Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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THE GOLDEN ROD. It will be of the greatest benefit to the competitors, as they will acquire considerable experience. Then again it will produce a great com- petition, enlivening the scholars and giving them a fresh interest in literary matters. Another series of prizes has been offered by Dr. J. M. Sheahan for French and Latin translations. These will be eagerly contested for. The subjects have not yet been assigned. e. PERSONAL. EDITED BY Jennie Griffin, Annie C. P. Eady, Herbert A. Thompson. John Lyons, ’94, is employed at Drake’s shoe factory. Miss Christianson, ’95, has gone to live at Hartford, Ct. Mary Duran, ’94, is learning typesetting at Roxbury. Rosa Bill, ’94, is bookkeeping at I. F. Shepherd’s, Quincy. We received a short visit this month from Marion Bailey, once of ’94. Bessie L. Drew and Josie Ger- rish, ’94, attended the Mechanics’ Fair this month. Miss Tabb, '95, has left the school, having removed to East Milton. We are pleased to hear that Mary Trask, ’95, has recovered from a severe attack of typhoid fever. Elizabeth Walsh, Helen Delory, ’94, Annie Walsh and Bertha Trepanier, ’96, sing in the choir of St. John’s church, Quincy. Among the few visitors we have had this month have been Marion Gurney, formerly of ’94, Arthur Curtis, ’93, and Mollie YVebb, ’93. Among the visitors we were glad to see on Columbus Day were Mayor- Fairbanks, Dr. Sheahan, our special committee man, and his wife ; Miss Pauline Wilkins, for- merly of ’94, Mr. Thomas, ’91, and others who were once students in this school. LOCALS. EDITED by Annie E. Burns, Daisy C. Bemis, Percy A. Hull. The sand-pile is fast disappear- ing. We notice that several of the boys use the blacking quite lavish- iy- The one satisfactory answer to many interesting scientific ques- tions : “That topic wasn’t in my book.” The English division of ’96 has been removed to a room in the Adams school, which is now styled the “Annex.” Pupil—When the sun cuts the ecliptic--- Teacher—Are not the sun and the ecliptic on good terms? Pupil—I could n’t find the nomi- native of lacte. Teacher—It must have been from lack (lac) of knowledge. The foot-ball has met with a mishap. It came down on the sharp spike of an iron fence, and the result was it“busted.” Surely, a frightful fate. English ’93 is keeping a daily re- cord of the class work. Visitors examining this journal may form an idea of what the class is doing in Literature. Latin ’93, is certain that the word ovation does not come from the Latin ovum meaning an egg, because occasions on which these articles are brought into use are seldom triumphal. It may not be generally known that the superintendent of schools and the principal ot the High School always “happen ’round” when the products of the cooking teacher’s skill are to be tasted. “THERE WERE GIANTS IN THOSE DAYS.” We did not realize the exact size of Joe’s foot until its plaster cast was left so indelibly for future gen- erations. We have heard before of autographs being written with the feet. Is this a “footprint in the sands ot time” ? s.

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THE GOLDEN ROD. 'Act we il yoiir part, there all the honor ! WHO (i The mayor spoke of the past four hundred years of our country’s his- tory, and of the brilliant possibili- ties of the future, exhorting every pupil to do his part in life for his country and for humanity, thereby contributing his share to the ad- vancement and welfare of man- kind. k. A few days ago we heard the fol- lowing dialogue: “You wish Har- rison to be elected, do you not?” “Harrison ? Let’s see,—he’s the re- publican candidate, isn’t he ?” “Of course.” “Well then, he’s the man for me.” Is it not strange, and does it not show a lamentable lack of interest in the affairs of one’s country, that after General Harrison has occu- pied the presidential chair during four years, one of the citizens of the United States should be in doubt as to which party our president represents ? The person to whom the first question was addressed is evidently one who casts his vote, not for his country’s but for his party’s welfare. We do not say that in so doing he is not, in this instance at least, contributing to the welfare of the former as well, but if so, it is by no design on his part. He practically confesses that he has made no study of the char- acter and party principles of the man for whom he intends to vote. Is it then so light a matter, this election of a man to the highest official position of our government, that one is justified in blindly cast- ing his vote for a candidate simply because he is of “my party”? We have spoken only of the president's election, because the questions asked particularly men- tioned that official; but we wish to include the other principal officers of the government also. We have heard men say that they voted a “straight ticket,” and have heard them add that they did not approve of all the candidates, but they must support their party. Whenever we hear such a statement, this ques- tion presents itself to our mind: Which is of greater importance, “my party,” or the government of the United States and the prosper- ity of the people at large? You will at once give preference to the government and the general pros- perity, yet we fear many are great- ly influenced by party jealousy and will vote for a man of whom they may not entirely approve in order to prevent the election of an oppos- ing candidate. We do not intend this article to favor any particular party, and we have mentioned the republican par- ty only because the conversation which we first quoted happened to relate to it. We think the same result might be obtained by ques- tioning some of the members of the other political parties. Somewhere we have seen an article ridiculing woman’s suffrage, in which one woman is made to vote a certain ticket because the color of the ballot matched the color of her dress. We think that method of voting hardly less senseless than that of voting with a party, regardless of the merits or demerits of the can- didates. It has been said that all men are equal at the polls, and since this is so should not every man take suffi- cient interest in politics to know the worth of the candidates, and the principles advocated by them, and then vote, not for a special party, but for the men who will contrib- ute most to the advancement of our country? Shakespeare says:— ‘ Be just and fear not: Let all the ends thou ainvst at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.” K. Owing to the benevolence of Mr. Corthel of Wollaston, prizes have been offered for declamation and composition. The competition is to take place on an appointed date in February of each year, with the understanding that as soon as the money derived from the enter- tainment given at that time accu- mulates sufficiently, the prizes are to be given from that. This is the result of long deliberation, it hav- ing been agitated some years ago.

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THE GOLDEN ROD. “Little lulus” is the pet of Latin ’93, with “pious Aeneas” as a close second. “Answer to the anxious” : No, the Pleiades are not the Little Dipper. “ Vive la science!” LOST! The balance of a mem- ber of ’93. The finder will kindly return it to the High School attic. Teacher—For what word is tris used ? Pupil—For triste (sad). Teacher—That is a sad mistake. An interesting and profitable part of our day’s program is the reading of news items. A summa- ry of the news of the day previous is read by our principal directly after devotional exercises. The school is greatly indebted to Miss Elizabeth C. Adams and Rev. Mr. Cotton for sending to us the portraits of Columbus and Ameri- cus Vespucius. They were paint- ed in Italy many years ago from the original portraits. The classes of ’93, ’94, and ’95 have formed a debating society, and have chosen officers for two weeks. The society is to meet every Thursday. The first sub- ject for debate is, “Resolved: That the lower animals do not reason.” In Astronomy. Teacher—It is said that the titles rise so quickly and so high in the Bay of Fundy that pigs are frequently swept away by them. Pupil (aside) Then I shall never venture up there. Our hearts are made glad by the increased popularity of the Golden Rod. The list of subscribers is slowly but surely lengthening, and we hear hearty praise of its col- umns coming to us from all direc- tions. We hope pride, in this case, will not have a fall. Surprises are, in some instances, very pleasant. The surprise which some of us received a short time ago was of a different kind. We are sure we remember hearing of “showers of blessing,” but show- ers of plastering are another affair, especially if followed by the rapid descent of—what ? Did he call it a foot ? THE GOLDEN ROD, WHICH BLOOMS FROM EARLY SUM- MER UNTIL LATE AUTUMN—SOME OF ITS MANY VARIETIES. Before the earliest aster shows itself in robes of lavender-blue -the exquisite tint of Aster linifolius— the early golden rod, solida go ar- guta, has had its blooming season. In its place we find the low-grow- ing species, 5 . nemoralis, readily distinguished by its dense, re- curved and one-sided panicles of bloom, its roughish gray stems and scanty foliage. It grows from six inches to two and one-half feet in height, and makes all the sterile fields and wkste places blaze with its brightness. From early in July until the close of “Saint Martin’s summer” the golden rods are, with us, blooming royally in spite of the fiercest drought, and they stand out against the invasion of frost until all the asters have gone down before it, and only a few hardy late flowers are left to keep them com- pany. I have seen Solidago arguta in bloom on the fifth day of July, and have found 5. coesia, the latest of the species, flowering well into November. This last is the typical “rod of gold”—a slender, swaying wand, with bright yellow flowers, set thickly in little clusters along the stem to its tapering tip, a cluster in the axil of each leaf, and the leaves alone atti acting notice by their beauty. They are lanceolate in outline, with toothed edges, thin and beautifully veined, and their color is a rich, deep green, unlike the dull or dusty looking foli- age often associated with showier flowers of the genus. There is nothing weedy about this plant, whatever may be said of the coarser species. It is delicate and graceful, and does not flaunt its beauty boldly in the face of the passer-by. Look for it along the moist, shaded banks of some ravine where water runs, or in the borders of rich woods, and if you find the fringed gentian or its rarer sister, the mystical closed