Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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10 SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR Street waiting for the parade. With no delay Bob led his captive to the very steps of the police sta- tion, and here who should they meet coming down the stairs, but the General himself. He was very much surprised at the sight and followed Bob back into the station. Here the whole story was told in front of the Chief of Police, the General and his staff. The fellow was locked up and Bob drew a long sigh of relief. The General came up to him and shak- ing his hand said, with tears in his eyes, “Well, boy, you have probably saved my life and that of your fellow comrades,” and, pointing to a flag hanging in the room, “That flag is proud of you.” Bob’s face flushed with pride at the tribute paid to him by this great man and resolved in his heart that he would always make that flag proud of him. Some time later, when the parade was over and the news of his adventure had been circulated among his comrades, he was cheered and cheered by the admiring fellows and to crown his service he was presented with a medal of bravery by the General himself. Thus Robert Atkins ended his first adventure in military life. Uncle Sam’s Gift to Boston ELSIE CHRISTINE ANDERSON, 191S-B ■ OSTON can now boast of a skyscraper with the same pride that the New Yorker feels when he glances up a: the colossal structures of the Wool- worth and Metropolitan Life buildings. No directing hand is needed to point to the visitor this new Custom House Tower. It is a huge spire of steel and masonry, its great shaft of gray granite rising five hundred and five feet above the street level, displays its strong and beautiful lines to many of the nearby suburbs, and far down the harbor. This is Uncle Sam’s greatest gift to Bos- ton and will emphatically be the tower. The old Custom House, to which this huge apex has been added, was completed in 1847, and for many years was one of the architectural gems of Boston because of the increasing demands of commerce and traffic the service outgrew its quar- ters many years ago, but not until 1908 was any effort organized to replace or to enlarge the build- ing. After an exhaustive investigation, the com- mittee appointed found that no site could be ob- tained for less than the amount averaging from $ 1,000,000 to $12,000,000. Soon Beekham Winthrop, assistant secretary of the Custom Ser- vice, then in Boston, suggested that the old Custom House be retained, and the addition be carried upward, as had been done by the Citv Bank of New York. This request met with the general approval, and was also cordially approved by the Chamber of Commerce. After a hard fight, Congress appropriated the needed amount and the construction of this wonderful tower was commenced in June, 1910. The tower has twenty-eight stories, each floor having outside dimensions sixty by seventy-five feet, so that it is not as slender as it appears, and its pointed tip will be (for years to come) the topmost roof of Boston. The foundations of the original building were not disturbed, but in the central portion six con- crete cassions were sunk to a depth of one hun- dred feet below the street level. At this point the massive steel framework starts, 3,500 tons in all. The walls of the Tower contain 120,000 cubic feet of granite. The total load, which rests upon the cassions, amounts to 19,008 tons. The great clock of the Custom House Tower comes just below the 24th story. There are faces on all four sides and a dial measuring 2 l feet in diameter. The numerals are copper shell, 3 feet high and set in an 8 inch concrete, each numeral having a glass face. Back of each face is a hemispherical chamber about 2 y2 feet deep, with a glazed, white, reflecting surface. The beacon is illuminated by means of a flood of light in each chamber, from fifty-two 150-watts Mazda lamps arranged behind each of the clock faces. Now let our glance drop to the twentieth story, and there are the four huge stone eagles. Do they not stand as the emblem of our strength and vic- tory? “What a wonderful architectural feature!” we say to our guide. Just think! Nearly four

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SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR 9 The First Test of the Khaki MURIEL WARDROBE. CLASS 1919-A. Room 305 OBERT ATKINS, resplendent in his new suit of khaki, the kind we like to see on young men nowadays, was walking down Main Street; his well- shaped head crowning a tall soldierly figure. He was a fair, rollicking boy, that any mother might be proud to call her son. But the pity was that Bob’s mother had only lived long enough to see her boy wear a little khaki cow-boy suit, and even that had thrilled her with pride. Robert Atkins senior had to be both mother and dad to his soldier son. As we were saying, Robert junior was walking- down Main Street. It was a great day in the old town. The boys were to leave for Plattsburg, and all the town had turned out to bid them a tearful farewell. Bob looked at his watch, it lacked ten minutes of one and the parade was due to start at two. He had more than an hour to roam through his favorite haunts and bid his dearest friends good bye. But fate decreed otherwise. When he passed ‘‘Old Faithful,” as they called a large oak tree which stood at the beginning of a little stretch of woods like a sentinel guarding the smaller trees from any possible harm, he heard muffled voices. Two men were deep in conversation, they were behind a clump of bushes so that Bob could not see them; he would not have stopped had he not chanced to hear a phrase of their conversa- tion, “when you throw it be sure—” but here an automobile passed by and Bob lost the rest of the sentence. He waited, but the two men hav- ing completed their plans came out of the bushes and walked down the road, not noticing our hero at all. Robert Atkins, born adventurer that he was, scented trouble and resolved to follow these men They led him a long way, until they came to a fork in the road, then in lieu of formal fare- well the older man said to the younger, “Be care- ful.” Those two words were the clue to Robert, who felt sure that the younger man was the one who was going to commit the deed, as the older had warned him to be careful; therefore, Bob fol- lowed the younger man. This time he did not have as far to go. When the young man reached a tumbled down shack he hurried in not stopping to look around him. Bon had been very fortunate so far in not being seen by the two plotters and continued to keep care- fully out of view. He went around to the back of the shack and cautiously peered into the win- dow. The sight was enough to frighten even an older and braver man than Bob, and his knees shook as he glued his eyes to the pane. What he saw was a large room full of wires, ropes, boxes, and tools, which alone were not very dangerous, but on a table, over which bent the young man, was a round, evil looking object which, of course, Bob recognized at once. The young man had taken a box and was extracting from it another one of these awful balls. He carefully put it to his ear and shook his head eagerly as if anxious to begin his deadly work. Bob sensed the plot immediately. There was to be a great company to bid farewell to the soldiers. Marching with them would be General Edwards, the General of all the North Eastern army. These men were spies and had resolved to kill the General and a good part of the regi- ment. Robert carefully planned what he should do; he was very glad he had worn his suit as he had his revolver in his pocket; he determined to go to the front door and await the man’s exit. Then he would order him to put back the bombs and take him to the General. He hurried to the front of the building and held his revolver in position: in a few minutes he heard footsteps and a second later, “Put down those things this in- stant or you will be shot!” he said in a calm, even tone. The man jumped and turned pale under the keen gaze of Bob, but he set the box gingerly on the ground. “Now put up your hands and walk before me,” ordered Bob. The fellow could only obey and he did with the cold circle of steel pressed against his back. Thus they walked in silence until they reached the edge of the wood. Here the young man’s nerve left him and he cried in an imploring voice, “Let me go boss, for the love of heaven, let me go!” But Bob had no idea of letting him escape so ordered him to keep straight on. On they went, up a back street which was quite deserted, the residents all being on the Main

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SOMERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL RADIATOR 11 hundred cubic feet or three hundred and thirty- three tons of rough granite were quarried to fur- nish the carvers with enough material for this single feature. We do not stop to think what a wonderful piece of work this is, and what patience must have been afforded in its wonderful carving. Now let us go inside this huge mass of masonry. We must, however, remember that positively no wood was used in the construction of the tower. Now we will climb the spiral stairway a few flights, and then take the electric elevator. For the permanent operation of the building of course everything is electric. Our guide tells us that there are four electric traction passenger and freight elevators, ventilating motors, and a pneumatic tube service for further communication between offices, from part of the equipment which aggregates 400 h. p. in motors and a few thous- and lamps. He also tells us that each of the offices will be connected by telephone and will be used for no other purposes than governmental. As we go up in these elevators we stop on the dif- ferent floors and visit the huge offices. Then we wonder at the statement made by our guide that no wood whatever was used in the construction of this Tower, as we look on in wonderment at the beautiful mahogany-like railings and heavy doors. But our guide will tell us that we are mistaken. These doors and railings are not of mahogany, but composed of a huge mass of steel melted and heated to an exact temperature, and then coated on the outside with this wonderful mahogany-like finish. From all windows, different views of the har- bor greet us; but let us now go up to the twenty- fifth story and gaze at the wonderful panorama from the balcony, or even to the “twelve by twelve” room (the twenty-ninth story) where the view is imposing and unbroken. Mount Wa- chusett is outlined among the distant hills in the west, while the State House dome looks scarcely two hundred feet away. Then looking eastward, we see down the harbor, and beyond Brewster’s and Boston lights, the shore-line of Scituate and Minot’s Ledge without the aid of a glass. The tall chimneys of the Edison Light Street station catch our eye in looking toward the Blue Hills, and the landscape as viewed from the north windows includes the pointed shaft of Bunker Hill, 'fhe old monument is not impressive from this vantage point which is now the best observation point in the city. We are quite tired from our long climbing and sight-seeing, but nevertheless, we have enjoyed our trip and will all remember that the Custom House Tower will long be a landmark and a beacon for mariners entering the Port of Boston. Has not Uncle Sam given us a wonderful and majestic gift? Edith’s Lesson CAROLINE COMEY, 1920-R HER, I’ve got to have a new ess,” said Edith, as she came in jm school. “I know dear, but you know I have no money to buy one with,” sighed her mother, as she bent closer over her sewing. “You don’t understand! All the girls are hav- ing new summer dresses. I can’t fix up my last year’s dresses because all the girls will remember them from last summer,” answered Edith, as she slammed her books down on the table. “I don’t see what else you can do,” replied Mrs. Mason, “I cannot possibly do any more work, and there is no other possible way of getting money. The girls all know that your father is dead, and I was thinking we could fix—” “That’s just it, they all pity me because I have no father,” stormed Edith, “and I can’t stand having them do that.” “What will you do then? You’ll have to go to work; that’s the only way I see out of it.” “No, I can’t go to work,” declared Edith, “but I heard Helen say she was going to have a new dress for a dance she is going to, and I thought maybe you could make it for her.” “I have to sit up till one and get up at six in order to get the work I now do done,” sighed her mother, “I could not possibly do more.” “I’ll help you around the house, and do some of your other sewing. I’m sure Helen will pay well for it.” So this is how it happened that Mrs. Mason got up earlier mornings and stayed up later nights