Wells River High School - Chatterbox Yearbook (Wells River, VT)

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2G THE CHATTERBOX This modest man, a scientist and artist, whose work is be- coming known and studied not only all over this country but in England and on the Continent as well, makes his home in Jeri- cho, Yt.. a small town in northern Vermont. Mr. Bentley knows more about snow flakes than any other man in the world. To him a snow storm is an exciting event because of its possibilities; he never knows when he is going to find some wonderful prize. The best and most perfect flakes are found in the “Low”, as the area of low pressure is called, be- cause there the air is calmer and the flakes are not so crowded. They have more room and are not so blown about, and are larger and finer. During a snow storm in which Mr. Bentley wishes to secure specimens, he stands at the open door of a cold room and allows the flakes to fall on a little wooden tray painted black. This tray is held by wires at the ends so his hands can- not touch and warm the wood. He then carries the tray into the cold room, removes the snow flakes from the tray by means of a wooden rod. and then inserts them in front of the lens of the microscope. Mr. Bentley must work very c|uicklv, as even in freezing temperature each separated crystal quickly disap- pears, not by melting but by evaporation. The largest snow flakes are not the finest. The best speci- mens are usually not more than a quarter of an inch in diameter. Some of the very finest ones are only one-twentieth of an inch in diameter and so tiny that you and 1 wouldn’t give them a second glance. During the past forty years, Mr. Bentley has made thou- sands of photographs and found that no two are alike except that they all have six sides. Some appear to be very plain while others are fancy—all lacy and feathery. Some years ago Mr. Bentley sold over two hundred pho- tographs to Tiffany, and from them, as patterns, many beautiful brooches and pendants were designed. Other jewelers, metal workers and silk manufacturers are using the crystals for de- signs. Many of his photographs have been reproduced in scien- tific publications, both in this country and in Europe. There is

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THE CHATTERBOX 2 He was immensely interested in the productions of his artist boarders and spent a good deal of time watching them at their work. One day when alone he got out an assortment of house paints, made a selection of house painter’s brushes, found a smooth strip of board and went to work. When he had finish- ed, he hung his picture beside the others on the wall in the car- riage house. The next morning there was great excitement among the landscape painters and after questioning their host, the confession was made. During the rest of that summer he was a constant com- panion of the painters. Supplied with proper materials, he led them to the choice spots he knew among the hills. Later in the year, the painters gave an exhibition and John Lillie had more canvasses hung than anyone. As time went on, his canvasses accumulated and soon John Lillie’s name was on every artist's lip and people who cared anything about pictures were making pilgrimages to his home. A visiting painter, on his return to New York, spoke so convincingly of Lillie’s canvasses, that many were sold and put on exhibition. . They were strange pictures, yet one could ponder and search over them indefinitely. All had mystery and imagina- tion. John Lillie’s fast-growing fame has stirred and aroused the little village of Dorset and those who have had the opportu- nity of knowing him are most thankful for the experience. Like John Keats, the English poet; like Walt Whitman, the Ameri- can poet and novelist. John Lillie has developed his latent gift. Keats and Whitman portrayed their love of nature by word pictures while Lillie, inspired by the work of artists, has por- trayed on canvass the beauties of his native state. Proud, too. are we Vermonters of Wilson Bentley. Per- haps the name Bentley does not mean much to most peo if the “Snow Flake Man’’ is mentioned, one quickly thinks of pictures seen in frames or in books; pictures labelled “photo- graphic reproductions” of snow crystals.

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THE CHATTERBOX 27 hardly a University in the United States or in Canada that does not have some of Mr. Bentley’s slides for use in class work. You wonder what our Snow King does in the summer? We find that he keeps himself busy by making pictures of dew drops. Although his dew pictures lack the extraordinary variety of the snow crystals, in some ways they are most beautiful. There seems to be something about water, in all its forms that fascinates Mr. Bentley. He has made hundreds of pictures of frost including wonderful photographs of window panes, which Jack Frost has so artistically decorated. He has photographed curious forms of hailstones, rain- drops and clouds, but it is the snow that really commands hi: passionate interest. Mr. Bentley is very content with his role in life. In his own words he says, “As you see, I am a poor man, except in the satisfaction I get out of my work. In that respect I am one of the richest men in the world. I wouldn’t change places with Henry Ford or John D. Rockefeller for all their millions! and I wouldn’t change places with a king—not for all his power and glory. I have my snow flakes!” And We? We Vermonters? We Graduates of Wells River High School? We have Vermont and all she has pro- duced—patriots, a president, authors, teachers, artists and a king. M. GLADYS LATURNAU. THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION Education, to some, seems to have reached perfection; and to understand the means by which the present standard has been achieved we must delve deep into its past history. Learning had its start in the middle ages, during the twelfth and' thirteenth centuries known as the Renaissance Period—the time when the desire for advancement in all lines of human activity dominated all classes. The learning of that day, scanty as it seems to us. contained one main point, the stu-