Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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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

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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. gentian, growing near, put the two in juxtaposition, and you will have a ravishing study in blue and gold. But the flower which I have most frequently observed blooming late in the season beside this dainty golden rod, is the white, sweet- scented orchid, Spirant Jies cernua. Perhaps every one may not know that there is a white solidago, which can hardly be called a gold- en rod. Its ray-flowers are usually cream colored, but often really white. This also is a wood plant, but likes a dry wood soil best, and may be found in copses and shaded places in company with the yellow (false) foxglove, wild indigo and the uncanny looking rattlesnake weed, Hieracium venosum—all plants of weird repute and curious properties. Our white solidago is not behind the rest in having the reputation of a healing virtue. It bears the name of being a balm for wounds ; the type of the genus, in fact, was dedicated to this benefi- cent use, and derives its name from solido—to make whole. How can any one, then, decry the gold- en rod as a worthless weed ? The white-flowered solidago, though not without attractions in the eyes of a true flower-lover, has nothing very showy or striking in its aspect. It is not a tall species, eighteen inches being, perhaps, its average height. The stem occa- sionally branches, but the usual form is a solitary stalk standing stiffly upright, bearing a few scat- tered grayish-green leaves, and terminated by a thick spike of bloom, suggesting a club rather than a rod. To the uninitiated eye it bears little likeness to the gold- en rods, but it is a true member of the enus, being in full Solid- ago bicolor. A handsome species, not so common as some others, is Solid- ago speciosa, which flowers in Sep- tember. This plant grows tall and stout, with a dark, polished stalk, and dark green, thick and glossy leaves. Its ample panicle of bloom is borne erect, much resem- bling a “pampas plume” in outline. It is thus distinguished at a glance from S. argutay S. Canadensis, and other species that bear their flowers in curved racemes or droop- ing panicles. On closer examina- tion it will be seen that each of the heads has five yellow rays (some- times one or two more), which are large and conspicuous for the genus—considerably larger than the more numerous rays of other species. These rays lend to S. speciosa that peculiarly brilliant golden hue which, combined with its dark, shining foliage, gives the plant a striking individuality, and makes it perhaps the most attrac- tive member of the genus. It is not rampant or weedy in its habit of growth, and would not be likely to make itself a nuisance if intro- duced in cultivated grounds, for which purpose it appears more suitable than some native plants that have been recently dissemina- ted. This and 5. cassia are the only golden rods that can be re- commended for cultivation. 5. odoraf the sweet golden rod, might find some favor for the fra- grance of its leaves, which have the odor of anise; but the flowers are not especially pretty, and the plant is of weak habit, often falling over on the ground. It grows along the borders of thickets, in dry soil, and seems to be rather rare. Other species more or less wide- ly distributed, and some of them too well known as troublesome weeds, are S. Canadensis, a coarse- growing plant with masses of deep yellow flowers, borne in graceful, one-sided racemes; 5. lanceolata, its tall stem thickly set with nar- row leaves and small heads of greenish yellow flowers, in dense, flat-topped corymbs; 5. tenuifolia, which resembles the last, but has leaves more crowded and more narrowly linear, and heads of flowers in smaller clusters. 5. sempervirensy a stout species grow- ing in salt marshes and among the rocks along the seashore, known by its thick, fleshy leaves and showy flowers ; 5. serotifia and its so-called gigantic variety, which have no particular marks of differ-