Tantasqua Regional High School - Tantasquan Yearbook (Sturbridge, MA)

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ANDREW CARNEGIE was a giant in the railroad and steel industries. He believed that it was the duty of a rich man to distribute his wealth during his lifetime. To that end, he established 2800 libraries and many cultural halls throughout America. Serving an unprecedented four terms as President of the United States, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT was a popular leader who made extensive use of fireside radio chats to explain his plans and generate enthusiasm to push them through Congress. A lifetime passion for machinery led HENRY FORD to Detroit where, in 1896, he co mpleted his first motor ve- hicle. The Ford Motor Company manufactured the first “Model T” in 1909 ROBERT FROST’s poetry was clear, understated, well- metered and told the stories of rural America. He was a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and has been called America’s poet laureate One of the most elementary symbols of the American way of life was established when J. EDGAR HOOVER and his Federal Bureau of Investigation ‘‘G-men’’ set out to clean up the country. His career spanned over 40 years, A plain, homely woman with tremendous appeal to the masses, who was always in the ‘thick of things” de- scribes ELEANOR ROOSEVELT and her lifetime of poli- ticking beside her husband during his four terms The motion-picture industry was revolutionized in Ameri- ca and DAVID WARK GRIFFITH became known as the “Father of the film art’ and “king of directors” for his part in this revolution. His camera techniques were the pioneering steps of the industry THURGOOD MARSHALL is the first Negro to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court. His law career was aimed primarily at civil rights cases The crippler poliomyelitis was conquered by DR. JONAS SALK in 1953 after more than 25 years of research. Polio was reduced by 96% in less than ten years. SALK’s re- search continues in California at the Salk Institute. MARTIN LUTHER KING was a leader in the cause of civil rights. He had been a pastor before turning to the cause of segregation. His leadership earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968. Lieutenant Colonel JOHN GLENN started America’s trav- els to outer space when he became the first American to orbit the earth. He had been an aviator in World War II and a test pilot in peacetime. GERALD R. FORD, the tirst President to achieve the of- fice without an election. In 1974, through a series of scandalous events, the Nixon administration toppled and FORD reached the position through approval by Congress

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THEY MADE THEIR MARK Men and women who helped shape America’s history THOMAS PAINE, a bankrupt Quaker corsetmaker, some- time teacher, preacher and grocer wrote the most bril- liant pamphlet of the American Revolution, His words in Common Sense reflected longings and aspirations that have remained part of American culture to this day DANIEL WEBSTER chose law as a career and went on to become well-known in the courts and in politics. He was twice Secretary of State with an eye always to the Presi- dency which eluded him DOROTHEA DIX worked her entire adult life for reform of the existing penal and mental institutions in the mid- 1800's. The first state hospital in the nation at Trenton, New Jersey was a direct result of her efforts The creator of the Cherokee alphabet, SEQUOYAH, was an artist, writer and silversmith. He used a simple 1821 English primer to compose the characters. The famous redwood trees of the Pacific coast bear his name. Chief Justice JOHN MARSHALL established fundamental principles of American constitutional law. He is noted for his precedental declaration of a Congressional act as unconstitutional. He served through five administra- tions, from 1801-1835 Born a slave in Maryland, FREDERICK DOUGLASS taught himself to read and write secretly and, at 21, escaped to freedom. He was an ardent abolitionist campaigning successfully for Negro suffrage and civil rights “The New Colossus, a sonnet composed by EMMA LAZ- ARUS in 1883 is inscribed on a bronze tablet at the base of the Statue of Liberty. She organized relief for Jews and helped fugitives from the Czar's ghettos to establish homes in America. AMELIA JENKS BLOOMER, best known for a mode of dress she adopted during her campaign for equal rights for women. Though ridiculed until she gave up the cos- tume, the term “bloomer’’ came to symbolize woman's bid for individual freedom ABRAHAM LINCOLN epitomized the American dream of a humble young man ascending to the highest office of the land. He was superbly skilled at analyzing complex ts- sues and translating them into meaningful words for the public. He was devoted to the preservation of the Union HARRIET BEECHER STOWE wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin in an effort to make the whole nation realize the inhumani- ty of slavery. Her book resuited in one of the most popu- lar and controversial plays on the American stage. The Civil War was kindled by this work HORACE GREELEY’S admonition to “Go West young man” was a rallying cry of the pioneers of America. He was founder and editor of the New York Tribune. He was best known for his philosophy of social reform and his unsuccessful bid for the Presidency in 1872 JOSEPH PULITZER was the first journalist to reach a tru- ly massive audience. His New York World newspaper was the symbol of “yellow journalism’ with its sensational- ism aimed at the common man

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Imagine buying that acre of land you have spotted for $1.25! Or, even at the higher price of $10. Those are the prices offered to our founding fathers to encourage set- tlement of the wilderness areas of this nation. A stage wasn’t the most comfortable way to go, but you could get from city to city for as little as $3 — at the amazing pace of six miles per hour. Compare today’s wages with a 12-hour day in the early 1800's. A man earned 50¢ a day. Of course his dollar bought a little more than today’s. Butter in 1826 was about 5¢ lb. in the Midwest; eggs, 3¢ doz.; corn 6¢ bu., wheat, 25¢ bu.; and a cow could be bought for $5. With travel becoming the American tradi- tion, you could choose train, wagon, horseback or the water. A canal ride, with bed and board included, averaged 3 or 4¢ per mile. And when you reached your des- tination, you could sit down to a5, or even 10 course meal for 25¢. (Ladies 20¢, in consideration of appetite.) Farmers in the early 1800's could own the famous McCormick Reaper for a mere $100. But the Civil War increased prices as the machine became the first item farmers could buy on time payments for the sum of $1,500. A good suit of clothes then might cost $1.95 and ladies waists (blouses) were marketed for 49¢ to $3.50 with a whole dress pattern priced at 15¢. Cookstoves, ‘‘quality-satisfaction guaran- teed,’’ could cost you $29.25 at $4 per month and a dandy heating stove could set you back as much as $5.73 and up. The first electric refrigerator cost $900 — which might be enough to make you faint on your 1907 fainting couch that had cost a mere $7.85. Your new baby travelled in the height of fashion in a wicker sleeping coach (stroll- er) for the sum of $12.04. If you had $1,500 in 1903 you could show off in one of the first automobiles. Ah, those were the days. Some of the cur- rent prices are reminiscent of those days, but at frontier prices, which were a whole different story. Hardy pioneers had to pay $2 a pound for sugar, too. And the same for a pound of coffee or pepper. Those items were only 15¢ per pound back in civ- ilized St. Louis. Flour was marked up 100 times for sale to the frontiersmen and dur- ing the famous Gold Rush, that precious commodity went for $400 a barrel.