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

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oration. Theue wore brought to the shops ami used ns models and these people are now busy all day Ionic at their benches. Desks and settles from colonial patterns, sturdy chairs with rush seats and guest room stands begin to take form. The chairs of a children's dining room set are modeled after Colonial chimney-corner chairs. A roomy silver chest is modeled from nn original old dough trough which did service in one of the neur by homes for many years. Hutch tables, sawbuck tables and spinning wheels are also made. Most of the work b done by hand nnd it takes skillful hands. The furniture seems to be better and stronger than the furniture we buy from factories and the finish and hand work makes it valuable. The craftsmen who hove been working at the forges are also very busy. They moke hond wrought fenders to be used in front of lire places, old fashioned hand-wrought andirons, like those in early American homes, and a lire tool which is a combination poker nnd tongs. The fireside was the most important corner in the colonial home and therefore many things were designed to furnish it. The hardware for all the furniture they make Is of hand-wrought iron and is also made in their own forgo. Nor have these people forgotten the children. For them they are making boxes of building blocks, animals on wheels like those they have seen in John Martin's Book. Heastie napkin rings, curtain clasps. Wild Flower, Bird and Animal puxxlo . nnd several new games. The two hundred thirty acre home of these Shenandoah Community Workers is also a bird sanctuary. Birds of forty varieties have made their homes in this valley because of the kindness of its people. People driving or walking through this valley have to shoo the bob-whites and grouse away like chickens because they arc so tame. Since these people are lovers of nature they have made lawn ornaments like squirrels, rabbits, frogs, dogs and cats. Made in nntura! colort they help to beautify lawns and gardens and to attract the attention of visitors. For the flower garden n great variety of bird and butterfly stakes is made, nnd also rustic stakes to mark the rows. A great variety of bird houses and feeding stands have also been made for bird) . These are nil painted In natural colors and are given a coat of waterproof lacquer which will stand the weather. This is the history of Bird Haven and a de»-cription of the work done there. Ah these people sell the things they hnvo made, they will use the money to improve their shops and their community. They hope to make a comfortable living by their hand-work, and have dertermined not to let machinery take the place of hand finishing. They are proud to send out the fruit of their handwork and ore eager to welcome visitors to their beautiful and happy valley. HUNTING IN WISCONSIN By John Kuflitteh Before the white people came to the State of Wisconsin, the Indians lived here. Their main food wan meat, which they obtained by hunting different kinds of animulx that they found in the forest. The Indian always killed only one deer or a bear, which met the need of his family. How wise and economical he was! But when the white people came to the Badger State, they didn't use such good judgement and killed an many animals as they could. The result wan the number of animals grew less and less. Now it is hard for hunters to find deer, bears, foxes, birds and other game. It is evident that the white men showed a lack of wisdom. A long time ago there was no limitation by law to the number of animals and bird that could be shot. Hunters killed n« many raccoons, muskrats, minks, deer, foxes and small animals, also birds, ns they wished to. They sold the fur to large companies, nnd received good money for them. They did not realize that In the future there would not be many animals left for the trade, nnd the hunters would have no pleasure without wild animals roaming our forests A few, however, were far sighted e-nough to see what would happen. Finally they succeeded in getting the Legislature to make laws limiting the number of animals and birds that could be killed. The Legislature passed many laws, such as; persons over sixteen must take out n license to hunt; a hunter is allowed to kill a limited number of animals and birds during

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sleep. Some of them didn’t dNp very well because it was chilly and it rained a little. The next morning they woke up early and madr pancakes and fried bacon for breakfast. After that, some went (tithing, come studied nature, and some went for a hike. They learned a lot of different thing which were most interesting. In time for dinner, they met again and cooked dinner with Mr. Cameron’ help. Then they played games and had a good time until four o'clock when they came back to school with the cart. They reported an enjoyable camping trip. Now every year our Boy Scouts camp in rented cottages at some lake. In our school we have one troop consisting of four Patrols. They are the Eagle Patrol, the Pino Patrol, the Tiger Patrol and the Bear Patrol. There aro about the thirty-two Boy Scouts or eight boy in each patrol. Every year new members join the troop to lake the places of some scout who have gone. The new members promise to obey the Scout Laws and to be brothers to us. The purpose or aim of the Scout organization is to learn scout-craft. This includes life saving, tracking, signaling, cycling, nature study, swimming, rowing and other accomplishments. Much of this Scoutcraft is learned though games and teamwork. These nut only give ex- cellent physical exercise but also give a splendid opportunity for nature study. The boys must know the Scout's oath, which declares: “On my honor I will do my best— (1) To do my duty to God und my country, and to obey the Scout Law. (2) To help other people at all times. (8)To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.'' This Scout Law demands honor und loyalty to our parent and to our country, helpfulness toward each other, friendliness without snob-bishnesa, courtesy and kindness to animals and pooplo, obedience to Scout-master and officers, cheerfulness and trust worthiness. A Scout should be helpful to old people, and to be brave, clean, reverent and thrifty. The young Scouts should learn these laws so they can become good Boy Scouts. In order to become a second class Scout a boy must know certain thing about Scoutcraft. In order to be a first clam Scout n boy must know all scoutcraft. The Aim of the Boy Scout of America is to train boys for citizenship. One of the most important of the Boy Scout laws is the motto: “Be Prepared. If you are once a Scout, you will always remember to act like a Scout, 1 have been a Scout for six year and I have enjoyed this opportunity very much. THE SHENANDOAH COMMUNITY WORKERS By Orrell Jensen To a quiet little valley between the Blue Ridge und Shenandoah Mountains, long before the Revolutionary War broke out. came a little band of “Pennsylvania Dutch settlers. After a long hard struggle In getting across rugged mountains, these people drifted to what is now known a Shenandouh Alum Springs. On the rough hillside some adopted farming. Yearn of hard work, trying to get the land to yield n living, proved a failure. The soil on the hillsides was poor and the “bull pines constantly choked out their crop . Others worked at forges and ns carpenters, and fashioned quaint furniture patterned after that which their parent had. Almost three hundred year of ■trugfUng to keep the wolf from the door punned, and the descendant of these sturdy pioneers ■till lived in much the same way as their ancestor had. Several years ago a Philadelphia manufacturer who had known the place all his life and heard about the skill of their fore-father conceived a plan which he thought would help these people to help themselves. An old workshop wm remodeled and, under his management, plans were laid to make antique furniture, metal work and other kinds of hand craft. The wood which grew in abundance on the hillside would be used und the worker would share in the profits. The valley folk were very much interested in this community enterprise as they always had had a hard time finding work. Now they hnd the chance to use the skill of their mountaineer ancestors, not for the profit of a few men. but to help the entire community. Many of these mountaineers hnd furniture in their home which hnd been used in Colonial times and handed down from generation to gen-

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a short period of time each year; and many minor laws exist. When one obtain a hunting him a nummary of the Wisconsin Game Law to read so he can know what he la permitted to do. However, some hunters break the laws and secretly kill deer, bean , birds and other gome. Often these are taxidermists, who sell the skins for high price . Occasionally they are arrested and brought to triul to be fined or sent to jail. Many years ago the farmers had trouble with wolve killing their sheep, horses, and cows after dark. The wolves howled around near the houses and the farmers were greatly disturbed. Sometime the children went to the woods to pick berries and were killed by wolves. Hunters reported that they often saw wolves killing deer, bears, and other animals. To atop this the state made a law stating that a bounty would he paid on each wolf killed. This aroused interest among the farmers. They began to hunt. Thousands of wolves were killed and t.he farmers were glad to get the money. Now wolves bring twenty dollars a head, but we find very few of them left. Almost every Saturday and Sundny during the hunting season I hnve gone hunting but have never seen a wolf uround here. Now I shall turn my attention to trapping. Many engage in trapping because it is a profitable basinet . Thousands of minks, muskrats, beavers, otters and other animals living in or near water have been trapped. I don’t enjoy trapping because it teem to me that it is being cruel to animals. Very often an animal caught in a trap by ita leg, makes ita escape before the hunter arrive . The bone becomes diseased and leaves the animal helpless. I had rather kill an animal outright with a gun. Boys in thl school have sometimes gone trapping down along Turtle Creek. A friend of mine once set about fifteen traps along the creek back of this school. Only one or two mukrats were caught in two week . This show the scarcity of animals a-round here. Most good sportsmen of Wisconsin like to hunt deer. It is, I am sure, great sport. I hope someday to have the opportunity to experience it. A long time ago hunter were allowed to kill both the female and male deer. They sometimes used dogs to follow the track of the deer. In this way they did not have to look for the deer themselves. Another way was to put boxes of salt near their cabins. Deer love to lick salt. The hunter would climb up a tree and wait for the deer to go up to the box of salt. Several deer were easily killed this way. The number of deer in Wisconsin grew very small, consequently laws wore made to prevent the extinction of deer. The laws prohibit the use of dogs and bait; a buck may be killed if it is over one year old; every two years there is a deer season lasting ten days; nnd each hunter may kill only one buck. After these law were passed, the hunters themselves had to look for the deer, which is not a very easy thing to do. A hunter ha to walk about fifteen or twenty miles in a day to get one deer. It is also dangerous sport as many hunters are killed by other men who are hunting. I have neglected to say that there t« a law requiring every hunter to wear a red cap so that he can easily be delected. It is my sincorest hope to go deer hunting sometime in spite of the danger. About thirty years ago fifteen or twenty of tho boys of this school went hunting with three or four teachers who had shot guns. Some of the boys carried long poles. They used these to poke the squirrels out of their nests in the trees so that the teacher were able to kill them very easily. Very few squirrels escaped. They hunted all afternoon and brought home a large number of squirrels . The boy had to clean them and the following day they had n feast. But now there are very few squirrels, and we boy are not allowed to go hunting. Hobbit hunting is good sport, especially to hoys around here. At present each individual is allowed to kill only five rabbits. Frequently on Saturdays and Sundays I hnve been rabbit hunting. There are not so many rabbits here either as there were many years ago. In the old days hunters often used a small ferret which is about the site of a rau He tied a long strong string to one of the ferret's hind legs and forced the animal into the rabbit’s hole. The rabbit being afraid of the ferret came out in a hurry. This made an easy shot for the rabhit hunter. Another way the hunter used was to cover one of the rabbit’s holes with a bag; then put the ferret into the other hole. At sight of the ferret, the rabbit by making an attempt to run out of the other holo ran into the bag and was trapped. At the present time nothing of this sort is allowed, for the law prohibits baiting, trapping and the use of ferret . The result is that the number of rabbits is gradually increasing. Before coming to a close I want to speak of bird hunt.ng which in some localities is considered an interesting sport. Although there is not very much of it in southern Wisconsin. Before coming to the close I want to speak of bird hunting which in some localities is considered an interesting sport, although there is not very much of it in southern Wisconsin. Duck hunting perhaps gives the greatest amount of pleasure. A number of years ago those engaged in this sport used decoy , which they hid in ambush, and waited for ducks to come. The ducks.