Petaluma High School - Trojans Yearbook (Petaluma, CA)

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HIGH SCHOOL ENTERPRISE ' 0 7. But just now sheets and pillowslips were hanging beside pink and blue shirt waists, for this was where Mammy hung her washing. She had long wished for a new clothes line and hoped she would get one when her husband, old Rufus, got a “job.” However, Rufus was one of the “born-tired” kind and so was not look¬ ing for a “job.” As Sammy approached the cabin Mammy Usum smiled and, as she espied the rope hanging from his blouse, she said, “For de lan‘ sakes chile, what have yo‘ got?” “I’ve brought you some clo’s-pins an‘ a clo’s line, Mammy,” he said. “I got ’em by “wuking,” he added, as he took them from his blouse. “God bress yo‘, you poor chile,” said Mammy. “We can hang the clo’s line from the tree in the gyarden to the apple tree over yonder. You’ll be a mon someday, won ' yo‘, Sammy?” Sammy Usum smiled and wondered why the lady and his Mammy had said the same thing. MAMIE BURLEIGH, 1 0. A Sewing Gircle A sewing circle is composed of ladies—usually. The ladies begin to come about a half hour before they are wanted, and keep coming until after it begins. They get off in little bunches and talk about each other. When it is time to begin, the ladies gather around in a circle. This is the sewing circle. At the word of command they all begin to talk. The one who talks most has the pleasure of the least work. When they are all out of breath, which takes several hours, cake is brought on. It is brought on at the last because then the ladies are exhausted and can not eat so much. Ater this they go home. I do not know whether they sew at a sewing circle or not. CHARLES GREEN, ’09 A tooter who tooted a flute Tried to tutor two tooters to toot These two asked the tooter If ‘twas harder to toot Or tutor two tooters to toot.—Ex. i —24—

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HIGH SCHOOL ENTERPRISE ’0 7. Sammy Usuries Awa eQiQg “Der ought ter be a mate to dis. Sho’ly no man wid only one laig is gwine aroun’ skatin ' —sho’ly not! An’ den when roller skates is won out an’ dey is frown away dey is bofe frown away.” It was probably by chance that Sammy Usum found it that morning as he was walking down the street stirring the sand with his bare toes. But search ever so faithfully, the little darkey could not find the mate to his newly discovered treasure. “I des have to fiin’ dat odder skate,” he said, his eyes sparkling like two black beads and his teeth glistening from behind his red lips. After searching for some time the little bundle of rags sat down on the side walk and proceeded to fasten the solitary skate to his left foot. When the straps were fastened around his ragged shoe he attempted to stand on his feet. Then his head spun round and round and the earth and sky seemed a jumble of blue and green. His legs clashed together and Sammy landed in the midst of a pile of rubbish. Old Black Sarah who sold oranges at a stand across the street saw the little colored lad and urged him on, “Jes’ keep agwine. A fall don’t ’mount to nuffin.” So Sammy “kept agwine” but could make no headway. Presently he heard a lady’s voice behind him say, “That boy will make a man of himself some day.” Nobody had ever praised Sammy Usum before except his mother and her praises ran like this, “Poor Sammy’s a good li’l boy. He always tells de trufe an‘ I don’t has to worry ’bout him ,’cept gettin ' him somethin ' to eat and to wear.” Sammy Usum thought of the words the voice behind him had said and wondered how he could make a man of himself. Hanging his skate over his arm he walked toward the hotel and placed himself by the stairway, ready to aid travelers by carrying their satchels for them. When he was not occupied by this work he ran errands for the hotel keeper, swept off the side walk, and did other small tasks. When evening came, Sammy Usum’s little palm was full of shining five cent pieces. On his way home he stepped into a hardware store and when he came out the end of a rope was hanging from his blouse and striking against his leg as he walked. Sammy’s home was on a road leading into the country, called “Park Lane.” When the little darkey reached the curve in the road a small cabin made of whitewashed boards could be seen. On one side was a porch covered with Honeysukles and Tea Roses. On this porch stood Mammy Usum’s washtub and over it Mammy Usum was bending, singing as she worked. The old board fence by the house was very dilapidated and many of the boards were missing. —23—

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HIGH SCHOOL ENTERPRISE - 0 7. High School Memories “O please, sir, wait! wait!” excitedly called a short, stout, little woman, as she bustled down the hotel steps, handsatchel in hand, toward the ap¬ proaching stage. “Sure, marm,” replied the jolly coachman, as he drew up near the steps, “this ’ere coach won’t be a startin ' fore ten minutes, so you needn’t worry.” She smiled pleasantly. All unconsciously she had been tying her veil under her chin, and now, having added the fifth knot, she sat down with a thump that might have surprised even a school boy. In a few minutes six others had gathered on the veranda, ready to start on a trip up the Sierra Nevadas. “All aboard!” shouted the driver, and the merry crowd drew near the stage, our little short lady in the lead, hur¬ rying as only a plump person can. “I have engaged the center seat in the second row, for it is the most comfortable,” she explained. “That so?” inquired Hans, the driver. “Yes,” she replied. “ I telephoned ahead. It’s mine,” she proclaimed triumphantly, as the driver helped her in. “There’s one thing certain,” thought Hans, “she truly occupies all the space she paid for.” Soon all were in. On either side of Mrs. Sales, for such was the little woman’s name, was a young fellow, eacITcontrasting strikingly. The one on her left a tall, lank, dark muscular fellow, while her right hand neighbor was a second Billy Bounce, with the addition of a few feet, and with a merry twinkle in his hazel eyes. A sober looking man sat with Hans. In the back seat were a man, his wife, and their lovely daughter, a young, vivacious, and dashing maiden, a beauty of the brunette type. While the rest were stowing away wraps and luncheon, the attention of this girl, Grace, was drawn to the grandeur of the landscape. To the right was the hotel, a large, quaint old wooden structure, its wide veranda over¬ hung with twining vines, as it nestled in among the tall redwood trees. She gazed in silent pleasure. Through the trees were the lofty Sierras, their canons still veiled in the morning mist. They were not steep, gray and rocky but wrapped in their new spring covering. At the base the tender green grass was first peeping forth. A little higher was the dark green forest, and far above, the graceful peaks were still encircled by a crown of snow. To the left was a wall of gigantic pines, which had stood for ages with their strong arms interlocked, whispering to each other their secrets, or blending their mournful sighs. What could be more enchanting ’midst the twittering of the birds at dawn? “Get up!” shouted Hans, and the four shining black horses, impatient¬ ly tossing their heads, anxious to be off, sprang forward, soon to ascend the mountains. Emerging from the grove of trees about the hotel, fields of grain stretched out like green ribbons, till in the distance they met a waving white —25—