Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

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Well, that one happened to be one of these planes that dust for insects. The ‘smoke’ you saw was dust.” Lee stared at him unbelievingly. Just then a large plane zoomed over, leaving a white cloud of dust trailing out behind it. He looked at Jim, then he, too, began to laugh. Well, Tim, I guess I've still got a lot to learn, haven't I? Come on, Cinder. I guess we'd better go. By the way, Jim, call up the office and have them fix my line, will you? I'm not riding this distance again on a false alarm. Fae WILSON. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY On Bedloe Island, in Upper New York Bav, stands America’s greatest lady, greet- ing ships as they come into the harbor. A wonderful vision to home-coming travelers and immigrants coming to the Promised Land, she stands on a star-shaped base and holds her torch 300 feet in the air. If you were to climb the 350 steps to her head where 40 people can stand comfortably, vou would see the New York skyline and har- bor spread out below you. The statue was given to America in 1886 by France, and was made a National Monument in 1924 by President Coolidge. The war department. takes care of her, because it is the site of Fort Wood, an important military radio sta- tion. During the war, the torch was in dark- ness, and people were not permitted to visit the statue because of the grand sight offered by the harbor. But now, she shines again for all the world to see. Yes, she is our own Statue of Liberty! Viora Hatcu. BOOK REPORT Title and Author: “Farmer Takes a Wife” by John Gould. Facts about Author: Besides Farmer Takes a Wife, John Gould has written “Pre-natal Care for Fathers,” and New England Town Meet- ing. He also contributes regularly to the New York Times, the Baltimore Evening Sun. and the Christian Science Monitor. In addition, he is the owner of a weekly news- paper, the Lisbon Enterprise, published in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Fourfcen Summary : There is no actual plot to “Farmer Takes a Wife. It is simply the story of life on a Maine farm which serves to prove that a citv-bred girl can make good as a farmer's wife. Entirely untrained, John Gould's wife came to Maine equipped only with a will to learn and a sense of humor, but is soon able to turn out delicious pies and to manage a farmhouse in general as well as the best of them. The story keeps one chuckling with its amazing tales of various ancestors, and of the neighbors, past and present. Setting : The setting is a Maine farm in recent years. Characters : John Gould—a typical Maine farmer. Mrs Gould—John’s wife, who willingly gives up a life of ease in Boston, Mass., to live on a farm. She faces the hardships cheerfully and before long is termed as naturalized. Uncle Timothy—lovable great uncle, who lives with them, and has a strange craving for pies and more pies. His dry wit and endless stories, often exaggerated, keep everyone happy. Most Interesting Incident : The most interesting incident was Uncle Timothy's story of Samoset. the Indian who. in the olden days, showed up every year without fail for great grandfather's Thanks- giving dinner. Opinion : The story is very entertaining from begin- ning to end. However, I believe it tends to give people the false idea that all Mainc residents are backwoods farmers. PAULINE STEWART. BOOK REPORT The title is a “Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The author is Betty Smith. The author was born in Brooklyn in 1906. She has some sixty published one-act plays and six full length dramas to her credit, but this is her first novel. The story takes place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The leading characters are Francie Nolan, an eleven-year-old girl, who ever since she was born, knew how tough it could be to grow up in Williamsburg: Neely Nolan, her

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This was said by Lee Rodnick, a forest ranger, stationed on top of a mountain in New Hampshire. No one had been near the place for weeks. The only time Lee saw people was when he went on his monthly trip to Cutler’s Village, which was thirty miles away, for grub. Jim Cranston, who was another forest ranger, was stationed on a peak about ten miles away. He had been a ranger for over twenty years, so he never got lonely, but to Lee, who was new in the game, time dragged very slowly. He would talk for hours on the telephone to Jim every day, but the wind- storm last night had blown down Lee's lines, so now he sat gazing at the blue sky and the silent, dark forest. Suddenly, he saw a small, gray cloud ris- ing slowly upward. Lee jumped up on his feet, and grabbed his binoculars. Yes, it was a fire. He could see no flames, but he knew that where there's smoke, there's fire. He located its position, then yanked down the ‘phone. Ranger Rodnick calling Headquarters, he yelled, but no one answered. There was only the silent blankness of a dead wire. Then he remembered the telephone was out. He stood up staring out of the win- dow at that gray cloud which was now stretching out in a long line. “Jim will see it, he thought. But then he realized that a large cliff would block it out of Jim’s range. It would be fully thirty minutes before he would be able to see it. Dy then, no one knew what damage it would do. “What can I do? he asked himself. What would Jim do if he were caught like this?” Then he thought of Cinder. He flung open the door, and practically slid down the ladder. Cinder heard him coming and whin- nied to him. Lee opened the door, grabbed the saddle, and flung it on her. She seemed to sense that they must hurry and opened her mouth readily for the bit when he strapped the bridle on her. He leaped on her back, and they galloped down the trail that led to Jim's. There was no wind. The only sound was Cinder's hoofs beating out a rhythmic tattoo on the hard-packed forest trail. She was a fast horse and knew the trail well. Lee placed all his faith in those slender, black legs. But what if Cinder should trip over a tree root and injure her leg? What if the wind had blown down Jim's line, too? Lee urged Cinder on faster and pushed these thoughts out of his mind. Cinder was sure-footed, he knew, and Jim's line couldn't have blown down. It just couldn't. They had been riding for almost twenty minutes. Lee could see Jim's tower in the distance. Cinder was flecked with foam and had slowed down some, but she was still do- ing her best. Suddenly, Lee saw someone riding swiftly down the trail towards him. He recognized the horse as one of Jim's long-legged speeders. “Hello, there, he called. Jim waved his hand and pulled up his horse when he came beside Lec. What are you doing over here? I saw vou from the tower and figured something was up. You sure figured right! There's a fire over at the foot of Heaven's Cliffs. It was only small when I left, but it has probably spread quite a bit by now. You'd better ride back to the tower and report it as quickly as possible. Cinder and I will come up behind. She is pretty well exhausted. Jim was already on his way. His horse seemed to fly over the ground. Cinder sud- denly found a new burst of speed and raced after him, but was soon left behind. Lee laughed and whacked her affection- ately. “Cindy, old girl, if you want to race, don't pick on Tony. He's too fast for you.” It seemed as if Jim had taken all of Lee's troubles away with him. He knew he could depend on him. Soon he reached Jim's tower. He turned Cinder loose to wander, though he hated to see so much fine timber destroyed. Jim was coming down the ladder, which rather surprised Lee, who thought he should stay up and watch the fire in case the wind arose. Then he realized Jim was laughing. Jim, what's the matter with you? Have you gone crazy ? Jim just stood there leaning against the ladder and laughing. At last, when he was able to talk, he looked at Lee. You and your fires, he said, trving to sound disgusted. “Why, what's wrong with them? re- turned Lee, rather peeved. Thirteen

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brother: Johnny Nolan, always singing but out of work; Katie Nolan, the mother, who keeps the family going by scrubbing floors ; Aunt Cissy, an aunt, who had a habit of marrying too many times without getting a divorce. It is the story of Francie, Neely, Johnny. and Katie Nolan. Johnny was a drinking man always out of a Job, so Katie supporte: the family by scrubbing floors all day. The Bible and a book of Shakespeare were Fran- cie's and Neely's first readers, and when l'rancie gets older she visits the library and starts to read all the books, starting at A. Reading is her favorite pastime, for through hooks she escapes into a new world. When Francie finished grammer school she goes to work, for Johnny has died and the family necds the money. A few Francie and Neely have a baby sister. The family struggles to keep going, fighting all the way. In the end, Natie marries again, this time to a policeman, and the story closes with Francie getting ready to go out with a col- lege boy she has met, and she looks down on the tree under the fire-escape. It had been cut down and the stump burned, but it was shooting up again, starting a new life just as l'rancie, her brother and mother were. The story was pretty good, but it wasn't like the Brooklyn [ know. Viora HATCH. A THRILL OF YOUTH The heavens shone brightly as we went on our way. The skating rink wasn't too far away. Skates were dangling from our shoulders small. A good time was to be had by all. Our frost-bitten faces were as red as a beet, And we had to keep moving to thaw out our feet. Although you may hear the old folks complain, To Youth, it's the thrill of living in Maine. Lorraine Hott. THE FIRST STORM OF THE YEAR The wind blew the snow, first this way, then that. It clutched at my coat; it snatched at my hat. My breath appeared as a thin frosty cloud. The trees were covered in wintery shroud. months after. ' The snow piled in drifts, then blew off in gusts. Wind screamed in delight, then fretted and fussed. The snow on my face brought tears to my eyes. “Then why was I out? I'll answer your whys. A New England girl, in Maine born and raised, I seldom have heard a storm being praised. They say. It is ccld, it's bleak. and it's drear. But, oh! What a thrill, the first storm of tle year! Ouive HITCHCOCK. JUNIOR ALPHABET A is for Achorn, Gerry is her name. B is for Best. Which leads on to fame. C is for Cooper, Bea—after the bell. D is for Dempseys. We all think they're swell! E is for Excellence, It shall show up yet! F is for Failures, Which we never get. (?) G is for Goff, And his wolf call. WOO! H is for Hall, Holt, Hatch, And G. Humphrey, too. Es for Independence, We'll fight for our share. J. is for Joy, Where it's at, we're right there. K is for the Kick That we get from life. L is for good Luck, To keep us out of Strife. M is for Maxwell, One of our girls’ teams. N is for Nichols, Also on the beam. O is for extraOrdinary, As a class that we are. P is for Pollard. Vi's basketball star. Q is for Questions, Who? Where? What? Why? R is for Robinson, A well liked, lanky guy. T is for Thompson, Tripp and Taylor. U is for United, We're always the same. V is for Victory, It's always our aim. W is for Wilson, A pretty brunette. X is for eXperts, That's the Juniors, you bet! Y is for Youth, So gay and carefree. Z is for Zealous, What we'll always be. There’s one other H, For Hitchcock. That's me. Fifteen