Prattsburgh Central High School - Franklinite Yearbook (Prattsburgh, NY)

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FRANKLIN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL ANNFAI. IQ A Mirror of Bygone Days am covered with the dust of many years' accumulation and my former beauty has vanished entirely. My exquisitely carved mahogany frame no longer gleams under the careful polishing of loyal slaves. I stand in exactly the same spot that I did over half a century ago, among the tasteful furnishings of a typical Southern home. I was brought to the colonies by james Richardson, an English Cav- alier, who settled in Virginia. The family of which I was a cherished possession, prospered in the land of their adoption and their home was a center of colonial society. In time, I saw two sons of the house go forth to fight against the mother country, one of them never to return. During the years inter- vening between the Revolution and the war of secession, I reflected in my shining surface, the form of many a Southern belle and gallant, for the mansion was distinguished for its cordial hospitality. I The years flew by as on wingsg members of the family died and oth- ers were married in the stately drawing room where I now stand. As the inevitable conflict between the two sections of the country approached, feeling waxed strong among the people of the Old Domin- ion. As soon as the Hring upon Fort Sumter had aroused the people of both sections to immediate action, the eldest son of the family hastened to enlist. The rank of captain of cavalry was granted him, and he was indeed a dashing young Confederate officer. Needless to say, the family pride in him was intense. During the long years of war, the family lived in absolute simplicity, devoting every effort to the furtherance of their beloved cause. This plantation, like that of most of the Southern gentry, was ravaged by the invading army. As a result, the family became impoverished, but they found solace in the success of their son, who had on several occasions been distinguished by his remarkable bravery and daring. However, there came on one fall day, the news that he had been killed in battle. This was a crushing blow, but the family proudly declared that a younger son of the house, who had been too young to en- list at the outbreak of hostilities, should attempt to fill his brother's place in the army. Imagine their shame, when, after two days sudden and un- explained absence, they received a brief note from him, informing them that he had enlisted in a Northern regiment. His mother was unable to hear this disgrace, coming so soon after the death of her first born, and died in a short time. After her death the house was closed, the master of the house together with his daughters, having removed to Richmond. Since that hour, the house has remained unopened, my once beautiful surface is now shrouded in cobwebs and I have only to reminisce upon the glories ,of anti bellmn days. ' --Calha1'1'1n' li. Cbrurll, '23,

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I8 , FRANKLIN ACAIJFIMX HIGH SCHOOL ANNIIXI. Did Someone Say a Snake? S anyone travels through this world he has a great-many experiences. It seems to me that I have had an unusually large number of-exciting ones. Among them is my Snake Experience. Always, from the time I was old enough to walk, I have been very fond of the woods, fields, birds and wild life. A few years ago on a bright sunny spring day I started for an all day's hyke. I wandered through the woods and fields amusing myself by picking flowers and watching the birds. At about half past twelve I became tired of wandering and think- ing it about time for me to eat my lunch, I went through a small field until I came to a lovely shade tree. It was a beautiful maple tree in one corner of the field. It was not very tall but the branches were very sprawling and shaded a great space. The grass around it was mixed with pink clover blossoms which made it smell very sweet. It was under this tree that I ate my lunch. VVhen I had finished it seemed almost too comfortable to go on. The light breeze made the limbs of the tree sway back and forth and the continual noise of the tree made me very sleepy. After I had become so sleepy that I could no longer over- come it I stretched out and lay down. For some unknown reason I fell asleep. How long I slept I do not know but when I awoke, to my great surprise, I found a snake entwined around my leg. Being very much afraid of snakesl nearly went insane. I did not know what to do. The first thing that came to my mind was to get up and run home but before I moved I thought I ought not do that because if the snake should become angered by my running it would, without a doubt, bite me. The next thought that came to me was to scream, but then I realized that I could not make anyone hear because I was too far from a house. I could not have touched the snake if I had been compelled to remain there all night. I began to get more nervous. VVhile trying to decide what I should do I heard a noise behind me. Turning my head I saw a neighbor boy com- ing and I knew he was after the cows because he always went after them on horseback. I was never so glad to see anyone in my life as I was to see him. I beckoned to him and he immediately came whereil was. It did not take me long to tell him what I wanted of him. He was off his horse and in about a minute had his hand around the snake's neck. After he had choked the snake, I rose to my feet, hardly able to stand up and whirled slowly around while he held to the snake's neck. It did not take long to get the snake unwound and it was a great sigh of relief that I gave when it was at last off. I felt as if that snake had been a burden to me for years instead of a few minutes and in fact I dreamed all that night that I was unwinding snakes from various parts of my anatomy. The fact impressed me not at all that this snake was of a harmless variety, I consider that to be a triv- ial detail. --lffrlfza G1'llrllv, '24.

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20 I FRANKLIN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL ANYVAI, The Haunted House T was about eight o'clock in the evening when Mister Daniel Graves, a lawyer in the little town of Hollywood, walked down Main street and got on a car which was going to Frankfort, a tiny settlement about three miles east of Hollywood. There were two other passengers on the car beside himself but he did not know either of them, so he amused him- self by reading a daily paper. In the headlines, he read the following words, Stolen, twenty-eight pearls, the total loss is estimated at about f25,0OO.H As he read on, he found that they had been stolen from Margie and Emily Fleming, the twot old ladies in Frankfort, whom he was now on his way to visit. - Howfstrange it was, that he, the best law- yer of Hollywood should be on his way to their home. VVhen the car finally stopped at Frankfort, Mister Graves and the other two men got off. He wandered through the streets until he came to the big gray house belonging to the Fleming ladies. Going to the side door, as he always did when he visiting them, he found Margie sitting in her big arm chair asleep. As he stepped on the porch, she awoke and started scream- ing. No wonder she did, after the scare she had had the night before. He spoke to her in his gentlest tone, and she immediately recognized his voice. They had a long talk about the theft of the precious pearls, and decided to search the house thoroughly the next day. After they had finished their visit.she showed him his room and he went to bed. That is, she thought he had, but instead of going to bed, he lighted a cigar and sat down by the window to smoke it. In those days many of the old houses had secret passages and he re- memberd having heard that that very house had a secret passage. He could not go to bed with these thoughts in his mind so lit another cigar. It was about two o'clock in the morning before he decided that he would lie down. He had just gotten into bed when he heard a creaking on the steps below his room. He jumped up and ran down stairs as quickly and as quietly as possible, but by the time he had found his way down stairs every thing was quiet. After making a search in that part of the house, he decided that it must have been his ears that were off and started back to his room. As he was about half way up the stairs, he noticed a crack in the wall about an inch wide and putting his hand on it the panels flew back so that the opening was wide enough for a man to get through. Looking in, he saw a small rope and when he pulled on the rope a ladder came up to the top of the hole. He immediately crawled through the hole and went down the ladder. Here he found himself in a narrow pas- sage which was apparently a very old one and Hlled with old boxes and children's playthings all apparently very old. Of course, neither the Fleming ladies nor their immediate ancestors knew about this. As he wandered on he noticed, to his great amazement, that one of the boxes had been disturbed and that some foot marks showed on the dust. Upon looking under it he found the box containing the twenty-eight pearls.