Siskiyou Union High School - White and Gold Yearbook (Weed, CA)

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Ma Brown was opposed fo any exfravagance fhaf would raise fhe faxes for fhe people of Mounfain View, buf she did nof like fo agree upon any- fhing wifh Mr. Skinner and if was wifh fhese fhoughfs fhaf she suddenly decided fo visif fhe school house and see The condifion of fhe building for herself. She asked her friend, Mrs. Williams, who was one of her mosf ardenf and sympafhefic friends, fo accompany her on fhe invesfigafion. The nexf day fhe fwo elderly ladies paid brief visifs fo each room af fhe school and lisfened polifely fo 'rhe recifafions. When fhey mef in fhe hallway fhey looked af each ofher and commenfed upon fhe condifion of fhe building as a whole. They noficed how fhe wind came in under all fhe baseboardsu, how fhe windows raffled in fhe frames , how fhe sfairways were worn fo splinfersu, and how The plasfer was falling off in a dozen places . Affer Ma Brown saw fhe building she was more defermined fhan everfo see 'rhaf fhe vofe carried in favor of having a new school house. One evening as fhe elecfion day clrew nearer a fown meefing was called and Ma decided fo affencl. There was a good sized crowd af fhe hall fhaf evening and people for fhe mosf parf were sfill undecided as fo which way fhey should vofe and also, fhey were willing fo hear bofh sides of fhe quesfion which was before fhem. During fhe evening fhe posfmasfer spoke againsf fhe bonds, and in furn fhe superinfendenf of fhe school spoke in favor of fhem. Mr. Caleb Skinner rose, and his argumenfs againsf fhe bonds were cenfered mosfly around fhe hard fimes and fhe exfravagance of replacing a good building. There was fainf applause for him as he saf down and 'rhen fhe chairman of fhe evening asked if anyone else had anyfhing fo say. Wifhouf infending fo do so, Ma Brown sfood up, amid fhe friendly clapping of fhose who knew and loved her, and said fhaf she would like very much fo ask Mr. Skinner some quesfions. The chairman granfed her wish and he asked Mr. Skinner fo kindly sfand and would he answer fhe guesfions which Ma Brown asked. Caleb grimaced and rose hesifafingly. You said fhaf fhe old school house is good enough for fhe children of our frown, said, Ma quiefly. l-low do you know if is? lmpafienfly Mr. Skinner answered fhaf everyone knew if was. Ma Brown smiled af him and asked, l-lave you ever been in if? The audience saf smiling as Caleb answered fhaf he had nof. My lasf guesfionsf' said Ma. l-lave you really gof elecfric lighfs in your hen house? Af fhis quesfion Mr. Caleb Skinner furned purple wifh rage and shouf- ing fhaf fhis was all nonsense he saf down quife abrupfly. WHITE AND GOLD

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When his senTence was ended he came ouT, buT alas. he no longer was The boy we had known. ln his place was a Trail, biTTer lad. l-le lived only a shorT while and wenT To his grave cursing all DicTaTors, because of The suTTering They have caused many. I didn'T resT in peace again unTil l was well on my way home and saw Tace To Tace aT my iourney's end The symbol oT my American righT To Tree- dom oTspeech, religion, and press-The 'STaTue oT LiberTy'l JOSEPT-NNE ARRIGONI, McCloud High School. MA BRCDWINVS SCI-ICDOLI-ICDUSE lFirsT Prize SToryl A new school house was badly needed in The liTTle Town oT lv1ounTain View, and Ma Brown decided To Take Things in hand and see ThaT a new school house was builT. Many oT The ciTizens oT This IiTTle Town were very much againsT voTing in Tavor oT The proposed consTrucTion oT a new school house because Their Taxes would be higher, buT Ma Brown had a Tew sym- paTheTic Triends who were willing To agree wiTh her in Their mild sorT oT way. IT was while The ladies oT The T-lappy l-lour Sewing Club were Talking over The possibiliTies oT a new school house ThaT Mr. Skinner, The Town's ouTsTanding TighTwad, enTered. l-le was said To be The owner OT more properTy Than any oTher man in lv1ounTain View and naTurally, he was very much opposed To The possibiliTies oT having higher Taxes. Also, l mighT add, he had no children oT school age, and ThereTore he did noT care abouT The welTare oT The children oT oThers. Good aTTernoon, ladies! he said, and Then enTered The room smiling and rubbing his hands TogeTher like a saTisTied old caT who has iusT caughT a nice iuicy mouse. l won'T Take a minuTe oT your Time, he said brighTly. JusT wanTed To say a Tew words abouT The coming school elecTion Tor The proposed passage oT The bonds To build a new school house. Mr. Skinner Then proceeded To Tell Them ThaT Their Taxes were already high and ThaT a new school house was absoluTely unnecessary. I-le ended by saying ThaT he hoped every one of Them would go To The polls and voTe againsT The bonds. Ma Brown remarked as he leTT, ThaT The only Taxpayer he was inTer- esTed in, was himselT. WHITE AND GOLD

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Everyone in The audience roared wiTh laughTer because They knew ThaT There was no elecTriciTy in The school house. IT was aTTer This sTraighTTorward guesTion ThaT Ma saT down amid a vigorous applause Trom The audience. Ma Brown, however, was noT sure ThaT she had won The people's voTe by her ridicule oT Mr. Skinner, so she soughT The wiTe oT The presidenT oT The school board. She ThoughT if The people saw The school building, They would voTe Tor The bonds. WiTh The help oT The presidenT's wiTe a Tree enTerTainmenT was held aT The school house. PosTers were hung on The walls. A picTure oT The old school house wiTh a guesTion mark around The laTTer were hung on The walls and The ciTizens OT MounTain View sTumbled on The old sTairs which were dimly lighTed by candles, They shivered in The draughTs Trom every direcTion, and They kepT Their eyes on The wide secTions oT plasTer ThaT seemed ready To Tumble down upon Their heads. Ma Brown capably presided over a Tive gallon can oT hoT coTTee during The inTerval when reTreshmenTs were served and she heard snaTches oT conversaTion on The subiecT uppermosT in her mind. The druggisT's wiTe, Mrs. Moore, said ThaT she had heard ThaT all The new school buildings had modern kiTchens and she ThoughT ThaT if a new building was To be builT in MounTain View, iT should have a modern kiTchen. Mr. Skinner, who was sTanding nearby, reproached Mrs. Moore, say- ing ThaT The idea oT a new building was all nonsense. No sooner had he said This Than his Tace Took on a ThoughTTul expression. IT a kiTchen was Turnished he mighT sell The needed sToves, eTc., To The school, Tor he owned a hardware sTore. Ma Brown iusT hoped ThaT The Tree enTerTainmenT aT The school and The chance To see The building iTselT had changed The voTes oT aT leasT a Tew people in Tavor oT The bonds. AT lasT came The elecTion day and The liTTle Town oT MounTain View hummed wiTh exciTemenT. Ma Brown seT ouT Trying To geT everybody and his dog To voTe in Tavor oT The bonds. She Took care oT The small children OT many oT The moThers so ThaT They mighT voTe. AT The end OT The day Ma said she was compleTely Tuckered ouT, and ThaT she had done all she could Toward geTTing The bonds Tor The school passed. ATTer The polls had closed Ma Brown wenT home and Took a brieT resT. While she was peaceTully sleeping she suddenly awoke and remembered someThing she had TorgoTTen. IT was while she was Trying so vainly To remember whaT she had TorgoTTen ThaT she heard a knocking aT The door. The school superinTendenT, Mr. l-lawks, bursT inTo The room and Told her WHITE AND GOLD