Rangeley High School - Tattler Yearbook (Rangeley, ME)

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THE TATTLER 17 background. Each of us is an explorer at the edge of Life. Before us are the paths from which we are to choose if we are to obtain that high pinnacle in Life to which we aspire. In selecting or making our path we should not leave everything to Luck-for Luck does not float around the air and light on Tom, Dlckjor Harry, just anyhow and any- where. It is rather defined as 'the wit to know the thing you want, the will to work, the faith to fight, the strength to use but tem- pered tools and only weapons honor-bright, the spirited and the spunk to dare, the heart to hope, the grit to bear- And when disast- er falls, the pluck to grin and start again'- That is the Luck to which we should trust, and which should prompt us as we press on along our pathway of Life. But we must be even more careful than the explorer. We must endeavor to select only those paths which we know have led others to success, which rise ever upwards, and which are safe to follow. In making our own path, let us make it bit by bit, paying great attention to each bit, for it is the little things that count. By in- telligence and application to the duty of the hour, a puddler becomes the head of a great steel corporation, a district messenger boy becomes the world's greatest inventor. a humble clerk in a backwoods store be- comes President of the United States. No single outstanding deed placed any one of them at the top, but a succession of little things well done. Vvhether we choose a path or make one, we will find that none of them are strewn with roses, but that thorns line the way. However, we should welcome obstacles and push steadily forward and upward, never losing sight of our objective. It the grade should prove too steep, and if it chances that we should stumble and go down, let us re- member that 'he who rises every time he falls will sometime rise to stay! Our motto does not apply only to the beginning of our Life career. All the way-from the begin- ning' to the higher planes-it applies to those obstacles which arise to impede and discourage our progress. I11 each and every ditliculty that we encounter, we can either find or make a way that will take us over it. And so, whatever befalls us on Life's path- way, may we ever re1nember our motto, and remembering, push triumphantly on to Suc- cess. And now the parting hour has come. The class of 1926 wishes me, in their behalf, to say farewell, and it is hard to find words suited to such a time. So I will simply say, good-bye, first, to the parents and friends who in all our undertakings have been so generousgf to the superintendent and school board who have shown so much interest in us. Then to our beloved principal and teachers who have so faithfully and gener- ously looked to our welfare, and whom we shall never forget. To you, dear schoolmateshl say good-bye, wishing you success i11 your school life and in all that you undertake. We shall never forget the happy days with you in R. H. S. Classmates: This is the last time we shall sit together as a class. It is with pleasure mingled with regret that we now look back over our high school days-maybe the hap- piest ones we shall ever know. Together we have worked and shared each other's trials and joys. Now we must say good-bye. But we'll never forget these days. We'll cherish them in our memory and often look fondly back on them. May each of us choose or make our Lite's path wisely and carefully, and may God guide us safely over its perilous turnings. Now-Farewell and Good Luck. Clarence Lamb a:::::::Q:::::::::::::::::::::-ri Salutatory The Class of 1926 wishes to extend their thanks to all who have aided us in our work as a class, and we welcome you to this ex- ercise, our last undertaking as the Class of 1926. MANUFACTURING AND MAINE Maine has passed thru two economic peri- ods, and is now entering upon the third. The third period promises to be the great- est, and the most prosperous, of them all.

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16 THE TATTLER oop. I dintf see eny Fairys boot I thot thet i were a goin ter see de Devil once or twice. Wal next i'se vent over ter what dey call de ocean wave u11d i'se a ride und when i gut off de ground came oop und slapped me in de face. Wal i gut oop und wolked ar oond a circle til i cood c strate. Gosh it's no foon being c sick even. if you aint ever been on de ocean. Wal then i'se oop on de rollar costar und say, no Lizzie cood go round a corner de way dat fellar cood. Und de fust doonhill it camed too it all most tooked ma ribs oot. Honest ter Gosh i that at we wood teep over, but we dint. I'se lost ma collar. vectye, hat und glasses on dat treep. l'se weuted doon ter find dem but all i'se cood find were my hat, evidently de rest aint landed yet. As it were gittin late i decided ter go home. So's i vent und asked de fel- lar fer me carr if heed give me ma Lizzie back fer a quarter. He told me dat i could have it fer notin eef i wanted it. I thot dat he were an accommodatin fellar ter geeve me ma carr after i sold eet ter heem. Wal i arrived home all rite, only Lizzie were a little tired und i had ter poosh er into de barn. I'se feel fine after de treep how is yourself dere fritz. Hopes yuorse is as vell as you isent. Your effectishunate kousin, Hans. P. S. Eef yo dont git dis letta rite und tell me und i vill send it at once. Hans V. B. M. Class Honor Parts EITHER FIND A PATH OR MAKE ONE With these words-'either find a path or make one'-we are confronted with the great problem that now awaits us-the pro- blem of choosing and shaping our life car- eer. It is a problem of choosing or making a. pathway that will lead us to our goal- Success in Life. That goal awaits us, tow- ering high above our heads, forbidding us to keep in the same old rut-beckoning us on- wardg for, as Tennyson says: Not in vain the distance beckons, Forward, forward let us range. But before we can press forward, we must take .great care in selecting the path that we would follow to that distant goal. Or if we do not find one that fits us, one that we feel sure will not lead us to our great aim, then we must make one of our own. For we 'nust not take the path of least resistance and simply drift along through life. Realiz- ing this, we have chosen as our motto- E'ither A Path or Make One. Tonight the class of 1926 leaves the beat- en thoronghfares of the Past, and enters up- on the great, uncharted Future. Thus far, through our school days, as a. class, we have followed the same path. the end of which we have now reached. Henceforth the ways will be apart and each will seek to choose, or make for himself, that long trail that will lead him successfully through the arena of Life, and at last to the height of his ideals. To betrer illustrate the choosing or mak- ing of that path, let us take this metaphor: An explorer is about to plunge into the un- known depfhs of a jungle above the high top of which, a lofty mountain can be seen in the distance. He- wishes to reach its summit, but there is no way to do so with- out crossing the intervening wilderness. It stretches away-illimitable, full of pitfalls and unseen dangers, presenting many an ob- stacle and difficulty in its crossing. At its edge are many trails and paths-deeply de- filed paths, less frequented paths, straight paths and crooked ones-paths leading everywhere, confusing in their numbers. Ah! how careful the explorer must be in choosing among them. He must try to avoid those that wander on endlessly, or those that lead him aside from his purpose. And yet, those that are the plainest, easiest to follow, and start in the most direct line for the mountain, may be the very ones t0 digress from their course, grow faint, and fade out altogether. If he cannot choose among these paths, his only other course is to make one himself, one that he knows will leadl him in the end to his mountain top. Life, too, is a great jungle, with the moun- tain of Success towering above it in the

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18 THE TATTLER The first period began in 1790, shortly af- ter the United States became a nation. In this period, which lasted for fifty years, Maine played a leading part. At this time the only' known motive powers were: the winds, falling water, and animal muscle. Maine was fortunate in having water power in abundance. As a result, small mills and factories sprang up thruout the state. There were then no centers of manufactur- ing. The mills were near the source of the raw material and on some stream, which gave cheap power and likewise was a con- venient route for transporting they manufac- tured, articles. The perfection of steam engine marked the end of the first period, and the downfall of Maine as a manufacturing state. The steam engine was invented in 1782 by James Watt. The engines were not very efiicient, for wood was used as fuel and a great deal of the heating power was lost. During the first of the nineteenth century, coal was recognized as a fuel and was tried in place of wood in the steam engine. The resulting changes and improvements in the steam engine brought it into importance as a source of power. The quick acceptance of the steam engine by the manufacturers is shown by the increase in the amount of coal mined. In the twenty years period pre- ceding 1840, the amount of coal mined in- creased 667 times and about 7347, of this amount was used by the manufacturers. Because of this, the year 1840' is taken as marking the beginning of the second period. Maine was unfortunate in that she possess- ed no coal, oil or gas, and could take no part in the period of prosperity that followed the introduction of steam power. Added to this, was Maine's position at the Northeastern corner of the Union, where no trains were passing from one state to another stimulat- ing trade and giving to Maine some share in the general prosperity. During this period Maine as a whole stood still, though a few sections, like Rumford and Millinocket, where there were large for- est areas and abundant water power, kept up with the rest of the Union. The first decade in the twentieth century marks the beginning of the third economic period. The very thing that put'Maine in the front rank as a manufacturing state in 1780, the very same force that turned the wheels of the mills of those days when har- nessed in a different way will prove today to be far more obedient and useful servant than it was in 1780. This is the white coal of today, electricity. Maine has unlimited opportunities for the development of hydro- electric power. The rivers of Maine have many falls above which enough water may be stored to last the whole year. At pres- ent Maine produces one-third of the electric- ity secured from the hydro-electric plants of the New Efngland States. By using all the available water power in the state for gener- ating electricity Maine alone could supply enough power for her own uses and also for the rest of the new England States, and this could be done without using tidal pow- er. At the Bay of Fundy more than enough electricity for the New England States will be produced, if the project under consider- ation goes thru. Add the tidal hydro-electric power to that producedfrom the streams, and we find that Maine can produce twice the amount of elec- tricity needed tor the New England States. Wlieli one realizes this, the statement that Maine will be onevof the leading industrial centers of the world in a few decades, does not seem so much prophecy as fact. Because of the growing use of electricity in factories and mills, manufacturers are able to established themselves in smaller communities where their workers may make homes for themselves, and where the manu- facturers can more easily avoid labor troubles, What an opportunity these 'ian- ufacturers are going to find in Maine. with cheap power to spare, a healthful climate and an abundance of unsettled land. Maine is called the State of Industrial Opportunity and in the years to come, we will see that Maine is able to live up to her motto- I direct. Class History p::qqQq: : :o:::.n::::::Qo::::::: In September 1922, there entered Range- ley High School the class of 1926, a class which has gained, both for itself and the