Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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THE CHIMES 17 Great mountainous waves are rolling in and every now and then when one much larger than the rest hreaks, it throws spray high up on the beach. The tide washed nearly up to our front steps, and thirty-one inches of water entered our cellar and put out the furnace fire. This storm happened to fall on a full moon and a natural run of high tides, so it is much more furious than it ordinarily would be. Late in the evening, the snow started forming into drifts, where- as before, it melted as soon as it struck the ground. Tliiirs., March 5 This morning the sun was shining and it had almost stopped snowing, but the wind was still blowing and the tide was running high. There was no school today, prob- ably due to the uncertainty of the weather. Many summer residents were down to se e what damage had been done to their cottages, b ut many of those who were unable to come down telephoned our house, and wq told them th. ' j results of the storm — as much as we knew at this time. The sea is mountainous, and while I was up on the beach v, atching it, the waves washed right across the Point and down into a lower level which we call the Meadow. This level lies right in the middle of the peninsula of land known as Light- house Point, and is much low er than the land surrounding it. For about a week after the storm, this Meadow was trans- formed into a pond containing quite a depth of salt w ater which either seeped through the rocks on the beach, ct which was carried over the beach in the form of spray from extra large waves. The fury of the wind threatened to knock me off my feet, and the spray dampened me so that I had to go home and change my clothes. The force of the water also changed the positions of some of the rocks on the breakw ater, and one large boulder (Grandfather said that one rock must have weighed at least five tons) was washed to an upright position on the top of the breakwater. It seems unbelievable that the tide can lift such heavy rocks! After lunch I walked around the beach to view the damage done to the cottages. From the Point to Shore Acres as far as I went, there was not a cottage undamaged ! On every one, either the roof had been staved in, the piazza knocked down, the under-pinning washed away, or some mEN MEMORIAL LIBRAKX SCITUATE. MASSu

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16 THE CHIMES THE STORM Excerpts From My Diary, 1931 Helen Spear, ' 33 Tiics., March 3 There ' s l)een a strong, blustery wind blowing all the af- ternoon. Toward evening it began to snow lightly, but as the night progressqld, the wind and snow both increased, making a very disagreeable night. As I write this, the wind from the northeast is singing and whistling around the corners of the house at a terrific rate of speed, giving me a w eird and unpleasant feeling. If it continues this way much longer, there will l)e a gale instead of a northeast storm. The tide is almost up over the street now (at 10 o ' clock P. AI.), though it isn ' t scheduled to be high until 10.45 P. M. Wed, March 4 I got up this morning to find that the blizzard was still raging and driving sleet and snow, seemingly, froni three or four directions at the same time. On account of the increasing fury of the weather, we were dismissr:d from school at two o ' clock this afternoon. This morning the eleven-foot tide increased to a height of thirteen feet and eight inches and certainly did a lot of damage. It came over the roads at the Sandhills, leaving rocks, sand, and wreckage of various sorts strewn in its path. Tlie foun- dations of many summer cottages wxre damaged, and there were dangerous gullies where the tide had washed out sec- tions of the street. It hadn ' t entirely decreased after school, so we had to take the roundabout way home to our house. Upon arriving there, I immediately dressed in warm cloth- ing and went out to face the gale. I enjoy so much l eing out in such a storm with the wind and sleet beating up against me ! I walked down along Sandy Beach and no- ticed that the sidewalks hr-id been damaged and much sand had been washed across the street. Many cottag ' es had also been damaged, and already there were many sight-seers out to see the storm and wreckage. But the surf is beautiful!

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18 THE CHIMES of the shingles torn off. I ' he newspapers have 1ieen full of stirrint - items, lately, about the storm, and they rei)orted alxHit $3,000,000 worth of damage along the coast. When T returned home again, after viewing all that destruction, it seemed a miracle to n.ie that our house was intact while every other cottage along the beach had 1)een damaged. I don ' t believe there ' s anything that can do more damage tlian a strong wind and a very high tide in an unprotected area. AND THAT ' S HOW THE STORY GOES Marguerite McCaffrey, ' 33 9.00 a. in. Doctor to Mrs. Black: ' ' Well, Mrs. Black, Em sure Susie will be all right. She has quite a bad cold, but you needn ' t worry. You go dow n to Mr. Snickem ' s pharmacy and get this pre- scription fillqd. Susie will be fit as a fiddle in a few days. Good-by. 9.10 a. m. Mrs. Black to Druggist: Good morning, Mr. Snickems, I w ant this prescrip- tion filled, if you please. Susie is sick — a very bad cold. It is almost a case of the grippe. Oh dear! It ' s one thing after another. Good day. 9.11 a. III. Druggist to his wife, Mrs. Snickems: You upstairs, Emma? Mrs. Black was just in and she said Susie Black has the grippe. Wouldn ' t surprise me if she got pneumonia out of it. Mrs. Snickems: Land sakes alive! You don ' t say. I ' ll have to go over and tell Miss Stubbins. Pneumonia — goodness gracious Agnes ! Miss Stubbins can arrange for the Busy Bee Club to send her some fruit. 9.20 7. Mrs. Snickems to Miss Stubins: Hello, Miss Stubbins, Eve got some terrible new s. Susie Black has pneumonia. Isn ' t that awful? Anid that is how Susie ' s bad cold developed into pneumonia in twenty minutes.