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

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10 THE CRIMSON AND GRAY Bacchus TOM STOUPIS ' 48 Long before the flowering of the Creek and Roman civilizations there lived in Attica a very skillful wine- maker named Timotheus — his friends called him Tim- my. Timotheus made the most potent wines in all Greece, Troy, and Persia. Timotheus wasn ' t as fortunate as one might expect, for he had three sons, Eustratius, Philopomenes, and Bacchus. Eustratius and Philopomenes were the old- er sons. These two always kept their father in debt by gambling away all his money on the chariot races. Bacchus, the youngest son, sympathized with his father for the situation his brothers had placed him in. He did all he could to help him by picking grapes in the vineyards, pressing the vintage with bare feet to extract the juice, and learning how his father made the wine. This was all well and good because together they made their expenses — that is until a new game was invented in the elephant country of Persia. This game played with a pair of small ivory cubes swept Greece like Monopoly. Eustratius and Philopomenes could be found, at any part of the day, under the shade of the grapevines rattling the ivory cubes. Oh, what could poor Timotheus do now? His money was all gone, his wits were gone, and how he wished h-is sons were gone, too. Bacchus came to his aid again. He took a large urn of the best wine he could find and started out for the forbidden Mount Olympus on which the gods lived. Now, he thought, the gods will surely cancel my father ' s debts when I present them with this gift. Up the mountain he scampered and when he reached the top he was awed by the beautiful marble palaces, large statues, and brilliant gold ornaments. As he stood there amazed, he heard a great rumpus. Losing his nerve, he dropped the wine urn in a large vessel and ran down the mountain side. The rumpus was caused by all the gods coming out of their palaces to assemble for mess in the dining hall. What no one knew, though, was that the large vessel into which Bacchus had thrown the wine was a con- tainer for nectar, the god ' s substitute for our staple seven. Finally the gods were collected and Zeus, sit- ting at the head of the table, ordered the main course, nectar, to be brought in. They tasted the nectar, ate a little more, and then finished a whole serving. Why this was the best nectar they had had in thousands of years, it was terrific. They all looked earnestly at Zeus and he allowed them to have more. A state of mirth seemed to permeate the atmos- phere of that regal mountain. Zeus told them all a joke which resulted in laughter, but Aphrodite in wifely decorum exclaimed, Oh. Mellow and ex- pansive, the gods relaxed their sovereign dignity. Generosity,, tolerance,, good-fellowship, abounded. Athena, emboldened by the unaccustomed elation, asked Zeus ' permission to give mortals some wisdom. After all, she said, they have been-our slaves long enough. Why not give them something to help them along in life? Yes er, erra, replied Zeus, let them be wise. In fact I was going to say that we — Give them freedom of the seas and let them be- come navigators, interrupted Neptune, magnani- mously. Yes, that ' s exactly what I was going to say. You took the words right out of my mouth. Yes, e-hem, of course! That ' s how it went on, one god after another be- stowing what he had in his power to the people of the earth. Immediately the world was affected. Institutions were built, things were. invented, geniuses were born all over the world, and the people became cultured as we know from history. The gods almost made the people better than themselves. When the gods became sober again, Zeus was in- dignant. He called a general assembly to investigate the changed conditions. All the gods came to the conclusion that the nectar was the heart of the solu- tion. The nectar maker was summoned, but he knew nothing. Consequently Zeus concluded a mortal had disobeyed the law and tricked the gods. Mercury, thundered Zeus, calling his messenger, go to every port of this sphere which we rule, and seek out the mortal who dared to defy the omnipo- tent gods. Mercury, traveling at 286,000 miles per second, the speed of light, circulated the globe investigating all types of people. At last he came upon Timotheus. Telling Mercury about his wines, Timotheus men- tioned the missing urn of his best wine. Where could the wine have disappeared to? asked Mercury. I don ' t know where, in the name of Zeus, it went to, responded Timotheus, but I ' ll ask my young son, Bacchus. Bacchus was extremely frightened and, at first, said nothing. Mercury, using his godly influence, com- pelled him to confess. He told about his purpose, his plan, and his sudden fright. Mercury took poor Bacchus to Olympus for trial. Again the gods assembled in the temple of Zeus to decide the punishment. We are assembled here today. the voice of Zeus solemnly rang out over the assembly, to have lustice done. This boy has disobeyed a divine law. What is to be done with him? Your highness, you know how dull lif e has been up here before this event occurred. Our nectar never was so good before and, surely, we did enjoy ourselves. Do you think we can keep him here to make wine for us? suggested an unrecognized god. Better still, we can make him god of wine. He will have all power over wine, remarked another. The gods voted and it was passed unanimously. So you see Bacchus became the god of wine. It was de- creed that Bacchus should remain on Olympus eter- nally, to make wine. Money Isn ' t Everything ALYNE EAVES ' 48 Money! What a handy thing it was! At least Mr. )ones thought so. He was just an average man whose salary barely covered the family needs. Oh, how he envied the wealthy. One night Mr. jones had a strange dream. It was almost unbelievable. He, Bill )ones, of little un- known Waiteville, had won the Irish sweepstake! He was rich! Now he could have all the things he had ever dreamed of — cars, servants, and a big house. Ah, yes! Bill Jones was in seventh heaven. But before he became used to the feeling of wealth, things began to happen. The Revenue man did a little cal- culating and claimed a tidy sum of the winning for Uncle Sam. Oh, well, what were a few thousand dol- lars! Then came other visitors. There was a man ask- ing for a donation for the orphanage. Surely a small amount for such a good cause wouldn ' t be missed. Then what was a few hundred dollars towards the new hospital? People were constantly hounding him for various and unheard of organizations. Mr. Jones never had a moment ' s peace. Bill had been received in all the leading social clubs, and his wife had become a gadabout. The chil- dren seldom saw their parents, and when they did,

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DECEMBER, 1947 been so long since he got his last furlough, isn ' t it? Now, mom, you promised you wouldn ' t look like that every time I mentioned the service. Gee, don ' t worry, look how Bill ' s been taking care of himself and just to please you, the first time I see him, I ' ll make him promise to duck every time a bullet comes his way, how ' s that? Then a telegram arrived with its unbelievable news. At first it didn ' t seem possible but after a bit of sane calculating, the parents of Bill Broadwell came to be- lieved the unwanted truth. In Eddie ' s case, he simply wouldn ' t believe it and wouldn ' t even think about it. When the priest came to talk to him, he finally broke down and went all to pieces. The thought of having lost his only and practically inseparable brother, gave him a great urge to fight and kill. During that week of Eddie ' s unconscious wander- ings, Mr. and Mrs. Broadwell had strongly decided that they couldn ' t bear to lose their last son and were determined to do everything in their power to prevent his joining the service. Eddie, pulling him- self together, decided to join up immediately, and taking the place of his brother and carrying on where he had left off, although it was entirely against his parents ' wishes. His mother cried constantly and begged him to stay at the factory where he could be deferred because of the importance of his knowl- edge of airplanes. Still, although it worried him, Eddie was determined to do as he planned. Yes, here it was a cool bright morning but Eddie, as I said before, didn ' t see all this. His mind was too engaged with the thought that this morning was his last day at the factory and in the afternoon he would enlist. Thus, he would leave for his training base the very next day. With that in mind, Eddie should have been contented but somehow or other his thoughts were interrupted by his mother constantly begging him not to leave as Bill did. That afternoon, Eddie passed his examination and was classified as a soldier in the Air Corps. On his way home, Eddie actually found himself whistling, There ' s a man that came to my house, the song that he and Bill continuously whistled while togeth- er. He immediately stopped when he saw the hag- gard look on his mother ' s face as he entered the house. Oh, if there was only something I could say to make them understand, he thought. He ate only part of his supper and soon went to bed. Just as he was about to doze off into a troubled slumber, a low voice spoke to him, Eddie, Eddie, it called, don ' t go to sleep now, I want to talk to you. Eddie sat up in bed very abruptly. Why that sounds like Bill ' s voice only more matured and not merry like it used to be, he thought. Bill, is that you? Where are you? Let me see you? I ' m right here beside you, Eddie, and you must listen to me. Don ' t appear for induction tomorrow. You must continue your good work at the plant, understand? Bill said forcefully. But I ... ,1 have to, don ' t you see, I ' m already in. I joined up this afternoon. You ' re not in until you appear before your of- ficers tomorrow, and you must not appear. Believe me, Eddie, I know what ' s best for you. The work you ' re doing now is far more important. Don ' t you realize that you ' re saving thousands of lives with your in- ventions. Do you realize that if you had designed and completed that new rudder before today, I would be alive today? Why, what do you mean, why do you say that? I merely mean that if I had had that new rudder that could not stick on my plane, I would be alive tod ay. You see, the rudder got stuck and I couldn ' t stay out of the enemies ' target. I . . . you, Bill. No, no, Eddie, take that thought out of that blonde head of yours. You are not responsible for my death. It was fate, that ' s all. But what is important is that you must continue inventing new parts so that you may save other fives and at the same time look out for mom and dad. Your life is not your own, Eddie, it belongs to the life that is in all the other boys in the Air Corps. I must go now, but before- L go, promise me you ' ll do as I know is right. Tell me you ' ll not do as I did. Don ' t stutter, promise, promise! I . . . , I . . . , I promise. Thanks, pal. I always knew you were the better of the two of us. What Is A Tree? SHIRLEY A. DiFEDERICO ' 48 What is a tree That stands so tall and green With branches reaching out Like one Begging for love. What is a tree With soft winds Blowing its silver leaves Murmuring and whispering Sweet phrases. What is a tree Standing above you As if it has power Over you, As we have power over Some. But yet it stands With everlasting beauty Throwing light On the helpless, Giving some Strength. What is a tree? Far, Far Away PAUL WOODBURY ' 51 It will be heaven when we get there — those won- derful days when I become one of the masters, a senior. Then some freedom may be allowed to us and best of all we can think of horrible things for the poor fresh- men to do on Freshmen Week. Ah, but such days are far, far off! I have four long years ahead of me — four hard-working (maybe) years. As You Like It HARRY DESROSIERS ' 49 Of As You Like It (which I don ' t) I ' d make a comment (but I won ' t). You read this story, then you ' ll see just why it did discourage me. The book is dull and rather dreary, There are no murders to make it eerie. The only character that is good I think, Is good old Touchstone, the rest do stink, As for dear Rosalind, as the plot doth thicken, Her mushy romance makes me sicken. Even as I sit here sad and pale, This is one quarter that I will fail. Now I ' ll leave you one and all, As you are walking down the hall, For now to English class, I ' m heading — And that ' s a place I sure am dreading. That darn old book is still there waiting. Anyone here wish to go skating?

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DECEMBER, 1947 11 were they the same Mom and Dad? No, there was no time for a family life now. In fact, Mom and Dad rarely saw each other. They both had their own ac- tivities to keep them busy. The house that had once been so warm was now a cold, unhappy place. Bill Jones began to wonder if he was as happy now that be was rich as he had been before. Look! He had a big car now, and a chauffeur. Wasn ' t that something he had always wanted? He had four servants now, although they were hard to get along with and demanded enormous wages. Yet, something was missing. Life didn ' t mean as much now that he had the wealth he had so long desired. Life was empty. He couldn ' t work in the yard planting flowers, or take his young son down to the river to watch the boats go by. Heavens, no! That just wasn ' t done by the elite! Bill felt a little cheated. True he had the wealth he had always wanted, but love and happiness had been removed. Oh, for the life he had led before. Wasn ' t there something that could be done to re- turn it to him? What was he going to do? Daddy! Daddy! Wake up. Will you take me fishing today, Daddy? You promised. What a relief it was to Bill Jones to learn it had been just a dream. The Storm At Sea LOIS CACNON ' 50 O foaming, frothing, pitching sea, O storm so fierce and strong, What ' s in the waves so wrought with grief To pitch the whole night long? Why do the waves go pounding on, What message do they bring, Some tender dream or thought to morn This storm that stirs the sea? The Adventures Of Tommy Turtle At Wells High BETTY LOU HART ' 50 Tommy Turtle had, of course, gone to school be- fore, turtle school that is, but yet he decided to visit Wells High just to renew his memories. He got to school at 8:1 5, just to be sure he wouldn ' t miss a thing, and roamed the corridors ' til the bell for the first class rang. Tommy jumped into the near- est corner to avoid being tramped upon. Then Tommy hopped upstairs and decided to go to Biology class. He had a great time there being used as an example. He was the center of attraction. The next class was Geometry. In this class they were learning about the allusion of the Rabbit and Turtle Table. Then he crawled into English where they were being taught about Julius Caesar. Tommy remembered a great deal about this, especially Caesar ' s assassination, which occurred in his days. Next he thought he ' d see what study hall was like. Oh, what fun! Tommy just couldn ' t go back to school in the after- noon. He was all worn out especially from crawling through those long corridors and hopping up and down the stairs to the coke bar. So he decided to stay home and rest, and when Myrtle Turtle asked what he thought of it he just said, It sure ain ' t the same as when we went to school. Lost ROBERTA PALMER ' 48 On a sweltering summer day three girls scrambled up a rocky path which led to the summit of a moun- tain. The trail grew vaguer, the sun grew hotter, and the girls grew wearier; but they struggled on, carry- ing the lunch among them. As they trudged heedlessly through the flower- strewn hollows and over the mossy knolls, they be- came hungry. Mary, Anne, and Jane ate their lunch spread on the cool grass in the shade of an old maple. When they had finished eating, they picked a few blueberries, putting some in their basket and not a few in their stomachs. While the afternoon wore on, clouds began to gather. Suddenly the girls decided they must be get- ting home — but how? The storm clouds grew thicker. Mary and Anne grew panic-stricken but their young comrade, Jane, assured them. She took her two friends to the shelter of a pine and told them to wait. The thunder rolled. The lightning flashed. Rain came down in torrents. Jane wandered about through the underbrush and over fallen trees. The brush tore at her clothes and hair but Jane moved onward. At last an excited call shivered through the air. I have found a sign. Anne and Mary, New Yorkers they were, ex- claimed, What does it say? The little country lass in a both playful and dis- gusted tone replied, Broadway, come and see. They came with chattering teeth and shaking limbs. Jane showed them an unmistakable sign — at least to her — a giant oak — and close by, a path — the path home. ' Pride Goeth NORMA CASSAVOY ' 50 A turkey once, not lean but fat, Upon a farm yard fence once sat — Quite proud as all big turkeys are And gobbled his prowess near and far. When Thanksgiving time came up and ' round, It caused our feathered friend to frown For Farmer Brown possessed an axe And severing Cobbler ' s head was no great task. Then, Thanksgiving Day, O, Cod, me bless, Cobbler turns up head- and feather-less. For fifty relatives and their wives Aren ' t just gesturing with their knives. Upon his goodness they exclaim! And eat him till just bones remain And all of gobbler ' s pride that ' s left Is skeleton, of flesh on feathers, bereft. He Was Homeless JACKIE LUCIER ' 49 He came walking down the street with a limp. One look at his battle scarred face was enough to make known his fighting interest. His right ear was half torn off, his whiskers were ragged with bare patches where the skin must have been torn. To judge by his coat, he must have been a homeless tramp. His coat was filthy and badly in need of care. Underneath could be seen the real, true character. A little brushing, good food, and affection would soon change him from the old alley cat he was into a nice pampered house pet!! (Continued on Page 29)