Waterville High School - Nautilus Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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away among the many books that have accumulated through the years. I know it, because I should feel lost without its secret presence. But even though I do not have before me the book itself, I do have my old scrap-book and there stand out from its yellowed pages three or four accounts of Volume 1, Number 1. On the whole, the accounts are lauditory: The initial number is an interesting one and reflects great credit on the board of editors. The account goes on to say: The book contains 24 pages of matter interesting to the students and alumni of the school. On the cover is a half-tone picture of the school-building, and the frontispiece is a fine half-tone likeness of Mrs. B. F. Philbrick, who, as Miss Mary fMinnieJ Smith was so long con- nected with the school. The literary features are many and include a sketch of Prin- cipal Marsh. . . The merchants of the city have patronized the publication liberally, 11 pages of advertising appearing in the first number. The paper deserves the success which seems in store for it, judging from the large advance subscription which has been secured by the management. As I recall it, that large advance subscription totalled 125i It will be of interest to know that a precursor of the Nautilus was a junior paper which consisted of letters and news-notes carefully garnered and then read publicly at a meeting of all the students of the school. For many of the 30 years that I have taught in Colby College, I have given a course in Journalism, and in that course we learn that in the old days we first had the spoken newspaper, then the written, then the half written and half printed, and finally the fully printed. Well, it would seem that in the old Waterville high school we ran pretty nearly true to form. We certain- ly had the spoken newspaper and the written newspaper for I was one of a small group who on a memorable night in my junior year read from the platform what was under- stood to be the contents of our school paper. One of the letters I prize highly today was from our former Principal, Denis E. Bowman, then living in Eureka, New York, now living in California where he practices law. So much, therefore, for our daring venture of forty years ago. It is a very com- forting thought to know that even after the lapse of all these years, the Nautilus continues to fill a real place among the extra-curricular activities of our old school. ' Cordially yours, HERBERT C. LIBBY. A The Editors-in-Chief for the respective years are as follows: HERBERT C. LIBBY ...... ARTHUR G. VOSE ..... ADDIE M. LAKIN ...... ERNEST L. GRAY ........ ARTHUR G. ROBINSON--- HARRY W. KIDDER .... CLARA M. BRYANT --- EDITH L. WHITAKER--- FRED W. CLOUGH ....... ALAN MCALARY ........ CLARENCE B. WHITAKER ..... LAURENCE R. BOWLER-- HAROLD FARNHAM ..... ODETTE POLLARD ...... 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 ELIZABETH LARRABEE ROBIN ROBINSON ....... .... RALPH LARRABEE .... .... OLIVE FARNHAM .... CAROLINE HEALD --- BERTHA ARNOLD ...., .... MALCOLM S. WEED --- ---- ETHEL ROSE ......... ,,,, HILDAGARDE WILSON --- ---- HAROLD TAYLOR ....... .... VIRGINIA BLANCHARD MARY GUNNING ...... .... GLORIA DREW .... HUGH GILMAN ....... 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 A. RAYMOND ROGERS --- 1912 MARIE REYNOLDS --- 1933 A. RAYMOND ROGERS --- 1913 PRISCILLA JONES .... 1935 ALFRED CHAMBERLAIN - 1914 JUNE LaFLEUR ......... .... 1 934 HARRIET EATON ........ CHARLES E. VIGUE ..... DORIS TOWARD --- ELIAS SHIRO ..... 1915 1916 1917 1918 BARBARA MITCHELL --- ---- ROBERT BARTEAUX --- ---- MARTHA ROGERS - - 1936 1937 1938

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Wate1'ville, May 15, 1938. Dear Miss Editor, An invitation came to me a few days ago from a member of the staff of the Nau- tilus to contribute a short article to the last issue of the current year. The invitation was couched in 'terms that startled me for the moment: This, you know, is the fortieth anniversary of the Nautilus. ' , ' i The fortieth year of the Nautilus, and I its first editor! The Nautilus my brain- child! Hang the almanac's cheat and the catalogue's spite! Old Time is a liar! We're twenty to-night! The poet may sing his lays and the philosopher may philosophize, and calendars may be turned to the wall-and tell-tale catalogues may be dest1'oyed--but the years, rolling relentlessly on, will tell no untrue tales. My memory is, and my old scrap-book of high school days supports it, that in 1897 the students of the high school gave their unqualified approval of a proposed school paper, then un-named. The teachers of the school, especially Miss Frances Morrill and Minnie Smith, joined wholeheartedly with the class in an undertaking which, in those far-off days, was of very great concern. I think I do not mistake the fact that the idea first occurred to me that the school could support such a venture. While we made our plans in the junior year the paper was not issued until the calendar year 1897-1898 which was then our senior year. I recall that we held a meeting of all the students of the school and there were warm arguments about the undertaking. The result of these deliberations was that the school would support it, and forthwith a board was named to edit and manage it. My scrap-book gives the board as follows: Editor-in-chief, Herbert C. Libby, '98g assistant editors, Nellie M. Lovering, '98, Lois Hoxie, '99, literary work, Gertrude I. Mathews, '98g personals and athletics, E. E. Gallert, '98, locals, Grace A. Balentine, '98g business manager, L. Eugene Thayer, '98g assistant business manager, Merle F. Varney, '98g treasurer, Arthur G. Vose, '99g secretary, Elmer Allen, '99. The clipping in question goes on to state: The paper will first issue February 9. The matter of naming the paper was left to the judgment of Miss Morrill, one of the teachers in the school. After the business was transacted, Superintendent Waters made an address that was very much appreciated. Of those mentioned in the above clipping, Miss Lovering became the wife of Wil- lard H. Rockwood, and is now living in this cityg Miss Hoxie became the wife of Rev. William A. Smith, who himself was a former teacher in the high school, and is now living in Augustag Miss Mathews became the wife of Charles R. Flood, and is now liv- ing on the Pacific coastg Mr. Gallert is now a merchant in New York Cityg Miss Balen- tine is deceased, Mr. Thayer, who became mayor of Waterville, is now deceasedg Mr. Varney now lives in Augusta and is connected with the Internal Revenue Office, Mr. Vose, who became, I think, the second editor of the paper, is now a resident of Caribou and holds a responsible position with the telephone company there, Mr. Allen, is a resi- dent of Watervilleg Miss Morrill, after a long service in the high school, retired and is now living on Winter street, Supt. Waters is now living in Fullerton, California. Time has certainly been most kind to those who, forty years ago, played a part in founding our school paper. The work of editing the Nautilus was thrilling in the extreme. In the years since, I have edited a number of weekly and daily papers, but never have I experi- enced the thrill that I did when the first copies of the Nautilus were delivered into our hands. For was I not actually now seeing with my own eyes my fellow-students reading what I regarded, p1'oba'bly somewhat selfishly, as the product of my own brain? As I remember it, material did not come fiooding in upon the board of editors. It never does. I soon discovered that if the paper was to issue, pretty much of the ma- terial must drip from my own feeble pen. I have not before me a copy of that first issue. I know it is somewhere hidden 9

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