Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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THE GOLDEN- ROD wires «gain to his mouth he waited with bated breath for the answer. As he waited he seemed to see the wreck which must follow if he were unsuccessful in stopping the train. Already he thought he heard the distant roar of the ap- proaching engine, when his thoughts were in- terrupted by the operator at L— who answered t that moment. Then Frank carefully spelled out the following message: “Flag spcl. D. R., bridge gone. M.” Again placing the wires to his mouth, he got the message; “(). K. L.” Then he hurriedly spliced the wires and turned towards home. At L----. the operator had just time enough to change his semaphore to danger before the Special rushed by and stopped about a third of a mile below the station. When the General Superintendent heard the news, he telegraphed his thanks to Frank at his station. The next day Frank received the appointment as telegrapher at D----. a middle-sized manufacturing city on the main line. From that time there has been a steady ad- vance in the positions held by the young man and today one may read in the list of officials of the M. C. Railroad the name of Frank Rus- sell. General Passenger Agent. jk j, jt The Adventures of on Amateur Aufoist. Doctor Burch had bought an automobile The news spread like wildfire, till within a day of its announcement by the postman, every man. woman, and child in Greenville had heard of it. 'Plie fact was that the old doctor, the family physician of Greenville, had recently visited his cousin in Boston, and while there he had gone to the automobile show. There he became very much interested in automobiles generally, and ended by purchasing a small doctor’s run- about. “absolutely reliable under all condi- tions.” according to the salesman. The doctor had returned to Greenville in- tending to keep tlie matter entirely secret, not even informing his wife, who was somewhat of a gossip. “Well, Doctor,” greeted him on all sides, “how does Greenville seem to you side of Bos- ton?” “Oh. pretty slow, pretty slow,” would be the reply. “Trouble is, you folks are too far behind the times—time you woke up.” After a week of eager anticipation on the part of the doctor, the shipping bill arrived, but unfortunately for his plans, his wife found and read this, which stated that “a Stanford run- about had been shipped to Dr. C. L. Burch of Greenville.” She lost no time in telling the news to Abe Weathers, the R. F. D. man, who in turn informed everyone on his route. Accordingly, when the little machine ar- rived at the Greenville station, it was immedi- ately hauled to the doctor’s home, escorted by all Greenville in a body, curious to witness the doctor’s first trip. The doctor, although much surprised, soon joined them, and the auto was quickly prepared for its maiden run. Then the owner, instruction book in hand and trying his best not to look proud, stepped to the front of the machine and started the crank. The motor responded finely, but just .then, unfor- tunately. an over-curious small boy pulled the starting lever. The “runabout,” true to its name, started forward like a streak, bowling over the doctor and several bystanders, and by the time these had recovered their breath and dignity, only a cloud of dust was visible, far up the road. The trail of the fugitive was easily followed being dotted here and there with lap robes, monkey wrenches, dead chicken, etc. Where the road turned sharply, the auto had turned to one side, torn down considerable fence, gone through a henhouse and finally was found, up against a haystack, uninjured but for a few scratches. . Then an ox was hired from a grinning on- looker. and the machine was towed slowly and ingloriously home. Needless to remark, the old mare was in demand for the next few days, but at length having occasion to visit a distant town, the doc- tor resolved to try again. This time all went smoothly, until, upon the return trip, clouds came up and the rain poured in torrents. The

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THE GOLDEN’-ROD PranR Bussell’s Advance. By Carleton W. Cummings. In the town of M— on a branch of the M. C. R. R. lived a widow. Mrs. Russell, with her two children, Frank, aged eighteen, and Mar- garet. aged sixteen. Frank was a tall, dark-complexioned, sturdy looking fellow. He had finished his High School course and had hoped for at least two years at some college when his father's sudden death threw the support of the family upon his mother and himself. Ilis sister was delicate and his mother had .never been very strong, therefore Frank felt keenly the weight of responsibility which now rested upon him. Soon after the lad’s twelfth birthday lie had become immensely interested in electricity and working with a friend, had fixed up a telegraph so that now when he was eighteen he could send and receive messages at a good speed. Con- sequently when it was announced that the little town of M— was to have telegraphic instru- ments installed in its station and would, there- fore. need a new station agent. Frank’s hopes arose at once, and lie consulted his mother about applying for the position. The plan was looked upon favorably and soon he received the appointment of station master. The traffic on this branch was small and the pay correspond- ingly so since there were only four trains a day. the last one being at seven in the evening. As Frank was expected to stay at the station only for the half hour before the arrival of each train, there was plenty of time for odd jobs and errands around the village, and being naturally bright and active he made these odd jobs count. Five miles to the north of M— was the small manufacturing city of L— and two miles to the south, the railroad crossed an old bridge ever Deep River. A new bridge was to be put up the following summer, but as few trains passed over it, there was little thought about its safety. This branch left the main line about twelve miles north of M— and joined it again about six miles south of M Frank had heard that on Monday night the General Superintendent of the road was to pass by on the main line with a party of friends in a special train. Therefore, when on Sunday a heavy rain had settled down on that part of the country, and by Monday morn- ing had washed out a place on the main line between the points where the branch joined it. Frank, fearful-lest some accident might occur, had planned to watch the Special when it should go by at eleven-thirty I'. M. But as luck would have it. at a little before ten on Monday night, a friend came in and asked him if he would go to the next town, two miles southeast of M—. and get the doctor for his mother who was very ill. Of course, Frank was willing to go and set out immediately. He reached the doctor’s at quarter of eleven, de- livered his message, and was about to start homeward when it occurred to him to go up to the Deep River bridge and return by way of the track. By this route he could, after all. see the Special. By the roadside he paused, amazed at tin sight of a lake where usually there was a broad meadow. Although the river bed was only about fifty feet from the road he could see nothing but an occasional tree stump or fence rail which, in spite of the short distance, looked like a black spot with no shape whatever. When he reached the railroad embankment, it was with difficulty that he clambered up the steep incline. Having reached the top. he was hor- rified to see that the bridge had been washed away and that only the telegraph j oles re- mained. His mind worked quickly and his first impulse was to try to reach his station, two miles away and Hag the train, for there were no houses where he could obtain a lantern nearer than the village from which he had just come. But on second thought he remembered the telegraph and rushing to a place where the wires were only about four and a half feet above the earth, he took out his knife and tried to cut one. It seemed as if he could never cut it. Final- ly it parted and he seized the two ends and put them to his mouth to see if the circuit was still complete. lie drew a sigh of relief as he caught the salty taste from the electric cur- rent and then bringing the two ends of the wire together by touching and separating them he spelled the call for L—. Then putting the

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THE GOLDEN-ROl) road, lonely and little used, and consequently in bad condition, soon became a river of mud, through which the auto labored with difficulty, liberally bespattering itself and its drenched occupant. Finally, in an especially deep and inviting looking slough, the motor gave a last despairing “chug” and stopped dead. In vain the doctor crawled underneath in the most approved style, lightened nuts, and cranked again: the motor refused to work. To add to the general pleasantness of the situation darkness fell, rendering any further attempt at repairs impossible. Burdening himself with a spare tire, a kit of tools, a seal cushion, and. in fact, everything removable the doctor started for tile nearest farmhouse, some two miles distant. The house was reached after an hour's hard tramp through the mud and rain, in the course of which automobiles and. in particular, “abso- lutely reliable ' doctor’s runabouts, were given : most merciless criticism. The doctor knocked hard and long till at length a head was thrust out of an upper window, and a voice, evidently that of a woman, said “No, we don't put up no tramps.’’ and added, in an audible under- tone. “John, go downstairs and untie that pup; I don’t like his looks.” Further remonstrance on the part of the doctor was cut short by an emphatic “Now git!” accompanied by a slam of the window. The doctor did “git” and as quickly as pos- sible. urged on by blood-curdling growls from the direction of the house. However, he suc- ceeded in obtaining lodging for the night at the next farm beyond. The following advertisement appeared in the next edition of the local paper. “Will ex- change a Stanford runabout, run only 25 miles for buggy, horse, or anything not in anyway connected with automobiles. Good and suffi- cient reasons for selling given by owner. Dr. C. L. Burch. Greenville. Mass.” jfc Teacher in Physics: “Mr. FI—ve, will you please sit down ? ” Mr. Fl-----: “Yes, sir, as soon 2s I remove the water from my chair. The base ball season of 1907 opened under two very unfavorable conditions. At lirst we had no captain. This difficulty has been well overcome. But the more important difficulty has not been overcome. This is the lack of funds to carry out our schedule. This is due to a great lack of interest throughout the school. This means that, if money is not raised in a very short time, the season of 1907 will be limited to two or three games. Our team must be supplied with bats and the other necessaries. The team ought to have new uni- forms. The school should realize these condi- tions for it lies entirely with the pupils whether or not we carry out our schedule, which is as follows: . April 19— Graduates. April 23—Adams Academy at Quincy. April 26—Weymouth High at Quincy. April 30—Open. May 3—Abington High at Quincy. May 7 -Ballou A: Ilobigaml at Quincy. May 10—Auburndale school at Quincy. May 14—Hingham High at Ilingham. May 17—Roxbury High at Quincy. May 24—Open. May 28—Dedham High at Quincy. May 31—Open. June 4—Open. June 7—Open. June 10—Adams Academy at Quincy. This year athletics began under very dis- couraging circumstances. The necessity of practicing in the morning, the lack of a coach, and the playing of one game a week was. des- pite the good material on the team, tori great a handicap to overcome. The season ended,