Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 19 have a tendency to get scarce. Thus the reason for rationing and setting of ceiling prices on various articles is to make sure that everybody gets the necessary com¬ modities for decent living. The problem of farm help is also serious. Many women are willing to go to the factories to work, but they do not like the idea of going out and doing farm work. This country has to produce more food this year than ever before. Conse¬ quently I think that the draft boards had better watch out and consider the men who are essential to farm work, or there will be no experienced young farmers left to work the land. The best thing and the only thing for the people on the home front is to cooperate with the government. We must remember that many of our young men who are close and dear to us have gone off, and left their good jobs and social life to fight and preserve our rights at home. Thus it is our duty to guard the home front. There is an old saying that goes like this, If we do not hang together, we will all hang separately, and it certainly applies to the situation today. Therefore let us all get together now and buy all the war stamps and bonds that we possibly can and back the war in this way. Theodore Pyznar ' 44. SPECTATOR — 1944 Last week, I was sitting in a car on the Main Street of our town waiting for my companion. I watched the people going by — people I have known all my life; but they assumed different forms and shapes in my imagination. It put me in mind of the Spectator Papers, which we were reading in school, and I found that some of the well-known characters were living right in our town. As I recalled some of these characters, Tom Touchy passed by. His shoulders drooped and he glared at the whole world suspiciously. His mouth was an inverted U, down at the corners. I had a mental picture of him, arguing with his neighbor about where his property ended and where his neighbor’s began. Following Tom Touchy was John Matthews, described in A Sunday At Sir Roger s. Instead of kicking the church pews to amuse himself, he was writing on every building he passed. He reminded me of the old saying, Fool’s names and fool’s faces, Are always found in public places. A group of five diverted my attention from John Matthews by their general air of confusion. The high school crowd — the modern version of the picts and dandies of Queen Anne’s period — taking life as it comes, their chief problem being, What excuse can I give Miss Browning this time for not doing my algebra? I’ll bet those books carried so carelessly on their hips weren’t opened for home¬ work, either. Sir Roger walked along behind these high-schoolers shaking his head at them. His clothes were neat, but about two years behind the times. His silver head was bare, and he had the air of someone used to being listened to. He was a little nettled at the youngsters because they disregarded him entirely. I was startled by my companion who had just returned, and without thinking, I said, Sir Roger just walked by.” Then realizing what I had said, I laughingly explained my queer statement to my friend, whose look of confusion vanished into one of amusement, and to this day I am teased with, ”How ' is Sir Roger Today? Jacqueline Cousineau, ’45. CN Page

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18 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD EDITORIALS LOOKING TO THE FUTURE “The past speaks for itself, the future encourages hope.” We arc now living in a period when both hope and despair are playing an important part in our lives. There are many who look with fear to the future, who foresee only how far down the road of destruction we can go. But, if we have thought this, let us remember our past. We have struggled, but we have survived. Our forefathers at the time of the Revolution held no hope for the future, but from that time, has not America proved herself a great nation. ' If we fight for the great principles of our ancestors, if we keep bef ore us the ideals for which we are fighting, we shall succeed as we have in the past. The future takes strength from the past, the future will be what we make of it, the future is ours to mold and make great. Let us not fear what the close of this war may bring, let us only believe in our power to succeed and keep our hope in America. Eufrasina Colo, ’44. HOME DEFENSE The people of this country have seen a great change in their work programs and also in their social life since our country declared war on the Axis powers. That Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, opened the eyes of the American people. Soon after, defense plants adopted a twenty-four hour day and a seven day week program. Many factories and shops that were not on defense wor k quickly converted their industry to war work even though some of them had to install new machinery to meet the requirements of the government. The women and girls also are doing many jobs that used to be done by men who have since been inducted into the armed forces. Of course this is a good thing because it keeps defense industries going. Furthermore, civilians all over the country in the last two years have done a splendid job in organizing the civilian defense groups. Many of the groups that have been started are as follows: the airplane spotters, the air raid wardens, the auxiliary policemen, and the auxiliary firemen. These people are not being paid for their services, but they understand that if the people are prepared, it will be easier to go through air raids. Of course there are those people who just say it will never happen here and will not have anything to do with the defense groups. Some people even laugh and make fun of the ones who are doing their best to help out on the home front. However, let us pray and hope that enemy planes w ' ill never be soaring over head, but I personally think that the only way to make the people cooperate is to have a sample of wdiat the people are going through in the war-stricken countries on other continents. The rationing problem seems to be perplexing. In this country there would be hardly any reason for rationing if the people would only use their heads. People have brought rationing upon themselves by going out and buying more goods than they have immediate use for. Then, too, there are the dealers who take advantage of the fact that the rich people will pay a considerable price for commodities that o CN Page

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20 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD SHORT STORIES THE FINAL REWARD The sergeant paced back and forth before the six men. Every few steps he would pause to praise some man in the line. They were his men, and they had come all the way from the United States here to Guadalcanal with him. It had been rather tough at first to convince them that following directions was absolutely necessary no matter what they thought should be done. They had taken streaks of pig-headedness, but then so had the sergeant. Now was the time to give them their reward for passing the final test. Shanton, you did a great job with that Jap sniper. It would have been too bad for Colonel Whipe if you hadn’t seen him.’’ Raymonds, Edwards, and Popolis — you three’ll get medals for getting rid of that machine gun nest. Rachowski, you and Friedman saved my life. I’ll never forget that. Here the sergeant stopped to wipe a tear from his eye — no it was not a tear just a cinder. Men, today you proved that you are marines. The jobs you six did today will probably not be told to the world, but I’ll always remember. I want to say that I am proud of you. Then he turned to a corporal standing a short distance away and said, Okay, Corporal, you can bury them now. Geraldine Cagnulari, ’45. A CLOSE SHAVE Private Joe Scalio wrung out the towel he had just placed in ho t water. It was his custom always to have hot water for an officer’s shave. As he placed the towel over the man in the chair, his victim squirmed. Joe whistled and watched his buddies as they mopped their brows and swung at flies on this hot Italian day, but all the time they were surveying his rude barber shop with keen interest. Joe mixed the lather and said to his customer, Hot, ain’t it. General? His customer grunted. But it was hotter in the hills, Joe said. The General spluttered lather, and wiped his mouth with the sheet covering him. Then Joe adjusted the bib tightly ■— perhaps a little too tight. Yes sir, said Joe, I’ve shaved majors and colonels many times but never a general before. I’ll have to write home about this. Colonel Benson, my highest customer, always is in a hurry. He always brings his officers and talks strategies. The general grunted and showed he was unimpressed. While Joe rubbed the lather on his face, he said, In fact. I’ve learned a lot about strategy. Especially up in the hills yesterday-.’’ The General protested, but Joe grabbed his razor and started shaving. Accidentally the razor struck at his throat. Relax, General, he said. His buddies burst in about this time and said, How long is it going to take? So it was a mistake, Joe shouted. Now if I slipped and cut you, one man would be dead — and a general at that. But when a general makes a mistake, many CN CN Page