Vandergrift High School - Spectator Yearbook (Vandergrift, PA)

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THE SPECTATOR 23 LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN INCOLN was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Kentucky. The cabin was a ramshackle affair and the clearing in which it was built was rank with weeds; the acre or so of corn that stretched away to the woods was choked with high grass and brush. Abraham’s father was a carpenter but he neglected his trade to wander about the woods with his gun in his hand and his dog at his heels. To Mrs. Lincoln was left almost the entire care of the little clearing and to the wonderful energy and cheerfulness of this woman, Lincoln owes his life. “God bless my mother,” he said in later years. “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to her.” When a log school house was opened in the neighboorhood, it was Mrs. Lincoln who wanted her children to go and learn the alphabet and master the spelling words. Mr. Lincoln grumbled, because he did not think the children needed the learning but the mother had her way. The children, a son and daughter, attended school as long as it was open. Mrs. Lincoln often said to her children; “You must learn to read and write and get knowledge so when you grow up you will be wise and good.” Lincoln’s father was of a wandering disposition, and when Abraham or “Abe” was seven years old, he moved his family to Indiana, then almost a wilderness. In the autumn they selected a spot for their new farm and the father, mother and son all set to work with axes in their hands to make a clearing for their new home. Winter was almost upon them and they built a “halfface camp” of logs. In the autumn of 1818 a strange sickness broke out over the countryside and people and cattle were killed by the dozens. Mrs. Lincoln was one of the persons who had this terrible disease. Mr. Lincoln and Abraham had to make Mrs. Lincoln’s coffin when she died. It was now very dismal around the cabin when Mr. Lincoln went to the woods and left the children alone in the cabin. It was a happy day when Mr. Lincoln brought home a new mother. The children did not like her at first but she soon had the cabin refurnished and the children grew to like her. When Abraham was eleven years old a schoolhouse was built not far from their cabin and he attended it and there learned to love books. He was needed on the farm, however, and did not attend school more than six months, but he never let an opportunity slip to read everything on .which he could lay his hands. At the age of nineteen, Lincoln made a trip in a flatboat down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. The Lincoln family moved to Illinois not long after Lincoln had made his trip. After another trip to New Orleans, he took a position as clerk in charge of a store in New Salem. In 1832 he was appointed captain of a company when the Black Hawk War opened. About this time he was a tall, gawky look-

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22 THE SPECTATOR “HELLO” “Hello” doesn’t last for a minute, A clear little, queer little word But, say, there’s a lot of cheer in it; It's like the first chirp of a bird In spring when the hill tops are greening Right after the cold and the snow, I think when it comes to real meaning There isn’t a word like “Hello!” It’s full of good cheer; when you say it, It breaths the real soul of good will; You don’t have to wait till you weigh it; You just sent it forth; while a chill Of gloom and despair flies before it As leaves in the Autumn wind blow. So here’s to the old greeting, I store it With luck, cheer and gladness “Hello!” It’s a wonderful word when you hear it From some real old friend who is true, As a needle to pole is, or near it It’s great when I hear it from you, It has all the joy and splendour The song of the birds, I know, It's cheery, it’s jolly, it’s tender That old friend to friend greeting “Hello!” —Selected. PERFEC TION HE LUXE O, those fair ones Eyes of blue— (Remodeled by A beauty crew.) Hair of gold— (Well paid for) Pearly teeth— (Dentist’s lore!) Grace itself Winningly shy— (Beauty comes Extremely high.) Rosy cheeks Sans fault, sans taint— (Use La France Peerless Paint.) Matchless lips uby hue— (Use La France Good Rouge, too.) Trim small ankles Slim waist too— (Reduce to music Paul La Rue.) Slim and slender Willow’s mate— (Daily dozen Take off weight.) Wholly perfect Lovely sight— (If nature don’t help Money might.) —J. A. BREIG.

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24 THE SPECTATOR ing fellow, wearing a wide brimmed straw hat without a band, a homespun shirt, coat, and trousers that did not meet his shoes by several inches. Strangers said, “This is a clown.” When he went to speak, however, they forgot his appearance. In 1834 he was elected to the legislature. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1836. In 1846 he was elected to Congress, and served one term. For several years he practiced law, and in 1854 when the entire country was roused by the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Lincoln took an active part in public affairs. Lincoln and Douglas were candidates for the United States Senate in 1858, and the debates caused much excitement. Douglas was elected but Lincoln had gained a great reputation. In 1860 Lincoln was nominated for the presidency by the Republican Party, and was elected in November. Upon the news of his election the slave question became so important that no ignoring of it was at all possible. South Carolina soon seceded and others followed until there were eleven states in the Confederacy. On the 11th of February, 1861, Lincoln spoke a few words of farewell to his own people, and with a sad heai-t he assumed a task more difficult than that which developed upon Washington. The Civil War opened and the years that followed were full of trial and terror. Lincoln had but one thought all these dark years,—the preservation of the Union. On the first day of January 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the Confederate States of America. In 1864 he was re-elected to the presidency but the public affairs became so unbearable that it seemed as though this man was carrying more than he could endure in heart and mind. He said, “I don’t think I shall hardly live out this term of the Presidency, the burden is so great.” April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered at Appomatox. The President’s purpose was accomplished, the Union was saved. While attending the theati'e, in Washington, April 14, 1865, the President was shot by an actor, John Wilkes Booth. Robert Ingersoll wrote, “It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy. Wealth could not purchase, power could not awe, this divine, this loving man. He knew no fear except the fear of doing wrong. Hating slavery, pitying the master—seeking to conquer, not persons, but prejudices—he was the embodiment of self-denial, the courage, the hope, and the nobility of a nation. He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest Civil War. He is the gentlest memory of our world.” —RUTH HOFFMAN, ’24. DIARY OF A LITTLE BOY INZ to-da iz janooeri ferst which the da after the last of the old yere and becuz all grate menz kept a dary when thay wuz littul biyz i am going to kepe a diary. Janooeri (ferst) This morning when we arosed Ma sed sinz to-da is noo yeres it iz fitting thet we seli-brate by having a dinnir of rost fowl-—no Jimmy, knot the kind yu hav in baseball butt the edible variety sez ma. Will yu pleze go tu the hennary and bring won in, Pa sez that Ma iz awfel stilish sinz shes bin takin the kurrispond-ence korse in kurrect inglish and she talks just like the dukess of whales herself. Sew i went out and kot won knot telling enny-budy that it wuz the won Unkel Bill shot last fall insted of a rabit butt it didn’t dye (until to-da). Awl went well unti wen Pa wuz sinkin hiz fangs into a drumstick and broke a gold tooth wurth $9.98 on sum uv the shot frum Unkel Bill’s gun. The rest is tu violent to put in print butt if yu new Pa veri well yud know what he’d say. Janooeri 2 On my weigh to skule this morning i saw a sine that sed Kast Iron Sinks in Hogans Hardware Store, i wunder if thay think i don’t kno that. Gee— Whiz ennybudy nose that stuff like iron wud sink. Janooeri 3 Wenzda Toda wuza big da for me. i hei’d sis talking to