Seven Hills High School - Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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Milestone I think that everyone will agree that street lights are indispensable as far as guiding someone in the dark goes. Closely connected with the street light's use as a beacon, is the sense of security that it gives to the lone wanderer, After all, adults are just grown children, and the same fear of unknown, unpredictable perils is prevalent in both. Why does a child cry at bedtime? Why does a late caller hesitate to go home? Because the imagination creates images present only in the dark. When in the protective rays of a street light, the traveller assumes his self-confidence once more. No matter what you say, dear reader, even you feel ill at ease alone on a dark street, and you must admit that the frequency of street lights prevents one from arriving at his or her destination with a remarkable supply of ideas for a pip of a nightmare. l shall let you make your own deduction from that, for, unless he is of a definitely morbid character, no one cherishes the memory of a nightmare, and to most people any sort of prevention is welcomed. Therefore, l say that the use of the street light as a haven equals its use as a guide. Quite often street lights have been used as landmarks. Surely, when making inquiry about your way, someone has said to you, Three blocks west and turn left at the second lamp post, or We're the white house with the green street light in front, ' After school when city children gather for a game of hide and seek, they often use a lamp post as home free. And what would the romantic novelist do without a street light for the hero and heroine to meet under? fPerhaps l should say: What would the hero and heroine do? j Think of the usefulness in the lamp post, itself. Mailboxes often are hung on it, as are traflic signs and posters. During conventions and elections one might find flags, streamers, and all sorts of pictures pasted over every free inch of post. The previous items are not the only things that one finds on lamp posts. l-lave you ever noticed the odd collections that gather there on October 3 l P Also, just think of the reckless drivers who would have ended up goodness-knows-where had not a friendly lamp post kindly stopped them. Disregarding the useful side of the street light, for a moment, let us take up its scenic qualities. Have you ever glanced out of the window in midwinter to see the gleam of a near-by street light reflected in the tranquil snow like a million diamonds? Beautiful, isn't it? ln any season one can find beauty in the city through street lights. There is an old-fashioned gas light outside my window, behind which a maple tree has spread its branches throughout the years, so that now they almost envelop the whole lamp. ln the fall there is nothing lovelier than to see the amber glow filtering up through the whole tree. Another fascinating sight is that of the lights of the Parkway, weaving, turning, just as if a huge, luminous serpent were devouring Cincinnati, And on hot, stuffy summer evenings when the front porch feels like the inside of an oven, the cool, clear light of a near-by street light seems to pierce the thickness of the humidity and float gently down on you with each stirring breeze. Although a street light is not something a poet would write sonnets to, it is one of those unrecognized figures which makes a city beautiful. Motu' MAISH, '48 page 81

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Mz'IestOne i W fit IP 5 IN BEHALF OE THE STREET LIGHT When a young man whispers in a low tone: Ah, Light of my life, chances are that he is not talking about a street light. This only goes to show that the average young man doesn't appreciate to the fullest extent the advantages and assets of the street light. Universally, people ignore it, walk by it, completely unobservant of its services to the earth. And who can blame them? Certainly not I, for, as yet, lVl.G.lVl. hasn't produced a film portraying a handsome, poverty-stricken young inventor, in the person of Don Ameche, starving, slaving over his latest invention, the street light! Yes, until that day. the street light will continue to stand unnoticed: and its inventor, be he Greek, Roman. Egyptian, or cave man, will lie unrecognized in the recesses of the earth. As fruitless as this attempt may be, I shall try to point out to the reader some of the contributions which the street light has made toward the safety and beauty of any city, town, or hamlet in which it is employed. The most obvious use of the street light is that of guiding motorists and pedestrians after dark. Sometime during your past, long or short as it may be, you have undoubtedly heard these lines from the old nursery rhyme, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star : Then the traveller in the dark, Thanks you for your little spark: He could not tell which way to go If you did not twinkle so. Well, what would happen to the poor traveller on cloudy nights if it weren't for the street light? This is a rather far-fetched example, but surely you will agree with me that automobiles would be running on the sidewalks, and the late strollers would be falling over fire plugs if they depended entirely upon starlight without any help from the 'AGas and Electric Co. Just for experimentation and the sake of satisfying your curiosity, that is if your mind is temporarily in reverse. try driving a car through Rookwood Subdivision, without the use of headlights, on some night when the street lights are out. If they can't arrange to be out, try using a 'Abee-bee gun. After ending up in someone's fishpond or in the middle of a briar hedge Ctake your choice - it's your carl, page 80

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Milestone , -2 -4. H igol v f I 4 - A I . N J THE LAKE xc The first day I saw the lake, I looked out from the window of my room. lt was not as I had expected, but smooth and oily, like dark polished glass: dull and sombre. There was no motion: there were no sails on the surface, just a vast, empty, dark expanse. The sky was lcaden, and barren of clouds, reaching far out to where the horizon should be. but merging into the gloom of the water, a continuation of the gloomy colors, varying from slate gray to muddy purple. This scene instilled the mood of fear, of foreboding, and no one ventured forth. NVhen night came, the small moon weakly struggled through the heavy sky and glimmered faintly on the still water. As I awoke, next morning, I heard the continual swishing of water rushing in and out. The sky was bright, clear blue with soft white clouds. The waves were lusty. vigorous, full of life, relentlessly rolling in: white-capped, inviting and challenging, like a gay antagonist. Sails floated out on the gleaming, bright horizon. All day the noisy, gay waters washed the shore, At night the moon shimmered and glittered on the restless waves. Another day, the sky was packed with rolling dark clouds, the sun breaking through to make a great contrast. The lake was loud and angry: the waves were powerful and rough, throwing spray into my window. The wind swirled the sand about in fury. There was no gay invitation to even the most adventurous: no sails appeared. The horizon seemed closer, with a bright sharp light between the water and the sky. The moon hardly shone that night. Then came a balmy day, not cool, not warm. The lazy clouds drifted in a peaceful sky. The waves lesiurely lapped the shore, the sails drifted gracefully out to the far distant horizon. The full moon spread a brilliant pathway from the sky to the beach beneath my window. JANE MCINTYRE. '47 High School Essay - Second Prize INTERNATIGNAL GASTRONOMICS As you know, there was a ban on traveling in this country, and, of course, only those in the armed forces or connected with the war were traveling in foreign countries. Nevertheless, we decided to get page 82