Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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Page Twelve The Pioneer ing and very helpful in connection with the study of poultry. The next lec¬ ture was on “Clean Milk Production,” and showed that, although farmers do not need to have expensive barns for their cows, they do need to keep their barns and milk rooms clean, if they want to produce good, clean milk, and, not as one slide showed us for the milk room in a little shed where the grindstone, paint pails, scythes, car¬ penter’s tools, and everything else were kept. Some illustrated lectures that will be given for the benefit of the department, before school closes, will be “The Care of Milk,” “Acid Soils,” “Farm Homes,” “Farm Home Grounds; Their Planting and Care.” The knowledge the boys have gath¬ ered during the past year has put it¬ self into evidence on the home pro¬ jects and farms of the pupils. Each boy in the department has some kind of a project at home. A few figures will show what the boys are doing for work at home. The total number of dairy cows kept, 25; heifer, 5; calves, 4; hens, 556; chicks, 1776; the number of chicks has undoubtedly increased since the figure was taken; hogs, 22; and sheep, 12. These are the figures for the total live-stock keep and cared for by the boys of the department. Some of the boys, however, are keep¬ ing a record of what some of the horses, at home, are costing in the way of keep, the total number of horses being cost-accounted is 10. The gardens of the different boys amount to 7 acres in crops. Several boys have hotbeds; all together there are seven hotbeds. Thirty-two trees are kept in minor projects. Three of the boys are doing general farm work. On the whole the pupils are very industrious in their projects. All the live stock has not been on the farms, for they have had a hatch of chickens from the new electric incubator, in the school¬ room. The incubator has just been started again. If you have not seen the incubator, come in, and Mr. Pow¬ ers will be glad to show it to you, and if you wish, explain the running of it. That is what the “Agricultural Depart¬ ment” is for, a sort of “Information Bureau” for any one who wants to know anything about farmin g. The wood-working shop of the de¬ partment, downstairs, has had many new tools added to it since it began. The department owes its growth and advancement, without a doubt, to Mr. Powers, the instructor, because of his patient, personal instructions to the boys, not only inside the class room, but at the home of each and every¬ one of the boys. HENRY H. LIBBEY, 1918. ABBIE’S ECHO. Abbie Whitaker and her sister, Cyn¬ thia, sat sewing in their neat little liv¬ ing room one winter afternoon. Abbie, the older of the two, was tall and an¬ gular. Her straight black hair was streaked with gray, her features were sharp, her mouth was drawn in a straight line, and she wore an habitual scowl. Cynthia was much younger than Abbie. She was short and plump and had hair, which, to Abbie’s great disgust, would curl. Cynthia, appar¬ ently had no will of her own. She al¬ ways thought as Abbie thought, always did as Abbie did, and always said what Abbie said. “Have you decided yet whether Rob-

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The Pioneer Page Eleven Home! Home!” His very heart beats sounded like “Home! Home!” By noon he could not walk more than ten steps without stumbling. His tongue was dry and swollen, his skin hot and parched. He knew if he could keep going for another hour he would reach a small water hole. Could he do it? Yes! because h e was going Home, and again that same, steady refrain beat upon his brain, “Home! Home! Home!” He struggled along a few steps then fell; and each time it was longer be¬ fore he arose. Finally a drousiness began to creep over him. Once when he fell he lay for a long time, but at last his brain began again that per¬ sistently goading strain, “Home! Home! Home!” He wished that it would leave him alone. He wanted to go to sleep. He thought that the little brown wife was waiting for him if he could only cross the barrier. Why couldn’t he get across? It must be because—Oh, yes, “Home! Home! Home!” But the end must come soon¬ er or later. He couldn’t stand it much longer. Finally, only a little distance from the water hole, he fell with his hand on the little cross, hung on a string around his neck, with the words “Buenos Noches Muy Queriva,” on his lips.—“Somewhere in Mexico.” Far away on a lonely country road is a little adobe hut. The tiny plot which was a garden is now choked with weeds, the vegetables and fruits have all been eaten and there is no food in the house. After her work is done the little brown woman comes and sits in the doorway. It has been a long time since her soldier-husband went away. As she sits and dreams of him a sud¬ den thought comes to her that all is not well; with a sob in her throat she lifts her face to the “Buenos Dios” and blindly asks his help. And so while the little brown man sleeps near the waterhole, his little brown wife sits in the doorway of an adobe hut and thinks of him and lit¬ tle she dreams that their next meeting will not be “Somewhere in Mexico.” ERIC TURNER, 1916. GLEANINGS FROM THE AGRICUL- TURAL DEPARTMENT. The Agricultural department is pro¬ gressing rapidly under the supervision and direction of Mr. Powers. The department has twenty-seven pupils, all of whom are eagerly stor¬ ing away knowledge of modern and improved methods of farming. The department is divided into two classes, one meets in the class room the second, third and fourth periods, the other, the fifth, sixth and seventh periods. They are taking up poultry this year as the principal subject for consideration. The text-book in use is the “Principles and Practice of Poul¬ try Culture,” written by Mr. Robinson, one of the well known residents of this town. This book is one of quality as well as quantity, and is not the only book of that kind in the library of the department either. Two lectures illus¬ trated by lantern slides have been giv¬ en and others are to follow. The slides for these lectures come from the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Washing¬ ton. The first lecture which was on “Production of Poultry and Eggs on the Farm,” was exceedingly interest-

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The Pioneer Page Thirteen ert’s children shall come to live with us or not, Abbie?” inquired Cynthia timdily. “Yes, Cynthia, I have. I think it our duty to bring them up.” “You are right, Abbie. It is our duty, but will it not be a great re¬ sponsibility?” “We must not shirk our duty,” re¬ plied Abbie in a severe tone. The clock on the mantle struck five. “I suppose you have written Rob¬ ert?” “Certainly,” answered Abbie as she arose. Cynthia arose too, folded her sewing neatly and laid it in her basket. Two days later Abbie received a let¬ ter from her brother saying that Edith and Billy would arrive the following day on the noon train. “Does not Robert realize that noon is a very inconvenient time for them to arrive? This will upset us. It will delay luncheon,” complained Abbie. “Yes, it will upset us. It will delay luncheon, but we must expect to make some sacrifices,” remarked Cynthia. “Cynthia Whitaker, you certainly do not think that things will not contin¬ ue exactly the same after the children arrive as they always have. I will tell you once for all that we are going to make no allowances. Absolutely none!” Then she added, “And, Cynthia, you are not to call William Billy. It is so common.” “Yes, it is very common,” Cynthia admitted, “but Billy is so cute and don’t —” “Billy, cute,” interrupted Abbie, “Cynthia, you shock me, you really do.” And she drew a sigh of despair. The next few weeks were weeks of trial and anxiety to Abbie Whitaker. Edith was not so bad, but Billy—Billy was Abbie’s cross. During these few weeks Billy had brought home a dog—• a great, shaggy, dirty dog. He had ac¬ tually brought it in the house. Still worse, he had wished to keep it and still worse Cynthia had asked Abbie why she would not let him. The par¬ rot and the cat were bad enough, but a dog she could and would not tolerate. Besides this he had spilled ink on her best stand cover, broken a window with his baseball and other things which had tried poor Abbie’s patience. But finally, after those weeks of tor¬ ture Abbie felt that all was again in order and that Billy had been convert¬ ed. For three days now he had not asked questions when she told him to do anything. She congratulated her¬ self. He had been boisterous, disre¬ spectful and rude, but under her care and influence he was fast becoming a gentleman in the true senfee of the word. Now that she had tamed him she would attend to the development of his character. To-morrow she would begin to teach him to be generous and thoughtful of those less fortunate than himself. Abbie had had the children write letters to Santa Claus telling him what they wanted most for Christmas. She had, moreover, made frequent trips to the city to purchase these presents, leaving the children in Cynthia’s care.. Christmas morning both children were awake at an earlier hour than usual. Billy, to his great delight, had found among other things in his stock¬ ing, a watch. Now all that was need¬ ed to complete his happiness was a dog and a bicycle and the former was soon brought in from the carriage-