Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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THE STONEHAM HIGH SCHOOL AUTHENTIC will find that sometime in the future we will be able to ponder on the past, and recollections of happy school days Avill bring peace to a discontented mo- ment. Working together we have found a key to life, that words are of no avail unless deeds be their master. Deeds not words. With this thought in mind, seventy-one young people en- ter upon the work of the world. ©ur Rational problem Thomas J. Connell The present national forest problem is one of the greatest of all times and should be regarded as such by every- one. Our forests are quickly becoming things of the past and unless some steps are taken to prevent this situation from occurring, we will soon be without the services of one of our greatest friends. The chief supply of lumber that we re- ceive from these forests is used in so many different ways that the simple enumeration would become monotonous. Along with this supply of lumber we also receive such important by-products as turpentine, alcohol, tars, gums, oils, maple syrup, sugars, and silk. There are not many people who real- ize the real value of the forests. First of all they act as climate regulators. The air near the forest is always the purest because the trees take in the carbon dioxide that is in the air and give off ox 3 ’’gen. The air is also very cool because the trees give off water in the form of cool moisture. The strong winds cannot penetrate through the trees and thus the forest districts are found to be very calm. The forests are also very useful as soil binders. The roots of the trees hold the ground firmly in place and pre- vent the landslides that result when the trees are cut down and the roots decay. To reforest such areas requires hard work, because the soil keeps sliding be- fore the new trees can become firmly rooted in the ground. Trees should al- ways be left on hilly places since no mountainous country was ever prosper- ous after the trees were cut down. Forests also control our water sup- plies. When rain falls in forest dis- tricts, it is absorbed in the roots or in the loose and spongy soil which is made thus by the decayed leaves. This pre- vents the water from running into the streams too quickly and thus avoids floods. Wherever there are forests, we always find young streams which are used for drinking water and for fishing; where there are no forests we find floods that destroy crops and lands. The rivers and streams receive the erod- ed land caused by these floods and thus become shallow and valueless for navi- gation. The terrible situation that ex- isted in Vermont a few months ago re- sulting in the loss of many human lives and the destruction of homes and prop- erty was due to the lack, of forests. The immensity of the present forest , problem can be shown by quoting a few ‘ statistics. At the time of the Indians there were 822,000,000 acres of forest land of which much has been cut for farms and pastures, for cities and sub- urbs as the populat ion has grown. At the present time there are 138,000,000 acres of untouched forests, 25,000,000 acres called second growth timber of commercial value, and 81,000,000 acres of ideal land fit only for growdng trees. This decrease in the forest area plainly shows that as the population is increas- ing, the forests are decreasing. The next problem that arises is to . find out where our forests have gone, i In the first place we use four times as much wood each year as we grow, and I at this rate it wall not be very long be- j fore our lumber supply will be entirely I exhausted. In this country we use 23,- I 000,000,000 cubic feet of wood each year, an amount which is equivalent to 250,- 000,000 trees of average height. Each year forest fires, decay, and insects de- stroy about 2,000,000,000 feet of wood, the railroads use 130,000,000 new ties, 5,000,000 trees are cut and made into telephone poles, mining and excavation use 260,000,000 feet, the box and barrel j industry uses 250,000,000 feet, while the I paper industries use 3,000,000 tons of ' pulp wood. Of all the wood that is cut each year in this country, one-third is used and the other two-thirds is wasted. With a little care two-thirds could be used thus doubling the commercial val- ue with the same cut. First, the tree is not cut close enougli to the ground; branches and tops which could be used [ 4 ]

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GRADUATION NUMBER l restbent’s .hitvcgs Thomas E. Pardue, Jr. Parents, Teacdiers, Friends and Class- mates : In behalf of the Class of 1928 I take great pleasure in welcoming you to these, our graduation exercises. For twelve years, we, as a class, have been together in both work and pleas- ure but today we are meeting for the final time. In the last four years our number has greatly decreased and those who have succeeded find truth in the proverb of old, “Success is wrought by deeds not words.” The realization of this truth is now forced upon us in ‘a singular light. We now realize that our deeds alone are not responsible for carrying us through the three years of our high school ca- reer but a large measure of our success is due to the deeds of others. Ever faithful parents, we are not too over-joyed in this day of triumph to realize that all our achievements in life, now and forevermore, we owe to you. Whether you are with us here or in that greater land beyond, your unceasing love alone makes life worth living. In you, our teachers, we have always found the guidance of a friend. Untiring, ever patient, helping both the ambitious and the indifferent, you have brought us a united body to this graduation day. Parents and teachers, we will hold you ever in our hearts as the nearest and dearest, realizing that your deeds have laid the foundation upon which this and our future success depends. Commencement is not a day of sad- ness. It is rather a day of triumph and joy. It is a time, without which dreams could never come true, and visions could never be realized. It is the great step in life which must be taken, an up- 1 ward and not a downward one. It brings to us more abundant life, where faith becomes sight. A day or sadness? No. A day of victory by which the gates to happiness have been opened wide. Classmates, this event does not rep- resent a treaty of peace by which our battle is ended. It is but an armistice in which our arms have been laid down only to Ije taken up again at the trum- pet sound. When it sounds we will find new obstacles. The foe will be in- creased, our allies will have decreased, and all will be a new battle. There will be no teacher’s guiding hand and perchance no parent’s. When the trum- pet sounds we will find a new world wliere success depends upon our deeds and ours alone. Yet this thought does not over shadow our joyful day because behind this cur- tain of toil we are inspired by a never I ending beacon of light which we call i happiness. Pure it is, never affected I by the outside turmoil, “Firm as the [ hills, unyielding as stone-.” All the j hardships and depressions of the world j can not overcome its ra} s. They pene- i trate the darkest night and outshine the brightest day. Through years of toil they will guide us and keep ever in the future a blossom of hope. My classmates, our days of fellowship have come to an end. Each one of us will find different paths to travel and never again on this earth will we meet in a united body. We are meeting for the final time and yet it is a joyful day for in our years together we find we have made virtuous friendships, which can never be severed by space Though we will be apart, we or time. [ 3 ]

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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