Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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THE GOLD EX-HO I) 29 incidents of that sort occur that we are con- stantly being shown how thoroughly national is the effort to put down the llun! Probably it seems strange that a sailor should be so intimately associated with sol- diers. It is, I admit, contrary to tradition, yet entirely reconcilable to the cause we are serving. The navy has made arrangements to organize and man rifle ranges throughout the country for the purpose of training army men in small arms! The range here at Annapolis is the first one in which such an arrangement was tried, and therefore the first one to dem- onstrate the wonderful cordiality that exists between soldiers and sailors. The soldiers usually stay here for a period of ten days, during which they all fire a se- ries of courses in shooting that tend to give them an all-around proficiency in small arms. Just that you may obtain a little idea of the shooting they do. I shall describe one of the courses called “Collective Eire.” Five hundred yards, behind the targets that measure six feet by six feet, a company of about eighty-eight men line up. The com- pany is divided into squads of eight men, each of which is assigned a certain target. On command, they lie down and load rifles with five service shells. The leader then orders: “Squads aim! Fire!” A volley bellows from the eighty-eight rifles that suggests a field of battle. E'ive times the volley is fired, then in an ordered line, they advance to the next range and repeat. The soldiers all un- derstand what this sort of practice forewarns, and enter into the shooting with a vim. To my friends in the Quincy High, may I say that it’s a wonderful opportunity to be given a part in the enormous struggle that is being waged for the continuance of democ- racy and the crushing of Prussian Kultur. The number of ways we are engaged in the service are too numerous to mention Some sailors serve on land, some on sea, some in the air, and others beneath the sea! There are men that have served here on this range that are now on their way to France to man big naval guns behind the Allied Lines; and there are men still in the rifle range service that are to follow. All sorts of conditions are encountered in the service, most being enjoyable because they are so diametrically opposite to those met in civil life! For instance, we came here to this range with about as much equipment as the Pilgrims had when they landed in Plymouth. Also, we spent most of the winter here with such an equivalent. Sleeping and living in tents with floors and stoves is very comfort- able ; but we had neither floors nor stoves most of the time. When, on the suggestion of our commander, we did “acquire” sufficient property with which to build a stove, we soon had to tear down the improvised heating de- vice because some navy official or other had missed some piping, etc. So do you wonder that when I had bananas in my tent at night they seemed nothing less than painted oak pegs in the morning. How- ever, since it isn’t the privilege of everyone to breakfast on frozen bananas, I felt elated in having such a menu! The work here is rigorous and varied, and demands skill with the rifle, as well as with the shovel. Though we all realize it is very necessary that men be trained with the rifle, we are all looking ahead to an assignment to duty Across. Yours in the service. Enor E. Lundin. Greetings to The Golden Rod from a 1915 “Grad” Some time ago I received a letter from the Alumni Editor of The Golden Rod, asking me to write a few words of the life at Mount Holyoke College. I wish you all could be here to see for yourselves, but as long as you cannot be here, you must use your imagina- tions to your best advantage. Mount Holyoke College is situated not so far from Springfield (Mass.), to prevent us from enjoying city life, and at the same time, in the beautiful country near the Connecticut

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28 T H K G 0 L I) E X - R 0 I) ALUMNI NOTES Alumni Editor of the Golden Rod: When those of us who are now wearing the olive drab of the army or the blue of the navy left our dear old Quincy High School, few had any intimation that we were to grad- uate into that greatest of all colleges—War. Very different from the institution we so re- cently left is this; though a school it is, and large is its curriculum of worldly studies. Here we arc receiving tuition from the great- est of all educators—experience. While at rest in the barracks, or walking the streets of a cantonment, or reading in the Young Men’s Christian Association building, or treading the mud of a sentry post, the sol- dier’s thoughts often wander back to the days of his student-hood in the High School, and to his friends there, some of whom are now paving the way in France for us to come and aid in the task of sweeping autocracy from the pathway of enlightenment and democracy. In our reveries, we realize what a great asset is education even in war. and what pleas- ant days were those of school; that period which held terrors for some of us and which so large a number were so eager to leave. Xow we can realize the benefits of graduation, and what a treasure-trove school really is and how we almost unconsciously gathered intel- lectual riches that make our future one of real enjoyment. By consideration we can come to a vivid realization of the wide knowledge which will be derived by those of us who do not make the Great Sacrifice in this school of war. who upon graduation will be real men. It is a happiness to take this additional course and. aside from a clear conception of the service to our country and to mankind we are ren- dering. we can realize the benefits for our- selves. Without danger or sacrifice or work, nothing worth while comes, and just as through work in high school we stored up pleasure for our future, benefits to the country, to the world, and to ourselves will come of the danger and sacrifice and work of which the fighters of today are partaking. The knowledge of the backing we have at home and of the sacrifices our friends there are making for us. and the fact that we know those who cannot be with us in body are with us in thought and in spirit, is another great source of strength. Without these elements, an army greater by far than that which is de- feating the Kaiser’s aims would be required. Looking forward, beyond the victorious conclusion of the present war, can be seen for us another war. as great, which will be un- dertaken by the students now in grammar and high school, as well as other educated citizens of tomorrow. It will be a war fought by the mind and by advanced thought in speech and will be for the establishment of a perpetual peace, for the “United Nations of the World.” in spirit, if not in fact. Corp. Emery F. Tobin, Co. M, 325th Inf.. N.A., Q.H.S. 1913. March 5. 1918. U.S. Naval Academy Rifle Range, Annapolis. Md. Dear Alumni Editor: It was a great pleasure to hear from the folks of the Quincy High School, and it is to me an equal one to be able to comply to your request for a few lines for the Golden Rod! “Are any of the sailors here from Massa- chusetts?” asked a soldier here at the Range. “Why, yes.” I answered. “I’m from a city just south of Boston.” It was not many minutes before we were talking animatedly, because we at once learned we had practically been neighbors in Quincy! Just a few minutes later, I turned about to begin a conversation with a Texan rancher on his experiences in the wild towns of the Border. So often do

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30 THE GOLDEX-RO D river. Thus, you see. we have the combina- tion of country and city life. The spring in the valley is the most beautiful season of the year, and I really believe I have never seen the campus looking so green and fresh as it does now. We arc spread over many, many acres of graded lawns. There are two campuses: North campus, facing which are the science buildings, the library where we do reading and studying, the chapel, which is used for chapel service each morning, lectures, and various other meetings; and South campus, surround- ed by the seven dormitories in which we live, the “Gym,” Skinner hall, where we have classes, and Student-Alumnae hall, the home of our social gatherings, plays, dances, and all other entertainments. There are two lakes back of South campus; bordering one are ten- nis courts and the music building, bordering the other, the canoe club and hockey field. The girls usually find a happy medium be- tween work and play so that there is time for quite a bit of both. Almost all of our classes are in the morning, the first one being at nine o’clock. The regular curriculum is composed of the following departments: mathematics, Latin, Greek. German, Romance Languages (Spanish. Italian and French), zoology and physiology, chemistry, physics, economics, art, English literature and English. A student specializes in two departments. This year certain courses have been added to the cur- riculum to prepare the student to go into war work. These are called War Emergency courses, and include typewriting, shorthand, dietetics, home service, civilian relief, and gar- dening. If a girl plans her work well, there is plenty of time each day to have a good time outdoors. At college, a girl is indepen- dent, and there is nobody except herself to tell her what to do. If she does not plan things right, it is her loss and lookout. There are the various sports to indulge in, first of all. The tennis courts are well kept and open to all. Before the tennis tourna- ments, there is some trouble getting courts, but usually there is none. There are boats on Lower lake, and canoes on Upper lake. In the spring term many canoe parties are in evi- dence, for everyone enjoys eating on the water. In the winter, many girls go out for basketball. Just now the favorite thing to do is to pack a picnic supper and go “hiking” off to some mountain. There are many moun- tains up here to climb; two ranges, “The Mount Holyoke,” and “The Mount Tom” range. Frequently, groups of girls will “walk the range” in an afternoon. The Holyoke range has thirteen peaks. In the fall, the whole col- lege closes for what we call “Mountain Day,” when everyone climbs some mountain in the vicinity. Another form of recreation enjoyed in both fall and spring is the house-party in some camp on “the river.” I have just re- turned from one over the week-end. There were sixteen girls there, and we left nothing undone, I can tell you. For the past two years, we have also de- voted much of our time to war work. There are several branches under that head. Red Cross knitting and Red Cross sewing, Civilian Relief, Belgian Relief. We make surgical dressings for the boys in France. The junior class made 10.000 dressings in a week, doing them for three evenings a week. We have campaigns for Liberty loans, for Red Cross, and for the Mount Holyoke Unit. We are getting busier every day, and yet each event is so absorbing and interesting, we are loath to miss a single thing. I wish I had the time and space to tell you more, but those two wait for no man. and I must say no more. I thank you for this op- portunity. and hope that some of you will be able to see Mount Holyoke in the near future. Louise Churchill. 1910 Eric Patch died, in France, April 4, 1918, of pneumonia. 1913 Raymond Melendy has received the Cross of War for bravery in action.