Petaluma High School - Trojans Yearbook (Petaluma, CA)

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Turning of the Tide. It was a hot summer day and the sun cast a shadow in front of Jim Wheeler’s little grocery store. A rickety old bench stood in the midst of this shadow and Jim, seeing the prospects of a cool hour, took his opportunity and sat down on the end of the bench, which creaked and squeaked under the strain. Jim was a shriveled up little man, who had barely a hair on his head, and wore dark glasses to protect his weak eyes. Over the hill came a rickety farm wagon, drawn by a pair of splendid black horses, driven b}’ Tom Hawkins, who used a board set across the bed of his wagon for a seat. Hawkins was an unusually large man, being over six feet four inches tall and of ma.ssive build. He had been a hero of the civil war and wore a little brown button on the lapel of his coat. “Jim,” said he, as he tied his horses to a hitching post, “I’ve got .something for you to do to-day.” “What is it.?” asked Jim, ‘‘do you want me to load a barrel of “Kagle” on that empty wagon of yours ?” “No,” replied Hawkins, sadly, “I shall never buy any more flour from you, Jim. I want you to do some writing. Get some paper and I will tell you all about it.” Jim brought a tablet of tissue paper, and the two men sat down on the bench, side by side. Hawkins laid his big hand on Jim’s shoulder. “Jim,” he said, “I am going to sell the farm. I’ve got to. It’s .so different up there .since Martha’s gone. I’m so lonesome that I can’t .stand it any longer. I have no one to take care of me any more, and as for hiring help, I can’t.” “Tliere was that Thompson boy we brought up. He was a good, honest boy, but he got the Western fever and he went to California to get rich, but I doubt that he succeeded. So there ain’t nothing to do but to sell the old farm at auction, and I want you to fix me out a bill that I can take up to Ru.ssell and have him talk it off. You understand such things and you know the farm. There it is,” he added, waving his hand toward the mountain side. Jim wiped two sympathetic tears from his I eyes, and opened his lips to protest against this desecration, but finally adjusted his glasses to the end of his nose and began to write. “What have you got there ?” a.sked Hawkins, after a few minutes of silence. Jim read aloud : i .AUCTION ! ' “The undersigned will .sell at Public I Auction, on—” I “Week from Saturday,” put in Hawkins. I “ Saturday, September 5th, ; HIS FARM, I long known as the Old West Hill place, j consisting of about 200 acres, well di- i vided in woodland,tillage and mowing.” “ Yes, sir,” said Hawkins, as he faced toward the farm, “it’s one of the best farms in the country. Thirty years ago Martha and I lived I there together, and there our little Loui.se died. ! vSeems as if I could see her running around in i the yard now, just as she used to.” ! “ Good farm buildings,” Jim read on, huskily, ! “ and never failing water at house or barn.” “ Guess there is,” said Hawkins, “.stream of i good size runnin’ there now. Well, try again, Jim. I don’t .seem to let you get ahead any.” “ Fine apple and pear orchards,” began Jim. ' “ There’s a hundred barrels of good apples in that orchard if there is one. I do hate to see others picking them.” “ AI.SO,” began Jim, once more, “ a great va¬ riety of household goods—” “That’s the worst of it all,” .said Hawkins, “ to think that all those things have to be piled up and .sold off. Even Martha’s things hang just where she left them, as though she was coinin’ back tomorrow.” Jim did not seem to be quite ready to go on with the reading, and just then a young man came around the corner, leading a little curly headed boy. He was thin and looked weary, but his face changed wonderfulh- as he caught sight of Hawkin’s sturdy figure. “ Uncle Tom !” he cried. Tom wheeled around and gazed at the new-

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Centres.—Hilda Atkinson, Myrtle Ilealy, Kvelyn Hall. Opal Hays. Guards.—Edna Rodgers, Lucetta Brush. Goals.—Edith Wilson, Helen Poehlman, Tessie vSweed. vSnbs. —Eleanor White, Genevieve Martinelli, Ruby McGuire. On May 30th, this team played a match game with the Atlantas and were defeated, the score of games now being Atlanta, i; Petaluma, i. Though defeated, we all enjoyed the last game immensely, as did the interested spectators to whom was proven the many virtues and advan¬ tages of the game. We hope to win the decid¬ ing game next year. We owe much of our progress and success in basketball to outsiders who helped us in many ways, also to some of the boys of the P. H. S., and the members of the team greatly appreciate the attitude and intere.st they have taken. Also the faculty, who have greatly helped and en¬ couraged the girls. We have excellent material in onr team and intend next year to begin to play early in the season, and we are conlident that a good team will be developed. The en¬ thusiasm in the game is strikingly manifest among the players and is rapidly growing among others, and I hope by next season inter¬ est in the game will be thoroughly awakened. T. B. vS. A Heart to Heart Talk with the Pupils of the High School by an ex-Member. Boys and girls of the High vSchool rouse up. Instill some college spirit into your work both indoors and outdoors. Increase the member¬ ship of your school by going to ont.side districts and impressing upon those pupils graduating, the necessity of higher education. It can be done. Why not do it ? We have a city and surrounding country which should send at lea.st one hundred and possibly one hundred and fifty pupils to our High School, whereas we have but seventy or eighty. By interviewing those graduating from the country schools, more and better athletes may be secured. Other schools do this, and year after year their member.ship increases, while that of our own High vSchool remains station¬ ery. A spirit of apathy seems to pervade over the pupils of our school. We have as good a .set of athletes as can l e found in any other high school, but they never exert themselves to bring to victory that dear old purple and white. This year wdiat did our athletes do? Practi¬ cally nothing, making a total of only four points. Now let us .see if we cannot find a way to remedy this. To my mind the cause is very plain and it is due to the fact that the boys did not attach sufficient importance to the field .sports to train carefully. We had a good high jumper who refused to practice. We had a good half-mile runner who got tired ami quit. We had some good hurdlers who refused to train. We had a good shot put¬ ter who failed to put. It is such things as these that keep our school at the bottom of ‘the ath¬ letic ladder of fame. Tet us see if this cannot be remedied next sea.son. If the boys show the proper .spirit there are a number of ex-graduates here who would be willing to help financially and other ways We can get the material and let us do it. Visit the country schools, impress upon the grad¬ uates’ mind the importance of a High vSchool education. Use all the eloquence and persua- .sive power you can muster, and then we can look for a great increa.se in the number of pupils in our High School. Then in succeeding years our athletes will be on lop and not on the bottom. Good Manners C ' lood manners, while they are the dress of a gentleman, do not determine, by any means, his character. Mere politene.ss can never be a substitute for a moral excellence, any more than you can tell what the heart of a tree is by .seeing the bark. Etiquette is .simply a sub- .stitute for good manners and is very often a big counterfeit. vSincerity is the highest quality of good manners. It don’t cost anything to say a kind word, and I it often helps a fellow out of a tight ])lace.

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comer for a moment. Then be grasped his hand with such tremendous force that it seemed to be in danger of dislocation. But the young man appeared to like it. “Horace Thompson!” exclaimed Tom, “ I thought you was out in California, and I never should see you again.” “No, uncle Tom,” said Horace, uneasily. “I guess Vermont is going to be good enough for me the rest of my days.” Then, as if anxious to change the subject, he asked quickly, “How is Aunt Martha ?” The old man’s lips quivered and he could not speak. He pointed to the hill where the white headstones gleamed through the maples, and lifted his hand toward the blue depths of the cloudless sky. The young man’s eyes filled with tears. “ I didn’t know it,” he said softly. And then, as if by common impulse, the two men walked away together and Jim retired behind his tablet. But it was not long before the wanderers re¬ turned. Hawkins marched along with the same swinging step that he had when he was a member of Company “ G,” and on his shoulder, riding royally, sat Horace Thompson’s little boy. “Hold on there I” roared the farmer. “You needn’t finish that bill. There ain’t a’goin to be any auction. Horace Thompson, he and his wife and little boy, they are going to keep house for me. Tear up that bill, Jim, and tell me what the damages are and we will soon straighten matters out.” “ Damage,” said Jim, with a tinge of sarcasm in his tones, “ You come into this store and we will look and see if we can find a bunch of raisins or somethin’ or other for that little fellow.” o. H. L. “ ’04.” Alphabetical List. A is for Allie, whose art and wit Have been shown in our High School quite a bit. B is for Brainerd, one of our athletic team. He’s a rirsher we know; that’s easil}’ seen. C is for catastrophe, which happened one day. When Horace’s hair was taken away. D is for dancing, the faculty enjoys; But what is the dancing without the boys? E is for Elsa, a charming lass; ’way at the head of the Third Year class. Studying, studying, all the day; ’tis not any ef fort—she was born that way. F is for Freshies, who always have a word. We advise them that “children should be seen and not heard.” G is for geometry, both solid and plane, And the many other things that puzzle the brain. H is for Helen, the girl with light hair, For such girls as she are seldom and rare. I is for image of Caesar on the wall, If you look at him hard, he’s liable to fall. J is for Juniors, the pride of the High, But when it conies to deportment in English— oh my ! K is for cage that hung i n the hall, L is for birds, and they weren’t birds at all. M is for Martin, who by his athletic feats Is first in the hearts of the athletes. N is for Naemi, the fresh Sophomore, If marked in deportment, she’d surely get four. O is for Opal, who is always late. vShe believes in the saying : “ Be up-to-date.” P is for “Peanuts,” our lawyer and scribe, Tho’ with his writings nothing will jibe. Q is for quinces on our neighbor’s tree; When no one was near we’d swipe two or three. R is for ring, which was in the bell. But where it has gone no one can tell. S is for Sarah, our nightingale sweet, Whene’er she doth favor us,be assured, ’tis sweet. T is for Tessie, one little vSweed, In basketball she takes the lead. U is for union, that we ' re going to tonn. So that we can strike when the weather gets warm. V is for volcano, near Italy’s shore. Go ask the Fre.shies if you want to know more. W is for Winsor, Walker’s wonderful man, Who with his wise ways works as fast as he can. X is for Xaminers who from Berkeley came. Heedless of invitations, wind, cold or rain. Y is for you whose names don’t appear,