Samuel D Hanson School - Crescent Yearbook (Buxton, ME)

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7 as 21513213332 .1321 213121: .,f111-51:1 512,59-in -L14 la ..f2'i:1- 1.2 ff iii' -1:i'51E: .-Sff121:?1f,E1s.93f?f .- A3122-'1:E'31 115.31 5-21, 2-11:5 252115-f '::..E:E:- :E-5. 's1:Lr.. slaizir ,sv .3:3:1,':2222--'.i-:- 125'-'Ei-ii'-' ' 1g??1:..,1fE:11E?411 's1'1E :E:E::r:1 jp! 5355355-12 gs:-1551 2:5 ff-QI 1:55 1-4' 1-21' 1:-' . it-I qw? ,D 1 'V 'gin 55253 .,.., rf?-:f'?1' 255514 2573 'iw' W 1.35 N V- ' .- L H- l I up '.,. 'l l'f'l'f'l'Yi'l'f l'WT , .... - . -. ,171-rvvw-r-r-n-r1'c1'rr1vn'-r rrrn-nr:-n-rn'l ,Q ., . 5 J- .- svn 'v':',.'.x ts -.s . ui Q' H x is x 5- 0 J X lp' POETRY AND MUSIC IN EVERYDAY LIFE Poetry and music were born when the world was born. God could not have created all the grace and beauty of the world without harmony,the basis of all poetry and music. There is poetry in the regularity of day and nightgin the seasons,for there is always summer,fall,winter and spring. There is music in the stormy day and in the beautiful sunshine,in the starlight and in the sunrise. There is poetry and music from the ever-snowy North Pole to the never-ending heat of the Equator. There is also the poetry and music defined as such. There are always poems to read for relaxation or to enrich one's mind,er for the student to study as an English assign ment. There is always music for pleasure or study,or to hum and whistle as one goes about one's work. There was poetry and music in the making of our America. lt was in the chopping down of the wilderness,in the building of those crude lop cabins,and in the defiant cries of freedom-loving people. It was in the fearless courage of the pioneers pushing westward,in the marvelous invention,and in the making of our beautiful cities. Today,there is music and poetry in the marching of feet,the firing of guns,the explosion of bembs,the whir- ring of sirens,the scream of the wounded,the cries of the starving,in the banglcrashl of steel against steel,in the t-t-t-t-t of the riveter,in the splash of a snip lowered into the sea. Although all this rubble and devastation is strange and horrible,it is nevertheless poetry and music, for all poetry does not render a pleasant atmesphere,and all music is not soft and sweet. No one can mean it when he says he does not like music or poetry. It is all around him and he cannot escape it. There is poetry in the rhythmic rocking of baby's cradle,and music in the sweet lullabies that quiet him. There is music in the ringing of school bells all over the world calling children to learn,and poetry in the beauti- ful languages of the various countries. Poetry and music are everywhere,every day. One can hear them in the rattling of dishes being washed or the sweeping of floors,while the mowing machine is busy in the fields,when the butcher sharpens his cleaver,while the secretary pounds her type- writer,in the sharp whistle of the traffic policeman,in the ringing of the church bells on Sunday mornings,in

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rx N ' 1 C, J Q . T5 69. S5 354 Ml UG: .-..,N X-YK N ID U5 G3 Ui U U2 U '3The man that hath no music in himself' Nor' is not moved with concord of sweet sounds Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoils. Shakespeare

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..... 'W.QBESCEhTa W as a T- a 5a the lowing of cattle,in the blaring of horns,in the barking of dogs,and the laughter of children. In peace or war,in calm or strife,through plea- sure or pCin,music and poetry are with us from the rocking of the cradle to the silence of the grave. ' Ruth Ranks U ., 'N' -,r wr HDEAR FRIENDS AND GENTLE HEARTSH It was about one hundred years ago in Philadelphia that Stephen Foster had his first song published. Since then people all over the United States,indeed all over the world,have learned to love his melodies of the South of which Foster wrote with love even though he never went any further South than Pennsylvania. When we sing these wellknown sengs,do we ever wonder if his immortal songs were Hcomposadn from his own life? Do we ever think of the hardships of that young composer? Today,even though we think of his works as masterpieces which should have sold for perhaps five hundred dollars, do we realize how little he received for his works? Host ef his compositions were sold for ten dollars or if he were more fortunate,3ifteen or twenty dollars. And, you ask,n.hy did he not receive more for his precious time and efforts?H That we can not answer,ner can anyone,for fate stepped in at just the fatal hour,for all his life he ' was unrecognized for the great artist that he was.... an artist who could paint pictures into his songs.... pictures that will live in our memories for years and even centuries to come. Yet he was unproelaimed as suehg all his life he lived in poverty,sometimes being fortu- nate enough to obtain a lodging for twenty-five cents a night,sometimes not having enough money to buy food. Stephen Foster was a kindly man always striving to gain the fortune which was rightfully hisgalways obli- god to work for even a meager sum. The one happiness in his life was his beloved wife,Jane,for whom he composed HJeanie Tith The Light Brown Hairn. They were happy together for only a short time as his wife left him because he was unable to support her. Ve wonder whether if she had been true to him he would have obtained the fame which he should have had? Would his works have been sold for a small fortune? We can only guess what the outcome of his life would have been......only guess the answer to these many ques- tions,for there are a great many questions in the life of Stephen Foster. When in 1864 Foster died,no one knew or cared except,perhaps,his biographer,John Tasker Howard,for it was he who found in Foster's purse a few coins