Vanceboro High School - Tattler Yearbook (Vanceboro, ME)

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6 THE VANCEBORfJ TATTLELR K .Km --fig Q, - -K THE MURDER AT NEWMAN'S I was hurrying down Maple Street one afternoon in search of material for a newspaper article. Where could I find something new to write about? I thought of my friend, Mrs. New- man, who lived on that street. She might be able to suggest some inter- esting subject, so I decided to call on her. As I went up the walk toward the house, which was situated some dis- tance from the road, I noticed the morning paper and the milk still sit- ting on the Veranda. Could it be pos- sible that she had been called away suddenly? But no, she always no- tified the milkman when she went away. I knocked at the door: no an- swer came. Through the window I could see that the furniture was badly scattered about. I immediately decided to ask Mrs. Newman's intimate friends and neighbors, the Randalls, where she had gone or what had happened. But Mrs. Randall had not seen her all day. By this time, we were greatly alarmed: so we called a policeman. With the aid of the officer, we broke in the door and found every- thing in confusion. As we entered the living-room, I heard a faint moan- ing sound which came from above. We rushed upstairs, and to our hor- ror, on the floor above, lay Mrs. New- man. Her dress was soaked with blood, and her head was cut as though she had been struck several times with a heavy weapon of some sort. We thought at first that she was deadg but after some minutes she opened her eyes again and began to mumble some words. What was she saying? Large - old man - black, piercing eyes-s-s-scar over the- right- Then she dropped into a stupor again. We waited anxiously for several minutes, but she never spoke again. Before the doctor came, she was dead. Those few, broken last words. What did they mean? Here was a case for a skilled detective, for the whole house was locked from the inside. In the meantime the sheriff ar- rived. After examining the scene of the murder, he wired for a state de- tective and for extra patrolmen to watch all the roads leading from the city. After all these details had been attended' to, I got permission from the sheriff to do a little investigating on my own account.

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QTHE VAbfC!'1BOR0 TATTLER 5 those taught today with the excep- tion of French and Chemistry Labo- ratory Work. They were English, Latin, Algebra, Geometry, History and Science. Over forty students graduated from this high school in ten years. In those earlier years little time was given to the sports, but it is recorded that a fine baseball team was organized about 1905. And in 1910 there were two basketball teams, both boys and girls. Of all the games played in their own hall and in the hall of their opponents, many were the victories. Not until 1926 was there again any interest in sports. In 1909 this high school was again made into a Class A high school and the assistant was Miss Jennie Brown. German was introduced as a high school subject as were some others. Now for twenty years this high school has been a Class A high school and ranks among the highest in the state. The most important and one of the latter events of the history of Vance- boro High School was the building of a new schoolhouse. Now the school is held in a very modern building. This building, having six rooms well ven- tilated and lighted, wide corridors and two entrances, houses the Vance- boro schools. It is one of the benefits of school life for it is a much more pleasant place to live in than was the old school building. This building was constructed on the old school lot in 1925 and the pupils moved into their new home on the fourth of January, 1926. In 1927 the custom of having a school play was revived. Two such plays have been presented with much success, and this year marks the be- ginning of the publication of a school magazine. This is not published for the purpose of gain but for the keep- ing of a record of school activities of the year and for the journalistic and executive training the student re- ceives. Now in its thirty-ninth year, in its new building with its excellent equip- ment, Vanceboro High School feels that it has earned a certain pride in itself. We, its alumni of 1928, will keep in mind the credit the gradu- ates of other years have brought to the old school and we trust that in future years we shall carry to vic- tory and honor the name of our Alma Mater, Vanceboro High School.

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THE VANCEBORO TATTLER 7 I began with the kitchen and made a thorough search of the house. But I could find no clue to help me. Finally the detective arrived. As I was a newspaper man I was allowed to accompany him in his search of the house. As we were going through one of the front rooms, my foot struck an object on the floor. There was a click. In the floor I could see the faint out- line of a small trap-door. When we opened this, we found that it led into a dark passageway. We dropped down into this mysterious dungeon, and hurried along, guided by a small flashlight which I always carried. In a few moments we found ourselves near an opening through which we climbed. We found that we were near an old mill which the late Mr. Newman had owned. The detective started toward the old mill and beckoned to me to follow. Enter that horrible, dark place? I certainly did not go very willingly, especially with my mind filled with the weird stories that I had so often heard of this long- abandoned building. However, I followed the detective. As we went along, I recalled the story of the watchman's murder. This man was looking after the mill one night, as usual, when a man pounced on him and beat him to death with a hammer. The murderer was never found. I told myself that the two crimes were too much alike not to have been committed by the same person. The detective entered the mill first, but had only gone a few steps when he became suspicious of a noise above him. Just as he stepped back, some- one plunged down from a beam just over his head. We saw that the man was armed with something, and it was only after a struggle that the two of us overpowered him and tied him up. Then we saw that the weapon was a hammer, very much battered and bloodstained. Eventually, we got all of the story. This man had been at one time an employee of Mr. Newman, but after a quarrel he had been dismissed. He went away for a time, but after sev- eral years he came back to keep his often expressed threat to kill the watchman, whom he blamed for all his trouble. Mr. Newman had died soon after this and the mill had been left idle. This man had been living there secretly ever since. He knew that Mrs. Newman kept large sums of money in the house, there was only 'one way in which he could get this money. So he had brutally murdered the wife of his former employer against whom he had not even the excuse of a grudge. The cold-blooded criminal was tried and sentenced to be hanged. I had found my front-page story at Mrs. Newman's. --ETHEL RUSSELL, '28.e A NAUGHTY GIRL'S DIARY July 31- Today was my birth day. I was nine years old. I got sicks presence. Everybody spanked Me. Went to the movies in the afternoon with Sister Sz and her bow.