Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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port side were a number of small islands, all thickly overgrown, and crowned with giant palms. The passage again narrowed until one could almost touch the growing rhi; gc; on either side. Hills, sloping sharply back on both sides and covered with the thick tropical growth, gave the impression al- most of sailing on land. Far ahead we caught a glimpse of widen- ing water, giving promise that our port was near at hand. A little thatched hut under the palms on the shore, was the first sign of habitation. riowly we steamed into the little harbor Vvith the dainty city on its shore almost a p:irt of it. As the anchors rattled noisilj out at the captain ' s hoarse command, a boat ru c ' - iy left the shore, bearing the customs Oi ' ficlals. Then a number of boats approached the ship to take the passengers and their luggage ashore. ' il.a„ there v;as no cargo to be loaded or un ' c.ded w„£ proved by the lack of lighters. Usually there is a small fleet of the clumsy craft, leaving the shore even before the ship is anchored, as at Monte Cristi, where the .sailboats tacked a half-mile across the open .sea; or at Puerto Plata where the lighters were manned by two husky natives, urging their clumsy craft by msans of two enor- mous sculling oars. To scull the lighters, however, is possible only in the harbors, for ' Monto Cristi, whero the wind is strong, iho sailboats are sometimes blown out of their course and must tack back and forth (o r ' ach their destination. Not a great deal can be said of the sea- manship of the natives. At Monte Cristi, for instance, the heavy boats come lumber- ing up, the sails go banging down to the accompaniment of the yelling, and swearing of tlie native. ' --. The heavy boats moved by their impetus give either the ship itself or the preceding boat a terrific blow. This is kept up until there is a string of eight or t ' n beneath the cargo-ports. In striking contrast with this slipshod seamanship, the motor sail boat from the U. S. encampment will approach nicely to transact some small matter and then busily hurry off again. Hut to return to Samana; while the row iioats were taking the passengers ashore, a number of small native craft, dugouts, and l ' :e like, came rowing up to the ship to dis- li ' iisp (i -rc ' oiis iiineapnlcs, m ' uigoes, limes, and huge bunches of bananas, to the pas.sen- gers anil crew. Vnv 1. ) cents one may pur- chase a ripe pineapple, such as is ssldom seen in our markets. But it is little use to describe a ripe pineapple to one who has never seen one. They must be tasted to be appreciated. Bananas, too, are very cheap. One may procure a large bunch for a very small amount; indeed, the assistant engineer had two huge bunches hanging in his room, which were given to him. Mangoes. I must admit, I could not cultivate a taste for. Oth- ers, however, evidently found them appetiz- ing, for they were purchased by the basket load. But our stay in Samana soon drew to a close. After a few terrific blasts of the whistle, there was the rattle of anchors be- ing drawn in, sharp commands were given, and the water near the stern suddenly quiv- ered and upheaved like some live thing. Slowly we turned and steamed out of the little harbor of Samana. R. A. REin, ' 19 HOW A COLLEGE ATHLETE CAN MAKE HIMSELF GENERALLY USEFUL A college athlete sometimes allows himself to neglect his practici ng and to forget that he could win a captain ' s reputation — if he would try harder. There has always been the excuse to spend his vacation in going pleasure-seeking-, becau.se those exam were so hard. But this summer, everyone must work harder and make the best use of his advantages — the daylight-saving plan for instance. Here are four opportunities open for a college or high school athlete. 1. Those who were considered good ten- nis players, can practice the back-hand ten- nis stroke on the dining-room rug —moth- er is busy knitting and sewing for our boys. 2. The boys who were popular for put- ting the shot, can be helpful when a load of feed is waiting to be put in the barn — father is busy with his crops. 3. All those who won the (luartcr-mile run at the track meets of last year, can make short work of the weeds — sister is at- tending a summer course at a conservation school. 4. The boys who always went camping can hire out and improve their chances for making the H. S. nine by gathering the melon crop. The brother who used to do this is at the training camp, learning how 20

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Philadelphia, we saw v hat we intended to zee; namely, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall with all its relics, and a beautiful col- lection of historical paintings by J. L. G. Ferris. We arrived in Washington on the evening of the 19th. We walked about the city, see- ing it by night. The next morning, we took a buss ride through the city, during which our guide pointed out to us the statues, monuments, public, buildings, gov- ernment buildings, and the home of our senators, representatives, and foreign am- bassadors. That afternoon we visited Alexandria, Va.. famed during the Revolutionary War period. We visited the church which George Wash- ington and later Robert E. Lee attended. Wc also went through the old Carlyle House, in which George Washington stayed and in which he received his first commission. Late in the afternoon, we went to the Na- tional Museum, seeing the relics which have been collected from Alaska, Egypt, Greece, and North America Indian tribes. As the Museum was so large and its contents so numerous, we were only able to see about half of it. That evening, we went to the Li- brary of Congress. In this building are collections of war posters from the countries now at war, car- toons by the leading cartoonists of this country and England; old books, maps, and manuscripts, yellow with age. The most beautiful part of this library was the read- ing room, a massive room with its walls and ceiling beautifully carved and painted. The following day we went up the Wash- ington Monument and viewed the winding Potomac, the hills of Virginia on one side, nnd the city of Washington on the other. Then we finished our inspection of the Na- tional Museum, seeing the Roosevelt collec- tions from Africa and skeletons of the ex- tinct North American animals. The re- mainder of the day was spent at the capitol building. A guide showed us about the building, pointing out everything of interest. Then wc visited the House of Representatives, which was in session. We were all surprised with the plan of session. Instead of all repre- sentatives being in the hall at once and lis- tening to the speakers, only about twenty- five or thirty were present, and there was so much noise that it was difficult to hear what was being said. We then spent about three hours in the Senate Chamber, Vice- Pi esident Marshall presiding. Here, loo, the session was carried on in somev hat the same rnanr.er as was the session of the House, but we could hear all that was said. We heard debates on the government ownership of and financing of railroads. The next day, which was the 22nd, Wash- ington ' s Birthday anniversary,, we visited the Annapolis Naval Academy hi the morn- ing and were shov n around the grounds and thiough several of the buildings. In the afternoon, we visited Washington ' s beau- tiful mansion at Mount Vernon. It is a ' , onderful place. Washington could not have chosen a more beautiful spot in which to live. Saturday morning we were shown through the Bureau of Printing and En- graving buildings. We saw the government employees making postage stamps. Thrift Stamps, paper currency (all denominations, and also the Philippine Island currency), and bonds for the Third Liberty Loan. The v!s ' t to ihcs building.s was the most in- teresting of all. Leaving Washington that afternoon, we arrived in Now York City in the late even- ing and registered at a hotel. Then two of us vvent up Broadway to watch the great thcati ' e crowds and the huge electric signs. During our visit in New York, we went up th= Statue of Liberty, the Woolworth build- ing, took a bus ride along the Riverside Drive and Fifth Avenue, visiting Grant ' s Tomb, and the Metropolitan Art Museum. Cyrus M. Dolbeare, ' 18 SAMANA Sparkling, dancing, clear-as-a-crystal wat- er; hurc green waves f.mashing sudd ' . ' nly in- to columns of white on the reefs on either side; great hills flanking the shores; balmy, tropical .perfume-laden air; such is the way in which one is greeted at Samana. the gem of Santa Don ingo ' s cities. Approaching the passage which leads to the harbor, we saw a clear cut rugged main- land with its background of mountain. The verdure-covered hills sloping gently to the sea, the white strip of gleaming sand, th? bi caking waves, all in turn claimed our at- tention. Slowly wc approached the entrance, for indeed it is a long, and toituous passage which leads to the little harbor. We picked up speed as the channel widened. On our 19

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to kill the Kaiser, the world ' s most dan- gerous menace. All these patriotic positions should be paid with Thrift and War Savings Stamps. I say patriotic positions because each one who fills them is helping to turn the wheel of War. Work like this wouldn ' t hurt some of the popular stars. Helen M. Barton, ' 20 A WIRELESS ROMANCE The fast ocean freighter, Morro Castle swung out from her pier drawn i)y two pulTing little tow boats, which headed her down the North River. At a signal from the bridge telegraph the big engines pushed the vessel slowly down the river, past the Statue of Liberty, through the busy harbor, which echoed and reechoed with the . ound of many whistles, past the pufiTin.;; tow boats and long, snake-like line.i of coal barges, and stopped to leave the i)i!ot. Then the Morro Castle .steamed steadily southward, leaving the busy metropolis far astern, as the sun set with a gaudy display of red and gold. The stars peeped out and the moon lay low upon the eastern horizon, :diedding her mellow silver radiance upon the deep Atlantic. So the steamer mad.? her way southward. As she moved swiftly along, pushed i y the polished, well-oiled machinery, Florence, the wireless operator, sat in the quiet sta- tion, listening to the many ships in or around New York harbor. Now r. high toned navai station sent out a weather report. When it had stopped, Florence threw in the an- tenna switch and called Cape May, New Jer.sey, WCY WCY WCY De KWC KWC KWC. Upon receiving an answer, he asked for the baseball scores and the stock mar- ket report, upon receipt of which he said G. N. 0. M. (good night old man) KWC and Cape May said G. N. When, about a week later, Florence came within range of Cape May again, he called WCY De KWC and on receiving an an- swer, he began, SAOM (Say, old man) WILL YOU PSE (please) SEND ME PRESSE? Cape May replied that it was SAYL (say, young lady) and not SAOM and continued with the weather and press reports. After this when the Morro Castle passed Cape May, Florence would always pick up the shore station to chew the fat. For a steamer was south bound, he picked up Cape May and said, SAYL, AM COMING DOWN 2 CU NEXT TRIP, OK? She re- plied, SORRY OM (old man) BUT MY lime this continued until one day when the FATHER LEAVES NY TOMORROW ON A SHIP FOR JAPAN AND I GO AS OPR (operator), NAME HERMOSA, CALL WBP. Florence read it over and said, GNYL, I WISH U GOOD LUCK CUL (see you later) 73 (best regards) KWC. and the shore station replied, GNOM CUL 73, so the giant steamer made her way southward in the mellow moonlight of a cool September evening. Four days later, the Morro Castle cleared Havana, bound north. She ran along the coast of Cuba, past the Florida Keys, where she ran into a heavy sea, in- creasing all the time. The wind blew fierce- ly and the steamer steamed on, the spray flying in all directions. Florence received press from Miami, Fla., and a northwest storm warning from St. Augustine, which he reported to the bridge. About this time the Hermo.sa rolled and wallowed badly in the heavy seas. The strain was too much. Her plates began to give and she began to leak. At last the master stood in the door of the wireless sta- tion and said in a grave voice, Well, girl, I think this blow is our last. There he paused. You will call for help. The girl responded. SOS de WBP. No answering spark was heard. Again she tried with no results. A third time and her father came in, bringing a gust of wind along with him. Girl, you will have to hurry, the water is fast reaching the engine room generator, he said. She threw in the antenna switch and listened for the long lost answer, but ho! what ' s that? A faint spark like a guid- ing light came out of the dark windy night. Even the wind and rain did not bother that persevering little spark. On board the Morro Castle, all was warm and cosy. Florence sat at the set and listened to the wnnd and rain out in that wild night, thought of what the girl on the Hermosa might be doing just then, when his meditations were broken up by the stew- ard, who entered with Florence ' s supper. Florence told the steward that he wished coffee at midnight, and as he went out, Florence put on the ' phones ' and listened. At first all was still. Then a faint little 21