Winamac High School - Totem Yearbook (Winamac, IN)

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THE TOTEM 27 THE TWO DIGGER BOYS Fay Spaulding and Rollin Gleason were digger boys, which is to say they were the sons of gold diggers. Fay ' s father was the foreman of the Gold Dollar mine, and Rollin ' s father was the superintendent. The Gold Foliar was a placer mine, the surface gravel being torn down and washed through the sluices by powerful hy- draulic monitors, the streams from which were many times more power- ful than the streams from the nozzle of a city tire engine. The Gold Dollar was located in the heart of the Sis- kiyou mountain range, in Colorado, many miles from any town or school, and the boys ' fathers, not wanting their sons to grow up uneducated, had hired a private tutor to teach them. ' ' School hours, as the boys termed them, were from eight in the morning till twelve. This gave them all the afternoon to use in outdoor sports — rambling through the forest, operat- ing their placer mine down the creek, panning for gold in the gravel, or rid- ing the ponies along the trail. One Friday afternoon as the boys returned from a long ramble into the forest , they halted at a newly-made fence, which surrounded a barren strip of ground that lay between the Gold Dollar holdings and the steep mountain side that formed one side of the narrow valley. This strip of ground belonged to Skookum Ike, a trapper and prospector, who lived in a little cabin which stood in a group of laurels near t he I rail. Though the strip was known to be rich diggings, Ike worked only in a desultory manner, by shovel and rocker and other crude met hods, tak- ing out only a little gold each winter. He was unable to work it on an ex- tensive scale for the reason that the entire water rights of the creek were owned and controlled by the owners of the Gold Dollar mine. Ike had lived there many years before the Gold Dollar mine was developed, and knowing nothing of the requirements of the law respecting the usages id ' water, he neglected to file application for water rights and so found him- self deprived of all the water of the creek, when he later attempted to work his claim. This embittered him against the company, and when they offered to buy his strip of placer ground, Ike would not sell; moreover, he closed the trail the company had made across his ground in going to and from the trading post. He would not even allow r any of the men to walk across his place and would not grant them any favors whatever. Fay and Rollin had heard much un- kind talk about the trapper and knew that there was enmity between him and their fathers, and this was why they now hesitated about crossing his ground. However, they had not

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26 THE TOTEM Should have brought my English home; I ' d forget it, try my best. But I know it is quite easy; I can read it through at rest. Algebra! why did I bring it, When we ' re having a review? I ' m supposed to look it over, But I have ton much to do. Dear, oh dear! I ' m getting sleepy; Most afraid I ' ll have to stop, AN IDEAL SOPHMORE. GIRL. Size of Erma Haas. Graceful as Edna Conn. Complexion like Gladys Huddles- ton. Hair like Dorothy Manders. Eyes like Dorrit Degner. Mouth like Fern Parrott. Hands like Iva Deck. Feet like Laura Brinker. Blush like Curly Hoffman. Smile like Verda Beinhart. Witty as Miss Diedrich. Sing like 0. T. Spencer. Play like Mr. Kinnick. Chew gum like Miss Stratton. SOPHOMORE PARTY. On Friday, Dec. 16, the Sophomores gave a party at which the faculty were gu sts. Each member of the class having invited a guest, there were aboul fifty present. The hall was decorated in the class colors of purple and gold. Among the games which were played was a cracker coo- lest between Mr. Kinnick ami Mr. Spencer, the former winning. Other And I Ye got another lesson Yet to get by nine o ' clck. He assigned ten great, long topics In Geography, I think. And I ought to read them over — All about why boards don ' t sink. How the fishes stand the pressure Of the weight unen their head. Why can ' t man make some invention, To relieve us of our dread? —MABEL F. SMITH ' 14 games were played in which Mr. Spaulding, Dorrit Degner and Ruth Agnew won prizes. Refreshments were served and favors on which the class colors were represented were presented to each guest. All enjoyed themselves and they departed at a late hour. Winston Churchill the young Eng- lish statesman once began to raise a mustache, and while he was still In the budding age he was asked to a dinner party to take out to dinner an English girl who had decided oppos- ing political views. I am sorry, said Mr. Churchill, ' ' we cannot agree on politics. No; we can ' t. re- joined the girl, for, to be frank with you, 1 like your politics about as little as T do your mustache. Well, ' ' replied Mi ' . C, remember you are not liable to come in contact with either. The Junior class is working hard t-i make the Junior reception one of I he most pleasant affairs that the Seniors have ever attended. The re- ception will be given April 27.

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28 THE TOTEM