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

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BLUE AND WHITE 31 THE WAYS OF NATURE Spring had come and had melted the deep snows which only a few months before had covered the entire countryside. As the snow had melted it filled the tiny brook which flowed through the valley. The brook rippled slowly along then with sudden falls dashed a swift current which would wash anything out of its path. It was below these falls on a cool spring night that a Mother Coon and her three young wadd.ed slowly along. They had come in search of food. She sat very still for a moment sniffling the night air. It was a cool breeze which blew from the north through a clump of evergreen and down the valley. As she sniffed the cool breeze and scented nothing the pale moon shown brightly on the swift torrent as it tore its path through the valley, Mother Coon felt very safe although she had been uneasy since they had started their journey for she was traveling in unfamiliar territory. Finally, seeing that the baby coons were hungry she rushed under the falls. Soon she was back with a large salmon which she gave to her young. After repeating this several times she too. sat down and tore large strips of tender flesh from the bones. Soon from the north came a shriek that would have curdled the blood of both man and beast. It was carried through the valley by the wind, but the plunging falls drowned out the sound so that Mother Coon heard nothing. t he shriek was that of a wolverine who after a hard winter was ready to kill anything in his path and who had followed the coons for many hours and was now getting ready for the kill. The wolverine stopped to rest and then his second horrible shriek was heard by Mother Coon. The noise had been heard many times before but she had been close to home and was able to make it to safety. Now he had caught her far from home and with her young which he knew would make it harder for her to hurry. She knew her only chance was to fight him but she had little or no chance of winning. She could go under the falls but not far enough to be out of the grasp of the wolverine and if she dared go any farther she would be swept away by the current. Suddenly, as she whirled about, there he stood before her with his teeth flashing and his jaws snapping. This was the only choice she had now and she decided to make the best of it. She threw herself at him with all her force but she fell to the ground and the wolverine was upon her tearing the flesh and making large gashes in her fur. Then he turned on the young coons and with one heavy blow sent them flying into the current. He had another victor)- to his home. Although he was very small in size he feared nothing and every animal feared him. Now early dawn had come and as the night faded Father Coon came along the water’s edge in search of his mate. He had come about two miles from his nest in the hollow oak and being very tired he sat down to rest. Suddenly the wind brought a scent to him that made him uneasy. He went but a few vards ahead and there before him lay bits of fur, spots of blood and a few bones which smelled very familiar to him. He sniffed these all very carefully and knowing what had happened, started back to his home which would now be lonely and empty. Joan Husk, ’52. THE WOODY MOUNTAINS (Continued from page 29) that following and following and following and worrying and worrying and going home after more B-B’s and going home after a flashlight and after walking and walking and climbing out of a very deep hole, I found that the large fierce, strange animal was nothing but a run-away bulldozer. Robert Stebbins, ’52.

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CLASS OFFICERS Back row, left to right—Donald Little, Paul Milo, James McNulla, Neldon Whitty, John Stebbins. John Stephens, John Baker. Second row, left to right—Robert Panton, Joanne Charbonneau. Jean Sullivan, Sharon Spade. Emma Sehondube, Barbara Chamberlain, Sandra Danyow, Wayne Ganson. Front row, left to right—Helen Field. Pauline Martell, Alan Langeway, Norma Bodette, Henry Sisters, William Baldwin, Elaine French, Alice Tucker.

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32 VERGENNES HIGH SCHOOL WHAT IS OUR FUTURE? Will there ever be a Third World War? A war of atomic bombs, earth circling bombers, jet fighters and death rays? Will there ever be a war that will destroy the civilization that mankind has built up, through the years, since the beginning of time? And if there is such a war what will be left when it is over? Wll any living thing survive? Or will everything perish from the face of earth? Could the earth stand the strain of many atomic explosions on its thin crust? People talk of peace, but already large nations are doing many things to prepare for war—a full scale atomic war. Even the smaller nations are trying to do something about the atomic threat. The United Nations are trying to set up an atomic control program, but Russia and her satellites are against any proposal that would not favor them. When a few of the wisest men in the world cannot agree, how can one expect whole nations containing millions of people to agree? And if all these peace measures fail and if a war does start will the warring nations dare bring the atomic bomb into full use? Even if the bomb is outlawed, what is to prevent some countries from setting up secret atomic plants in out-of-the-way places, such as in Russia’s Siberia? And if they did bring the atomic bomb into full scale use would it inflict the terrible destruction that most people think ? How could the population centers of the world such as New York, London, Paris and Moscow defend themselves and the people of them from an atom bomb raid? Bomb shelters would do little good because when the people came out they would be surrounded by deadly radioactive rays. Nothing could live if the atomic bomb is as destructive as it has been reported. Could a defense be set up against the atomic bomb? Could devices be invented to make useless or lessen its prowess and if so who is going to invent them? Our scientists are working on problems such as these now but they still have a long way to go. In the United States plans are being set up to erect a radar network around North America to give warning to our coastal and inner defenses. But. even if we were warned in time could we prevent enemy planes coming over our cities and manufacturing centers and unleashing their lethal load of death and destruction ? Are our defenses strong enough and our fighters fast enough and numerous enough to meet this threat? Although we want to have our defense as strong as possible, I think that most Americans, if not all Americans hope we never have to use the war machines. We are hoping that these so-called peacemakers in the Unit ed Nations can come to an agreement. An agreement that will mean something. Not an agreement that will be broken as if it were never there. There must be a reason why some nations of the world insist that everything be their own way. Is it because they are greedy or is it just that they are fearful of aggression on the part of some of the other world powers? No one knows. What are the answers to these questions? Does any one know? Can there he peace in the world or will everything perish from the earth? Although no one knows now, the answer should be apparent in the very near future. John Stephens, ’52. SPRING Spring has arrived! Her green coat covers the countryside. The jonquils and daffodils tip Their yellow heads to greet The morning sun. Spring has arrived! The warm sun floods the countryside And everything begins to grow. It’s spring! And now we know That summer can’t be far away. Gwen McGrath, ’51.