Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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I again looked at my directions. They said, Go down Baldpate road until you come to the crossroads. Down Baldpate road I walked, dragging niy heavy suitcase after me. The sun beat down on the dusty, country road and on me. There was not a living thing in sight. Finally, I reached the crossroads. I put my suitcase down and again consulted my directions. They said, Take the road to the right, but three roads intersected, and there were two that went to 1 the right. One was a main thoroughfare. Automobiles were flashing by me continually. There were no shade trees, and the dust arose with every vehicle that passed. The other road appeared to be little fre- quented. There was just room enough for one carriage to pass along. Great trees hung over the road and formed a canopy. I heard the whispering of the brook and the distant call of birds. It was a most inviting road for a weary, hot traveller. I decided to try the pleasant road. I walked slowly down it, enjoying the beauty and quietness. A red bird flashed among the trees. A squirrel ran out into the road in front of me. On one side a beautiful hill arose, and on the other was a pine grove, which gave off a delightful woodsy smell. Soon I began to see signs that told me I was coming near a house. A cow grazed in a pasture and the fields were enclosed by stone walls. The sweet smell of fresh cut hay greeted me and an orchard came into view as I roundedi a bend in the road. Then I saw what I had been looking for, a red gate, and a moment later a white house set far back from the road. A woman whom I knew to be grandmother was on the porch. I had taken the right road and arrived safely at Red Gate Farm. DOROTHY YOUNG, ' 23. IN THE SWAMP Have you ever been in a swamp? If so, did you think of the beauty of it ? In a swamp, all the water is not stagnant nor muddy, for one comes across a little pool that is very clear. In the fall this has many leaves on the surface of it. These bright-colored boats do not clutter up the pool, but add charm and beauty to it. As a result of some storm, many of the trees are broken, many bent. But, as sternness and rigidity abounds where all the trees are straight and upright, these bent and broken trees are useful in taking away this feeling. To make a forest look graceful and yet give the impression of strength, both drooping and straight trees are necessary. As you stand amidst a small cluster of trees, you see beautiful things of a smaller nature. There is a root of a tree, covered with moss; there is a small stone also covered with moss; here is an old fallen tree that has vines climbing over and covering it; farther over is a large stone, out of the crevices of which small plants that are yet green are growing. As you survey all these smaller things, you begin to think that slush, slime, oozy bunches of swamp grass, broken trees, and dead leaves, logs and twigs, are not all there are to be seen in a swamp. Besides these things, there is life moving all around you. There are the noisy jays, the chickadees, the sparrows, the swallows, and about all the other birds that belong in our climate. Not only the birds are here, but also the animals. Beyond the edge of the swamp, one sees an occasional rabbit scamper, or hears a field mouse squeak. In the swamp, are tho holes made by the water animals. Is (here anything so beautiful as the life and evidences of the life of the lower animals™ Added to this is the Sabbath stillness of the swamp. There is none of the hustle and bustle of the cities. With the loss of the city noises, all business, sorrow, grief is forgotten. All the joy and gladness of life is intensified. One feels a new; joy in living, if one can see and appreciate the beauty and life of nature in the swamp. BERNICE BAZLEY, ' 24. THE SEA Yes, I am the sea, both hated and beloved. Many a sunrise has brightened my surface, making me beautiful and alluring. Many an artist lias painted my reflected colors. Many a moon has cast its silvery path across my bosom as, with a sullen but soothing roar, I roll my waves upon the shores. At these times, men like me, they sail upon my surface in their gorgeous ships and feel secure, think- ing they are my masters. Yet, many a storm has swept over me, blot- ting out this tranquility. Amid roars of thunder and flashes of lightning, I rise in huge, dark mountains of water and dash against the shores with untold strength. Then men hate and fear me. I laugh at their ships. I strike them, sink them, drive them to the

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and corn, while on the floor wore piles of pumpkins and squash. As he put his pack down, he noticed, through a crack in the floor- ing, a gleam of light from the room beneath. With natural curiosity, he stooped down and placed his eye to the chink in the rough boards, and saw the group of men below, with their heads together in whispered conversa- tion. Catching a phrase here and there, his suspicions were soon thoroughly aroused, and he instantly changed li is plan of retiring. First, stripping a blanket from the bed, lie emptied the contents of his pack into it, and after tieing the bundle loosely, pushed it un- der the bed. Then he refilled the empty pack from a pile of vegetables, and deposited it carefully at the foot of the bed. Next, he tied his nightcap onto a pumpkin and placed it on his pillow, and built up the bed clothing to resemble a human figure, with the pump- kin as a head. Having completed his prepara- tions, he concealed himself under the bed. In a few minutes the pedler was snoring loudly, feeling assured that there were listen- ers downstairs. lie had not long to wait, for presently he heard stealthy footsteps and then his door was softly opened. Suddenly, a club descended on the pumpkin head with a sicken- ing thud. Someone stumbled over the pack, at the foot of the bed, snatched it up, and in an instant the would-be murderers and thieve? were gone. A few minutes later the weary pedler crawled carefully from beneath the bed and silently put on his coat and cap. With a few deft motions he tied securely the comers of the blanket holding his valuables, and after softly open- ing the window, he passed the bulky bundle over the sill, then dropped it to the ground. An instant later he, himself, was standing on the ground near his pack. Shouldering the unwieldy burden, he again plodded on his wea ry way, deprived of his night ' s rest, but safe, and a wiser man for his experience. LAWEENCE MART7N, ' 24. MODERN DAYS AND MODERN WAYS Peg came home from High School in high spirits. Opening the door and calling, Mumsy, I ' m home! she flung down her books, and without removing her sport coat, sank into the best velvet chair. Her mother, placing the stockings which she was darning for her daughter on the table, came downstairs. Upon seeing Peg sprawled in the best chair, she gently said, How many limes, dear, must mother tell you not to loll in that chair with your street -clothes on? Tin re are other chairs in the house. 1 know, responded Peg, but 1 like this one best, so I want to sit in this one, see? There was silence. Oh, 1 forgot to tell you, I ' m going to the dance tomorrow night. Can I have a new dress? I ' ve worn that green one twice, and 1 don ' t like my blue one. But, my dear, you got your blue one only last week. You can ' t have another, yet. Well, 1 will have another; all the girls are having new ones ; I-I never g-get any-any- thing I want, cried this impetuous child. We ' ll see later, was the mother ' s reply, as she returned to her darning with a troubled mind. What a problem Peggy is getting to be. Why! wu children never dreamed of an- swering back our mothers as the boys and girls do, now-a-days. Well, I suppose it can ' t be helped! The next night found Peg at the dance, .Mid with a new dress, flirting, and attracting attention on all sides. The matrons, for there were matrons, sighed and shook their heads, as Peg jazzed by. What will that girl come to? Why, she isn ' t dancing, just running wildly about this hall with her partner! What can they be doing now; they ' re standing perfectly still. I ' m sure I don ' t understand this new danc- ing, either. When I was a girl, we were content to dance slowly, arm in arm, but now they are not happy unless they are cheek-to- cheek, racing like mad dogs. I think it ' s dis- graceful ! Thus the comments went on, but Peg, all unconscious, danced merrily on. At one o ' clock she arrived home in her partner ' s automobile. Mumsy, trying hard in keep awake, asked her daughter what had de- tained her. ' Oh, we just went for a little ride, that ' s all! And thus the younger generation goes on, while the older stands by and wisely shakes its head. GLADYS DAGNINO, ' 24. CROSSROADS The train pulled into the station. 1 Looked at my directions. Yes, t his was the town. I climbed down the stops and stooil on the plat form in front of the little station. The loose jointed train slowly got itself in mo tion and disappeared down the track. I was left .-ill alone on the platform.

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bottom of my depths. Then I reign supreme and am unconquered ! MARY GOODALE, ' 123. A WINTER ' S NIGHT It was one of those nights in the middle of winter, bleak and cold, with the wind whis- tling through the tree tops anil around the corners of buildings, carrying with it clouds of snow. Far above, millions upon millions of little stars shone like a mighty shower of sparks in the sky, while below as far as the eye could see into the inky blackness, there was nothing but an expanse of monotonous snow, piled high in little mountains, which are called drifts. Upon this particular night, there was a man sitting inside a shanty on the 15. M. Railroad. He was huddled up close to the little stove, which was doing its work valiantly enough, that of giving forth heat. There, in the gloom, the shadow that played on his face, lighted by a single lantern made it appear grim and hard, which in turn made him seem a part of the cold outside from which he was separated only by four wooden walls. He was not staying there because he wished it, — much rather would he have been at home, idling by the fireside with his wife and chil- dren, — but because a train which was due ten hours ago, had not yet arrived. Word had been sent over the wire that a snow plow would come through any minute, — that was two hours rjrevious, — and he was lis- tening silently, intently, for that faint rumble which would tell him of its approach, but all he heard was the wind, lie was looking for the reflection of its head-light ; but all he saw was snow. Suddenly, above the howling of that wind, came the weird shriek of a. locomotive whistle. Up he jumped, grabbed his lantern and out- side he dashed to see the wonderful sight which was to repay him for all his waiting. Far down the track a huge dark monster seemed to crawl out of the curve, closed in on both sides by two high slopes. Nearer and nearer it drew, past the first switehlight, past the second, growing darker and more monstrous witli every foot. Finally, it came upon him, that vast snow-plow, looming up like an enormous giant as it thundered by, hurling snow high into the air far and wide, completely dovering the man, and nearly taking him off his feet. Then it was gone, receding into that black- ness out of which it had just come. Where there had once been much snow, there were now two shining rails; and then, as the snow- plow rumbled into nothingness, and the wind died to a whisper, the moon, peeking over the tall pines, lighted up the whole world, and everything was soft and still. PAUL F. CLARKE, ' 23. SAVE THE FORESTS AND PLANT TREES A most urgent plea is being made by the Forestry Department of this country for a national conservation of our forests and for tree planting. Mr. Charles Pack and Senator Harrison of Mississippi are two men active in this department. They have recently pub- lished the following startling statistics: It is estimated that five million acres of forests in the United States arc cut, and ten million acres are burned annually; just twice as much -destroyed, as there is used. It is estimated that in this country there are four hundred and sixty million acres of forest land, and that already seventy per cent of it has been logged of its best timber. It has also been found out that seventeen and one-half per cent of our forest area, or in other words about eighty-one million acres, has been stripped of its saleable timber, burned over, and is lying practically idle, being known as unproductive land. At this present rate and under the present policy, it will be only a few years until the supply of timber in this once wooded country will be ex- hausted and our home builders and indus- tries will be compelled to go to Siberia and South America for their supply of timber. The only way to check this wicked destruc- tion of trees is to conserve the forests, and to save them from tire; to protect them from all injurious insects, and to replant with the best stock the once wooded areas, now laid waste. It is equally important to educate the people to the facts which now exist and also to en- courage the planting of shade and fruit trees. The planting of family orchards, which was always ■■ custom of the old New England in- habitants, has in the last ton or fifteen years seemed to lose its place as a part of a household. The people of the United States must be roused to the situation that our country must be kept r icli in its supply of timber, not onh I ' m- the people of the twentieth century, but also for the coming generations. ARTHUR NEWOOMB, 24. 10