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

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THE CRIMSON AND GRAY possible. Outside, however, I noticed a sign which read 10c a meal. I jotted down that address and for six consecutive days I was at that place three times a day. I had found good places to eat and to sleep for $3.30. Following my theory of economy I in- tended to go through every free building. Among those which I liked immensely were the Hall of Science, General Motors, Travel and Transportation, and the States ' Build- ings. In these buildings everything a fel- low could imagine is there to be seen. He can examine things at his leisure and find out the how, when, where, and what-for, of nearly everything that we see in our daily lives. Other buildings that I also liked were Sears Roebuck; the Firestone, where you can see a tire being made every ten minutes; the Indian Village, where buildings of original material and type have been brought from the Far West to illustrate their life; Days of ' 49 Camp, where I paid to see illustrated a contrast between a wedding of then and now; Fort Dearborn, a really old fort where can- nons, chinks in the walls where guns could be set, log-cabins— all that usually seems local color of a Western thriller to us— was re- vealed as authentic; Streets of Paris; the larg- est thermometer, 150 feet high; the Electrical, Federal, and Agricultural Buildings; the Planetarium; and Sinclair ' s Prehistoric Group. Seeing just the outside of hese buidii took me all day Sunday, however. When I had started out for the Fair, with my back- ground of experience the Sturbridge Fair, I had been prepared to spend the day in Chi- cago and come home satisfied. But a whole week later, after fairly steady work, found me still interested and with my curiosity still unsatisfied. That first night I stayed to see the fire- works—to see $10,000 go up in smoke in some of the most beautiful displays imaginable. Wednesday of that week was very warm, so, for variety, I went swimming in Lake Michi- gan all day long and at night took in a show. Thursday I spent trying to visit places I had not seen before and I succeeded in finding many, I assure you. The most important sights were the A. P. Gypsies, the New and Old Railroads, Byrd ' s Ship, the Blue Ribbon Malt Cafe (with Buddy Rogers, Ben Bernie and Guy Lombardo. I paid 15c for a glass of beer which I sipped very slowly in order to enjoy the music as long as possible). I also decided to look around the city itself while I was out in that part of the world. I visited the Times Building, three Y. M. C. A. ' s (there are seventeen), the Wrigley Build- ing, and the Public Library. At the Stock Yards I got a sandwich and a cup of coffee, free of course. (That ' s a courtesy that they extend to every visitor and, if I may say so, 1 think it ' s a very good idea.) About three o ' clock I visited the Field Mus- eum of Natural History. The arrangement of various animals and, especially birds in their natural habits, shown on the first floor, are of unparalleled beauty. The Museum Library confined to its own subject, is twice as large as our local library. In the Shedd Aquarium one can study water life as no- where else in the world. When I got to my room Friday night I de- cided that I had seen enough of Chicago and the Fair and so I started back to Southbridge the next morning. That night I spent at Elk- hart, Indiana. Early the next morning I got one through trip to Cleveland, Ohio, where I arrived after an all-day and night ride. I reached Cleveland about three in the morn- ing and by three-thirty had made connections for Buffalo. I reached Lima about eight that night. At Lima I met some very hospitable people. A Mr. and Mrs. Hollowell and their son picked me up at Lima. They were well-to-do and kind-hearted. When I told them I was going points east to Boston from Chicago they talked matters over and finally brought me to their home in Canandaigua. They gave me a late supper, let me have their guest room, and woke me up at six in the morning. After a breakfast which consisted of three eggs, seven slices of toast, and two cups of coffee, I was on

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NOVEMBER 1933 Gettysburg— bare save for tombstones in- scribed with names of generals to show where they fell. On my journey again I went to Bucyrus, then north to Toledo, Ohio, and then Route 20 to Chicago. These routes prove equally valuable to the driver and the hobo. I reached Chicago Saturday, the fifteenth, about four o ' clock. Ignorant of booked events, I was surprised to hear people cheer- ing, and to see them throwing hats and papers into the air. I had all the exultation that such a greet- ing could give any important person— and en- joyed the greeting as if it were for me alone— until I looked up in the air to see twenty- four beautiful seaplanes circling the city. It was Italy ' s most famous flyer, Italo Balbo, ar- riving after a non-stop flight across the At- lantic. Well, even if for only a short time, I shared his welcome to Chicago. That night I was fortunate enough to find a good room in the loop for $1.50 a week. My first day at the Fair was like a first day in the land of wonders. My 50c admission I paid willingly and I was one of the 122,000 people who attended the Fair that Sunday. The site was perfectly adapted for a play- ground for many people: its green park, its flower gardens, fountains and well-kept drives, and, above all, its unusual buildings appropriately placed with the ever-changing lake just beyond and the silhouette of Chi- cago ' s myriad towers against the sky as a background. That day I walked around wondering at the buildings which one may call the fruits of industry. Amazed as I was and desirous of lingering, I still realized that I had to move quickly if I wanted to see all in one day, so I did not enter any buildings. I was perfectly contented to crane my neck and look at the vivid colors, the different styles of architecture which were very new and extraordinary to a fellow who has always been accustomed to the streets of South- bridge. About two o ' clock I saw the crowd rushing toward the Illinois State Building which is set apart from the other forty-four in honor of having Chicago inside its territory. The cause of the excitement became clear to me when cannon ' s tone began to echo for miles around. A band furnished by the U. S. Army was escorting General Balbo along the Avenue of Flags. General Balbo stopped first at the Illinois Building where he congratu- lated the American people upon its progress, and then he went to the Italian Building where he spoke in Italian to the Italian peo- ple of the Fair. After his speech a chorus of nearly 2000 girls and 500 boys sang Italian songs. Entranced by the the beautiful welcome but unable to understand it, I sought some other free amusement. At the Baby Ruth Pool. Pierre Desjardins and Helen Maxwell, well-known swimming and diving experts, were putting on a beautiful diving demonstra- tion. Farther on I found myself near one of the towers of the Sky Ride where 1 noticed that the prices were 25c on Sunday and 40c on week-days, so, being very economical, I dug and gave 25c for a ticket. The Sky Ride I might explain, is an advertising scheme of the Pepsodent people. Everyone knows Kingfish, Madame Queen, and Amos and Andy. Everyone at the Fair must notice the high towers and the little compartments named for these characters which are drawn slowly across cables from the island (filled out for the Fair) and the main land. Then the price of the ride is another added attraction which makes the Sky Ride one of the best known features of the Fair. Since Kingfish is one of my favorites, I decided to enter the car by that name. It brought me near the entrance to the Fair again, so I left the grounds and went downtown. There I found an eating plae where I got a meal for which I would have paid 35c any- where. I ate until I thought I ' d bust. They gave me a check which read 10c. Thinking this was an error, I hurriedly paid my dime and went out as inconspicuously as

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NOVEMBER 1933 my way once more. Their hospitality was given me because Mrs. Hollowell has had two sons on the rozd in the past, and she believed that some kind lady would do the same for them. From Canandaigua I rode through Syra- cuse, Utica, and on to Albany where I stopped for lunch. As I was walking along the bridge toward Renssalaer, a car stopped and the man driving asked if I was going his way. Since that was the first time anybody on the road had invited me to ride, I was rather suspicious. But it happened that this was another Samaritan in the form of a news- paper man who owned the Rensselear paper He brought me to his office where I made my- self comfortable with three chairs and two overcoats. Next morning he woke me up at eight o ' clock, bought me a good breakfast, and offered me a job as truck driver which I declined. Leaving Albany I went through Pittsfield, over the Ladder to Springfield. I arrived in Southbridge at three, Wednesday, after cover- ing 2600 miles, in sixteen days, through eight states, and spending less than the last figure in dollars. Paul Benoit ' 34. TO THE WORLD ' S FAIR ON $4.26 Everyone asks how I liked the World ' s Fair. The Fair was great. Half of my thoughts, however, go back to the kind people who gave me rides; some of these rides were long with much to see and nothing to worry about, while others were very short. They were a help but, meantime, I might have missed a good ride. Cherry ' s stories of the Fair started me, so on August 28 I started from our famous town at 8 o ' clock with two World War veterans who were very interesting and very good sports. We arrived at Albany at one o ' clock. I walked through the city and stood on a corner where I thought would be a good place for getting a ride. The lights had just changed. The gentleman in the third car, a Buick, gave me about a thirty-five mile ride. This gentleman ' s son had gone to the Pa- cific coast in the same gentleman-like style and he considered the experience valuable as an education. I got as far as Sangerfield, N. Y. that day, about three hundred miles— not bad! But I slept in a barn that night and awoke with the cold about five-thirty. The next couple of nights were more comfortable, for I dropped in on relatives, before I hit the Honeymoon Trail to Niagara Falls. There, two college fellows from Colorado, going back to college, picked me up. We dropped in to see Niagara Falls and went on down to Erie that night. I could have had a ride all the way to the Fair but I had to wait for mail. It was disappointing to think I missed a 600 mile ride. The next day, however, I got a 280 mile lift out of Erie from a man with a load of machinery going to Columbus, Ohio. It wasn ' t a very comfortable ride because he had about five tons of machinery on the truck. Everytime we came to a corner I thought we were going off the road we were going so fast, but we got to Bucyrus safely. It cost me 65 cents to eat and sleep in Bucyrus, about 320 miles from Chicago. The whole 320 miles I covered with one driver in a day during which we picked up a brother and sister who were hitch-hiking to the Fair. On Saturday, then, we arrived and enjoyed the day along with 300,000 other people. The boys who had picked me up palled with me while we were at the Fair. After spending almost five hours at the Travel and Transport Building I was glad to get to sleep. My bed was the rumble seat of the boys ' car. It was just like a spring mattress but I had to stick my feet out and every-one going by made sly remarks. Otherwise I had a com- fortable night. I stayed at the Fair till Labor Day, and left the boys about eleven o ' clock Monday night, after thanking them for the wonderful time I (Continued on Page 16)