Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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PA(4K SIXTKKN THE W. II. S. DKIJATEIJ A CHANGe OF 0IH6CTI0N 0()I)-BYK, graiulnia. Now don ' t you worry altout me. I ' ll be all riglit with Marjorie, but you look out for yourself and have a fine time. I know you will, tliout h, Aunt Alic e 18 sueh a dear. (4ive my love to all the family and for heaven ' s sake be careful of your pocket-book. Good-bye, dear. I ' ll try not to worry about you, but I never can tell what you ' re ffoinjf to do next. Be sure to help Mrs. Lane with the house-work and do keep your clothes tnended. A month does saem a lonfj time to leave a scatter-brained girl like you to take care of liei ' self. Do be a good girl. I ' ll be a perfect angel, grandma, and Jean Stedman kissed her grandmother reassuringly. You really must go now. John is waiting and you ' ll miss the train if you don ' t hurry. Mrs. Stedman got into the old ramshackle hack, drawn by a horse still older, and driven by a man who was pointed out to newcomers as a landmark of the town. Siie settled herself among her bags and boxes, and then turned around to wave and to have one last glimpse of the i)retty dark-iiaired girl, standing in the doorway and waving her hand as if her life depended on it. .As the carriage rounded the l)enii in the road, Jean turned and ran into tiie house, uj) to her room and be- gan to pack her suit-case. Now, at last, she could fol- low the one desire of her romantic little soul. She could go to the distant city, where I Jed Cross nurses were enlisting, enlist, go to the front on the first steamer and bring back to life and love hundreds and hundreils of wounded and discouraged soldiers. Of course they would all be very grateful to her and one never could tell iv i if might hajjpen. But of course she would wait until the war was all over and she wasn ' t needed any more. Could anything be nobler than this great ambition to be of some helj) in the world ! While these thoughts flashed through her mind, her fingers worked busily and in an incredibly sliort time hei ' suit-case was ready and she was lressed in her navy blue traveling-suit and stylish little hat. Not until she was fairly settled in her luxurious parlor- car chair, the remains of her jirecious Christmas money in her bag, did Jean feel a sense of misgiving in regard to her wonderful plan. Thoughts of how grandma would feel and what Autit Ahce and everybody else would say, crowded uncomfortably the pleasant dreams of sacrifice and service. Just then the porter, swinging down the aisle, ga e the solemn warning that this was the last call for iin- ner, and Jean suddenly reali .ed that she was very hun- gry. Half afraid and very much confused, she found herself seated at a table opposite a young man in dark blue serge, whose appearance she was too embarrassed to notice. To cover her confusion she reached for the menu card at the same time that the young man, who had been abstractedly reading a paper, reached for it. Their hands touched. In her fright the adventuresome hand was withdrawn and, horror of horrors, upset her glass of water, thoroughly drenching the table and her lap. In the confusion of getting established at a table across the aisle just vacated, all formalities were dis- I)ensed with, and with laughter and merriment the meal proceeded. Before it was over Jean had artlessly told the stranger all about her great ambition. It was rather a grave young man who followed Jean back into the parlor-car and tried to exi)laiu that per- haiis Red Cross nurses needed soTue three years ' train- ing, and then some experience before they would be welcomed at the front, and that something more than high and a willing spirit was needed. Then shall I have to give it up? Jean turned her face away to hide the tears of dis- appointment that she simply couldn ' t keep back. Her wonderful i)lan shattered just because she hadn ' t had three paltry years of training I She knew that she would be able to cure all those hundreds of wounded men, even if she liadn ' t had any experience. It was willingness that counted. But before Jean had reached the end of her journey she was sure that it was far nobler to heal one man, dying on account of love, than hundreds dying on acu-ount of hate. J ll ISK Willi IK N. ' 1 (J. A ' NOTIIKR man of genius sacrificed to the god of war. In the death of Hui)ert Brooke in the Dardanelles, England has lost the only great lyricist of the younger generation of poets. When will there Ije an end to this terrible sac- rifice of i)reciou8 human life? TvUBERT BROOKE ' S FAREWELL TO EN(iL. XD If I slioiild (lie. think only tliis of ine : ' I ' liiit there ' s some corner of a foreinii liehl ' I ' luil is forever Kniilaiui. There sliall lie In tliat rich earth a richer dust ct)iieeah ' (l. A dust wlicin ICnaiand l)ore. shaped, made awari;, Gave once lier flowers to love, lier ways to roam, A l)()dy of Enslaud ' s, breatliins Eiislisli air. Waslied by tiie rivers, l)lest liy siiiis nf home. And thinl this iu irt, all evil washed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no less, Gi es somewhere back the thoimlits by Knaland niven. Her sights and sounds, dreams happy as her day, And laughter, learnt of friends, and !:enlleness III hearts of peace, under an Knsjiisli lu-aveii.

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THE W. II. S. DEI ' ,ATEH PA(4E FIFTEEN TWO VIONTHS OeFORe TH6 AST MY ability as a uarrator being widespread airioug ' my t ' ellownieu, I have receutly been ap- S preached by differeut intimate friends, urg-iug- me to write a short account of a voyage, which I am known to liave t ken in my youtli, and whicli I did not then have the ability to write out. Deeming myself now capable of recounting my exploits, I have settled down to the task with the help of my invaluable diary, which I faithfully kept during the voyage. ]My thirst for the sea having overcome the objections of ray ever thoughtful parents, I was at last permitted, in the thirteenth year of my life, to embark on the sea. My father secured a berth for me as cabin boy on the five masted schooner, ' Margaret Haskell , the captain of which was my father ' s friend. Thus it was on July 13, 1911, I went on the steamer to 8earsport, Me., where the schooner then lay at anclior. I wore all the clothes I needed, the old were under the new. The cai)t ' iiii met me at the pier with the launch, but before going al)oard, he went to town, so I liad a few minutes to roam around. I fouml the i)lace a tyi)ical Maine coast town, the natives depending upon summer residents for their liveliliood. We lay in this ))ort three lays, waiting for a favorable wind. When this tinally came, the refrigerator was stocked and the lanler tilled. On the morning of July 17. I was awakened by the noise on deck, and going up, found a tug boat i)utting away, starting us on our way to Norfolk, Xi . We soon passed out to sea, and from tlieu until our arrival at Norfolk, little enough happened which would interest a boy. My duties were very few, the most im- portant being to amuse the cai)taiii by pranks played ou the sailors. Nothing ai)pears in my iliary except little jottings like the following: fSaw a whale, ' Passed Cape Cod, ' Saw a school of porjjoises, Caught seven fish while anchored, and the like. However, I remember several additional incidents. Once, on a wager of a quarter, I climbed the spanker mast on the loops. At another time we were within hailing distance of another schooner, ou which was a boy about my age. He was from Ceorgia, and when I said I was from Massachusetts, he immediately challenged me to a fight. Such is the brotherly love between the North and the South. As we were silently sliding by a doz- ing whale, I borrowed the captain ' s 8S repeating ritie, and emptied it into the vvhale. It jumped as you would if someone stuck a pin in you when half asleep. We reached port on v ugust 7. We passed Capes Charles and Henry in the early morning, and were in Hampton Roads at sunrise. At the coal wharves I watched the loading of the vessel. Large chutes similar to those used by men in a cellar window, only about ten times larger, are pointed into the hold, with the upper end ou the cars, which are elevated. Trap doors are oi)ened, and the coal roars down. When the car is empty it is switched over, and another takes its place. In this way the largest steamers are filled in three or four hours. Later in the day, I visited Norfolk, which is almost as black as Pittsburgh, not because of the smoke, but the people. I arrived when the watermelon season was in its prime. Such watermelons ! We don ' t get them in the North ; the South keeps them for itself. After remaining at Norfolk three days, waiting for winds and tide , we again set sail on August 10, and were soon at sea. It was on our return trip that I caught a large dogfish, which required several bats from an oar before it would give up the ghost. We made a fast return trip, passing through a storm, when I saw real waves rise over our heads on the deck. By this time I had learned the use of the chart, and was plot- ting out the nearest course home. We reached Stars- port on August 24, two weeks after our departure from Norfolk. I took the steamer home the same night, and thus my Two Months Before the Mast completely (juenched my thirst for sea water. DiLI.AWA V, ' 15. THe HIGH SCHOOL BATTALION ' — — HE annual prize drill of the battalion was held at the town hall May 28 1915. Considering 1 the short time allowed each week to military T drill, the showing was remarkable. The regu- lar drills, and i)r()gram of battalion formation, company and individual evening parade, with the awarding of commissions and medals by Mr. Howe, was carried out as usual. The companies were very evenly matched, and both the Senior and Junior competitive individual drills were very closely contested. A new medal was given this year by Capt. George F. (-Jarduer of Co. A, 1914, for the first sergeant of the winning company. The winners of the p rizes were as follows : in the Senior drill: 1st, Sergt. William McLeod, Co. C. ; 2d, Sergt. Carl Belmore, Co. C. ; 3d, Sergt. (ieorge Wal- lace, Co. B. In the Junior drill : 1st, Priv. Everett Wilkins, Co. B. ; 2d, Priv. Edson Tredinnick, Co. A. ; 3d, Priv. Cyrus M. Dolbeare, Co. B. Orderly medal given for the greatest improvement in the manual of arms and for good behavior at the drills, Cyrus M. Dolbeare, Co. B. The company drill was won by Co. A., Fred (i. Keid. The first sergeant medal of the winning comjiany, went to Clifford Sawyer. Ma.iok Raipii E. Belmore.

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THE w. H. s. debatp:r PAGE SEVENTEEN THE LAND OF ANNE OF GREEN GA IvES O 9!TTTTe NE hot July inomino- we sailed down Boston Harbor past the Floating Hospital and numer- ous fishing boats. The sea was like glass, but as darkness gathered over us, we began to realize we were beiug rockeil iu tlie cradle of the deep, to the not very soothing sound of a shrill fog horn, which l)lew on an average of every five minutes all uight long. We entered St. John Harbor about six a. m. St. John, as usual, was wrapped in a deuse fog. After spending a few hours in that city, we proceeded on our way to Point du Cheue. There we went aboard the steamer, ' Empress. A few hours ' sail, and Prince Edward ' s Island, the Land of Anne of Green Gables, came to view. That beautiful island seemed to smile a welcome to us over the waters. Arriving at Summerside, we boarded a tiain for our destination, one hundred miles farther east. At every little station at which the train stopped, I looked out of the window, half expecting to see a quaint little figure, clothed iu brown winsy, patiently awaiting the arrival of Matthew Cuthbert. Our vacation was sjient in a little village near the sea. This village also has ' a never failing brook, a busy mill. Some of the happiest hours of my vaca- tion were spent by that brook, watching the trout leap out of the water. A twenty minutes ' walk through sjjruce groves brought us to the seashore, one of the most beautiful beaches in Cauada. One can walk foi ' miles along that beach, and not see a living being, nothing but sea-ltirds. While the sea is beautiful in fine weather, it is magniHceut before a storm. I used to sit for hours, watching the sea and listening to the moaning of the bar. A drive of five miles In-ought us to the church which we attended every Sunday. From my seat in the little church, I coulil look out of the window on my right and see the beautiful waters of Fortune Bay. Looking through the window on my left, I could read the in- scrijjtious on some of the tombstones iu the church- yard. In strolling among the graves, Grey ' s Elegy Written iu a Country Churchyard, kept running in my mind, but the words, ' neglected spot could not be applied to this churchyard. Each grave was at- tended by loviug hands. Flowers grew everywhere, roses shedding their petals over the graves. What impressed me more than the beauty of Prioce Edward ' s Island was the kimlness of the people. Everyone did all he could to make our visit a pleasant one. Time flies, especially in a summer vacation, so all too soon, one golden September morning, I sat on the deck of the little steamer, Empress, and watched the Beautiful Garden of the Gulf fade away in the dis- tance. Doha McKie, ' 15. THE 5OVS ' DEBATING CLU5 ON Friday evening, February 26th, a debate was - held iu Assembly Hall, Stoneham, between the W. H. S. Boys ' Debating Club and the Webster Club of Stoneham, on the question, Resolved: That private ownership of the telejdioue and telegraph lines is more desirable than government ownership. The afiirmative side was upheld by Eugene Sullivan, Thomas Murray, and Jerry Buckley of the W. H. S., and the negative side by C. Carter, V . Clough and L. Wortheu of Stoneham. Mr. P. Keenan of StoTieham, presided. The judges were Principal IJockwood of the Everett High School, Prin- ci])al Hulpman of the Melrose High School, and Mr. Ahirke, instructor in the Everett High School. The score was as follows: W. H. S. Points Ston£-liani Points Lay out, 2 6 Delivery, (i 2 Argumenti 10 Hebnttal, 9 (t Total, 27 S Twelve minutes were allowed each sjjcaker in the main debate; the rebuttal was given by Jerry Buckley and C. Carter. The affirmative side maintained that government ownership was wrong in theory aiid a failure in practice; the negative side discussed the question of when and how the industries should be taken over. Many students and friends were present from both towns. Music was furnished by the Stoneham High School, adding much to the pleasure of the evening. We regret the continued al)sence of Mr. Fred II. Harvey, teacher in the Ct)mmei ' cial Dei)artment, due to serious illness at his home in Lynn. We hojjc for his speedy recovery. His classes have been earrie I on l)y Miss Grace Ryan, a graduate of the dej artmetit and student at Simmons College Summer Session.