Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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The front-drive car has been on the market for two years and is as yet unproven. As a result, the motoring public is somewhat hesitant in taking it up. The advan- tages of the car are so obvious, however, that in less than a decade, the front-drive will have completely superseded the rear-drive in the fine car field. Lawrence Doore, ' 30. of dishes, mingled with the giggles of waitresses and the harsh voice of the head waiter, I resolved never again to get funny with a tray. John Roach, ' 30. ON CARRYING TRAYS In April of last year, I began to write to various New England hotels to obtain a position for the summer. To all inquiries, I received but one favorable reply. This was from the Hotel X in Beach Bluff, Massachusetts. Although I knew as little about the profession, as I did about flying an aeroplane, I promised to go down to the hotel as soon as school let out, in my new capacity of buss boy. Have you ever attempted to carry a tray? Then you have a decidedly novel and thrilling experience awaiting you. My first experience was of almost disastrous consequence. The headwaiter told me to carry the tray on my right shoulder, supported by my right hand with the palm ab- solutely flat. He also warned me against funny business. Bravely I picked up my first tray, tilted it a good deal one way and back the other way and finally got it up on my shoulder. The tray was a heavy one — weighing about twenty-five pounds. When, to my surprise, it did not fall from my shoulder, I gained confidence. Just then, an inci- dent occurred which nearly spelled doom for me. Through the swinging doors, carrying a full tray on each palm, came Carl, the room waiter. You should know that then bitter and ceaseless enmity existed between the buss-boys and room waiters. The demon of jealousy arose in the Roach heart. Well, said the demon, I suppose you ' re going to let that guy get ahead of you. You know he ' s as dumb a waiter as there is. I heeded my evil spirit, and cautiously raised the tray from my shoulder, allowing the weight to fall on my none- too-steady palm. I started down the main row through the dining room to the swinging doors which led into the kitchen. My confidence increased as I strode along; in fact, I held my head so high that I nearly collided with a waitress. To avoid a collision, I lifted the tray on one end, allowing a thin stream of water to trickle down the neck of one Mr. West, a very distinguished gentleman and second cousin to President Hoover. Unconscious of this mishap, I continued on my way, clinging to the belief that the tray was horizontal. I was mistaken; at times, the tray assumed an angle of forty-five degrees with the floor. I interpreted the awed whispers of waitresses as fair proof of my prowess. In this mood, I approached the swinging doors, giving one a lusty blow with my free hand. But, alas! Some fiend in human form had left a small, but very slippery piece of butter in my path. I trod on the misguided missile with my unsuspecting left foot and was thrown violently forward. The tray assumed an even more dangerous angle, tilting backward sharply. To save the tray, I rushed backward and collided heavily with a waitress who was just coming through the swinging doors. We went down in a heap with the two trays upsetting and spilling their various contents over our heads. Amid the clanging of trays on the floor, the crashing WORLD WAR AVIATION The airplane went into the World War as a crude, dan- gerous, fighting machine, but it came out of it trim, fast, efficient, and comparatively safe. It was at first used as scouts, for observation purposes only. The pilots car- ried only a pistol and light bombs at first, but as automatic machine guns were introduced, aerial combats became a duty, and sometimes a pastime, for hundreds of fear- less men. The duties of a fighting scout were varied: to fly low and attack troops, trains and road convoys; to drive off night raiders, enemy planes and airships; to escort the larger and slower bombing and observation planes; to clear the air of enemy machines, and to set fire to enemy observ- ation balloons. Maneuvers that in peace time would have been considered foolhardy — looping, side-slipping, rolling and spinning — became part of the every-day flying of the war-time pilot. The most famous fighting planes during the World War were: the French Spad and Nieuport, the English Bristol, and the German Albatross and Fokker . At the close of the war, names such as Ponck, Bishop, Ball, Nungesser, Luke, Lufbery, Guynemer, Rickenbacker, and Richtofen were repeatedly mentioned as much as, if not more than, Lindbergh and Byrd are at the present time. Eddie Rickenbacker led the Americans with twenty-five attested victories; Rene Fonck, the French, with seventy- five; William Bishop, the English, with seventy-two; and Freiherr von Richtofen, the Germans, with eighty. When reading of these victories one must remember that to be officially credited with a victory at least three witnesses had to see the plane fall. Rene Fonck, for instance, really brought down one hundred and twenty-six planes, but only seventy-five were attested by observers. One day, within two hours, he shot down six enemy battle planes. The German Zeppelins, loaded with large bombs, were a constant dread to the inhabitants of the major cities in England and France, especially London and Paris. Air- planes hunted the Zeppelins, and many of the small air- craft succeeded in bringing down one of their gigantic op- ponents in a blaze of fire. Without the aircraft, it is hard to say how the World War would have ended. Before troops, supplies, or ammu- nition could move— before attacks were made, the eyes of the army had to report the exact location and strength Qi the hostile forces. John Findlay, ' 31. THE APPEAL OF THE LABORATORY For many the laboratory has little or no attraction, but for me there is no stronger appeal. In the laboratory one learns the power, the beauty, the regularities, the mysteries, and phenomena of nature. One speaks of the unsearchable vastness of the heavens as declaring the might and the in- finite wisdom of God; but just as impressive as this is the unvarying laws of nature experienced in the laboratory. A plus B is always C, never D, X, or anything else but C. Like poles invariably repel each other, and a body is always

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Neil dropped the ends of his raincoat. I crossed the yard and entered the cabin, he began slowly. It was dark inside and I had to feel my way to the fireplace. I drove the knife into the floor and rose to go. As I turned to leave something caught me by the coat and held me. Well, I didn ' t argue, I jumped halfway across that cabin and left half my coat there. I couldn ' t see the door and smashed into the wall instead of hitting the open place. Neil kicked a branch into the fire. Just the same I ' d like to go up there again with a light, he said. We ' ll go up in the morning. We better roll in now, Kelso said. As the sun rose the campers went hurriedly to the cabin. Before the fireplace they found the knife stuck into the wood with a piece of raincoat in it. Neil pulled out the knife and grinned. He had driven the knife through his own coat. James Cotter, ' 32. THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF RADIO Of the millions who listen to broadcast programs we often wonder how many give any thought to the part radio plays in fields other than broadcasting. There are many things in everyday life which are taken for granted that owe their existence to the principles of radio. The talkie , for instance, would be impossible were it not for radio since it is made and produced by radio apparatus. The first practical use of radio was in the saving of lives at sea. At present it is possible for a ship to navigate without any navigating instruments other than a trans- mitter and a receiver. This is done by the radio beacon signal system which is a chain of coastal transmitters that upon request give ships at sea their bearing from the station. To find the exact location of the ship the operator secures bearings from three coastal stations, and the point of contact of the three bearings is the location of the ship. The dream of the up-to-date radio fan is to have a television receiver. Television is by no means a new inven- tion. Paul Nipkow, a more or less obscure German experi- menter, in 1884 applied for a patent for what he aptly called an electric telescope . He was by no means an idle dream- er, for his equipment was described with precision, and the modern television apparatus is fundamentally the same. At present there are a few television transmitters spread throughout the United States which broadcast pictures — in shades of pink — of their performers. A few months ago Station KDKA owned and operated by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. in East Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania, prophesied that in a short time it would send movies on the short waves. If this idea is carried out, it soon will be unnecessary to leave home in order to see and hear the latest talking pictures. The development of radio in the past few months has gene forward in leaps and bounds. Old principles and ideas have been rescouted, reconstructed, and reanalyzed with varying and, on the whole, satisfying results. The band- pass filter has been developed and perfected and is now appearing in the leading 1930 model receivers. The straight resistance-coupled audio amplifiers — which have been known and used in laboratories for quite a while — have been im- proved to such an extent that in the up-to-the-minute receiver there is no need for power distortion or any other ailment peculiar to the old type transformer-coupled am- plifier. The direct-coupled audio circuit developed in the Loftin-White laboratory will probably influence receiver design for the coming year. One noticeable characteristic of the new receivers will be greatly increased plate and grid biasing voltages. The new receivers should have superb lone qualities and excellent selectivity. Let the pessimist beware who says that there can be no further development in radio. Radio has not yet reached its millennium and quite probably will take care of itself when it does. Meanwhile experimenters and research work- ers — both amateur and professional — will study and analyze radio for its further development in everyday use. Charles Maxim, ' 31. A LAYMAN ' S VIEWS ON THE FRONT- WHEEL DRIVE The automobile has been brought to a high point of perfection, but the most important innovation of recent years is the front-wheel drive. This principle, however, can hardly be called new, since it was used on a racing car in 1912. Because a car of this type can round curves at a high rate of speed, it has been widely employed for racing purposes. There are, at present, three American pleasure cars embodying the front-drive principle. These cars are dis- tinguished by their rakish body lines. These lines are made possible by the elimination of the rear-drive, which permits the use of an offset axle. Unusual lowness results, and though none of the cars is much over sixty inches in height, there is maximum head room. Due to the place- ment of the engine, transmission, and differential, a very long hood has been developed, which further increases the appearance of fleetness. The usual shift lever has been ' replaced by a sliding mechanism on the dash board; the front seat is on the same level as the rear one. The order of the driving parts has been reversed. First comes the differential, then the transmission, and finally the motor. The driveshaft is practically disposed of; in fact, in one car, the transmission and differential are combined. Thus the moving parts are centered under the hood, in- creasing the efficiency of the car, and making it easier to service. The unsprung weight is reduced by fastening the differential directly to the frame. This also lessens the wear on the tires. Power is transmitted to the wheels so con- structed as to permit the car to turn in a smaller circle than is practicable with any standard car of the same wheel-base. The removal of the long driveshaft eliminates a possible source of vibration. The greatest claim to superiority of the front-drive car over the rear-drive is its high safety factor. Due to the underslung design, the center of the weight is very low, and this, combined with the pulling traction of the front wheels, reduces skidding to a minimum. These cars can go around a corner at a speed one-half again as great as that which it is possible to attain with a rear-drive car. Because the front wheels exert a pulling traction in the direction they are turned, the car is very easy to maneuver. The reduc- tion in unsprung weight correspondingly increaseis the riding comfort. Since the overall height is so small, a sav- ing of approximately five square feet of air-resisting space has been effected, thereby increasing the speed of the caj by ten or fifteen miles an hour.

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buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the water dis- placed. These laws are never changed, broken, or repealed. You can always put A and B together and get C. There is a certain pleasure in going into the laboratory and experimenting with chemicals or apparatus. You may be performing an experiment from a text book which states a specific result. If at the conclusion of your experiment you have obtained the same result, you have the satisfaction of knowing your experiment was a success. Such are the delights of the laboratory. The modern conceptions of electricity and matter are impressive. By laboratory experiments it is now definitely established that the atom is no longer the smallest divisible part of matter, but consists of various groupings of elec- trons and protons. The theory further states that the electrons revolve around the nucleus or protons in the same manner that the planets revolve about the sun. The prob- ability that there is some connection between these facts is very strong indeed. Perhaps the same law of the Master Creator governs both. Here, then, is where the laboratory has its greatest ap- peal — research! To spend hours in the laboratory experi- menting with what knowledge we have, possibly finding out new things, advancing new theories on the ultimate con- struction of matter, is a profession one should be ex- tremely proud of — one in which I hope to engage. Lloyd N. Owen, ' 30. HAVE YOU ANY — NO! SORRY June may have its graduation, its blossoms, and its roses, but to the boy who wants to earn some summer money it is a month of agony generally speaking, of course. First, there is the frantic glance at the newspapers ' employment columns. Then, the daily pilgrimage to town, interviews — a few — but in most places the same old slogans, Not just now, Sorry, maybe later, or You might fill out this little blank. Where is the courageous individual who can face these time-worn responses day after day and yet remain undiscouraged? It pays to be pessimistic, for he who has too much con- fidence in his ability to get work quickly, is often the victim of a terrible delusion. A veteran job-seeker who knows the ropes of his trade — for it certainly is an art in itself, this job-hunting — does not wander aimlessly from one employ- ment office to another, does not seek where there is no prey; he starts his operations in the springtime before graduation arrives. If he desires a position in some hotel — the line of least resistance-he writes to approximately twenty hotel managers stating his purpose. One who has an eye for the future and temporarily forgets the joys of a summer vacation makes early application for work in offices of high repute. Of course, there is the happy medium of summer work, good wages, time for recreation, and a pleasant environment, but these are, unluckily, rare discoveries in the world of labor. The only difficulty is this: we must all be novices at some time in everything we undertake, and the unversed job- seeker deserves all the sympathy that can be given. Merritt Stockbridge, ' 30. TRIUMPH A play in one act adapted from Dickens ' famous novel The Tale of Two Cities. Time: A morning in the year 1880 during the French Revolution. Place: A small, dirty courtroom in Paris. Characters: Charles Evremonde, called Darney — a prisoner. Lucie Manette — his wife. Dr. Manette — Lucie ' s father. Gabelle — an old servant. President of Tribunals. Four other Tribunals. Public Prosecutor. Jury and Mob including the Defrages and Mr. Lorry. Public Prosecutor (reading) — Charles Evremonde, called Darnay, is accused as an emigrant whose life is forfeit to the Republic, under the decree which banishes all emi- grants on pain of death. It is true that the decree bore date since his return to France but that is nothing. There he is, and there is the decree; he was taken in this country and his head is demanded. Mob — Take off his head. Take off his head. An enemy to the Republic. Pres. (after ringing bell) — Is it true, emigrant, that you have lived many years in England? Darnay — Yes, undoubtedly it is true. Pres. — Are you not an emigrant then? What do you call yourself? Darnay — Not an emigrant within the sense and spirit of the law. Pres.— Why not? Darnay — Because I voluntarily relinquished a title that was distasteful to me, and a station that was distasteful to me, and I left my country to live by my own industry of the overladen people of France. Pres. — What proof have you of this? Darnay — Two witnesses: Theophile Gabelle, and Dr. Manette. Pres. — But you were married in England. Darnay — True, but not an English woman. Pres. — A citizeness of France? Darnay — Yes. By birth. Pres. — What is her name and family? Darnay — Lucie Manette, only daughter of Dr. Manette, the good physician who sits there. Mob (whose attitude had changed) — Hurrah for Dr. Manette! Long live Alexandre Manette! Pres. — Why did you return to France when you did, and not sooner? Darnay — I did not return sooner simply because I had no means of living in France save those I had resigned; whereas, in England I lived by giving instructions in the French language and literature. I returned when I did, on the pressing and written entreaty of a French citizen who represented that his life was endangered by my absence. I came back to save a citizen ' s life, and to bear my testi- mony at whatever personal hazard to the truth. Is that criminal in the eyes of the Republic? Mob— No! No! No! No! No!