Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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THE STONEHAM HIGH SCHOOL AUTHENTIC really I?” Now every class mustj of necessity and custom, tread, the same mill so we will only remind you that we too have passed through all the transient stages from unutterably “nervy and fresh” | freshmen to what you see before you. Also, let us say in passing that we have occupied approximately evtry hom»e- i room in the high school building from the ground floor to the attic. The first episode must be passed over lightly as a half step from the “ridicu- lous to the sublime” as we would have said at that time. Our lasting impres- sions of a year’s initiation into Stone- ham High School are few. Climbing over piles of lumber in the gymnasium to arrive at a Latin class in the new building ; copjdng page on page of The Tale of Two Cities by Dickens as a pen- alty for really enjoying English; and, the havoc wrought with the heart-whole and fanc 3 ' -free damsels of our class bj ' certain upper classmen. Learning something everj day but never taking it too seriously ' , we arrived at the next j ' ear, the first in wliich we took up our courses together as an organized bodj’. Willard Decker, pres- ident; Phyllis Eoss, vice-president; Helen Packard, secretarj , and Florence McDonough, treasurer, and William Learned, chairman of the social com- mittee, made up the roster of our first class officers. Thus equipped, in we plunged blindlj ' , l)ut trusting to the greater poAvers that be to see us safelj- through. As Ave closed the uneA’entful j ear of 1925-26 Ave sighed profoundly, shaking our heads dismallj ' as Ave gazed at the still blank i)ages of our bank book. That evident Ij’ AA-as the right w ' a.y to start tlie day Avrong, as ’lAvere because we have been sighing ever since, and we are not sure even uoav Avhether Ave may safelj’ stop or not. -K- “Nothing shall die — w ' hat though dark- ness falls Across dim ej’es that gaze their last on light? Look up, or Heart, to Avhere the splen- did halls Of God’s great palace shines beyond the night.” To Annette C. Bloom, Classmate Who died March 18, 1926 Were j’ou ever, as Kipling expresses it, “Fiftj ' North and Forty West, w’hen the ship goes wop (with a wdggle in be- tAveen) ?” That w ' as about our state of mind in the midst of discovering that we Avere Juniors and as such had incur- red sundiy obligations. Only one change in officers had been effected namelA ' , Gordon Fanjoy held vice-presi- denc‘ 3 ' . Also at that time, after much discussion, both polite and otherwise, our class colors Avere decided upon. The records as kept tell of no class activi- ties during that j ear except tAvo socials Avhich netted the grand total of $16.00. The time honored privilege of having a Junior Prom was passed by due to force of circumstances. Do not ask us to recall painful memories. At the pre- sent time there is in Room 13 of the High School building a bust of Abra- ham Lincoln. The same Avas the gift presented bj this group to the graduat- ing class of 12-’27. . Maj ' that stand as ' an estimal)le finale to an otherwise uncolorful epoch. i This is primarily ' a dry, uninteresting histoi’ 3 ' of the Class of 1928 but it takes tAAm to make an argument so also there must be, in most cases, tw’o factors to I make history , a protagonist and an an- tagonist. And, as teachers and instruct- ors seem to be indispensable in this pro- cess of pursuing an education, either under compulsion or of a free will, we cal] to mind some of those Avith whom AA-e have come in contact personally and Avhom Ave ma.y count as friends. I-,et us saj ' simplA of our greatest friend and teacher, Mr. Charles J. Em- erson, “The 3 ' remembered the words he had spoken. But clearest of all, thej’ remembered him.” For the bumps and knocks that we have learned to take Avith a grin as a part of the rcAA ' ard, Ave thank all of our coaclies and phj ' sical directors. Then there is one aa’Iio has taught us l).y example the joA ' of living in work- ing and Avho has shoAA’ed us the beauty ' in music and the Avorth of the real things in this Avorld — Mr. Walter Dal- glish. There are three faces that appear simultaneously in our mind’s eye. Miss Vera ]Moore, IMr. Wilbert Skerrye, and Mr. Earl T. Thil)odeau, himself. Whj’- should such phenoma take place, you ask? Well, you’ve heard the old saying about birds of a feather, have you not? That answers whj ' these friends hold I equal place in our list. Their good ad-

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GRADUATION NUMBER for firewood and pulp are thrown away, and the rest of the tree is cut into logs and sent to the mill. Here it is still further wasted as it is sawed into dif- ferent shapes without much care. The wood then leaves the mill and goes to furniture makers and the like, where before it is made into any permanent object, more pieces are wasted. The wood that is used in ties, telephone poles, and houses is sometimes wasted by decay when not properly treated and cared for. The national forests would be able to look after themselves were it not for their many enemies. These enemies are fire, insects, disease, man, and animals, — the worst of all being fire. There are 36,000 fires each year that cost the gov- ernment about $100,000 each day. At that rate, in forty-one years there will be no forests left at all because to re- forest this burned area would take a long time and also would cost too much money. To lessen the total number of these fires, forest rangers are now em- ployed who detect such fires before they get a good start and either put them out themselves or else get help. These fires are caused in various ways. Sixty per cent are caused by carelessness, while the rest are deliberately set. Campers’ fires, sparks from ' trains, and the throw- ing away of lighted matches and cig- arettes are the careless ways by which these fires are started, while lightning is the only fire starter that cannot be prevented. At other times fires are set purposely by men who believe the for- ests are valueless and would rather have tlie land made into farms and pastures. One good motto then for everyone to have is “Avoid forest fires.” Insects are another enemy of trees. There are about 200,000 kinds of these enemies which cost the government $100,000,000 each year. Included in this group we find the familiar gypsy moth and brown tail moth, two insects that eat the leaves and suck the sap out of the trees. This insect problem is be- coming smaller each year as man, wdth the aid of birds, snakes, and toads, is slowly driving them away. Trees are also attacked by disease. The fungi is the most destructive be- cause it enters the tree and afterwards eats up the wood in order to grow. The white pine blister is another disease which causes the destruction of thous- ands of dollars worth of w’hite pine each year. Man is an enemy because he cuts, w ' astes, and causes fires. Ani- mals are destructive since they kill new trees by chewing or stepping on them. It now remains for us to do all that we can to help better the present forest situation. We can do this by planting trees in useless hilly country, by pro- tecting the young trees from falling timbers and animals, by cutting nothing but mature trees, and by planting two new’ trees for every one that we cut. If w’e do all in our power to help the government and other organizations whose aim is to better the present for- est conditions, in fifty years from now we w’ill not be living in a country that is being ruined by floods, w’hose rivers are valueless for navigation, and whose wood supply is entirely exhausted. |Htslorg of tl|c Class of 1928 Lillinn W. Hunt What is history? Tracing the deri- vation of the word, one finds that it means in its literal sense a learning or know’ing by inquiry of past events. Therefore, w’hat is history more or less than a record of happenings as remem- bered and set down by the narrator. Remembered? Yes. Volumes have been w’ritten recently of the Great War as it appeared in the memory of different officials. That is the answer ! History is a memorj’-, a kaleidoscopic series of mind pictures, covering days, months, and years past, that comes before us at our will. Although these last four years of our career as the class of 1928 will never hold a place in the world’s history, they will be chronicled forever in our minds, i Or, if you will, they w’ill be just a mem- ory. Words are such puny things that they can portray but a fraction of the fun, the cerebration, the occasional dalliance and the disappointments of our struggle I thus far tow’ard our ultimate goal. But reminiscence melts the years into mists ; w’hich roll aw’ay, disclosing the stage of ' the past, and, as we watch the beings I thereon, w’e exclaim apart, “Can this be [51

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GRADUATION NUMBER vice and never failing good humor have been a veritable balm of Gilead to our often wounded spirits. We respectfully admire our principal, Mr. Watson, for being to such a degree, patient and forbearing while shaping our faltering courses, and we know sin- cerely that he is to be counted among our friends. What would a mill be without power? What would society be without the “underdog?” Of what value would a team be without players? We can claim no greater honor than to have furnished the power for our school’s athletic ma- chines. Those who have had the dis- tinction of being captains have played as one with their team. As “deeds not words” must suffice, let us say simply but proudly that we have had a vital part in keeping sports alive in Stone- ham High School. As surely as the sun sets in pastel beauty and climbs the steeps of morn- ing in glory, so does mankind toil on to its inevitable destiny. Our life plans are roughly drafted for us, and dis- counting the fact of their great simil- arity none are executed in exact duplici- ty. The courses laid out for us by the rest of our small world are as alike, however, as the stars in the midnight blue. And they w ho by choice or dint of necessity venture to be “different” in this present mimeographed existence may be termed ambassadors of a new era. Did you ever want a thing to be true and you would never be happy until your wish was granted? You kfiew, however, that it could never be true, so you just made believe in order to have the fun of it. We, as a class have been unwittingly pioneering and making believe this year to quite an extent. As each duty arose there was nothing to do but be optimis- tic, pucker up and whistle and show subsequent signs of animation. It may be that we have not worried enough, but it was easier to let President Par- due do that. We willingly pass the bouquets to him now for having both thought and acted for us during a stren- uous and happy year. The Authentic staff wishes to be ego- tistical for a moment. The school pa- per as edited by the Senior Class has been a decided triumph this year and we are very proud to be able to say that all previous records for advertis- ing were surpassed during this period of publication. The social life of the last year of high school is always varied but su- premely important. Although it did not stretch the money bag visibly, a Senior dance held in December began the round of pleasures asupiciously. What next? The play’s the thing 1 Would you have cheese? Mild? Lim- berger? Or perhaps you prefer Oh Boy Gum! We had them all the night of the annual play and they were partaken of with enjoyment by everyone. The Senior Class banquet! Awaited in ex- pectation and anticipation for three years, the supreme event at last came to pass at the Hotel Kenmore. We are richer by the experience and will al- ways remember the Crystal Ball Room with a twinkle in our eyes and a smile in our hearts. That is all that we may share with others. The dreams and our individual memories are ours to keep. There is nothing left but today. And as the mists roll back across the drama obscur- ing our vision for another age each one assumes a different character, each of us has a new role to play on an even nobler stage. And in parting to enter the amphitheatre by our divers entran- ces, we give each other greeting. Pax vobiscum — Peace be with you. Ollass rophecu Gordon L. Fanjoy It is now the year 1950. All roads lead to Chicago where another World’s Fair is being held. All business has been set aside for the occasion, giving everyone an opportunity to attend this celebration. While at the depot, making reserva- tions, I happened to spy Thomas Pardue I getting off the weekly train from Wig- ! glyville. Tom was looking old and wor- j ried, having lost nearly all his hair. ! After a few minutes of conversation, he told me that he had been in. the poultry business, but had lost all his chickens but Cynthia. The terror of his life was upon him. He was afraid he would die [71