Vergennes Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Vergennes, VT)

Page 29 text:

BLUE AND WHITE 27 LITERARY AN OPEN FIRE I was sitting drowsily in front of the open door of the stove. The room was dark except where a stray moonbeam came creeping across the floor. The fire was low in the stove, showing only a few red coals in the center. The coals were filled with cracks and caverns, which, to my drowsy imagination, seemed to be large enough for me to enter. Short, red tongues of flame darted forth and seemed to motion me to enter and explore the unknown regions underneath those burning coals. I was watching a little flame trying to light a piece of coal that lay near by, but being unable to do it, gave up in disgust and disappeared just as a large lump gave way and fell, disclosing a small round hole right in the center of the fire. A little man made entirely of fire came forth and motioned me to follow. I stepped into the red-hot cavern which, instead of burning me as I had supposed, gave out no heat. I followed my guide through a long bright passage, the walls of which were covered with millions of glittering rubies. I was so busy watching the sight that I took my eyes off my guide and when I looked again he was gone. I immediately started to find my way back again. I had not wandered many minutes when I suddenly realized that I had allowed myself to be trapped and that I could not find my way out. There were scores of passages all just alike and not going in any particular direction. I had wandered into a small cave-like place in search of an opening when the floor gave away and I fell through into darkness. The place where I now found myself was darkened and cold and appeared to be some kind of fine dust mixed with large stones. I groped my way along for some minutes, plowing through dust up to my knees and crawling over stones, when suddenly without any warning, a large chunk of the roof broke through and allowed a red hot coal to drop on my head. In an instant the scene changed, there was a loud bang and I found myself on the floor with the chair on top of me. I had fallen asleep and burned my head on the stove. Constance Thorne, ’49. T IFE AT ITS BEST OR WORST She thinks she might have a chance with him. This means she must make friends of all the boy’s girl friends and learn their habits and customs until she can use these to eliminate the others from the race. After all, this has happened, she finds herself happy, so happy that she cannot do a thing at home sans sit around and think of him or call up all her girl friends to make sure they are not trying to sneak a date in somewhere. A girl enjoys this seventh heaven for about two weeks until she finds herself another male whom she cannot do without. This sort of thing goes on until she is either married or becomes an old maid. If she is married she is happy for two years, once in a while, then she finds she must have everything she sees. As I said before, she knows how to get things so she is happy until the hubby is fresh out of money and soon she finds he is fresh out of a wife. This is not always the case because some girls cannot wait until the husband is broke so they can get a divorce and a substantial alimony. To really understand all the good and poor things there are about the weaker sex, we must start from birth. Here we run onto our first reason, which happens to be the very fact that they are born. After the thing has happened we try to make up for it by trying to teach them a little sense. (Which often comes to naught.) From the start a girl makes more noise than is good for any person, (save another girl, for they are used to it among themselves.) Over-looking all these things, we find a baby girl is very cute until she reaches the age of reason. Whereupon she learns it is feminine to (Continued on page 29)

Page 28 text:

26 YERGENNES HIGH SCHOOL direct your lives intelligently and efficiently. To illustrate: it is going to he far more important to you ten years from now. to he able to reason a problem through to its logical conclusion than to remember that nineteen people were once executed for witchcraft in Salem. To give you that abilitv to reason and to evaluate accurately has been the ultimate goal of your instructors and may it serve you well in shaping the future in these troublous times. My best wishes to a grand class. Betsy K. Thurber. THE ATOMIC BOMB It was only in the first world war that the airplane made its debut into mechanized warfare and since then we have come a long way. From a Aim silv built navy fighter to our jet-propelled jobs has been a long jump, but we made it in record time. Although these planes which approach the speed of sound, and V-2 rockets which have been perfected by German scientists are bad enough, the large obstacle to peace today is neither of those but the “Atomic Bomb.” This bomb is a definite threat to us and our posterity. It is a threat to world-wide peace. Even now it has come between the friendly relations of America and Russia. The foremost question in the minds of all Americans today is. “When and how will Russia acquire the industrial capacity to produce atomic bombs ?” A few trusting citizens who have had their wits dulled by Russian propaganda say that now Russia has the secret of the bomb they will not launch an atomic war but will only use it to better conditions in Russia. Do you think that the Communistic element in Russia will be content with this when, as the first ones to start a war. they will naturally have the advantage over the United States and the rest of the world ? Since America, a peace-loving nation, would never be the first to start a war. are we going to sit and wait for Russia’s first atomic bomb to reach us? The devastation of the A-Bomb is quick and complete. The houses tumble like match sticks in the fraction of a minute. If near the blast, your chances to escape wholly unharmed would be one in a million. Look at what one bomb did to Hiroshima. What damage could more than one do to us? Could you watch your loved ones smother under debris while you would be unable to help them ? Yet there is even more to the bomb than the blast, which reduces large cities to the ground in a matter of time, for afterward comes the deadly radiation which kills almost as many people as the bomb itself. Anyone who goes near the scene of the blast afterward contracts this sickness which if the case is slight leaves you weak and nauseated, and if you are less fortunate leaves you dying. The horribly mutilated bodies of some of the Japanese who were lucky enough to escape are a sign of what may happen to anyone in America if the citizens don’t wake up and do something. How can we be lulled into peace by this talse feeling of security? If this situation is inevitable, let us at least be prepared! Barbara Evans. '46 CLASS WILL (Continued from page 22) but strong character. This is my way of wishing you luck in the future. I. Alice Rider, do devise and bequeath to Betty Sullivan my ability to find out where all the dances are taking place. Don’t let it fool you. Betty, you can really have a lot of fun. I. Rachael Slack, do devise and bequeath to the girls of the junior class. Grant Laber. This is one gift I am sure you will enjoy, girls. I. Raymond Tucker, do devise and bequeath to William Baldwin my ability to get Mrs. Favor peeved. 1 am sure both vou and Mrs. Favor will enjoy it; right. Bill?

Page 30 text:

28 VERGENNES HIGH SCHOOL