Wisconsin School for the Deaf - Tattler Yearbook (Delavan, WI)

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VIEW PROM THE HII.LS ON THE NORTH THE ROMANCE OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER By Wilson Grabill The Wisconsin River has few rivals in geolog-iriil interest, thrilling episodes, romantic charm, and scenic beauty. Indians used the river as n water-way for hundreds of years before the first white man set foot on the American continent. so naturally, the river is rich in Indian lore. An old Indian legend regarding its origin is a follows: Once an immense serpent, or big mnnitou, lived in the woods near laike Michigan. One day he started to crawl from his home to the sea. His body wore a great groove or channel through the forests and fields, and into this the water rushed. When he moved his tail, great musses of water splashed out and formed lakes. Less powerful manitous hurried out of his way, forming channels of their own and in-cidently, the smaller streams that now run into the river. Near the Wisconsin I)t lls, he encountered a great body of rock, hut finding a crack, he stuck his head in, and rent the rock apart by sheer force, thereby forming the queer shaped rocks of the Dells. Be this as it may; we know that the river dates back to the Paleothic period, an age before man appeared on earth. The glaciers of various times wrought quite a few changes. It is believed that the Wisconsin River once flowed through where Madison and Janesville now are, besides forming the famous Council Bluffs, north of Janesville. It is now four hundred miles long from its source in northern Wisconsin to its place of confluence with the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chicn. Just below the Dells it makes a sharp turn, almost touching the Fox River, which is called the “Devil's Elbow. Over one thousand four hundred lakes pour their surplus water into this amazing river. Some people consider the Dells as being second only to the Y’cllowstone National Park in Colorado. Historians frequent the river for the wealth of Indian lore which ubounds around it. This river is believed to he almost the only river in the world which has four distinct types of drainage. No one can say for certain how long the river will run on, perhaps for millions of years, always changing into new beds, yet we can he sure of one fact; the more one studies it, the more he is impressed with its history and future possi-I ilities. As yet, the Kilbourn Dam which is three hundred feet long and generates ten thousand horsepower, supplying Southern Wisconsin with light, is the only plant taking advantage of its power. In the future, as needs arise, plants of more than thirty thousand horse power will be built. Without the Wisconsin River, I do not believe that Wisconsin could be the state she is today. To know the Wisconsin River is to know and understand Wisconsin.

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SALUTATORY By Leona Austin Members of the Board of Control, Superintend dent, teacher , claasmate . friend one and all: The honor has been conferred upon me to extend to you this evening a welcome to the commencement exercises of this school. We are the fifty-ninth class to he graduated from the Wisconsin Schol for the l eaf. ond I believe no othci; ciuss ever felt like welcoming friends more sincerely and cordially than do we, the class of 1929. The floral display, the class colors, the happy smile ; in fact the whole atmosphere of the pluce bespeak our welcome; words are hardly necessary; they are, nt any rate, inadequate to express our joy in having you here. Only two of the eight members of the class have spent nil their school days here. The remaining six have dropped in nt different times during the past four years. Nevertheless ail of us hnve learned to love the pluce; and we realize today, perhaps more than ever before, what it has meant and what, it is bound to mean to us in the future. The activities of the school are many and varied, keeping the pupils happily engaged most of the minutes between six o’clock in the morning and bedtime. The golden opportunity of learning that to keep busy makes one happy nnd useful and docs not afford time for mischief making, has been ours. Yet many good times, such as; parties, movies, hikes and camping trips have been provided for our pleasure. Then, too. the happy association of friends will long be remembered and cherished. Since actions show grutilude better than words, we hereby resolve to put forth every effort to prove that we are grateful. The acorn teems very small and worthless a i . lies in the dark earth; so; when we first started our school career , we were able to render very little service to others. But as the acorn drinks in the moisture offered by Mother Nature ami later feels the warm sunshine, it sends up a little shoot that grows und grows until it becomes a sturdy oak, which gives shade and shelter to many a weary traveler und lend beauty to the landscape. Thus have we. little by little, day by day. through the constant und faithful efforts of those in charge of us as well as by our own bard work, reached manhood anti womanhood equipped with a pracitical education. that we mn) be of service in this busy world. Our motto, as you see, is, “No Victory without labor.” We have not climbed up to where we now are, ready to be handed diplomas, which signify the completion of the course of study, doing nothing. We have had to work for victory. Our state flower, the violet, we hnve chosen us it symbolizes humility nnd modesty—with these virtues, it ventures forth bravely in n frosty early spring. May we take for our armoi these same valuable qualities ns we start our journey ahead. There is a reason for our choice of colors also. The purple has royal significance. It stunds for majesty and power. Not that we have alreudy attained the height where we have full power over whnt the world calls a handicap, but this is our goal und the silver—which is the symbol of light nnd intelligence, will guide us on. Progress is our royal birthright. To us this day is a mingling of joy und sadness. The putting away of our books with the thought,—our work is finished, fills our hearts with gladness; but when we think of leaving this happy home with its pleasant surrounding and the friends who have grown very near und dear to us, it is not easy to keep back the tears. May we ns a class keep before our thoughts our motto, and ”... be up und doing With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing. Learn to labor and to wait. In behalf of the class let me say again that we are truly glad to have you here with us to-night and may you feel the sincerity of our welcome.

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AZTALAN By Selma Z«da no The ancient city of Altaian, located hut forty-live miles directly west of Milwaukee, has long-been referred to as one of the wonders of the western world. In October 1863 it wua discovered by Timothy Johnson. Nathaniel F. Hycr came two years later to make explorations into the ruins, lie named the place “Altaian,” because the Aztecs of Mexico had a tradition that their ancestors came from u country to the north named Altaian, which in Mexican means “near water. This tradition led him to believe that the Ax tecs used to live near the Great Lakes and that this city might have been their old home. In 1838 Edward Everett heard about Altaian and he, as governor of Connecticut, asked the President of the United States not to lot it be sold. However, it was sold for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre or twenty-two dollars for the whole ruins. The settlors started ploughing and sowing turnips on the mound. Some silver ornaments were found at this time and many people rushed there and dug trenches to see what they could find. Aztalnn wus a walled enclosure of seventeen and two-thirds acres of land. It hud walls twenty feet wide and from one to five feet high on three sides. The Crawfish, the first western tributary of the Rock River, formed the boundary for the fourth side. Approximately sixty-one to ninety-five feet apart along the wall, there are forty-five mounds. Many say the walls were of brick, hut they were not. Some clay mixed with grass seems to have been baked and used, but the entire walls were not made of this material. There were a number of mounds of different sizes and shupes in this enclosure. One of these was shaped like u pyramid, but it was not very high. The top was sixty to sixty-five feet above the surrounding ground. Some people think it was a place for the Indians to protect themselves from the enemy, while others think it was an altar for worshipping. This mound ha been partly destroyed by people who were seeking money. In 1850 Increase Lnpham made a careful survey of Aztalan. He excavated in several mounds but found very little of importance. He found some human bones, shells and pottery. The bones seemed to be those of two people buried in a sitting posture. Dr. Lapham was told that one time two loads of broken pots, uncovered by the plow, were used to fill hotes in the road. Dr. Ijipham thought that Lhis enclosure might have been a holy city or a place for worship. There was no place like it for a great distance in any direction. People may have gathered on the pyramids and offered human sacrifices at their altars because, in the mounds, human bones were often found mixed with charcoal. On the other hand, this might show that cannibals held feasts there and cooked the tlesh of their captives. There was not much exploration until 11 19 when the Milwaukee Public Museum sent its director, Dr. S. A. Barrett, to Aztalnn. People who were interested, were nfrnid that the plow and civilization might destroy all traces of the old city. This expedition worked two summers excavating this place. In a refuse heap on the west hank of the river, they found broken pottery, stone implements and various tools. They dug where some of the walls were and found rows of post holes which showed thnt posts had been set there for defensive purposes and that it was probably a stockaded fort. The entrance was through a very narrow alley bordered on each side by post holes. This alley had twists and turns forming u trap and making the fort very hard for an enemy to enter. The foundations of a number of dwellings were ulso discovered. Many implements, ornaments of stone, bone, copper and many shells were also found. A great deal of fine pottery, highly polished and of very different shape , probably like that used to fill holes in the road, was also unearthed. One odd ladle, shaped like a guard, wo also found. This is the finest pottery discovered in mounds anywhere north of Mexico. Some cloth was also discovered showing that the people were pottery makers and weavers and were very artistic. They also seemed to know much about military tactics as many beautiful arrow-heads were found. A skeleton of a young woman was found with thousands of beads, made from pearl shells or mussels from the rivers of southwestern Wisconsin. about her. The beads seem to have been attached to a belt of some material, and strings of beads seem to have been worn about her ankles and neck. In 11 22 Aztalan wus purchased by the citizens of Jefferson County and presented to the Wisconsin Archaeological Society to be permanently kept as a park. It was marked by this society in 11 27 with n large bronze murker. The Winnebagos lived near this site once, but say their people did not start this village. Who did, nobody knows.