering. Do the citizens of Massachusetts properly safeguard the interests of Maine? They care not for the petition of Maine; their only interest is to collect unjust taxes from Maine. We are not properly represented in the General Court of Massachusetts. The governor has repeatedly refused to grant us just representation. Is this right? Gentlemen, you know it is not. Why then should Maine con- tinue under the rule of a state whose arrogance and narrowmindedness are the talk of all New England? We have another and far greater difference, which is that Massachu- setts is governed by a Clique of Fed- eralists who stop at nothing to obtain their ends. The Federalists raise the cry that the wealthy classes are better fitted for positions in govern- ment and should have the right to rule. Are not the men of the people better fitted to direct the affairs of the state? Why should the lauded aristocrat be better fitted to govern than the plain common citizen who fears his God and pays his debts? My ancestors were simple Highland farmers, laying The inter-. no claim to aristocracy. Am I not as well-bred, and as good a citizen as if I had been knighted by King George or some other Monarch? Birth makes no material difference. A man born in a hovel shall be equal to the knight in his castle in this new state of ours. Massachusetts does not protect our struggling plantation from the depre- dations of the Indian tribes of Can- ada, our frontiers are unprotected, and Massachusetts declines to send troops to our aid. Are not we entitl- ed to the aid of the Militia of Massa- chusetts? We sent our sons to die on the bat tlefield of Bunker Hill, and to starve at Valley Forge. Our sailors have maintained the rights of Ameri- ca on the sea. Why are we not enti- tled to protection? If Massachusetts refuses to listen to petitions, the time will come when we shall be forced to take our liberties by the sword. I have shown you the disadvantage of a union with Massachusetts. I have shown you the advantages Maine would have by becoming independent. Gentlemen, I ask that you cast your ballots for separation. W. Caswell, ’28 O THE PILGRIMAGE TO FLORIDA During a raging wintry blizard, When the air was thick with snow, A tourist party in the Pine Tree State Left, with hopes that tempted fate, For the land where the grapefruit grow. The farewell was nothing to Flori- da’s greeting The rain drizzled steadily every night. Land agents harried them every-

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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