Upper Kennebec Valley High School - Boreas Yearbook (Bingham, ME)

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ITERARY IT HAPPENED TO OUR SON No, it can't be true! exclaimed Mrs. Duplesea as she read through the telegram just handed to her by her husband. It couldn't have hap- pened to our 'Mike'. It was true, though, and no one could deny it. It had really happened to their own lit- tle 'Mike'. Wishing to calm his wife, Mr. Du- plesea replied, as he grasped the tele- gram from her hand to read himself, It appears to be so, dear, although l can hardly believe it myself. Glanc- ing from the telegram in his hands, Mr. Duplesea saw tears in his wife's eyes. He did not have to ask her to know what she was thinking. She was remembering-remembering as far back as the day they had come to America from Switzerland in 1918. They had been especially happy to get to America. After living there a few months, they had decided to be- come naturalized and later were A- emricans and very proud of it. The first few years in America had been hard. They had had to finish paying for their voyage over and they had had to pay for their farm machinery which Mr. Duplesea had bought. They were poor people, but they got a liv- ing and paid for their farm also. Early in 1922 they were blessed with little 'Mike'. He was to be their only child and he immediately became the object of all their pride and devotion. They had made great plans for 'Mike' and had he had the time before going to war, he probably would not have disappointed them. Mrs. Duplesea was remembering Mike's first tooth, his first words, his first hair cut, and finally his first day at school. How proud he had been that first day of school as he marched down the road with his lunch box in hand humming an old Swiss song taught to him by his father. He never did care for school, but that first day had been quite an experience for him. A long sigh from her husband brought Mrs. Duplesea back to the present. It was nice to be remember- ing the past. She wished that she were back in those old days when 'Mike' was a little boy and her husband had been making a good profit on his crops each year. A remark from Mr. Duplesea start- led his wife, Remember the day, when 'Mike' was in the fourth grade, that he came home with a black eye? That was the first fight he was ever in. Remember how shy he was to come into the house for fear that I would scold him? As if in answer, Mrs. Duplesea smiled. Yes, she remembered it. She also remembered plastering a steak over his eye that night, when he went to bed, so that it wouldn't look too bad the next day. She had said, Now try to keep that on there and your eye won't look too bad in school tomor- row. 'Mike' complained, Aw Ma, I ain't no sissy. What do I care if I have a black eye or not? Maybe the fellas will think I'm tough and leave me alone. Mrs. Duplesea had to get cross then

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12 BOREAS STUDENT COUNCIL PICTURE Standing: J. Hunnewell, R. Quigley, M. Young, C. Brackett, W. O'Brien, A. Goff, R. Boynton, G. Goff. Seated: G. Begin, G. Croteau, A. Manchester, G. Berry, S. Keene, N. Macdougall. voted that the attendance at the meet- ings should be required. At our next meeting, held October 6, we voted for two one-dollar tickets for dues instead of one ticket a year. A committee was chosen to plan a schedule for assembly programs. Assemblies were to be held once a week, and would be given by the following groups: Student Council, 1 3 Classes, 45 Outside Speakers, 43 Junior High, 13 Departments, English etc., 33 and Faculty, 2. The committee chosen to make out the program was Ruth Boynton, Allen Goff, Gloria Cro- teau, and Geraldine Begin. It was also voted that the Principal should take care of all the bills. On November 7, 1944, another meeting was held to choose delegates for the Student Coun- cil Convention to be held at Cony High School, Augusta, November 18. Dele- gates were: Gerald Berry, William O'Brien, Nellie Macdougall, and Glor- ia Croteau. We voted 351.00 for regis- tration fee of delegates. The delegates did not attend the convention due to the gas and tire shortage. On January 15, 1945, We held an- other meeting, in which we decided that the contestants of the carnival should be required to have activity tickets to enter. The Student Council supported and sponsored the winter carnival and the carnival ball. The carnival was held at the school house and at Baker Mountain. The ball was held at the Grange Hall. Both were very success- ful.

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14 ' BOREAS and scold him or he would have teased her so much that she'd have given in to him and let him take the steak off. Leave that on there, young man , she commanded, and if you come home with another one of those black eyes right away, I'll have to speak to your teacher about you. With these final words, 'Mike' had rolled over and gone to sleep. 'Mike' had grown up fast. It had been hard to believe it when he had graduated from high school, He was a big boy then, larger than his dad. He had been a class officer nearly all the way through school, he was liked by all his comrades, he was good in his studies, and he was one of the best in the field of sports. His father remem- bered him as a quarterback on the school football squad. He was as good a player as was to be found anywhere around. After graduation, 'Mike' had helped his father on the farm with the intention of later going to the State University. He was a husky lad and two years ago he had been called for the army. He wanted to go. Mr. Du- plesea had not tried to keep him on the farm. The sound of the clock striking six reminded Mrs. Duplesea that it was nearly time for supper. Thomas, I wish you'd go down to the well and get a pail of water , she said to her husband. I'll have supper ready in a jiffyf' With that, she went into the kitchen and busied herself with the task of preparing supper. Later when they were seated at the table, Mrs. Duplesea repeated, I just can't believe it's true about 'Mike'. She paused, then went on, It certain- ly is wonderful, though. Yes , replied her husband, it cer- tainly is wonderful that anything like that could happen to our son. To think that he's been promoted to private first class is almost unbelievable! G. Croteau '46 IF 1 4' 42 THE LOST GENIUS Dr. Douglas Sawyer did not find the silence that pervaded the huge, dark- ened study so monotonous as many a guest surely would have done. He sat observing the small, child-like figure which occupied an equally small, straight rocking chair near the fire- place. The light from the dying fire showed the blank, thoughtless stare on the face of the unhappy little man. How typical his expression is , thought the young doctor. I have seen exactly the same helpless look with so many similar cases of amnes- ia, and yet I get nowhere with my study of him. The family will soon doubt that they have hired a trained psychologist, and I shall doubt it my- self. The doctor went on pondering thus, going over all the facts he knew con- cerning his host, who continued to stare indifferently to the familiar sur- roundings of his study. With wrinkled brow, Sawyer went over again in his mind the conversa- tion he had had that afternoon with Jean Anderson, the young niece of his patient. By looking at Uncle Mark now, you can't imagine him as he was at the height of' his career. He was such a quick, alert little man, and so young for his age! At the height of his career? the had inquired.