Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

Page 15 text:

A TRIP TO SOUTH AMERICA • ' All hands on deck and haul in the lines. This was the first order I heard and this was followed by, See that the ship ' s gear is well lashed down and every- thinsy movable on deck is put below in its proper place. These strange orders were like Greek to me when I first heard them on board the U. S. S. Larenberg. We set sail from Newport News, Va., on a Friday at seven o ' clock in the morning. With our cargo of soft coal safely stowed away in the holds, we steamed slowly down Hampton Roads, passing the fleet that was forming for summer practice, and out into the open sea. The sea-watches were soon made up, and it waj my duty to get up at four in the morning, to stand at the bow until six o ' clock. Then I helped to wash down the decks until eight o ' clock, when breakfast was served. After breakfast I was at lei- sure until twelve noon. From twelve until four in the afternoon, I was on duty, doing Vi ' hatever task was set for me. Then I was through for the day. Saturday clouds began to gather in the sky and the Old Salts shook their heads, but said nothing. By nightfall the storm be- gan to rage with great fury. The wa es rose mountains high, sweeping across the decks and washing overboard everything not securely fastened. Then came the rain, which fell in torrents. Thunder crashed and vivid lightning played about the wireless, shooting little sparks into the darkness. The ship plunged forward but made little progress during the turmoil that lasted for three days and three nights. By the morning of the fourth day, the storm had subsided. The sun broke through the clouds and I never saw a more beauti- ful rainbow than that which flashed across the sky, after my first storm at sea. At neon we were all back at our regular places at the chow-table. ' ' We had sailed for about two weeks with- out any mishaps, when one day, without the least warning, our rudder chain broke with a loud report. This caused us to stop for the first time. It took only a few hours to repair the damage, and soon we were on our way again. We were now nearing the equator and the heat became intense. As we crossed the equator, Father Neptune came aboard and initiated all new recruits into the so- ciety of the Sons of Neptune. This caused much amusement among the old tars who had crossed the line many times before. During- all this time, we had seen no land and very few ships. Those that were sight- ed were hardly visible on the horizon. We had been sailing for about twenty-five days, vvhen we sighted the top of a mountain. My heart jumped with joy to think that we were at last nearing land. That night Cape Fieio light flashed across our path, and soon I could see the dark outline of the mainland of Brazil. We circled to get our bearings, and the engines were stopped for a second time, just outside of one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, Rio de Janeiro. Dawn was just breaking as we sailed into the harbor, to wait for the custom of- ficials to examine the crew and to attend tc- the ship ' s business. We remained at the mouth of the harbor until late in the after- noon, when we sailed into the bay, passing beautiful green trees that flanked both banks. Our docking berth was at A and here we put in alongside. This dock must be from three to five miles long. It is made of stone, with large English cranes that set about thirty feet apart, towering above the steel warehouses that set back from the docks. The whole is inclosed by a high fence. Tliat night we had shore liberty with or- ders to be at our posts at six in the morn- ing. I had the idea that this city would be inhabited by a Jieople that were little better than savages. You can imagine my surprise on finding Rio de Janeiro a civil- ized city as large as New York, with auto- mobiles, electric lights, and electric cars which bore the trade mark of Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Company on the seats. The people were very polite here and as we stepped on an open car with our blouse sleeves rolled up, the conductor, un- able to speak English, in pantomime told us to roll them down or get off. Rio de Janeiro is well policed by men who have been in jail, but who have been reclaimed by strict discipline. A police- man ' s outfit consists of a helmet, a suit of brown clothes and a short sabre, when he is on foot, and a long flat sword when on horseback. The houses are built of brick and stone. Some are very old and covered with climb- ing vines. The panels of many of the 11

Page 14 text:

THE M. S. G. IN BOSTON On September 10, 1919, because of the Boston Police Strike, the Massachusetts State Guard was called out for riot duty. A few of the high school boys were mem- bers of the local company at that time, and consequently responded to the call. Several others enlisted a few days later. Co. H of Wakefield was always in a quiet locality, therefore, all that I can relate is merely the daily routine and manner in which we lived while on the tour of duty. We left town about 6 p.m., and upon our arrival at the Cambridge Armory, which is the headquarters of the 12th Regiment, we were sent to Station 14 in Brighton. Im- mediately details were drawn up and we were sent out on duty. We were divided into two reliefs of four hours on and four hours off. In the four hours off, we slept, that is if there wasn ' t too much noise going on, for those who did not want to sleep, had absolutely no consideration for the ones that did, so the barracks were kept in a constant uproar. One of the witty members of another company yelled out, This is the first time I have ever slept in a police station. That statement was true with most of us. The food was fair, but it was served down in a dirty cellar, on old pie plates, and with silver which was enough to take one ' s appetite away, but we weren ' t fussy, and we ate anything, in any place, at any time. As for the police duty, it was simply walking up and down the street and keeping the sidewalk clear. After we had been in Brighton one week, we were shifted to Station 10, at Roxbury Crossing. Then we were split up into three reliefs of eight hours each, (but usually from nine to twelve). There v ore no quarters in which to put us, so we had to travel to the Cambridge Armory, when relieved, where we ate and slept. This lasted several days, then we were quartered at the Roxbury Boys ' Club, where we had at our disposal, a pool room, bowling al- leys, a swimming pool, and all other priv- ileges of the building. But this lasted only two or three days, and again we were shifted. This time we were sent to Station 9, Roxbury, and were quartered in the Mu- nicipal Building, where wc remained about three weeks. We slept in the gymnasium, and as our company was the last to pull in, we got what was left over. There was a running track around the gym about six feet wide and about ten feet above the floor, which was reached by a little spiral stairway. We were sent out on eight- hour shifts, and had regular policemen beats, which covered several city blocks. During the last week there, arrangements were made to let the high school fellows off every other morning to attend school, in order to keep in touch with the daily work. That automatically put us on the four to twelve p.m. shift. We usually reached bed about one a.m., arose at six, and arrived at school at eight, where, quite frequently we would lay our sleepy heads upon the desks, and take a little nap. After three weeks ' duty at Station 9, we were sent back to the Cambridge Ar- mory for a rest. That may be the mili- tary tei-m for it, but little rest did we get there, for we had to go through regu- lar camp duty, including drills, hikes, and barrack guard. At the end of our week ' s rest, we were sent to Station 11, in Dorchester, where we were quartered in tents on Mt. Ida. The cool weather had arrived, and this camp overlooked Dorchester Bay, therefore, it was cold at night in that place There was no cook tent there, so we had to travel in trucks to the Municipal Building for our meals. After our first journey for our supper, we arrived back at camp about 7 p.m. A non-com came and called out my name, and said the captain wanted to see me. He took me over to the cap- tain ' s tent, telling me that I was in for it. What didn ' t go through my head in those few moments, I can ' t relate. He shoved me into the tent in a somewhat un- military manner, and to my great sur- prise, I found a crowd of fellows and girls from Wakefield High. It seemed mighty good after we got all our crowd together, for it was the first and only crowd tliat ever visited us. We were at Mt. Ida only a few days, when we were recalled to Cambridge, where the re-organization took place. Al- most all the hig ' h school boys were relieved from duty, and we reached home October 25th, after six and one-half weeks of duty. It was a wonderful experience for us, and one which I think none regret, but on the other hand, no one seems to be so very anxious to go through it again. CARL G. PETERSON, ' 20. 10

Page 16 text:

doors have landscapes painted upon them. It took about a week to unload the coal, with the cranes working day and night. Every particle of coal was handled like so much gold. When this task was finished, we turned about and sailed out of this harbor. After a day ' s sail southward, we came to a river about the width of the Mississippi River. We sailed up the river until we came to Santos. At this port we were greeted with a salute from an old Spanish fort, which still watches over the harbor. We dipped our flag as we passed in recognition of this courtesy. In this port, green coffee in two-hundred pound bags was put in the hold of the ship. Each bag was carried from the little wag- on that brought it to the dock, upon the head of a strong man, who gets about five cents a bag for his work. Santos coffee goes to all parts of the world. There are no great manufacturing plants in Santos. Manufactured articles are im- porter from other countries. American products are among the leading imports, but there is still a chance to enlarge very greatly our trade with South America. It took a week to load the coffee. Then we weighed anchor and sailed down the river and out into the open sea. We sailed directly north, following the coastline. We paased Kingston, Jamaica, and Cuba, stopping at Barbadoes for a day to take on supplies. After about- four days ' sailing from this island, we passed up the crooked Mis- sissippi River as far as New Orleans, un- loading our cargo safe and sound after a two-months ' cruise from the good old U. S. A. EDWIN M. WINSLOW, ' 20. SPRING Spring with warmth and cheer is here; Birds are trilling, Brooks are singing. All has fled that ' s dark and drear. Skies are blue and bright with light; Breezes blowing. Flowers growing. And their beauty greets our sight. Nature fills our lives with pleasure; Ever new Pure and true, And our hearts respond in measure. MARGARET ROWLAND. THE INITIATION INTO THE SOCIETY OF FATHER NEPTUNE I chanced to meet, one evening, a man who had served two enlistments in the United States Navy, who told me one of his many experiences while in the navy, his initiation into The Society of Father Neptune, a sacred and important society among .sailors. The only qualification necessary is to cross the equator. The sailor, whom we shall call John Brown, was on the U. S. S. Birmingham at ' the time of his initiation. When the ship left port, all material and regalia were bought for the holiday festivities, which took place on the ship. The men who had been initiated into the society took charge of the ship. The band played. Flags were flying. At eight o ' clock in the morn- ing, the recruits were scouted up and made (ready for their initiation. One of the sailors dressed as Father Neptune, was master of ceremonies. The rest of the initiators were dressed as South Sea Island maidens. Among them were a barber, a doctor, and some policemen. The barber shaved the new members with a wooden razor and lather composed of soot, scraped from the inside of the smokestack and the waste oil from the en- gines. This mixture was bound to stick and if v ater was applied, it hardened. Dur- ing the process of shaving, the barber asked his victim if the razor pulled? If the man opened his mouth, one of the at- tendants put a pill down his throat. This pill was made of wet dough, saturated with castor oil and pepper. If the man failed to answer, he was flogged by the police- men. When the shaving was finished, the barber put his foot on a lever and the back of the chair fell back. This caused the sailor to drop into a tub of water. The victim was grabbed and doused by the attendants. The evaders of the initiation were found in the coal bunkers and the rites of the initiation operation were administered with great severity. The officers were not immune from this initiation. If an officer were disliked, he was sure to get his share. After all had been initiated, there was a gay time re- moving the lather from the face, neck, and ears. Hot water and clean waste were the only remedy, but all traces of the lather disappeared in a week or so. After being 12