Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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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

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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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spaik came out of that stormy night, SOS de WBP, it said. Florence reported this by telephone to the officer on watch on the bridge. In a minute (it seemed hours) the answer came to receive exact position and condition of the vessel. Florence made everything ready; and as the spark roared merrily across the spark gap, he said, WBP de KWC. As he lis- tened, the answer came with details. Flor- ence reported. On the Hermosa, the captain entered the wireless station looking grim and sober. Soon a light sprang into his eyes and he realized that the girl was really getting help. As the captain of the Morro Castle answered, We ' ll be at your side in 6 hours, the captain of the Hermosa said Thank God, and went out. In the meantime, the Morro Castle surged forward, forced on by the powerful engines never ceasing in their work of push- ing that vessel on. The stokers, water ten- ders, engineers, and oilers busied themselves at their work under the bright incandescent lamps, as the steamer, seeming to be alive, rushed on at the call of that faint spark. On the Hermosa, all was quiet save for the little direct current generator which supplied power for the wireless set. Florence stood by and copied KWC, CANNOT LAST LONG, SETTLING FAST GENERATOR ALMOST UNDER WAT- — here the spark died out. Florence called in vain, for the other set was dead. As dawn was breaking in the east, the officer on watch saw a steamer on the hori- zon, settled so low that the waves dashed over the decks. The crew were lowering the boats. As the last boat left the old ship ' s side, Florence saw a girl, of abov.r 20 years, in the stern wearing a big li e belt, which seemed to hamper her movements. Florence leaned on the rail of the promenade deck, watched the bobbing lifeboats, and the girl. As he looked, he drew a handkerchief from his pocket and waved. She waved back. So Florence received his first look at the Cape May operator. As he looked, the old Norwegian freighter, Hermosa settled, reared and plunged headlong down through the raging waters of King Neptune ' s unconcjuered domain, an- other victim. Davis, ' 18 LOGGING IN THE MAINE WOODS Early one morning, two four-horse teams, each with a driver and three choppers, start- ed for a place eight miles distant, five of which must be covered on land and three over a lake. The ice being very thick, the men were able to cross, thus making the trip shorter by two miles. After the head of the lake was reached, the difficulties began; the snow was five feet deep on the level, and the drifts were some- times as high as ten feet. The norses were unhitched from the logger, (as the sled up- on which the logs are piled, is called) and then driven after a man who went on snow shoes to pick out the way. Behind the wad- ing horses came the rest of the men, tramp- ing down the path, which the horses had made, and also cutting the small bushes and trees that were in the way. When they had reached a good clump of trees, the driver went back after the logger, while the chop- pers began their work. One of the choppers began to chop on the side toward which he wished the tree to fall and chopped till he was about five- eighths of the way through. He then left that tree and went on to another. The other two choppers then came along with a larger buck-saw, finished the cut, and sawed the tree into fifteen foot lengths, thus saving a large amount of lumber that would be wasted if chopped, beside taking a much shorter time. When the driver got back, the hardest work began. The logs had to be loaded on the logger and then chained. On the first load, the driver only attempted to lake about fif- teen medium sized logs. But on the second and all afterward, when the road was worn ■ down hard and .smooth, he took about twen- ty or twenty-five. When he reached the dam,he loosened the chain and the logs fell off. They were put inside a number of boom- logs that were chained together, so that when the ice went out, the logs would be ready to float to the mill, there to be sawed into planks or boards. The logs that are too small to be sawed into planks or boards are sawed into four- foot lengths and made into shook, that is, staves for barrels, that are knocked down into small bundles and fastened with wire 22