Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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6 THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR IRobert Southern's Wrong -is j IDavtba H. Brpan, 2 ., TO N a room luxuriously furnished with soft Persian rugs, comfortable-look- ing leather armchairs, a library table «itrI in the centre of the room, and oak shelves on each side, with an astonish- ingly fine selection of books on them, stands a man with his back to the open fireplace in which is burning a cheerful fire. He is about fifty years of age, tall, and of kingly bearing; he has steel blue eyes, an aquiline nose, and a firm mouth. As he stands there, one can tell at a glance that he is nervously awaiting the approach of some one whose welcome will be rather brusque. Finally the door opens, and there enters a lad of eighteen, who bears a decided resemblance to his father, except that he possesses his gentle little mother’s soft brown eyes, and although he has his mother’s kind and loving nature, lie also has his father’s hot, hasty temper. The cause of the father’s anger is that Robert •Southern, the son. who has always been the leader in fun and mischief, has been unjustly accused of the serious offence of cheating at the final college examinations, papers having been found which bore a strong resemblance to his handwriting, and the initials “R. S.” in the upper corner, together with his high per cent., seemed sufficient proof of his guilt, and having no suitable evidence to prove his innocence, he has been declared guilty by the fac- ulty. his friends, and his father. When Robert arrived home feeling exceed- ingly downcast, his mother had said: “Don’t mind. Bertie, mother will never believe it of you, though the whole world declares you guilty, and father, too, will stand by you.” But what a disappointment it was to them both when Mr. Southern, having been acquainted with the news, called his son to him in anger and disgust. He told Robert in great rage that he had put up with his fun and mischief, but he would never put up with a sneak, a cheat, a dis- honorable coward, and a liar. It was then that Robert Southern, Jr.’s, manly nature asserted itself, and he in deep rage told his father that he would not be accused in that manner, and he again and again denied the accusations, each time the senior’s rage becoming more and more intense, until, with his face red with passion, he bade his son leave his home and never darken his door again. Days have passed into weeks, weeks into months, and months have rolled on into years since that stormy scene fifteen years ago. Robert Southern left his Eastern home, and unknown to his people worked his way to the West, the land of promise. In the meantime the father has died repentant of his rash act, having lived long enough to sec the inno- cence of his son proved, and the gentle little mother is left with no one but the child Alice, who was only three years old at the time of her brother’s abrupt departure, but who is now a girl of eighteen. The mother is little changed, save that she has a quieter and more melancholy expression than formerly. Alice, who has been away to boarding school, has just returned the previous night, much to her mother’s delight, and as she stood the following morning before the wide hearth in the dining-room, she thought how glad she was to be at home again. Her last glimpse of the world the night before had been of trees lashed by a cold rain, of arc lamps with globes of fog, and of wet asphalt pavements reflecting the lights of Wellington avenue. But now everywhere there was snow heaped in exquisite drifts about the trees and clinging in soft masses to the rough bark of their trunks. The iron fence about the great yard was half buried in it, and the houses along the avenue seemed strange and far away in the white transfiguration, and the roofs had lost their familiar outlines against the low, gray sky that hung over them. “What a beautiful scene, and oh, how glad I am to be home again!” exclaimed Alice, as she turned from the window to her breakfast. After hurriedly eating, she joined her mother in the library, where she was reading the morning news, and Alice, tak- ing a book from its place on the shelf, curled herself comfortably on a divan near the fireplace. Far away she heard the tinkle of sleighbells, and on the avenue she saw men trudging along with shovels on their shoulders, happy in the temporary prosperity this chance for work had brought them. With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she turned her mind from the snowy scene to her book, and here she sat till luncheon. When she had had her lunch, she again returned to the library and her book. She stayed there about two hours, then suddenly startled her mother by flinging the volume to the floor in disgust and running from the room and up the stairs. She came down presently dressed for the street, with her red tam-o’-shanter on top of her (Continued on page 2:5.

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 vs S3H STACK OT TA THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR Latin, physics, or geometry in the high school, when most of us do not expect to make any great use of such subjects after graduating? Because we all want to remember well, to observe accurately, and to reason clearly; and the subjects studied in the high school arc those that have been found best fitted for developing strong and able minds. Re- member that we are all here that we may become good and able men and women. Therefore walk straight, be straight; remember that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. » r jfootball The football season is now drawing to a close. At the outset the team was greatly weakened by the graduation of five of its regular players in June, and by the loss of Coach Cuddy, who for several years had generally succeeded in developing a champion- ship team. Nevertheless Coach Hafford, though working with unusually light material, has devel- oped a team that has already lost but three out of thirteen games. Of the championship games, we have won that with Dorchester by a score of 12 to 4. The recent well-played and hard-fought game with Malden High resulted in a victory for Somer- ville, by a score of 6 to 5. Let every loyal student of the Somerville High School attend the R. M. T. S. game on the Broad- way Field on Thanksgiving Day, and lend his pres- ence and his voice to cheer our team on to victory, r ► r r iRew Ccacl.KTs The school year opens with four new teachers in the English High. Miss Hadley, who is teaching English, history, and Latin, is a graduate of Boston University, and comes to us from the Milton High School. Miss Howe, also a graduate of Boston University, comes to us from New Britain, Conn. Miss Anderson has been teaching in the Revere High School, where she has had charge of the com- mercial department. Albert I. Montague, A. B., Amherst, ’9G, has been sub-master of the Natick High School for the past two years. Fie had pre- viously taught in Lawrencevillc, N. J., and in the Alleghany Preparatory School of Pennsylvania. In the Latin High, Miss Hall takes the place of Miss Pratt as head of the department of English. To all of these teachers the Radiator extends a most hearty and cordial welcome. On an Hutumn 2Da ? When I look off from some high hill, I see The mountains dim and indistinct; the sun His glory llings around, and has begun To turn the leaves to red o’er all the lea. And over there the flaming maple tree Stands where the -silky cobwebs have been spun Amongst the crimson vines, which all have run O’er stony walls in manner gay and free. And nearer still the farmers’ houses stand, Surrounded by brown meadows, where the thin And scrawny hedge half screens the busy hive. These pleasures all I have so near at hand. I look around once more and take them in, And think how glad I am to be alive. APR 1 2 1972

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THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR 7 Iberbert at tbe flMay H iDonolooue. .U3y? ii . S. ribaulsbg, os Y husband? Oh, he's in the other room. You know he works in the market, and he has to get up at four o'clock every morning, so when he comes home he’s pretty tired. As soon as he gets through his supper he takes the paper and sits down ir his easy chair and begins to read. But the first thing I know, I begin to hear him snore, and that means lie's fast asleep. When I get ready to go to bed, I have to wake him up and tell him it’s time for bed. Lots of times when lie gets through his supper, I say to him: ‘Herbert, you’re tired: why don't you go to bed?' But he always says: ‘I want to read, 1 ain’t sleepy to-night But in five minutes his eyes begin to droop, and after that it isn’t long be- fore lie’s fast asleep. “When we were first married we used to go to the theatre a lot; but he used to make such a sight of himself that we had to give it up. Why, one night we went to sec this new opera-----------let’s see, what do they call it? ’Tisn’f ‘Fantana’------ well, I can’t think what the name of it is; but, any- way, we saw it three times. There was this time, and then the Masons gave it once (you know Herbert’s a Mason), and then Mr. Good, lie’s Herbert’s boss in the market, invited us. Well, this time we was chewing gum when we started ; but. of course, when the play started we stopped. I threw mine under the seat: but Her- bert saved his so’s he could chew it later. I was real interested in the play, so at first I didn’t pay no attention to Herbert; but pretty soon 1 looked over his way. and he was sound asleep. I sec the lady back of me was watching, and I knew she thought he was drunk. He wasn’t, though, he was just tired. So I leaned over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and says to him: 'Herbert, wake up!’ Well, he woke up with a start, and all of a sudden he held up his hand and said right out loud: ‘Maria, I can’t open my hand!’ Everybody heard him, and they all turned ’round to look at him, and what do you s’pose he’d done? He’d gone to sleep with that gum ir. his hand, and it had stuck to him just like mucilage. Of course everybody began to laugh, and I was mortified ’most to death. “I had a worse experience with him than that, just the same. That was one time we went to Keith’s, and it was a real good show, too. They always have good shows there, and the moving pictures arc ’most always interesting. We used to go there quite often, that’s how 1 happen to know so much about it. This time I wouldn’t let Herbert get any gum; but he determined to buy something, so I let him get me a pound of choco- lates. Before I said I’d go, I made him promise me that he wouldn't go to sleep; but then, I might have known that was too much to expect of him. We got along all right for quite a time, and then the trouble began. I didn’t want to be passing the candy over to Herbert all the time, so I told him to take three or four pieces at a time, and then he wouldn’t have to come so often. We’d seen about three acts, when I began to notice that Her- bert wasn’t saying much, so when a fellow began to sing that I didn’t like, I looked over Herbert’s way. Would you believe it, for all he’d promised, there he was fast asleep! Well. I was mad! I leaned over and tapped him. and it wasn’t no gen- tle tap. either, and I says: ‘Herbert, you wake up!’ And what do you suppose that man done? Oh, yes, he woke up all right. Well, he come to so sudden that he was kind o’ dazed; but the first thing he did was to put his hand up, just like a little boy in school, and then he srys in that loud voice folks use when they’ve just waked up: ‘Maria, look at my hand!’ He said it so loud that about a quarter of the audience heard him. and they looked. So did I. One look was all I wanted. He'd fallen asleep with the chocolates in his hand, and his hand bein’ warm, they all melted, and the chocolate had run up his sleeve, all over his arm. and all over the front of his best coat. My. but he was a sight! We had to go home right then, and all the way up the aisle people turned ’round to look at us and laugh. I got enough of the theatre that night to last me some time: but then you can’t exactly blame Her- bert, he has to get up so early, and he’s got to get his sleep sometime. “I like to go to the theatre, but after that scene, I told him I’d never go with him again. Of course I didn’t mean I never would: but it's awful aggravating to go to the theatre with a man, and then have him go to sleep. It don’t look nice. “Those two times were pretty bad; but they aren’t anywhere near as bad as the last time we went. Yes, we went again. This time, though, fContinued on page 11.]