Westmont Hilltop Senior High School - Phoenician Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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to himself as he thought of the situation of the hat and of the man’s dismay. Suddenly in the depth of Mickey s heart something happened, and he darted toward the puddle, jumping it. and with a quick motion caught the hat and held it safe from destruc- tion. The man watched the boy’s movements, no- ticing the quick wittedness and steadiness of the act. He saw in Mickey a great statesman, or even a presi- dent. Mickey handed him the hat and left without hesitation. He had done a thoughtful deed and he felt happy, although he hardly knew it. The man shouted to him, but he did not answer. ti ™e n?xt day brou£ht re«l trouble to Mickey He had stolen a car the night before and had ruined the machine. As a result he was in the reception room of the Juvenile Court, waiting for his trial, with a policeman by his side. For want of something more pleasant to think of than his accident, he let his mind rest on his experiences of the previous dav. He remembered particularly the episode of the hat and wondered who the owner was. From what he had seen of him he recognized him as a fairly well- to-do man, a man who knew and understood the ways of children. Right then he decided he would find where he lived and talk to him some day. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the opening of the door to the courtroom and the read- ing of his name. He entered, still accompanied by the policeman. When he got inside he glanced a’t the platform where he saw, to his astonishment, the man whom he had aided the day before. Immedi- ately Mickey knew he was the much talked of judge Mickey was seated beside the platform, next to the policeman. He and the judge studied each other, at first, but then Mickey, remembering why he was to the floor. The judge there, lowered his gaze spoke. W hats the matter, lad,” he said, stopping ab- ruptly and waiting for an answer. He did not speak harshly, just quickly. Mickev was too much ashamed of himself to speak. The policeman answered, “This boy is bad just bad. Last night he stole an automobile and ruined it. Not only that, but he has stolen other cars before—and almost killed another boy with a stolen revolver. v e wiiKh.” said the judge, “leave the room. Mr. O Harrow. i ™en he came down to talk with Mickey. The boy told him the whole truth. When the judge found out what kind of a boy Ma-key was. and that he had no parents, he decided that Mickey needed a guardian and a companion and took that job upon himself. He offered to send Mickey away to school. The boy, being already con- verted by the judge, was ready to agree to anvthing he might suggest. He consented to go, if the judge would come and see him every week. Mickey did well in school. He made manv mends and worked till he could pay for the car he had broken. He and the judge, by this time, were the best of friends. After having settled for the car Mickey decided to work his way through college and become a lawyer. He had promised to pav back the judge for all his trouble, a promise which he is giv- ing evidence of keeping, for nothing will repav the judge so well as to see his young friend become a full-fledged lawyer, and that is what he is on the way to be. IRVING L. CAMP, ’27.

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Bill seldom went with the girls, he never cared much for them. He had dressed several hours be- fore the time set for the meeting. He wore a new Palm Beach suit, a very brilliantly colored tie, new shoes, silk socks with clocks, a white English broad- cloth shirt and a new Stetson hat that was really becoming. After he had finished dressing, he hur- riedly went to his room to put on the finishing touches. . . It was six-thirty and the date was set for eight- thirty. He walked nervously up and down his room, glancing at his watch every few minutes. It was seven-thirty and Bill could not wait any longer. After carefully adjusting his hat he went out. He walked to the corner of Main and Franklin streets. He still had an hour to wait. Walking to the house in which Peg lived, he found the down- stairs brilliantly lighted, and one room upstairs lighted. Looking at the upstairs light, he wished that it would go out and Peg would come down. The minutes seemed like hours. He became tired of standing and sat on the wainscoting under the win- dow of a house across the street, planning what he and Peg were going to talk about during the even- ing. Bill was just settled when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He looked up and saw a policeman, who smiled indulgently at Bill and said, “Say, Buddy, you’re sitting on wet paint.” Bill jumped up horror-stricken, and looked at his suit. Sure enough, there were two long streaks of white paint on his coat tail. The paint didn’t show so much. He ran to the corner and looked at the town clock. It was eight o’clock. “Surely it must be later than that.” He loafed around a little while longer and then went to Peg’s house. Just as he arrived there, the town clock struck eight-thirty. Peg was there to meet him. “Let’s go to the Cambria Theater, Peg. “Allright.” . . When they arrived at the theater, Bill asked the ticket-seller for two first-floor tickets. He reached for his money but could not find it. He told Peg what the trouble was and she suggested that they go to the street fair. They went to the fair and Bill took a ten-cent chance on a Ford Coupe. He forgot all about the chance and enjoyed the evening with Peg. When the time came to award the auto. Bill heard the an- nouncer call his number. He proudly stepped for- ward and claimed the car, while the crowd ap- plauded. Peg was very happy over Bill’s fortune, and they were both happy over the fortunate out- come of Bill’s First Date. ELIZABETH KONDOR, ’26. HOW THE JUVENILE COURT HELPED MICKEY Mickey Dugan, the terror of the neighborhood, was slowly walking down Ash alley, his eyes fixed on the ground as though he were looking for some- thing, although he was not. In fact, he had nothing to look for. He was in trouble; yes, trouble seemed hovering about him. ready to devour him which-ever way he turned. He needed a friend; he knew he needed a friend, but who would be the friend of Mickey Dugan, the meanest boy in the neighborhood. Just then he raised his eyes from the ground, in time to see a man’s hat fly from his head and come straight for the place where Mickey was standing. He saw its owner leave the main sidewalk and start in pursuit of the hat. Mickey also noticed a great big mud puddle in the path of the hat. He laughed

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by-products of human nature By-products are usually thought of as minor products in the process of making finished materials: but I sometimes think that they perform more good—or harm—in the world than do the main prod- ucts. By-products of our human natures are usually Hung out unconsciously, either when we are trying to teach and explain a lesson, or when we are work- ing with neither end nor purpose in view for our acts and words. Our careers cannot be made noble or great if they are based entirely on one or two praiseworthy deeds or virtues: for underneath those deeds must be scraps and bits of the greater morals of life, which we have at odd times acquired from our own experiences or caught from a kind word, a smile, or chance expression. The world is made up of people of all tempera- ments, but some go through it heedless of another s feelings, disregarding the fact that all person’s minds do not function alike, and therefore do not grasp—or do grasp—the little things of life which make it great and worthwhile. We are sometimes so engrossed with our own misfortunes that we fail to realize that our friends may also have misfortunes, just as bad and probably worse than we have; and it is very often, that from this frame of mind come the harsh, unsympathizing words which, instead of remaining a by-product of self-pity, grow into a common poisonous dislike. We say cruel things which are but outbreaks of rage and which we really do not mean; nevertheless they have an ill-effect upon the auditor. It may not be the exact words that adhere to his mind, but the manner in which they were expressed. But I do not believe that Human Nature is so unequally balanced that all its by-products are ill- favored, for I believe that if one sought, and really sought earnestly, that he would find the good in the world outweighing the evil, in spite of the fact that we are always having it drilled into us that this un- lucky generation is the worst of the worst. Many of the successes in life are due, not to the strictlv taught and long labored-over lessons—not the lesson itself—but to certain expressions or im- pressions that are stamped upon our minds and which afterwards have much influence upon our ac- tions. A pupil may fail entirely to grasp the point of a lesson, yet take from it something which will benefit him all his life. We cannot always tell what the by-products of our own natures will be, nor can we control them, for other people are more likely than not to perceive a situation in an entirely dif- ferent light. The finished or dressed product is often unreal, untrue, or artificial, but the by-products are per- fect reflections of the inner self. A tiny girl who went to school one day with her sisters, ran away to her playmate’s house. Kach sister, on the way home, thought the baby was with the other: and when they reached their mother and found that she was with neither, they became greatly alarmed, for gypsies were in the habit of carrying off little chil- dren. Both sisters turned back to search for her. Thev found her making mud-pies with her little friend, and not realizing that she was doing any- thing wrong. The sisters frightened the child so badly bv scolding and telling her how cross Mother was that she cried all the way home. The sisters pushed her into the room saying, “You’ll get it!” But instead, the mother folded the little girl into her