Westbrook High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Westbrook, ME)

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admonishing all readers to select their winter vacationland immediately, as all reservations would soon be taken. A small rectangle appeared below containing such names as Florida, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Idaho, California, and count- less others, with a small square beside each one in which the would-be vacationist was to place a small check mark Qonly in the ones in which he was especially interested, howeverj. Unsuspect- ingly, I placed a check mark in almost all of them, omitting only a few for the mere looks of the thing. It will be very interesting and educational, I thought, to receive pamphlets from all parts of our wonderful country. Alas! little did I know of the consternation and even the misfortune that awaited me and others. After this bold act, I impatiently awaited the arrival of my first pamphlet. So infatuated with my idea was I that I sometimes gave very vague and abstract answers to questions asked me in school. On one instance in particular I was said to have replied that Santa Fe was the name of that most honorable gentleman who first saw the Pacific Ocean. QI do not know to this very day whether or not I said that, so absorbed was I in my thoughtsj I had not long to wait, however, before results of my act began to materialize and the mail began to arrive. The poor mailman looked daggers at me each time he saw me. I could hardly blame him, for it was I who was responsible for his bag being filled to capacity each morning, and later necessitated his carrying two bags of mail, it was I who caused him to wear out three pairs of shoes in one month, and above all it was I who lived in the last house on his route. C I am even told that the office was required to hire three extra mailmen during my pre-vacation splurge.j If my poor, innocent plan had only stopped there, perhaps C I am not positivej I should not now be so prejudiced against flowery, innocent advertise- ments which lure one to such depths of distraction that they really require a rest and a good one. CPerhaps that is one way of securing trade, but ah, I shall never knowll But no, my telephone rang continually night and day, and everyone, from sweet-voiced women to gruff-sounding men, inquired for me and asked if I was the personage who had so generously answered the advertise- ment. On being told, rather reluctantly, that I was the one, they inquired as to the date of my departure from home, the date of my arrival at my destination, and vice versa, as to the length of my stay, the places I desired most to visit, my choice of residence, whether I wanted the very small, ultra-modern traveler's kitchenette contain- ing forty-two rooms, three sun rooms, a patio, a private swimming pool, and such knickknacks, or whether I preferred something more roomy and conventional. My poor head practically swam. And wou1dn't yours, answering such questions as these every day for three or four weeks? CThe sad part of it is, I could answer only in the negativej The climax to my woes came on a Wednesday, when I was where all good children should be- in school. And quite fortunate it was for me, too, that I was in that grand institution of learning. CI truly believe that was one time I was thankful for such an institutionj A very dignified, busi- nesslike gentleman walked determinedly up my front steps and rang the door bell. The door opened and my maternal parent was confronted with the very same volley of questions which had been asked me over the telephone. When she at last found an opening fwhich, incidentally, was not until twenty minutes laterj she emphatically informed the gentleman that she most certainly was not the person in question, that the person in question had not contemplated any such trip as he had so eloquently described, that she had applied for pamphlets only from sheer pleasure, and that the person in question would not trouble them further in any such matter. tHe dejectedly departedj Thus, as in Shakespeare's verse- how far a candle throws its beam, so shines a good deed in a naughty world -my unsuspecting act reached into deep, dark, cobwebby corners and all occu- pants rose up to question me. QNever again lj

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'V H N 10 araaf- whether in the city or in the forests. It takes millions of dollars to replace the lumber lost in buildings and furniture destroyed in tires each year. Therefore, we should be careful in the use of fire. A point should be taken to make every week Fire Prevention Weekn and American Forest VVeek, for there is nothing closer and clearer to our national well-being than our forests and the products which we derive from them. However, in addition to the fact that we must do our best to conserve the forests which we already have, we must replace the trees that are taken from the forests each year by necessity. VVe must organize a reforestation program so that the trees will be planted like the crops on a farm. Our government has already laid the foundation for a national forest policy by providing for the cooperation between the government and the vari- ous states in the work of conservation and re- forestation. In spite of the perplexing problems facing our government, there are few more im- portant than the question of the preservation of our forests. The youth of modern America must always be ready to mold public opinion to the extent that our government will carry on the great work that it has already started. The future of the United States depends largely upon the suc- cess of this movement. We must not become a nation without trees. WHAT KIND OF BOYS DO GIRLS LIKE? FLORENCE DRINKWATER, '38 What is the most important thought that enters the mind of any average girl of today? There is no need for me to give you the answer. Everyone knows that it is boys, Now, what sort of boys do girls like? That is a question that each girl should answer herself and I will give my personal opinion of a good example. I shall call him Raymond. Raymond is a boy who has respect for his father and mother and, certainly, if he can be good to them he will be the same to his wife and children. He even treats his sisters and other girls as well as he does his own boy friends. That is more than I can say of some boys who are near me every day. In appearance, Raymond is neat enough for any girl to be proud to be seen with. He has a clean and healthy mind and a good character. That has much to do with winning a girl's affection. I sup- pose that if any boy reads this he will say Ray- mond is quite a sissy. But, girls, do you think so? No! What a boy needs is many more helpful suggestions like some of those that I have given. If any of you boys want to argue, we girls are waiting. SEE AMERICA FIRST ETHELYN SMITH, '38 The one ambition of travelers, whether they are experienced travelers, travelers through read- ing, or travelers only in imagination, is to go abroad. Oh, to see Paris in the spring-the Louvre-the Alps--Normandy in apple blossom time-the Riviera, and all the famous places pic- tured in geography books, or in travel pamphlets, or heard about from the fortunate ones who have visited these places! Little do we realize how beautiful our own country is and how surprised at all its beauty we should be if we only followed the slogan-our national slogan- See America First. There is little opportunity for one to forget this slogan if he has once-only once is enough- expressed a desire to See America First. I know. I cannot for the life of me understand why steamship lines, railroad companies, and health resorts advertise in well-known magazines if they to answer their advertise- prefer paying-customers or real trips and not imaginary I to know? There was no the traditional lower left- do not expect people ments. CFerhaps they ones who contemplate ones.j But how was Statement inserted in hand corner to the effect that Only those positive of why, where, and how they intend to take the above stated trip need apply. If only things had been clear! One day, while idly turning the pages of a magazine, I came upon a full-page advertisement

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e Y 12 SNAP! KENNETH STONE, '38 Are you the monstrosity who has the nerve to tell George that you are sorry not to be able to lend him a pencil when you have a whole pocket- ful? Probably you are not. Hence, when the fel- low in front of you asks for a pencil, you take pity on him and make the loan, pardon me, the gift. On Monday morning, you usually have a pencil, a pen, and some ink. Immediately your neighbor begins to cast longing glances at your bottle of ink when his pen runs dry. The girl in front of you has just finished her examination, and you are hurrying, struggling to complete your paper in the best way possible. After a few moments, your neighbor finally feels that he has endured the suspense long enough. May I borrow some ink? I will return it when you need some, he pours forth in a solemn mono- tone. But when you need some, does he have any to return? For that matter, does he ever have any to give you? How often you are asked to make a loan with no hope of return! But there is still another side to look at. As a representative of another type, you are supposed to be a hard-hearted person, someone who has no love for his fellow classmates, a per- son who has no pity for these people who never have any utensils of their own. Again your friend asks for a pencil, but he is instantly repulsed by your terse reply, I am sorry, but I have none to lend. Do you ever have any of your own? You were trying to borrow a pencil yesterday, weren't you F Almost every person so repulsed has only one thought--that you are cruelly selfish. So the battle proceeds through the week. At last you arrive in school on Friday. Even the air makes you feel the freedom which will be yours tomorrow. So far, you have repulsed the desired loan, but on the dawn of freedom the cloud breaks. You and your friends are taking an examination which is not required to be done in ink. The girl in front of you is writing furiously across her paper. Now the inevitable happens. Suddenly the point of her pencil sinks into a hole in the desk. Snap! She is in a quandary. VV hat shall I do? Shall I ask the teacher to lend me a pencil to finish P she thinks. In the in- tervening seconds, she looks at you. You look at her to see what caused the sudden noise. She is human, so instantly she asks you for a pencil. Could you refuse? After all, she is a friend of your brother. The pencil is passed, thus solving her problem. Again you have broken your reso- lution to give presents only at Christmas. THE CRYSTAL TREE CAROLYN SIMPSON, '38 This morning I awakened early, And looked across a gleaming field of white. Tall pines had made a background, solely For beauty of a lone elm's sparkling height. All ice encrusted was the elm, so lovely That I grew breathless with a keen delight. A tree of wondrous beauty, surely One spun of glass by fairies in the night. These pictures painted by old Mother Nature Are planned for us to give our days more zest, And gratitude we feel, that for our pleasure She gives us always, only of her best. For us to see and love and treasure, But always we must share it with the rest. ADVENTURE IN THE NIGHT AUGUST GALLANT, '41 One night, when I was about three years old, my mother was tucking me in bed when all at once a terrified look spread over her face. She broke into song, and sang at the top of her voice in French. I became frightened and started to cry, still she sang on and pinched me to make me cry louder. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours, someone knocked at the door. My mother opened it to let in our neighbor and a policeman. Then she came over to me and told me that she was sorry that she had had to pinch me. She said that she had sung to her neighbor, who under- stood French, to call a policeman, for there under the bed was a burglar.