South Paris High School - Chronicle Yearbook (South Paris, ME)

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32 THE CHRONICLE Janet. That is one of Dick's tricks- coming with one girl and picking anoth- er to take home. I was hoping he would be satisfied to stay with you to- night. He is the most conceited imbe- cile in town! He does it to satisfy his ego that he can have his pick. Tears were streaming down Janet's face by now. To think that she had been fool enough to come with him. Now he had made a bigger fool of her in front of the crowd. How could she ever face them again. They probably would never accept her as one of them now. Oh, why did she ever come? One of the parents who were chap- eroning the party came in to find out what the matter was. Dotty explained and they understandingly left the two girls alone. Please stop crying, Jan, Dotty begged. Come out and join the crowd with me. Oh, Dotty, I never can face them again, wailed Janet. I want to go home. They'll laugh and laugh at me and I can't bear it. Of course you can and you're going to, Dotty replied firmly. Now come and dry your tears and let's go out and join the others. When the girls rejoined the group, they gathered around and sang for a while. Janet was watching some of the horseplay of the clowns of the crowd when a quiet blond boy sat down beside her. She recognized him immediately. He was Alan, Ellen's date. He laughed at the two, mimicing characters in a re- cent movie. Those two are good, aren't they? he said. Yes, they are, Janet answered. She felt a little stiff and didn't know just what to say, but she soon found Alan was easy to talk to and the con- versation fiowed easily. She soon found she was telling him all about herself, that they had moved to Newbrook three weeks before and how homesick she had been for her old friends. When it was time to go home, she wasn't surprised when Alan asked her to go home with him. She was really pleased that he had asked her. He wasn't exciting like Dick, but she was glad. That night she thought as she climbed into bed that the evening couldn't have turned out better. She had found two new, wonderfully special friends: Dotty, who lived only two houses away and Alan, with whom she had a date for next week. C. Stone, '53 PAST WINTERS It was snowing hard, and the ther- mometer was hovering at zero when I stepped into the barber shop to get warm. In the chair next to the stove sat an old bald headed man, who looked to be all of eighty years old. His plump body, pug nose, and cauliflower ears would give you the impression of a one time wrestler. As he looked out the window with his dark green beady eyes and chewed briskly on a mouth full of tobac- co, he stroked his long white beard and nonchalantly ejected a stream of tobac- co juice across the room into a highly polished silver cuspidor. He was un- doubtedly possessor of expert marks- manship. One of his fantastic tales still lingers in my memory:

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THE CHRONICLE 31 ered a coke to drink while she was wait- ing for the clerk to put up the ice cream. As she sat there, sipping her coke, her thoughts just drifted. Something made her want to glance up. In the shiny, clean mirror over the fountain she no- ticed a dark, good-looking boy staring at her. She had noticed him when she had entered the store. His dark, wavy hair was mussed, and his open shirt collar added to his dashing appearance. Janet smiled back at him in the mir- ror, and he turned and said, Hi! You're new in town aren't you? She replied that she was, and the con- versation went on from there. She learned that his name was Dick Flyn and that he too was a senior in high school. As she got up to leave, he stopped her and to her amazement asked, How's about going to a party with me tonight? The gang is having a party out to the lake. I haven't a date, and it would be a swell chance for you to meet the gang. Will you go ? Janet was so surprised at the sudden invitation that she hardly had time to think before she replied, Yes, I'd like to go with you. She explained where she lived: the time was set and she started home with a much lighter step than had carried her down town. Janet took extra pains in dressing that evening. Her new green beach suit and skirt heightened the green tints of her eyes, and her creamy white com- plexion was surrounded by a mass of curls, part of which was confined by a white scarf. She was ready when Dick called for her. She introduced him to her parents who agreed that he seemed like a nice boy. It's about five miles out to the lake, Dick explained as they drove along. You'll have a swell time. It's mostly high school kids in our crowd and we have some wonderful parties! Janet grew more excited by the mo- ment. She could hardly wait to reach the lake, for it would be the beginning of a new world for her. A big bonfire was burning on the beach and there were already about eight couples grouped around it. Some were singing while one of the fellows strummed on an old uke. Others were talking and fooling. Janet was intro- duced to the crowd, and they seemed to accept and welcome her. Soon some- one suggested that they go swimming. The girls all dashed up to the camp to change into their bathing suits and for about an hour they splashed about in the warm lake. A cool breeze came up, and the girls went to change back into their clothes. When Janet returned to the beach, she noticed Dick was much absorbed in one of the other girls. Janet remembered her name was Ellen and spoke to her. She dropped down beside him, but he didn't even notice her. She started talking about what a good time she was having and how glad she was that she had come but he didn't pay any atten- tion to her. Janet tried to gain his at- tention again and then gave up. In a few minutes by mutual consent Dick and Ellen got up and walked away. Janet noticed that everyone's eyes were on her, and she had never felt so hurt and humiliated before. Tears sprang to her eyes and she got up and started stumb- ling toward the camp. One of the girls named Dotty caught up with her and took her by the arm. I'm sorry this had to happen tonight,

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THE CHRONICLE 33 Why, when I was a young fellow, I used to consider twenty below zero a rather mild day. One winter it was so cold that a visiting Eskimo nearly froze to death. The same winter while I was pouring a cup of coffee, the stuff froze solid before it reached the cup. Even indoors it was bitter cold, so I al- ways sat on the stove. And one winter the lake froze so stiff that the ice lasted all summer. Then another stream of tobacco juice flew across the room and into the cuspidor for another direct hit. But I'll never forget the snow-ball bliz- zard when it snowed one and two pound flakes for two days steady. And talk about deep snow-why one day I tripped on the steeple of the town hall. Yes sir, those were real winters. C. Trask. '52 .T. Winter of '52 Temperatures of ten below, Pastures buried under snow, Heaters running out of oil, Frozen pipes and constant toil. Clearing paths to barn and shed, Hauling feed to forty head: While an icy north'er blows Numbing feet and hands and nose. Some may like this frigid clime. I prefer the summer time! L. Lovejoy, '54 PEACE AT LAST In the kitchen the clock is ticking quietly. It almost seems to say, How sad. How sad. Why is this? True, it is way past time for the family to be up, but it's such a quiet morning that they should sleep late. Yes, so quiet-only the ticking of the clock is heard. Even friendly, noisy Wags is quiet this morning. Not a car has gone down the broad street for him to chase. Wait, there's another sound. What is it that so quietly steals down the street? Ah, just a vagrant breeze stir- ring through the frost-yellowed leaves. Now from downtown the heavy ring of the town clock finds its way into the kitchen. It sounds twelve times, echoes from the hill, is gone. Still the kitchen, the house, and the street are quiet. And on the front porch the headlines proclaim, Army to Try New Weapon This Morning. J. Hicks, '52