Wells High School - Crimson and Gray Yearbook (Southbridge, MA)

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THE CRIMSON AND GRAY orchestras? Ganz, Damrosch, Mengelberg and countless others; the large majority of them are from Europe. Who are the men living today who are at the very top of the ladder of musical fame? Heifirtz, Galli-Curci- Kreisler, Rachmaninoff, Paderewski, and many others. Americans? — no, decidedly not! The European people believe strongly in giving the school children a musical educa- tion as far as possible. Here, in our own country, music is taken up in the schools to a certain extent, but the really important de- tails are left out entirely. Therefore, it is up to the individual to be fair to himself and find out the countless interesting facts about music to be found in our many magazines and in thousands of books in the public li- braries. It seems as if the era of jazz must come to an end soon, to usher in an epoch of the very best music. Hazel Lucier, ' 26.

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THE CRIMSON AND GRAY The way not to be a bore, the way to be in- teresting, is to be interested. Even Thomas A. Edison cannot thrill his hearers by telling them how little sleep he had the night before. If he can ' t get away with it, how can you? Sympathy soon turns into a suppressed yawn. Interest keeps alive only in promissory notes. Each of us has some one subject which is a fair-haired child to him, but a cause of well defined pain to others. He drags that sub- ject into the conversation whenever he can — and that is on all occasions — and delivers a Chautauqua course upon it. Think it over. Figure out what it is. Put your finger on it and press hard. When you get to heaven, don ' t even tell St. Peter how you got there. He has heard the same story a billion times. Walk right in and make it heaven for the rest of us by leav- ing your hobby tied outside the gate. Roland Delage, ' 26. THE COURAGE TO BE SOMEBODY It takes courage to be somebody. It takes courage to come out of the ranks and show yourself different. There is safety in num- bers, and a good many people feel secure when they are thinking like others and act- ing like others. Columbus needed courage along with other things. Probably more men than we have any idea of agreed with him in his theory of reaching India by sailing west; but there were not many with the courage to say so, to face the sneers and scowls brought forth by such an opinion. The leaders in a new move ment may be ahead of the crowd intellectual- ly, but they must also be ahead of it in point of courage. Some, who are fitted intellectually to be leaders, fail because they are not brave enough. They lack the courage to lift them- selves over the heads of others. They lack courage to be somebody. Philip Renaud, ' 26. WHAT DO YOU KjNOW ABOUT MUSIC? Do The Three B ' s mean anything to you? Have you ever listened with a queer feeling in your heart to the strains of Chopin ' s beautiful Prelude in D Flat and heard the note of longing that is carried throughout the entire piece? If not, you have missed one of the loveliest things in life. When you hear Greig ' s To Spring spoken of, does it not call to your mind right away the lovely swinging movement of this composition that is so suggestive of the spring season ? Do you realize the hard- ships and privations which these great men endured in order that you might listen to their works? It is wicked that countless numbers of peo- ple know little or nothing about the real music of the world. All the Jazz-crazed world seems to want at present is to listen to the moan of several instruments in a snappy fox-trot. They never give a thought as to who composed the music they listen to, and never once stop to think that some of our most popular dance pieces are taken al- most directly from the old masters ' works. The beautiful classics are being robbed of their loveliest phrases which are set to the time of the modern dance piece. People seem to be afraid of the word Classic. One should not turn a deaf ear when a piece is being played that has an espe- cially long name attached, and therefore is expected to be very dry and horrid. It is not fair to prejudice yourself against listening to good music. Listen with an open mind to whatever is being played, and try to gather something from it. Different kinds of music appeal to differ- ent people. Make a study of, or at least hear enough music to know which type suits you best, just as the most exacting women hunt eagerly for certain perfumes meant for them. Do not be so foolish as to confine your- self to the enjoyment of jazz music. This music is easy to understand and is like des- sert. Too many sweets are sickening, and you will soon tire of jazz if you continually make up your mind to listen to nothing else. The world (especially our own country) is now going through a period of poor music. What is the matter with us? Is so much of our time taken up with business that we find no time for the arts that should find a place in everyone ' s life? What are the Americans doing in the musical world? Leading high- paying jazz orchestras. That is true, but who are the leaders of the great Symphony

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LITERAHJRI A BROTHER TOO MANY Gosh, isn ' t Margaret a nut lately! said the taller of two boys. I wish I could teach her a good lesson. You might think she was eighteen instead of sixteen. What do you say, Joe, if we run that young Alfonso she ' s going with, off the place into the pond. Yes, I wish we could do something. Re- member what a good sport she used to be? Swim away across the lake, go fishing, or anything, before she met that dumb-bell, responded Joe. Now she won ' t go swim- ming because she ' s afraid the curl will come out of her hair, and she won ' t go fishing be- cause the smell of fish isn ' t nice. All she does is to pose in front of her mirror and read some old love story. The two boys came closer together and be- gan to talk earnestly. Every few minutes could be heard peals of laughter which prom ised no good for someone. In one of the windows of the pretty, rustic cottage was seated Margaret, the subject of her older brother ' s conversation. She surely did look as if she was a good sport, but care- fully marcelled hair and perfect make-up were rather deceiving. The noise of her brothers ' laughter and merriment seemed to annoy her, for she rose and went to the window to tell them to stop. Their only answer was, My sweet Margaret, prepare for slaughter. That night, a strange performance took place in the boys ' room. Dressed in tramps ' clothes, the two boys descended to the shore of the lake, to wait for their sister and her cavalier, James Wentworth. Soon they ap- peared, and young Jim tenderly helped Mar garet into the canoe, and took his place in the back of the canoe. While they were paddling to the middle of the lake, an old row boat was drawn to the shore, and two tramps got in and rowed after the canoe. While they were following the canoe, al- low me to tell you about James Wentworth. He was a tall, studious young man. He was serious, and hated sports, and the only thing he could do in that line was to paddle a light canoe. In all respects he was a regular sissy. In the middle of this pond, was a small island and this was where the young people were planning to go. The row boat ' s des- tination was the same. Allowing the canoe five minutes to be placed in some sheltered cove, the two tramps, with dangerous look- ing guns, and a wicked gleam in their eyes, approached. They rowed straight to the canoe, where young James was entertaining his girl, by reciting poetry. Stop! cried some one in a rough voice. Young man you are trespassing. You must get off from the place, but leave the young lady with us. Get out of that canoe. I can ' t ! The water ' s wet, wailed James. Get out anyway, wet or dry water, you ' ve got to get out in some way, and the canoe won ' t go when you go, was the rough re- sponse. 0 James, save me ! the unlucky Margaret breathed. I can ' t, I ' ve got to get out myself. I can ' t swim, and I ' ll get my new suit all wet ! You