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THOMPSON'S    ISLAND 


BEACON 


Vol.  7.  No.  1 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston.  Mass. 


May,  1903. 


Prof.  Bills'  Cccturc 

April     13,    Prof.     Hills,    Director    of    the 
Vermont  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  gave 
a  very  interesting  lecture  on  Agnculture  and  also 
on  the    Yellowstone    Park.     He   said  it    is  very 
good  to  be  a  farmer,  for  usually  when  you  are  in 
the  city  you  are  not  appreciated  and   when   you 
are  in  the  country  you  are    known.       He   said 
there    are   too  many   boys  in  the   city   and   not 
enough  in  the  country.     He  told  us  that  in  his 
office  there  are  men  who  make  a  specialty  of 
different  things,  as  bugs,  fruit,  potatoes,   etc., 
and  they  give  information  on  these  subjects  free 
to  any  person  that  asks  for   it.     After  he  gave 
this  interesting  talk  on   agriculture,   he   gave   a 
stereopticon    lecture    oh      Yellowstone     Park. 
First  came  a   map  giving   the   mountains    and 
lakes  and  lew  places.    He  said  that  Yellowstone 
Park    is    noted  for    three     things,    hot    springs, 
geysers    and    its  canyon.         He    gave    the    hot 
springs     first,     telling    how     they    dissolve    the 
mineral    matter   and    how    they    steam,    being 
so  hot.     Then  he  gave  the  geysers  and  showed 
some  pictures  of  them  when  they  were  in  action 
and  some   when  they   were   not.     One   of  the 
geysers  throws  water  from  two  to  three  hundred 
feet  high.  Another  has  made  out  of  rock  a  forma- 
tion which  looks  like  biscuit  and  its  basin  is  called 
Biscuit    Basin.     The    pictures    of  most  of  the 
geysers  and    hot  springs  were    colored   and  in 
some   places   they  showed  how  the    trees  had 
died  from  the   heat.     Then  he  gave  those  pic- 
tures about  the  canyon.  He  said  he  stood  at  the 
top  of  the  canyon  and  threw  a  stone,  and  it  took 
twenty-three    seconds  for  it  to  land.     Two  of 
the  most  interesting  pictures  he  showed  were 
a  glass  mountain  and  fishing.     The  only  way 
they  could  break  the  mountain  up  was  to  build 


fires  around  it  and  then  throw  water  on  it   with 
a  fire  engine.     In  this    way   they    cracked   off 
tons  of   glass.       The    second  picture  was   one 
which  showed  men  catching  fish  on  one  side  of 
a  rock  in  the    Yellowstone    Lake  and    throwing 
them  into    the  Hot   Springs  on   the   other  side 
and  they  would  be  cooked.     He  also  said  there 
are  no  people  out  there  to  do   your  laundry,  so 
you  can  put  a  handkerchief  on  a  stick,    twist  it 
around    two  or  three  times  in  the  hot  water  and 
it  will  be  clean.     Then  while  you  are   riding,  it 
will    dry    and   it  is  all  done  except  ironing.     In 
the  Yellowstone    Park  there  are  lots  of    tame 
animals  and  no  one  can  shoot  them,  as  "  Uncle 
Sam  "  protects  them.       The  bears  will    come 
as  near  to  you  as  twenty  feet  and  get  their  food 
and  then    not    be.  afraid.     The    cubs,  elk  and 
moose  are  the  same.     Once  there    was  a  Ger- 
man who  wrote  his  name  on  a  stone  and  he  was 
put  out  of  the  Park  and  punished.     The  lecture 
was  very  interesting  and  we  all  enjoyed  it  very 
much  and  we  hope  Prof.   Hills  will  come  again. 
Leslie  R.  Jones. 

Cbe  new  Staircase 

When  we  built  the  new  part  of  the  building, 
we  built  a  staircase  that  is  very  handy  for  get- 
ing  up  stairs.  It  has  six  small  flights  of  stairs 
and  six  landings  and  the  bottom  floor.  The' 
bottom  floor  leads  to  the  wash  room.  The 
first  landing  makes  a  turn  in  the  stairs.  The 
second  leads  to  the  second  school  and  the  hall 
way.  The  third  landing  is  a  turn  in  the  stairs. 
The  fourth  leads  to  instructors'  rooms.  The  fifth 
is  another  turn  of  the  stairs  and  the  sixth  goes 
to  the  Infirmary  and  nurse's  room.  At  the  top 
is  a  large  skylight  and  down  two  feet  from  the 
skylight  there  are  two  ventilators.      These   are 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


opened  and  shut  by  two  cords  which  reach  to 
the  sixth  landing,  so  it  is  easy  to  open  and  shut 
them  without  going  to  the  tip-top  of  the  tower. 

Foster  B.  Hoye. 

Kcpdirins  the  Rcadind  Room 

While  the  addition  was  being  put  on  the 
northeast  wing,  the  reading  room,  which  is  just 
under  it,  was  torn  down  more  or  less.  When 
we  got  ready  to  fix  the  room,  Mr.  Bradley  said 
it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  have  Robert  McKay 
and  me  do  the  work.  We  first  tore  down  all 
the  old  sheathing,  door  and  window  casings,  and 
pulled  up  the  old  floor.  The  room  was  next 
lathed  and  plastered  and  a  new  fireplace  built. 
After  the  plaster  had  become  hard,  we  began  on 
the  woodwork.  We  put  on  ten-inch  hard  pine 
base-boards,  and  hard  pine  casing  on  the  doors 
and  windows.  When  they  were  finished,  we 
started  on  the  floor,  which  was  of  hard  pine  also. 
The  boards  are  three  and  a  quarter  inches  wide 
and  are  of  the  tongue  and  groove  style.  We 
planed  and  waxed  the  floor,  and  varnished  all  the 
hard  pine  to  make  it  shine.  Robert  McKay 
made  the  mantel  for  the  fireplace.  The 
pictures  were  put  up  next  on  hard  pine  picture 
moulding,  which  makes  the  room  look  very  nice. 
John  J.  Conklin. 

Cbc  mantelpiece 

About  a  month  ago,  Mr.  Elwood  drew  a 
plan  of  a  mantelpiece  for  the  reading  room  and 
told  me  to  make  one  like  it.  I  got  the  sizes  of 
the  pieces  of  board  that  I  needed  and  made  a 
frame  for  the  mirror  which  i^six  and  a  half  feet 
long  by  two  feet  high,  and  two  panels  eighteen 
inches  long  by  eleven  wide  and  an  open  space 
for  the  mirror  forty  by  eighteen  inches.  Then 
I  put  the  front  and  side  boards  on  and  a  shelf 
seven  feet  long  by  nine  inches  wide  and  then 
some  moulding  on  under  the  shelf.  1  made 
four  posts  on  the  lathe  to  hold  up  the  top  shelf. 
I  put  the  top  shelf  on  and  some  moulding 
around  the  edges  and  put  the  mirror  in  place 
and  some  narrow  strips  to  hold  it  in.  It  is  all 
made  of  hard  pine.  Robert  McKay. 

Stereopticon  £ecfure  on  lUdsDington 

One  evening,  Mr.  Bradley  gave  a  stereop- 


ticon  lecture  on  Washington.  He  would  show 
the  pictures  and  talk  about  them.  Some 
of  the  slides  which  he  showed  us  were  ,  The 
Mint  Building,  The  Congressional  Library  and 
eight  or  ten  different  views  of  the  Capitol.  He 
showed  us  the  War  and  Navy  Department 
where  one  of  our  graduates  works.  He  showed 
us  the  U.  S.  Treasury  Building  and  explained 
some  of  its  parts  to  us.  He  showed  us  two 
panoramic  views  of  Washington  from  the  Capi- 
tol. In  the  Pension  Building  he  told  us  that 
at  twelve  o'clock  a  gong  sounds  in  the  hall  and 
a  lot  of  the  employees  in  the  building  can  be 
seen  coming  out  and  getting  their  dinner. 
There  are  women  and  men  of  all  sorts 
there  with  food  to  sell  and  these  employees  buy 
something  and  get  right  back  to  their  work  as 
quickly  as  they  can.  If  they  do  not  get  back 
to  their  work  at  the  right  time,  they  will  be 
liable  to  lose  their  positions  because  men  who 
work  for  the  Government  must  be  quick  and 
on  time.  He  showed  us  the  monument  of 
Grant  and  also  the  Soldiers'  Monument  which 
looked  very  interesting  He  showed  us  the 
green  room,  red  room  and  blue  room  of  the 
White  House  and  explained  them  to  us.  He 
also  showed  us  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  which 
looked  very  pretty.  He  showed  us  in  one  pic- 
ture the  busts  of  the  martyred  presidents  in 
one  of  the  rooms.  He  showed  us  a  slide  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  another  one  of 
the  Senate  Chamber.  He  showed  us  President 
Roosevelt's  private  room  in  the  Capitol,  the 
Patent  Office  and  the  Agricultural  Building. 
Here  all  the  things  in  the  line  of  agriculture 
which  people  like  to  know,  can  be  found  out  by 
simply  writing  to  the  Department  and  asking. 
They  are  always  glad  to  thus  help  the  farmers 
of  the  country.  After  he  showed  us  all  the 
pictures  on  Washington,  of  which  there  were 
about  seventy-five,  he  showed  us  a  set  of  funny 
pictures.  The  evening  passed  pleasantly  and 
we  all  enjoyed  the  lecture  very  much. 

C.  James  Pratt. 

"Affairs  succeed  by  patience,    and  he  that 
is  hasty  falleth  headlong." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


B  Crip  to  Tranklln  ParR 

One  day  Mr.  Bradley  took  three  boys  be- 
sides myself  out  to  Franklin  Park  to  get  some 
trees  and  shrubs.  On  the  way  out,  we  stopped 
at  a  place  where  a  Japanese  kept  plants. 
They  were  all  imported  from  Japan  and  were  all 
dwarfed.  There  were  cedars  three  and  four 
hundred  years  old  and  not  more  than  four  feet 
tall.  He  asked  fifteen  hundred  dollars  apiece 
for  them.  There  were  plants  and  trees  twisted 
into  all  sorts  of  shapes  and  they  were  very  ex- 
pensive. When  we  got  to  the  Park  we  saw  two 
peacocks  and  other  animals,  such  as  pigeons 
and  ducks,  among  which  was  a  coon.  We  got 
some  lilac  bushes,  oak  trees,  plum  trees  and 
other  bushes.  Mr.  Bradley  also  got  some 
things  of  the  Japanese,  as  a  curiosity.  As  we 
rode  in  a  wagon,  we  had  a  good  chance  to  see 
everything  and  I  enjoyed  the  trip  very  much. 

I.  Banks  Quinby. 

new  l)Ot  Beds 

We  have  lately  been  making  a  new  hot 
bed.  When  we  started  it,  we  dug  away  the 
earth,  making  it  forty-eight  feet  long,  eight  feet 
wide  and  three  feet  deep.  We  afterwards 
made  it  a  foot  longer.  When  it  was  all  dug 
out,  the  carpenters  came  over  and  made  two 
walls  six  inches  apart  all  around  the  edge  and  a 
partition  in  the  middle  of  it,  dividing  the  hot 
bed  into  two  parts.  Coarse  sand  was  then 
mixed  with  cement,  coarse  and  fine  gravel  and 
coarse  and  fine  sand.  Some  of  the  boys  took 
wheelbarrows  and  wheeled  it  to  the  edge  of  the 
hot  bed,  where  one  of  the  instructors  took  it 
and  put  it  into  the  space  between  the  two  walls. 
In  two  or  three  days  it  hardened  and  the  walls 
of  wood  were  taken  away  leaving  cement  walls 
all  around.  Then  Mr.  Vaughan  took  some  two 
by  four  joists,  made  them  the  right  length,  and 
placed  them  in  the  grooves  made  for  them  in 
the  top  of  the  wall.  They  were  about  three  feet 
apart,  extending  across  from  one  wall  to  another 
and  were  to  place  the  windows  on.  Enough 
manure  was  then  put  on  and  tramped  down  to 
make  it  about  sixteen  inches  from  the  two  by  four 
joists.  After  that  nearly  a  foot  of  loam  was 
put  on,  that  making  it  about  six  inches  from  the 


top.  The  ground  around  it  was  made  to  slant 
so  that  the  water  would  run  away  from  the  hot 
bed  rather  than  into  it.  Windows  were  then 
laid  straight  across  the  walls.  There  is  a 
thermometer  in  each  department,  and  the 
temperature  has  to  be  about  70°  above  zero. 
It  is  finished  now  and  radishes,  lettuce,  tomatoes 
and  peppers  have  been  planted  in  it. 

Robert  H.  Bogue. 

B  trial 

One  evening  the  government  of  Cottage 
Row  held  a  trial.  There  was  a  jury  of  nine 
made  up  of  the  boys.  There  were  four  witness- 
es and  two  lawyers  on  each  side.  After  the 
warrant  was  read,  the  jury  was  sworn  in.  Then 
the  prisoners  were  brought  before  the  judge,  one 
at  a  time,  and  three  pleaded  guilty  and  three 
not  guilty.  They  were  then  led  out  of  the  room 
by  two  patrolmen  and  separated  so  that  they 
could  not  talk  together,  while  a  patrolman  stood 
on  guard  all  the  time.  First  the  witnesses  for  the 
government  were  brought  in,  one  by  one,  to  give 
their  testimony.  Then  the  three  prisoners  who 
pleaded  not  guilty  and  one  who  pleaded  guilty 
wefe  brought  in  and  questioned  for  the  defendant. 
After  all  the  testimony  was  in,  the  lawyers  had 
about  five  minutes  in  which  to  make  their  pleas. 
After  that  was  over,  the  jury  withdrew, from  the 
room  to  talk  over  and  decide  the  verdict. 
Their  decision  was  that  one,  besides  the  three 
who  pleaded  guilty,  was  guilty  and  two  were 
innocent.  The  judge  did  not  decide  upon  the 
punishment  then,  but  said  he  would  give  it  later. 
Then  the  court  was  adjourned  and  the  boys 
went  to  bed.  Charles  Warner. 

Sorting  Onions 

Rainy  days,  Mr.  McLeod  tells  some  of  the 
farm  boys  to  go  and  sort  over  onions.  We  go 
down  to  the  cellar  and  spread  out  two  big  blank- 
ets, then  we  get  three  or  four  bushels  of  onions 
and  spread  them  on  the  blankets.  We  sort 
them  over,  putting  the  bad  ones  in  barrels  and 
the  good  ones  in  bushel  boxes.  We  sometimes 
leave  them  in  the  boxes  and  sometimes  spread 
them  on  wide  shelves  to  get  aired.  W,e  also 
cut  off  the  new  roots  and  sprouts.  The  bad  ones 
are  thrown  away.  Allan  H.  Brown. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbonip$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Printed  Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A  PRIVATE  HOME-TRAINING  SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT     UPON       DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.  No.  1. 


May,  1903. 


Subscription  Price  -  50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office  at  Boston  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


PRESIDENT. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

TREASURER. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 

Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.  D., 
Francis  Shaw, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


"Beware  of  entrance  to  quarrel,  but  being  in, 
Bear  't  that  the  opposed  may  beware  of  thee." 

Combativeness  is  a  natural  faculty  of  the 
normal  boy.  It  is  closely  allied  with  executive 
ability,  with  the  force  and  the  will  to  do,  to 
work,  to  achieve.  Much  discretion  must  be 
used  in  dealing  with  boys  who  fight.     We  would 


place  ourselves  in  a  false  position  if  we  made  it 
an  invariable  rule  to  punish  fighting.  We  do  not 
hesitate  to  commend  physical  courage  nor  to 
admit  that  there  are  occasions,  such  as  the  de- 
fense of  the  weak  or  the  punishment  of  the  rowdy 
for  an  insult  to  a  lady,  when  perhaps  it  is  not  only 
proper  but  praiseworthy  to  fight.  We  doubt  if 
such  teaching  will  encourage  a  quarrelsome  dis- 
position. We  believe  that  the  teacher,  his 
superior  in  age  and  strength,  who  takes  a  boy 
in  hand  and,  without  reference  to  the  causes 
that  led  up  to  the  quarrel,  disciplines  him,  tends 
to  undermine  the  boy's  moral  nature  and  deaden 
his  self-respect.  But  in  the  case  of  the  boy 
who  fights  with  his  peers  for  what  he  believes  to 
be  his  rights  or  the  rights  of  others,  or  acts  as  a 
bully,  these  instances  require  different  treat- 
ment. 

Education  should  not  repress  the  natural 
faculties,  but  regulate,  control  and  direct  them. 
The  encouragement  of  competitive  sports  and 
games  is  of  great  advantage.  Competition 
in  such  games  as  basket  ball,  football  and  base- 
ball furnishes  a  safety  valve  for  the  vent  of  the 
bubbling,  animated  spirit  and  restless  energy  of 
youth  and  promotes  good  fellowship.  Boxing 
teaches  the  control  of  the  temper  and  lessens 
the  tendency  to  boasting,  quarreling  and  fight- 
ing. 

The  bravest  fellows  and  those  who  are 
strongest  and  best  fitted  for  a  physical  contest 
of  any  kind  are,  as  a  rule,  the  most  peaceable. 
Our  treatment  of  this  natural  instinct  for  fight- 
ing is  to  develop  the  weaker,  check  the  more 
forward  and  thus  strengthen  and  regulate  that 
vigorous,  manly  character  which  we  all  so 
much  admire. 

notes 

April  1.  Stereopticon  lecture  this  even- 
ing on  Alaska. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


April  2.     Pilgrim     towed    nine    tons     of 
fertilizer  from  City  Point. 

April  4.     Finished  collecting  the  nests   of 
the  brown-tail  moth. 

Fixed  sewer  from  main  building. 

April  5.  Sunday.  Mr.  A.  T.  Eddy  spoke 
to  boys  at  three  P.  M. 

April  6.      Spring  term   of  school     began. 

Long-distance  telephone  inspected. 

April  7.  Donald  W.  Roby  entered  the 
School. 

April  9.  Pilgrim  towed  a  load  of  fur- 
niture and  lumber  from  City  Point. 

April   10.     Cottage  Row  election. 

Mayor,  Willard  H.  Rowell;  aldermen. 
George  F.  Burke,  Chester  Welch,  Harold  S. 
Taylor,  Clarence  Taylor,  Albert  Probert; 
assessor,  Robert  H.  Bogue;  street  commissioner, 
Edward  Capaul;  Chief  of  police,  Louis  E. 
Means.  The  Mayor  appointed  as  clerk,  George 
E.  Hicks;  curator,  Frank  C.  Simpson;  librarian, 
Clarence  H.  DeMar;  Treasurer,  William  C.  J. 
Frueh;  janitor,  Alfred  W.  Jacobs.  The  chief  of 
police  appointed  as  his  patrolmen,  William 
Flynn,  Edward  B.  Taylor,  Andrew  W.  Dean 
and  Carl  L.  Wittig. 

Planted  early  potatoes. 

Raised  the  top-mast  and  gaff  on  the  flag 
staff. 

April    1  1.     Sowed  Alaska  peas. 

April  12.  Easter  Sunday.  Attended 
church  in  town. 

Concert  at  3.30  P.  M. 

April  13.  Prof.  J.  L.  Hills  of  the  Ver- 
mont Agricultural  College  and  Experiment 
Station  gave  a  stereopticon  lecture  on  Yellow- 
stone Park  and  a  short  address  on  agriculture 
this  evening. 

Planted  onion  sets. 

April  15.  A  very  bad  storm.  No  cross- 
ing.    Landed  passengers  at  Squantum. 

April  16.  Storm  continued.  We  are  in- 
debted to  the  Harbor  Master  for  bringing  mail 
and  freight. 

April  18.  Manager  Thomas  F.  Temple 
came  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  W.  Penniman, 
who    gave     a    stereopticon   lecture     on    "Our 


Boys  in  Blue." 

April  20.     Sowed  onion  seed. 

Completed  six  tables  for  the  hospital. 

April  21.     Sov/ed  beets  and  spinach. 

April  22.     Pilgrim  hauled  up  for  paint. 

Planted  main  crop  of  potatoes. 

April  23.  John  J.  Conklin  left  the  School 
to  work  for  Blodgett  Brothers,  141  Franklin  St., 
Boston. 

April  25.  Arbor  Day.  Exercises  at  1 1 
A.  M. 

Sowed  mangels. 

Former  Assistant  Superintendent  John  C. 
Anthony  and  family  visited  the  School. 

April  26.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Hux- 
table  addressed  the  School  at  3  P.  M-. 

April  27.     First  asparagus. 

Mr.  Bradley  and  a  squad  of  boys  went  to 
Franklin  Park  for  trees  and  shrubs. 

April  28.  Completed  ten  benches  for  the 
hall. 

April  29.  Band  instruments  sent  to  town 
to  be  fixed  up. 

Made  a  stone-boat. 

Charles  Hill  returned  to  the  School. 

New  caps  given  out. 

April  30.  Manager  Francis  Shaw  visited 
the  School. 

Sowed  peas  and  oats  east  of  playground. 

Tarm  Scbocl  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  April   1st.,    1903  $430.59 

Deposited  during  the  month,  24.51 


Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash   on  hand  May    1st.,  1903 


$455.10 
15.07 

$440.03 


"  In  no  wise  ask  about  the  faults  of  others, 
for  he  who  reporteth  the  faults  of  others  will  re- 
port thine  also." 

"Men  are  of  three  different  capacities: 
one  understands  intuitively  ;  another  understands 
so  far  as  it  is  explained  ;  and  a  third  under- 
stands neither  of  himself  nor  by  explanation. 
The  first  is  excellent,  the  second,  commend- 
able, and  the  third,  altogether  useless." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


**Boy$  in  Blue" 

On  April  18,  Mr.  Temple  visited  the 
School  and  among  others  he  brought  Mr.  Penni- 
man  who  gave  a  stereopticon  lecture  on  the 
"Boys  in  Blue."  First  he  showed  and  told  a- 
bout  the  three  most  important  landings  in 
American  History.  They  were  the  landing  of 
Columbus  in  1492;  the  landing  at  Jamestown, 
Va.  in  1609;  and  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at 
Plymouth  in  1620.  He  told  us  that  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  settlements  was  that 
Jamestown  had  slavery  and  Plymouth  did  not. 
There  were  some  pictures  on  Plymouth  and 
the  Battle  of  Lexington  and  then  came  the  pict- 
ure of  John  Brown  as  he  kissed  a  negro  child 
as  he  was  going  to  be  hanged.  He  showed  us  a 
picture  of  Lincoln  and  told  us  about  the  South- 
ern States  seceding  when  he  was  elected,  as 
they  thought  he  would  stop  slavery.  There 
were  some  pictures  of  Fort  Sumpter,  Stonev/all 
Jackson,  Butler  and  others,  and  then  Mrs. 
Penniman  sang  and  played  on  the  piano  "  My  Old 
Kentucky  Home."  There  were  pictures  to  go 
with  it.  There  were  then  a  number  of  other 
pictures.  Some  of  them  were  Lincoln's  cabinet 
officers,  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  Mobile  Bay, 
Farragut,  Grant,  Meade  and  Washington.  Last 
came  an  American  Flag  and  then  the  song, 
"America"  was  thrown  on  the  screen.  We  all 
arose  and  sang  it.  We  enjoyed  the  hour  very 
much. 

Clarence  H.  DeMar. 

morkitid  in  m  Hitcbcn 

My  work  'in  the  kitchen  is  range  boy. 
The  first  thing  1  do  is  to  clean  the  range  and 
the  hood.  The  hood  is  a  part  of  the  range. 
It  is  to  protect  the  range  from  getting  dust  on 
it  and  to  take  the  smoke  and  steam  off.  I  take 
a  bucket  of  water,  a  cloth,  some  soap,  a  knife 
and  a  brush.  I  have  to  take  the  steps  as  the 
hood  is  up  high,  wet  the  cloth  and  then  clean 
the  hood.  When  I  get  that  done  I  clean  the 
range  with  soap,  water,  knife,  and  a  brush. 
Sometimes  I  wash  the  two  ovens.  When  I 
get  done  1  put  up  my  things  and  do  something 
else.  Edward  Capaul. 


n  Stmopticon  Cccturc  en  Jllaska 

Lately,  Mr.  Bradley  has  given  the  boys 
stereopticon  lectures  on  different  places  and 
among  them  was  one  on  Alaska.  The  first 
slide  was  the  map  of  Alaska. '  He  told  us  that 
the  United  States  purchased  Alaska  from 
Russia  in  1867  for  $7,000,000.  Next  he 
showed  us  a  picture  of  the  steamer  on  which  the 
people  go  there,  and  then  he  showed  us  different 
slides  of  different  bays  and  rivers.  One  of  the 
slides  was  a  picture  of  the  steamer  just  after 
gold  was  found  in  Klondike.  The  boat  and  the 
wharves  were  crowded  with  people  who  were 
going  to  Klondike  to  seek  their  fortunes.  On 
another  slide  he  showed  us  a  picture  of  woods 
and  on  another  a  picture  of  a  hydraulic  pump 
used  in  gathering  gold.  There  were  about  fifty 
different  views  on  Alaska.  After  Mr.  Bradley 
got  through  with  Alaska,  he  showed  us  some 
views  of  the  Island,  some  of  which  were  taken 
by  a  graduate  and  some  by  Mr.  Currier. 
Among  these  views  were  good  pictures  of  differ- 
ent things  of  interest  to  us.  We  enjoyed  the 
evening  very  much. 

Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee. 

Sntootbind  Dbk$ 

One  morning  Mr.  Benson  told  me  to  take 
a  cloth,  some  pumice  stone  and  pumice-oil  and 
smooth  the  new  tables  that  had  been  varnished. 
I  took  three  tables  that  had  been  varnished  and 
put  them  at  the  other  end  of  the  room,  being 
very  careful  not  to  scratch  them  or  hit  them  a- 
gainst  anything.  1  then  took  my  cloth  and  put 
some  pumice-oil  on  it  and  then  dipped  the  cloth 
into  a  small  box  which  contained  pumice  stone. 
I  went  over  the  roughest  parts  of  the  table  very 
lightly  with  a  piece  of  fine  sand-paper.  Then  I 
took  my  cloth  which  had  pumice  stone  on  it 
and  rubbed  the  tables  quite  hard  so  as  to  get 
what  scratches  there  were  on  them  off,  and  also 
to  make  them  smooth.  I  did  those  three  tables 
and  after  the  other  three  tables  had  been  var- 
nished and  were  dry,  I  did  the  same  to  those. 
They  have  had  one  coat  of  varnish  and  are  to 
have  another  coat,  after  which  they  are 
polished. 

Chester  F.  Welch. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cransplattting  Strawberries 

Lately  Mr.  Vaughan,  Mr.  McLeod  and 
some  of  the  farm  boys  have  been  transplanting 
strawberry  plants.  First  the  weeder  was  run 
over  the  piece  of  ground  to  smooth  it  off  and 
then  the  rows  were  marked  with  a  line.  There 
was  a  board  fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  long  that 
had  pieces  nailed  on  it  a  foot  apart.  This  board 
was  placed  beside  the  line  and  then  drawn  back 
so  that  places  a  foot  apart  were  marked  for  the 
fellow  who  was  digging  the  plant  holes.  Then 
he  could  dig  them  easily.  Then  Mr.  Vaughan 
and  a  couple  of  fellows  began  to  dig  up  the 
plants  from  the  old-  piece,  others  would  drop 
them  by  the  holes  and  the  rest  would  plant 
them.  All  the  roots  had  to  be  covered  so  that 
the  plants  would  take  hold  and  grow  well  in  the 
nsw  soil.  There  were  three  kinds  planted  in 
the  morning.  There  were  eight  rows  with 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  plants  in  a 
row  and  the  rows  were  three  or  four  feet  apart. 
Leslie  W.  Graves. 

Itleasuring  Cumber 

When  you  work  in  the  shop,  one  of  your 
jobs  is  measuring  lumber.  Whenever  any  new 
lumber  comes  it  has  to  be  measured  to  find  out 
how  many  board  feet  there  are.  One  way  you 
can  find  out  the  number  of  board  feet  is  to  mul- 
tiply the  length  by  the  width  and  if  two  inches 
thick  multiply  by  two.  But  in  the  shop  there 
is  a  tri-square  on  which  are  given  the  numbers. 
That  tells  without  multiplying.  As,  if  the 
board  is  fourteen  feet  long  and  ten  inches  wide 
you  can  look  under  the  number  marked  twelve 
which  will  give  you  fourteen  and  then  back 
under  ten  and  it  will  give  the  number  of 
board  feet  with  two  inches  of  thickness  mul- 
tiplyed  by  two. 

Carl  L.  Wittig. 

Our  Calendar 

The  teachers  thought  it  would  be  nice  to 
have  a  calendar  to  keep.  It  is  divided  just 
like  any  other  calendar  but  made  with  some  de- 
sign on  it.  Two  members  of  the  second  class 
designed  both  March  and  April.  We  follow 
four  headings;  wind,  length  of  day,  temperature 


and  weather  and  each  day  a  boy  makes  out  the 
record  for  that  day.  We  use  it  for  reference. 
For  instance,  the  first  day  of  spring,  March  21, 
the  wind  was  south-east,  the  day,  twelve  hours, 
nine  minutes  long,  the  temperature  was  forty- 
two  degrees  and  it  was  rainy.  It  is  interesting 
to  watch  the  changes  that  take  place. 

William  J.  Flynn. 

Going  for  manure 

Mr.  McLeod  called  some  of  us  boys  from 
our  work  and  told  us  to  go  to  the  barn  and  take 
some  forks  and  a  crow-bar  doun  to  the  scow 
and  put  them  in  and  get  in  ourselves.  About 
quarter  of  ten  the  steamer  started,  towing  the 
scow.  Mr.  McLeod  was  left  on  the  wharf  but 
Charlie  Blatchford  got  the  row-boat  and  went 
and  got  him  and  a  pail  of  water  and  brought 
him  to  the  scow.  About  half  past  ten  the 
steamer  got  there  and  we  let  the  tow-line  out 
from  her  stern  and  we  pulled  her  in.  It  was  a 
very  pleasant  trip  going  and  coming  back.  At 
quarter  past  twelve  the  boys  were  done  filling 
the  scow.  We  cleaned  the  place  where  we 
put  the  manure  on  and  the  boys  put  their  forks 
into  the  scow  and  the  extra  ones  too.  After  a 
while  the  steamer  came  around  the  bend  and 
we  got  the  tow-line  ready  and  pulled  her  in  a- 
gain.     It  was  one  o'clock  when  we  got  back. 

Albert  Munro. 

Stoning  Gardens 

In  the  afternoon  when  I  get  through  with 
my  work  in  the  wash-room,  I  report  to  Mr. 
Beane.  He  most  always  tells  me  to  stone  the 
Schools' gardens.  I  get  a  trowel  and  a  piece  of 
string  and  two  little  pieces  of  wood  to  tie  the 
string  on  to.  I  fasten  the  string  to  the  end  of 
one  side  of  the  garden  and  the  other  end  of  the 
string  to  the  other  end  of  that  same  side  of  the 
garden.  Then  I  dig  a  little  hole  on  the  outside 
of  the  string  and  so  on  until  I  reach  the  end  of 
the  garden  and  then  I  put  the  stones  into  the 
holes  tightly.     I  like  my  work  very  much. 

Charles  A.  McEacheren. 


"He  who  can  feel  ashamed  will  not  readily 
do  wrong." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


JWnmm 

Axel  E.  Renquist,  '03.  recently  left 
the  School  and  his  address  is  Seaside 
House,  Block  Island,  R.  I. 

Frederic  F.  Burchsted,  '02,  is  now 
employed  by  B.  0.  Haas,  general  machinist, 
95  Albany  St.,  Boston. 

Richard  N.  Maxwell,  '00,  is  now  in  the 
employ  of  Ellis  Brothers,  city  florists,  Keene, 
N.  H.,  where  they  have  ten  greenhouses.  He 
seems  to  enjoy  his  work  and  surroundings  very 
much.  His  address  is  121  Winchester  St., 
Keene,  N.  H. 

Bmr  Day 

Arbor  day  was  pleasantly  observed.  The 
Superintendent  made  appropriate  remarks  rela- 
tive to  the  origin  of  the  day  and  the  benefits  to 
be  derived  from  its  observance.  Pratical  re- 
marks were  made  by  Mr.  John  C.  Anthony. 
Recitation —  The  Return  of  Spring.  Wil- 
liam Proctor.  Exercise —  Arbor  Day.  Class. 
Recitation —  McKinley's  Love  of  Trees. 
Ralph  Holmes.  Recitation —  The  Month  of 
May.    Alfred  Jacobs. 

Our  Jinimals 

■We  have  in  our  barn  twenty-two  cows, 
one  Jersey  bull,  eight  heifers  and  five  horses, 
one  of  which  is  a  carriage  horse,  and  four  work- 
ing horses.  We  have  up  near  our  main  building 
a  cage  with  five  gray  squirrels  in  it.  The  boys' 
pets  are  kept  down  in  the  poultry  house  in  the 
winter  and  in  the  summer  they  are  carried  up 
to  Audubon  Hall.  We  have  twelve  pigs  and  a 
large  boar.  We  have  in  our  poultry  house, 
thirty-two  hens,  eleven  roosters,  five  turkeys, 
one  gobbler,  two  Mallard  ducks  and  seven  black 
ducks.  We  also  have  fifty-seven  pigeons  and 
sixty-one  pullets,  six  Indian-runner  ducks  and 
three  Chinese  geese.  Over  at  Audubon  Hall 
at  Cottage  Row,  the  boys  have  the  following 
pets:  five  gray  squirrels,  thirty-five  Guinea  pigs, 
twelve  Belgian  hares  and  fourteen  rabbits,  two 
of  which  are  English  lop-eared,  and  two  fan- 
tailed  pigeons.  All  the  poultry  and  pet  stock 
are  taken  care  of  by  one  of  the  boys. 

Charles  A.  Blatchford. 


Eliciting  $port$ 

After  supper  the  boys  have  an  hour  for  re- 
creation before  going  to  bed.  The  play  which 
the  fellows  choose  is  varied  according  to  what 
they  are  most  interested  in.  Perhaps  most  of 
the  boys  may  be  found  in  the  gymnasium,  some 
doing  stunts  on  the  horizontal  ladder  and  the 
traveling  and  stunt  rings,  while  others  are  ex- 
ercising with  dumb-bells,  Indian  clubs  and  other 
things  for  the  purpose.  Usually  a  number  of 
the  boys  practice  on  their  band  instruinents  in 
the  night  hour.  Sometimes  quite  a  band  may 
be  formed  in  this  way  and  these  bands  usually 
play  the  latest  and  most  popular  pieces  which 
we  have.  If  it  is  pleasant,  there  are  always 
boys  at  play  outside.  These  engage  in  many  of 
the  common  out  of  door  sports,  such  as  baseball, 
running,  jumping,  hide  and  seek,  walking  stilts, 
tag  and  many  others  which  come  and  go  in 
their  turn.  Frederic  P.  Thayer. 

tU  magtid  £harta 

The  Magna  Charta,  or  great  charter  of  Eng- 
land, was  drawn  up  by  the  Barors  of  England. 
King  John  getting  too  tyrannical,  the  commons 
revolted  and  forced  him  to  sign  it.  The  Barons 
put  their  seals  on  it  and  then  King  John  put  his 
on.  It  was  the  first  charter  that  gave  the  com- 
mon people  any  rights.  It  was  written  in  Latin, 
as  were  all  official  documents  at  that  time. 
It  opened  a  way  for  the  commons  to  get  the 
place  which  they  now  hold  in  the  English  gov- 
ernment, the  House  of  Commons.  We  have 
a  copy  of  the  Magna  Charta  in  our  schoolroom. 
It  has  a  frame  made  of  oak  stained 
ebony.  It  is  thirty-five  inches  long  and  twenty- 
seven  inches  wide.  The  shields  of  the  Barons 
in  their  colors  are  arranged  in  a  row  around  the 
top  and  bottom  of  the  charter  itself  and  their 
seals  are  on  the  bottom.  Under  the  shield  of  each 
Baron  is  his  name.  At  the  top  of  the  charter  it 
says  in  Latin,  "A.  D.  1215,  Magna  Charta,  King 
John.  "  At  the  bottom  it  says,  "With  the  Seals 
of  the  King's  Securities  to  Magna  Charta  and 
Shields  of  ye  Barons  in  Arms.  "  The  charter 
itself  is  yellow  with  black  letters,  the  seals  are 
all  in  red  and  black,  while  the  shields  are  in 
various  colors.  Ralph  Holmes. 


THOMPSONVS    INLAND 


hmcm 


Vol.  7.  No.  2. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School.  Boston,  Mass. 


June,  1903 


memorial  Exercises 

It  has  been  the  custom  at  the  School,  for 
the  last  two  or  three  years,  to  go  over  to  the 
cemetery  the  Sunday  before  or  after  Memorial 
Day,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  appropriate 
exercises.  In  former  years  there  have  been 
two  or  three  clubs  competing  to  make  the  best 
showing  and  carry  off  the  honors  of  the  day, 
but  this  year  the  E.  P.  A.  was  the  only  club 
that  was  left.  We  had  been  practicing  once  or 
twice  a  week  in  the  Hall  during  the  winter, 
spending  usually  an  hour  drilling,  that  we  might 
the  better  perfect  ourselves  for  the  performance 
of  the  exercises  of  the  day. 

The  Sunday  after  Memorial  Day  was  the 
day  set  apart  for  the  exercises  this  year  and  the 
weather  was  favorable.  In  the  morning  at  half 
past  eight,  we  got  our  guns,  lined  up  outside  the 
Hall  and  marched  over  to  the  cemetery 
following  the  road  we  were  to  pass  over  in  the 
afternoon.  We  halted  in  front  of  the  gate 
and  went  through  a  few  movements  that  we 
were  to  use  in  the  afternoon.  We  then 
marched  up  on  to  the  hill  close  to  the  cemetery, 
stacked  our  guns  and  went  to  picking  daisies, 
pulling  them  up  by  the  roots  that  they  might  be 
fresher  for  our  afternoon  service.  We  soon 
had  enough  for  six  fellows  to  carry,  and  each 
one,  not  wishing  to  be  left  out,  carried  one 
daisy. 

In  the  afternoon  at  a  quarter  of  two  we 
went  up  to  the  chapel  to  change  our  clothes. 
The  officers  changed  their  clothes  first,  putting 
on  their  uniforms,  after  which  they  went  to  the 
Hall  and  received  their  chevrons  and  shoulder 
straps.  The  privates  were  dressed  in  their 
Visiting  Day  clothes  and   wore  regulation  caps. 


At  about  half  past  two  we  lined  up  near  the  hall 
in  double  ranks  in  the  rear  of  our  Standard 
Bearer.  The  other  boys  lined  up  behind  us  bear- 
ing aloft  the  flag  belonging  to  the  School.  We 
had  a  bugler  and  a  drummer  who  played  at 
different  times  on  the  way  over.  The  others 
had  two  buglers  who  would  answer  our  bugler 
when  he  played.  When  all  was  ready,  we  set' 
off  and  marched  down  the  Front  Avenue  as  far 
as  the  Farm  House  Path.  Turning  there  we 
followed  the  road  over  to  the  cemetery  halting 
once  for  a  short  rest.  When  we  got  near  the 
cemetery  the  drummer  muffled  his  drum  and 
we  marched  slowly  till  we  arrived  at  the  ceme- 
tery and  then  halted. 

The  E.  P.  A.  lined  up  facing  the  gate  with 
the  others  on  their  left ;  we  then  laid  our  guns 
on  the  ground  and  uncovered.  Hymn  books  were 
passed  around  and  we  all  sang  "Nearer  My 
God  to  Thee  ,"  the  cornet  playing  our  accompani- 
ment. Two  recitations  came  next  followed  by  the 
address  by  Daniel  W.  Murray,  which  met  with 
much  approval.  Then  came  another  recitation, 
followed  by  a  poem  written  for  the  occasion  by 
Frank  Simpson.  Then  we  all  sang  "America." 
We  then  decorated  the  graves  with  daisies  and 
flags,  that  of  Mr.  Nordberg  being  decorated 
with  both  Swedish  and  American  flags  while 
the  others  were  decorated  with  the  American 
flag.  The  graves  being  decorated,  the  drummer 
gave  three  short  rolls  and  the  bugler  sounded 
taps. 

The  exercises  being  over,  we  marched 
back  to  the  house.  When  we  arrived  at  the  east 
wing  we  halted  and  presented  arms  while  the 
rest  of  the  fellows  marched  past  us.  After 
they  marched  past,  we    put    our    guns    up   and 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


changed  our  clothes.      With  that  the  exercises 
were  completed. 

Program. 
Hymn.  "Nearer  My  God  To  Thee" 

Recitation.  "In  Magnolia  Cemetery" 

Albert  W.  Hinckley. 
Recitation.  ••Gettysburg" 

Horace  P.  Thrasher. 
Address.  Daniel  W.  Murray. 

Recitation.  "Heroes" 

C.  James  Pratt. 
Poem.  Frank  C.  Simpson. 

Song.  "America" 

Decoration  of  graves. 

George  F.   Burke. 

Cfterlsfted  memories 

The  wings  of  time  mark  swift 

The  hours  upon  the  dial. 
Our  time  on  earth  is  short. - 

God  giveth  but  one  trial. 

We  have  our  life  to  live* 

Let's  live  it  as  we  plan, 
To  benefit  the  world, 

And  help  our  fellow  man. 

We  take  the  chance  or  lose  it  ; 

We  grasp  or  let  it  pass  ; 
Our  hopes  when  crushed  shall  rise, 

Though  withered  as  the  grass. 

And  if  we  grasp  the  chance, 

I  ask  what  gain  we  then? 
We  gain  the  world's  respect 

And  love  of  fellow  men. 

And  when  death's  tide  receding 

Bears  us  upon  its  wave, 
Hearts,  in  sorrow  true,  will  weep 

Their  tears  upon  our  grave. 

Kind  hands  with  care  will  deck 
Our  grave  with  flowers  sweet. 

The  symbol  of  their  love, 
Pure,  tender,  and  complete. 

Frank  C.  Simpson. 

Diddittd  Salsify 

One  day  another  fellow  and  I  were 
told  to  go  over  to  the  piece  where  the  salsify 
was.     When  we  got  over  there,  we  thought  it 


was  going  to  be  muddy  like  the  parsnip  piece 
but  it  was  not,  so  we  began  to  dig.  We  took 
the  long  spades  so  they  would  go  down  under 
the  roots  of  the  plants  and  not  hurt  the  plants. 
The  salsify  would  be  hard  to  tell  from  the  pars- 
nip only  for  the  roots.  The  parsnip  roots  are 
larger  round  than  the  salsify  and  the  salsify  has 
pretty  nearly  twice  as  many  roots  as  the  parsnip 
and  they  are  twice  as  thin.  When  we  had  fin- 
ished digging,  we  took  them  down  to  the  wharf 
and  cleaned  them  and  took  off  most  of  the 
roots.  When  we  got  that  done  it  was  time  to 
go  up.  Charles  F.   Reynolds. 

$mm  Silver 

One  afternoon  Miss  Galer  said  we  wculd 
shine  the  dining-room  silver.  She  told  us  to  leave 
the  knives  out  on  the  table.  She  got  some  bon 
ami  and  told  us  to  get  soir.e  hot  water  in  a  little 
dish,  and  told  me  and  the  other  boy  to  help 
her  shine  the  knives.  I  got  two  eld  napkins. 
I  wet  one  of  them  a  little  and  rubbed  it  on  the 
cake  of  bon  ami,  and  got  enough  on  the  napkins 
to  shine  with.  When  I  got  one  shined,  I 
would  wipe  it  with  ihe  other  napkin.  At  half 
past  two  we  had  the  silver  knives  all  shined.  It 
is  a  good  job  shining  silver. 

George  A.  Maguire. 

Cleaning  tDe  nurseries 

One  afternoon  when  the  farm  boys  went 
down  to  the  farm,  Mr.  McLeod  told  us  to  line 
up.  He  gave  us  some  weeders  and  hoes  and 
told  us  to  march  over  to  the  nurseries.  When 
we  got  over  there,  he  told  the  boys  that  had 
weeders  to  weed  around  the  trees,  and  the  ones 
that  had  hoes  to  hoe  between  the  rows  and  to 
be  very  careful  not  to  cut  the  trees  any.  So  we 
went  to  work.  After  we  had  been  working  a 
little,  he  left  us  a  few  minutes  and  when  he 
came  back  he  bro.ught  with  him  four  or  five 
brand-new  hoes  that  had  not  been  used  and 
told  us  to  be  very  careful  with  them.  So  we 
went  to  work  weeding.  We  went  over  to  the 
dahlia  bed  and  hoed  that  and  after  that  was 
done  we  started  on  the  currant  bushes.  Not 
long  after  that  the  bell  rang  and  it  was  time  to 
stop  work.  Thomas  Maceda. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Came  Birds 

Last  year,  about  this  time,  one  of  the  many 
visitors  to  the  Island,  while  inspecting  Cottage 
Row,  noticed  a  robin's  nest  with  three  young 
ones  in  it,  built  on  the  fence  about  a  yard  from 
one  of  the  cottages,  and  thought  it  showed  a 
good  trait  in  the  boys 'to  have  a  bird  build  its 
nest  so^  near  to  where  so  many  boys  were  going 
and  coming.  This  year  a  robin,  thinking  it 
would  go  one  better,  built  its  nest  on  the  shelf 
of  one  of  the  cottages.  The  mother  bird  comes 
and  goes  without  any  one  troubling  her.  There 
is  also  a  nest  in  the  hedge,  about  two  feet  from 
the  arch  where  we  go  from  the  gardens  to  the 
cottages  and  playgrounds.  At  first  this  bird 
would  fly  away  when  a  few  of  us  went  through 
the  hedge  together,  but  now  a  whole  stream  of 
us  can  run  through  and  she  will  not  mind  us  at 
all.  Sometimes  when  we  play  ball  the  ball  will 
strike  the  wire  around  the  hedge  but  the  bird 
will  not  move.  When  she  comes  to  the  nest, 
she  will  begin  at  the  corner  of  the  hedge  and 
jump  from  branch  to  branch  until  she  reaches 
her  nest.  The  bird  which  had  her  nest  behind 
the  cottage  last  year  has  it  there  this  year  also. 
George  E.   Hicks. 

€.num  Potatoes 

One  afternoon  some  boys  and  I  cut  potatoes 
to  plant  and  it  was  a  rainy  day  too.  One  boy 
would  take  a  bag  full  out  from  the  rootcellar 
and  put  them  into  a  big  barrel  of  formaldehyde 
solution.  We  had  to  leave  one  eye  on  every  piece 
because  that  is  where  they  sprout.  We  soak  the 
potatoes  so  that  the  new  potatoes  will  not  be 
scabby.  Arthur  Munro. 

Tindins  Pieces  for  memorial  Day 

About  two  weeks  before  Memorial  Sunday, 
I  was  asked  to  look  up  some  pieces  for  the  oc- 
casion. So  I  went  to  Miss  Winslow's  room 
and  she  gave  me  a  school  paper.  I  selected 
three  pieces,  copied  them  in  ink,  and  gave  them 
to  Barney  Hill,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  me- 
morial services.  He  gave  them  to  the  fellows 
whom  he  wanted  to  speak. 

C.  James  Pratt. 


Birds'  nests 

Down  at  the  barn  there  are  quite  a  number 
of  birds'  nests.  There  is  a  pigeon's  nest  on  the 
run  coming  up  from  the  cow  yard.  There  is 
another  upon  the  scaffold  in  the  barn.  There 
are  quite  a  number  of  barn  swallows  going  in 
and  out  of  the  barn.  When  they  come  in,  they 
have  little  bits  of  clay,  mud  and  straw.  They 
carry  them  up  on  the  beams  and  make  nests 
there.  There  are  three  nests  in  the  hedge  and 
over  at  the  cottages  there  is  one.  There  are 
quite  a  number  of  nests  down  in  the  orchard. 
I  think  some  of  them  are  robins'  nests. 

Irving  G.  Lindsey. 

Plants  in  the  Schoolroom 

In  the  second  schoolroom  on  the  right  hand 
side  facing  the  teacher's  desk,  there  are  three 
windows  with  some  window  boxes  in  each  one. 
Each  box  has  four  flower  pots  in  it  except  one 
and  that  has  five.  There  are  twenty-five  pots 
in  all  and  they  have  various  farm  plants  in  them 
such  as  radishes,  cabbages,  beans  and  peas. 
We  have  one  pot  of  cotton.  It  is  about 
three  inches  high  and  we  are  in  hopes  it  will 
blossom,  as  of  course  it  will  be  very  interesting 
to  watch  it  go  through  all  its  different  ways. 
The  seeds  were  planted  about  a  month  ago. 

Foster  B.  Hoye. 

UlorRInd  in  tl)e  Staircase 

A  short  time  ago,  Mr.  Elwood  set  another 
boy  and  me  to  work  scraping  the  new  tower 
stairs.  It  was  pretty  hard  work  but  we  did  not 
mind  it  much,  and  so  we  finished  in  about  two 
days.  Then  Mr.  Elwood  had  us  give  it  a  coat 
of  shellac.  The  boy  v/ho  worked  with  me  did  the 
doors,  doorjambs,  baseboards,  sheathing  and  the 
outside  carriages  of  the  stairs,  while  I  did  the 
stairs,  landings,  posts  and  inside  carriages.  By 
the  time  we  got  to  the  bottom,  the  top  part  was 
dry  enough  for  a  coat  of  varnish  and  so  we  gave 
it  one.  The  next  day  we  gave  it  another  and 
when  it  was  all  done  it  looked  very  well.  Interior 
varnish  was  put  on  the  doors,  jambs,  baseboards, 
sheathing  and  outside  carriages,  and  floor  varnish 
was  put  on  the  stairs,  inside  carriages,  landing 
and  posts. 

Barney  Hill. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cboiiip$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Printed  Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A   PRIVATE  HOME-TRAINING  SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT     UPON       DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.  No.  2. 


June,    1903. 


SuBSCRiPTiOM  Price     -     50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office  at  Boston  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


PRESIDENT. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  0.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 

Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


Max  Bennett  Thrasher  died  May  29,  1903, 
while  in  attendance  at  the  commencement  exer- 
cises of  the  Tuskegee  Normal  and  Industrial 
Institute,  Tuskegee,  Alabama.  Mr.  Thrasher 
was  taken  sick  Tuesday,  May  26.  During  that 
night  he  suffered  severe  pain  in  the  region  of 
the  appendix  and  in  the  morning  sent   for   the 


institution  physician  who  gave  him  medicine  but 
without  relief.  On  the  afternoon  of  Wednes- 
day, at  his  own  request,  he  was  removed  to  the 
hospital,  where  he  had  furnished  a  room  when 
the  building  was  completed.  A  consultation  of 
doctors  was  held  who  pronounced  the  trouble 
appendicitis.  Mr.  Thrasher  felt  that  his  sick- 
ness was  serious  but  showed  unusual  bravery 
and  courage;  he  dictated  his  will  and  then  read 
it  over,  made  all  his  plans  for  death  and  told 
where  he  wanted  to  be  buried,  going  through 
every  detail  in  connection  with  his  death  just  as 
if  he  were  preparing  for  the  next  day's  work. 
He  constantly  grew  worse  and  on  Thursday 
evening  it  was  decided  that  an  operation  was 
the  only  thing  that  would  offer  the  slightest  hope 
for  his  recovery.  When  it  was  suggested,  Mr. 
Thrasher  immediately  gave  his  assent  and 
wished  his  friends  to  know  that  he  assumed  full 
responsibility  for  it.  The  operation  revealed 
that  the  peritoneum  was  much  disintegrated, 
with  evidences  of  gangrenous  matter  about. 
The  operation  was  abandoned  because  thought 
hopeless,  and  all  possible  was  done  to  make  his 
last  hours  comfortable.  He  realized  all  and  did 
not  wish  to  suffer.  He  passed  away  at  1.45 
o'clock,  Friday  afternoon,  May  29.  Services 
were  held  in  the  school  chapel  early  Saturday 
morning  after  which  an  officer  of  the  Institution 
accompanied  the  remains  to  Westmoreland, 
N.  H.,  and  then  to  Coventry,  Vt.,  where  funeral 
services  were  held  and  the  body  buried  by  the 
side  of  his  father  and  mother. 

Mr.  Thrasher  was  born  at  Westmoreland, 
N.  H.,  April  1  1,1860.  When  he  was  about  six 
years  of  age  his  parents  moved  to  Coventry,  Vt., 
where  he  attended  the  public  school  and  later 
the  St.  Johnsbury  (Vt.)  Academy.  He  was 
postmaster  at  Newport,  Vt.,  from  1886  to 
1891.     In  1892  he  engaged  in  general    literary 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


work  and  was  on  the  Boston   Journal  staff    for      written  in  the  past  four  or  five  years  concerning 

about  two  years,  giving  up  his  position  with  that  Tusl^egee  in  which  Mr.  Thrasher's  hand  is  not 
paper  Jan.  1,  1898,  to  become  Assistant  Super-  seen,  his  book  "Tuskegee  Institute  and  Its 
intendent  of  the  Farm  School.  His  service  Work"  being  perhaps  the  best  concerning  that 
here  was  the  same  as  that  which  characterized  School.  Mr.  Thrasher,  as  may  be  presumed, 
his  life,  earnest,  faithful,  courteous  and  unselfish  did  not  always  write  over  his  own  name.  One 
and,  as  we  have  said  before,  we  doubt  if  the  tone  book  for  boys  which  may  now  be  mentioned  is 
and  spirit  of  the  School  was  ever  better  than  "Antmg-Anting  Stories"  by  "Sargent  Kayme." 
when  he  was  so  closely  associated  with  us.     He  Mr.  Thrasher  never  married.      His  mother 

was  constantly  reading  to  the  boys  and  calling  died  many  years  ago  and  for  a  number  of  years, 
their  attention  to  the  more  important  events  of  or  until  his  father  died  last  January,  he  had 
the  day  and  the  wholesome  things  in  life.  He  made  a  comfortable  home  for  his  father  and 
dealt  with  individuals  as  well,  and  many  of  us  will  aunt,  to  whom  he  was  very  much  devoted.  In 
remember  some  kindly  act  or  word  intended  Mr.  Thrasher  we  have  a  beautiful  example  of 
especially  for  us.  He  was  particularly  interest-  a  life  for  humanity.  A  life  in  which  self  was 
ed  in  Cottage  Row  and  the  Beacon.  He  had  a  lost  in  its  cheerful  efforts  for  others,  a  life  thus 
fondness  for  the  common  things  and  a  love  for  made  happy  here  and  one  which  has  every 
nature  which  accounts  for  his  natural  and  fas-  promise  of  a  rich  reward  above, 
cinating  writings  as  well  as  for  his  unselfish  and 
manly  character.  While  here  he  wrote  for 
many  papers  and  magazines  on  various  subjects 
including  that  of  our  School  and  Tuskegee. 

The  same  love  for  humanity,  which  prompt- 
ed Mr.  Thrasher  to  engage  in  our  work,  induced 
him  to  give  up  his  position  here  June  1,  1899, 
and  go  to  the  larger  field  of  Tuskegee  where 
also  he  could  bring  into  greater  use  his  literary 
ability.  We  greatly  regretted  his  loss  but  took 
a  brotherly  pride    in    his   advancement,  feeling 


notes 

May   1.     Police  here  for  names  of  voters. 

May  2.  The  Boston  Manual  Training 
Club  visited  the  School. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Pettigrew,  Superintendent  of  the 
Park  Dept.  City  of  Boston,  and  his  assistant, 
Mr.  John  W.  Duncan,  visited  the  School. 

Bonfire  this  evening. 

May  8.     Finished  painting  the  scow. 

Band  instruments  returned  from  the  fac- 
tory. 

Mr.  Vaughan  went    to    Franklin  Park  for 


that  perhaps  the  Farm  School,  too,  in  a  way,  was      another  load  of  trees  and  shrubs. 


contributing  much  to  a  great  cause.  Mr. 
Thrasher  always  retained  his  interest  in  us  and 
called  this  one  of  his  homes.  He  frequently 
acted  as  our  representative  and  kept  in  touch 
with  many  of  our  boys.  Personally  we  enjoyed 
each  other's  confidence. 

Mr.  Booker  T.  Washington  has  paid  a  not- 
able tribute  to  Mr.  Thrasher  and    his    work   for 


May  9.  Blue-prints  for  woodwork  and 
object  lesson  cards  received  from  Miss  H.  A. 
Adams  of  Jamaica  Plain. 

May  10.  Sunday.  First  radishes  from 
the  hot  bed. 

Picked  a  bouquet  of  buttercups. 

Mr.  Richard  C.  Humphreys  told  us  of  his 
trip  to  the  Holy  Land  this  afternoon. 

May  1 1.     Planted  sweet  corn. 

May   1 2.     First  Visiting  Day  of  the  season. 


Tuskegee.    Mr.  Washington  better  than  any  one      There  were  217  present.       Secretary    Tucker 
else  knows  what  this  has  been.     Little  has  been      Daland     and   Manager    Charl'es    T.    Gallagher 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


present,  also  graduates  Harold  E.  Brenton, 
Joseph  A.  Carr,  Samuel  A.  Waycott.  and  Albert 
H.  Ladd. 

Mrs.  Florence  Maguire  brought  for  the 
library,  "The  World's  Great  Empires"  and  Mr. 
J.  A.  Joselyn  brought'  a  set  of  "Good  Citi- 
zenship" charts. 

May  13.  Steamer  towed  a  load  of  lumber 
from  Freeport  street. 

May    14.     Finished  painting  the  Winslow. 

Received  another  large  load  of  trees  and 
shrubs  from  Franklin  Park. 

May  16.     Planted  field  corn  and  beans. 

Received  from  Schlegel  &  Fottler,  seeds 
for  the  boys'  gardens. 

May  18.  Boys  moved  into  the  new  dor- 
mitories. 

Clarence  Rice  left  the  School  to  go  to  his 
relatives. 

Howard  L.  Hinckley  left  the  School  to 
work  for  Mr.  Frederick  Winsor,  Master  of  the 
Middlesex  School,   Concord,  Mass. 

May   19.     Launched  the  Winslow. 

May  20.  Received  a  box  of  reading  mat- 
ter from  Mr.  Lewis  G.  Stone. 

Manager  Thomas  F.  Temple  came  with  the 
Copley  Square  Orchestra  which-  entertained 
us  very  pleasantly  this  evening. 

May  21.  Finished  painting  and  varnishing 
the  Trevore. 

No  school  this  afternoon.  Teachers  attend- 
ing preliminary  meeting  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association. 

May  22.     Launched  the  Trevore.- 

A  man  from  Paine  Furniture  Co.  here  to 
measure  for  curtains. 

May  23.  Mr.  Gustaf  Larsson,  Principal 
of  the  North  Bennett  St.  Normal  Sloyd  School, 
and  his  graduating  class  spent  the  afternoon  at 
the  School. 

Mr.  John  F.  Kilton  came  to  spend  Sunday. 
Brought  for  the  library  "National  Portrait  Gal- 
lery of  Eminent  Americans"  in  two  volumes. 

M,ay  24.  Sunday.  Mr.  Kilton  spoke  to  the 
boys  at  3  P.M. 

May  27.     Planted  lima  beans. 

Calked  the  bottom  of  the  scow. 


First  lettuce  from  the  hotbed. 

Transplanted  500  sweet  potato  plants  and 
900  tomato  plants. 

May  28.     Year's  supply  of  coal  came. 

Commenced  unloading  coal. 

May  30.     Holiday. 

Forty  boys  attended  memorial  service  in 
Tremont  Temple,  by  invitation  of  Edward  W. 
Kinsley  Post  No.  113,  G.  A.  R.    . 

Manager  Francis  Shaw  visited  the  School. 

A  party  of  young  men  with  their  instructor 
from  Tufts  College  called. 

May  31.  Sunday.  The  E.  P.  A.  held  an 
exercise  and  decorated  the  graves  in  the 
cemetery. 


$440.03 
38,09 

$478.12 
10.99 

$467.13 


Tarm  Scbool  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  May   1st.,    1903 
Deposited  during  the  month, 

Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  June    1st.,  1903 

Gettind  $oa$ 

One  day  last  month  another  fellow  and  I 
reported  to  Mr.  Beane  to  do  a  little  work  for  him. 
When  we  went  to  him,  he  asked  us  if  we  knew 
how  to  cut  grass  sods  and  one  of  us  said  yes. 
He  gave  us  a  rule  and  a  spade.  The  rule  he 
wanted  us  to  use  to  measure  a  foot  in  width  and 
he  wanted  us  to  get  two  lengths  of  the  spade. 
We  went  over  to  the  rootcellar  and  on  the  other 
side  of  it  we  got  the  sods.  When  we  brought 
them  up  to  the  house,  we  had  to  help  him  put 
the  sods  dowri  on  the  strip  where  the  geraniums 
were  last  year.  Charles  H.   Whitney.   . 

Sticking  Pumpkin  Seeds 

One  afternoon,  a  little  while  ago,  Mr. 
Vaughan  gave  me  a  package  of  pumpkin  seeds 
to  plant  in  the  mangel  piece.  We  plant  them 
by  sticking  the  sharp  end  into  the  ground.  He 
told  me  to  stick  a  seed  every  five  or  six  steps 
and  to  skip  four  rows  before  planting  another 
row.  We  put  them  far  apart  so  that  the  vines 
would  not  be  a  hindrance  to  the  mangels.  1  saw 
them  a  little  while  ago  and  they  were  coming 
up  finely.  Harris  H.  Todd. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cleaning  up  Diffmnt  Places 

One  day  Mr.  McLeod  told  me  to  harness 
Jim.  hitch  him  to  the  dump  cart  and  go  to 
cleaning  up  in  the  orchard.  He  sent  another 
fellow  with  me  to  help.  We  had  to  pick  up  the 
twigs  and  branches  that  had  been  cut  off  from 
the  trees.  When  we  got  a  load,  I  would  take  it 
to  the  manure  pile  and  dump  it  with  some  other 
brush  that  was  there.  While  I  was  gone  with 
a  load,  the  other  boy  would  pick  up  any  stray 
twigs  that  were  lying  around  and  put  them  in  the 
next  pile  that  we  were  going  to  take.  Another 
time  I  was  told  to  go  to  the  south  end  and  pick 
up  all  the  leaves  and  sticks  that  were  in  piles 
in  the  different  groves.  These  I  v/ould  dump 
in  the  marsh  in  a  pile.  And  then  again  I  had 
to  go  to  the  north  end  and  pick  up  the  piles. 
This  was  really  the  hardest  because  different 
fellows  have  been  trimming  the  trees  and  raking 
more  and  the  lim.bs  were  larger.  I  had  a  fellow 
to  help  me  each  of  the  last  two  times. 

Leslie  W.  Graves. 

Cearning  to  Plow 

One  afternoon  I  was  sent  to  help  Mr. 
Freeman  plow.  1  drove  the  horses  for  Mr. 
Freeman  and  after  awhile  I  asked  him  if  he 
would  let  me  try  to  plow  and  he  said  I  might. 
He  explained  how  to  hold  the  plow  and  I  tried  it 
and  I  plowed  pretty  well  for  a  young  boy  my 
size.  After  awhile  I  asked  him  if  he  would  let 
me  try  to  plow  one  furrow  all  alone  and  he  said 
"yes"  and  1  did  it.  It  was  a  two-horse  plow.  I 
put  the  reins  across  my  shoulders  and  held  the 
plow  with  both    hands  and  plowed  one  furrow. 

Jacob  Glutt. 

new  Benches 

Lately  some  benches  have  been  made  in 
the  shop  for  Gardner  Hall.  They  are  ten  feet 
long  and  set  about  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the 
floor  and  are  eleven  and  one-half  inches  wide. 
The  legs  are  one  and  seven-eighths  inches  thick. 
The  sides  and  legs  are  made  out  of  spruce  and 
the  tops  are  of  hard  pine.  First  the  legs 
were  made,  then  the  sides  and  last  the  tops. 
As  soon  as  they  were  finished,  they  were  shel- 
lacked to  keep  them  from  warping.  The  cor- 
ners of   the  legs   and  sides  were  rounded   over 


slightlyaud  the  sides  and  ends  were  rounded 
over.  After  they  were  put  together  the  nail 
holes  were  filled  with  wax-putty,  then  they  were 
sand-papered  and  shellacked  once  more  and 
then  were  varnished.  There  were  ten  benches 
made  and  they  look  and  are  a  good  deal  better 
than  the  old  ones.        William  C.  J.  Frueh. 

Piching  up  Stones 

One  day  we  little  boys  marched  down  to 
the  barn  and  got  our  overalls  on  and  marched 
to  a  big  field  and  we  were  told  to  pick  up 
stones  and  pile  them  up.  Soon  two  teams  came 
and  some  of  the  boys  picked  the  stones  up  and 
put  them  into  the  teams  and  then  dumped  them. 
Then  the  bell  rang  and  we  went  and  took  our 
overalls  off  and  went  up  to  the  house  and  got 
ready  for  supper.  Donald  W.  Roby. 

Spreading  Gravel 

One  day  Mr.  Beane  told  me  to  spread  the 
gravel  on  the  rear  avenue  that  some  other  fel- 
lows were  carrying  up  from  the  beach  in  wheel- 
barrows. One  load,  when  spread,  would  cover 
a  space  about  six  feet  long,  and  the  width  of  the 
avenue.  When  a  load  was  brought  up,  the  fel- 
low that  was  wheeling  it  would  dump  it  on  the 
avenue  where  I  was  going  to  spread  it.  I  spread 
it  with  a  shovel,  then  raked  it  over,  making  the 
gravel  an  even  thickness  and  raking  out  the 
stones.  Gravel  made  the  avenue  look  much 
better.  Willard  H.   Rowell. 

mmnq  1)iils  for  Beets 

The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  plow  and 
harrow  the  land,  and  then  we  raked  it  over  to 
get  out  the  stones  so  the  seeder  could  mark  all 
right.  Then  we  took  the  single-horse  cultivator 
and  made  the  rows  in  hills.  Then  with  a  rake 
we  put  the  hills  in  shape  to  plant  the  seed. 
The  next  day  we  planted  the  beet  seed. 
When  the  planter  had  gotten  to  the  end  of  the 
piece  we  cleaned  the  machine  and  brought  it  to 
the  barn.  We  took  the  roller  and  rolled  the 
hills  so  that  the  rain  could  not  wash  up  the  seed. 
We  carted  off  the  pile  of  stones  that  we  had 
raked  off  of  the  land  and  dumped  them  on  the 
dike.  That  finishes  the  beet  piece  until  it 
needs  weeding.  Claude  W.  Salisbury. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


JFiiuitini 

William  B.  Winters.  is  now  located 
with  the  Myopia  Club,  Hamilton,  Mass. 

William  Atkins,  "88,  made  us  a  very- 
pleasant  visit  the  30th.  For  several  years 
after  leaving  the  School  he  was  em.ployed  on 
farms  in  Vermont  but  for  the  past  few  years  he 
has  been  coachman  for  different  parties.  He 
worked  for  a  while  for  Mr.  William  Spaulding 
of  Beacon  Street,  for  two  years  for  Mr.  A.  S. 
Bigelow  of  Cohasset  and  has  for  several  months 
past  been  with  Mr.  George  Lewis,  Hammond 
Street,  Brookline. 

Jllumni  mcctitid 

The  semi-annual  business  meeting  of  the 
Farm  School  Alumni  Association  was  held  in 
Wheelock  Hall,  Dorchester,  on  May  20th.  AL 
though  the  weather  was  fair  not  many  of  the 
members  were  present.  Three  new  members 
were  admitted  making  a  total  of  seventy-five  in 
the  Association.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  draw  up  a  circular  to  be  sent  out  to  all  grad- 
uates who  are  not  members  of  the  Association 
and  try  and  interest  them  in  it.  It  will  help  a 
great  deal  if  members  will  send  in  the  names  of 
any  they  know  and  their  addresses.  The  re- 
port of  the  committee  for  a  pin  for  the  Asso- 
ciation was  laid  on  the  table  until  the  next 
meeting.  The  committee  in  charge  of  the 
Infirmary  Fund,  to  furnish  the  Infirmary  at  the 
School,  reported  very  favorably,  but  there  is 
still  lots  of  room  for  more  subscriptions.  The 
Treasurer's  report  showed  the  Association 
to  be  in  a  better  condition  financially  than  a 
year  ago,  even  if  all  the  dues  are  not  paid. 
During  the  evening  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
listening  to  remarks  by  Mr.  John  R.  Morse, 
whom  we  were  all  glad  to  see.  He  very  kindly 
offered  his  assistance  to  the  Association  in 
various  ways.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  re- 
freshments were  served.  Those  members  who 
have  changed  their  addresses  during  the  past 
year  will  please  send  in  their  corrected  ones. 
Merton  Ellis,  Secretary, 

19  Milk  Street  Boston. 


Tire  on  the  BwcD 

One  time  in  April, Mr.  Bradley  told  me  to 
split  up  the  old  swimming  float  and  put  it  in  a 
pile  on  the  beach.  He  also  said  to  get  together 
as  much  old  wood  as  I  could  so  as  to  have  a  good 
fire  on  some  convenient  evening.  Soon  after, 
an  old  raft  was  washed  up  on  to  the  beach.  I 
split  that  up  and  put  it  on  the  pile.  1  also  add- 
ed to  my  pile  a  couple  of  water-logged  dories, 
which  had  at  different  times  been  washed  up  on 
to  the  beach.  Old  mattresses  and  barrels  and 
cast  off  refuse  v/as  from  time  to  added  until  by 
May  2nd  I  had  quite  a  collection  for  a  fire. 
That  night  Mr.  Bradley  asked  me  if  I  was  all 
ready  for  a  good  fire  and  I  told  him  that  I  was. 
At  seven  o'clock  all  the  fellows  came  down. 
The  pile  was  lighted  and  by  seven-thirty  it  was 
quite  dark  and  the  fire  shone  up  well.  Mr. 
Bradley  had  me  put  on  the  fire  some  old  paraf- 
fine  wax  that  had  been  cast  up  on  to  the  Island 
from  some  schooner.  This  made  it  blaze  up 
all  the  more.  During  this  time  the  fellows  were 
running  around  playing  tag,  some  chasing  one 
another,  some  reading  and  others  sitting  orstand- 
ing  watching  the  fire.  Mr.  Bradley  entered  into 
the  sport  and  helped  the  fellows  to  have  a  good 
time.  So  the  evening  was  enjoyed  very  much. 
The  supervisor  blew  the  whistle  to  line  up  at 
eight-thirty  and  after  getting  water  we  all  went 
to  bed. 

George  I.   Leichton. 

Sweeping  the  I>all 

It  is  one  of  my  jobs  to  sweep  the  hall. 
At  half  past  seven  in  the  morning  Mr.  Beane 
tells  the  hall  fellows  to  sweep  the  hall.  We  get 
two  brooms.  First  we  move  the  band  chairs 
and  sweep  behind  them.  Then  we  move  a 
small  platform  and  sv/eep  under  it  and  sweep 
the  large  platform.  One  boy  straightens  the 
ropes  that  hold  the  rings  and  rope-ladder.  The 
other  moves  the  benches  out.  Then  we  sweep 
the  dirt  toward  the  middle  till  we  get  so  we  can 
sweep  it  into  a  pile.  I  sweep  down  the  stairs 
while  he  is  taking  up  the  dirt.  By  the  time  we 
have  finished,  it  is  school  time. 

Leonard  S.  Hayden. 


TH0MP30]>®    I»SLAND 


BEACON 


Vol.  7.  No.  3. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,. Boston,  Mass. 


July,  1903. 


0raduiition  Day 

One  of  the  most  prominent  of  all  the 
holidays  celebrated  by  us  here  is  Graduation 
Day.  This  year  it  occurred  on  Tuesday,  June 
16th.  The  graduating  class  consisted  of 
fourteen  boys  all  of  whom  received  diplomas  to 
certify  the  completion  of  the  School  course  of 
study.  Invitations  were  sent  in  advance  to  the 
relatives  and  friends  of  the  graduating  class  and 
as  many  as  could,  attended.  The  visitors  were 
taken  to  and  from  the  Island  by  the  harbor 
police  boat  Guardian.  The  exercises  took 
place  in  the  chapel  and  we  were  honored  by  the 
presence  of  a  few  of  the  board  of  managers  as 
well  as  special  guests  beside  the  relatives  and 
friends  of  the  boys.  The  boys,  who  were  in  the 
class,  were  seated  in  the  front  of  the  room,  the 
special  guests  were  at  one  side  and  the  others 
in  the  rear,  in  all  the  room  was  well  filled. 
Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  boat  the  exer- 
cises began  with  a  piece  by  the  band  which  had 
to  play  in  the  first  schoolroom,  a  room  adjoining, 
as  there  was  not  room  for  all  the  instruments  in 
the  chapel.  The  salutatory  and  essay,  "  The 
Dairy  Industry"  followed.  The  essay  told  of  the 
milk  and  butter  product  in  the  different  states 
and  gave  many  interesting  facts  concerning 
dairying  as  an  industry.  After  this  came  the 
essay,  "  The  Locomotive,"  giving  the  remark- 
able history  of  the  locomotive-engine  from 
its  first  production  to  the  present  day.  The 
boys  of  the  third  and  fourth  classes  then 
sang  songs  m  chorus  following  which  came  an 
essay,  "  Epoch  Makers  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury," giving  the  names  and  deeds  of  some 
of  the  leading  men  and  women  of  the  century. 
Of  those  in  our  own  country  Lincoln,  Grant  and 
McKinley    stand    out   as   excellent    examples. 


Next  came  a  class  exercise  entitled,  "  Colo- 
nial Flags,"  illustrating  the  history  and  advance- 
ment of  the  American  flag  from  its  early 
beginning  in  the  colonies  to  the  greatest  and  best 
of  all,  our  flag  of  to-day.  A  declamation, 
"  The  American  Nation,"  came  next  after 
which  followed  the  essay,  "  Our  Friends  in 
Nature,"  which  brought  out  many  interesting 
facts  of  bird,  animal  and  plant.  After  this  essay 
came  another,  "The  Great  Lakes."  giving  some 
explanations  concerning  the  remarkable  wonders 
of  these  lakes.  Another  essay  followed  entitled, 
"History  of  the  Steamboat,"  going  back  to  the 
early  days  of  Fulton's  steamboat  and  com- 
paring it  with  the  Saxonia  or  some  other  modern 
boat,  thus  and  in  other  ways  showing  the 
wonderful  development  this  century  has 
produced.  A  piano  solo,  "Charge  of  the 
Hussars,"  followed  this  after  which  came  the 
essay,  "The  Farm  School,"  telling  of  the 
founding  and  giving  the  history  of  the  School, 
also  explaining  the  way  things  are  carried  on  at 
the  present  time,  giving  the  work  done  in  the 
different  departments.  The  essay  on  "Modern 
Woodworking"  showed  the  use  of  the  common 
carpenter's  tools  and  those  used  in  the  sloyd 
work.  Next  was  a  recitation,  "  The  Soldier  of 
the  Empire."  It  was  a  good  piece,  well  spoken 
and  applauded  by  all  present.  The  valedictory, 
' '  Success  from  Trifles,"  was  the  last  of  the  pro- 
gram taken  part  in  by  the  graduating  class.  The 
valedictorian  thanked  the  Managers,  Mr.  and  Mrs, 
Bradley,  the  teachers  and  the  instructors,  in  be- 
half of  the  class,  for  the  encouragement  they  had 
given  when  the  chances  looked  discouraging  and 
the  work  seemed  hard.  The  class  was  addressed 
by  Rev.  Edward  Cummings.  He  spoke  kindly 
and  gave  us  much  valuable  advice,  using  as  the 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


basis  ofhis  remarks  the  following  concise  sen- 
tences. "Be  length-wise  and  not  cross-wise.  Be 
side-wise  and  not  edge-wise.  Be  end-wise  and 
not  other-wise.  Be  like-wise  but  not  wise  in  your 
own  conceit."  The  presentation  of  diplomas  was 
done  as  in  former  years,  Mr.  Bradley  giving 
them  out  and  offering  a  few  pleasant  and 
appropriate  remarks  to  each  of  the  boys  receiv- 
ing them.  Diplomas  were  also  given  at  this 
time  to  the  several  boys  who  had  succeeded  in 
completing  the  course  in  sloyd  and  mechanical 
drawing  pursued  at  the  School.  It  has  been  the 
custom  for  the  last  two  years  for  the  Alumni 
Association  to  give  a  gold  medal  to  the  boy 
whose  rank  in  scholarship  has  been  the  highest 
for  the  last  two  years  of  the  school  course,  this 
medal  was  awarded  to  Clarence  DeMar  by  the 
president  of  the  Alumni  Association  with  the 
consent  of  the  other  members. 

The  U.  S.  History  prize  is  a  new  prize 
highly  valued  and  worked  for.  Dr.  Frank 
E.  Allard  was  formerly  a  teacher  of  the 
School  and  to  show  his  great  interest  in  the 
School  he  offers  the  prize  of  twenty-five  dollars 
to  be  divided  between  the  three  boys  who  have 
the  highest  average  for  the  two  years'  study 
of  U.  S.  history.  Dr.  Allard  presented  the 
prizes  himself  and  they  were  given  in  order 
as  follows,  1st.  prize  $12.00  to  Frank  S.  Miley, 
2nd.  prize  $8.00  to  Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee. 
3rd.  prize  $5.00  to  Walter  D.  Norwood. 
Mr.  Henry  S.  Grew,  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
expressed  his  appreciation  of  the  work  done  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  the  teachers,  and  in- 
structors stating  that  it  was  wholly  due  to  them 
that  the  affairs  of  the  School  went  so  smoothly 
and  nicely.  Mr.  Tucker  Daland.  Secretary  of 
the  Board  called  for  three  cheers  for  them  and 
the  boys  gave  three  and  a  tiger  with  great 
heartiness.  Another  selected  piece  by  the  band 
completed  the  program  for  the  day  and  as  the 
boat  was  already  at  the  wharf  and  waiting  for 
the  passengers,  we  had  no  more  than  a  few 
valuable  moments  with  our  friends.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy  of  the  program  giving  the 
members  of  the  class  and  the  order  in  which 
they  recited. 


PROGRAM 

Band  •  Selected 

Salutatory,  Tiie  Dairy  Industry  William  May 

Essay,  The  Locomotive  William  Flynn 

Songs  Third  and  Fourth  Classes 

Essay,   Epoch  Makers  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 

Edward  B.  Taylor 
Class  Exercise,  Colonial  Flags  Ralph  Holmes 

Frank  C.  Simpson 
Leslie  W.  Graves 
Declamation,  The  American  Nation 

Warren  Holmes 
Essay,  Our  Friends  in  Nature 

Charles  H.  Bradley,   Jr. 
Essay,  The  Great  Lakes  Edwin  W.  Goodnough 

Essay,   History  of  the  Steamboat        Andrew  W.  Dean 
Piano  Solo,   Charge  of  the  Hussars 

Charles  H.  Bradley,   Jr. 
Essay,  The  Farm  School  Frederic  P.  Thayer 

Essay,   Modern  Wood-working  Willard  H.  Rowell 

Recitation,  The  Soldier  of  the  Em.pire 

George  E.  Hicks 
Valedictory,  Success  from  Trifles  Clarence  DeMar 
Address  Rev.  Edward  Cummings 

Presentation  of  Diplomas  Mr.  Charles  H.  Bradley 

Awarding  of  Gold  Medal  Mr.  Alden  B.  Hefler 

Awarding  of  United  States  History  Prizes 

Dr.  Frank  E.  Allard 
Band  Selected 

Frederic  P.  Thayer, 

Plantitid  and  lUatcriitd  fDe  SDrubs 

One  day  some  shrubs  came  from  Franklin 
Park  and  1  had  to  help  dig  the  holes  to  set 
them  in.  When  they  had  been  set  into  the  holes, 
a  fellow  and  myself  had  to.  carry  water  to  put  en 
the  roots  and  into  the  holes.  Then  some  dirt 
was  put  into  the  hole  and  tramped  down  so  as  to 
give  the  plant  moisture.  Then  the  rest  of  the 
dirt  was  put  in.  Up  to  the  time  that  we  had 
some  rainy  weather,  I  had  to  water  the  shrubs 
in  the  afternoon.  First,  I  got  a  barrel  on  a 
wheelbarrow  to  carry  the  water  in.  Then  I 
filled  the  barrel  almost  full  and  put  a  bag  over 
the  top  so  the  water  would  not  spill  out. 
Then  1  wheeled  it  down  to  the  shrubs  and  took 
a  pail  and  got  the  water  out  of  the  barrel  and 
put  it  on  the  soil  around  the  plant.  1  water  two 
shrubs  with  one  pail  full.  Som.elimes,  when  I 
am  wheeling  the  barrel  of  water  I  dump  it  on 
the  road.  William   Proctor. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  Ball  Game 

On  June  17th.,  we  had  a  ball  game  with 
soma  of  the  younger  graduates  that  came  down, 
it  being  a  holiday.  The  game  started  about 
2.35  P.  M.  and  ended  a  little  after  5  P.  M. 
After  the  graduates  had  a  little  practice,  the 
game  started  with  the  graduates  first  at  bat,  and 
they  got  one  run.  The  School  team  then  went 
to  bat  getting  two  runs.  The  graduates  were 
unlucky  for  the  next  three  innings,  falling  to 
score,  while  the  School  team  got  twenty-eight 
runs,  three  of  which  were  home  runs,  making 
the  score  1  to  30  at  the  end  of  the  fourth 
inning.  During  the  remainder  of  the  game  the 
graduates  succeeded  in  getting  six  runs  while 
the  School  team  got  fifteen,  making  the  final 
score  45  to  7  in  favor  of  the  School  team. 
The  game  was  played  very  well  and  the  boys 
like  to  play  other  teams.  The  members  of  the 
teams  and  their  positions  are  as  follows:- 
SCHOOL.  GRADUATES. 

L.  Means,  Capt.,    2  b         W.  Austin  c 

C.  Welch  c         J.  Carr  1    b 

H.Taylor  p         W.Warren  3  b 

F.Thayer  lb  C.Sanborn  2  b 

W.  Holmes  s  s  E.  Davis  1  f 

C.  V/ittig  3  b         E.  Curley  ss 
A.   Dean                   1  f         A.  Ladd                r  f 

D.  Murray  cf         C.  Pulson,  Capt.,    p 
A.  Probert  r  f         A.  Malm  c  f 

Carl  L.  Wittig. 

(UorkiRg  in  the  Shop 

At  noon  hours,  some  fellows  work  in  the 
shop.  Some  work  on  things  for  their  cottages, 
such  as  tables,  shelves,  window  frames,  etc. 
Some  fellows  are  making  a  steamer  modeled 
after  the  Pilgrim  and  some  are  working  on  sail 
boats.  Some  fellows  do  a  little  soldering,  as 
fixing  brushes  on  motors.  When  a  fellow  wants 
something  done  that  he  cannot  do  himself  or 
doesn't  understand  how  to  do,  Mr.  Benson  ex- 
plains it  to  him,  helps  him  out  and  lets  him  use 
his  own  tools  at  times.  He  fixes  our  marching 
music  racks,  threading  the  piece  that  holds  the 
track  and  the  piece  it  sets  in.  He  always  does 
a  good  job. 

Ralph   Holmes. 


Cuna  moth 

A  luna  moth  was  found  the  other  day  on 
one  of  the  maple  trees.  He  is  a  very  pretty 
moth.  He  has  green  wings  with  two  spots  on 
each  wing.  From  the  tip  of  one  wing  to  the  tip 
of  the  other  he  measures  four  and  one-half 
inches.  From  his  head  to  the  tip  of  his  wing 
he  measures  three  and  one-half  inches.  His 
body  is  white  and  his  wings  are  edged  with  a 
reddish-brown  color.  He  has  six  legs.  He  has 
two  feather-like-feelers  on  the  top  of  his  head. 
His  wings  were  torn  when  he  came  out  of  the 
cocoon  and  he  could  not  fly.  He  was  chloro- 
formed and  is  pinned  on  apiece  of  paper  which 
is  in  our  schoolroom. 

William   N.   Dinsmore. 

Cleaning  the  Coal  Bin 

When  the  coal  barge  came,  I  had  to  clean 
out  the  coal  bin  which  is  in  the  shop.  A  lot  of 
dirt  was  mixed  up  with  the  coal  so  it  had  to  be 
sifted.  I  got  a  gravel  screen  and  put  it  in  the 
coal  bin  and  then  threw  the  coal  up  onto  the 
screen  the  same  as  1  would  gravel.  I  had 
to  toss  it  up  two  or  three  times  before  all  the 
dirt  was  out.  Then  I  put  the  coal  that  was 
sifted  over  on  oae  side  so  it  would  not  get  mix- 
ed with  that  which  was  not  sifted.  It  took 
about  three  hours  to  get  it  all  cleaned  out.  I 
then  nailed  up  boards  where  the  entrance  was 
and  then  the  new  coal  was  put  in.  It  took  a- 
bout  twenty-three  dump-cart  loads  to  fill  up  the 
bin  besides  what  was  in  there.  Each  one 
weighed  about  a  ton. 

William  C.  J.   Frueh. 

Che  Kye  field 

About  the  first  of  November,  Mr.  Vaughan 
sowed  some  winter  rye  near  the  Farm  House 
for  early  feed  for  the  cattle.  This  spring  it 
came  up  and  May  18th.  Mr.  Vaughan  began 
cutting  it  down.  Some  of  it  is  cut  every  day. 
It  is  usually  cut  in  the  morning  but  sometimes 
it  is  cut  in  the  afternoon.  After  Mr.  Vaughan 
gets  it  cut,  he  tells  some  boy  to  get  a  horse  and 
cart  and  go  over  and  get  the  rye  and  take  it  to 
the  barn.  He  tells  the  boy  what  horse  to  take. 
It  is  fed  to  the  cows  at  morning  and  at  night. 
It  is  all  cut  now.       Charles  H.  O'Conner. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cboinp$on'$  Tslana  Beacon 

Printed   Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A   PRIVATE   HOME-TRAINI^G  SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT   UPON    DONATIONS  AND   BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.  3. 


July,    1903. 


Subscription  Price     -     50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office  at  Boston  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


PRESIDENT. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

VICE-PRESIDENT. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

SECRETARY. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 

Walter  Hunnewell, 
riENRY  Jackson,  M.  D., 
Francis  Shaw, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


The  period  of  graduation  marks  an  impor- 
tant epoch  in  the  life  of  a  young  man.  In 
one  sense  it  is  the  beginning  of  life,  the  passing 
of  the  boundary  between  youth  and  manhood. 
Hitherto,  his  parents  or  guardians  and  his 
instructors  have  guided  his  steps,  marked  out 
his  course  of  study  and  tried  to  mould  his  morals 


aright.  For  the  future,  he  must  mainly  dec  de 
for  himself  and  enter  upon  an  independent 
course  in  the  activities  of  life.  Independent, — 
yes,  but  no  man  can  live  to  himself  alone. 
Every  day  he  will  influence  others  and  will  be 
influenced  by  them.  At  the  outset,  then,  it  is 
important  that  he  should  seek  the  best  class  of 
associates,  and  that  his  own  influence  should  be 
given  so  dis'Jnctly  and  so  fearlessly  for  the  right 
that  no  cne  car  mistake  his  attitude,  ihat  none 
can  doubt  which  side  he  will  choose  on  any 
moral  question. 

The  completion  of  a  course  of  study  is  not 
a  terminus  but  only  a  milestone  along  the  way, 
for  education  is  the  work  of  a  lifetime.  Whether 
we  aim  to  be  scholarly  or  only  to  gain  an 
intelligent  insight  'nto  affairs  of  current  interest 
to  the  world,  we  must  be  students  every  day  ; 
students  of  books,  of  nature  and  of  m,en. 
Education  is  the  development  of  our  thieefold 
nature  ;  physical,  intellectual  and  mioral.  These 
ends  have  been  kept  in  view  during  the  school 
life,  and  it  now  rests  with  the  graduate  to  continue 
the  process  along  the  same  lines.  If  his  future 
work  should  be  mainly  mechanical,  he  must  not 
neglect  opportunities  for  mental  improvement  and 
for  acquiring  general  information.  If  one  has 
the  will  to  improve,  there  are  free  libraries,  free 
lectures  and  other  means  to  make  the  way 
clear.  If  he  engage  in  clerical  work  or  enter 
upon  a  profession,  he  must  attend  to  physical 
culture  as  well,  and  should  see  that  the  injurious 
bodily  effects  of  a  sedentary  life  are  counteracted 
by  regular  outdoor  exercise  and  recreation.  As 
to  his  moral  nature,  it  is  well  if  he  be  correct 
in  habits,  faithful  to  employers  and  just  in  his 
dealings  with  all.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however, 
that  he  may  reach  a  yet  higher  plane,  and  learn 
that  the  ideal  of  service  for  ihe  good  of  others 
is  grander  than  a  longing  for  independence, 
that  the  most  honorable  position  is  that  in  which 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


he  can  be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  humanity, 
and  that  the  grandest  success  in  life  is  attained  by 
forgetfulness  of  self,  for  this  is  not  only  morality 
but  religion. 

notes 

June    1.      Finished  unloading  coal. 

June  3.     Blacksmith  shod  the  horses. 

Cat  the  grass  in  the  groves  and  orchard. 

Three  men  from  the  Water  Commission- 
er's Office  here  getting  data. 

June  4.     Rigged  the  Winslow. 

Boston  assessors  here. 

Sowed  the  first  millet. 

Extremely  smoky  on  account  of  the  forest 
fires  which  are  raging. 

June  5.     Painted  wharf  gang-plank. 

June  7.  Sunday.  The  Verdi  Orchestra 
gave  a  concert  at  3  P.  IVI.  They  were  assisted 
by  Miss  Adelaide  Greggs,  Contralto  of  Park 
Street  Church. 

June  8.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  W.  Frost  of 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  visited  the  School. 

June  9.     Finished  bulk-head  to  coal  cellar. 

Rev.  T.  Namae  of  Japan  returned  to 
spend  a  few  days. 

June    10.     Visiting  Day.      174  present. 

Put  balustrade  in  new  stairway. 

June  13.  First  strawberries  from  the 
garden. 

June  14.  Rev.  James  Huxtable  here 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Archibald  H.  Grimkie 
who  spoke  very  interestingly  on  William  Lloyd 
Garrison  and  Wendell  Phillips. 

June    15.     A  heavy  rain. 

Finished  stairs  leading  to  penthouse. 

June    16.     Ploughed  for  late  barley. 

Graduation  exercises  began  at  2.30  P.    M. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Cummings  addressed 
the  class. 

Secretary  Tucker  Daland  and  Manager 
Henry  S.  Grew  were  present. 

Boys  in  the  graduating  class  received 
flowers  from  Mrs.  A.  T.  Brown. 

Clarence  DeMar  received  the  scholarship 
prize,  a  gold  medal,  from  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion,  presented    by    the    President,    Alden    B. 


Hefler.  Graduate  Clarence  W.  Loud  was  also 
present. 

Dr.  Frank  E.  Allard,  a  former  teacher 
here,  presented  money  prizes  to  the  three  boys 
who  had  stood  the  highest  in  the  study  of 
United  States  history  for  the  past  year.  The 
recipients  were,  first,  $12.  Frank  S.  Miley; 
second.  $8.  Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee;  third. 
$5.  Walter  D.  Norwood. 

June   17.     Holiday. 

First  green  peas  from  the  garden. 

A  lot  of  books  received  from  Mr.  James 
M.  Gleason. 

A  game  of  baseball  between  the  graduates 
and  home  team  resulted  in  a  score  45  to  7  in 
favor  of  the  School  team. 

Graduates  present  were  William  Austin, 
Joseph  A.  Carr,  John  J.  Conkliq,  Ernest  Curley, 
Dana  Currier,  Edward  L.  Davis.  George  E.  Hart, 
Frank  W.  Harris,  Albert  H.  Ladd,  Harry  H. 
Leonard,  John  A.  Lundgren,  Carl  A.  H.  Malm. 
Clifford  M.  Pulson.Clfester  O.  Sanborn,  Charles 
F.  Spear,  William  D.  Warren  and  Samuel  A. 
Waycott. 

June  18.  Walter  L.  Butler  left  the 
School  to  work  for  Miss  Sarah  L.  Blanchard 
of  Petersham,  Mass. 

June  19.  Sprayed  potato  vines  with 
disparene  and  sprayed  the  orchard. 

Willard  H.  Rowell  left  the  School  to  live 
with  his  mother  Mrs.  H.  A.  Cowell  of  Wren- 
tham,  Mass. 

June  20.  Mr.  Richard  C.  Humphreys 
here  with  his  Sunday  School  boys  who  had  a 
game  of  ball  with  our  team.  Score  20  to  2  in 
our  favor. 

June  21.     Sunday.     Rained  hard  all  day. 

June  22.  One  ton  of  cotton  seed  meal 
came. 

June  23.  Roland  Tyler  and  C.  Clifton 
Wright  entered  the  School. 

June  25.  The  class  of  '03  saw  the  Hook- 
er parade,  occupying  seats  in  a  store  window 
on  Tremont  Street  which  were  provided  by 
graduate  Clarence  W.  Loud. 

June  26  Graduate  Howard  Ellis  visited 
the  School. 

Pilgrim  towed  a  load  of  lumber  and  cem- 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


ent  from  Freeport  Street. 

June  27.  Boys  had  their  first  salt  water 
bath. 

June  28.  Secretary  Tucker  Daland  and 
son  spent  the  night  at  the  School. 

June  29.  Mowed  the  field  north  of  Cot- 
tage Row. 

Prof.  Francis  W.  Chandler  and  son  visited 
the  School  with  Mr.  Daland. 

June  30.  Eleven  boys  went  to  the  den- 
tist to  have  filling  done. 

Tarm  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  June    1st.,    1903  $467.13 

Deposited  during  the  month,  62.37 


$529.50 
51.79 

$477.71 


Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  July    1st.,  1903 

Promotions 

From  the  second  class  to  the  first. 
Charles  A.  Blatchford  George  I.  Leighton 
Robert  H.  Bogue  Frank  S.  Miley 

James  A.  Edson  Walter  D.  Norwood 

Barney  Hill  Charles  H.  O'Conner 

Albert  W.  Hinckley       I.  Banks  Quinby 
Elmer  A.  Johnson  Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee 

Leslie  R.  Jones  Frederick  C.  Welch 

Carl  L.  Wittig 

From  the  third  class  to  the  second. 
Ralph  0.  Anderson         Louis  G.  Phillips 
Warren  H.  Bryant         William  E.  Proctor 
William  N.  Dinsmore    Albert  L.  Sawyer 
George  A.  McKenzie     Clarence  Taylor 
Herbert  J.  Phillips         Harris  H.  Todd 
Frederick  T.  Upton 

From  the  fourth  class  to  the  third. 
Allan  H.  Brown  Thomas  McCarragher 

Thomas  Carnes  Robert  E.  Miley 

Harry  W.  Chase  Alfred  H.  Neumann 

James  Clifford  William  F.  O'Conner 

Charles  A.  Graves  William  A.  Reynolds 

Ernest  N.  Jorgensen      Everett  A.  Rich 
Joseph  B.  Keller  William  T.  Walbert 

Charles  W.  Watson 

From  the  fifth  class  to  the  fourth. 
Edward  Capaul  Charles  McEacheren 

Robert  W.  Gregory        Thomas  Maceda 


Leonard  S.  Hayden        George  A.  Maguire 
Foster  B.  Hoye  Philip  May 

Harry  W.  Lake  Leon  H.  Quinby 

Ervin  G.  Lindsey  Donald  Roby 

Claude  W.  Salisbury 
From  the  sixth  class  to  the  fifth. 
Arthur  Munro 

Stamps 

One  Sunday,  when  Mr.  Kilton  came  to 
speak  to  the  boys,  he  brought  some  stair.ps 
which  he  had  collected.  He  knew  the  boys 
were  collecting  stamps  and  would  like  those  he 
had.  He  said  he  wanted  the  boys  to  elect  a 
committee  from  among  themselves  to  decide 
how  the  stainps  should  be  distributed.  The 
boys  thought  that  that  was  a  good  way  to  dispose 
of  them,  so  they  elected  the  committee.  The 
committee  decided  that  the  stamps  should  be  di- 
vided among  all  stamp  collectors.  The  stamps 
that  Mr.  Kilton  sent  were  put  into  a  hat  and 
each  boy  picked  one  out.  There  were  enough 
to  go  around  three  times.  There  were  also 
some  stamps  that  were  sent  to  the  boys  by  a 
friend  of  Miss  Winslow.  They  v/ere  given  to 
the  boys  by  fives  the  first  time  around,  but  the 
second  time,  Mr.  Blake  gave  a  few  to  each  boy. 
The  boys  chose  a  good  writer  to  write  to  these 
people  and  express  the  thanks  of  the  boys. 

John  J.  Emory. 

transplanting  Comatocs 

A  short  time  ago  some  of  the  boys  helped 
to  transplant  the  tomatoes  that  had  been  grow- 
ing in  the  hotbeds.  The  plants  were  carefully 
dug  from  the  hotbeds.  Then  the  rows  were 
marked  by  a  shallow  furrow  made  by  the  plow, 
so  they  would  be  straight.  After  this,  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  soften  up  the  soil  where 
the  plant  was  coming.  Then  the  boys  took 
pails  of  water  and  turned  about  a  third  of  a  pailful 
on  each  softened  place.  Then  the  plants  were 
dropped  by  each  place  and  afterward  they  were 
planted.  The  plants  were  about  four  feet  apart 
in  the  row  and  the  rows  were  five  feet  apart. 
Another  boy  and  I  made  the  hills  and  the  other 
fellows  put  the  water  and  plants  in.  We  plant- 
ed about  nine  hundred  plants. 

Leslie  W.  Graves. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Uisiting  Day 

The  boys  always  look  ahead  lo  Visiting 
Day  and  like  to  have  it  come  very  much.  The 
boys  let  their  friends  know  when  the  first  Visit- 
ing Day  is  by  sendirg  them  a  card.  Then 
those  that  can  come  or  want  to  come  are  allow- 
ed to  come  here  on  that  day  and  look  around  the 
different  places.  Before  the  friends  get  off  the 
boat  the  band  is  already  down  on  the  wharf. 
The  other  boys  are  on  the  wharf  too,  half  on  one 
side  and  half  on  the  other.  After  the  visitors 
are  all  off  the  boat,  the  band  marches  up  ahead 
and  the  others  follow  in  behind  and  then  the 
visitors  behind  them.  The  line  marches  up 
the  front  avenue  to  the  front  lawn  and  there  the 
visitors  are  seated  and  the  band  plays  a  few 
pieces.  Then  Mr.  Bradley  announces  the  next 
Visiting  Day  to  the  people  and  dismisses  the 
boys.  Then  the  boys  run  and  find  their  friends 
and  pass  a  few  hours  with  them  eating  lunch 
and  showing  them  about  the  cottages  and  shop 
and  schoolrooms.  I  think  they  all  enjoyed  their 
last  visit  here,  as  it  was  the  first  Visiting  Day. 
The  people  who  are  here  are  supposed  to  get  a 
card  here  for  the  next  Visiting  Day. 

George  A.  C.  McKenzie. 

mtm  in  the  Coal 

One  Thursday,  May  28th,  the  coal  barge 
from  the  Metropolitan  Coal  Co.  came  with  the 
annual  supply  of  coal,  and  in  the  first  part  of  the 
afternoon  we  got  out  the  Cumberland  coal  which 
is  used  for  the  steamer  and  blacksmith  shop. 
The  last  part  of  the  afternoon  we  commenced 
on  the  egg  coal  which  is  used  for  the  furnaces. 
Some  of  it  went  to  the  shop,  some  to  the  house 
for  the  main  furnace  and  range,  some  to  the 
steam  heater,  and  the  rest  to  the  barn  to  be 
stored  there  until  it  was  needed.  We  did  not 
work  Saturday  as  it  was  Memorial  Day,  but  we 
began  again  Monday  and  finished  the  egg  coal 
by  eleven  o'clock.  Then  we  went  directly  on 
to  the  stove  coal  which  went  to  the  Farm  House. 
It  was  finished  by  two  o'clock  Monday  and  a 
Metropolitan  Coal  Co.  tug  came  and  took  the 
barge  away.  We  use  about  250  tons  of  coal  a 
year.  Robert  H.   Bogue. 


Getting  SbruDs 

A  short  while  ago,  Mr.  Vaughan  took  three 
other  fellows  besides  myself  out  to  Franklin 
Park  to  get  some  shrubs.  We  started  about 
7.45  o'clock  from  the  Island  and  went  to  a 
stable,  where  Mr.  Pierce,  our  expressman,  keeps 
his  teams.  We  then  got  into  a  team  with  Mr. 
Pierce  and  rode  out  to  Franklin  Park.  As  we 
approached, we  saw  a  flock  of  sheep  and  other 
interesting  objects.  We  rode  into  the  park  to 
where  the  office  is  and  were  shown  around  to 
the  different  places  such  as  the  saw-mill,  the 
different  places  where  the  birds  are  kept,  etc. 
A  little  later  we  got  into  the  wagon  again  and 
drove  out  to  the  nursery  and  went  around  to  the 
places  where  the  different  kinds  of  shrubs,  that 
we  were  going  to  get,  were.  We  got  about 
twenty-five  different  kinds  and  put  them  in  the 
wagon,  which  made  quite  a  load.  Then  one  of 
the  boys  got  into  the  wagon  and  rode  back  to  the 
landing  while  the  rest  of  us  rode  in  the  car. 
They  arrived  a  little  before  we  did  at  the 
landing.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  trip  and  en- 
joyed it  very  much.       Chester  F.  Welch. 

Tlowcrs 

There  are  always  a  large  number  of  different 
kinds  of  flowers  raised  in  the  gardens.  This 
year  there  are  about  seventy-five  different  kinds 
in  all.  The  most  popular  kinds  are  asters, 
pinks,  geraniums,  roses  and  the  different  kinds 
of  bulbs,  as  dahlia,  gladiolus,  etc.  The  most 
unpopular  kind  are  poppies,  I  guess.  They  are 
disliked  because  they  smell  badly  and  they  fall 
to  pieces  easily.  Seeds  are  sown  from  the 
last  week  in  April  up  to  the  10th.  of  June.  The 
School's  seeds  are  usually  given  out  about  May 
20th.  and  that  is  about  when  most  of  the  seeds 
are  sown.  Most  of  the  seeds  can  be  trans- 
planted, but  a  few,  such  as  mignonette  and 
poppies,  cannot  very  well  be.  Flowers  grow 
pretty  well  here,  if  we  keep  the  weeds  pulled  out 
and  the  gardens  watered. 

Clarence  H.  DeMar. 

j# 
"We    are    never    so   much    disposed    to 

quarrel  with  others  as  when  we  are    dissatisfied 

with  ourselves." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


J\\mn\ 

Charles  E.  Andrews,  '96,  we  hear  is 
getting  on  very  nicaly  as  foreman  of  the  finish- 
ing room  in  a  hosiery  mill  in  Tilton,  N.  H., 
where  he  has  been  for  the  past  three  years. 
Charles  is  married  and  has  a  little  girl  two 
years  old. 

John  A.  Lundgren,  '97,  is  well  located 
as  machinist  for  the  Sturtevant  Mill  Co.  of 
Dorchester,  where  he  has  been  for  the  past 
year  and  a  half.  John  is  married  and  lives  at 
128  Adams  St.,  Dorchester. 

William  G.  Cummings,  '98,  began  work 
in  the  law  office  of  Herbert  and  Quincy,  19 
Milk  St.,  on  Sept.  19th,  1898,  where  he  gave 
excellent  satisfaction,  and  until  within  a  short 
time  entertained  a  strong  desire  to  enter  the 
profession,  working  very  hard,  studying  and 
working  evenings  to  this  end.  He  has  recently 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Metropolitan  Life 
Insurance  Co. 

William  Davis  Warren,  '99,  visited  the 
School  recently.  For  the  past  three  and  a  half 
years  he  has  been  located  with  Fairfield  and 
Macullar,  Fire  Insurance,  at  59  Kilby  Street. 
His  home  address  is  70  Neponset  Ave.,  Dor- 
chester. 

Harry  H.  Leonard,  '99,  is  at  present  stop- 
ping with  his  sister  at  5  Irving  Park,  Watertown. 
For  the  past  two  years  he  has  been  employed 
in  a  hosiery  mill  at  Tilton,  N.  H. 

William  Austin,  '01.  In  the  Boston 
Herald  of  May  18th.  is  an  illustrated  article, 
headed,  "Young  Musicians  who  have  Powerful 
Patrons  and  the  Greatest  Ambition."  They  styled 
themselves,  the  Boys'  Symphony  Orchestra, 
and  William  is  the  president.     It  says  of  him,- 

"  Last  winter  when  the  orchestra  was 
formed,  the  president  was  David  Robinson,  a 
17-year-old  musical  wonder,  who  has  within  a 
few  months  gone  to  Paris  to  continue  his  musi- 
cal studies.  In  January,  when  the  orchestra 
was  organized,  William  Austin,  cornet  player, 
was  elected  president.  Young  Austin  is  a 
printer  by  trade,  and  all  his  spare  time  for  sev- 


eral years  has  been  given  to  his  music.  At 
first  he  borrowed  a  cornet,  but  out  of  his  small 
salary  he  has  managed  to  save  enough  to  enable 
him  to  take  lessons,  and  is  about  to  buy  a  new 
instrument.  When  away  from  work  he  lives 
with  his  cornet,  and  it  is  his  ambition  to  be  a 
soloist  of  note.  He  has  great  influence  with 
the   boys,  and  is  a  splendid  organizer." 

B  musical  entertainment 

One  Sunday  evening  Mr.  Bradley  told  us 
about  an  entertainment  in  store  for  us,  to  be 
given  by  the  Verdi  Orchestra.  On  Sunday 
.morning  June  seventh,  a  platform  was  erected 
in  the  Chapel  and  chairs  were  arranged  for  about 
forty  musicians.  The  bass,  tenor  and  kettle 
drums,  cymbals,  music  racks  and  other  things 
necessary  for  the  equipment  of  the  orchestra, 
came  in  the  afternoon.  About  half  past  two, 
our  steamer  brought  the  musicians.  The  lead- 
er gave  a  brief  history  of  the  orchestra.  He 
said  it  was  organized  about  five  years  ago  for 
the  purpose  of  helping  amateur  musicians  and  to 
give  them  a  chance  to  understand  good  music 
rather  than  ragtimes  or  inferior  music.  Music 
which  the  Symphony  Orchestra  plays  and  such 
composers  as  Verdi  and  other  noted  musicians 
have  written.  The  orchestra  was  named  Verdi 
Orchestra  because  the  organizer  was  an  admir- 
er of  Verdi,  the  famous  composer.  It  was 
composed  of  about  forty  musicians  both  ama- 
teur and  semi-professional.  There  were  mostly 
stringed  instruments.  The  atmosphere,  being 
very  damp,  did  not  agree  with  the  violin  strings 
causing  them  to  break  frequently.  An  artist  was 
about  to  play  a  violin  solo  when  a  string  broke  on 
his  violin,  while  he  was  fixing  this  another  string 
broke  consequently  a  selection  was  substituted. 
They  played  about  six  selections.  Then  we 
were  dismissed  and  Mr.  Bradley  gave  them  the 
history  of  the  School.  They  were  then  shown 
around  the  grounds  and  cottages  by  the  boys. 
The  musicians,  being  much  interested  in  our 
city  government,  made  up  a  nice  little  purse 
for  the  treasury  of  Cottage  Row. 

Warren   Holmes. 


THOMPSONIS    I3DAND 

BEAICON 


Vol.  7.  No.  4. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


August,  1903. 


Che  Tourtb  of  July  Cckbration 

July  Fourth  was  celebrated  wiih  the  usual 
fireworks,  races,  etc.,  this  year.  The  boys  that 
wanted  to  go  in  the  different  races  were  picked 
out  the  night  before  so  as  to  have  them  all 
ready.  Each  fellow  was  allowed  to  go  in  three 
races. 

The  first  thing  was  the  flag-raising  and 
salute  at  4.1  1  when  the  sun  rose.  We  got  up 
at  the  regular  time,  six  o'clock.  After  we  were 
through  breakfast,  each  boy  was  given  an 
American  flag  and  a  program.  Cheers  were 
given  for  America,  Fourth  of  July  and  Mr. 
Bradley.  At  eight  o'clock  when  most  of  the 
necessary  work  was  done  the  supplies  were 
given  out.  Each  fellow  was  given  five  bunches 
of  firecrackers  and  a  package  of  torpedoes. 
We  had  about  an  hour  to  set  off  some,  then 
the  sports  and  races  on  the  playground  began. 
The  jumping  races  came  first.  The  three- 
legged  race  and  the  sack  race  came  next. 
These  were  good  races  to  watch  as  the  ones  in 
the  race  fell  down  pretty  often  and  some  one 
would  stumble  over  them  and  thus  make  quite 
a  mix-up.  The  crab  race  was  to  go  along  with 
hands  and  feet  on  the  ground  like  a  crab.  In 
the  obstacle  race  a  number  of  obstacles,  such 
as  going  under  a  rope,  eating  a  cracker  dry 
and  turning  around,  had  to  be  passed.  The 
backward  race  finished  the  races  for  the  "morn- 
ing. We  had  a  little  time  to  watch  some  bal- 
loons that  were  sent  up  and  then  we  had 
dinner. 

There    was   quite    a   long    while  for  fire- 
works after  dinner.     The  races    on    the    beach 
road  began  about  two  o'clock.     The  first  races 
•    were  the  barrel  and  wheelbarrow  races.      After 
these  came  the  one-hundred  yard  dashes    over 


and  under  thirteen.     Both  were  done    in   good 
time.     The  forty-five    yard    hurdle-race    came 
next.     There  were  five  hurdles  two  and  a    half 
feet  high.     None  were  knocked   off    this   year. 
The  mile  race  was  a  long  and  tiresome  one  but 
as  the  prizes  were  high  it  was  worth    being    in. 
The  handicap  race  was  around  the  track    once. 
At  the  start  the  runners  were  placed  in  front  of 
each  other  according  to    how    fast    they    could 
run.     The  tug  of  war  was  two  sides   pulling    in 
opposite  directions  on  a  rope.     It  lasted  for  five 
minutes  and  then  the  side  that  had    the    hand- 
kerchief on  its   half    of   the    rope    won.      The 
graduating  class  of  '03  was    against    a   pick-up 
team  of  equal  weight.     The  pick-up  team    won 
and  received  some  watermelons  and  ten    cents 
apiece.     We  were  given  some  peanuts  and  then 
we  went  over  to  the  wharf  to  watch    the  minia- 
ture yacht  race.       The    course   was  from    the 
Trevore  in  to  shore.     This  was  side  on  the  wind. 
As  it  was  quite  late  and  the  tide  was  pretty  low. 
the  aquatic  sports  were  postponed  and  we  went 
up  to  the  house   and    had    supper.       The    first 
thing  after  supper  was  the  band  concert    which 
lasted  about  half  an  hour    and    then    came    the 
rest  of  the  races.     The  swimming    race    under 
fourteen  was  first.     They  swam  from  the  shore 
out  under  the  greasy  pole.      Over  fourteen  was 
from  the  shore    out    to    the    south    side    float. 
Following     the     leader     was     taking     differ- 
ent kinds  of  dives.     The  greasy   spar    was   the 
last  of  the  races.      There  were  a  lot  of  fellows 
in  this  and  it  took  quite  a  v/hile.      The   rest  of 
the  fellows  had  a  swim  while  this  was  going  on. 
The  object  of  the  greasy  pole  was  to  walk  out  to 
the   end  and  get   the    American    flag.       Each 
fellow  had  three  or  four  turns,  but  no  one  got  the 
flag  although  several  came  pretty  near  it. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


We  had  a  little  while  to  wait  before  it  was 
dark  and  then  the  fireworks  began.  There  was 
a  space  roped  out  for  them.  Some  of  the  best 
ones  were  Roman  candles,  fountains  and  sky 
rockets.  Some  sky  rockets  sent  down  showers 
of  sparks  and  others  had  five  stars  in  a  row. 
Both  were  very  pretty.  The  battle  with  illu- 
minated shot  started  about  nine  o'clock.  The 
shot  were  balls  of  waste  soaked  in  turpentine 
and  lighted.  The  boys  were  divided  into  two 
sides.  One  side  was  in  between  the  ropes  and 
the  other  outside.  The  object  of  those  between 
the  ropes  was  to  keep  the  balls  out  of  the  ropes 
and  of  those  outside  to  keep  them  in.  The 
higher  they  are  thrown  the  better.  When 
thrown  quickly  they  will  not  burn.  They  make 
good  fireworks.  In  about  half  an  hour  the  fire- 
balls burned  out,  and  we  washed  and  went  to 
bed,  having  enjoyed  one  of  our  best  holidays. 
Clarence  DeMar. 

Tourtb  Of  3ttiy 

The  program  with  the  names  of  the    win- 
ners in  order,  was  as  follows: 

4. 11    A.  M.     Flag  Raising  and  Salute. 
Reveille 

6.30     BREAKFAST 
8.00     Distribution  of  Supplies 
9.30     Sports   and  Races    on    the   Play- 
ground 
Standing  Broad  Jump,     H.  Taylor.  Clark  and 

Probert. 
Three-Legged  Race,     Simpson  and  C.  Taylor, 
H.    Phillips   and    Maguire,    Goodnough 
and  Ingalls. 
Sack  Race,     Salisbury,  P.  May,  Maceda. 
Crab  Race,     Watson,  Wright,  W.  Johnson. 
Obstacle    Race,      Goodnough,    Capaul,    Dins- 
more,  Glutt. 
Backward   Race,     Murray,  Ingalls.  Dinsmore. 

11.30     DINNER 
12.00     Salute 
1.30     P.  M.     Races  on  the  Beach  Road 
Barrel  Race,     Anderson,  Wittig,  Walbert. 
Wheelbarrow    Race,       E.    Taylor.    Simpson, 
Flynn. 


Hundred   Yard   Dash  over   13.     Thayer,  Mur- 
ray,  Means. 
Hundred    Yard     Dash    under    13,       R.    May, 

Carnes,  R.  Miley. 
45  Yard  Hurdle    Race,       Murray,    H.    Taylor. 

Thayer. 
Handicap  Race,     Thayer,    Means,  Emory. 
Mile  Race,     Anderson,  Flynn,  Norwood. 
Tug  of  War. 

3.30     Aquatic  Sports  by  the  Landing 
Miniature  Yacht  Race,     Weston  and  Maguire, 

Chase,  Means  and  Murray,  Walker  and 

Glutt. 
Swimming  Race  under    14,       H.    Phillips,    F. 

Miley,  Whitney. 
Swimming  Race  over    14,       Probert,    C.    Hill, 

L.  Phillips. 
Following    the     Leader,       Pratt,     DeMar,    B. 

Quinby. 
Greasy  Spar  over  the  Water. 
5.30     SUPPER 

EVENING. 
On  the  Playground 
6.30     Band  Concert 
7.24     Salute  and  Flag-Lowering 
8.00     Fireworks 

9.00     Battle  with  Illuminated  Shot 
10.00     TAPS. 

Spraying  Potatoes 

One  afternoon  Mr.  McLeod  asked  two 
other  boys  and  me  to  go  down  in  the  cellar. 
After  we  got  down  there  he  had  us  get  some 
water.  There  were  two  barrels  to  be  half  filled 
with  water  and  the  things  that  make  Bordeaux 
Mixture.  We  put  lime  into  one  barrel  and  blue 
vitriol  in  the  other.  When  we  had  it  all  ready 
to  be  put  together,  we  put  the  water  that  the 
blue  vitriol  was  jn  into  the  water  with  the  lirne 
and  mixed  it  together  and  we  were  ready  to  put 
it  in  the  sprayer.  After  we  had  put  it  in  by 
pailfuls,  we  drove  up  to  the  potatoes  and  I 
drove  the  horse  while  two  others  used  the 
sprayers.  We  kept  changing  around  so  we 
could  get  through  faster.  It  is  a  hard  job. 
Ralph  P.  Ingalls. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jin  Entertainment 

One  Wednesday  evening  Mr.  Temple 
came  down  with  Mr.  Curtis  and  brought  the 
Copley  Square  Orchestra  of  four  young  ladies. 
One  had  a  cornet,  another  a  flute  and  a  piccolo 
which  she  played  at  different  times,  when  they 
were  needed.  The  third  one  had  a  violin  and 
the  leader  played  the  piano.  There  was  a  stag- 
ing put  up  on  purpose  for  them  about  one  and 
one-half  feet  high.  They  played  a  march  while 
the  boys  were  marching  out.  I  think  the  piano 
player  played  the  best  but  we  enjoyed  them  all 
very  much.  Albert  W.   Hinckley. 

Preparing  a  Boat  for  Paint 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Elwood  asked  me  if  I 
would  like  to  clean  and  paint  the  Bradford,  which 
is  a  six-oared  row-boat.  I  said  1  would  like  to 
and  so  some  boys  brought  the  boat  up  and  I 
went  to  work  on  it.  The  first  thing  I  did  was  to 
get  a  steel  scraper  and  scrape  all  the  inside  of 
the  boat  except  the  seats  and  the  braces  that 
hold  up  the  seats.  When  I  got  all  the  paint  on 
the  inside  of  the  boat  scraped,  I  sand-papered 
the  inside  all  except  what  1  mentioned  that  I  did 
not  scrape.  That  is  all  1  have  done  so  far. 
I  shall  have  to  scrape  the  seats  and  sand-paper 
them  and  when  I  get  all  the  inside  done,  I  shall 
wash  it  out  and  drain  out  the  water.  Then  Mr. 
Elwood  will  get  a  force-torch  and  burn  off  all 
the  paint  on  the  outside.  Then  I  shall  scrape 
and  sand-paper  that  and  it  will  be  all  ready  to 
paint  and  varnish.  They  had  to  fix  the  boat  and 
Mr.  Elwood  put  in  a  new  guard-rail  and  a  new 
top  streak  on  the  port  side.  Some  rainy  day, 
when  I  can  not  work  on  the  boat,  I  shall  go  in- 
side and  do  the  oars  and  the  back-board  and  the 
rudder.  When  that  is  done,  it  will  be  ready  for 
the  water.  Foster  B.   Hoye 

Cultivating 

About  every  morning  when  I  go  down  to 
the  farm,  Mr.  McLeod  tells  me  to  lead  the 
horse  for  Charlie  Hill  with  the  cultivator. 
First  1  lead  the  horse  down  to  the  old  barn  and 
we  hitch  her  onto  the  drag  and  put  the  cultiva- 
tor on  it,  and  then  lead  the  horse  over  to  the 
piece  that  is  going  to  be  cultivated.  When  we 
get   there,   we   hitch    the  horse  to  the  cultivator 


and  I  lead  her  along  the  rows  while  Charlie  holds 
the  cultivator.  One  morning  I  asked  him  if  I 
might  try  the  cultivator  and  he  said,  "Yes."  After 
giving  me  the  directions  he  let  me  try  it.  At  first 
I  could  not  keep  the  cultivator  in  the  rows  very 
well,  but  now  I  can  cultivate  pretty  well. 
Charlie  lets  me  take  the  cultivator  for  an  hour 
or  so  most  every  morning  that  he  goes  over  to 
the  field. 

John   F.  Nelson. 

trimming  Grass 

The  other  morning  Mr.  Beane  told  me  to 
get  a  pair  of  shears  out  of  his  cupboard  and  go 
to  trimming  grass  where  the  lawn  mower  could 
not  go.  I  went  down  and  found  there  was  a 
strip  of  grass  about  a  foot  and  a  half  wide  left 
because  the  lawn  sloped  down  to  the  road  and 
the  lawn  mower  could  not  be  used  there.  1 
started  and  soon  had  quite  a  long  ways  done. 
It  took  me  two  mornings  to  finish  it. 

Fred  T.  Upton. 

J\  Bonfire 

One  afternoon,  Mr.  Bradley  had  a  bonfire 
on  the  beach.  The  fire  was  a  large  one  and 
was  made  of  an  old  row-boat  that  came  ashore, 
stumps  of  trees  and  large  leaves  and  branches. 
Mr.  Bradley  asked  the  boys  if  they  had  any 
paper  and  the  boys  got  some.  In  a  little  while 
he  had  enough,  so  he  lighted  the  fire.  Pretty 
soon  it  began  to  get  hot  so  he  told  us  to  get  back 
a  little.  After  we  had  watched  it  a  while,  he 
said  we  could  go  up  to  the  house.  It  looked 
very  pretty.  Philip  S.   May. 

Repairing  tbe  Cottages 

During  and  after  vacation,  the  boys  repair- 
ed and  painted  the  cottages.  All  the  cottages 
and  City  Hall  and  Audubon  Hall  have  been 
repaired  or  are  being  repaired  and  painted. 
The  Tritonia  has  had  a  porch  made  in  front  of 
the  bay  window.  It  has  a  new  floor  put  in  and 
a  new  table  and  has  been  repaired  on  the  inside 
and  painted.  A  garden  has  been  made  around 
it  with  a  path  running  through  the  garden. 
There  is  a  fence  with  a  gate  in  it.  The  Elk, 
City  Hall.  Corinthian,  ./tolia,  Maple  and  Cres- 
cent have  been  or  are  being  painted. 

Warren   H.   Bryant. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Domp$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Printed  Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM   SCHOOL 
Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BECUESTC. 


Vol.  7.   No.  4. 


August,    1903. 


Subscription   Price    -    50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  O.Tice  ct  Dosion  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher. 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


It  is  well  that  one  day  in  the  year  is  set 
apart  for  national  thanksgiving.  There  is 
something  impressive  in  the  proclamation  ap- 
pointing a  time  for  the  people  to  unite  in  a  pub- 
lic acknowledgment  of  divine  goodness.  But 
such  expressions  are  as  appropriate  for  August  as 
for  November,  and  with  each  of  us  Thanksgiving 


Day  should  be  repeated  throughout  the  year. 

Thanksgiving, —  the  expression  of  gratitude 
for  mercies  or  favors.  That  means  not  words 
alone.  The  ancient  Jews,  in  addition  to  their 
psalms  of  thanksgiving,  gave  that  which  was  of 
worldly  value  as  a  thank  offering,  and  in  our 
modern  churches  on  the  day  appointed,  not  only 
do  we  have  the  thanksgiving  service,  but  the 
altars  are  heaped  with  gifts  for  the  poor. 

Gratitude  leads  the  young  to  render  love 
and  obedience  to  those  who  gave  them  biith, 
and  to  work  cheerfully  to  lighten  the  burdens  of 
parents  who  are  feeble  or  in  poverty.  It  leads 
the  student  to  show  respect  to  teachers,  and 
loyalty  to  the  institution  where  he  receives  in- 
struction and  training  for  his  life  work,  and  it 
prompts  him  to  remember  that  institution  in  a 
substantial  form  by  bestowing  upon  it  gifts  large  or 
small  according  to  his  prosperity.  Donations 
from  graduates  alone  have  added  millions  to 
the  endowment  funds  of  the  educational  insti- 
tutions of  New  England.  In  the  spirit  of  grati- 
tude he  who  has  prospered  in  business  beyond 
his  fellowmen  gives  of  his  wealth  to  found  or  sup- 
port charitable  institutions. 

In  all  literature  the  ingrate  has  been  paint- 
ed in  the  darkest  colors.  Ingratitude  may  not 
always  lead  to  such  unnatural  conduct  as  that 
of  Absalom  or  the  daughters  of  King  Lear,  but 
we  generally  find  it  accompanied  by  a  false 
pride,  and  it  is  always  unjust  and  dishonest.  It 
is  right  that  we  should  show  thankfulness  by 
word  and  deed  for  favors  received.  It  is  mere- 
ly the  payment  of  an  honest  debt.  The  truly 
benevolent  man  is  too  modest  to  herald  his 
charities  as  something  worthy  of  boast. 

We  cannot  all  be  wealthy,  and  we  may 
never  have  the  privilege  of  doing  great  deeds, 
but  we  can  seize  those  opportunities  for  good 
that  come  to  us  every  day.      The  best  index 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


of  a  thankful  spirit  is  cheerfulness.  The 
fruitage  of  gratitude  is  yielded  in  the  cheery 
smile,  the  kind  word,  the  helpful  deed,  and  where 
these  are  found  it  will  be  Thanksgiving  every 
day  in  the  heart. 

Dotes 

July    1.      Fireworks  came. 

July  2.  Put  granolithic  floor  in  front 
porch. 

July  4.     Independence  Day. 

Usual  program  of  races,  sports,  music  and 
fireworks. 

July  7.  Cottage  Row  citizens  held  their 
regular  quarterly  election  of  officers. 

July  8.  Manual  Training  Club  of  Boston 
spent  the  afternoon  at  the  School.  Former 
instructors.  Prof.  E.  C.  Teague,  Mr.  D.  P. 
Dyer  and  Mr.  E.  Lindblad  visited  the  School. 

July  9.  Visiting  Day.  There  were  255 
present  among  whom  were  Manager  1.  Tucker 
Burr,  Jr.  and  graduates  Mr.  Samuel  C.  Denton 
and  Henry    F.  McKenzie. 

Sowed  barley  and  grass  seed. 

July  10.  A  delegation  of  teachers  attend- 
ing the  National  Educational  Association  visited 
the  School  this  afternoon. 

Finished  plumbing  about  the  new  kitchen 
sink. 

July  13.  Began  repairs  on  the  Farm 
House. 

Cottage  Row  court  tried  a  case  this  even- 
ing. 

July  15.  Began  to  paint  the  main  build- 
ing. 

A  delegation  of  Indian  teachers  visited  the 
School. 

July  16.  A  lot  of  Youth's  Companions 
received  from  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Boynton,  Jr. 

July  17.  Boys  all  went  for  a  trolley  ride 
this  afternoon. 

Put  trusses  in  barn-shed  to  support  the  roof. 

July  18.  Mowed  the  field  of  oats  and 
peas  for  hay. 

A  baseball  team  from  the  SomerviUe  High- 
School  beat  the  School  team  48  to  12. 


July  20.     Summer  term  of  school  began. 

July  21.  Transplanted  late  cabbage, 
cauliflower  and  brussels-sprouts. 

July  22.  Graduate  J.  H.  Street  with  his 
wife  and  son  visited  the  School. 

Sprayed  potato  vines  with  Bordeaux 
mixture. 

July  24.  Visiting  Day.  There  were 
203  present  among  whom  was  Manager 
Francis  Shaw. 

Walter  A.  Johnson  returned  to  his  mother. 

July  25.  The  Pilgrim  took  a  squad  of 
boys  this  forenoon  down  the  harbor,  another 
squad  this  afternoon  for  a  trip  up  the  harbor. 

Planted  the  last  peas. 

July  28.  Louis  C.  Darling  and  Louis  P. 
Marchi  entered  the  School. 

July  30.  Pilgrim  went  to  Freeport  street 
for  a  load  of  lumber. 

July  31.      Finished  haying. 

Gaorge  E.  Hicks  left  the  School  to  live 
with  his  mother  and  work  for  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H., 
&  H.  R.  R. 


$477.71 
105.23 

$582.94 
57J4 

$525.80 


Tdrm  Scbool  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  July   1st.,    1903 
Deposited  during  the  month. 

Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash   on  hand  August  1st.,  1903 

Sawing  a  Cm 

One  day  Mr.  Beane  told  another  boy  and 
myself  to  get  a  cross-cut  saw  and  saw  up  a  tree 
which  some  others  had  dug  up.  It  was  about 
two  feet  in  diameter  and  it  was  quite  easy  to 
saw  because  the  cross-cut  was  sharp.  While 
some  other  fellows  chopped  the  limbs  off,  we 
sawed  the  stump  off  near  the  roots  and  then 
another  piece  off  farther  up.  We  then  put  the 
stump  on  a  wheelbarrow  and  took  it  to  the 
wood  yard,  where  we  also  took  the  other  piece. 
That  left  a  good  sized  piece  of  the  trunk  there, 
which  was  carried  off  and  put  on  the  dike  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Island. 

James  A.    Edson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


m  ceding  Onions 

The  other  day  some  other  boys  and  I 
were  told  by  Mr.  McLeod  to  go  over  and  weed 
onions  by  the  mangel  piece  near  the  Farm 
House.  We  went  over  and  weeded  them  until 
the  bell  rang  when  we  had  to  go  up.  So  we  didn't 
finish  them  all.  We  took  two  rows  apiece 
nearly  every  time,  but  the  weeds  began  to  get 
so  thick  that  one  of  the  boys  asked  if  we  might 
take  one  row  instead  of  two  and  v/e  were  told 
that  we  might.  We  had  to  be  careful  not  to 
cut  any  plants.  We  could  tell  them  from  the 
weeds  easily.  I  like  working  on  the  farm  very 
much.  C.  Clifton  Wright. 

Cowboy's  lUork 

I  am  one  of  the  cowboys  this  summer. 
The  cowboy's  work  is  to  pick  up,  to  pull  thistles 
and  weeds  and  attend  to  the  cows  and  many 
other  things.  We  put  the  weeds,  thistles  and 
whatever  we  pick  up,  over  the  dike.  In  the 
morning  we  are  told  which  end  of  the  Island  to 
go  to.  About  quarter  to  eleven,  a  boy  is  sent  to 
tell  us  to  drive  the  cows  up.  After  we  drive  up 
we  give  the  cows  a  drink  and  by  that  time  it  is 
time  to  go  to  dinner.  Leon   H.  Quinby. 

lUork  in  tl)e  Dormitory 

The  first  thing  another  boy  and  I  do  in 
the  dormitory  in  the  morning  is  to  strip  the 
beds  and  shake  them  up.  After  the  beds  are 
shaken  up  we  make  them.  The  next  thing  we 
do  is  to  move  all  the  beds  up  to  the  east  end  of 
the  room.  We  sweep  up  to  the  beds  and  then 
move  them  back  to  their  places.  One  of  us 
takes  up  the  dirt  in  a  dustpan,  while  the  other 
straightens  the  pillows.  Then  we  dust  the  win- 
dow sills  and  the  top  of  the  sheathing.  We 
scrub  the  floor  of  each  room  once  a  week. 

Leonard  S.   Hayden. 

menaing  Shirts  and  StocKings 

On  Tuesday  night,  which  is  bath  night,  all 
the  boys  change  their  shirts  and  stockings. 
Then  two  boys  take  them  to  the  laundry  to  be 
washed.  When  they  are  dry,  they  are  brought 
into  the  sewing  room  to  be  mended.  Some- 
times they  are  too  badly  worn  to  be  mended,  so 
we  cut  the  sleeves  off  and  use  them    for   polish 


cloths,  and  the  rest  of  the  shirt  for  scrub  cloths. 
The  stockings,  when  they  are  too  badly  worn  to 
be  mended,  are  cut  up  and  put  into  the  rag-bag. 
I  am  glad  I  know  how  to  darn  stockings  and 
how  to  mend  shirts. 

Harry  W.  Lake. 

Zmm  Bpurt  some  old  Stairs 

One  morning,  Mr.  Elwood  told  me  to  take 
apart  some  old  stairs  they  had  just  taken  down. 
The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  take  my  hammer 
and  knock  off  one  of  the  long  pieces,  and  then 
I  took  off  the  little  pieces  attached  to  it  that  the 
treads  rested  on  and  drove  the  nails  out  of  them. 
Then  I  knocked  the  treads  off  from  one  side 
and  took  the  nails  out  of  the  treads.  Then 
I  took  off  the  pieces  from  the  other  side  and 
took  the  nails  out  of  them.  Then  I  piled  the 
wood  and  was  all  through.     I  liked  it  very  well. 

Frank  S.   Miley. 

mbitcwasbind  the  Cemetery  Tence 

One  day  Mr.  Elwood  sent  Frank  Miley 
and  me  over  to  the  little  cemetery,  at  the  south 
end  of  our  Island,  to  whitewash  the  fence  a- 
round  it.  We  started  in  front  on  the  outside 
and  gave  it  a  thin  coat.  When  we  finished  the 
outside,  we  did  the  inside.  By  the  time  the  in- 
side was  finished  the  outside  was  ready  for  a 
second  coat.  So  we  did  that.  This  time  the 
whitewash  was  a  little  thicker  and  when  we 
had  finished  it  on  the  inside  and  out,  we  had  a 
pretty  good-looking  fence. 

Barney  Hill. 

Che  new  Rooms 

The  new  rooms  are  about  completed  and 
are  very  healthful,  that  is,  there  are  few  if 
any  places  for  dust  and  dirt  to  accumulate.  The 
walls  are  plastered  and  finished  with  skimming. 
The  floors  are  made  of  hard  pine  matched 
boards  and  are  planed,  scraped,  sand-papered, 
shellacked  and  varnished.  The  door  and  win- 
dow casings  are  of  hard  pine,  sand-papered,  shel- 
lacked and  finished  with  varnish.  Mould- 
ing is  placed  where  the  wall  and  ceiling 
make  a  crease.  The  tank  room,  dark  room 
and  storage  room  are  finished  with  clean,  hard 
pine  sheathing.  William  J.  Flynn. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Swimming 

About  every  week  day  if  there  is  a  good  tide 
the  fellows  have  a  swim.  What  I  mean  by  a 
good  tide  is  a  high  tide  or  between  high  tide 
and  half  tide.  There  are  two  fellows  in  a  boat 
rowing  around  when  we  are  in  swimming,  in 
case  of  accident.  Most  of  the  fellows  like  to 
dive.  They  dive  off  the  wharf  mostly  and 
some  dive  off  the  boat  house  and  the  dolphin  at 
high  tide.  Some  fellows  have  races  with  each 
other,  such  as  swimming  under  water,  swim- 
ming a  certain  distance  the  quickest,  swimming 
the  longest  and  doing  different  stunts.  There 
are  some  fellows  that  can't  swim  and  those 
that  can  are  teaching  them.  Some  of  these 
fellows  are  afraid  of  the  water  and  when 
they  are  taken  out  over  their  heads  they 
begin  to  yell  like  everything  and  swallow 
a  lot  of  water  which  does  not  taste  very 
good.  They  then  try  to  get  off  by  saying  that 
they  have  swallov/ed  half  of  the  harbor,  but  that 
does  not  work.  Every  boy  must  know  how  to 
swim  before  he  can  get  into  the  boat's  crew. 
Most  of  the  fellows  like  to  have  a  swim,  as  it  is 
a  healthy  sport.  William  C.  J.   Frueh. 

Flaying  KnocK  Up 

Sometimes,  when  there  are  not  enough 
fellows  to  play  ball,  one  will  take  a  bat  and 
a  ball,  go  to  one  end  of  the  playgrounds  and 
knock  the  ball  to  a  fellow  at  the  other  end. 
Most  always  if  you  catch  the  ball  when  it  is 
knocked  to  you,  you  have  a  chance  to  knock 
some  flies,  till  another  fellow  catches  a  fly. 
Then  he  has  a  chance  to  knock.  Sometimes 
the  fellow  that  catches  them  does  not  want  a 
rap.     I  like  it  very  much. 

Frank  S.  Miley. 

Cbc  Sunset 

One  night  when  the  boys  went  down  for  a 
swim  they  noticed  the  sunset,  which  was 
very  pretty.  They  looked  at  it  for  awhile  but 
stopped  looking  as  soon  as  it  began  to  rain. 
You  could  see  the  rain  coming  down  from  the 
clouds  and  when  all  of  a  sudden  the  sun  came 
in  sight  it  looked  still  prettier.  The  color  was 
a  light  red  which  went  along  to  the  north. 

Carl   L.  Wittig. 


B  moonlidht  Excursion 

One  evening  Mrs.  Bradley  picked  out  some 
boys,  nine  in  number,  to  go  with  her  on  an 
excursion  in  the  row-boat  Mary  Chilton.  We 
went  down  to  the  wharf  to  launch  the  Chilton 
and  after  a  short  delay  on  account  of  low  water 
we  got  her  off  and  started  out  with  a  party  of 
instructors.  We  did  not  row  very  hard  for  we 
did  not  care  to  go  very  fast.  The  moon  came 
up  good  and  full  and  shone  out  brightly,  there 
was  hardly  a  cloud  to  hinder.  We  rowed  over 
to  the  north  end  of  our  Island  and  then  turned 
right  about  and  rowed  for  the  south  end.  Then 
we  rowed  straight  for  Boston  and  came 
along  side  of  the  Life  Saving  Station.  We 
went  around  this  a  few  times  and  then  we  made 
for  home.  V/hen  we  arrived  we  thanked  Mrs. 
Bradley  for  the  pleasant  time  we  had,  then  after 
we  had  the  boat  taken  care  of  and  every  thing 
locked  in  the  boat  house,  she  invited  us  to  come 
up  to  the  kitchen  and  have  a  few  refreshments. 
Then  we  retired,  having  enjoyed  the  evening 
very  much.  Barney  Hill. 

lUeeding  Peanuts 

One  day  I  was  told  to  go  over  to  the  pea- 
nut piece  and  weed  peanuts.  I  was  given  a 
weeder  and  told  how  to  weed  them.  At  first 
I  was  told  to  take  the  weeder  in  my  right  hand 
and  keep  twisting  it  on  one  side  and  then  on  the 
other.  In  about  twenty-five  minutes  I  had  them 
all  done  and  then  it  was  time  to  go  up.  They 
are  growing  finely  now.        Robert  H.   May. 

Cleaning  lUinttows 

One  afternoon  1  finished  my  work  in 
the  kitchen  and  reported  to  Mr.  Beane  and 
asked  him  if  I  could  get  a  bucket  and  two  cloths 
and  wash  the  windows  in  my  cottage.  I  took 
the  bucket  and  got  some  water  in  it  and  went 
over  to  my  cottage.  There  was  some  paint  on 
every  one  of  the  windows  because  the  cottage 
had  just  been  painted.  So  I  wet  one  of  my  cloths 
and  washed  the  windows  with  it  and  wiped  them 
off  with  the  other  cloth.  It  was  hard  to  get  the 
paint  off.  I  scraped  it  mostly  off.  When  I  was 
through,  I  carried  my  things  up  to  the  house 
and  went  to  doing  something  else. 

Edward  Capaul, 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumiti 


Frank  P.  Wilcox,    '92.      We   are  very 
sorry  to  have  to  give  notice  of  the    death   of 
this,  another  one  of  our  promising   graduates 
which  occurred  July  6th.  in  Raton,  N.  M.     He 
was  born  in  Rushviile,    Indiana,  July  10,  1878, 
and  came  to  the  School  in  February,  1887,  and 
remained  until  October,    1892,  when  he  return- 
ed   to    his     mother  and  entered  the     English 
High  School,   from  which  he  was    graduated  in 
1896,    standing    second   in    a  class  of  ninety- 
eight.     Mrs.  Bradley  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
him  go  to  the  platform  for  seven  different  prizes. 
That  season  he  came   back  to    the    School   to 
work  and  study,  preparatory  to  entering  Tech- 
nology,  which   he  did  in  the  fall  of  1897.     He 
ranked  high  in  his  classes,  gaining  the    esteem 
of  students  and  professors.      He  took   the   civil 
engineering   course   and   during     the    summer 
vacation    of    1899   he   worked  at  Narragansett 
Pier,     where    he     contracted     a     cold    which 
developed  into  a  serious  lung  trouble.     As  soon 
as   his  condition  became  known,  the  Managers 
of  this  School  and  his   friends  took  his  case  in 
hand  and  never   failed    to    render  any    service 
that  money  and    the  best    medical   aid    could 
furnish.     Our  readers  may  remember  that   he 
was  at  Aiken,  S.  C.  in  November,  1899,  for  his 
health,  remaining  during   that   winter.     From 
May  to  August,  1900,  he    was    in    Boston   and 
vicinity  but  his   physician   would   not   let    him 
remain  in  this  locality.     He  left  for  Las  Vegas, 
New  Mexico,  on  August  30th.,  1900,  where    he 
soon  found  employment  as  civil  engineer   with 
the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  R.  R.   and 
in  April,  1902,  he  was  made  a  superintendent  of 
construction. 

In  the  two  years  of  his  stay  with  the  rail- 
road he  had  been  twice  promoted  and  at  the 
time  of  his  decease  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
line  for  further  promotion.  Besides  his  work 
for  the  road,  he  spent  his  evenings  studying  and 
teaching  those  young  men,  his  assistants,  who 
had  not  had  the  advantages  of  a  school  of 
Technology.  He  taught  them  without  pay  just 
in  order  that  they  too  might  gain   promotions. 


In  his  own  study  he  was  preparing  himself  to 
take  a  special  courseln  Technology  which  would 
fit  him  for  the  highest  work  in  engineering. 

In  all  his  work  for  the  railroad,  so  his  chief 
says,  he  was  accurate  to  the  least  detail.  There 
was  nothing  too  small  to  escape  his  notice  and 
his  reports  are  models  of  neatness  and  accura- 
cy, kept  in  the  office  of  the  road  as  records  to 
be  referred  to  by  others.  His  pen  work  was 
like  his  character,  free  from  blot  or  stain. 

So  beautiful  was  his  character  that  not  only 
did  the  chief  engineer  of  the  great  Santa  Fe 
Road  honor  him  with  a  visit  in  his  illness,  but 
his  companion  engineers  spoke  of  him  only  with 
affection  and  the  rough  workmen  had  tears  in 
their  eyes  when  they  took  their  last  look  at  his 
face.  Though  he  never  went  out  socially, 
preferring  study  instead,  yet  the  ladies  of  Raton 
kept  his  sick-room  fragrant  with  cut  flowers, 
fresh  every  day,  and  sent  kind  inquiries  and 
wishes  for  his  recovery.  He  was  honored  and 
admired  by  all.  He  showed  this  beautiful 
character  in  Technology  for  he  said  then  —  "I 
will  not  have  for  my  friend  any  one  who  uses 
tobacco  or  who  drinks  liquor  or  uses  profane 
language."  One  of  his  classmates  writes_ 
"This  1  know,  that  in  his  going  1  have  lost  a 
most  rare  friend ;  his  Alma  Mater,  a  most 
promising  and  very  loyal  son  ;  his  profession,  a 
man  of  fine  ability  and  absolute  integrity;  the 
world,  a  man  —  sane,  strong,  resourceful,  faith- 
ful to  high  ideals  and  absolutely  clean." 

He  sleeps  his  last  sleep  in  the  cemetery  of 
the  little  town  of  Raton,  New  Mexico,  among 
the  beautiful  mountains  he  loved  and  where  he 
had  worked  for  the  last  two  years  of  his  life. 

Had  he  lived  he  would  have  made  a  name 
for  himself  and  have  risen  to  the  head  of  his 
profession. 

J.  Henry  Wilson,  '89.  Last  spring  went  to 
Maine  to  visit  and  there  became  a  partner  in  rais- 
ing farm  products  in  Acton.  He  seems  to  be  do- 
ing well,  finds  a  plenty  to  do  and  is  in  good  spirits. 

if 

"In  the  hour  of  adversity   be   not    without 

hope,  for  crystal  rain  falls  from  black    clouds." 


m> 


THOMPSONjS    INLAND 

BEAtON 


Vol.  7.  No.  5. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


September,  1903. 


EatiKing  Celery 

There  are  a  number  of  different  ways 
of  banking  celery,  but  this  year  we  follow- 
ed the  old-fashioned  way,  as  it  is  sure 
to  be  done  properly,  and  when  there  is  plenty  of 
help,  it  can  be  done  quite  quickly  and  easily. 
We  first  selected  several  boards  in  length  vary- 
ing from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  in  width  about 
six  inches  and  in  thickness,  one  inch.  The 
cultivator  went  over  the  rows  of  celery  a  few 
times  before  we  began  to  bank  it,  and  loosened 
up  the  soil  between  the  rows,  thus  making  it 
easier  for  us  when  we  came  to  hoe  the  soil 
up  around  the  boards.  The  cultivator  v/hich 
we  used  had  five  blades  large  enough  to  make 
furrows  about  three  inclies  deep.  The  boards 
were  then  held  against  the  celery,  covering  the 
plant  entirely  except  the  very  top.  The  soil 
which  was  loosened  by  the  cultivator  was  then 
hoed  up  around  the  boards  and  pressed  as  firm- 
ly as  possible  without  injuring  the  plant. 
Whan  this  was  done,  the  boards  were  moved 
further  down  the  row  and  the  same  process 
took  place  there.  We  had  to  be  very  careful 
while  banking  the  celery,  not  to  get  any  dirt  in 
amang  the  leaves  or  anywhere  else  in  the  plant 
because  this  makes  it  look  bad  and  is  injurious 
to  the  leaves.  The  object  in  banking  celery  is 
to  keep  it  from  the  light  and  exposure  of  the 
sun  ;  this  makes  it  less  stringy  and  causes  it  to 
bleach  to  a  crisp  color.  When  it  is  thoroughly 
bleached,  it  is  ready  to  be  eaten  or  to  be  sent  to 
market,  and  the  better  its  appearance  is,  the 
more  will  be  the  profit  in  selling.  We  have 
not  as  much  celery  this  year  as  we  have 
usually  had  in  former  years  and  we  finished  the 
work  of  banking  it  in  about  four  hours. 

Frederic  P.  Thayer. 


Boat  Riaittd 

One  Saturday  afternoon  some  boys  includ- 
ing myself  were  told  to  go  down  to  the  wharf  if 
we  wanted  to  go  on  a  boat-ride.  After  we  had 
been  down  there  a  little  while,  Mr.  Bradley  came 
down  and  asked  us  which  way  we  wanted  to  go, 
up  or  down  the  harbor.  Most  of  the  boys  want- 
ed to  go  up  the  harbor  and  so  that  was  decided. 
On  the  way  up,  we  went  between  Governor's  Is- 
land and  Castle  Island  and  the  Grecian  coming 
gave  us  some  good  swells.  We  saw  dry  docks 
and  boats  being  repaired  in  them  and  Maine 
and  Nantasket  boats  going  to  and  from  Boston. 
We  saw  the  wood  used  for  dying  cloth.  In  the 
Navy-yard  there  were  the  Cleveland  in  dry-dock 
and  the  Vesuvius,  Monitor,  Amphitrite  and  a 
torpedo  boat.  There  was  also  an  armed  yacht 
Scorpion,  a  sub-marine  boat  and  the  Spanish 
boat  Marietta.  We  passed  by  the  North  End 
Park,  Mystic  River  and  New  England  docks;  we 
saw  two  large  boats,  the  Commonwealth  and  the 
Saxonia,  the  last  being  the  largest  boat  that 
comes  into  Boston.  We  saw  ferry-boats  every- 
where and  all  pretty  well  loaded.  On  the  way 
back  we  passed  the  Leyland  Line  wharf  and  as  we 
were  going  between  Governor's  Island  and  Castle 
Island  the  Cape  Ann  coming  in  gave  us  the  best 
swells  of  any  of  the  other  boats.  We  got  back  at 
half-past  four.     We  enjoyed  the  trip  very  much. 

Harris   H.  Todd. 

J\  Calk  JIDout  South  Africa 

One  day  Mr.  Moline,  who  is  a  missionary 
from  South  Africa,  told  us  about  some  of  his 
adventures  in  that  country.  He  said  when  he 
landed  on  the  eastern  coast,  he  had  to  hire  about 
fifteen  negroes  to  carry  him  to  the  places  where 
he  wanted  to  go.     In  general  there  are  only  ten 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


men,  but  he  weighed  a  little  over  two  hundred 
pounds  and  he  had  to  hire  five  more  negroes 
because  they  wouldn't  carry  him  to  the  places 
where  he  wanted  to  go  ;  they  thought  he  was  too 
heavy.  They  carried  him  in  a  hammock,  one 
man  at  each  end  taking  turns.  They  would 
carry  one  at  the  rate  of  thirty  miles  a  day. 
After  a  child  was  able  to  walk  it  was  let  go  to 
earn  its  own  living,  but  when  Mr.  Moline 
wanted  the  children  to  go  to  school  everybody 
owned  the  children  and  wanted  to  be  paid  for 
letting  them  go  to  school.  Mr.  Moline  would 
have  to  pay  them  with  buttons  for  letting  them 
go  to  school.  He  said  he  got  about  three 
bushels  of  buttons  and  took  them  to  Africa. 
Warren   H.   Bryant. 

About  two  weeks  ago  1  started  to  cut 
geranium  slips,  so  that  before  winter  they  will 
have  a  good  start.  I  have  now  over  two  hundred 
slips  started.  They  are  of  three  different 
varieties,  white,  light  red  single,  and  dark  red 
double  geraniums.  Each  kind  is  kept  apart  so 
that  they  will  not  be  mixed  up.  Before  the  slips 
are  set  out,  the  earth  is  dug  up  and  smoothed 
off  and  watered  ;  then  the  slips  are  put  in.  I 
always  pick  off  the  large  leaves  as  they  throw 
off  the  larger  part  of  the  moisture  from  the 
plant.  They  have  to  be  watered  every  day. 
Edv/ard  B.  Taylor. 

B  Crip  Down  the  Rarbor 

One  morning  Mr.  Beane  called  all  the 
morning  fellows  together  and  we  lined  up  and 
he  told  us  to  march  down  to  the  wharf  and  then 
we  went  on  the  steamer  and  we  began  to  go 
down  the  harbor.  Mr.  Bradley  let  the  fellows 
on  deck  and  we  had  a  fine  breeze.  When  we 
went  out  we  saluted  the  Cape  Ann  and  the 
King  Philip.  The  Cape  Ann  looked  very  large 
because  we  were  so  near.  Then  we  saw  Boston 
Light  and  Nix's  Mate.  We  had  afine  view  of 
Fort  Strong  and  Fort  Warren.  Some  of  the 
guns  we  could  see  plainly.  Then  we  went 
around  Long  Island  and  came  home.  In  the 
afternoon  all  the  afternoon  boys  had  a  trip  up 
the  harbor.  I  am  sure  we  enjoyed  it  very  much. 
Charles  W.  Watson. 


Plantind  Peanuts 

About  two  months  ago  1  planted  some  pea- 
nuts on  the  farm.  I  planted  them  next  to  the 
sweet  potatoes.  They  were  planting  sweet  potato- 
es the  same  day.  1  was  carrying  pails  of  water 
for  the  manure  in  the  furrows  and  Mr.  Vaughan 
called  me  and  gave  me  a  big  pan  of  peanuts  and 
I  watched  him  plant  a  few  and  then  I  took  them 
and  planted  them  as  he  told  me  to.  I  planted 
them  two  feet  apart.  There  was  only  one  row 
and  about  one  hundred  peanuts  in  the  row.  This 
row  of  peanuts  was  about  four  feet  from  the  row 
of  sweet  potatoes.  The  furrow  for  the  peanuts 
was  thoroughly  wet  with  many  pails  of  water. 
It  was  a  kind  of  soft  soil  so  all  I  had  to  do  was 
to  set  the  peanuts  in.  These  were  the  first  pea- 
nuts planted  on  the  Island,  that  we  know  of. 
Thomas  McCarragher. 

J\  Rainy  Uisitiug  Kay 

The  next  to  the  last  Visiting  Day  was 
rainy.  The  band  could  not  meet  the  boat  the 
same  as  usual,  so  we  waited  up  in  the  chapel 
with  the  other  boys.  When  the  visitors  were 
all  in,  the  band  played  a  few  selections.  Then 
Mr.  Grew,  one  of  our  managers,  spoke  to  us. 
He  had  just  made  a  trip  to  England  and  he 
told  us  what  he  had  seen  there.  We  were  glad 
he  could  come  and  talk  to  us  when  the  day 
was  so  rainy.  After  this  we  took  our  friends  to 
the  different  places  in  the  house  and  also  in  the 
shop  and  gymnasium  and  a  few  went  over  to 
the  cottages.  After  a  while  it  stopped  raining 
and  a  number  went  to  look  at  the  cattle,  etc. 
Then  came  bell  time  and  we  went  to  the  wharf 
with  our  friends.  When  the  boat  left  the  wharf 
we  gave  three  rousing  cheers  and  a  tiger  and 
watched  the  boat  until  she  got  quite  a  ways  off. 
Charles   Warner. 


"  Like  an  earthern  pot,  a  bad  man  is  easily 
broken,  and  cannot  readily  be  restored  to  his 
former  situation ;  but  a  virtuous  man,  like  a 
vase  of  gold,  is  broken  with  difficulty,  and  easily 
repaired." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


leaving 

One  afternoon  I  was  told  to  go  down  to  the 
farm.  When  I  got  there  ,  I  found  1  had  to 
ga-her  the  hay  up  and  lead  it_cn  the  wa[on. 
There  were  about  four  other  boys  in  the  field, 
two  were  loading  and  the  other  two  had  the 
bull-rakes.  There  were  three  farmers  besides 
to  gather  m  the  hay.  We  would  make  the  hay 
in  piles  and  gather  it  up  that  way.  When  we 
gDt  a  load,  two  of  the  boys  with  two  of  the 
farmers  would  climb  on  top  of  it  and  go  to  the 
barn.  Before  going  into  the  barn,  the  hay 
would  be  weigh.ed,  each  of  us  guessing  how 
much  it  would  weigh.  Then  we  would  unload 
in  the  barn  and  go  over  to  the  field  again.  We 
took  four  or  five  loads  that  afternoon  which  al- 
most cleared  the  field.  The  next  day  I  went  to 
the  farm  to  hay  in  a  new  field.  We  took  three 
loads  and  by  hurrying,  finished  it  about  half  past 
two  or  three  o'clock.  We  took  one  large  load 
in  the  large  hay  wagon  and  two  small  ones  in 
the  blue  wagon.  Charles  Warner. 

$iovd  ^ork 

The  sloyd  class  has  conimenced  again  and 
seven  new  boys  were  put  into  our  class.  I  was 
one  of- them.  The  first  three  models  are  the 
wedge,  the  planting-pin  and  the  flower-stick. 
We  have  to  draw  them  first  and  then  make 
them  of  wood  afterwards.  The  things  we  use 
to  draw  the  wedge  with  are  the  T  square,  tri- 
angle, pencil,  eraser,  ruler,  drawing-board  and 
thumb-tacks.  The  T  square  is  like  a  capital 
letter  T.  The  triangle  is  to  get  every  thing 
straight,  the  pencil  is  to  draw  with,  the  eraser  is 
to  rub  the  lines  out  that  we  don't  want,  the 
ruler  is  to  measure  with  and  the  drawing-bosrd 
is  to  put  the  paper  on  and  it  is  fastened  with 
our  thumb-tacks. 

Edward  Capaul. 

Getting  Salt  1)ay 

When  the  tide  is  out  in  the  afternoon  or 
morning  the  farm  boys  cut  salt  hay.  The  way 
we  do  is,  Mr.  McLeod  and  a  boy  take  scythes 
and  cut  it  */hile  others  take  rakes  and  forks. 
Two  boys    generally    take   two    carts    and    two 


horses  over  and  draw  the  hay  off  the  beach. 
The  cart  can't  go  way  out  in  the  marsh,  so  we 
have  to  bring  the  hay  in  where  the  teams  can 
get  it.  We  have  the  salt  hay  all  gathered  now. 
We  use  salt  hay  for  bedding  the  cows  and 
horses.  Horace   P.  Thrasher. 

After  the  mowing  is  done  and  the  horses 
have  been  put  up,  there  is  almost  always  some 
grass  left  that  the  machine  cannot  get  at  which 
has  to  be  done  with  a  scythe.  When  mowing 
along  the  dikes  and  ditches,  the  scythe  has  to  be 
whetted  very  often  as  the  grass  there  is  so  wiry 
and  the  stones  so  thick  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible 1o  mow  without  hitting  one.  Along  the 
slope  of  the  dikes  and  on  the  sides  of  the  ditches 
it  is  best  to  sw.ng  the  scythe  from  the  bottom 
up  if  you  can  keep  the    point  out  of  the  ground. 

Don  C.  Clark. 

Ulharfinder 

My  job  in  the  morning  from  seven  to 
quarter  past  eleven  is  to  see  that  the  wharf  and 
beaches  are  kept  clean,  and  that  the  gravel 
around  the  wharf  is  raked.  First  I  clean  up 
the  beaches,  that  is,  the  sesweed  and  wood  and 
pile  it  up  above  the  high  water  mark  on  the  beach. 
When  1  can  get  a  team  I  carry  it  over  to  the 
dump.  Then  I  rake  the  gravel  and  sweep  the 
wharf  off;  when  I  get  this  done  it  is  about  time 
to  get  ready  for  dinner.  I  go  down  to  the  wharf 
again  at  five  o'clock  to  give  the  steamer  her 
lines  when  she  returns  from  a  trip. 

William   E.   Proctor. 

mmQ  for  lUork 

A  few  days  before  Mr.  Bradley  changed 
work,  some  of  the  boys  wrote  applications  for 
.the  places  they  would  like  to  work  in.  I  sent  in 
to  work  in  the  office  but  got  the  dming  room 
work.  Some  of  the  boys  do  not  like  to  work 
in  the  dining  room  but  I  do  not  mind  it.  Most 
of  the  boys  that  wrote  got  what  they  wanted  to 
do.  ■  Harry  W.  Lake. 

"The  foolish  undertaketh  a  trifling  act, 
and  soon  desist,  discouraged;  wise  men  engage 
in  mighty  works,  and  persevere." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND   BEACON 


Chomp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Printed  Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM   SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island.  Boston  F4arbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.    No.   5. 


September,    1903. 


Subscription   Price    -    50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office  at  Boston  as  second  class  matter. 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 

I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


"On  Sunday,  May  11,  1862,  I  was  taken 
over  to  the  Farm  School  in  the  Lyman  boat, 
and  preached  twice  there.  Never  do  I  enjoy 
myself  more  than  in  visits  to  this,  my  favorite 
Institution.  Its  principal  founders,  John  D. 
Williams  and  Theodore  Lyman,  gone  years 
since  to  their  long  home,  come  up  fresh   to   my 


memory  on  every  visit,  and  excite  within  me 
fervent  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  moved  their 
kindred  hearts  to  an  enterprise  over  which  the 
angels  in  heaven  cannot  but  rejoice." 

So  wrote  Rev.  Charles  Cleveland  of  one  of 
his  visits  to  this  Island.  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
then  nearly  ninety  years  of  age,  having  been 
born  in  June,  1762,  in  Norwich,  Conn.  He  was 
taken  to  Salem,  Mass.  in  1784,  and  placed  in 
the  household  of  his  uncle,  and  at  the  early  age 
of  fourteen  he  sailed  on  a  voyage  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  He  was  apprenticed  to  a  Salem 
merchant  in  1789,  then  became  clerk  and 
deputy  collector  at  the  Salem  Custom  House, 
and  in  1809  began  business  for  himself  in 
Boston.  In  1816  he  became  one  of  the  firm  of 
Cleveland  &  Dane  on  Market  St.,  now  Cornhill. 

The  Society  for  the  Moral  and  Religious 
Instruction  of  the  Poor  was  organized  at  his 
house  in  1816,  and  from  that  date  onward  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  religious  and  charitable 
work.  In  1825  he  resigned  from  business,  but 
it  seems  that  the  life  work  of  his  choice  was 
just  beginning.  In  1830  he  was  appointed  a 
Missionary  to  the  Poor  of  Boston,  and  for  more 
than  thirty  years  he  labored  faithfully  and 
untiringly  in  that  office.  He  published  several 
addresses  in  the  form  of  tracts,  one  of  which 
was  entitled,  "  Address  to  the  Children  of  the 
Farm  School." 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  the  incidents  in  such 
a  life,  partly  because  of  his  deep  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  this  Institution,  and  partly  because  of 
the  influence  it  may  have  on  those  who  have 
greater  advantages  than  he  enjoyed  in  youth, 
and  who  are,  therefore,  better  equipped  for 
ministering  to  others.  Those  who  met  him  at 
this  School  remember  that  in  social  conversa- 
tion he  was  cheerful  and  humorous.  The  stern 
experiences  of  his  youth,  instead   of   hardening, 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


seemed  to  have  created  in  him  a  tenderness 
towards  those  who  were  in  poverty  and  distress, 
and  the  cares  of  an  active  business  career  failed 
to  weaken  his  interest  in  religious  matters. 
Believing  that  it  is  never  too  late  to  do  well,  he 
was  ordained  as  a  minister  in  1838,  at  an  age 
when  most  men  would  think  of  retiring 
from  active  life.  No  doubt  his  green  old  age 
w£s  largely  due  to  his  benevolent  work.  Neither 
happiness  nor  length  of  days  is  secured  by 
indulgence  in  selfish  pleasures. 

To  show  another  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Cleveland,  we  add  his  reply  when  it  was  hinted 
that  in  his  work  he  favored  the  Orthodox  people 
rather  than  the  Unitarians  :  —  "No,  1  make  no 
distinction.  Under  like  circumstances  they  are 
alike  treated.  Whenever  and  wherever  suffering 
is  seen,  there  relief  is  given.  Of  whatever  nation, 
or  complexion,  or  sect,  the  afflicted  individual  or 
family  shall  have  aid  as  their  different  caj:es 
demand.  Were  1  to  show  partiality  in  sny  case, 
favoring  one  class  and  neglecting  others,  my 
work  ought  not,  for  a  moment,  to  receive 
countenance." 

Mr.  Cleveland  was  one  of  the  many  good 
men  who  have  been  interested  in  this  School 
and  whose  benevolent-looking  portrait  adorns 
the  chapel  walls. 

We  were  much  interested  and  pleased  to 
receive  a  visit  recently  from  Mr.  Sperry  French 
of  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  who  from  June,  185  1 
to  October,  1853,  was  a  teacher  here.  At  that 
time  Mr.  Morrison  was  superintendent,  a  Mr. 
Lamprey  principal  of  the  school  and  Mr.  French 
was  his  assistant.  When  Mr.  French  had 
been  here  about  one  year,  Mr.  Lamprey  resign- 
ed and  Mr.  French  was  made  principal. 
From  here  he  went  to  Northampton  and  did 
not  intend  to  teach  any  more  on  account  of   his 


health  but  engaged  in  the  insurance  business. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  was  teach- 
ing in  Lincoln  and  later  in  the  high  school  at 
Newcastle,  N.  H.  He  taught  for  a  period  of 
nearly  thirty  years  but  most  of  the  time  since 
leaving  here  he  taught  at  the  Exeter  Acad- 
emy, resigning  nearly  ten  years  ago.  Although 
quite  an  elderly  man,  Mr.  French  is  lively  and 
entertaining  and  we  hope  he  may  favor  us 
again  with  a  visit. 

notes 


\ 


Aug.  1.  Boys  all  went  for  a  boat  ride 
this  afternoon. 

Put  gas  oil  on  all  standing  water  on  the 
Island. 

Aug.  2.  Sunday.  Dr.  Sara  N.  Merrick 
and  daughter  called  and  contributed  largely  to 
the  memorial  exercises  held  at  3  P.  M.  for 
Frank  P.  Wilcox. 

Aug.  3.  Pilgrim  at  Lawley's  yard  for 
the  annual  inspection  by  the  government  and 
overhauling. 

Aug.  4.  First  cucumbers  from  the  gar- 
den. 

Ang.  5.     Blacksmith  here. 

Aug.  7.  City  water  shut  off  for  a  short 
time. 

Aug.  8.     Pilgrim  in  commission  again. 

Aug.  10.  A  load  of  dressing  ftom  Wal- 
worth's. 

Aug.    1  1.     Another  load  of  dressing. 

Aug.    12.      Planted  la.st  fodder  corn. 

Aug.    14.      Began  to  cut  salt  hay. 

Graduates  Henry  Cleary  and  William 
Smeaton  called. 

Aug.    15.      First  green  corn. 

Aug.    17.      Pilgrim  painted  outside. 

Aug.  18.  Finished  the  first  coat  of  paint 
on  the  house  and  began    to  paint  the  barn. 

Commenced  cutting  rowen. 

Fixed  outer  trap  by  skating  pond. 

Aug.    19.     Varnished  the  Pilgrim  inside. 

Aug.  24.  Sowed  late  barley  and  grass- 
seed. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Aug.  25.  Visiting  Day.  There  were  188 
present  among  whom  were  Manager  Henry  S. 
Grew,  ais3  an  old  teacher  of  the  School,  Mr. 
Sparry  French. 

Aug.  26.  Graduate  William  Austin  call- 
ed. 

Aug.  28.  Finished  the  new  veranda  on 
south  side  of  Farm  House. 

Graduate  George  N.  Seaman  and  friends 
called. 

Aug.  31.  Warren  and  Ralph  Holmes 
left  the  School  to  live  with  relatives. 

Laid  oO  feet  of  12  inch  tile  on  outlet  of 
sewer. 


Tarnt  School  B^nk 

Cash  on  hand,  August    1st.,     1903 
Deposited  during  the  month. 

Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  September  1st.,  1903 

School  Classes 


$525.80 
24.33 

$550.13 
12.80 

$537.33 


The  membership  of  classes  for  the  coming 
year  of  school  is  as  follows: — • 

FIRST  CLASS 

George  B.  Beetchy         George  I.  Leighton 
Charles  A.  Blaichford     Frank  S.  Miley 
Robert  H.  Bogue  Walter  D.  Norwood 


James  A.  Edson 
Barney  Hill 
Albert  W.  Hinckley 
Elmer  A.  Johnson 
Leslie  R.  Jones 


Charles  H.  O'Connor 
I.  Banks  Quinby 
Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee 
Roland  Tyler 
Chester  F.  Welch 


Carl  L.  Wittig 

SECOND  CLASS 

Ralph  O    Anderson  Herbert  J.  Phillips 

Warren  H.  Bryant  C.  James  Pratt 

Don  C.  Clark  William  E.  Proctor 

William  N.    Dinsmore  Albert  L.  Sawyer 

William  C.  J.  Frueh  Clarence  Taylor 

Louis  P.  Marchi  Harris  H.  Todd 

George  A.  McKenzie  Fred  T.  Upton 

Frederick  L.  Walker 


Allan  H.  Brown 
Thomas  Carnes 
Harry  M.  Chase 
James  Clifiord 
Louis  C.  Darling 
John  J.  Emory 
Charles  A.  Graves 
Ralph  P.  Inga'ls 
Ernest  N.  J  jrgensen 
Joseph  B.  Keller 


THIRD  CLASS 

Thomas  McCarragher 
Robert  E.  Miley 
Alfred  H.  Neumann 
William  F.  O'Corr.er 
Albert  Probert 
William  A.  Reynolds 
Everett  A.  Rich 
Horace  P.  Thrasher 
William  T.  Walbert 
Charles  Warner 


Charles  W.  Watson 


FOURTH 

Edward  Capaul 
Paul  H.  Gardner 
Robert  Gregory 
Leonard  S.  Hayden 
Foster  B.  Hoye 
Harry  W.  Lake 
Ervin  G.    Lindsey 
Charles  McEacheren 
Thomas  Maceda 
George  A.  Maguire 

FIFTH 

Albert  S.  Beetchy 
Weston  Esau 
Jacob  Glutt 
Frank  N.  Hobbs 


CLASS 

Phillip  S.  May 
Robert  H.  May 
Albert  S.  Munro 
John  F.  Nelson 
Leon  H.  Quinby 
Donald  W.  Roby 
Frederic  Rothwell 
Claud  W.  Salisbury 
Samuel  Weston 
C.  Clifton  Wright 

CLASS 

Alfred  W.  Jacobs 
Arthur  Munro 
Charles  F.  Reynolds 
Charles  H.  Whitney 


Ccarning  to  Swim 

A  short  time  ago  Mr.  Bradley  had  the  fel- 
lows that  knew  how  to  swim,  line  up  at  the 
bottom  of  the  bank  where  we  place  our  clothes 
when  we  go  in  swimming  and  those  that  didn't 
know  how  he  had  line  up  at  the  top.  He  then 
had  each  fellow  pick  out  the  fellow  he  wanted 
to  teach.  As  soon  as  that  was  done,  the  whistle 
blew  and  each  fellow  ran  in  with  the  fellow  he 
had  to  teach.  Some  took  the  advice  the  good 
swimmer  gave  and  others  didn't  and  so  got  a 
few  mouthfuls  of  water.  The  fellow  I  had 
knew  a  little  about  it  and  so  I  told  him  a  little 
more  and  then  he  practiced  the  points  while  I 
swam  out  to  the  dolphin  and  back.  Some 
know  a  little  more  than  they  did. 

Ralph  O.   Anderson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cftopplitg  Crccs 

One  day  Mr.   Bradley  had  two    men    who 
knew  a  lot  about  trees,  come  down   on    a   visit 
and  they  went  around  the  Island  with  Mr.  Brad- 
ley and  marked  the  trees  which    needed    to    be 
taken    out.      During  vacation  the  boys  took  out 
quite   a  few  trees  and  we  have  got  more  to  take 
out.     The   way    we  do  is  to  dig  the  tree  pretty 
nearly  up,  then  we  saw  off  the  limbs  and  chop  the 
roots.     After  the  roots  are  chopped,  a  boy  goes 
up  the  tree  with  a  long  rope  and  ties  it  around 
the  top  of  the  trunk,  then  a  lot  of  fellows  pull 
until  the  tree  falls   over.       Then    the   stump   is 
sawed    off  and  a    fellow    with    a    wheelbarrow 
carries  it  off  to  the  lumber  yard.  Then  the  twigs 
and  brush    are    carried    down    to    the   bonfire. 
After    that   the    trunk   is  carried  down  to    the 
wood    pile.     The    way    we    do    is  to  get  eight 
large    sticks   and    take    sixteen  of    the    largest 
fellows  and  they  roll  the  trunk  on  to  the  sticks 
and  carry  it  down.     We  then  fill  the  hole  where 
the  tres  came  out  and  if  it  was  on    a    lawn    we 
sod  it  up  and  leave  it  looking  clean. 

C.  James  Pratt. 

Unlcading  Cumber 

One  afternoon  after  one  o'clock,  Mr. 
Beane  took  a  number  of  boys  down  to  the 
wharf  to  unload  lumber.  When  we  got  there, 
Mr.  Vaughan  with  three  large  boys  was  in  the 
barge  putting  the  lumber  on  the  wharf  near  the 
Chilton  house.  From  there  the  boys  that  Mr. 
Beane  sent  down,  took  it  and  put  it  by  the  end 
of  the  telephone  house  where  it  was  piled.  The 
size  of  the  lumber  varied.  Some  was  three 
by  eight  inches  and  some  four  by  six  inches. 
There  was  also  some  hard-pine  gutter  for  under 
the  eaves  of  the  Farm  House.  There  were  also 
some  shingles  and  some  seven-eighths  inch  pine 
in  the  bottom  of  the  barge.  At  a  quarter  past 
two  o'clock  we  got  ready  for  school. 

Elmer  A.  Johnson. 

Paiittittg  tbe  Rouse 

About  the  middle  of  July  we  started  to 
paint  the  main  building.  We  began  on  the 
east  side  of  the  new  wing  and  from  there  we 
went  to  the  west  side  and  painted  the  new  wing 
only.     When  the  two  sides    were    primed,    the 


end  of  the  new  wing,  also  the   new  fire-escape, 
was  given  a  coat.     As  the  first  coat  was  only  a 
priming,  the  sills  and  the  cap-stones  were  paint- 
ed the  same  color  as  the  rest  of  the  wing,  which 
was  William's  Pea-green.     After  the  new  wing 
had  had  its  priming,  we  started  on  the  tower  and 
painted  the  north  side  and    went    right    around 
to  the  north  side  of  the  main    building    on    the 
other  side  of  the  new  wing  to  where  we  are  work- 
ing at  present.     On  the  tower  we  painted  down 
to  the  schoolroom  roof,  but  on  the  other  part  of 
the  house  we  painted  down  half    way   or    down 
far  enough  so  that  the  standing  ladders  could  be 
used  to  finish  it.     As  we  put  on  the  first  coat  we 
also  put  a  coat  of  brown  paint  on  the  trimmings 
around  the  top  and  the  lower  side  of  the  gutter. 
The  whole  building  is  to  have  two  coats  of  paint 
besides  the  priming  for  the  new  wing. 

Frederick  C.  Welch. 

mv  lUork  in  m  Dining  Room 

After  dinner  I  start  to  wash  dishes.  I  get 
my  apron  on  and  take  the  knives  and  v/ash 
them  and  rinse  them.  Then  I  take  the  forks 
and  do  the  same  thing,  then  the  spoons,  extra 
dishes,  plates  and  mugs.  When  we  get  these 
done  I  wash  the  towels  and  hang  them  on  the 
line  and  do  my  sink  and  brass.  Then  I  go  to 
the  rack  and  get  a  bucket  and  wash  the  rubber 
mat  and  then  my  work  is  done. 

Robert  E.   Miley. 


Putting  up  tbe  Staging 

We  are  now  painting  the  main  building  and 
when  we  got  the  side  of  the  house  painted  we 
had  to  put  the  staging  up  on  the  end.  We 
could  not  fix  the  lines  the  way  we  did  en  the 
side  because  we  did  not  have  the  gutter  to  put 
the  hooks  into.  We  put  one  end  of  a  hne 
down  over  the  edge  with  a  loop  in  it.  We 
put  the  line  across  the  roof  diagonally  and  tied  it 
to  a  chimney-stay.  We  put  the  other  just  the 
opposite  way  on  the  other  side.  Then  we  let 
down  a  line  and  they  fastened  it  on  the  pulleys 
and  drew  them  up  and  fastened  them  on  the 
loop.  We  pulled  up  the  other  one  and  they 
pulled  up  the  staging.  We  could  not  get  it  up 
high  enough  so  we  had  to  use  a  pair  of  steps  to 
reach  the  peak.  Fred   L.  Walker. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumni 

Samuel     C.     Denton,     '62,     soon     after 
leaving  the  School,  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
Army  and  was  bugler  in  the  56th.  Msss.   Regi- 
ment during  the  rest  of  the  war,  or  about  a  year 
and  a  half.    While  at  the  School  he  played  the  Bb 
tenor  horn  and  he  is  one  of  the  group  in  the  old 
picture  of    the    band    (tal<en    in     1857)    which 
hangs  in  the  reading  room.      Mr.  Denton  recent- 
ly visited  the  School  and  was    much    interested 
in  and   pleased  with    all    he    ssw.       For    many 
years  after  the  war  he  worked  in    the    boot   and 
shoe    factories    of    Weymouth    and    plsyed    in 
Martland's  Band  of  Brockton  for  fifteen    years, 
also  in  the  Weymouth  band.      He  was  assistant 
postmaster  at  Weymouth  for  four  years.       He 
is  now  commercial  traveller  for  the  firm  of  J.  P. 
and  D.  Plummer  of  Boston.      Mr.  Denton    has 
a  wife  and  one  daughter  who  are   at  present    at 
their  summer  home  at  Newfound  Lake,  N.    H. 
Their    permanent    home    has    always    been    in 
Weymouth,  and  Mr.  Denton    is   a    member  of 
Post  58,   G.  A.  R.  of  Weymouth.     He    has   a 
nephew  in  the  School  whom  he  was  instrumen- 
tal in  placing  here. 

Samuel  A.  Waycott,  '02,  is  getting  on 
very  nicely  with  Mr.  Harry  Bettoney,  48 
Hanover  Street,  manufacturer  of  piccolos, 
flutes,  clarinets,  etc.  Samuel  works  at  the 
bench  repairing  and  likes  the  work  very  much. 
He  says  the  business  is  growing  so  they 
are  looking  for  larger  quarters  and  new 
machinery. 

Jlluntni  notice 

About  a  year  ago  a  fund  was  started  to 
raise  enough  money  to  furnish  the  hospital  or 
infirmary  and  nurse's  room. 

To  date  there  have  been  paid  into  the  above 
fund  ninety-four  ($94.)  dollars. 

I  have  sent  out  over  two  hundred  (200) 
circulars  to  graduates  and  have  heard  from  only 
a  few,  therefore.  I  make  this  final  appeal  to  all 
graduates  that  have  not  subscribed  to  this  fund 


to  send  me  their  subscriptions  at  once,  as  at  least 
two  hundred  dollars  ($200)  are  required  for 
this  purpose. 

Clarence  W.    Loud, 

Infirmary  Fund  Committee. 

Bidcksmitb's  lUork 

On  every  Monday  afternoon,  there  is  a 
blacksmith  class  from  one  to  five  o'clock. 
There  are  six  fellows  in  the  class  and  there  are 
about  forty  models.  There  are  two  Buffalo 
forges,  one  large  and  one  small.  The  large 
one  has  a  trough  about  two  feet  by  ten  inches, 
used  to  keep  water  in  when  you  need  to  cool 
your  piece  of  work  off.  The  boys  go  by  turns 
in  pumping,  one  fellow  on  each  forge  for  a  whole 
afternoon,  because  there  are  only  four  anvils. 
Sometimes  the  blacksmith  class  has  to  repair 
and  make  iron  or  steel  things  for  the  farm, 
instruments  and  iron  things  for  the  house.  At 
present  we  are  making  andirons  for  the  fire-- 
places  in  the  new  apartments.  Each  fellow 
has  to  make  a  part  of  one. 

Joseph   E.   K.   Robblee. 

DMWiitd  in  Scbool 

We  have  an  advantage  that  the  city  schools 
have  not,  and  that  is  drawing  vegetables.  We 
have  the  vegetables  here  and  if  we  have  to  draw 
them,  we  know  that  they  came  from  our  own 
farm  and  do  not  have  to  be  bought,  the  same  as 
in  the  city  schools.  We  have  the  pumpkin, 
summer  squash,  potato,  beet,  onion,  celery, 
peanut  and  others.  We  are  also  drawing  the 
different  positions  and  forms  of  leaves.  These 
are  not  so  hard  to  get  as  in  the  city.  Sometimes 
when  the  boys  have  some  spare  time  they  like 
to  draw  pictures  of  different  things.  If  they 
are  good  enough  for  the  public,  they  are  put  up 
on  the  drawing-rack.  This  is  made  of  two 
small  boards  about  a  foot  apart  with  hooks  on 
them.  The  boards  are  held  together  by  two 
small  chains,  and  put  upon  the  wall  by  chains 
about  five  feet  long.  John  J.   Emory. 

"Good  fortune  is  a  benefit  to  the  wise,  but 
a  curse  to  the  foolish." 


thompson:s  i^sland 

BEACON 


Vol.  7.  No.   6. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


October,    1903. 


Garden  Prizes 

This  year  there  have  been  two  series  of 
prizes  given  on  the  gardens.  One  was  given 
by  Mr.  Henry  S.  Grew  and  the  other  by  Mr. 
J.  Edward  Burtt.  a  friend  of  the  School,  who 
gave  ten  dollars  for  the  five  best  gardens,  which 
were  voted  on  by  the  boys  every  Tuesday  night. 
We  had  three  kinds  of  ballots.  A  white  ballot 
was  voted  on  every  Tuesday  night,  the  pink  ballot 
was  for  the  most  artistic  arrangement  of  plants 
and  the  blue  ballot  was  for  the  boy  who  had  the 
best  single  plant.  The  first  prize  was  three  dol- 
lars to  the  boy  having  his  garden  free  from 
weeds,  for  neatness  and  perfection  of  blooms. 
The  second  was  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents, 
having  just  the  same  requirements  as  the  first. 
The  third  was  two  dollars  for  having  the  best 
arrangement  of  plants.  The  fourth  prize  was 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  for  having  the  best 
single  plant.  The  fifth  prize  was  one  dollar  for 
consolation.  We  had  a  small  table  put  in  the 
corner  of  the  assembly  room  and  a  small  box 
put  in  the  centre  of  it  with  a  hole  cut  in  it,  and 
as  the  boy  voted,  he  put  the  ballot  in  the  box. 
After  the  owners  of  the  gardens  were  all  through 
voting,  the  ballots  were  taken  to  the  office  to  be 
counted.  Mr.  Bradley  gave  out  the  prizes  on 
the  last  Visiting  Day  as  Mr.  Grew  and  Mr. 
Burtt  could  not  be  here.  Mr.  Grew  has  been 
giving  garden  prizes  for  fifteen  years  and  they 
are  different  from  the  Burtt  prizes  because  the 
boys  do  not  vote  on  them.  There  are  three 
instructors  who  are  judges.  They  keep  an  eye 
on  the  gardens  through  the  summer  and  see 
who  takes  best  care  of  the  gardens  and  keeps 
them  watered.  They  then  decide  who  are  the 
first  five  boys  to  take  the  Grew  prizes.  There 
are  about  one  hundred  gardens  and  I  think  they 


have  looked  the  best  this  year  that  they  have 
any  year.  Most  of  the  boys  have  in  their  gar- 
dens zinnias,  asters,  dahlias,  marigolds  and 
pinks,  as  these  last  the  whole  season.  The 
gardens  are  sheltered  by  a  hedge  of  buckthorn 
running  north  and  east  so  the  wind  will  not 
injure  the  plants.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the 
gardens,  there  is  a  water  faucet  where  all  the 
water  is  got  to  water  the  gardens.  Several  of 
the  boys,  at  the  last  of  the  season  when  it  is  too 
cold  for  plants,  dig  their  plants  under  for  a 
fertilizer  for  the  next  year.  The  boys  take  lots 
of  pleasure  in  their  gardens. 

Leslie  R.  Jones. 

(Uceding  Onions 

The  very  first  day  I  came  here  I  was  put 
to  work  weeding  onions.  Now  1,  being  a  city 
boy,  didn't  know  much  about  weeding  or  any- 
thing else  on  a  farm.  But  I  speedily  got  a 
teacher,  Mr.  McLeod,  who  gave  me  a  lesson 
on  weeding.  The  weeds  were  very  thick  and 
we  had  to  pull  out  the  largest  with  our  hands, 
piling  them  up  in  a  place  where  the  team  could 
carry  them  off  to  the  dump.  Then  we  were 
given  hoes  to  take  out  all  the  rest,  which  were 
very  thick.  It  took  us  almost  four  days  to  get 
them  all  out.  Since  then  I  have  had  a  good 
many  lessons  on  different  things  that  I  never 
knew  anything  about  before  I  came  down  here. 
While  weeding  the  onions,  I  knocked  down  a 
number  of  them,  but  after  a  while  I  learned 
better.  The  next  thing  1  tried  was  hoeing  corn. 
This  gave  me  more  trouble  as  the  corn  was 
young  and  I  kept  knocking  it  down.  I  like  the 
farm  work  quite  well  and,  in  fact,  I  think  it  is 
the  best  job  on  the  Island. 

George  B.  Beetchy. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  Storm 

One  day  in  the  morning  a  storm  broke  out, 
the  wind  blowing  and  tearing  away,  making  the 
harbor  very  rough  and  dangerous  for  small 
boats,  although  many  were  caught  in  it  and 
driven  ashore.  Some  landed  on  the  beach  and 
the  men  came  up  to  see  Mr.  Bradley.  He 
gave  them  supper  and  a  night's  rest.  Some 
race  boats  broke  away  and  landed  on  the  North 
End  of  our  Island  and  others  at  the  South  End, 
one  of  which  nobody  was  in.  The  boys'  gar- 
dens were  pretty  badly  broken  up  by  the  wind 
and  they  lost  many  nice  dahlia  plants.  The 
trees  and  other  shrubs  were  also  pretty  badly 
shaken  up.  Many  branches  and  twigs  were  brok- 
en off  and  fell  on  the  lawns  and  ever  so  many 
leaves  fell  off.  These  the  boys  will  rake  up  and 
carry  away.  Thomas  McCarragher. 

During  vacation  and  on  Saturdays,  some 
of  the  boys  who  want  to  go  fishing  ask  the 
instructor  if  they  can  go.  No  boy  is  allowed  to 
go  fishing  if  he  cannot  swim.  The  first  thing 
they  do  is  to  go  down  and  ask  for  a  clam  digger 
or  shovel  and  find  a  can  to  put  in  what  they 
have  for  bait,  which  is  seaworms  and  clams. 
After  they  have  dug  all  the  bait  they  want, 
they  pass  the  shovel  or  clam  digger  to  another 
boy  and  when  he  is  through,  he  returns  it  to  the 
place  where  the  other  boys  got  it.  We  go 
down  to  the  wharf  and  bait  our  hooks  and  then 
throw  our  lines  over  into  the  water  and  wait 
until  we  get  a  bite.  Then  we  pull  it  up  and  see 
what  it  is.  There  are  many  kinds  of  fish,  as 
flounders,  sculpins,  perch,  cunners  and  skate 
fish.  I  think  fishing  is  a  very  good  thing  and 
interesting.  Joseph  B.   Keller. 

Truit  and  Uc$ctdi)k  Sbow 

On  the  last  Visiting  Day  of  the  season,  we 
generally  have  an  exhibition  of  our  vegetables  in 
the  barn.  We  had  a  pretty  good  showing  of 
them  this  season  but  we  had  a  better  one  last 
year  because  we  were  two  weeks  later.  Mr. 
Vaughan  arranged  four  tables  along  the  upper 
barn  floor.  On  one  of  the  tables  there  were 
seven   kinds  of  apples   and   about  six   kinds    of 


pears  and  quinces.  On  another  there  were  two 
varieties  each  of  potatoes,  beets  and  onions 
and  on  another  two  varieties  each  of  beans  and 
peppers  and  three  varieties  of  mangels  and  four 
of  squash  and  three  of  pumpkins.  On  the  last 
table  there  were  turnips,  celery,  tomatoes, 
salsify  and  parsley.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
barn  floor  were  bunches  of  Indian  corn  and 
stacks  of  sweet  corn.  At  the  end  of  the  barn 
floor  were  bunches  of  golden  and  silver  rod  and 
there  were  also  some  bunches  of  asparagus. 
Charles  A.   Blatchford. 

Cleaning  out  m  l^cagc 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Morrison  told  Warren 
Bryant,  Fred  Upton  and  myself  to  get  a  wheel- 
barrow, a  shovel  and  two  rakes  and  clean  out 
the  hedge  around  the  flower  gardens.  First  I 
crawled  under  the  wire  and  over  to  the  other  side 
of  the  hedge.  I  could  not  get  in  from  the  other 
side  very  well  because  there  is  a  wire  screen 
about  five  and  a  half  feet  tall  on  that  side.  I 
raked  the  rubbish  half  way  out  to  Bryant  and  he 
raked  it  out  into  a  pile  and  Upton  took  the  shovel 
and  put  it  into  the  wheelbarrow.  I  took  two  loads 
over  to  the  dump  and  Upton  took  the  other  one. 
Then  the  whistle  blew,  so  we  put  the  tools  back 
where  we  got  them  and  got  ready  for  school. 
George  I.  Leighton. 

Tilling  up  Kut$ 

Every  once  in  awhile  it  rains  and  washes 
away  the  dirt  between  the  house  and  the  hall, 
thus  making  ruts  which  do  not  look  very  well 
and  are  dangerous  besides.  So  they  are  filled 
up  with  clay.  First  a  load  of  clay  is  hauled  up 
and  dumped  in  the  yard.  The  boys  then  take 
shovels  and  shovel  some  clay  into  the  ruts,  after 
putting  some  water  on  it  and  patting  it  down 
with  the  shovels  until  it  is  even  with  the  rest  of 
the  ground.  Gravel  is  then  sprinkled  on  to  it 
and  the  whole  is  raked  so  that  you  would  never 
know  it  had  been  washed  out. 

I.  Banks  Quinby. 

if 

"Those  who  wish  well  towards  their  friends 
disdain  to  please  them  with  words  which  are  not 
true." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Che  Boston  Police  l^eadquartcrs 

One  Visiting  Day  afternoon  the  Cottage 
Rov/  officers  were  taken  up  to  visit  the  Boston 
Police  Headquarters.  After  entering  the  nr:ain 
part  of  the  Court  House,  we  went  up  in 
an  elevator  to  the  top  flight  and  went  in  to 
ths  offices  of  the  Registrar  of  Deeds.  The 
first  book  and  the  last  were  shown  to  us.  Then 
we  went  into  the  Massachusetts  Supreme  Court 
room  and  saw  how  things  were  arranged.  Then 
we  went  in  to  the  police  headquarters, and  our 
Chief  of  Police  was  introduced  to  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Police.  He  talked  to  our  chief  about 
our  police,  to  have  some  fun.  He  also  gave 
us  permission  to  look  the  station  all  over.  We 
had  things  explained  to  us  about  the  prisoners, 
and  we  saw  some  in  the  cells.  One  said  he 
was  dying  for  water.  The  officer  then  shewed 
us  the  cells  for  the  insane  and  told  us  why  they 
were  padded.  We  saw  the  straight  jackets  which 
were  put  on  the  worst  of  the  insane  men.  They 
were  like  ordinary  coats  only  they  were  laced  up 
in  the  back.  There  isn't  anyplace  for  the  hands 
to  come  out  in  the  sleeves  and  they  tie  their  arms 
to  their  sides.  The  women's  part  is  entirely  run 
by  women  and  it  is  about  the  same,  only  the  cells 
are  in  better  condition.  An  officer  explained 
about  the  criminals.  He  said  all  but  drunkards 
had  their  pictures  taken  in  two  views,  and  every 
part  of  them  was  measured.  The  whole  thing 
was  very  interesting  to  us,  because  it  was  our  first 
chance  for  seeing  anything  of  the  kind.  We  all 
thanked  the  Superintendent  for  letting  us  visit 
the  station  and  when  we  got  home  we  all  thanked 
Mr.  Bradley  for  giving  us  the  privilege. 

Walter  D.  Norwood. 

Cearning  to  Play  m  Drum 

I  am  learning  to  play  the  drum.  The  first 
thing  some  boys  do  is  to  try  to  play  rub-a-dub- 
dub.  But  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  play  da-da- 
ma-ma.  After  you  have  practiced  that  for 
three  or  four  weeks  and  can  do  it  fast  and  even, 
then  comes  the  flimmy.  After  that  comes 
flimmy-diddle.  I  am  learning  da-da-ma-ma 
and  am  getting  so  that  I  can  play  faster  now. 
I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  play  the  drum  nicely 
someday.  Ernest  N.  Jorgensen. 


Playing  Urm 

In  th^  afternoon  when  we  get  out  from  the 
dining  room,  we  choose  up  sides  for  a  game  of 
drivi  and  send  a  boy  after  the  rugby.  When 
he  comes  back,  we  choose  for  "ups  and  downs" 
as  it  is  called.  The  playground  has  a  gradual 
slope  and  kicking  down  is  the  easiest.  Then 
the  goals  are  made  and  the  game  begins.  One 
side  kicks  the  ball  and  the  other  tries  to  catch 
it.  If  a  boy  does  catch  it  he  gets  three  strides 
towards  his  goal  and  if  he  doesn't,  he  tries  to 
stop  it,  because  he  has  to  kick  it  from  where  it 
stops.  The  one  that  gets  the  most  goals  wins. 
Robert  E.   Miley. 

Sweet  Potatoes 

One  afternoon  we  went  over  to  the  sweet 
potato  piece  for  our  agriculture  lesson  and  Mr. 
VdLighin  told  us  some  things  concerning  the 
swee;  potato.  He  had  the  cultivator  out  there 
and  on  the  side  of  it  there  was  a  runner  which 
he  said  was  for  keeping  the  vines  in  place. 
They  grow  ou-;  in  the  middle  of  the  row  and  when 
he  IS  cultivating,  the  runner  will  take  the  vines 
up  and  put  them  in  their  places.  If  the  runner 
was  not  on  there,  when  he  was  cultivating,  the 
cultiva.or  would  take  up  the  vines  too.  Our 
swcet  potatoes  are  not  very  large  as  the  cut- 
worms have  got  at  them  three  times.  This 
plant  looks  very  much  like  the  morning-glory 
plant.  When  there  is  a  second  crop  wanted, 
they  break  off  the  runners  of  the  vines  and  put 
them  in  the  ground  and  this  grows  to  be  the  new 
plant.  Charles  W.  Watson. 

Drawings  in  tbe  Schoolroom 

On  the  front  blackboard  in  our  first  school- 
room is  a  picture  drawn  of  a  mill.  It  has  one 
large  wheel  with  the  water  flowing  on  it  and 
turning  it  around.  It  appears  to  have  two 
stories  and  on  the  side  we  can  see.  are  soine 
trees  and  rocks.  We  have  had  other  pictures 
on  the  board  and  all  have  looked  so  real  they 
would  make  you  think  of  your  old  home  in  the 
country  with  the  old-fashioned  well  and  farm 
houses.  To  see  the  picture  of  the  old  bridge  at 
Concord  would  make  one  think  of  the  old 
battle.  C.  Archie  Graves. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


CI)omp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Printed  Monthly  by  the  Boys  of  the 

FARM   SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BECUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.  6. 


October,    1903. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office  at  Boston  as  second  class  matter. 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard   M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker   Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  0.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 

I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.   Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.   Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


One  very  important  matter  in  our  lives  is 
the  "view  of  life"  which  we  take. 

Several  persons  might  be  standing  on  our 
Island.  All  might  be  looking  in  the  same 
direction  and  apparently  at  the  same  objects 
and  yet  each  might  get  a  very  different  view 
from  the  others.     One  being  an  artist,  sees  the 


lights  and  shades  upon  the  water,  the  white 
sails  of  the  boats  as  they  skim  along,  or  the 
massing  of  the  clouds  and  the  green  fields  and 
trees.  Another,  in  looking  at  the  boats  will  see 
only  the  money  value  represented  by  theirnum- 
bers  or  the  amount  of  freight  they  could  carry. 
Another  wx)uld  look  at  the  crops  to  s.ee  which 
could  be  raised  most  profitably.  A  fourth,  be- 
ing a  scientist,  would  look  at  the  formation  of 
the  Island  and  think  of  the  structure  of  the  soil 
and  wonder  why  the  steep  slope  is  on  the  north 
side  and  the  general  slope  on  the  south  side. 
He  would  think  of  the  specimens  to  be  found 
here,  the  arrow-head  of  the  early  Indians. 
There  would  be  a  great  variety  of  interests,  yet 
all  would  have  the  same  outlook.  The  differ- 
ence lies  in  the  fact  that  each  man  sees  what 
he  has  trained  himself  to  see.  His  success 
depends  upon  how  well  he  uses  that  which  he 
sees. 

So  it  is  of  great  importance  what  view  of 
life  a  boy  takes,  what  way  of  looking  at  things  he 
adopts.  His  whole  career  will  be  influenced  by 
this  decision.  If,  when  he  is  a  boy,  he  is  look- 
ing for  slights,  quarrels  and  disagreeable  things, 
he  will  find  them  and  he  will  continue  to  find 
them  as  he  grows  older.  He  will  find  mostly 
hard  places  in  his  work;  his  employer  will  seem 
to  give  him  the  most  disagreeable  tasks;  he 
will  find  unpleasant  people  to  deal  with.  If  he 
takes  the  other  view  of  things,  he  will  have  a 
good  time  at  his  play.  When  he  gets  to  work, 
he  will  find  he  has  been  fortunate  enough  to 
get  a  good  position-.  He  will  find  his  employer 
a  man  who  deals  fairly  by  his  employes.  He 
will  find  friendly,  agreeable  people  wherever  he 
goes.  And  this  is  merely  the  result  of  his  way 
of  looking  at  the  world.  Therefore,  the  view 
of  life  a  boy  takes  determines  what  he  will  see 
in  the  world  around  him.     It  will  color  his  whole 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


life.  It  is  easy  to  see  which  view  would  be  of 
the  most  practical  benefit,  which  would  help 
most  in  the  daily  life.  Looking  on  the  gloomy 
side,  tends  to  make  one  weak  and  spiritless. 
It  takes  the  courage  out  of  him.  The  boy  may 
have  a  certain  amount  of  ambition,  but  he 
hasn't  the  courage  to  go  forward  and  meet  the 
difficulties  that  he  will  encounter.  His  life  will 
be  narrow  and  cold. 

A  hopeful  view  inspires  courage  and  endur- 
ance. To  be  confident  of  victory,  is  to  win  half 
the  battle.  With  a  cheerful,  encouraging  view 
of  life,  a  person  can  be  reasonably  sure  of  suc- 
cess, for  it  givesavigorand strength  to  his  efforts 
by  which  he  will  succeed.  There  can  be  no 
question  which  of  the  two  views  should  be  taken, 
which  v/ould  make  a  more  useful  citizen,  which 
would  develop  the  most  admirable  character. 

notes 

Sept.  2.  Dug  nine  barrels  of  potatoes 
for  market. 

Sept.  3.  Daniel  W.  Murray  left  the 
School  to  work  in  the  office  of  the  McLean 
Hospital,  Waverly,  Mass. 

Sept.  4.  Graduate  William  B.  Winters 
visited  the  School. 

Sept.  5.     Got  in  the  last  salt  hay. 

Edwin  W.  Goodnough  left  the  School  to 
continue  his  studies  at  Kimball  Union  Academy, 
Meriden,  N.  H. 

William  B.  May  left  the  School  to  con- 
tinue his  studies  at  Gushing  Academy,  Ash- 
burnham.  Mass. 

Sept.  7.      Pulled  beans. 

Sept.  10.  Pilgrim  towed  a  load  of  grain 
and  beans  from  Gity  Point. 

Sept.  11.  Vice-President  Eben  Bacon, 
his  daughter  and  Mr.  Malcomb  G.  Haughton 
visited   the    School. 

Sept.  12.  Manager  Alfred  Bowditch  and 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  N.  Penrose  Hallowell  and 
Mr.  Hallowell  visited  the  School. 

Sept.    14.     Boiler  maker  here  rolling  tubes 


in  Pilgrim's  boiler. 

Graduate  E.  D.  Bennett  and  wife  visited 
the  School. 

Sept.  16.  The  Elk  Pleasure  Association 
held  a  banquet  this  evening. 

Sept.  17.  Several  yachts  came  ashore  in 
the  gale  and  ten  men  were  cared  for  and  passed 
the  night  here. 

Sept.    18.     Made  first  cider. 

Sept.    19.     Began  rugby  practice. 

Graduate  Albert    H.    Ladd   called. 

Pilgrim  towed  a  load  of  lumber  from  Free- 
port  Street. 

Sept.  21.  Graduate  Gharles  E.  Andrews 
and  his  brother-in-law  Mr.  E.  R.  Jackson 
called. 

Sept.  22.  Got  fruit  and  vegetables  ready 
for  annual  exhibition. 

Sept.   23.      Horticultural  exhibit. 

Award  of  the  Grew  Garden  prizes  and  Burtt 
Garden   Prizes. 

Last  Visiting  Day  of  the  season.  There 
were  244  present  among  whom  were  grad- 
uates George  Buchan,  John  J.  Conklin^ 
John  E.  Gould,  Frank  F.  A.  Meader, 
Joseph  Pratt  and  William  L.  Snow.  Mr. 
Gould  brought  goodies  for  some  of  the 
boys. 

Sept.  24.  Harold  S.  Taylor  left  the 
School  to  work  for  Dr.  E.  R.  Johnson  of  Wol- 
laston,  Mass. 

Sept.  29.  A  load  of  dressing  from  Wal- 
worth's. 

Sept.  30.     Commenced  cutting  corn. 

Former  Assistant  Supt.  Henry  F.  Ward- 
well  visited  the  School. 

Jam  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  September    1st.,  1903    $537.33 
Deposited  during  the  month,  60.44 


Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  October  1st.,  1903 


$597.77 
54.86 

$542.91 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


6rew  Garden  Prizes 

The  annual  award  of  the  Grew  Garden  Prizes 
took  place  the  last  Visiting  Day,  Sept.  23.  Mr. 
Grew  not  being  able  to  be  present,  Mr.  Bradley 
presented  the  prizes  in  the  presence  of  the 
visitors.  This  award  is  determined  by  care 
during  the  season,  appearance  at  the  time  of 
judging  and  the  use  to  which  the  flowers  were 
put.     The  following  are  the  winners  in  order, - 

1  Leslie  R.  Jones  4  Jacob  Glutt 

2  Herbert  J.  Phillips  5  William  O'Conner 

3  Ralph  0.  Anderson  6  Frederic  P.  Thayer 

Burn  Garden  Prizes 

In  addition  to  the  Grew  Garden  Prizes,  Mr. 
J.  Edward  Burtt  has  this  year  given  ten  dollars 
to  be  divided  among  the  boys  who  had  the  best 
general  results  for  the  first  and  second  prizes, 
the  most  artistic  arrangement  of  plants  for  the 
third  prize,  the  best  single  plant  for  the  fourth 
and  a  consolation  prize  for  the  fifth.  The  win- 
ners were  as  follows, - 

1    Ralph  O.  Anderson      2  Clarence  DeMar 
3   Harris  H.Todd  4   Herbert  J.  Phillips 

5   Edward,  Harold  and  Clarence  Taylor 

lllaKind  Screens 

Since  the  new  part  of  the  house  has  been 
completed,  a  lot  of  new  screens  have  been  made 
for  the  windows.  The  screens  are  made  of  soft 
pine  an  inch  and  three-quarters  wide  and  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  thick.  These  screens  were 
made  mostly  on  the  circular  saw.  They  were 
first  planed  up,  then  cut  in  strips  about  an  inch 
and  thirteen-sixteenths,  leaving  a  sixteenth  for 
planing  and  sand-papering.  Next  the  lengths 
were  cut.  Then  came  the  rabbets  for  the 
screens  to  set  in,  which  was  done  in  two  cuts  of 
the  saw.  After  this  was  done,  the  joints  for  the 
corners  were  made,  and  the  groove  was  cut  for 
the  screen  to  slide  on.  Then  the  screen  was 
ready  to  be  put  together.  Corner  irons  were 
put  in  each  corner  so  as  to  hold  the  screen 
firm,  and  then  the  screen  had  to  be  cut  to  fit 
the  frame  and  set  in  the  rabbet  which  is  in  the 
inside  of  the  screen.  Then  there  were  some 
small  strips  of  wood  set  in  the  rabbet  on  top  of 
the  screen  and  the  screen  was  finished. 

Louis  E.  Means. 


Sifting  Gravel 

One  day  Mr.  Morrison  told  me  to  take  the 
gravel  screen  over  to  the  North  End  bar  and 
sift  gravel.  When  we  got  there  we  had  to 
hunt  around  awhile  for  some  fine  gravel.  We 
found  a  good  patch  of  it  after  a  while  and  set  up 
and  began  to  work.  Mr.  Morrison  showed  me 
how  and  then  told  me  to  go  ahead  myself.  I 
would  throw  up  a  few  shovelfuls  against  the 
screen  and  keep  tossing  it  up  until  all  the  fine 
|;;ravel  was  sifted  out.  Then  1  would  take  the 
coarsest  and  put  it  out  of  the  way.  As  I  didn't 
have  very  much  time  1  sifted  only  about  five 
good  wheelbarrowioads.  1  like  sifting  gravel 
as  it  gives  a  fellow  muscle. 

William  C.  J.  Frueh. 

Rudby 

Rugby  has  again  come  up  and  the  fellows 
are  in  for  playing  it.  There  are  three  good 
teams  this  year,  namely,  first,  second  and  third 
elevens.  The  first  eleven  is  "the  leading  one 
and  it  gets  all  the  games  from  the  city.  The 
captain  of  the  first  eleven  with  his  assistant 
made  up  the  signals  and  both  being  printing  of- 
fice fellows,  they  printed  them.  At  noontime 
and  on  Saturday  afternoons  the  different  teams 
get  out  to  practice.  The  second  eleven  plays 
against  the  first  for  practice  and  sometimes  a- 
gainst  the  third.  Usually  the  third  eleven  gets 
beaten  and  the  second  usually  gets  beaten  by 
four  goals  when  playing  against  the  first.  The 
signals  for  the  second  team  are  the  same  as  the 
ones  for  the  first.  When  a  fellow  gets  lamed 
up  in  the  first  eleven,  a  second  eleven  fellow 
takes  his  place  or  when  a  first  eleven  fellow  goes 
away  a  second  takes  his  place.  In  a  game  with 
the  first  eleven,  the  captain  is  always  alert  to  see 
which  fellow  is  playing  the  best  in  the  second 
team  so  as  to  pick  him  for  the  first  eleven. 
The  first  eleven  is  now  ready  for  a  game  from 
the  city.  Rugby  is  a  good  and  healthful  sport 
and  all  the  fellows  like  to  play  it.  The  centre 
of  a  team  is  quite  an  important  place  and  Ralph 
Anderson  is  centre  of  the  first  eleven  and  is  a 
very  good  one.  C.  James  Pratt. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


morkittd  in  the  Shop 

When  we  get  out  from  dinner  we  ask  Mr. 
Morrison  if  we  can  work  in  the  shop.  He  gen- 
erally says  yes,  so  we  go  into  the  shop  and  ask 
Mr.  Benson  if  we  can  work  in  there  and  he  says 
yes.  So  we  get  what  we  are  going  to  make 
and  work  on  it.  Some  boys  make  key-boards, 
napkin-rings,  paper-knives,  picture-frames  and 
jewelry-boxes.  We  can  work  in  there  until  the 
bell  rings  and  then  we  get  ready  for  inspection. 
Everett  A.  Rich. 

Cleaning  the  €a$t  Sloft 

it  is  part  of  the  office  boy's  work  to  see 
that  the  lofts  or  store  rooms  are  kept  clean. 
The  east  loft  is  divided  into  sections,  the 
theatrical  things  are  kept  in  one  section,  the 
hardware  in  another  and  so  on.  The  empty 
pasteboard  boxes  and  cans  are  kept  on  a  shelf. 
One  day  after  we  had  our  work  done  in  the 
reading  room  and  office,  Mrs.  Morrison  told  us 
to  get  some  hot  water  and  cloths  and  the  other 
things  which  we  would  need  for  cleaning  the 
east  loft.  When  we  got  all  the  things  neces- 
sary, we  took  the  theatrical  things  out  and  swept 
and  scrubbed  the  section  which  they  were  in. 
Then  we  dusted  them  and  put  them  back  in 
order.  Next  we  took  out  the  furniture,  swept 
and  scrubbed  the  floor  of  that  section,  dusted 
the  contents  and  put  them  back,  and  so  on  until 
we  got  it  all  cleaned  up.  It  took  us  quite  a 
long  while  to  finish  it  as  it  was  so  dusty  and 
there  were  so  many  things  to  move. 

A.   LeRoy  Sawyer. 

mowing  feed  Tor  the  Cows 

During  the  summer  months,  the  cows,  in- 
stead of  having  hay  to  eat  in  their  mangers 
while  they  are  in  the  barn,  have  green  feed, 
that  is,  fresh  millet,  barley,  corn  or  grass. 
This  feed  has  to  be  cut  every  morning.  This 
season  it  it  has  been  my  work.  At  seven 
o'clock  every  morning  I  take  a  scythe,  if  there 
is  one  sharp,  if  not  sharpen  one,  a  fork  and  drag- 
rake  and  go  over  to  the  piece  and  mow  a  load 
and  pile  it  up  ready  to  be  put  on  the  cart.  If  a 
cart  has  not  got  there  by  the  time  1  have  it  cut, 
I  go  up  to  the  barn  and  get  one  and  put  on  the 
the  load,  take  it  up,  weigh  it  and  dump  it  in  the 


barn  in  front  of  the  cows.  I  have  mowed  three 
pieces,  two  of  millet  and  one  of  barley  and  now 
I  am  working  on  another  millet  piece.  A  good 
cart-load  weighs  about  twelve  or  thirteen  hun- 
dred pounds.  Don  C.  Clark. 

Jlgriculturc  Ce$$on$ 

Most  of  our  agriculture  lessons  last  term 
were  out  of  doors.  One  day  we  went  out  to  the 
field  south  of  the  orchard.  Mr.  Vaughan  told 
us  about  sowing  seed  broad-cast.  He  said  that 
every  body  had  a  different  way  of  doing  it.  He 
puts  a  stick  at  the  end  of  a  row  and  walks 
straight  for  it,  sowing  the  seed  right  and  left  as 
he  goes.  He  showed  us  how  to  do  it  that  way. 
Another  day  he  told  us  about  the  peanuts  and 
sweet  potatoes.  He  said  he  just  planted  them 
to  see  if  they  would  grow  here.  He  used  the 
cultivator  on  the  peanuts  and  on  the  sweet  po- 
tatoes. The  peanut  plant  looks  like  the  clover. 
There  are  several  yellow  blossoms  on  each  plant 
and  from  each  blossom  there  is  a  little  runner 
ttiat  takes  root.  The  peanuts  grow  from  this 
root.  Thomas  Carnes. 

PicKing  Cucumbers 

One  afternoon  Mr.  McLeod  told  me  to  go 
and  pick  cucumbers.  He  showed  me  the  kind 
to  pick,  and  I  took  a  wheelbarrow  and  two  bushel 
boxes  and  a  half-bushel  basket.  I  picked  the 
half-bushel  basket  full  and  took  it  up  to  the  kitch- 
en. The  size  I  picked  was  those  for  small 
pickles.  I  did  not  pick  them  with  my  hands 
but  I  cut  their  stems  off  about  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  long.  Ralph  P.  Ingalls. 

6oind  out  Rowing 

Going  out  rowing  is  great  fun  and  good  ex- 
ercise for  any  one.  Another  boy  and  I  asked 
Mr.  Bradley  a  few  Saturdays  ago  if  we  might 
take  a  boat  and  go  rowing  out  around  the  wharf 
and  he  said  we  might  take  the  Standish  which 
is  the  boat  that  goes  with  the  steamer.  It  is  a 
strong  and  well-built  boat  and  can  stand  any  hard 
weather.  Foster  Hoye  and  I  are  both  in  the 
boat  crew,  and  that  is  the  reason  that  we  like 
to  row,  so  we  can  be  ready  to  go  over  in  the 
boat  when  it  goes  across  to  City  Point  and  other 
places.  Albert  Probert. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND    BEACON 


Jlltintni 


George  K.  Hartman.  75,  we  are  pleased 
to  note  is  again  at  work  for  the  American  Tool 
and  Machine  Co.,  of  Hyde  Park,  where  he  was 
formerly  employed  for  twenty-two  years.  He 
now  has  charge  of  the  stock-room  under  a  new 
system  which  he  is  developing. 

LeRoy  S.  Kenfield.  '82,  and  Harold 
E.  Brenton,  '90,  have  returned  from  their  trip 
abroad  and  taken  up  the  season's  work  again 
with  the  Symphony  Orchestra. 

Arthur  F.  Littell,  '89,  visited  the 
School  last  month.  He  is  assistant  postmaster 
at  East  Rindge,  N.  H.,  where  he  has  been  for 
several  years.  He  is  a  member  of  a  choir  and 
of  the  band  in  that  place  and  seems  to  be  enjoy- 
ing life  in  a  healthy  way.  In  writing  of  his  visit 
he  said,  "  1  would  like  to  have  the  chances 
now  that  the  boys  there  have.  I  tell  you  1 
would  make  more  of  them  than  1  did,  and  I 
have  the  Farm  School  to  thank  for  what  little 
1  do  know." 

Carl  Steinbrick,  '94,  writes  from  Pin- 
gree  Farm,  Topsfield,  Mass.,  "I  know  you  must 
sometimes  think  that  your  boys  seem  ungrateful 
for  the  good  done  them  through  you  and  the 
Farm  School,  but  it  is  not  always  so,  I  assure 
you.  Som  etimes  we  do  forget  for  a  time,  but  as 
the  years  go  by,  1  can  see  more  clearly  the  good 
that  was  done  me  through  the  School  and  1 
appreciate  it  fully."  Carl  says  the  out-of-door 
work  agrees  with  him  much  better  than  the 
Mass.  General  Hospital  work  where  he  was 
formerly. 

Charles  E.  Andrews,  '96,  visited  the 
School  recently  with  his  brother-in-law.  They 
had  been  spending  a  vacation  in  camp  at  Dux- 
bury  and  Plymouth.  Charles  is  assistant  fore- 
man of  the  finishing  department  for  G.  H. 
Tilton  &  Son,  Tilton,  N.  H.,  where  he  has  been 
for  the  past  three  and  a  half  years.  He  has  a 
little  girl  nearly  three  years  old. 

John  E.  Bete,  '96,  visited  the  School 
recently  and  he  had  with  him  a  model  of  a  patent 


which  he  has  on  a  form  or  last  for  boots  and 
shoes.  We  quote  from  the  Scientific  Ameri- 
can, September  26,  1903.  "The  principal 
object  of  the  invention  is  to  furnish  a  device 
which  is  simple  in  its  embodiment  and  effective 
and  reliable  in  use,  besides  possessing  the  ca- 
pacity for  long  and  repeated  service.  Another 
object  is  to  provide  a  device  of  this  character 
comprising  few  parts  which  are  easily  assembled 
together  and  also  which  is  easy  to  handle, 
strong,  and  durable,  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of. 
order."  John  has  a  good  thing  in  this  and  it 
looks  as  if  he  would  do  well  with  it. 

ZU  e.  p.  B.  Banquet 

On  the  night  of  our  banquet  at  eight  o'clock, 
the  bugle  was  sounded  to  notify  all  the  invited 
guests  that  everything  was  ready.  As  they 
came  up  to  the  hall,  the  band  st;uck  up  the 
march  "Colonel  Roosevelt's  Rough  Riders"  and 
while  this  was  being  played,  the  guests  were 
ushered  to  their  proper  places  at  the  tables. 
The  captain  then  gave  the  word  to  be  seated 
and  everybody  went  ahead  and  ate  to  their 
hearts"  content.  Signs  were  hanging  around 
with  words  on  them  saying  on  one  side,  "  Help 
yourself"  and  on  the  other,  "Don't  be  bashful." 
There  was  plenty  to  eat  and  all  seemed  to  enjoy 
themselves.  After  everybody  had  eaten  all  they 
could,  the  captain  called  on  different  persons 
for  speeches.  After  a  few  remarks  from  Mr. 
Bradley,  which  were  very  inteiesting,  the  captain 
presented  a  badge  of  honor  to  Mrs.  Bradley,  for 
which  she  showed  much  appreciation.  Then  he 
made  a  few  remarks  on  the  progress  of  the 
Association.  The  assembly  was  then  dismissed 
for  a  dance  which  the  instructors  took  part  in. 
The  band  afforded  good  music  and  when  the 
Virginia  Reel  caine  in,  the  boys  took  part. 
When  this  was  ended,  Mr.  Bradley  proposed 
three  cheers  for  the  Elk  Pleasure  Association 
and  this  being  approved  of,  the  cheers  were 
given.  Then  one  of  the  members  proposed  three 
cheers  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  the  cheers 
rang  out  louder  than  ever.  The  E.  P.  A.  bugler 
wound  up  the  evening  with  the  inviting  call  of 
taps  and  everybody  said  the  banquet  was  a 
great  success.  Barney  Hill. 


V 


-tR 


';J& 


THOMPSONIS    I»SLAND 

BE^ON 


Vol.  7.  No.  7. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School.  Boston,  Mass. 


November,    1903. 


Cb2  CcScscope 

We  have  a  telescope  now,  which  Rev.  Mr. 
Metcalf  of  Burlington,  Vt.,  loaned  Mr.   Bradley, 
as  he  has  gone  to    Europe    for    a    year.       This 
telescope  was  made  by  Mr.  Metcalf  and  it    took 
his  spare  time  for  seven  years  to  do  it.      While 
a  student  in  Harvard  he    often    visited    Clark's 
telescope    works    in   Cambridge     and     learned 
many  things  about  them.     The  st^ndthat  holds 
the  telescope  is   hree   eet  high  and  five  inches 
in  diameter  with  three  iron  legs  extending  fronn 
the  sides  of  it.     On  top  o;  this  stand  :s  the  long 
tube  or  pipe,  five  feet,  eight  inches  long  and  a 
lens  eight  inches  in  diamieter  at  the  outer  end 
or  the  end  nearest  the  object  you  are  looking  at. 
The  opposite   end   from   the   lens  has  a  cover 
that  fits  on  tight  and  no  light   can  get  in.       In 
some  telescopes  you  'ook  through  the  end  but 
in  this  one  you  do  not.    This  hf  s  a  wheel  on  the 
side  of  the  tube,  which  's  ised  to  swing  the  tube 
sidevays  or  up  and  down.    It  has  two  eye-pieces 
which  fit  in  an  adjusting  tube  uhich  fits  into  the 
centre  of  the  wheel.  The  eye-pieces  are  of  differ- 
ent sizes.  The  largest  eye-piece  is  used  in  looking 
for  comets  and  things  like  that,  as  the  lenses  are 
much  larger  in  this  one  and  you  can  see  more 
at  once.     But  .he  smallest  eye-piece  is  better  for 
looking  at  the  moon,  as  it  makes  it  plainer,  the 
lenses  being  smaller.    When  you  look    into    the 
centre  of   the  wheel,  you  look  onto  a  refractory 
prism  which  shows  you  the  object.     There  is  a 
lever  with  an  iron  ball  on  the  end  extending  from 
the  wheel,  which  balances  the  telescope.     When 
you   take   the   cover  off  the  end  furthest  away 
from  the  object,  you  can  see  the  reflector.   It  is  a 
large  piece  of  glass,    made   from   a  rectangular 
piece   of  glass  cut  diagonally  across.      Every- 
thing is  black  in  the  tube  so  that  there  will  be  no 


reflected  light.  Mr.  Metcalf  msde  these  lenses 
himself.  He  sent  to  Paris  for  the  glass  and 
ground  the  lenses  himself.  This  whole  telescope 
has  a  coat  of  aluminum  bronze  on  it,  all  except 
the  wheel,  which  is  made  of  wood.  Some  of 
the  fellows  looked  at  Jupiter  one  night  and  saw 
Jupiter  with  th:ee  small  moons  above  it.  It 
was  pretty  misty  that  night  and  we  could  not  see 
it  very  well.  But  one  Sunday  night  all  the  fel- 
lows had  a  chance  to  see  the  moon  when  it  was 
in  its  first  quarter.  It  was  a  clear  night  and 
we  could  see  it  fine.  Some  of  the  fellows  said 
it  looked  like  bubbles  and  ice  and  lime,  but 
those  bubbles,  or  whatever  we  call  them,  are 
supposed  to  be  old  craters  of  volcanoes.  The 
smooth  places  on  the  moon  are  old  seas.  The 
last  time  we  looked  at  it,  it  was  in  the  third 
quaiter  and  we  could  see  most  of  the  moon. 
The  telescope  has  to  be  changed  often  as  the 
moon  travels  so  fast  it  soon  goes  out  of  rsnge. 
That  time  the  moon  looked  about  the  same  as 
it  is  given  in  pictures. 

Louis  E.  Means. 

Camping 

One  afternoon  Henry  Bradley  invited  me 
to  go  camping  with  him  that  night  and  Mr- 
Bradley  said  1  might  go.  We  got  the  pory  and  cart 
and  carried  some  blankets,  a  quilt,  two  pillows,  a 
tent  and  a  hatchet  over  to  the  North  End  of  the 
Island  and  pitched  the  tent  under  a  spruce  tree 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  grove.  Then  we  went 
back  and  got  the  cooking  utensils  and  the  dishes 
and  food.  Then  we  went  over  and  put  the  things 
in  the  tent.  Henry  went  up  to  the  barn  and 
put  the  pony  and  cart  away  and  brought  the 
double-barrel  shot-gun  and  his  rifle  over.  I  got 
the  wood  ready  for  the  fire  and  when  he  came 
back  the  dog  came  too.     We  got  the   wood    to 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND   BEACON 


start  the  fire  with  on  the  beach  and  then  we  got 
some  oak  limbs  from  a  large  pile  on  the  bank 
and  chopped  it  up  to  use  at  night.  For  supper 
we  had  steak  roasted  over  the  fire,  toasted 
bread,  cookies,  cake,  butter,  doughnuts,  milk  and 
coffee.  First  we  boiled  the  water  for  the 
coffee  in  a  tin  pail,  then  we  put  it  in  the  coffee 
pot  and  put  it  near  the  fire.  Then  we  toasted 
and  roasted  the  bread  and  steak.  After  supper 
Henry  washed  the  dishes  in  some  hot 
water  that  was  left  over  from  supper  and 
put  them  by  the  fire  to  dry.  After  supper 
we  kept  the  fire  burning  and  a  little  after  eight 
o'cbck  Mr.  Bradley  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  Miss 
Winslow  came  over  and  stayed  about  an  hour 
and  we  had  a  good  time.  We  banked  seaweed 
around  the  bottom  of  the  tent  to  keep  the  wind 
out  and  put  some  on  the  ground  inside  the  tent 
to  lie  on.  We  hung  the  pails  and  kettles  and 
bull's-eye  lantein  on  tie  brsr.ches  of  the  tree 
and  then  we  went  to  sleep  at  abcut  eleven 
o'clock.  Bernard,  the  dcg,  stayed  in  the  tent 
but  went  out  some  during  the  night  as  though 
he  was  seeing  that  everything  was  all  right  and 
he  woke  us  up  at  f  ve  o'clock  ty  scratching  on 
the  tent.  At  six  o'clock  we  started  a  fire  and 
made  some  gridd'e-cakes.  boiled  eggs  and 
coffee  and  we  had  butter,  dcughnuts,  cookies 
and  milk.  We  kept  the  fire  goingall  the  morn- 
ing and  Mr.  Bradley  came  ever  about  twelve 
o'clock  and  took  three  different  pictures  of  the 
camp  vith  Hi.iry's  camera  and  then  we  broke 
up  camp.  Robert  McKay. 

CDe  Shop  Cat 

One  day  when  the  scow  went  up  to  Freeport 
street  for  lumber  it  also  brought  back  a  black 
cat.  The  steamer  boys  gave  the  cat  to  me,  be- 
cause they  have  one,  and  I  thought  1  would  keep 
him  in  the  shop.  His  name  is  Tapsy.  He  is  a 
very  clean  cat  and  purrs  when  he  comes  near 
you.  He  recognizes  some  of  the  shop  fellows 
and  when  they  enter  the  shop  Tapsy  comes  run- 
ning up,  puts  his  tail  up  in  the  air  and  begins 
purring  because  we  never  treat  him  cruelly. 
He  is  good  at  killing  field  mice.  He  generally 
has  a  I'ttle  fight  with  it  but  always  is  the  victor, 
and  then  he  plays  with  it  until  he  eats  it.     I  get 


his  food  for  him  in  the  dining  room.      I  give  h-im 
milk,  bread,  potatoes,  meat. 

Carl  L.  Wittig. 

ParlRd  Uegctatus 

One  afternoon  Miss  Stronach  had  some 
vegetables  which  she  \vanted  pared,  so  she  had 
me  do  it.  1  went  into  the  pantry  and  got  a 
knife  and  went  to  work.  First  1  pared  some 
turnips  and  found  it  no  easy  task  for  1  cut  one 
right  in  halves  and  so  I  had  to  be  careful. 
After  a  while  I  finished  my  task  and  the  bojs 
had  them  for  dinner  the  next  day  and  I  think 
they  enjoyed  them.  Weston   Esau. 

Stamps 

A  lot  of  the  boys  have  collections  of  stamps. 
The  collections  of  the  different  boys  differ  in 
their  number  and  when  they  get  a  lot  they  sell 
them.  1  have  about  eight  hundred,  but  now  I  am 
going  to  sell  them.  The  most  popular  stamps 
are  the  United  States  and  English  Colonies. 
Sorr.e  boys  have  a  few  Irish.  Stamps  teach 
you  about  geography.  Scmetin.es  the  Tracing 
Company  gets  stamps  and  they  are  sold  to  the 
boys  at  twenty-six  cents  a  package,  each  pack- 
age containing  one  thousand  stam.ps.  Not  all 
of  these  stamps  are  different.  Abcut  nine  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  are  the  same  and  the  rest 
are  different.  The  Trading  Company  some- 
times gets  albums  v/hich  they  sell  for  for'.y-five 
cents.  Once  in  a  while  a  friend  of  the  School 
will  send  Mr.  Bradley  some  stpmps  to  divide 
among  the  boys,  almost  all  of  which  are  scarce 
and  desirable.  A.    Leroy  Sawyer. 

Setting  6la$$ 

On  rainy  days  the  hesd  painter  has  another 
fellow  and  me  set  glass.  The  cupolas  of  the 
barn  need  a  lot  of  glass.  We  take  down  some 
glass,  a  glass  cutter,  putty,  glazier-points, 
chisels  and  putty-knives.  Then  we  get  the 
frames  that  need  glass  and  clean  the  old  putiy 
out.  If  the  glass  doesn't  fit  we  cut  it  to  fit, 
then  put  it  in  and  put  glazier-points  in  to  the 
sashes.  We  put  in  the  putty  then  and  even  it 
off  to  a  slant  of  about  forty-five  degrees.  We 
put  back  the  frames  and  do  some  m.ore  till 
either  we  get  through  or  the  bell  rings. 

Frank  S.  Miley. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Unloading  Tloiir 

One  morning  about  half  past  eight  Mr. 
McLsod  told  me  to  go  over  and  help  unload 
the  flour  from  the  scow  into  the  teams.  The 
way  we  did  was  first  to  take  the  top  tier  and 
roll  the  barrels  pn  to  the  deck  and  put  them  in 
the  teams  which  took  them  up  to  the  house. 
After  the  first  tier  was  taken  off  we  took  the 
next  until  we  came  to  the  last.  For  the  last 
two  or  three  tiers  we  had  to  use  the  skids  to 
get  the  barrels  on  the  deck.  After  we  got  all 
but  twenty-nine  barrels  out  of  the  scow  it  began 
to  rain  so  we  pulled  the  canvas  over  the  rest  of 
the  flour  and  went  up  to  dinner. 

John  F.  Nelson. 

Dining  Room  lUork 

I  get  washed  in  the  morning  and  go  in  to  th.e 
dining  room.  The  first  thing  1  do  is  to  cut  the 
bread  and  when  I  get  through  1  sweep  up  the 
floor  and  clean  the  bread  cutter  and  table. 
By  then  it  is  time  for  breakfast.  After  break- 
fast I  get  my  apron  on  and  take  the  lamps  into 
the  sewing  room.  Then  I  get  some  soft  soap 
and  put  it  into  a  panful  of  water  and  stir  it 
around.  I  call  for  the  spoons,  next  the  bowls, 
next  the  pitchers  and  then  all  other  dirty  things 
to  come  in.  I  get  through  about  eight  o'clock. 
Then  1  wash  the  towels  out,  take  the  waste  off 
and  hang  the  towels  out.  Then  I  begin  with 
my  scrubbing  and  get  through  about  ten  o'clock, 
after  which  I  wash  myself,  cut  the  bread  and 
serve  the  dinner.  Albert  S.   Munro. 

Haking  tbc  Back  Roaa 

One  afternoon  in  vacation  another  boy  and 
I  were  told  to  rake  the  back  road.  Mr.  Morrison 
told  us  to  go  down  to  the  stock  barn  and  get 
two  long-tooth  rakes.  We  began  at  the  top. 
He  took  one  side  and  I  took  the  other  and  we 
both  raked  to  the  middle.  When  we  got  down 
a  little  way  we  made  piles.  Another  boy  came 
along  with  a  wheelbarrow  and  picked  them  up. 
When  we  got  to  the  end  we  raked  over  it  again 
and  made  it  look  better.  Then  we  put  back 
our  rakes  and  went  up  to  the  house.  When 
we  found  Mr.  Morrison  he  let  us  go. 

Charles  A.  McEacheren. 


making  Jlppic  Sauce 

My  job  one  afternoon  in  the  kitchen  was 
to  make  apple  sauce.  The  first  thing  to  do  is 
to  get  the  apple  pearer,  screw  it  to  the  table 
and  peal  the  apples.  After  pealing  the  apples 
I  took  another  pan  and  cut  the  apples  into  quar- 
ters and  took  all  the  bad  places  and  cores  out. 
After  1  got  through  taking  the  bad  places  out,  I 
put  the  quarters  into  a  couple  of  kettles  and 
cooked  them.  After  they  were  done,  I  went  in- 
to the  dining  room  and  got  a  couple  of  square 
dishes  and  put  the  apple  sauce  into  them  and 
when  it  was  cold,  Miss  Stronach  put  the  sugar 
in  and  the  boys  had  it  for  supper. 

Albert  S.  Beetchy. 

morking  on  tbe  Ulharf 

Under  the  wooden  wharf,  some  fellows,  I  a- 
mongthem,  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Dix,  put  in 
two  new  break-waters.  We  cleared  away  all  of 
the  old  break-water.  Then  we  put  in  eight  string- 
ers, size  six  by  four  inches  and  bolted  them  with 
drift-bolts.  Mr.  Dix  then  took  the  depth  the 
planks  were  to  be  and  we  sharpened  them 
to  stick  •  in  the  mud.  The  planks  were  three 
inches  thick.  We  passed  them  down  to  him 
as  he  called  for  them.  After  he  had  one  placed, 
another  fellow  and  I  pounded  it  down  and  then 
held  it  in  place  while  he  drove  a  spike 
into  it.  He  had  one  fellow  down  under  the 
wharf  v/ith  him  to  hold  the  boat  and  pass  tools 
to  him.  After  all  the  planks  were  nailed,  one 
fellow  went  down  with  a  saw  and  cut  them  off 
even.  After  one  of  the  break-waters  was  done, 
we  built  another.     They  are  both  done  now. 

Frank  S.  Miley. 

Caking  in  Plants 

In  the  fall  some  of  the  boys  take  in  their 
plants  that  are  in  their  gardens  in  the  summer. 
They  have  flower-pots  that  they  keep  in  their 
gardens.  When  it  gets  too  cold  and  the  frost 
comes,  they  take  them  in.  We  take  them  and 
put  them  in  pots  and  put  soil  around  them  and 
then  we  make  the  soil  moist.  They  are  kept  in 
the  basement  through  the  winter  until  the  boys 
take  them  out  in  the  summer  and  put  them  in 
their  gardens  again.      Herbert  J.  Phillips. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND   BEACON 


Cl)onip$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM   SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.  7. 


November.  1903. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 

Application  has  besn  made  for  entry  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard   M.  Saltonstall.  . 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker   Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  0.  Adaivis, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 

I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter   Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


The  first  quality  that  a  business  man  re- 
quires in  an  employe  is  honesty.  It  is  not 
enough,  however,  to  know  that  a  clerk  or  work- 
man will  not  steal  money  or  goods.  Honesty 
is  closely  connected  with  truth  and  loyalty,  and 
if  the  employe  is  loyal,  he  works  for  his 
employer's  interest  as  though  it  was    his    own. 


Nobody  admires  the  one  who  is  by  choice  a 
talebearer,  but  it  is  the  duty  of  employes  to 
give  prompt  and  full  information  of  any  occur- 
rence that  works  to  the  injury  of  their  employers. 
Any  other  course  would  be  distinctly  disloyal 
and  dishonest. 

Nowhere  are  these  sterling  qualities  more 
rigidly  demanded  than  in  the  school  and  the 
home.  In  business  there  is  supposed  to  be  an 
equal  exchange  by  which  faithful  service  is  given 
for  fair  wages,  but  the  advantage  of  the  home  and 
the  school  cannot  be  measured  in  money.  Very 
often  the  only  return  that  is  possible  on  the  part 
of  the  child  is  to  manifest  a  grateful  spirit,  to 
show  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  favors  re- 
ceived. 

When  the  pupil  is  so  disloyal  as  to  join 
hands  with  those  who  cherish  a  spirit  of  dis- 
content or  hostility  against  the  teacher,  or  when 
the  child  seeks  the  companionship  of  those 
who  would  be  disapproved  of  by  his  parents, 
then  there  is  something  1o  conceal,  he  fears  to 
tell  them  the  whole  truth,  and  this  first  down- 
ward step  may  lead  to  disgrace  and  crime. 
The  only  safe  course,  as  well  as  the  only  honest 
one  on  the  part  of  the  child,  is  to  be  fearlessly 
frank  and  open  in  his  intercourse  with  parents 
and  teachers. 

Disloyalty  to  the  government  leads  to  trea- 
sonable deeds,  and  the  laws  of  man  decree  that 
the  proper  punishment  for  treason  is  death,  but 
is  not  disloyalty  in  the  home  a  greater  sin  than 
treason  against  the  government? 

It  is  chiefly  important  that  we  be  honest 
with  ourselves,  that  we  try  to  see  our  own  faults 
and  recognize  our  good  qualities,  and  be  true  to 
ourselves  by  striving  to  develop  the  higher  and 
nobler  elements  of  our  nature.  Review  the 
thoughts,  words  and  deeds  of  each  day,  and 
map  out  stronger  and  better  work  for  the  morrow. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


"  To  thine  own  self  be  true  ; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not   then  be  false  to  any  man." 

no(es 

Oct.  2.     Summer  term  of  school  closed. 

Car  load  of  flour  towed  in  the  scow  by  the 
Pilgrim  from   the  New  England  docks. 

The  Anagarika  Dharmapala  with  Mr. 
Robert  Atkinson  of  Brookline  visited  the 
School  and  The  Anagarika  spoke  very  interest- 
ingly of  life  in  India  in  the  afternoon. 

Oct.  3.  Merton  P.  Ellis  came  to  spend 
Sunday  at  the  School. 

Game  of  football  with  graduates  in  which 
the  home  team  won  by  a  score  2  to  0. 
Graduates  here  were  Ernest  W.  Austin,  John 
E.  Bete,  Thomas  Brown,  Dana  Currier,  John 
J.  Conklin,  Edward  L.  Davis,  Warren  Holmes, 
Ralph  Holmes,  Albert  H.  Ladd,  John  T.  Lund- 
quist,  Carl  A.  H.  Malm,  Charles  F.  Spear, 
Samuel  A.  Waycott. 

Oct.  5.     Sowed  winter  rye. 

Load  of  dressing  from  Walworth's. 

Oct.  6.  Cottage  Row  election.  Result 
as  follows;  — 

Mayor,  Andrew  W.  Dean;  Aldermen,  F. 
Chester  Welch,  George  A.  McKenzie,  Frank 
S.  Miley,  Albert  W.  Hinckley.  Joseph  E.  K. 
Robblee  ;  Assessor,  Edward  Capaul;  Street 
Commissioner,  Albert  L.  Sawyer ;  Chief  of 
Police,  Carl  L.  Wittig.  The  Mayor  appointed 
as  Clerk,  Leslie  R.  Jones  ;  Librarian,  Harry 
M.  Chase;  Treasurer,  William  N.  Dinsmore; 
Janitor,  Alfred  W.  Jacobs.  The  Chief  of  Police 
appointed  as  his  patrolmen,  Edward  B.  Taylor, 
Louis  E.  Means,  Barney  Hill,  William  Flynn, 
and  George  F.  Burke. 

Oct.  7.      Boys  put  on  winter  suits. 

Threshed  eighteen    bushels  of  beans. 

Oct.  9.      Heavy  southeast  wind. 

Oct.    10.     Wind     continued.  Pilgrim 

made  a  trip  to  City  Point    and    remained  until 
Sunday  morning. 

Oct.    12.     Boys  sized  up. 


Fall  term  of  school  began. 

Started    the  steam  heating  fire. 

Oct.    14.     Picked  apples. 

Made  two  kegs  of  cider. 

Secretary  Tucker  Daland  and  Manager 
Moses  Williams,  Jr.  visited  the  School. 

Received  from  Mr.  Grant  Walker  thirteen 
volumes  of  the  American  Annual  Cyclopedia, 
sixteen  volumes  of  the  New  American  Cyclo- 
pedia and  two  volumes  of  the  Memorial  History 
of  Boston. 

Oct.  15.  Graduate  Sumner  W.  Parker 
and  wife  visited  the  School. 

Oct.  16.  Andrew  W.  Dean  left  the 
School. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Tibbetts,  superintendent  of  the 
Liversidge  Institute  of  Industry,  visited  the 
School. 

Oct.  18.  Sunday.  Mr.  John  F.  Kilton 
spoke  to  the  boys  at  three  P.  M.  and  again  in 
the  evening. 

Oct.  19.  A  car  load  of  bran  freighted 
home. 

Oct.  20.  Harvested  carrots,  squash  and 
pumpkins. 

Pilgrim  made  a  trip  to  Central  Wharf. 

Raymond  E.  Atwood  and  James  P.  Em- 
bree  entered  the  School. 

"Bible  Class,"  Waltham,  gave  to  the 
School  "The  Plan  of  the  Ages"  or  "Millennial 
Dawn"  by  Charles  L.  Russell,  in  five  volumes. 

Oct.  21.  The  Superintendent  and  family, 
a  few  of  the  instructors  and  six  boys  attended 
the  funeral  of  Mrs.  John  R.  Morse. 

Oct.  22.     Commenced  fall  plowing. 

Graduate  O.  Walter  Clemmenson  and  wife 
and  Charles  W.  Jorgensen  visited  the  School. 

Oct.  24.  Former  Asst.  Superintendent 
Mr.  John  C.  Anthony  and  Mrs.  Anthony  visited 
the  School. 

Football  game  played  with  graduates  who 
were  beaten  6  to  0.  Graduates  here  were 
Ernest  W.  Austin,  Thomas  Brown,  Dana 
Currier,  Ernest  Curley.  John  J.  Conklin,  Joseph 
A.  Carr.  Merton  P.  Ellis,  Fred  Hill,  Albert  H. 
Ladd,  Carl  A.  H.  Ma'm,  Chester  O.    Sanborn. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Charles  F.  Spear  and  Samuel  A.  Waycott. 

We  are  indebted  to  Capt.  Hamilton  of  the 
Life  Saving  Station  for  transportation  of  the 
team  to  and  from  the  School. 

Oct.  25.  Sunday.  Rev.  S.  H.  Hilliard 
conducted  the  service  and  addressed  the  boys 
at  3  P.  M. 

Graduate  Howard  B.  Ellis  visited  the 
School. 

Oct.  27.  Herbert  A.  Dierkes  entered  the 
School. 

Picked  thirty  bushels  of  green  tomatoes. 

Oct.  29.  Long  distance  telephone  inspect- 
ed. 

Oct.  30.  A  very  large  thermometer  was 
received  from  graduate,  John  Shaw. 

Tdrm  Scbool  Bank 

Cash  on  hand,  October    1st.,  1903         $542.91 
Deposited   during  the  month,  12.56 

$555.47 
Withdrawn  during  the  month,  24. 10 

Cash  on  hand  November  1st.,  1903       $531.37 

$mt  Boy 

I  work  in  the  kitchen  and  I  am  stove  boy. 
The  first  thing  I  do  is  to  go  down  cellar  and  get 
my  stove  pail  and  get  some  water  in  it.  Then 
I  go  to  working  on  the  stove.  When  I  get  it 
washed,  I  take  my  dauber  and  daub  it  and  when 
1  get  it  daubed  I  take  my  brush  and  shine  it. 
Then  1  go  down  cellar  and  chop  my  wood  and 
get  my  shavings.  Then  I  go  out  to  the  scrub- 
rack  and  get  my  brush  and  cloth  and  pail  and 
pad.  I  do  my  reflectors  and  get  my  lamps  and 
then  help  the  other  boys  scrub  the  floor. 

Arthur  Munro. 

Cleaning  Kooms 

Certain  mornings  1  have  to  wash  and  clean 
certain  rooms.  1  take  the  chairs  and  rugs  out 
into  the  hall  and  then  sweep  the  room.  I  then 
get  a  pail  of  water  and  a  floor  cloth  and  wash 
up  the  floor  and  then  dust  the  room.  I  take 
the  rugs  out  to  the  clothes-yard  and  sweep  them 
and  bring  them  up  to  the  room.  Then  I  put 
all  the  things  back  and  the  room  is  done. 

Harris  H.  Todd. 


fixing  (Uindows 

During  the  fall  the  windows  have  to  be 
fixed  for  winter  and  1  am  going  to  explain  how 
it  is  done.  It  is  usually  work  for  the  painters 
and  I  being  one  had  to  do  it.  The  first  building 
I  began  on  was  Gardner  Hall.  The  first  thing 
I  did  was  to  get  some  window  weights,  some 
window  cord,  some  pulleys  and  some  screws. 
These  were  for  fixing  them.  The  next  thing  I 
did  was  to  look  and  see  if  the  cords  in  the 
window  frames  were  all  right.  If  there  were  any 
missing  I  would  take  out  a  piece  of  wood  that 
covers  up  the  weights,  take  out  the  old  piece  of 
broken  rope,  untie  the  knot  and  put  a  new  piece 
of  rope  in  its  place.  Then  I  put  a  nail  on  a 
piece  of  string  and  put  it  through  the  pulley  and 
the  nail  would  bear  the  string  down  to  the  place 
where  the  weights  are.  I  would  take  the  nail 
off  of  the  string,  tie  the  string  on  to  the  new 
cord  and  pull  it  through  the  pully  and  tie  a  knot 
on  to  the  cord  and  it  would  be  ready  to  put  in 
the  hole  in  the  window  sash.  It  took  me  a 
day  to  finish  the  hall.  From  there  I  did  both 
the  barns  and  the  east  and  west  dormitories. 

Foster  B.  Hoye. 

Ct^c  new  Band 

At  night  Mr.  Morrison  blows  the  whistle 
for  the  boys  to  Ime  up  so  as  to  go  to  bed. 
The  leader  of  the  band  sometimes  asks  Mr. 
Morrison  if  he  can  have  the  new  band  stop 
down.  If  he  can,  we  go  out  in  Gardner  F^all. 
We  get  our  chairs  and  our  books  and  our  in- 
struments and  our  book  racks.  The  leader 
will  have  the  boys  play  a  scale  and  then  we 
play  some  of  our  lessons.  Some  of  the  boys 
that  can't  play  very  well  have  to  play  alone. 
Then  he  will  come  to  the  drummers  and 
have  them  play  the  march  that  we  play  when 
we  march  down  the  avenue.  Then  we  play 
our  exercises.  When  we  have  practiced 
enough  he  tells  us  to  put  our  things  away. 
When  we  get  them  ail  put  up,  we  line  up  near 
the  stairs  and  wait  till  he  tells  us  to  march 
down  to  the  assembly  room  and  get  a  drink  and 
go  to  bed. 

Alfred  W.  Jacobs. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


J\  6ift 

A  short  time  ago  Mr.  Bradley  told  me  to 
kill  all  the  pigeons  I  caught  in  the  stock  barn, 
because  they  were  quite  bothersome.  As  soon 
as  1  caught  eight  I  asked  him  if  he  wanted  thsm 
killed.  He  told  me  to  see  Mrs.  Bradley.  She 
said  if  1  would  kill  them,  the  table  that  I  was 
mDntor  of  could  have  Ihem.  I  thanked  her  for 
hsr  kind  offer  aid  was  going  out  when  she  call- 
ed ne  back  and  gave  me  a  piece  of  custard 
pie  aid  1  said  V  c'l.  It  tasted  great.  I  thanked 
her  and  went  and  killed  and  picked  ard  cleaned 
the  pigeons  and  we  had  them  for  dinner  next 
day.     They  tasted  good. 

Ralph  0.  Anderson. 

Caterpillars  and  €occon$ 

One  day  Miss  Silsby  told  us  that  it  was 
time  for  the  caterpillars  to  spin  their  cocoons. 
She  told  us  that  if  we  would  watch,  we  could  get 
some  and  bring  them  into  school  and* hen  they 
ca  tie  out  as  butterflies  we  could  chloroform  hem 
and  have  better  specine.is  than  if  we  caught 
them  outside.  We  have  a  green  caterpillar 
which  is  about  one  and  one-half  inches  long. 
William  N.  Dinsmore. 

EsamiRation 

One  day  about  ten  o'clock  we  were  all 
called  in  to  the  assembly  room.  We  were  told 
to  take  o'f  our  shir.s  and  coats  so  our  backs 
would  be  bare.  Then  the  doctor  put  an  i.istru- 
ment  on  each  fellow's  chest  in  several  places. 
We  were  then  told  to  take  long  breaths  and 
cough  while  he  listened  to  something  through 
the  instrument.  The  Voys  t!  at  'ere  all  right 
he  said  "O.  K."  or  "all  right"  to.  1  don't  know 
what  he  said  to  :he  boys  that  weren't  all  right, 
if  there  were  any.  Clarence  Taylor. 

Picking  up  Driftwood 

One  day  1  had  to  pick  up  the  driftwood  on 
the  beach  that  the  storm  had  carried  in.  I 
took  the  team  and  got  all  the  large  and  small 
pieces  of  wood.  1  took  them  over  to  the 
wood  yard  to  be  sawed  up.  I  got  all 
that  was  at  the  south  end  of  the  Island  and 
started  on  the  north  end  but  did  not  have 
time  to  get  it  all.  Samuel  A.  Weston. 


$\it\\m  Beans 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Morrison  told  three 
other  fellows  and  myself  to  report  to  the  kitchen. 
We  did  so.  When  we  got  around  to  the  kitch- 
en, the  instructor  told  us  to  take  our  coats  off 
and  get  four  chairs  from  the  dining  room  and 
some  tin  pans.  Sie  then  told  us  that  we  were 
going  to  shell  beans.  We  started  in  about 
half  past  one  and  shelled  four  bushe's  We  got 
them  all  done  at  three  o'clock.  Then  we  took 
t!ie  pods  down  to  the  barn  and  put  them  in  the 
pig-pen.  Then  we  went  back  to  the  kitchen 
to  get  ojr  coats  and  Mrs.  Bradley  excused  us. 
We  were  given  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  to  play. 
Mrs.  Bradley  said  she  was  very  glad  to  get  the 
beans  shelled  and  I  am  sure  the  rest  of  the  fel- 
lows as  well  as  I  were  glad  to  shell  them  for  her. 
Claud  W.  Salisbury. 

Up  in  m  f)i\\ 

Every  night  we  are  allowed  in  the  gymna- 
sium, r.ie  boys  do  stunts  on  two  rings  hung 
from  the  ridge-pole  of  the  hall.  Ttiey  also  do 
stunts  on  the  ladder.  There  is  a  platform  at 
the  end  of  the  hall  where  the  band  boys  keep 
their  instruments  and  practice.  There  are 
benches  around  the  hall  so  that  the  boys  that 
don't  want  to  play  with  the  others  can  sit  down 
and  read  or  do  something  else.  Some  of  the 
boys  that  are  not  practicing  or  doing  stunts 
play  tag  I  like  very  much  to  play  up  in  the 
gymnasium.  Leon   H.  Quinby. 

Cutting  Corn 

The  other  day  Mr.  McLeod  took  eight 
other  boysa.ad  m/self  over  by  the  farm  house 
in  the  corn  piece  to  cut  corn  and  stack  it  so  it 
would  dry  and  ripen  for  the  winter.  We  all 
had  sickles  to  cut  it  with.  The  way  to  cut  it  is 
to  get  the  whole  bunch  under  your  arm  and 
bend  it  over  so  you  can  see  where  to  cut.  We 
had  to  cut  it  not  more  than  four  inches  from 
the  ground.  After  we  cut  it,  we  would  lay  it 
down  until  we  got  quite  a  large  bunch  with  the 
tops  all  the  .-,ame  way.  Then  we  would  carry 
it  to  Mr.  McLeod  to  stack.  We  made  forty- 
one  stacks  that  morning. 

Albert  W.  Hinckley. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Mmn\ 

Preston  W.  Lewis,  '8L  To  shov/  how 
one  worthy  graduate  may  assist  many  others, 
we  quote  from  a  letter  v/ritlen  by  Mr.  Lewis 
who  is  superintendent  of  M.  C.  Dizer's  shoe 
factory  in  East  Weymouth.  "We  have  places 
here  for  bright  boys  at  any  time  you  have  them. 
We  will  break  them  in,  teaching  them  some 
part  of  the  business."  Mr.  Lewis  had  previ- 
ously telephoned  for  a  couple  of  good  strong 
boys. 

Sumner  W.  Parker,  '90,  with  his  wife 
and  her  mother  visited  the  School  on  October 
15th.  Sumner  is  making  a  success  of  farmii  g 
and  is  another  of  the  young  men  whom  the 
School  can  point  to  with  pride.  He  spoke  very 
pleasantly  of  John  Powers,  a  more  recent  grad- 
uate, who  works  for  him. 

Joseph  C.  Robinson,  "94.  is  fireman  on  the 
Boston  and  Maine  R.  R.  from  Boston  to  Con- 
cord, N.  H.  He  is  married  and  lives  at  32 
Knowlton  St.,  E.  Somerville. 

Charles  W.  Jorgensen,  02,  has  a  good 
home  with  Mr.  Fred  L.  Tyler  of  Charlemont, 
Mass.,  out  in  the  western  part  of  the  state.  He 
recently  visited  the  School  and  had  every 
appearance  of  enjoying  his  opportuni.ies.  He 
is  secretary  of  the  Epworth  League  in  the 
Methodist  church  of  that  town,  is  president  of 
his  Sunday  School  class  of  eighteen  members 
and  is  librarian  of  the  Sunday  School.  He 
was  off  for  a  week's  vacation. 

George  G.  Noren,  '02,  is  working  for 
the  Holtzer-Cabot  Electric  Co.  in  Brookline, 
where  he  has  been  for  seven  months.  He  is 
living  with  his  mother  at  8  Minot  Street, 
Neponset. 

Jllumni  notice 

The  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  Farm 
School  Alumni  Association  will  be  held  at  the 
School,  Thursday,  Thanksgiving  Day,  Nov.  26th, 
1903.  Boat  leaves  the  public  landing  at  City 
Point  at  10  A.  M.  sharp.  A  large  attendance  is 
requested. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Merton  P.  Ellis,  Sec. 

19  Milk  St.,  Boston. 


Jum  l)ou$e  Stoves 

One  morning  a  man  came  to  look  at  the 
stoves  at  the  Farm  House,  and  I  had  to  show 
him  all  the  stoves  in  the  house.  He  took  notes 
of  the  stoves  that  needed  to  be  fixed.  After 
he  was  through  looking  them  ever  he  said  he 
would  come  again.  A  few  days  afterwards  he 
came  again  with  another  man  and  fixed  the 
stoves  out  in  the  shed.  He  took  them  out  in  the 
middle  of  the  shed  floor  and  put  some  news- 
papers under  the  stoves  so  that  the  floor  would 
not  get  all  dirt,  and  then  began  to  uork.  He 
took  them  apart  and  put  new  pieces  in  and  a  new 
lining  and  put  the  old  pieces  in  a  barrel.  He 
fixed  all  the  other  stoves  and  they  are  all  ready 
for  winter.  George  A.  Maguire. 

Picking  up  Cwigs  in  tDe  Ulooas 

One  day  after  a  great  storm  Mr.  Morrison 
sent  three  boys  down  to  pick  up  twigs  in  the 
woods.  I  was  one.  He  told  us  to  get  a  wheel- 
barrow to  put  the  twigs  into.  One  of  the  other 
fellows  got  the  wheelbarrow  and  I  went  down  to 
the  wocds  and  picked  up  some  twigs  and  put 
them  in  a  pile.  The  fellow  who  had  the  wheel- 
barrow picked  them  up  and  put  them  into  it  and 
wheeled  them  over  to  the  dump.  We  did  not 
get  dDne  by  the  time  the  whistle  blew  so  we  lef. 
it  and  got  ready  for  school. 

Edward  Capaul. 

Cleaning  the  €orn  Barn 

One  day  Mr.  McLeod  told  another  boy 
and  me  to  get  broo  ns  and  go  down  to  the  corn 
barn.  He  told  us  to  clean  out  the  cribs  and 
put  the  good  corn  in  barrels  and  put  tlie  cobs  in 
bags  and  clean  the  barn  up.  We  cleaned  Ih.fc 
cribs  and  then  swept  the  floor  and  another  boy 
came  down  to  help  us.  Then  we  swept  down 
the    cobwebs  and  it  was  time  to  go  up. 

Donald  W.   Roby. 


An  indiscreet  man  is  more  hurtful  than  an 
ill-natured  one  ;  for  as  the  latter  will  only  attack 
his  enemies,  and  those  he  wishes  ill  to,  the 
other  injures  indifferently  both  his  friends  and 
foes.    .  Addison. 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND 


BEACON 


Vol.  7.  No.  8. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


December,    1903. 


Our  Cbanks 

I  am  thankful  for  what  Mr.  Bradley  has 
done  for  me.  I  am  thankful  that  he  lets  me 
take  his  gun  and  get  some  birds  for  the  collec- 
tion. I  am  thankful  he  lets  me  go  shooting 
ducks.  I  am  thankful  1  can  go  around  the 
Island  and  study  the  habits  of  the  birds  that 
come  here,  and  keep  my  health.  I  am  thankful 
I  can  make  things  to  sell  and  earn  enough 
money  to  buy  a  gun  of  my  own.  I  am  thankful 
Mr.  Bradley  lets  me  help  kill  the  birds  that 
drive  the  good  birds  away  and  those  that  destroy 
the  crops.  I  am  so  thankful  for  what  Mr.  Brad- 
ley has  done  for  me  that  I  can  not  express  it 
strong  enough.  Robert  McKay. 

I  am  thankful  that  we  will  have  fresh  turkey 
to  eat,  and  that  I  had  a  chance  to  see 
The  Old  Homestead  at  the  Boston  Theatre. 
I  am  thankful  for  our  good  government,  we 
are  not  like  the  South  American  countries, 
always  kicking  up.  I  am  also  very  thankful 
to  those  who  have  helped  me  in  any  way 
great  or  small.  There  are  lots  of  other 
things  that  I  can't  call  to  memory  that  I  am 
thankful  for.  John  W.   Robblee. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  am  alive  this  year 
about  Thanksgiving  time.  And  that  I  am  a 
Farm  School  fellow  and  for  all  the  good 
things  which  have  happened  in  the  past  year,  and 
I  am  thankful  that  1  am  in  the  shop  and  learn- 
ing a  good  trade.  And  I  am  so  thankful  that 
I  cannot  express  my  thankfulness  in  words. 

Louis  E.   Means. 

I  am  thankful  I'm  not  traveling  alone 
through  this  world.  I  am  thankful  that  my 
sisters  and  I  have  been  preserved  another 
year.  1  am  thankful  that  it  isn't  impossible  to  rise 
in  the  grade  system.       1  am  thankful  that  I  am 


progressing  along  the  branch  of  industry  that 
interests  me  most.  I  am  thankful  to  those 
who  are  spending  time  to  make  a  better 
boy  and  man  of  me  than  1  otherwise  would  be. 
I  am  thankful  that  the  Farm  School  has  had  so 
few  deaths.  I  am  thankful  that  (if  nothing 
serious  happens)  I  will  be  a  citizen  of  that  great 
Nation  which  thinks  enough  of  the  Lord  to  set 
apart  a  day  in  which  to  thank  and  praise  Him 
for  His  many  blessings.    William  J.   Flynn. 

I  am  thankful  for  all  the  holidays  we  have 
enjoyed  since  last  Thanksgiving.  I  am  thank- 
ful for  the  prosperity  of  our  country.  1  am 
thankful-  that  none  of  my  relatives  have  died. 
I  am  thankful  for  the  car-ride  during  vacation. 
That  the  School  is  well  supplied  with  every- 
thing for  winter.  I  am  thankful  that  last  winter 
had  no  destructive  storms.  I  am  thankful  for 
all  the  stereopticon  lectures  we  have  had  and 
for  the  chance  of  seeing  the  Hooker  Day  parade. 
I  am  thankful  for  the  care  and  ^  instruction  the 
School  has  given  me.       Frank  C.  Simpson. 

I  realize  that  1  have  many  things  for  which 
to  be  thankful.  My  first  thanks  are  to  God  for 
having  kept  myself  as  well  as  most  of  my  rela- 
tives from  any  serious  illness  or  harm  during  the 
past  year.  I  am  thankful  that  the  early  settlers 
of  our  country  set  aside  a  day  to  be  passed  in 
thanksgiving  and  praise  and  that  the  custom 
has  been  passed  down  from  year  to  year  and  is 
celebrated  by  us  in  the  same  way.  I  am 
thankful  to  all  who  have  helped  me  during  the 
past  year  in  any  way.  If  I  were  to  try  to  write 
on  paper  the  many  things  for  which  I  am 
thankful,  I  would  probably  need  more  paper  than 
I  have  before  me  now. 

Frederic  P.  Thayer. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


First  Class.  1  am  thankful  that  I  have 
some  friends  living.  1  am  thankful  that  I  am 
in  the  band.  I  am  thankful  that  I  am  in  the 
first  class.  1  am  thankful  for  the  dinner  I  am  go- 
ing to  have  Thanksgiving  Day.  I  am  thankful 
that  I  am  in  the  new  ward.  I  am  thankful  that 
I  work  in  the  shop.  I  am  thankful  for  the  cat 
I  have  in  the  shop.  I  am  thankful  for  the  good 
teacher  I  have.  I  am  thankful  that  we  have  got 
our  coal  in  our  bin.  I  am  thankful  that  there 
is  one  day  in  the  year  set  aside  for  thanksgiving 
and  praise.  I  am  thankful  that  I  know  how  to 
fix  shoes  and  some  day  may  work  in  a  shoe 
factory.  I  am  thankful  for  all  that  is  done  for 
me  at  the  Farm  School. 

Carl  L.  Wittig. 

I  am  thankful  for  having  been  kept  safe 
through  the  last  year  and  other  years.  I  am 
thankful  for  the  good  clothing  that  I  have.  I 
am  thankful  for  the  stars  I  have  got  this  term. 
I  am  thankful  for  the  rugby  games  we  have  had 
this  season. 

Frank  S.  Miley. 

I  am  thankful  that  all  my  relatives  are 
alive  and  well  and  can  come  and  see  me  sever- 
al times  during  the  year.  I  am  thankful  for  all 
the  good  times  that  1  have  had  in  the  past  year 
and  to  those  that  they  came  from. 

I.  Banks  Quinby. 

I  am  more  than  thankful  that  I  have  a 
nice  mother  and  sister  living.  I  am  thankful 
for  the  nice  teacher  I  have.-  I  am  thankful  that 
I  hold  an  office  in  Cottage  Row.  I  am  thank- 
ful that  I  am  about  through  my  school  and  sloyd 
work.  I  am  thankful  to  our  kind  Managers  and 
Superintendent  for  the  privileges  they  have 
given  us.  I  am  thankful  for  the  nice  dinner  I 
have  on  Thanksgiving  and  for  the  clothes  and 
shelter  I  have  during  the  cold  winter.  I  am 
thankful  for  the  good  health  I  have  so  I  can  play 
rugby.  I  am  thankful  for  the  Visiting  Days 
so  we  can  see  our  friends  and  relatives.  I  am 
thankful  that  I  can  work  in  the  shop  and  make 
presents  for  my  friends.  I  am  thankful  I  am 
here  where  I  may  be  educated  and    not    to   be 


intemperate.  1  am  thankful  for  more  than  what 
this  paper  will  hold.  (Everything  which  is  dene 
for  me  on  this  Island.)  I  am  thankful  that  our 
harvest  has  been  fine  during  the  past  year. 

Leslie  R.   Jones. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  am  here  in  the  Farm 
School  where  I  can  receive  all  of  the  privileges 
of  a  good  start  in  education  and  that  it  teaches 
nearly  every  branch  or  form  of  trade.  I  am 
thankful  that  the  harvests  of  this  Island  have 
been  fine  during  the  past  year  as  also  the 
harvests  of  the  United  States  have  been.  I 
am  thankful  that  most  of  my  friends  are  alive 
and  well  to  enjoy  this  Thanksgiving,  as  in 
many  cases  the  whole  family  unite  to  have*  a 
talk  and  a  dinner,  as  the  graduates  will  come 
down  here  to  have  a  chat,  a  dinner  and  a  rugby 
game  with  us.  I  am  thankful  that  I  am  in  the 
last  year  of  my  school  work,  and  that  I  am  in 
sloyd.  I  am  thankful  that  1  am  on  an  Island 
where  I  have  plenty  of  room  and  learn  not  to 
be  intemperate.  1  am  thankful  that  I  am  a 
citizen  of  Cottage  Row  and  that  1  have  held  an 
office  there.  I  am  thankful  for  the  Visiting 
Days  when  I  may  see  my  mother  and  sister  and 
other  friends.  I  am  thankful  to  the  Managers 
and  Superintendent  for  giving  me  these  privi- 
leges and  for  giving  me  good  food  and  warm 
clothing  which  keep  me  and  the  other  boys 
down  here  in  excellent  health.  I  am  also 
thankful  for  many  other  minor  things. 

Robert  H.  Bocue. 

I  am  thankful  my  mother  is  in  good  health. 
I  am  thankful  that  my  mother  had  a  chance  to 
come  down  and  spend  Sunday  afternoon  with 
me.  1  am  thankful  that  I  have  been  in  the 
first  grade  so  long.  1  am  thankful  we  have 
not  been  beaten  in  football  this  year. 

Charles  A.  Blatchford. 

Second  Class.  I  am  thankful  for  the 
good  teacher  I  have  and  the  instructors  and 
what  they  do  for  us.  I  am  thankful  that  1  am 
in  sloyd.  I  am  thankful  for  the  good  dinner  we 
are  going  to  have  Thanksgiving  Day.  I  am 
thankful  for  the  electric  things  my  friends  have 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


sent  ma.  1  am  thankful  for  the  work  Mr. 
Bradley  is  giving  me  on  electric  things,  as  it 
will  help  me  to  learn  more  about  electricity. 
1  am  thankful  for  the  stars  I  have  got.  I  am 
thankful  for  what  the  Managers  and  Mr.  Brad- 
ley are  doing  for  me  now  and  v/hat  they  will  do 
for  me  when  I  get  away.    '  Louis  P.  Marchi. 

I  am  thankful  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
come  to  this  School.  I  am  thankful  1  have  so 
many  kind  friends  who  are  thinking  of  me  all 
the  time.  I  am  thankful  for  the  many  things  I 
have  been  taught  to  do  while  at  this  School. 
1  am  thankful  for  our  kind  Superintendent  and 
Mrs.  Bradley,  who  are  thinking  of  some  one  else 
all  the  time.  Don  C.  Clark. 

1  am  thankful  for  the  good  mother  I  have. 
I  am  thankful  that  1  am  thankful  for  a  great 
many  things.  I  am  thankful  the  Managers 
give  their  time  and  money  for  us.  1  am  thank- 
ful I  know  something  about  poultry,  school, 
milking,  blacksmithing,  agriculture,  etc.  I 
am  thankful  I  have  graduated  from  the  L.  T. 
L.  and  know  what  effects  the  evil  cigarette  has 
upon  the  brain  and  body. 

Ralph  O.  Anderson. 

Third  Class.  I  am  thankful  that  1  can 
get  an  education  and  a  place  to  sleep  and  some- 
thing to  eat.  At  first  1  was  kind  of  homesick, 
but  now  1  am  not  so  much.  I  am  thankful 
that  I  have  a  place  to  stay  so  as  to  give  my 
mother  a  chance  to  save  up  some  money,  so 
when  I  grow  up  we  can  have  a  little  home  of 
our  own;  that  is  what  my  mother  wants. 

Matthew  H.  Paul. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  have  so  many  oppor- 
tunities to  be  an  honest,  faithful  and  industrious 
man.  Allan  H.  Brown. 

I  am  thankful  we  have  a  Thanksgiving  Day. 
I  am  thankful  1  have  a  good  mother  and  father 
and  that  I  have  a  kind  guardian.  I  am  thankful 
we  have  a  kind  Superintendent  and  a  good  home. 
I  am  thankful  the  United  States  is  growing  so 
powerful.  I  am  thankful  we  have  so  many 
holidays  and  such  kind  Managers.  And  I  will 
be  still  more  thankful  if  I  grow  up  to  be  a  good 
man.  Ernest  N.  Jorgensen. 


Fourth  Class.  I  am  thankful  for  all  the 
instructors  have  done  for  me.  I  am  thankful 
for  the  education  I  get  and  the  sport  I  have.  I 
am  thankful  that  on  Thanksgiving  there  is  a  lot  of 
pie.  1  am  thankful  for  the  food  and  clothing  we 
get,  I  am  also  thankful  that  we  have  a  chance 
to  see  our  friends.  Leon  H.  Quinby. 

1  am  thankful  for  all  the  food  and  clothing 
that  1  have  had  on  the  Island  for  the  past  year. 
1  am  thankful  for  everything  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bradley  have  done  for  me  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
boys  on  the  Island.  I  am  thankful  for  all  the 
education  I  have  had  for  the  past  year.  I  am 
thankful  for  all  the  holidays  and  vacation  days 
I  have  had.  There  are  many  other  things  I  am 
thankful  for.  Edward  Capaul. 

I  am  thankful  for  being  in  sioyd,  because 
when  1  go  away  I  can  make  things  out  of  wood. 
I  am  thankful  for  the  Visiting  Days  when  we  can 
see  our- friends  and  relatives  ana  for  the  edu- 
cation I  am  getting.  I  am  thankful  that  I  was 
put  in  the  boat  crew,  because  rowing  is  good 
exercise  for  the  body.  And  I  am  thankful  for 
the  Thanksgiving  Day  that  we  may  all  give 
praises  and  thanks  to  God. 

Foster  B.  Hoye. 

Fifth  Class.  I  am  thankful  for  the  good 
education  1  am  getting,  free  of  charge,  and  the 
good  food  I  get  and  clothing  and  the  care  taken 
of  me.  and  for  Thanksgiving  Day. 

Albert  S.  Beetchy. 

I  am  thankful  for  the  Visiting  Days  we 
had  and  the  nice  Thanksgiving  dinner  we  are 
going  to  have  and  the  education  1  am  getting 
and  the  shoes  and  clothing  I  get.  And  1  am 
thankful  that- 1  am  near  the  water  and  have  the 
cottages  and  thankful  for  the  bundles  my  mother 
sends  me  and  that  1  am  well  and  strong.  1  am 
thankful  for  vacation  and  thankful  for  Christmas. 
Alfred  W.  Jacobs. 

I  am  thankful  that  my  brother  is  alive.  ! 
am  thankful  for  the  dinner  we  get.  I  am  thank- 
ful that  we  have  a  good  time. 

Harry  M.  Chase. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbottipson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.  No.  8. 


December,  1903. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 

Application  has  been  made  for  entry  as  second  class  matter. 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS^ 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker   Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
L  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


It  is  admitted  by  all  to  be  a  good  thing  to 
think  over  our  blessings.  It  is  well  to 
take  time,  think  them  over  carefully  and 
make  note  of  them.  Some  would  have  a  much 
longer  list  than  others,  to  be  sure,  but  it  would 
create  and  strengthen  a  thankful  spirit  in  every- 
one, to  write  down  the  blessings  enjoyed  during 


one  year.  The  boys  of  our  School  have  form- 
ed this  habit  and  now  when  Thanksgiving  Day 
comes  they  begin  to  think  what  they  shall  put  in 
their  lists.  There  are  general  blessings  which 
they  all  enjoy  and  each  boy  has  some  additional 
thing  peculiar  to  himself  or  that  appeals  espe- 
cially to  him.  As  usual,,  in  this  number  of  the 
Beacon,  we  have  printed  a  variety  of  the  ''mani- 
fold blessings"  which  the  boys  recognize  as 
having  come  to  them  during  the  past  year. 

notes 

Nov.  I.  Sunday.  Rev.  John  W.  Pick- 
les spoke  to  the  boys  at  3  P.  M. 

Nov.  3.     Finished  picking  apples. 

Hauled  up  the  Winslow  and  Trevore. 

Nov.  4.     Pulled  mangels. 

James  R.  Gregory  and  Franklyn  H. 
Curran  entered  the  School. 

Stamps  for  the  boys'  collections  received 
from  Miss  Ellen  Bacon. 

Nov.  6.  Graduate  William  G.  Cummings 
called. 

No  school.  Teachers  attending  Norfolk 
County  Teachers'  Convention. 

The  first  snow  fell.  Snowed  all  day  but 
melted  as  fast  as  it  fell. 

Nov.  7.  Commenced  cutting  fodder  for 
cows. 

Nov.  8.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Hux- 
table  spoke  to  the  boys  at  3  P.  M. 

Nov.  9.     Dug  celery. 

Nov.  11.  Received  twelve  copies  of 
Gunton's  Magazine  from  graduate  Hon.  John 
Shaw. 

Nov.    12.      Pulled  turnips. 

A  new  one-horse  wagon  came. 

Annual  inspection  of  the  cattle  for  tuber- 
culosis.    No  trace  of  the  disease  found. 

Pilgrim  towed  the  landing  scow  which  is 
used  at  City  Point  to  the  Island  to  be  calked 
and  repaired. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Nov.    13.      Killed  first  pig. 

Nov.  15.  Sunday.  Hon.  Richard  C. 
Humplireys  gave  a  stereopticon  lecture  on  Jeru- 
salem. 

Nov.  17.  Richard  Dwinnell,  Herbert  J. 
Nelson  and  Matthew  H.  Paul  entered  the 
School. 

Nov.    19.      Pulled  cabbages. 

Nov.  20.  Pilgrim  up  for  repairs  to  rud- 
der. 

Nov.  21.  A  football  game  with  a  team 
from  Dorchester.     School  team  beat  23  to    0. 

Nov.  22.  Sunday.  Rev.  W.  I.  Sweet 
spoke  to  the  boys  at  3  P.  M. 

Nov.   26.      Thanksgiving  Day. 

A  crate  of  pies  received  from  Mrs.  C. 
M.  Warren. 

Sixty-four  graduates  here  including  six 
wives  and  six  children. 

A  game  of  football  between  the  Alumni 
and  School  teams.  The  Alumni  won  the  game 
by  a  score  5  to  0. 

Nov.  27.      Friday.     No  school. 

Housed  the  gaff  and  lowered  the  topmast 
on  the  main  flagstaff. 

Nov.  28.  Flooded  the  skating  pond  for 
the  first  time. 

Jum  ScDool  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  November  1st.,  1903        $531.37 
Deposited   during  the  inonth,  19.10 

$550.47 
Withdrawn  during  the  month,  23.88 

Cash  on  hand  December  1st.,  1903      $526.59 

f)mm  Up  the  Crevorc 

One  Wednesday  forenoon  Mr.  Bradley 
came  into  the  printing-office  and  told  George 
Burke  and  me  to  go  down  to  the  wharf  and  iielp 
pull  up  the  Trevore.  When  we  got  down  there 
the  Trevore  was  on  a  truck  and  braced  up  on 
both  sides  solid  so  it  would  not  fall  off  the  truck. 
There  were  some  chains  down  by  the  boat- 
house  and  the  instructor  in  charge  told  us  to  get 
them  and  he  with  the  help  of  a  few  other  boys 
put  them  together  so  they    would    hold.     Then 


there  was  a  new  piece  of  rope  put  on  the  end 
of  the  chain  and  a  block  and  tackle  and  two 
horses  were  hitched  to  that.  We  had  to  run 
the  boat  on  tracks  because  it  would  be  so  hard 
to  pull  it  through  the  thick  gravel.  While  do- 
ing this,  we  could  not  pull  right  ahead  because 
the  boat  would  be  liable  to  run  off  the  track;  so 
every  little  while  we  had  to  cut  it  orpry  it  either 
one  way  or  the  other  and  finally  we  got  it  up 
where  the  ground  v/as  hard.  As  soon  as  we 
got  it  up  there,  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  run  it  off 
the  track  and  then  we  could  pull  it  m.uch  easier 
than  before.  At  first  we  had  the  rope  hitched 
to  one  of  the  posts  in  the  cowyard,  but  we  saw 
that  was  giving  way  so  we  had  to  change  it. 
We  put  it  on  one  of  the  apple  trees  in  the  orchard. 
Then  ailer  the  Trevore  was  weighed,  it  was 
much  easier  to  move  it  than  before  because  we 
were  going  down  hill.  But  we  had  to  be  more 
careful  because  it  would  be  liable  to  go  down  the 
hill  so  fast  that  we  couldn't  stop  it.  We  let  it  down 
quite  slowly  and  after  we  got  it  down  there  the 
bell  rang  and  we  took  care  of  the  rope  and  chains 
and  went  up  to  the  house  to  get  ready  for  din- 
ner. George  A.  C.  McKenzie. 

marking  the  Tootball  Tieia 

One  afternoon  1  marked  the  lines  on  the 
playground  for  rugby.  There  was  a  barrel  out 
there  with  some  lime  in  it  but  I  had  to  get  some 
water  and  mix  it  with  the  lime  because  it  was 
too  thick.  I  stirred  the  lime  and  the  water 
around  until  it  was  thin  enough  to  mark  the  lines. 
Then  I  took  a  broom  and  dipped  it  into  the  lime 
that  was  in  the  barrel  and  drew  it  along  the  line. 
As  soon  as  1  used  this  lime  up,  1  got  a  wheel- 
barrow and  went  down  to  the  storage  barn  and 
got  a  bushel  box  and  then  went  back  to  the  stock 
barn  and  got  the  box  full  of  lime.  Then  1  took 
it  up  to  the  house  or  a  wheelbarrow  and  went 
out  on  to  the  playground  and  put  some  of  the 
lime  into  the  barrel  and  filled  it  most  full  of 
water  and  then  I  let  it  boil.  Then  1  finished  the 
outline  by  the  time  the  bell  rang  for  supper. 
Before  I  got  ready  for  supper,  I  took  care  of  the 
lime  that  was  in  the  bushel  box. 

Charles  H.  Whitney. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


moving  tbe  Jlnimals 

When  the  weather  began  to  get  cold  the 
aninnals  had  to  be  moved  from  Audubon  Hall 
to  the  Poultry  House.  I  got  a  small  hand-cart 
which  would  carry  six  cages  at  a  time  and  then 
had  a  fellow  help  me  take  them  to  the  Poultry 
House.  They  are  put  there  during  the  winter, 
because  there  is  a  fire  there.  After  I  got  them 
all  down  to  the  Poultry  House  I  cleaned  Audu- 
bon Hall  inside  and  outside.  Then  I  showed 
the  boy  who  had  charge  there,  how  to  take  care 
of  them  and  my  work  was  changed. 

Clarence  Taylor. 

Sizing  Up 

One  night,  Oct.  12,  Mr.  Bradley  had  the 
boys  stop  down  in  the  chapel  to  size  up.  The 
largest  boy  starts  at  number  one  and  they  go 
according  to  size  down  to  one  hundred,  if  there 
are  a  hundred  boys  in  the  School.  Mr.  Bradley 
called  the  first  fifteen  fellows  up  in  line  in  the 
back  of  the  room  and  if  a  fellow  was  larger  than 
the  one  in  front  of  him,  he  would  move  up,  and 
so  on  until  the  fellow  in  front  of  him  was  a  little 
larger  than  he.  When  all  the  fellows  were 
arranged  according  to  size,  they  took  their  seats 
according  to  number.  After  we  got  all  done, 
we  changed  the  drawers.  The  larger  boys  went 
into  the  drawer-room  first  and  took  all  thei  rthings 
and  turned  their  drawers  upside  down,  so  as  to 
empty  all  the  dirt  out.  They  put  all  the 
things  they  did  not  want  on  the  floor  in  the 
middle  of  the  room.  Then  they  brought  the 
things  into  the  chapel  and  waited  until  the 
other  boys  did  the  same.  Then  they  took  their 
drawers  according  to  number.  The  next  morn- 
ing Mr.  Morrison  told  us  to  go  into  the  wash- 
room and  take  our  toothbrushes  and  towels  out 
into  the  assembly  room.  When  this  was  done, 
he  told  us  to  take  them  back  and  put  them  in 
place  according  to  number.  Then  we  were  ready 
for  breakfast  and  changed  our  places  in  the 
dining  room.  The  taller  you  grow  the  smaller 
the  number  grows.  Harry  W.   Lake. 

Cbanksgivind  Day 

At  a  quarter  of  six  on  the  morning  of 
Thanksgiving  Day  at  the  sound  of  the  bugle, 
the  boys  jumped  out  of  bed  a  little  quicker  than 


usual  for  it  waa  the  day  they  had  long  been 
waiting  for,  and  when  they  got  into 'the  assembly 
room  everybody  was  talking  abcut  the  good 
things  they  were  to  have  that  day.  After  break- 
fast only  necessary  work  was  done  and  then  the 
boys  were  dismissed  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 
Quite  a  few  boys  got  bundles  at  9  o'clock  and  at 
10.20  the  graduates  came  up  to  the  house 
from  the  wharf  and  were  met  by  a  company 
of  boys  of  the  School.  Each  fellow  had  a  good 
thing  to  say  and  then  those  who  were  best  of 
chums  went  off  and  had  the  rest  of  the 
morning  for  a  friendly  chat.  All  the  grad- 
uates who  were  here  were  boys  who  are 
doing  well.  Dinner  soon  cam.e  and  again  the 
boys  were  sitting  at  the  table  with  a  good  dinner 
before  them  and  everybody  seemed  to  enjoy  it 
too.  Some  of  the  boys  who  got  bundles  made 
no  allowance  for  dinner,  so  they  did  not  get  the 
benefit  out  of  it  that  the  boys  did  who  did  not 
get  them.  Anyway,  all  the  boys  had  their  fill. 
Alter  dinner  the  boys  were  dismissed  from  line 
and  waited  for  the  graduates,  who  were  up  in 
the  chapel  having  their  dinner.  About  2.30  P. 
M.  the  School  team  and  the  graduates'  team 
began  to  get  ready  for  a  game  of  rugby.  At  3 
P.  M.  the  referee  cleared  the  field  of  spectators 
and  the  game  started.  The  graduates  had  a 
good  team  and  we  had  a  hard  time  of  it,  but  we 
held  them  from  getting  a  goal  in  the  first  half. 
In  the  second,  they  had  the  advantage  of  us  for 
they  weighed  about  ten  pounds  more  than  we 
did  and  were  making  for  their  goal  down  hill. 
Just  as  they  got  the  ball  on  the  goal  line  we  had 
two  and  a  half  minutes  to  play,  but  we  could 
not  hold  them  and  the  next  rush  they  landed  the 
ball  over  the  line,  and  then  the  time  was  about 
up  so  we  had  to  stop.  When  the  game  was 
over  the  graduates  were  called  up  into  the 
chapel  and  sang  and  danced  for  an  hour  and 
a  half,  and  having  enjoyed  the  day  very  much, 
they  were  taken  away  by  the  Pilgrim.  We 
had  supper  and  everybody  longed  for  bed  and 
when  the  last  note  of  the  bugle  died  out, 
everybody  hustled  into  bed  and  fell  asleep. 
Everybody  at  the  Farm  School  enjoyed  Thanks- 
giving Day.  Barney  Hill. 


THOMPSON'S  IS4_AND   BEACON 


Graduates  l^cre  on  Chanks^ivitid  Day 


Austin,   Willism 
Austin,  Ernest  W. 
Atkins,  William 
Bell,  Richard 
Bell,  George  R. 
Blanton,  Robert 
Brown,  Thomas 
Bridgham,  Charles  H. 
Buchan,  George 
Burchsted,  Fred  F. 
Carr,  William  C. 
Clattenburg,  Ernest  E. 
Conklin,  John  J. 
Curley,  Ernest 
Currier,  Dana 
Davis,  Edward  L. 
Ellis,  Howard  B. 
Ellis,   Merton  P. 
English,  Harry  A. 
English,  George  A. 
Fairbairn,  Thomas  J. 
French,  Herbert  W. 
Hamlin,  Chester  W. 
Hartman.  George  K. 
Hermann,  Walter 
Hicks,  George  E. 


Hinckley,  Howard  L. 
Horsfall,  William  A. 
Irving,  John  J. 
Johnson,  Edgar  E. 
Ladd,  Albert  H. 
Leonard,  Harry  H. 
Lundgren,  John  A. 
Lundquist,  John  T. 
Malm,  Carl  A.  H. 
May,  William  B. 
Mayott,  George 
McKenzie,   Henry  F. 
Murray,  Daniel  W. 
Noren,  George  G. 
Powers,  John  J. 
Pratt,  Joseph 
Rowell,  Willard  H. 
Snow,  William  L. 
Spear,  Charles  F. 
Steinbrick,  Carl 
Taylor,  Charles  A. 
Vinto,  L.  F. 
Waycott,  Ssmuel  A. 
Whitaker,  George  O. 
Wilson,  J.  H. 
Witt,  Lester  H. 


CbanRsdivittg 

November  is  not  the  darkest  month 

The  year  can  give  us,  dear. 
For  it  brings  the  hearts  together 

In  the  good  Thanksgiving  cheer. 
For  although  the  skies  may  darken. 

And  Nature  seems  seer  and  sad. 
There  is  sunshine  for  the  finding. 

To  make  the  heart  seem  glad. 

M.  'L.  Foster- Parker. 

K^King  Ccai^cs 

The  leaves  are  generally  used  for  bedding 
for  the  horses  and  cattle.  The  lawns  are  raked 
almost  every  day  with  a  kind  of  a  rake  called 
lawn  rake,  before  school  in  the  morning  and 
afternoon.  Mr.  Morrison  has  four  or  five  boys 
take  lawn  rakes  and  go  on  one  of  the  lawns 
where  the  leaves  are  in  the  way.  The  first  boy 
takes  a  strip  generally  with  the  wind  and  all  the 


other  boys  parallel  with  his.  After  the  leaves 
are  gathered  in  a  pile,  a  boy  gets  a  bag  and 
carries  the  leaves  down  to  the  stock  barn. 

Horace  P.  Thrasher. 

Cbe  East  Coft  lUasps 

In  the  East  Loft  there  is  a  wasps'  nest. 
This  nest  is  rather  large  and  is  located  in  a  hinge 
box.  The  wasps  had  all  gone  to  sleepfor  their 
winter  sleep  and  were  almost  dead  when  I  was 
there.  Their  nest  is  made  chiefly  of  mud,  which 
is  made  white  by  the  wasps.  There  is  also 
some  string  and  cotton  all  finely  chewed  up  and 
made  into  a  cylinder-like  form.  There  are  a 
few  grubs,  or  young  wasps  in  the  nest.  The 
nest  is  open  at  one  end  and  can  be  easily  looked 
into.  George  B.  Beetchy. 

1)U$ki!t9  €crtt 

This  morning  it  rained  so  hard  Mr.  McLeod 
set  us  to  work  husking  corn  in  the  barn.  There 
were  about  eight  boys  and  we  would  make  little 
holes  and  pile  corn  husks  on  each  side  and  then 
sit  down  and  husk.  We  husked  thirteen  bushels. 
We  had.  lots  of  fun  and  a  nice  warm  place  to 
husk  in.  Herbert  A.  Dierkes. 

Success 

Mr.  Pickles  from  South  Boston  visited  the 
School  and  gave  us  a  very  interesting  talk.  His 
subject  was  Success.  He  said  there  were  four 
I's  of  success — Integrity,  Intelligence,  Industry 
and  Intensity.  He  said  integrity  means  being 
whole  and  sound.  Intelligence,  he  said,  means 
having  brains  or  faculty  of  understanding  any- 
thing. Industry  is  being  thrifty  and  prosperous. 
always  at  work  and  intensity  is  being  enthusi- 
astic in  all  that  you  do.  He  made  very  plain 
what  true  success  is.  He  said  a  man  might  be 
as  perfect  in  physique  as  it  is  possible  for  a 
man  to  be  and  some  people  would  say,  "There 
is  a  successful  man"  ;  or  a  man  might  have  his 
brain  as  well  cultured  as  it  is  possible  for  it  to 
be,  but  he  would  not  be  a  successful  man  unless 
his  spiritual  nature  was  cultured.  He  asked 
the  boys  questions  as  he  went  along,  thus  mak- 
ing it  very  interesting.  We  enjoyed  his  talk 
very  much  and  I  hope  he  will  come  again  some- 
time. I.  Banks  Quinby. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumni 

William  I.  Peabody,  '91.  Announce- 
ment has  been  received  of  the  marriage  of  Miss 
Clara  Myrta  Jones  and  Mr.  William  Irving 
Peabody  on  Wednesday,  November  eighth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  three  at  Houston,   Texas. 

Jiluniiti  notice 

The  annual  reunion  of  the  graduates  of  the 
School  and  the  meeting  of  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion was  held  at  the  School  oji  Thanksgiving  Day. 
The  weather  was  fine  and  fifty-two  graduates 
were  present.  Mr.  Bradley  met  us  at  City 
Point  with  the  Pilgrim  and  our  old  friend 
the  John  Alden  at  ten  o'clock  and  brought 
us  over  to  the  School.  The,  Association  held 
its  meeting  soon  after  arrival.  2nd  Vice-Presi- 
dent Buchan  in  the  chair,  showed  a  very 
encouraging  report.  Thirty-one  new  members 
were  admitted,  making  the  total  membership 
105  members.  Election  of  officers  was  held, 
a  list  of  v/hich  with  Committees  for  the 
ensuing  year  follows.  After  the  meeting  we 
adjourned  to  the  Chapel  where  a  large-sized 
Thanksgiving  dinner  was  awaiting  us.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bradley  and  the  instructors  were  also 
there  to  keep  us  supplied  and  did  their  work  so 
well  we  were  forced  to  quit  eating.  This  last 
may  seem  strange  to  any  graduates  who  were 
not  here,  but  it  is  true.  After  dinner  Mr. 
Bradley  spoke  to  us  and  expressed  himself  as 
being  well  pleased  on  the  showing  the  majority 
of  the  boys  were  making  and  cited  several 
cases  where  Farm  School  boys  were  at  the 
front  in  important  places.  On  motion  of  Mr. 
Vinto,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  extended  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bradley,  the  Managers  and  all  connected 
with  making  the  day  so  pleasant  for  us.  Acting 
President  Buchan  called  on  Messrs.  Bell, 
French,  Clattenberg,  Hermann,  George  Whit- 
aker  and  Vinto  for  remarks,  after  which  we  went 
to  the  football  field.  This  year  the  Alumni 
beat  the  School  5-0  in  a  hard-fought  game  as 
the  score  was  made  in  the  last  minute  of  the 
game.  An  interesting  feature  was  that  no 
decision  of  the  referee  was  questioned.  After 
the  game  was  over,  we  went  back  to  the  Chapel 


where  dancing  and  singing  were  enjoyed. 
Messrs.  Blanton  and  Hermann  favored  us  with 
solos  and  the  boys  all  joined  in  singing  the  old 
familiar  songs.  We  arrived  at  the  Point  at 
about  quarter  of  six  and  on  the  way  back  sing- 
ing, cheering  and  repeating  the  score  gave  some 
rather  hoarse  voices.  After  more  cheers  we 
said  good-bye  and  returned  to  the  City,  having 
spent  a  most  pleasant  day  at  our  Old  Home. 
Merton  P.  Ellis. 
Officers  and  Committees  for  the  year  1903-4. 
President  Alden  B.  Hefler 

1st  Vica-President    William  L.  Snow 
2nd  Vice-President  George  Bucha^n 
Secretary  Merton  P.  Ellis 

Treasurer  Herbert  W.  French 

Historian  Richard  Bell 

Membership  Committee. 
Alden  B.  Hefler  William  L.  Snow 

George  Buchan  Merton  P.  Ellis 

Thomas  Brown  Herbert  W.  French 

Harry  A.  English  Ernest  E.  Clattenberg 

William  A.  Horsfall 
Badge  Committee. 
Alden  B.  Hefler,  Chairman 
Herbert  W.  French       Clarence  W.  Loud 
Special  Pin  Committee. 
Merton  P.  Ellis,  Chairman 
Clarence  W.  Loud         Herbert  W.  French 
Entertainment  Committee. 
Clarence  W.  Loud,  Chairman 
George  Buchan  Merton  P.  Ellis 

Auditing  Committee. 
Harry  A.  English  William  L.  Snow 

Ernest  Curley 
Special  Membership  Committee. 
Herbert  W.  French,  Chairman 
George  Buchan  Merton  P.  Ellis 

Sick  and  Visiting  Committee. 
Clarence  W.  Loud,  Chairman 
Richard  Bell  Edward  Steinbrick 

Committee  on  Resolutions. 
Alden  B.  Hefler,  Chairman 
Harry  A.  English  Merton  P.  Ellis 

Committee  on  Honorary  Members. 
Herbert  W.  French,  Chairman 
Almond  H.  Dutton         Frederick  N.  Frasier 


Vol.  7.  No.   9. 


THOMPSONJS    IkSLAND 

BEAtON 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


January,    1904. 


Entered    Novsmber  23.    1903,   at   Boston,    Mass..   as    Second-class   matter,   under  Act  of   Congress   of  July    16,    1894. 


£bri$tma$ 

Christmastide  is  a  time  looked  forward  to 
and  prepared  for  long  before  the  day  itself  oc- 
curs and  as  the  day  and  season  draws  nearer, 
every  one  is  in  a  happy  and  pleasant  frame  of  mind. 
This  is  characteristic  of  the  School;  the  boys 
are  at  work  for  weeks  and  sometimes  months 
before  Christmas,  making  or  buying  presents  for 
their  relatives  and  friends.  Our  hour  to  rise  on 
Christmas  morning  was  the  same  as  at  other 
days,  a  quarter  to  six,  but  most  of  the  boys  were 
awake  long  before  that  time,  as  is  usually  the 
case  on  holidays.  The  fellows  always  try  to 
wish  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  the  instructors 
a  "Merry  Christmas  "  first,  but  this  year  Mr. 
Bradley,  at  least,  got  ahead  of  us  by  coming 
upon  us  unexpectedly  when  we  were  all  in  the 
dining  room  at  breakfast.  We  had  the  honor 
of  having  with  us  on  the  day,  Mr.  Arthur  Adams, 
treasurer  of  the  School,  who  spoke  very  warmly 
to  us,  giving  us  much  valuable  advice,  and  all 
through  the  day,  affording  us  many  pleasures. 
About  ten  o'clock,  at  the  note  of  the  bugle,  all 
the  boys  and  instructors  assembled  in  the  chap- 
el and  then  our  presents  were  distributed.  The 
names  of  the  boys  receiving  presents  were 
called  off  by  Mr.  Bradley  and  as  the  names 
were  called  the  boys  went  up  and  got  their 
presents. 

Nearly  all  the  boys  received  presents  from 
their  relatives  or  friends  and  it  was  a  common 
incident  to  see  a  small  chap  trying  to  take  to  his 
seat  a  box  of  very  sizable  dimensions ;  and  to 
think  that  within  a  few  days  its  contents  would 
be  disposed  of !  Besides  presents  from  our  rel- 
atives, each  boy  and  instructor  received  from 
Mr.   Richard   Bell,  a  graduate  of  the  School,  a 


box  of  chocolates.  We  are  very  thankful  for  the 
gift  which  he  has  kindly  favored  us  with  in  for- 
mer years  as  well.  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Temple, 
one  of  the  managers,  sent  each  boy  a  brand  new 
one  dollar  bill.  In  previous  years  he  has  given 
us  diaries  ;  it'is  needless  to  say  that  M  r.  Temple's 
gift  was  and  is  greatly  appreciated  by  all.  Gifts 
and  good  wishes  were  sent  by  Mr.  L.  A.  Chase, 
a  friend  of  the  boys  as  well  as  the  School. 
Tokens  of  kindness  were  also  received  from  Mrs. 
Marchi  and  Mrs.  Darling,  mothers  of  boys  at 
the  School,  also  from  Mrs.  Kibbe  who  sent  a 
number  of  presents,  some  to  boys  whom  she 
knew  personally  and  others  to  be  distributed  as 
was  seen  fit.  Beside  these  presents,  each 
boy  received  a  gift  from  the  School.  In  some 
cases  these  presents  were  books,  jack-knives, 
neck-ties  or  some  other  gift,  but  most  of  the  gifts 
from  the  School  were,  as  last  year,  some  sort 
of  tool  useful  in  woodworking,  such  as  planes, 
automatic  drills,  saws,'  hammers,  spoke-shaves, 
carving  tools,  etc.  Sometimes  the  boys  try  to 
get  a  collection  of  these  tools,  as  they  are  very 
useful  and  of  great  advantage  to  boys  who  are 
interested  in  woodworking. 

After  the  presents  were  distributed,  time 
was  given  to  put  them  away,  and  then  came 
dinner.  We  were  warned  beforehand  not  to  eat 
too  heartily  of  our  bundles,  so  most  of  us  planned 
accordingly,  leaving  the  goodies  until  afterward, 
and  did  justice  to  the  dinner.  After  dinner  the 
boys  spent  most  of  the  time  between  then  and 
two  o'clock  at  their  leisure,  looking  and  talking 
over  their  presents  and  enjoying  themselves  in 
general.  At  two  o'clock  we  were  again  sum- 
moned to  the  chapel  where  we  passed  two  very 
pleasant  hours.       We  were  here  entertained  by 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


two  gentlemen,  humorists  and  impersonators. 
The  entertainment  was  enjoyed  by  all  present 
and  some  of  the  fellows  nearly  doubled  up  with 
laughter  at  the  jokes  ard  jests.  The  next  thing 
of  note  after  the  entertainment  was  supper  to 
which  little  attention  was  paid,  as  the  fellows 
were  already  so  well  posted  in  the  eatable  line 
that  it  was  hardly  possible  to  eat  much  more 
without  disagreeable  results.  Bed  time  occurred 
at  the  usual  time,  a  quarter  past  seven  o'clock, 
and  we  were  glad  to  retire  and  rest  after  having 
passed  in  pleasure  and  enjoyment  one  ol  the 
greatest  and  grandest  holidays  of  all  the  year, 
Christmas.  Frederic  P.  Thayer. 

Cow  Boys'  UlorK 

In  the  morning  when  we  go  down  to  the 
farm,  the  first  thing  1  do  is  to  get  my  overalls 
and  jumper.  Then  1  get  my  card  and  clean  off 
the  cows  and  bull.  About  a  quarter  of  ten  they 
are  let  out  in  the  yard  to  drink  and  stay 
out  half  an  hour  in  warm  weather.  While  they 
are  out  in  the  yard  1  water  the  bull  and  the 
heifers.  Then  1  sweep  the  floor  and  the  cows' 
mangers.  I  put  down  hay  for  the  horses  and 
cows.  After  that  1  fix  the  cows' bedding  Then 
the  cows  are  let  in  and  I  get  some  plaster  and 
the  barn  fellow  spreads  it  on  the  platform  in  back 
of  the  cows.  I  get  a  pail  of  water  and  some 
soap  and  wash  their  tails.  First  I  let  them  soak 
in  the  water,  then  I  sop  them  with  soap  and 
they  look  pretty  clean.  Leon  Quinby  helps  me 
in  most  all  my  work.  We  grind  mangels  after 
we  have  got  the  cows  clean. 

Philip  S.  May. 

Cowittd  tDc  Scow 

One  morning  Mr.  Bradley  told  us  steamer 
fellows  to  get  the  scow  ready  to  go  after  manure. 
When  the  scow  was  in  place,  the  steamer  took 
it  over  to  Walworth's  and  left  it  there  for  the 
farm  boys  to  fill  while  the  steamer  went  up  to 
Central  Wharf,  where  we  stayed  a  short  time. 
When  Mr.  Bradley  got  done  at  Central  Wharf 
we  came  back  and  got  the  scow  and  the  fellows 
and'towed  them  back  to  the  Island.  It  was 
quite  slow  work  coming  back,  but  we  got  here. 
Clarence  Taylor. 


Peeling  Posts 

A  few  days  ago  another  boy  and  1  had  to 
peel  the  bark  off  the  posts  that  are  to  be  used  in 
the  new  hen-yard  fence.  We  took  them  in  the 
hen  house  and  took  a  hatchet  and  draw-knife 
and  cleaned  them  off.  On  most  of  the  posts 
the  bark  was  quite  loose  and  we  could  start  it 
and  pull  it  off  with  our  hands.  After  the  bark 
was  all  peeled  off  we  took  our  hatchets  and  cut 
the  knots  off.  The  ends  of  ttie  posts  were  taired 
for  about  three  feet  from  the  end  where  they  went 
into  the  ground. 

Frederick   L.  Walker. 

mashing  mindows 

Before  we  put  on  storm  windows  for  the 
winter  we  wash  both  sets  of  windows.  We 
have  been  painting  the  house  this  fall  and  so 
the  windows  got  spattered  with  paint.  Lately 
1  have  been  washing  windows.  To  take  the 
paint  off  the  glass,  I  took  a  cloth,  put  some  tur- 
pentine on  it  and  rubbed  it  over  the  paint  and  then 
I  took  a  silver  quarter  and  scraped  off  the  paint. 
Next  I  washed  the  window  with  water  and  wiped 
it.  I  used  the  turpentine  to  soften  the  paint  and 
the  quarter  to  scrape  the  paint  off. 

Elmer  A.  Johnson. 

Giving  Out  mittens 

One  day  when  the  boys  came  out  from 
dinner,  Mr.  Morrison  told  the  boys  that  had  mit- 
tens they  could  be  dismissed  and  the  boys  that 
did  not  have  any  to  remain  in  line.  When  the 
boys  that  had  mittens  were  out  of  the  assembly 
room,  Barney  Hill  and  George  Burke  carried  a 
lot  of  mittens  down  to  the  wash-room.  Then 
Mr.  Morrison  took  a  list  of  the  boys'  names  and 
called  them  off  in  order.  The  boy  whose  name 
was  read  would  go  to  the  wash-room  door  where 
he  would  get  mittens.  Most  of  the  boys  got 
leather  ones,  but  a  few  of  the  smaller  ones  got 
woollen  ones. 

A.   Leroy  Sawyer. 


"This    world   is  a  beautiful  book,  but  of 
little  use  to  him  who  cannot  read  it.  " 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Pottiitd  ana  Caring  for  Oeraniums 

Late  last  fall  Edward  Taylor  and  ■my^elT 
got  the  geraniums  potted  and  taken  carey 
of.  The  first  thing  we  did  was  to  bake  about 
two  bushels  of  soil,  so  if  there  were  any  insects 
in  it  they  would  be  killed.  Then  we  got  over 
one  hundred  pots  ready  and  we  put  some  small 
pieces  of  pottery  or  coal  in  the  bottom  to  give 
drainage.  Then  we  put  the  plant  in  the  center  of 
the  pot  and  filled  the  pot  half  full  of  the  soil  that 
hadn't  been  baked  and  filled  it  up  to  within  one- 
half  an  inch  from  the  top  with  the  soil  that  was 
baked.  Then  we  pressed  the  soil  down  hard 
and  watered  it.  This  made  the  soil  shrink  so 
we  put  more  in.  After  we  got  all  of  the  plants 
potted  and  watered  we  took  them  down  in  the 
basement  where  it  is  warm.  The  pink  ones 
were  put  in  one  place,  the  dark  red  ones  in  an- 
other and  the  light  red  ones  in  another,  so  they 
would  not  get  mixed  up.  "After  they  were  left 
here  for  a  few  days,  they  were  put  in  boxes  a- 
bout  three  and  a  half  feet  long  lined  with  zinc 
and  placed  in  the  windows  in  the  chapel  and 
dining  room  where  they  will  get  light.  They 
are  watered  and  dug  up  around  them,  and  when 
the  pots  are  getting  fungus  or  mould  on  them 
they  are  washed  so  as  to  allow  evaporation  and 
free  access  of  air. 

Leslie  R.  Jones. 

Et^crv  Day  Caundry  Ulork 

Sundays  the  laundry  fellows  take  turns  in 
the  laundry  to  collect  the  family  laundry  and 
get  it  ready  for  Monday.  Every  morning  a 
certain  fellow  gets  up  earlier  than  the  rest  to 
tend  the  fires  and  if  we  are  going  to  scald  any- 
thing he  gets  water  on  to  boil.  Tuesdays  we 
wash  boys'  sheets  and  pillowcases.  Wednesdays 
we  do  fellows'  shirts  and  stockings  and  towels. 
Thursday  we  call  odds  and  ends  day.  We  do  the 
shop  things,  farm  overalls,  old  clothes  and  any 
other  thing  there  is  to  do.  Fridays  two  fel- 
lows take  a  turn  at  doing  the  family  table 
linen.  Saturday  is  cleaning  up  day  and  we  take 
out  the  tables  and  every  thing  that  is  movable 
and  scrub  the  walls  and  floor. 

George  I.  Leighton. 


€atcbing  a  Rabbit 

One  morning  as  I  was  screening  gravel, 
} Mr.' Morrison  and  one  of  the  boys  asked  me  to 
help  them,  as  they  said  they  were  going  after  a 
rabbit.  We  went  over  the  fields  to  the  South 
End  and  as  we  approached,  we  walked  carefully 
until  we  got  close  to  the  rabbit's  hole  and  then  we 
looked  in  and  saw  a  white  rabbit  right  near  the 
entrance.  We  knew  where  his  hole  was 
because  Mr.  Morrison  went  around  South  End 
the  first  of  the  morning  and  saw  the  hole  and 
the  rabbit.  I  then  went  upon  the  bank  and 
jumped  quite  hard  but  that  did  not  make  him 
come  out;  it  only  made  him  go  in.  So  the  other 
boy  got  a  stick  -  and  Mr.  Morrison  dug  an 
entrance  over  the  other  one.  1  reached  my 
arm  in  and  found  that  the  hole  ran  in  two 
directions.  From  the  entrance  which  Mr. 
Morrison  made,  you  could  reach  your  arm  into 
both  passages,  but  from  the  entrance  the  rabbit 
made,  you  could  not.  The  fellow  who  was  with 
us  put  his  arm  in  and  pulled  out  the  rabbit.  It 
squealed  as  he  was  pulling  it  out.  This  fellow 
was  the  curator.  The  curator  took  it  to  the 
poultry  house  where  he  killed  it,  as  it  had  a 
broken  leg.  Chester  F.  Welch. 

Cbanksgivitid  Drawings 

A  few  days  before  Thanksgiving  we  had 
drawings  put  on  the  schoolroom  blackboard. 
On  one  of  the  side  boards,  George  McKenzie 
drew  a  barn  and  a  field  with  a  fat  turkey  in  it 
and  above  it  was  written  in  orange  chalk 
"  Thanksgiving."  On  the  other  side  board  there 
were  drawn  two  pumpkins  and  right  beside 
these  a  pumpkin  in  the  shape  of  a  "jack-o-lan- 
tern"  and  a  pie  with  a  knife.  They  were 
colored  and  underneath  the  two  pumpkins  was 
the  word  "which?"  All  the  fellows  wondered 
what  it  meant.  It  was  which  pumpkin  made 
the  pie  and  which  the  jack-o-lantern. 

C.  James  Pratt. 


Human  experience,  like  the  stern-lights 
of  a  ship  at  sea,  illumines  only  the  path  which 
we  have  passed  over.  Coleridge. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


CI)omp$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A    PRIVATE    HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.  9. 


January,  1904. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 
BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

TREASURER. 

Arthur  Adams. 

SECRETARY. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  0.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
L  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


By  Hon.  John  F.  Kilton. 

Stand  by  Vour  £oior$ 

Military  colors  are  certain  kinds  of  flags 
carried  with  the  army.  In  our  own  country 
each  regiment  of  infantry  and  artillery  has  two 
colors,  one  national,  the  other  regimental, 
which  has  in  its  center  the  number  or  designa- 
tion of  the  regiment  with  its  motto,  or  crest,    if 


any,  and  around  it  are  the  names  of  the  victo- 
ries and  campaigns  in  which  the  corps  has 
served.  The  colors  symbolize  the  good  name 
and  fame  of  the  regiment  and  are,  on  that  ac- 
count, protected  in  battle  with  great  care  and 
courage.  A  victor  always  counts  among  his 
honors  the  number  of  colors  captured  from  the 
enemy.  Who  can  look  at  the  torn,  ragged, 
smoke-dimmed  and  shot-riddled  colors,  some  of 
them  dyed  with  the  life-blood  of  their  loyal  de- 
fenders, at  the  State  House,  without  having  his 
heart  stirred  by  the  most  patriotic,  sacred  and 
tender  emotions  and  memories?  Life  is  often 
compared  to  a  battle.  "  He  who  is  born  is  en- 
listed.    LIFE  IS  WAR." 

Every  boy  and  man  should  have  his  colors 
which  he  ought  to  stand  by  and  defend  bravely 
Siud  toyal/y.  These  colors  should  be  the  cardinal 
virtues  of  Fidelity,  Honesty,  Honor,  Patriotism, 
Purity  of  Speech  and  Life, Temperance, Truth- 
fulness, Religious  and  Political  Beliefs  and 
Loyalty  whenever  and  wherever  we  owe  it. 
It  requires  oft-times  more  real  courage  to  stand 
by  and  defend  our  colors  in  every-day  life  than 
bravely  to  bear  them  aloft  in  the  din  and  smoke 
of  battle.  The  cold  finger  of  ridicule,  the  sar- 
castic and  scornful  word  and  look,  the  averted 
glance,  the  fear  of  being  called  and  considered 
by  our  companions  unmanly,  are  often  more  fatal 
to  one's  colors  than  the  hot  shot  and  clash  of 
arms  on  the  field  of  conflict.  And  we  have  not 
only  the  enemies  without,  but  the  foes  within, 
to  contend  with  and  often  our  life's  conflicts 
have  to  be  fought  alone,  without  the  presence 
and  sympathy  of  those  we  love.  When  a  boy 
or  man  is  tempted  to  do  anything  wrong,  he 
should  fearlessly  stand  by  his  colors  and  defend 
them  at  whatever  cost.  By  so  doing  he  will 
prove  himself  a  true  soldier,  and  when  at  last 
he  falls,  mortally  wounded,  on  the  battlefield  of 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


life,  he  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  he  has  stood  by  his  colors  and  defended 
them  even  to  the  end,  and  will  receive  from  the 
great  Captain  of  his  Salvation,  the  blessed 
commendation.  "Well  done,  thou  good  and 
faithful  servant." 

notes 

Dec.  2.     Pilgrim  up  for  winter  sheathing. 

Dec.  3.  Covered  strawberries  for  the 
winter. 

Dec.  4.  Pilgrim  towed  a  load  of  dress- 
ing from  Walworth's. 

Franklyn  H.  Curran  and  Richard  Dwin- 
nell  left  the  School. 

Dec.  6.  Sunday.  Mr.  F.  H.  Dean  of 
Hyde  Park  spoke  on  "Three  Episodes  of  the 
Civil  War." 

Dec.  7.  A  load  of  dressing  from  Wal- 
worth's. 

Dec.  8.  Joseph  Kalberg  entered  the 
School. 

Mr.  C.  C.  Patten,  paying  teller  of  the  Old 
Boston  Bank,  gave  a  talk  on  banking  this  even- 
ing. 

Dec.    10.     Did  the  last  plowing. 

Charles  Hill  left  the  School  to  work  in 
Southbridge. 

Dec.  11.  A  lot  of  bulbs  given  the  School 
by  Schlegel  &  Fottler. 

Dec.    12.     First  skating  this  evening. 
Dec.    14.      Laid  175  feet  of  tile  drain   at 

north  end. 

Dec.  15.  Howard  L.  Hinckley  returned 
to  the  School. 

John  W.  Robblee  and  Frank  C.  Simpson 
left  the  School. 

Dec.  16.  Stereopticon  lecture  on  "The 
Land  of  Tomorrow"  by  Mr.  Frederick  G.  Raw- 
son. 

Dec.   17.     Commenced  drawing  gravel  to 

fill  up  mosquito  holes. 

Dec.  20.  Christmas  concert  this  even- 
ing. 

Rev.  Edward  E.  Ayers  spoke  to  the  boys 
at    3  P.    M.       He    was    accompanied    by  Mrs. 


Ayers  and  Mr.  and   Mrs.  James  H.  Upham. 

Dec.  21.  Planted  tulip,  hyacinth,  crocus 
and  narcissus  bulbs. 

Dec.  22.     Cleaned  the  beach. 

Horses  shod  all  round. 

Dec.  24.     Fall  term  of  school  closed. 

Dec.  25.  Holiday.  Distribution  of  pres- 
ents at  10  A.  M. 

Two  bushels  of  peanuts  received  for  the 
boys  from  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Marchi. 

Each  boy  received  a  crisp  dollar  bill  from 
Manager  Thomas  F.  Temple. 

Each  boy  and  instructor  received  a  box  of 
candy,  as  usual,  from  graduate  Richard  Bell. 

A  large  box  of  gifts  for  different  boys 
received  from  Mrs.  Kibbe  of  Somerville. 

Treasurer  Mr.  Arthur  Adams  spent  the  day 
here  and  furnished  a  very  pleasant  entertain- 
ment this  afternoon. 

Dec.  26.     Snowstorm. 

Dec.  27.  William  G.  Manchester  entered 
the  School. 

Thermometer  at  0  this  morning;  the 
first  zero  weather. 

Dec.  31.  Manager  Mr.  Thomas  F. 
Temple  with  his  friends,  Messrs.  J.  Edward 
Burtt,  O.  A.  Ward,  J.  K.  Berry  and  W.  D.  C. 
Curtis  spent  the  evening  at  the  School  and 
furnished  an  entertainment. 

Tarm  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  December  1st.,  1903        $526.59 
Deposited  during  the  month, 


152.21 


$678.80 
Withdrawn  during  the  month,  68.86 

Cash  on  hand  January  1st.  1904  $609.94 

Christmas  Concert  Programme 

Song  Choir. 

The  New  Born  Hope 
Recitation  F'''<^t^k  S.  Miley. 

The  Happy  Holiday 
Recitation  William  N.  Dinsmore. 

A  Christmas  Visit 

Song  C^oir. 

Down  The  Ages  Afar 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Exercise  Class. 

Christmas  Voices 
Recitation  Albert  W.  Hinckley. 

The  Children's  Day 
Song  Choir. 

O,  JuDAH  Sitting  in  Despair 
Recitation  Claud  W.  Salisbury. 

The  Two  Mites 
Recitation  William  E.  Proctor. 

The  Christmas  Lily 
Song  Choir. 

Christ  was  Born 
Recitation  John  J.  Emory. 

On  Christmas  Eve 
Exercise  Class. 

The  Age  of  Santa  Claus 
Song  Choir. 

Song  of  Gladness 
Recitation  George  B.  Beetchy. 

Hark,  the  Christmas  Bells 
Recitation  Barney  Hill. 

Christmas  Carol 
Song  Choir. 

O,  Beautiful  Angels 
Recitation  Leonard  S.  Hayden. 

The  Little  Fir  Tree 
Recitation  Robert  H.  Bogue. 

Constant  Christmas 
Song  Cho\r. 

Rejoice,  O  Chosen  City 
Exercise  Class. 

The  Prophetic  Heralds 
Song  Choir. 

Herald  of  Glorious  Day 
Recitation  George  A.  C.  McKenzie. 

The  Prophetic  Star 
Exercise  Class. 

The  Four  Stars 
Song  Choir. 

O,  Shining  Star 
Recitation  /.  Banks  Quinby. 

The  Matchless  Gifts 

Song  Choir. 

Bow  THE  Knee 


RaitK  in  Classes 

The  following  named  boys  ranked  first  and 
second  respectively  in  their  classes  for  the  fall 
term :  — 

First  Class 
Frank  S.  Miley  Carl  L.  Wittig 

Second  Class 
Louis  P.  Marchi  Herbert  J.  Phillips 

Third  Class 
Charles  W.  Watson  Albert  Probert 

Fourth  Class 
Foster  B.  Hoye  C.  Clifton  Wright 

Fifth  Class 
Charles  F.  Reynolds  Alfred  W.  Jacobs 

Sawing  Ulood 

Days  when  it  is  wet  or  cold  so  you  can't 
work  out  side  very  well,  Mr.  McLeod  tells  some 
of  us  farm  boys  to  saw  wood.  Each  fellow 
takes  a  buck-saw,  except  two  who  take  the  large 
cross-cut.  We  go  down  to  the  lumberyard  and 
get  a  saw-horse  and  then  go  and  get  a  piece  of 
wood  to  saw.  The  wood  is  sawed  up  into  the 
length  of  a  barrel  stave  and  then  if  it  needs 
splitting,  some  fellow  splits,  then  it  is  piled  up  in 
tiers.  The  tiers  are  about  twenty  feet  long,  two 
and  a  half  wide,  and  about  six  feet  high.  This 
is  used  for  the  bakery.  Some  wood  is  cut  for 
the  farm  house,  this  being  about  a  foot  long. 
The  fellows  at  the  cross-cut  saw,  saw  all  the  big 
logs.  Occasionally  some  fellow  takes  a  cart 
and  collects  this  wood  from  the'beach  as  a  great 
deal  comes  in  with  the  tide.  Most  of  the  fellows 
like  to  saw  wood. 

William  C.  J.   Frueh. 

Skatiitd  Pond 

Our  skating  pond  is  situated  about  one 
hundred  feet  from  the  storage  barn.  The  first 
thing  we  do  when  we  want  to  flood  it  is  to  pick  up 
all  thestones  and  sticks.  Then  we  get  about  two 
loads  of  clay  to  put  around  the  trap  to  keep  the  salt 
water  out  of  the  pond.  We  generally  begin  to 
flood  the  pond  Saturday  afternoon  about  four 
o'clock.  We  use  ten  lengths  of  fire  hose  and  let 
the  water  run  all  night  and  all  day  Sunday.  Then 
if  good  cold  days  come  it  is  soon  ready  for  use. 
And  what  fun  we  have  playing  hockey  I 

Charles  A.  Blatchford. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cutting  Tccd 

One  day  I  was  husking  corn  when  Mr. 
Vaughan  told  me  to  go  down  and  get  Dan  and 
bring  him  up  to  the  horse-power.  He  put  Dan 
in  and  fastened  the  bar  and  told  me  to  get  the 
corn  scatterings  and  bring  them  to  him  while  he 
put  them  into  the  cutting  machine  to  make  cut- 
feed  for  the  cows.  Another  boy  had  to  shove  it 
down  the  trough.  It  was  hot  work,  the  sweat 
was  dropping  off  me,  we  had  to  work  so  fast  to 
keep  up  with  Dan.  We  cut  a  bin  full  that  morn- 
ing. When  the  bell  rang  he  took  the  horse  out 
and  told  me  to  take  him  down  to  his  stall  and  tie 
him  there.  1  did  so  and  went  up  to  the  house. 
Donald  W.  Roby. 

making  a  Sign-board  in  Sioyd 

First  I  drew  the  model,  then  1  made  out  a 
lumber  order,  telling  what  it  was  for,  itsfinished 
dimensions,  and  its  rough  dimensions,  then  the 
date  and  my  name.  I  gave  it  to  the  sloyd 
teacher  ana  he  gave  me  the  wood.  1  planed 
it  on  the  top,  the  sides  and  the  bottom.  Then 
he  told  me  to  draw  the  end  of  the  sign-board 
on  the  wood  and  take  a  turning-saw  and  saw  the 
curved  ends.  When  1  got  that  done,  he  said 
to  get  a  file  and  file  the  ends.  Then  he  said 
to  draw  a  straight  line  in  the  middle  of  the 
board.  I  got  a  bit  and  bit-stock  and  bored  a 
hole  half  way  through,  then  turned  the  wood 
the  opposite  side  up  and  bored  a  hole  right 
through,  to  put  the  iron  through  to  stick  in  the 
ground.  Then  1  sand-papered  it  and  wrote  my 
name  on  it  and  put  it  on  his  desk. 

Harry  W.   Lake. 

farm  mork 

I  am  a  farm  boy  in  the  morning.  The 
first  thing  1  do  after  breakfast  is  to  go  down  to 
the  barn  and  put  on  some  overalls  and  then  Mr. 
McLeod  tells  me  what  to  do.  I  pile  wood 
sometimes.  One  day  I  picked  up  stones  in 
the  garden  and  put  them  in  a  pile.  There  were 
six  other  boys  helping  me.  Some  of  the  stones 
we  couldn't  pick  up  and  Mr.  McLeod  came 
around  with  a  pick-ax  and  got  them  up.  We 
took  two  rows  apiece  and  while  I  was  doing  the 
tenth  row,  the  bell  rang  and  we  went  up  to 
dinner.  J.   Herbert  M.   Nelson. 


Emptying  Sacks  of  Bran 

One  morning  Mr.  McLeod  told  another 
boy  and  me  to  take  care  of  some  bran.  We 
put  on  some  overalls  and  went  into  the  bran- 
room  and  began  to  work.  First  we  untied  the 
strings  that  held  the  mouth  of  the  bags  to- 
gether. We  both  took  hold  of  a  bag  and  lifted 
it  so  one-half  of  it  would  be  over  the  edge  of 
the  bin  and  then  dumped  the  bran  out  into  the 
bin.  We  dumped  all  the  bags  by  half  past  ten. 
I  cleaned  the  bags  and  the  room  out  and  the 
other  boy  worked  some  where  else  until  it  was 
time  to  get  ready  for  dinner.  Each  bag  weighed 
one  hundred  pounds. 

John  F.  Nelson. 

Shining  Brass 

One  day  in  the  afternoon,  an  hour  and  a 
half  before  school,  Mr.  Bradley  sent  nine  boys 
down  to  the  wharf  and  soon  after  he  came 
down  and  gave  us  work  to  do.  He  told  some 
of  us  to  come  down  on  the  float.  This  was  the 
south  side  float  and  he  gave  us  some  waste  to 
shine  brass  with.  One  of  the  boys  got  into  the 
launch  to  shine  the  brass  there  and  Mr.  Bradley 
sent  me  to  help  him.  The  others  stayed  on 
the  float  and  they  had  to  shine  a  lantern,  a  horn, 
some  oil-cans  and  the  polish  can.  That  can 
held  the  stuff  that  we  had  to  shine  the  brass 
with.  We  two  that  were  in  the  launch  had  to 
shine  the  two  steering  wheels  and  the  chains. 
Soon  afterward  Mr.  Bradley  told  us  to  go  up 
on  the  wharf  and  he  gave  one  boy  charge  of  us 
while  we  marched  up  to  the  house  to  get  ready 
for  supper. 

Edward  'Capaul. 

Burning  Out  Paint  Pots 

One  day  another  boy  and  I  had  to  burn 
out  paint  pots.  We  got  about  fifteen  pots  and 
got  three  of  them  full  of  shavings  and  carried 
them  over  the  bank.  We  kindled  a  small  fire 
out  of  the  shavings  and  a  few  pieces  of  wood 
and  then  put  on  all  the  pots  the  fire  would  hold. 
As  soon  as  one  was  all  burnt  out  we  would  take 
it  and  scrape  the  burnt  paint  off  and  then  sand- 
paper it  so  as  to  make  a  nice  clean  pot  which 
can  be  used  for  some  more  paint. 

Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


JVlumni 

Charles  Evans,  '66,  from  the  time  of 
his  discharge  from  the  School  to  1872  was  an 
assistant  in  the  Boston  Atheneum.  Later  he 
did  excellent  work  as  librarian  of  the  Indian- 
apolis PubHc  Library.  In  1887  he  reclassified 
the  Omaha  Public  Library  and  in  1897  he  was 
reorganizing  the  library  of  McCornish  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  in  its  then  new  home  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Library  Building.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  American  Library  Association 
and  has  recently  published  the  most  important 
bibliographical  work  of  American  literature, 
which  is,  "A  chronological  dictionary  of  all  the 
books,  pamphlets  and  periodical  publications 
printed  in  the  United  States  of  America  from 
the  genesis  of  printing  in  l639  down  to  and  in- 
cluding the  year  1820  with  bibliographical  and 
biographical  notes." 

Cbc  Infirmary  Tund 

When  the  repairs  and  adaitions  to  the 
main  building  were  under  way  last  year,  Mr. 
Clarence  W.  Loud,  one  of  our  graduates,  wishing 
to  be  of  some  service  to  the  School,  conceived 
the  idea  and  enthusiastically  carried  out  a  plan 
to  furnish  as  far  as  possible  the  Infirmary,  which 
was  then  but  just  begun. 

This  is  a  large  room  which  extends  the 
whole  width  of  the  northeast  wing  on  the  fourth 
floor,  designed,  with  the  adjoining  rooms,  for 
pupils  in  case  of  sickness  whom  we  might  wish 
to  isolate.  It  is  finished  in  natural  wood,  has 
windows  on  three  sides,  and  is  furnished  with 
six  hospital  beds,  chairs,  table  and  clothes  racks. 
Adjoining  is  the  nurse's  room,  cupboards  for 
medicine  and  a  large  bath  with  modern  plumb- 
ing. This  was  a  most  commendable  act  of 
Clarence's  and  we  appreciate  his  efforts  as  well 
as  the  kindness  of  the  other  graduates  who  have 
thus  shown  their  good  will  and  interest  in  the 
School.     The  result  was  as  follows: 

List    of  Subscriptions  to  Infirmary    Fund. 


Arthur  Fearing 

5.00 

George  Taylor 

1.00 

Richard  Bell 

1.00 

Thomas  Brown 

1.00 

John  P.  Ackers         (deceased) 

5  00 

James  Graham 

1.00 

William  G.  Cummings 

1.00 

G.  E.  Bridgham 

5.00 

C.  A.  H.  Malm 

1.00 

H.  E.  Brenton 

10.00 

E.   Clattenberg 

2.00 

G.  W.  E.  Byers 

1.00 

T.  J.  Evans 

1.00 

C.  W.  Loud 

1.00 

Fred  Hill 

2.00 

Herbert  Pulson 

1  00 

E.  Favier 

2.00 

L.  S.  Kenfield 

5.00 

Howard  Ellis 

1.00 

Merton   Ellis 

1.00 

Walter  Hermann 

1.00 

H.  A.  English 

1.00 

Silas  Snow 

1.00 

W.  A.  Horsfall 

7.00 

George  Mayott 

1.50 

A.  H.  Ladd 

1.50 

Dana  Currier 

1.00 

H.  W.  French 

2.00 

F.  W.  Pearson 

2.00 

Lester  H.  Witt 

2.00 

Friend 

20.00 

Williain   L.  Snow 

2.00 

H.  L.  Hinckley 

.50 

George  E.  Hart 

1. 00 

Carl  Steinbrick 

.50 

L.  F.  Vinto 

1.00 

G.  B.  Whittaker 

1.00 

C.  H.  Bridghain 

3.00 

tf 


$108.00 


S.  B.  Holman 
A.  B.  Hefler 
John  Shaw 


$  1.00 

1.00 

10.00 


"  The  good  to  others  kindness  show, 

And  frotn  them  no  return  exact ; 
The  best  and  greatest  men,  they  know. 
Thus  ever  nobly  love  to  act.  " 


THOMPSON 


Vol.  7.  No.    10. 


B£m:on 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


February,  1904. 


Entered   November   23,    1903,   at    Boston.   Mass. ,   as   Second-class     matter,   under    Act  of   Congress   of  July   16,    1894. 


Press  iUOrK  are  winter  and  summer  rollers,  the  winter  rollers 

We  have  two  presses,  one  a  Colt's  Amory  being  softer.      If   you    use    the    hard   summer 

Universal     and    the    other    a     Ben     Franklin  rollers  in  winter  they  will  not  take  the  ink   very 

Gordon.     I  work  quite  a   good    deal  with    the  well.     The  gauges    are  put  on  the  tympan    top 

presses.      There    are    a    good    many  different  sheet  so  you  can  get  the  right  space   from    the 

kinds  of  jobs   that  we  do.      There  are  printing  margin  of  the  paper  and  so  that  you  can  get  the 

envelopes,     printing    bill-heads,  cards,    folders  job      straight    on     the     paper.         There     are 

and  different  kinds  of  jobs  on    common    paper,  two    bottom     gauges    and     one    side     gauge. 

There    are    quite  a  number  of  kinds  of   paper.  When     you     are      feeding      the     paper     into 

Some  paper  is  harder  to  make    ready    on    and  the    press   you    put    the    paper  on  the   bottom 

some  easier.     There  are  the   envelopes    which  gauges  and  then   slide    it  up    against    the    side 

are  made  of  a  number  of  kinds  of  paper  and  bill-  gauge.       It    then    prints  and    when    the    press 

heads    which     are     usually     Our     Own     Mills  comes  open  again  you  pull  the  printed  sheet  out 

paper.     There  are  cards  to    be    printed    on    a  and  put  a  fresh  one    in.       A    half-tone   or    cut 

good  many  different  kinds  of  stock,  some  thick-  which  is  really  a  picture,  needs  to  be  printed  on 

er  than  others  and  some  of  better  stock.       The  very  smooth  paper,  and  is  printed  on  coated  or 

first  thing  in  making  ready  a  job  is   to    regulate  glazed  paper  which  is  the  smoothest  made.     In 

the  fingers,  (which  are  pieces  of  steel  to    hold  order  to  make  a  half-tone    show    out    well   you 

the  paper  in  place  while  it  is  being  printed)    so  have  to  cut  out  on    the    tympan   all    the    white 

that  they  will    not    strike    the    type    or  gauges,  places  like  the  sky,  houses,  etc..  to  make  it  show 

which  they  would  flatten  if  they  did  strike.     The  to  the  best  advantage- and  put    on    an  underlay, 

next  thing  is  to  regulate  the  impression,  so  that  which  is  a  piece  of  paper  or    cardboard    placed 

when  you  print  your  job  it  will    show    out   good  under  the  type  or  cut  to  even  up  the  impression, 

without  punching  through  the  paper.     The  type  We  put  a  piece    of    paper    over   every   printed 

or  plate  or  whatever  you   are    printing    the   job  sheet  to  prevent  it  from  off-setting  on  the  back 

with  is  not  always  exactly  even    and   you    have  of  the  next  one.     We  generally    let    them   dry 

to  paste  paper  on  the  bottom  of  the    form,   so  for  about  two  days  as  they  take  longer  to  dry  than 

it   will  bring  up  the  low  places  in  the  form   and  other  matter.     There    are    fountains  on    each 

make  it  even.     Or  you  can   put  a  patch  on  the  press  to  keep    them    supplied   with    ink.      We 

tympan  which  will  have  the  same  effect.      The  print  all  our  larger  jobs  like   the  Beacon   in  the 

tympan  is  the  sheets  of  paper  that  you   put    on  Universal  press  and  the  smaller   jobs   such    as 

the  platen  to  regulate  the  impression  by.      The  envelopes  and  bill-heads  in    the    Ben    Franklin 

tympan  top  sheet  is  the  clean  sheet  that  goes  on  Gordon.     We  have  a   paper  cutter  with  a  blade 

top  to  feed  the  job  onto.    There  are  the  good  and  twenty-five  inches  long   which   we  cut  all   our 

bad  of  everything  and  there  are  the  good  and  bad  paper  with.     The  average  size  of   our   paper  is 

of  ink.     If  you  have  good  rollers  you  can  make  seventeen  by    twenty-two    and    is     twenty-four 

the  job  fully  twenty-five  percent  better.    There  pound  weight.  I.  Banks  Quinby. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


CaKing  in  1)0$c 

One  morning  Mr.  Morrison  told  another 
boy  and  me  to  go  down  to  the  skating  pond  and 
take  in  the  hose  which  was  used  for  flooding 
the  pond  the  night  before.  We  took  two 
spanners,  also  two  wheelbarrows  and  went 
down  and  uncoupled  the  hose.  We  had 
to  roll  it  up  as  we  took  it  apart,  because  it 
would  freeze  if  we  didn't.  After  we  had  taken 
it  apart  and  rolled  it  up  we  gathered  it  and  put 
it  in  our  wheelbarrows.  We  carried  it  to  the 
west  basement  where  we  stretched  it  out  to  dry. 
We  had  two  loads  apiece  and  it  took  us  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour. 

Frederic  C.  Welch. 

Skating  in  tM  Bcning 

Lately  we  have  had  pretty  fair  skating  and 
all  who  were  in  the  first  grade  have  been  allowed 
to  go  skating  in  the  evening  between  seven  and 
nine  o'clock.  This  is  one  of  the  advantages  a 
first-grader  has  over  a  second-grader.  The 
boys  going  skating  at  night  always  line  up  and 
receive  instructions  from  the  instructor  in 
charge.  Usually  two  boys  are  put  in  charge,  so 
they  are  responsible  for  any  accidents  on  the 
pond.  We  take  a  few  lamps  from  the  assembly 
room  and  place  them  where  they  will  be  to  the 
best  advantage  to  us  and  still  be  out  of  the  way 
of  those  skating.  We  have  different  kinds  of 
sport,  such  as  snapping  the  whip,  tag  and  races. 
We  have  some  good  skaters  among  the  boys 
and  some  especially  good  ones  among  the  in- 
structors. 

Barney  Hill. 

Cbanging  Seats  in  School 

At  the  beginning  of  each  term  the  boys 
have  a  chance  to  change  their  seats.  The  boy 
who  ranks  first  has  his  pick.  He  generally  takes 
a  back  seat  but  occasionally  a  front  one  is  chosen. 
The  fellow  who  ranks  second  next  takes  his  pick 
and  so  on  throughthe  class.  After  the  boys  change 
their  seats,  the  desk  and  chair  have  to  be  regu- 
lated and  fitted  to  each  boy.  The  last  two  rows  of 
seats  have  desks  on  which  the  cover  can  be 
raised  and  these  are  tried  for  in  preference  to 
the  others. 

Carl  L.  Wittig. 


Cbc  milkers  mork 

We  milk  at  five  in  the  morning  and  five 
at  night.  In  the  morning  when  we  get  up  we 
go  down  stairs  and  put  on  our  shoes  and 
wash.  The  milk  pails  are  in  the  kitchen 
and  we  take  them  down  to  the  barn.  There 
are  four  strainers  and  six  milk  pails.  When 
we  get  down  to  the  barn  we  put  on  our  over- 
alls and  each  boy  has  certain  cows  to  milk. 
There  are  four  milkers.  One  other  boy  and 
I  have  six  cows  and  the  others  have  five.  Most 
always  I  get  through  first  and  so  it  was  given  to 
me  to  feed  the  calves.  After  I  milk  the  cows  1  get 
a  wooden  bucket  and  give  each  of  the  calves  six 
pounds  of  milk.  There  are  four  calves,  one  a 
thoroughbred  Guernsey  and  one  a  thoroughbred 
Jersey  and  the  other  two  are  crossbreed. 

Ralph   P.   Ingalls. 

B  (Uinter  Scene 

Mr.  Bradley  has  a  picture  of  Boston  Harbor 
in  1844  which  he  had  in  the  schoolroom  so  the 
boys  would  have  a  chance  .to  look  at  it.  The  har- 
bor is  all  frozen  so  that  the  Cunarders  can  not  go 
out.  Then  the  owners  of  the  Company  said 
they  would  go  to  New  York.  This  would  ruin 
the  trade  of  the  merchants  of  Boston.  So  they 
all  got  together  and  tried  to  think  of  some  plan 
that  would  have  the  Cunarders  come  here  just 
the  same.  They  at  last  agreed  to  cut  a  canal 
one  hundred  feet  wide  and  seven  miles  long 
through  the  ice.  This  they  did  after  a  hard 
time  and  the  boats  continued  to  come  here.  In 
the  picture  the  first  Cunarder  is  going  out,  flags 
are  waving  and  there  is  great  rejoicing. 

Charles  W.  Watson. 

Coasting 

We  have  had  lots  of  snow  lately  and  there 
has  been  good  coasting.  When  we  are  dis- 
missed, we  ask  the  instructor  in  charge  of  us  if 
we  can  go  coasting.  If  he  says  we  may  we  rush 
down  and  get  a  toboggan  or  a  sled  and  start  to 
coast.  The  best  place  to  coast  is  from  the  back 
road  down  over  the  east  dike  and  out  onto  the  ice. 
We  have  had  a  toboggan  chute  and  some  would 
start  up  where  the  chute  is  so  as  to  go  farther. 
William  N.  Dinsmore. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Caying  and  Tittishing  tfte  Office  Ticor 

After  the  office  floor  lining  had  been  swept, 
one  of  the  fellows  started  to  lay  the  floor.  The 
nn.ain  office  is  twenty-two  feet  long  and  sixteen 
feet  wide.  The  private  office  is  sixteen  feet 
long  and  ten  feet  wide.  The  floor  boards  are 
two  and  one-half  inches  wide  and  have  tongue 
and  groove.  It  is  a  hard  pine  floor.  First 
there  was  a  border  five  boards  wide  laid  all 
around  the  room.  Then  the  boards  were  laid 
lengthwise  of  the  room.  When  the  floor  was 
a  little  more  than  half  done  I  had  to  start  plan- 
ing it  smooth.  1  planed  part  of  the  border  and 
then  I  had  to  start  planing  the  private  office 
floor.  This  floor  runs  crosswise  so  as  to  run 
straight  with  the  other  one.  After  the  floor 
was  planed  it  was  scraped  and  sandpapered. 
We  had  a  box  with  sand-paper  glued  on  the 
bottom.  It  had  about  a  dozen  v/indow  weights 
in  the  bottom  and  had  a  handle  on  it,  so  we 
could  push  it  back  and  forth.  Then  the  floor 
was  oiled  and  shellacked,  and  afterwards  it  is  to 
be  varnished. 

Frederick   L.   Walker. 

Down  in  the  -field  we  have  a  toboggan 
chute.  It  is  a  wooden  affair,  four  feet  wide  by 
about  fifty  feet  long.  It  is  mounted  on  wooden 
supports  and  slopes  at  an  angle  of  about  thirty- 
five  degrees.  It  is  to  give  the  toboggan  a  good 
start  down  hill.  The  hill  is  quite  long  and  we 
boys  have  fine  times.  We  can  go  coasting  every 
day,  provided  we  are  in  the  right  grades,  the 
first  grade  going  every  day  and  the  second  every 
other  day.  Then  the  boys  go  "over  the  bank" 
as  they  call  it.  The  bank  is  a  high  dike  or  wall 
along  the  beach.  It  is  almost  perpendicular 
and  the  boys  go  right  down  it  and  out  onto  the 
ice.  You  are  kind  of  "skeery"  the  first  time,  but 
after  you  go  down  a  couple  of  times  you  get 
used  to  it.  The  toboggan  is  the  only  suitable 
thing  that  will  go  over  ^he  bank,  for  you  be- 
gin to  slide  and  before  you  know  it  you  are 
dropping.  The  dropping  part  is  the  only  real 
shake-up. 

George  B.  Beetchy. 


Some  Winter  farm  mork 

The  big  job  in  winter  on  the  farm  generally 
is  to  shovel  snow  or  to  saw  wood.  I  think 
shoveling  snow  into  the  wsgors  to  be  carried 
away  is  a  good  job.  If  you  don't  keep  working 
hard  you  will  get  cold.  Mr.  McLeod  told  us  if 
our  hands  got  cold  to  slap  them  together  to 
warm  them  up  and  if  our  feet  got  cold  to  run 
around  and  stamp  them  hard.  I  don't  think 
there  is  any  danger  of  freezing.  If  there  is  any 
wind,  the  fellow  that  is  shoveling  against  the 
wind  generally  gets  a  shower  bath.  When  we 
saw  wood,  we  go  down  to  the  wood-pile  by  the 
old  barn  and  get  our  saw-horses  reaay.  Oak  or 
hard  wood  has  to  be  sawed  in  sixteen-inch 
lengths  and  the  other  wood  in  barrel-stave 
length.  When  we  saw  wood,  whoever  has 
charge  of  us  has  two  fellows  take  the  cross-cut 
saw  and  saw  the  large  logs.  When  these  logs 
are  sawed,  another  boy  splits  them.  At  about 
ten  minutes  past  eleven,  Mr.  McLeod  has  us 
clean  up  all  around  and  have  the  place  looking 
clean  for  the  afternoon  boys.  Then  we  march 
up  to  the  barn.  By  the  time  we  get  there  the 
bell  is  ringing. 

Charles  A.   McEacheren. 

maKitid  a  CoDoggan  £oa$t 

Awhile  ago  Mr.  Morrison  told  a  number  of 
fellows  and  myself  to  get  shovels  and  line  up. 
Then  he  told  us  to  go  out  on  the  front  lawn 
where  there  was  a  lot  of  snow.  Then  we  put 
our  shovels  down  and  began  to  tramp  down  a 
place  about  as  wide  as  a  toboggan.  After  we 
had  been  tramping  awhile  he  sent  two  fellows 
after  a  toboggan.  When  they  got  it  he  told 
a  few  fellows  to  take  hold  of  the  rope  and  a  few 
to  get  on  the  toboggan  and  get  pulled  down  a 
few  times.  After  awhile  the  coast  got  so  good 
that  the  fellows  pulling  the  toboggan  had  to 
jump  out  from  in  front  of  it  or  they  would  get 
run  over  or  thrown  into  the  snow  drifts.  Mr. 
■Morrison  has  been  improving  the  coast  by 
making  a  wooden  chute  and  putting  snow  on  it. 
The  front  lawn  is  a  good  place  to  coast  because 
it  is  so  steep. 

William   E.   Proctor. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cboiiip$oii'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.    10. 


February,  1904. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Eben  Bacon. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
L  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


One  of  the  grandest  signs  of  the  times  is 
the  spirit  of  helpfulness  that  prevails  among  us. 
This  is  conspicuously  shown  in  the  means  pro- 
vided for  the  moral  and  intellectual  training  of 
the  young.  A  liberal  education  is  within  the 
reach  of  every  ambitious  youth. 

For  the  moral  side  of  the  nature,  every 
care  is  taken  to  surround  the  young  with  proper 


influences  and  to  guide  them  aright,  and  if  any 
become  law-breakers,  they  are  placed  where 
there  is  every  inducement  to  reform. 

Yet,  hopeful  as  these  conditions  appear, 
there  is  a  warning  to  be  sounded.  It  is  a 
weakness  of  human  nature  to  undervalue  that 
which  is  freely  provided,  and  where  so  much 
aid  is  given,  there  is  danger  that  the  pupil  may 
make  only  a  weak  effort,  or  that  he  may  entirely 
fail  to  improve  his  opportunities. 

Self-help  is  of  more  importance  than  any 
outside  assistance,  and  we  become  strong  bodily, 
mentally  and  morally,  only  by  our  own  efforts. 

Persons  who  are  abrupt  in  actions,  hasty 
in  temper,  unguarded  in  speech,  or  who  cannot 
concentrate  thought  or  effort  upon  one  thing,  are 
said  to  be  undisciplined.  It  is  not  meant  by 
this  that  they  have  not  been  properly  trained  by 
others,  but  that  they  have  weakness  of  will- 
power.    They  lack  self-control,  self-discipline. 

Weak  and  vicious  habits  can  be  corrected 
by  patient  and  continued  effort. 

By  yielding,  we  weaken  our  moral  fibre,  but 
every  time  we  resist  temptation  we  become 
stronger  until  resistance  becomes  a  fixed  habit. 

Work  and  study  may  seem  irksome,  but  if 
instead  of  shirking,  we  attack  them  with  a  will, 
the  time  will  come  when  we  will  regard  them  as 
pleasure  rather  than  tasks. 

We  admire  the  self-made  man  because  by 
sheer  force  of  character  he  has  overcome 
poverty  and  lack  of  early  training,  and  has 
risen  to  a  high  position.  Now  that  education 
is  free  to  all,  the  student  of  today  must  be  just 
as  eager,  just  as  earnest  in  improving  his 
opportunities,  if  he  would  rise  above  the  common 
level. 

The  grand  truth  for  the  student  to  learn  is 
that  teachers,  schools  and  all  educational  appli- 
ances, form  the  ladder,  but  it  is  only  by  his  own 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


efforts  that  he  can  mount,  and  a  lesson  for  every 
one  is  that  by  self-discipline  we  become  well- 
poised,  self-reliant,  and  therefore  strong  in  the 
control  of  our  thoughts,  words  and  actions. 

Mr.  W.  Graydon  Stetson  of  Newark,  N. 
J.,  who  has  very  kindly  remembered  the  School 
at  different  times,  in  renewing  his  subscription  to 
the  Beacon  writes. 

■'As  you  will  see  from  the  heading,  I  am 
no  longer  a  resident  of  Boston,  although  I  must 
confess  that  I  long  for  power  claimed  by  the 
Hindoos  that  I  might  project  my  astral  body  to 
the  city  of  my    birth    and    establish    a    sort   of 

psychic   residence  there Since  I    was  a 

child  the  School  has  had  my  best  wishes. 

notes 

Jan.  1.  Brick  came  for  fireplace  in  the 
office. 

Jan.  2.      Finished   painting  drawer  room. 

Jan.  3.      No  crossing. 

Very  bad  storm  raged  all  night  and  part  of 
to-day. 

Jan.  4.  Two  degrees  below  zero  this  morn- 
ing and  at  zero  nearly  ail  day. 

Jan.  5.  Temperature  same  this  morning 
as  yesterday. 

Cottage  Row  citizens  held  their  regular 
quarterly  election  of  officers  which  resulted  as 
follows:  — 

Mayor,  William  J.  Flynn;  Aldermen,  Louis 
E.  Means,  Barney  Hill.  Clarence  H.  DeMar, 
George  A.  C.  McKenzie,  Frank  S.  Miley;  As- 
sessor, Harris  H.  Todd;  Treasurer,  Albert  W. 
Hinckley;  Judge,  Edward  B.  Taylor.  The  Mayor 
appointed  as  Chief  of  police,  Carl  L.  Wittig; 
Clerk.  Leslie  R.  Jones;  Street  Commissioner, 
Jacob  Glutt;  Curator,  Ralph  O.  Anderson  ;  Libra- 
rian, C.  James  Pratt;  Janitor,  Ernest  N. 
Jorgensen;  The  Chief  of  police  appointed  as 
his  patrolmen,  George  F.  Burke,  Warren  H. 
Bryant,  Clarence  Taylor,  Walter  D.  Norwood' 
and  Chester  F.  Welch. 

Jan.  9.  Finished  painting  double  farm 
wagon. 

Pilgrim  made  the  first  trip   to    the    Point 


since  the  2nd. 

Heavy  fall  of  snow  last  night  and  snowed  a 
little  all  day. 

Jan.  10.  Sunday.  Rev.  William  Byron 
Forbush  spoke  this  afternoon  at  three  o'clock 
on  Being  Sunny. 

Jan.  12.  Earl  and  Ralph  Marshall  entered 
the  School. 

Jan.  13.      Rained  most  all  day. 

Jan.  14.  Guernsey  calf  received  from  Mr. 
Eben  Bacon. 

Jan.  16.  Books  received  for  library  from 
Mr.  Albert  E.  Shipman,  fourteen  volumes. 

Jan.  17.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Huxtable 
spoke  at  3  P.  M. 

Conduct  prizes  awarded  in  chapel  this 
evening. 

Graduate  Ernest  W.  Austin  spent  the  day 
at  the  School. 

Jan.  19.  Coldest  day  of  the  season  thus 
far  with  us,  4  below  zero. 

Jan.  20.      Drew  sand  for  mortar. 

Jan.  29.      Drew  gravel  for  new  kitchen  floor. 

The  full  farm  squad  shovelled  snow  fifteen 
days  during  the  month. 

Tdrm  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  January  1st.,  1904  $609.94 

Deposited  during  the  month,  46.30 


$656.24 
21.57 

$634.67 


Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  February  1st.  1904 

Carrying  Jlway  Snow 

Nearly  every  day  Mr.  Morrison  tells  a  lot 
of  boys  to  get  wheelbarrows  and  shovel  snow 
into  them  and  take  it  over  the  bank.  Some- 
times some  fellows  have  to  take  the  blue  cart 
and  wheel  it  away  in  that.  Some  fellows  fill  the 
cart  and  about  five  others  carry  it  down  into  one 
of  the  fields  where  it  will  be  out  of  the  way. 
The  snow  is  frozen  in  some  places  and  we  have 
to  take  a  mattock  and  cut  it  first.  The  snow 
that  is  frozen  comes  out  in  cakes  and  has  to  be 
carried  away  on  a  toboggan. 

Charles  H.  O'Conner. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Conduct  Prizes 

The  semi-annual  distribution  of  the  Shsw 
Prizes,  the  Temple  Consolation  Prizes  and 
Honorable  Mention  for  the  half  year  ending 
January,  1904.  took  place  Sunday  evening 
January  17th  in  Chapel.  The  Shaw  Prizes  con- 
sist of  money;  $25,  ranging  in  amounts  from  five 
dollars  to  one  dollar.  The  Temple  Consolation 
Prizes  are  books.  The  award  of  these  prizes 
is  based  upon  our  grade  system  of  marking. 
The  list  in  order  of  rank  follows:  — 

Shaw  Prizes 
1,  Foster  B.  Hoye  2,  Edward  B.  Taylor 

3,  Charles  W.  Russell  4,  Barney  Hill 
5,  George  F.  Burke       6,  I.  Banks  Quinby 
7,  Louis  E.  Means         8,  Charles  A.  Blatchford 
9,  Frederic  P.  Thayer  10,  George  I.  Leighton 

Temple  Consolation  Prizes 
1  1,  Frank  S.  Miley        12.  John  F.  Nelson 
13,  Joseph  B.  Keller     14,  Edward  Capaui 
15,  Robert  McKay 

Honorable  Mention 
16,  Ralph  0.  Anderson  17,  Clarence  Taylor 
18,  Clarence  DeMar      19,  Carl  L.  Wittig 
20,  Charles   F.    Reynolds 

making  a  Coast 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Morrison  had  about 
twenty  fellows  go  and  shovel  a  path  from  the 
house  over  to  the  cottages.  Then  he  took  four 
fellows  out  of  this  crowd.  I  v/as  one.  He  took 
us  down  to  the  bank  by  Cottage  Row  dump  and 
we  removed  some  of  the  ice  and  tried  to  make 
it  as  level  as  we  could.  He  let  two  of  us  fellows 
go  up  on  the  hill  with  the  toboggans.  They  came 
down  great  and  it  was  low  tide  and  they  went 
out  on  the  ice  for  a  great  ways.  There  were 
two  others  on  the  toboggan  besides  me.  We 
tried  it  two  more  times.  The  first  time  we 
broke  the  toboggan  and  the  next  time  we  stopped 
just  as  we  got  to  the  ice.  Mr.  Morrison  said 
that  he  didn't  think  he  could  make  a  coast  there 
because  it  was  too  risky  and  then  we  went  up 
for  school. 

Edward  Capaul. 


Striping 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Burnham  told  another 
boy  and  me  to  get  ready  to  do  the  striping  in 
the  east  dormitory.  The  first  thing  we  did  was 
to  get  a  pair  of  six-foot  steps,  a  plank,  a  pencil, 
a  long  straight  edge  and  a  rule.  We  then  mark- 
ed out  the  wall.  The  first  line  was  four  inches 
from  the  ceiling,  the  next  was  a  space  one  inch 
and  a  fourth  from  the  first  line,  then  two  lines 
one  inch  apart.  Then  we  got  two  pots  of  ver- 
milion and  painted  them.  We  finished  this 
and  marked  a  line  two  and  three-fourths  inches 
from  the  wainscotting.  I  like  the  job  very 
much,  but  it   is  hard  painting  straight. 

Allan    H.    Brown. 

Cleaning  Plants 

One  morning  Miss  Galer  told  me  to  hurry 
and  get  my  work  done  and  clean  the  boxes 
and  flower-pots  in  the  dining  room  win- 
dows. First  1  brought  six  boxes  of  flower-pots 
and  put  them  in  the  sink.  The  boxes  I  brushed 
and  scrubbed  out.  When  I  got  that  done,  Miss 
Galer  watered  the  plants  and  1  scrubbed  the 
mould  off  from  the  pots  and  put  them  back  in 
the  boxes.  When  that  was  done,  1  put  the  boxes 
in  the  windows.  The  plants  looked  fresh  and 
nice  when  it  was  all  done. 

Harry  W.  Lake. 

lUorKing  in  the  SHcp 

During  the  winter,  on  days  when  there  is 
no  skating  or  coasting,  the  boys  like  to  work 
in  the  shop  making  skees,  jewelry  boxes,  pen- 
trays  and  things  like  that.  Some  boys  make 
skate  tops  for  the  runners  they  have.  To  work  in 
the  shop  the  boys  have  to  be  in  the  right  grade. 
On  Monday  the  first  grade  boys  can  work  in 
there  and  on  Tuesday  the  first  two  grades. 
On  Saturday  afternoon,  being  a  two  grade  day, 
quite  a  number  of  boys  work  in  the  shop  and 
make  woodwork.  On  Saturday  afternoon  there 
is  generally  a  boy  in  charge  of  the  shop  to  see  that 
things  go  on  all  right.  At  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  the  boy  in  charge  gets  one  or  two 
otherboys  to  help  him  sweep  the  floor.  Then  the 
boys  that  were  working  in  the  shop  have  to  go 
and  report  to  the  instructor  in  charge. 

Louis   P.   Marchi. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


?Ws  Tooa 

About  every  week  some  boy  has  to  cook 
some  mangels,  pumpkins,  potato  peelings,  etc. 
for  the  pigs.  This  is  done  in  a  room  set  off 
from  the  pig  pens,  in  a  large  kettle.  About  ten 
or  twelve  buckets  of  water  are  poured  in,  then 
potato  peelings  and  such  things  are  put  in  and 
then  two  wheelbarrow  loads  of  mangels  and 
one  of  pumpkins.  These  are  broken  up  and  a 
wood  fire  is  started  as  soon  as  possible  and  is 
kept  going.  After  awhile  the  stuff  has  boiled 
until  it  is  soft,  the  fire  is  allowed  to  burn  out 
and  the  stuff  is  mashed  up  and  two  bushels  of 
bran  is  mixed  up  with  it.  When  it  is  cooled 
off  it  is  ready  to  give  to  the  pigs.  Besides  this 
the  pigs  get  all  of  the  swill  from  the  house  and 
some  Indian  corn  and  water. 

William  C.  J.  Frueh. 

TorgJitg  Class 

Every  Monday  afternoon  I  go  to  black- 
smith class  with  some  other  fellows.  Our  first 
job  when  we  go  out  is  to  make  a  fire.  One 
boy  takes  the  job  of  blowing  the  forge  all  the 
afternoon.  We  take  turns  blowing  every  week. 
A  few  other  fellows  and  myself  have  just  been 
in  the  class  a  short  time.  Sometimes  a  fellow 
can  make  two  models  an  afternoon.  I  like  the 
course  pretty  well  and  hope  to  finish  sometime. 
There  are  about  forty  models  in  the  course, 
some  of  iron  and  some  of  steel  but  most  of 
them  are  iron. 

Harry  M.  Chase. 

Playing  I)Ockey 

Among  the  winter  sports,  skating  is  about 
the  most  enjoyable.  The  boys  like  to  play  hock- 
ey very  much.  We  have  the  most  fun  on  Satur- 
day afternoons  as  the  boys  are  then  more  nu- 
merous on  the  pond.  The  shop  fellows  have  an 
organized  hockey  team  which  plays  against  the 
other  fellows.  We  first  line  up,  one  side  at  one 
end  of  the  pond  and  one  at  the  other.  The  ball 
is  knocked  and  then  begins  the  contest.  First 
one  fellow  will  have  it  on  one  side  and  the  next 
thing  some  other  boy  will  have  it  and  so  on.  It 
is  a  very  interesting  game  and  we  most  all  like  it. 
George  A.  C.  McKenzie. 


Oi^er  m  Bank 

When  we  have  a  snow  storm  and  the  to- 
boggans are  taken  out,  most  of  the  boys  like 
to  go  over  humps  so  that  they  will  have  more  fun. 
About  the  best  place  for  this  is  over  the  bank. 
The  boys  get  a  toboggan  and  a  cushion  for  it 
and  start  at  the  top  of  the  bank  which  is  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high  and  go  down  over  the 
ice  cakes  which  have  been  pushed  up  on  the 
beach,  out  on  to  the  ice.  Sometimes  the  boy  feels 
kind  of  sore  when  he  gets  through  with  an  hour's 
coasting.  Most  of  the  fellows  like  coasting  over 
the  bank. 

Herbert  J.  Phillips. 

Schoolroom  Pictures 

In  our  schoolroom  are  many  good  pictures. 
There  is  a  photograph  of  Lincoln,  and  one  of 
Washington  on  a  fine  white  horse  giving  orders 
and  pointing  with  his  sword.  Another  is  the 
Santa  Maria,  Columbus'  ship.  There  are  three 
illustrating  Longfellow's  poems  "Hiawatha  and 
Minnehaha  in  the  Forest",  "The  Hanging  of  the 
Crane". and  "John  Alden  and  Priscilla".  Then 
there  is  a  copy  of  the  original  Magna  Charta 
of  England,  a  picture  of  Sherman's  March  to 
the  Sea,  the  Pyramids  and  Sphinx  and  the 
Battle  of  Gettysburg.  We  also  have  Millet's 
"Gleaners"  and  Rosa  Bonheur's  "Horse  Fair." 
Besides  these  we  have  a  bust  of  Columbus,  a 
medallion  of  the  West  Wind,  and  a  small 
statue  of  a  lion. 

Harris  H.  Todd. 

MK\m  mortar 

Mr.  Morrison  one  morning  told  me  to 
work  for  the  masons.  The  mason  told  another 
fellow  and  me  to  go  and  mix  mcrtar.  The 
first  thing  we  did  was  to  put  a  layer  of  sand 
about  an  inch  thick  over  the  bottom  of  the 
trough.  We  put  in  about  a  half-barrel  of  lime 
and  evened  it  off.  Then  we  put  in  a  barrel 
full  of  hair  and  water  and  let  the  lime  slack. 
After  it  had  been  well  slacked,  we  put  in  about 
forty  good  shovelfuls  of  sand  and  mixed  it. 
When  it  was  well  mixed,  we  put  it  in'  a  pile 
and  began  a  new  mixture. 

Frank  S.  Miley. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumtii 

Hiram  C.  Hughes,  '98,  we  receive 
pleasant  messages  from  occasionally.  One  of 
his  recent  letters  says, 

"I  suppose  everybody  enjoyed  themselves 
at  the  School,  Christmas;  as  I  remember 
I  always  enjoyed  myself  when  that  glorious 
holiday  would  roll  around.  It  was  the  event 
of  the  year  with  me  —  except  the  last  few 
months  I  was  at  the  School,  when  1  had  a 
snap  —  used  to  have  a  great  time  going  around 
town,  paying  bills,  etc.  I'll  never  forget  the 
time  you  sent  me  after  some  stamped  envelopes. 
I  believe  they  were  for  some  firm  down  to  the 
Market  and  were  for  printing.  You  called  m.e 
up  to  the  office  from  the  wharf  (that  was 
another  snap  1  had,  working  on  the  Pilgrim) 
and  you  gave  me  some  fifty  odd  dollars,  which 
were  for  the  envelopes.  When  you  handed  me 
the  money  you  eyed  me  severely  and  said,  '  Now 
this  is  enough  money  to  take  you  clear  to 
Canada,  but  you  don't  need  to  go.'  I  tell  you 
I  felt  pretty  elated  to  be  trusted  with  fifty  dollars, 
and  didn't  I  keep  my  eye  on  it  during  the  day  ? 
Was  in  a  regular  hot-box  till  1  got  rid  of  it. 
Never  felt  so  responsible  since  —  but  1  per- 
formed the  duty  correctly  and  was  rewarded 
with  a  good  smile  when  I  came  home. 

Many  times  I  think  about  the  fine  rides 
I  used  to  have  around  the  Harbor  on  the 
Pilgrim.  We  used  to  go  most  everywhere.  I 
always  felt  happy  when  you  telephoned  to  the 
wharf  to  tell  Gerry  we  were  going  somewhere 
that  day.  I  tell  you  a  fellow  don't  know  when 
he's  got  a  snap.  1  do  not  mean  to  say,  by  any 
means,  that  I  am  not  happy  at  the  present  time, 
but  its  just  to  say  so,  because  I  see  so  many 
other  lads  around  the  city  that  are  far  worse  off 
than  the  boys  at  the  School.  It's  a  foolish  idea 
the  fellows  have  of  wanting  to  get  away  too 
young.  As  long  as  he  stays  there  he's  sure  of 
keeping  away  from  trouble  —  doesn't  need  to 
bother  his  head  about  anything  but  a  little  study, 
and  that  he  should  be  glad  of.  If  a  fellow 
gets  started  on  the  right  track  he's  liable,  as  a 
rule,   to  stick  there.      There  are  far  too  many 


temptations  out  in  the  world  for  a  young 
man  to  fight  against.  He's  much  more  liable 
to  give  in,  if  he's  at  all  young,  for  fellows. 
as  a  rule,  have  no  mind  of  their  own  at  tender 
ages.  I'm  mighty  glad  1  got  a  good  start  right, 
and  1  can  thank  the  Farm  School  for  it." 

Hiram  certainly  has  a  good  start  and  in  the 
right  direction.  He  has  a  fine  position  with 
Irving  &  Casson,  Otis  St.,  East  Cambridge,  as 
wood  carver.  He  has  a  pleasant  home  at  109 
Westminster  Ave.,  Arlington  Heights,  and 
always  seems  to  be  in  just  the  spirit  of  his 
letter  above. 

Charles  A.  Edwards,  '01,  when  he  left 
the  School  in  July,  1901,  joined  the  27th.  U. 
S.  Infantry  Band,  then  at  Plattsburg,  N.  Y., 
but  he  remained  there  only  a  couple  of  months, 
when  they  were  ordered  to  the  Philippines.  He 
has  been  in  Manila  over  two  years  now  and 
seems  to  have  got  on  well,  having  risen  to  be  a 
sergeant.  Every  little  while  we  have  received 
reminders  of  his  presence  there  in  the  way  of 
local  papers  containing  some  mention  of  the 
band.  Once  he  sent  a  very  beautiful  silk 
banner  and  recently  we  received  a  program  of  a 
"Grand  Descriptive  Concert,  Rendered  by  the 
11th.  and  27th.  U.  S.  Infantry  Bands  on 
Thanksgiving  Day,  November  26th.,  1903," 
and  a  very  handsome  menu.  We  expect  when 
Charles  returns  he  will  have  some  interesting 
things  to  tell  us.  We  have  received  word  that 
he  was  to  leave  Manila  for  Ft.  Sheridan,  111.,  on 
January  15. 

SDovelind  Snow 

On  some  places  the  snow  is  four  or  five 
feet  deep  and  by  the  root  cellar  it  is  about  twelve 
feet  deep.  We  have  to  shovel  the  back  road 
and  both  avenues,  in  front  of  the  root  cellar,  the 
Farm  House  path  and  a  path  from  the  new  barn 
to  the  hen  house  and  from  there  to  the  storage 
barn,  also  in  front  of  the  storage  barn  cellar  and  in 
the  cow  yard.  The  farm  fellows  shovel  around 
the  barns  and  over  to  the  Farm  House  and  the 
school  fellows  shovel  around  the  main  buildings, 
until  school  time.  When  the  skating  pond  is 
covered  with  snow  we  shovel  it  off  and  scrape  it. 

James  A.  Edson. 


THOMPSON'S    ISIyAND 


B£m:on 


Vol.  7.  No.    11. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


March,    1904. 


Entered   November  23,    1903,   at    Boston.   Mass.,   as  Second-class     matter,  under    Act  of   Congress   of  July    16,    1894. 


BUILDING  TH 

CDc  Snowball  Battle 

On  the  27th  of  February  the  two  opposing 
armies  under  Generals  Clark  and  Means  assem- 
bled in  the  gymnasium  to  prepare  for  the  annual 
battle.  The  generals  tossed  up  for  the  choice 
of  flags  and  of  defending  their  fort  or  attacking 
the  other  fort  first.  General  Clark  won  both 
tosses.  He  took  the  Russian  for  his  battle 
flag,  also  he  chose  to  defend  his  fort  first.  So 
General  Means  had  the  Japanese  flag  and  was 
to  attack  Clark's  fort  first.     Then  the  colors  of 


E  FORTS. 

each  side  were  cheered  loudly  by  its  men,  and 
then  they  marched  out  to  their  respective  forts. 
When  all  of  General  Clark's  men  were  stationed 
in  his  fort  and  he  and  his  officers  had  given  their 
last  instructions,  Mr.  Bradley,  who  was  referee, 
blew  a  whistle  for  the  signal  that  the  battle  was 
on. 

General  Means  and  his  men  were  assembled 
around  the  outside  of  their  fort.  At  the  signal, 
all  started  with  loud  yells  and  throwing  of  snow- 
balls.    As  soon  as  they  reached  the  other    fort 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


the  larger  fellows  tried  to  climb  over  the  wall  of 
the  fort  which  was  six  feet  in  height.  The 
smaller  fellows  kept  up  a  continual  fire  of  snow- 
balls in  hopes  to  drive  them  back.  During  this 
attack  of  twenty  minutes  none  of  the  attacking 
side  got  into  the  fort  so  no  bags  were  gotten  out. 
It  was  now  General  Means'  turn  to  defend  and 
Clark's  to  attack  for  the  same  time  as  the  others, 
twenty  minutes.  They  attacked  in  about  the 
same  way  as  the  other  side  but  more  fiercely 
and  nearly  got  several  fellows  into  the  fort. 


CLARK  ATTACKING    MEAN'S    FORT. 

At  the  end  of  twenty  minutes  nothing  was 
done,  so  they  agreed  upon  a  joint  attack  each 
side  dividing  itself  into  halves,  leaving  half  to 
defend  and  half  to  attack  at  the  same  time. 
During  the  joint  attack  several  of  General 
Clark's  men  got  into  Means'  fort  but  just  too 
la^e  to  get  any  bags,  because  the  time  was  up, 
which  was  ten  minutes.  Then  both  sides  set  up 
a  mighty  shout.  Seeing  nothing  was  determined 
by  the  alternate  or  joint  attack,  it  was  decided 
to  run  for  the  bags.  Tlie  referees  placed  the 
twenty-one  bags  an  equal  distance  away  from 
each  fort.  The  agreement  of  this  was  that  both 
sides  should  get  into  their  forts  and  that  they 
would  be  allowed  to  tackle  a  man  with  a  bag 
outside  his  fort  and  they  were  to  have  five  min- 
utes to  get  their  bags  into  their  forts.  At  the 
instant  the  whistle  blew,  each  fellow  jumped 
from  his  fort  and  raced  to  the  bags  which  were  a- 
bout  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  from  the 
forts.     Then  what  followed    for    the    next    five 


minutes  was  something  like  a  game  of  foot-ball, 
only  a  little  rougher.  As  soon  as  a  fellow  start- 
ed for  his  fort  with  a  bag,  he  was  downed  by  a 
fellow  on  the  other  side  and  then  began  a  strug- 
gle in  the  snow  for  the  bag,  some  pulling  one 
way  and  some  another.  At  the  end  of  the  time, 
Means'  fort  held  the  most  bags,  ten,  which 
was  one  more  than  Clark's  had.  There  were  two 
outside  the  forts.  As  soon  as  General  Means' 
men  knew  they  held  the  most  bags,  they  gave 
three  cheers  for  their  victory .  They  then  march- 
ed around  to  the  kitchen  for  their  trophy  which 
they  brought  back  with  them  to  the  gymnasium 
and  divided  it  among  the  fellows  on  their  side. 
They  also  invited  the  officers  of  the  defeated 
side  to  join  in  the  feast. 

Edward  B.  Taylor. 

Japanese  Russians 

General 
Louis  E.  Means  Don  C.  Clark 

Captain 
Barney  Hill  Frederic  P.  Thayer 

J  St.  Lieutenant 
George   F.  Burke  Walter  D.  Norwood 

2nd.  Lieutenant 
Ralph  O.   Anderson        James  A.    Edson 

Color  Bearer 
Carl  L.  Wittig  F.   Chester  Welch 

Privates 
Raymond  E.  Atwood     Albert  S.  Beetchy 
George  B.  Beetchy         Robert  H.   Bogue 
Warren  H.    Bryant  Allan  H.   Brown 

Edward  Capaul  Thomas  Carnes 

Clarence  DeMar  Harry  M.  Chase 

William  N.   Dinsmore  James  Clifford 
James  P.  M.    Embree  Paul  H.  Gardner 
John  J.  Emory  Jacob  Glutt 

Weston  Esau  Robert  W.  Gregory 

William  C.  J.  Frueh       Ralph  P.  Ingalls 


James  R.  Gregory 
Albert  W.  Hmckley 
Leslie  R.  Jones 
Joseph  Kalberg 
Joseph  B.   Keller 
Ervin  G.  Lindsay 
Thomas  Maceda 


Alfred  W.  Jacobs 
Ernest  N.  Jorgensen 
George  \.   Leighton 
George  A.  Maguire 
Louis  P.   Marchi 
Charles  McEacheren 
George   A.  McKenzie 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Philip  S.  May 
Frank  S.  Miley 
Albert  S.  Munro 
Alfred  H.  Neumann 
Herbert  J.  Phillips 
William  A.  Reynolds 
Charles  F.  Reynolds 
Everett  A.  Rich 
Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee 
Claud  W.  Salisbury 
Roland  Tyler 
William  T.  Walbert 
Charles  WaYner 
Charles  W.  Watson 


Robert  E.  Miley 
Arthur  Munro 
John  F.  Nelson 
William  F.  O'Conner 
C.  James  Pratt 
Albert  Probert 
V/illiam  E.  Proctor 
Donald  W.  Roby 
Albert  L.  Sawyer 
Clarence  Taylor 
Horace  P.  Thrasher 
Harris  H.  Todd 
Fred  T.  Upton 
Charles  H.  Whitney 


Choosing  Up  for  the  B4ttlc 

About  a  weak  before  the  22nd  of  February, 
the  boys  went  up  into  the  chapel  and  Mr.  Bradley 
had  the  boys  vote  for  the  generals.  The  two 
generals  that  had  the  most  votes  went  before 
the  school.  The  fellows  that  did  not  care  to  go 
into  the  battle  went  to  the  back  of  the  room. 
Mr  Bradley  tossed  up  for  the  first  choice. 
First  the  generals  chose  their  captains,  then 
first  lieutenants,  then  second  lieutenants,  then 
color  bearers  and  last  came  the  privates.  After 
this  the  fellows  took  their  seats  and  Mr.  Bradley 
spoke  to  us  boys  about  where  to  build  the  forts. 
After  this  the  two  generals  had  their  officers 
remain  in  the  chapel  for  a  while  to  talk  about 
the  forts.  Edward  Capaul. 

Biiiidittd  Torts 

After  the  two  sides  were  chosen  up,  we 
began  the  next  day  to  build  our  forts.  The 
first  thing  we  did  was  to  shovel  the  snow  up  in 
a  pile  and  tramp  it  down.  Then  we  began  to 
carry  cakes  for  the  walls  putting  slush  in  between 
the  cak-3S  so  when  it  froze  they  would  be  solid. 
The  cakes  were  taken  from  the  different  places 
where  the  snow  was  the  deepest  and  best  for 
large  cakes.  These  were  put  on  toboggans  and 
carried  to  the  fort  by  four  or  five  boys  and  put 
down  near  the  fort.  These  boys  went  for  some 
more,  while  six  or  seven  others  staid  at  the  forts 
arranging  the  cakes  and  tramping  the  snow. 
After  enough  cakes  were  collected,  which  took 
several  days,  they   got    ash    cans    and    carried 


them  full  of  water  to  the  forts  to  make  slush. 
All  the  holes  were  plugged  up  and  when  night 
came  it  froze.  The  way  we  made  the  slush 
was,  we  filled  the  can  of  water  full  of  snow,  then 
took  the  snow  out  with  shovels  and  threw  it  against 
the  fort  and  smoothed  it  off  gently,  so  as  not  to 
knock  it  all  off.  When  the  wall  looked  all  right  we 
filled  the  interior  by  tramping,  so  as  the  snow 
thrown  in  it  would  be  solid.  We  took  the  cans 
of  water  sometimes  inside  the  fort  and  emptied 
them  so  as  to  get  the  snow  thoroughly  packed 
up  close  to  the  wall  where  the  most  force  was 
coming.  After  this  was  done  we  dug  our  trenches, 
each  of  the  forts  being  of  different  designs. 
One  fort  had  three  trenches  about  a  foot  and 
a  half  wide  by  two  to  three  feet  deep,  with 
a  hole  in  the  centre  in  which  the  bags  were 
put.  The  other  fort  had  two'  trenches.  One 
about  three  feet  deep  and  the  other  dug  down  to 
the  ground.  The  deepest  trench  surrounded  a 
tower  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  This 
tower  contained  a  small  trench  two  feet  deep 
also  a  hole  for  the  bags.  The  hole  was  the 
shape  of  .a  bowl  bottom  side  up.  It  was  small 
at  the  entrance  and  large  enough  inside  so  that 
a  fellow  could  lay  in  it.  The  trenches  of  both 
forts  were  around  the  forts.  After  the  forts 
were  about  done  we  could  stay  out  nights  from 
seven  to  nine  o'clock  carrying  water,  throwing 
it  all  over  the  fort  so  when  it  froze  it  was  icy. 
We  were  not  allowed  to  have  ice  at  the  foot  of 
the  fort,  but  we  were  any  where  else  about  the 
fort.  February  22  it  rained  and  did  quite  a  lot 
of  damage  to  our  forts  so  we  had  to  repair  them 
and  it  postponed  the  battle  till  the  following 
Saturday. 

Leslie  R.  Jones. 

Diddind  Out  tbc  Scow 

On  a  rainy  morning  Mr.  McLeod  got  a 
number  of  boys  with  picks  and  shovels  to  go 
down  to  the  scow  which  was  way  up  on  the  beach 
on  three  feet  of  ice.  We  went  to  work,  the  big 
fellows  picking  and  us  small  fellows  shoveling 
the  ice  away.  We  got  within  a  foot  of  the 
scow  and  it  began  to  rain  so  we  had  to  go  inside. 
My  job  then  was  to  shell  corn  to  plant. 

Herbert  A.  Dierkes. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbomp$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A     PRIVATE     HOME-TRAINING    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.  No.    11. 


March,    1904. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 

BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


president. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 


TREASURER. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker   Daland. 

managers. 

Melvin  O.  Adams, 

Alfred  Bowditch, 
I.  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


Mr.  Eben  Bacon,  in  his  seventy-fifth  year, 
died,  February  22,  1904,  at  his  home  on  Prince 
St.,  Jamaica  Plain.  Mr.  Bacon  was  born  in 
Brookline  and  had  been  associated  with  this  city 
and  vicinity  all  his  life. 

At  an  early  age  he  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  merchants    of    the     day,    engaging 


extensively  in  the  East  India  and  China  trade, 
which  also  was  the  business  of  his  father,  the 
late  Daniel  C.  Bacon.  In  business  Mr.  Bacon 
filled  many  positions  of  trust  and  honor,  such  as 
the  treasurer-ship  of  the  Hamilton  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  the  presidency  of  the  China 
Mutual  Insurance  Company  and  for  over  forty 
years  he  was  connected  with  the  Washington 
Bank,  being  for  about  eighteen  years  its  presi- 
dent. These  positions  and  many  others  he 
filled  with  thorough  conscientiousness  and  gave 
up  active  life  but  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  Bacon 
was  well  known  in  philanthropy.  He  was  a 
director  and  a  guiding  spirit  of  the  Sailor's  Snug 
Harbor  for  some  twenty-seven  years  filling  at 
different  times  the  positions  of  secretary, 
treasurer  and  president  of  the  Board,  and  as 
director  and  treasurer  of  the  Cape  Cod  Associa- 
tion many  a  student  from  that.lccality  he  assisted 
through  college. 

Mr.  Bacon  became  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Farm  School  in  1878  and 
was  made  vice-president,  February  1,  1898, 
which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death 
being  also  the  senior  member  of  the  Board.  In 
his  death  the  School  has  lost  a  most  valuable 
friend  and  official.  Mr.  Bacon  was  especially 
interested  in  the  Farm  School,  its  aims  and 
methods  finding  full  sympathy  in  his  own 
practical  nature.  A  man  of  sterling  character 
and  sound  business  ability,  his  counsel  was  ever 
valuable.  That  earnest  and  thorough  conscien- 
tious devotion  to  every  trust  which  was  charac- 
teristic of  his  life,  brought  to  the  School  many 
friends  and  helped  greatly  in  making  possible  the 
work  the  School  is  now  doing. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  from  the 
First  Parish  Church,  Brookline,  Wednesday 
forenoon,  February  24,  at  eleven  o'clock,  Rev. 
Win.  H.  Lyon,  D.  D.,  officiating.     This  School 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


was  represented  by  Managers  Mr.  Henry  S. 
Grew  and  Mr.  Francis  Shaw  and  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bradley  and  a  delegation  of  boys.  The 
body  was  taken  to  Mount  Auburn  cemetery  for 
cremation. 


notes 

Feb.  2.  Drew  gravel  and  cobble  stone 
for  granolithic  floor  in  the  kitchen. 

Feb.  4.     Drew  coal  for  the  shop. 

Feb.  9.  Finished  painting  one  of  the 
farm  carts. 

Feb.  12.  Varnished  the  new  bookcase 
and  set  it  up. 

Feb.    13.     Drew  coal  for  the  boiler  room. 

Feb.  15.  Boys  chose  up  for  snowball 
battle. 

Feb.  16.  There  was  no  crossing  in  any 
direction  on  account  of  the  snow,  ice  and  severe 
weather.  Two  degrees  above  zero  at  six  in  the 
morning  and  eight  degrees  above  at  noon  ;  no 
warmer  all  day. 

Feb.  17.  Floors  laid  and  finished,  and 
other  wood  finish  completed  in  the  office. 

Feb.  18.  Freight  and  express  hauled 
from  town  to  Squantum  then  across  the  ice  on 
toboggans. 

Feb.    19.     A  robin  was  seen. 

Feb.  20.  Mr.  Morse  came  to  spend  Sun- 
day at  the  School. 

Feb.  21.  Sunday.  A  program  on  George 
Washington  in  chapel  and  stereopticon  pictures 
on  the  City  of  Washington  this  evening. 

The  prize  offered  by  Dr.  Bancroft  for  the 
best  written  article  on  the  Icon  was  awarded 
to  Roland  Tyler. 

Feb.  22.     Rained  hard  all  the  forenoon. 

The  annual  snowball  battle  was  postponed 
on  account  of  the  weather. 

Feb.  23  Made  the  first  trip  to  City 
Point  since  the  9th.  and  landed  on  stone  island 
on  account  of  the  ice. 

Doors  to  the  private  and  main  offices 
hung  and  trimm.ed. 

Feb.  24.     Cut  out   the   ice    north    of    the 


wharf  for  beaching  the  steamer  Pilgrim. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  a  delegation  of 
boys  attended  the  funeral  of  Vice-President, 
Mr.  Eben  Bacon. 

Feb.  25.  Finished  painting  the  inside  of 
the  tower. 

Put  the  spare  propeller  on  the  Pilgrim, 
the  other  being  bent  and  broken  by  the  ice. 

Feb.  27.  The  snowball  battle  which  had 
to  be  postponed  on  the  22nd.  took  place  this 
afternoon.  General  Means  of  the  Japanese 
forces  defeated  the  Russians  under  General 
Clark. 

Plastered  walls  removed  and  brick  wall 
built  in  bakery. 

Feb.  28.  Mr.  Bradley  told  of  the  causes 
leading  up  to  the  present  war  between  Japan 
and  Russia  and  showed  stereopticon  views  on 
those  countries  in  chapel  this  evening. 

Feb.  29.  Began  hunting  the  brown-tail 
moth. 

Three  brick  piers  built  in  the  basement 
under  the  staircase. 

Pilgrim  landed  at  the  Public  Landing  for 
the  first  time  since  the  9th. 


farm  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  February  1st.,  1904 
Deposited   during  the  month. 

Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  March  1st.,  1904 


$634.67 
9.12 

$643.79 
18.72 

$625.07 


Pdintind  Bedsteads 

Lately  jWe  have  been  painting  our  dor- 
mitories and  one  of  the  things  1  had  to  do  was  to 
paint  the  bedsteads.  1  commenced  by  taking 
four  beds  out  of  the  west  dormitory  and  carried 
them  up  in  the  west  loft.  Then  1  put  two  cots 
and  two  beds  that  do  not  belong  in  the  dormitories 
in  to  take  the  places  of  those  that  I  took  out. 
I  put  on  two  coats  of  white  pamt  and  one  coat 
of  white  enamel  and  the  bed  is  done.  Then  1 
take  four  more  beds  and  so  on. 

Joseph  E.  K.  Robblee. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


amm  Trcigbt  Across  m  Tee 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Vaughan  came  into  the 
schoolroom  and  told  all  the  first  class,  except 
three  or  fourfellows,  to  come  down  to  the  assem- 
bly room  with  him.  Here  he  told  all  that  could 
get  rubber  boots  to  get  them  and  then  come 
with  him.  We  went  over  to  the  south  end  of 
the  Island.  By  the  time  we  got  there  the  two- 
horse  sled  was  there  and  two  of  the  farm  fellows 
had  started  with  two  toboggans  across  the  ice  to 
Squantum.  We  hurried  up  and  caught  them. 
When  we  got  there  the  freight  was  waiting  for  us. 
First  we  each  brought  a  load  of  lumber  and  then 
we  went  back  and  got  what  bundles  there  were. 
When  we  got  to  the  house  it  was  time  for  supper. 
Elmer  A.  Johnson. 

Tl04ting  Tee 

One  day  when  I  went  down  to  the  barn 
with  the  farm  boys,  Mr.  McLeod  brought  some 
shovels  and  other  tools  out  for  cutting  ice.  He 
told  us  to  go  down  to  the  wharf  and  cut  ice. 
We  found  the  place  where  the  morning  fellows 
were  working  and  began  our  work.  We  were 
to  cut  a  place  twelve  feet  wide  and  from  twelve 
to  sixteen  feet  long,  so  the  steamer  Pilgrim 
could  come  up  on  the  beach  at  high  tide.  The 
ice  was  about  five  feet  thick  and  we  had  to 
chip  it  off  with  ice  cutters  and  an  axe.  The 
other  fellows  were  throwing  the  chips  out  in 
the  water  to  float  away.  We  had  to  work  pretty 
fast  for  the  tide  was  coming  quickly. 

John  J.  Emory. 

farewell  to  tfte  Tee 

The  ice  has  been  around  the  island  about 
two  months  and  a  half  and  now  it  is  going  away. 
When  the  ice  was  packed  around  the  island  hard 
the  steamer  could  not  get  across  and  so  we 
had  to  bring  the  mail  and  freight  across  from 
Squantum.  The  people  from  the  city  used  to 
go  out  on  the  ice  and  spear  eels.  The  boys, 
when  they  went  coasting,  would  shoot  over  the 
/  bank  and  go  out  on  the  ice,  but  now  they  can 
nqiS^  this  because  it  is  all  broken  up  and  is  go- 
)ut.  Even  the  ice  the  boys  skated  on  has 
Ited  away  and  so  we  can  have  no  more  fun  on 
/  t^  ice,  Albert  Probert. 


Cbawiitd  Pipes 

One  cold  morning  Mr.  Morrison  told  me  to 
get  some  pails  and  begin  carrying  boiling  water 
down  to  the  wood  cellar.  When  I  got  there  I 
found  out  that  the  water  pipes  were  frozen. 
Then  I  got  some  cloths  and  Mr.  Morrison  and 
a  few  other  boys  began  thawing  the  pipes  by  sop- 
ping them  with  hot  water.  After  a  while  he 
sent  me  out  to  the  shop  to  get  a  monkey-wrench. 
When  I  returned  with  it  he  turned  one  of  the 
couplings  in  the  pipe  and  found  out  that  the  pipe 
they  had  been  sopping  was  thawed  out.  But 
still  the  water  would  not  run  easily.  They  soon 
found  that  the  trouble  was  that  the  piece  of  pipe 
under  one  of  the  entries  was  frozen  because  the 
door  is  opened  so  much.  Then  they  had  the  door 
shut  until  the  water  ran  well. 

William  E.  Proctor. 

making  &  Gutter 

One  afternoon  some  other  fellows  and  I 
were  told  to  get  an  axe  and  go  down  to  the  rear 
avenue  and  cut  a  gutter  in  the  ice  about 
half  a  foot  wide  and  five  inches  deep.  This 
was  so  that  when  the  snow  melted  it  would  run 
down  the  gutter  and  into  the  drain,  instead  of 
going  all  over  the  avenue.  We  got  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  gutter  done  when  we  were  told  to 
get  ready  for  school. 

Herbert  J.  Phillips. 

Carrying  Jlsbes 

The  other  day  it  rained  and  froze  and  so 
left  the  roads  all  ice.  When  we  went  down  to 
the  farm,  the  one  who  had  charge  told  four  boys 
beside  myself  to  get  some  ashes  over  by  the 
manure  pile  and  put  it  on  the  road  so  the  horses 
would  not  slip  when  they  were  hauling  the  carts. 
So  we  took  a  couple  of  picks  and  a  shovel  and 
a  wheelbarrow  apiece  and  got  some  ashes.  The 
wind  was  blowing  hard  and  it  was  hard  wheeling 
over  the  ice.  One  fellow  was  picking  while  we 
were  wheeling.  We  had  to  put  the  ashes  where 
thehorsesgo.  With  some  more  help  we  finished 
the  road  that  morning. 

Fred  T.  Upton. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Going  to  €hurcb 

March  6  we  all  went  to  church  on  the   ice. 
After  we  all   got   our  clothes   changed  we  took 
our  skates  and    went    over    to    the    south    end 
of    the    Island.        The    smaller    fellows     took 
sleds   with   th&m.       When  we   got     to  the   ice, 
we   put  on    our  skates  and   skated  around  until 
Mr.  Bradley  blew  the    whistle    and    told    us    to 
follow  the  leader  skating  across  the  bay  to    the 
car  tracks    in   Farm     Medows   near    Atlantic. 
Mr.   Bradley  started  the  fellows  off  by  dozens, 
so    that    there    would    not    be  too  much  weight 
on  the   ice  in  one   place.      As  the  first   fellows 
arrived,   they    would   go   back    with     sleds    and 
bring   those   that   did    not    have,  skates.       The 
smaller    boys    and    some    of    the   ladies   were 
drawn   on   the   sleds'.        When   all    were    over, 
Mr.  Bradley  put  two  fellows   in    charge    of    two 
different  squads.     These  got    in   two    cars   that 
were  waiting  and  the  remainder  went  in  another 
car.  there  being  three  in   all.-      Then   when    all 
were  in  the  cars,  we  started   to    church.        We 
left  our  skates  and  sleds  on  the  beach  in  charge 
of  an  instructor  and  two  boys.     We  wert  to  Dr. 
Cutter's  church  in  Neponset.       It  took  us  from 
fifteen"  to  twenty  minutes  to  get  to  the   stopping 
place  from  v/hich    we  had    a   short   distance  to 
walk.       When  we  got   to  the   church,    we  were 
ushered  in  to  the  front  seals.      When  the    min- 
ister began  his  sermon,  he  told   us    his    subject 
would  be,  "The  Bible."      He  told  us  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Bible,  the  meaning  of   the   Bible 
and  said  that  he  thought  that  if  three  prominent 
men  should  get  together,  one   being  a  Catholic, 
another  a  Protestant  and  the  other  a  Jew  and 
suggest  or  point  out  certain  verses  in  the   Bible 
and  form  them  into  books  and  have  them  used  in 
the  Grammar  Schools,  that  it  would  be  a  great 
help  to  all  pupils.      He  also  named  a  number  of 
different  places  in  the    Bible    in    which    to   get 
some  good  stories  or  verses  to  be  committed  to 
memory  that  he  thought  would  be  a  great  help 
to  all.      His  talk  was* very   interesting  and  he 
said  he  took  his  subject  from  the  fact  that   the 
following  day  was  the  Centennial  Anniversary 
of    the    Bible   Societies.      When  the  services 
were     over,   we   took  the    same     cars,     being 


in  '  the  same  squads,  and  returned  to  the 
place  from  which  we  started.  The  fellows  put 
their  skates  6n  and  some  helped  draw  sleds 
while  others  skated  in  couples.  We  got  back 
to  the  Island  at  a  quarter  of  two  o'clock,  took  off 
our  skates,  took  the  sleds  up  to  the  house  and 
then  had  dinner.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  time. 
Chester  F.  Welch. 

6ettind  in  Coal 

One  morning  I  was  told  to  go  up  to  the 
new  basement  to  get  ih  coal  with  some  other 
boys.  The  coal  is  put  in  the  stock  barn  base- 
ment when  we  buy  it.  When  we  need  it  up  to 
the  house  we  draw  it  up  in  dump  carts  and 
dump  it  out  beside  the  basement  door.  From 
there  it  is  shovelled  into  a  chute.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  chute  are  some  boys  with  wheel- 
barrows, in  which  they  catch  the  coal  and  wheel 
it  to  the  coal  bin. 

Elmer  A.  Johnson. 

Che  Calendar 

In  our  schoolroom  there  is  a  large  calendar 
about  two  feet  high  and  one  foot  wide.  It  has  a 
picture  of  a  moose  traveling  through  the  snow. 
On  the  left  hand  side  of  the  picture  there  is  a  log- 
cabin  with  an  old  tree  growing  near  it.  The  moose 
has  sunken  in  the  snow  up  to  his  knees  and  is 
struggling  along.  It  is  snowing  and  the  moose's 
back  is  covered  with  snow.  He  is  of  a  brown- 
ish color  and  the  back  ground  is  light  brown. 
The  animal  is  a  large  one  and  his  muscle  shows 
very  plainly  on  his  hind  legs.  There  are  three 
trees  in  the  picture  and  all  of  them  are  old 
ones.  There  are  not  any  small  twigs  on  them.. 
The  calendar  is  in  the  front  of  the  room  where 
every  one  can  see  it- 

A.   LeRoy  Sawyer. 

Balding  Potatoes 

The  other  day  Mr.  McLeod  told  another 
fellow  and  myself  to  go  down  in  the  cellar  and 
bag  up  potatoes.  First  we  went  down  to  the 
storage  barn  and  got  some  bags.  Then  we  be- 
gan to  bag  them  up.  We  worked  until  the  bell 
rang  and  bagged  up  twenty-five  bushel  in  all. 
Raymond  E.  Atwood. 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


J\\mn\ 


Howard  M.  Trumbull,  '49,  was  born  in 
Boston  in  April,  1835  and  on  Tuesday,  the 
12th  of  January,  1904,  he  passed  away. 

"At  an  early  age  he  lost  his  father,  and 
his  mother  was  left  with  a  large  family  of  little 
children.  Soon  after  the  loss  of  his  father, 
Howard  was  admitted  to  the  Farm  School,  an 
institution  'down  the  harbor,'  supported  by  a 
number  of  Boston  philanthropists  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  providing  a  home  for  destitute  and 
orphan  children,  who  can  show  evidence  of  good 
character  and  honest  parentage.  No  others  are 
admitted.  Here  Howard  acquired  a  substantial 
education  and  a  great  love  of  out-door  sports, 
which  he  carried  through  life.  Mr.  Trumbull 
here  got  his  teaching  and  practice  in  the  art  o-f 
swimming.  It  may  not  be  known  in  this  com- 
munity that  he  was  one  of  the  best  swimmers 
in  southeastern  Massachusetts,  and  his  feats 
of  daring  and  diving,  when  a  boy,  are  matters 
of  history  among  those  who  knew  him. 

As  a  man  and  a  citizen,  Howard  M.  Trum- 
bull presented  an  example  which  is  worthy  of 
any  following.  Profane  language,  liquors  and 
intoxicants  of  all  kinds,  and  tobacco  in  all  its 
forms,  were  among  his  'don'ts.' 

More  than  three-quarters  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  Rockland, (Mass. )  and  he  was  a  familiar 
figure  on  our  streets.  His  courtesy  was  both 
genial  and  jovial,  and  he  had  a  kindly  smile  for 
all,  while  his  conversation  was  refined  and  of  a 
superior  intelligence,  showing  to  a  marked, 
degree  the  attributes  of  the  thorough  gentleman. 
He  was  in  an  eminent  degree  a  friend  to  all 
mankind  and  no  man    could   call  him   'enemy.' 

As  a  young  man,  he  ran  for  some  years 
with  the  volunteer  fire  department  of  Boston, 
and  in  this  town  he  was  always  identified  with 
matters  pertaining  to  the  fire  department.  His 
work  at  the  big  fire  in  July,  1890,  was  recogniz- 
ed as  being  of  much  value. 

And  Tuesday,  the  12th  inst.,  he  passed 
away.  He  has  not  lived  vainly  ;  his  life  in  any 
community  is  valuable  as  a  direct  influence  for 
good,  for  honesty,  for  the  upbuilding  of  humanity. 


For  the  good  life  that  he  lived,  he  receives  an 
ample  reward  in  that  after  having  taken  the  span 
of  life  which  it  was  allotted  to  him  to  live,  he 
has  reached  the  purity,  the  beauty,  the  dignity 
of  Eternal  Happiness." 


Pldying  €bc$$ 

Among  the  many  games  here  chess  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  most  popular  and  the  boys  that 
know  how  to  play  it,  like  it  about  the  best  of  all 
the  games.  Some  of  the  boys  got  games  from 
their  friends  on  Christmas.  The  fellows  are 
playing  about  all  the  time,  that  is,  some  fellows 
are  playing  at  different  times.  They  play  at  meals 
and  after  whenever  they  have  play  time,  which 
is  an  hour  after  each  meal,  Saturdays  and  half  a 
day  in  vacation.  I  like  to  play  very  much  and 
have  a  game  of  my  own  which  1  received  from 
my  friends  for  a  Christmas  present.  I  loan  it 
to  different  boys  to  play  with. 

George  A.  C.  McKenzie. 

Jlgriculturc 

This  term  of  agriculture  has  been  far  differ- 
ent from  any  we  have  had  before.  Terms  before, 
we  have  been  studying  about  the  soil  and  plants 
of  the  farm,  such  as  corn  and  potatoes,  but  this 
term  Mr.  Vaughan  has  been  teaching  us  about 
the  orchard  crops,  such  as  grapevines,  apple 
trees  and  peach  trees  and  their  fruits.  He  ex- 
plains to  us  the  different  things  necessary  to  be 
successful  in  raising  trees  and  vines.  We  had 
quite  easy  lessons  the  first  two  terms  but  this 
term  we  are  getting  paid  up  and  it  is  going  to 
take  quite  a  lot  of  study  to  pass.  Mr.  Vaughan 
thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  keep  note 
books,  so  we  have  them  put  on  our  desks  every 
Tuesday  and  Thursday,  which  are  agriculture 
days.  We  then  take  notes  of  what  he  tells  us. 
This  makes  it  easier  than  it  was  before,  because 
we  would  have  to  remem^ber  it  all  the  term  and 
now  we  can  take  our  books  at  the  end  of  ■  the 
term  and  be  prepared  for  examination. 

C.  James  Pratt. 

"No  man  ever  became  extremely  wicked 
all  at  once."  Juvenal. 


THOMPSONS    ISIvAND 

BEAICON 


Vol.  7.    No.  12. 


Printed  at  the  Farm  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


April,     1904. 


Entered   November   23,    1903,   at    Boston.   Mass.,   as  Second-class     matter,   under    Act  of   Congress   of   July    16,    1894. 


Cbe  Econ 

Prize  Essay. 
There  are  several  species  of  loons.  They 
are  the  common,  red,  and  black-throated  loons. 
The  common  loon  is  the  only  specimen  found 
in  the  United  States.  He  is  sometimes  called 
the  Great  Northern  Diver.  His  native  home 
is  in  Canada  and  the  far  North  but  the  common 
loon  comes  as  far  south  as  the  United  States, 
not  going  any  farther  south  than  the  New  Eng- 
land States.  It  is  the  largest  water  bird,  and 
has  the  advantage  over  the  other  birds  because 
of  its  great  size  and  courage.  The  specimen  in 
our  schoolroom  is  a  common  loon.  It  is  thirty- 
two  inches  high  and  weighs  about  ten  and  one- 
half  pounds.  It  has  a  small  head  and  a  longsUm 
neck.  It  has  a  plump  body.  Its  legs  are  placed 
far  bacl^  on  its  body  and  it  has  webbedfeet.  Its 
breast  is  white  snd  its  back  and  wings  are  black 
with  white  spots.  It  has  small,  narrow  wings. 
It  has  red  eyes  and  a  beak  which  is  sharp  and  is 
the  loon's  principal  weapon.  It  can  run  its  bill 
through  the  largest  fish  in  the  lake.  Its  bill  is 
black  and  is  about  four  inches  long.  Its  wings 
are  small  for  the  size  of  the  bird,  so  that  it  can 
not  rise  right  off  the  ground  and  fly  away  but  it 
has  to  be  aided  by  a  breeze  or  it  has  to  run  or 
rather  swim  along  on  the  top  of  the  water  to 
get  a  start.  It  cannot  walk  but  has  a  very 
awkward  shuffling  motion  that  it  moves  by. 
It  uses  its  wings  and  bill  in  this  movement. 
The  loon  does  not  rest  on  a  tuft  of  grass  but  on 
a  small  island,  usually  dry  and  rocky,  but  some- 
times on  marshy  land.  It  prefers  an  island 
with  a  thick  growth  of  grass.  In  springtime 
when  the  ice    breaks  up,    the    loons    take  their 


mates  and  go  to  the  shore  of  some  lonely 
island  and  build  their  nests.  The  nests  are  built 
near  the  water  so  the  loons  can  get  into  the 
water  without  walking  on  land.  The  nests  are 
poorly  made,  as  the  loon  does  not  care  enough 
about  his  nest  to  make  it  well.  All  the 
mother  loon  wants  is  enough  grass  to  cover 
her  and  enough  to  make  a  nest.  In  a  slight 
hollow  in  the  nest  are  found  two  dark 
brown,  spotted,  mud-colored  eggs.  In  June 
the  eggs  are  hatched  and  two  dusty  black, 
smutty,  young  loons,  about  the  size  of  full-grown 
ducks  make  their  appearance.  In  ,a  little 
while  they  turn  white,  with  funny  little  bills  un- 
like their  mother's.  At  this  time  the  young  loons 
begin  to  grow  more  like  their  mothers.  When 
the  loon  is  full  grown,  he  is  about  the  size 
of  a  Christmas  turkey.  After  the  nesting  season 
the  birds  begin  to  molt,  often  losing  so  many 
feathers  that  they  cannot  fly.  Fond  of  its 
young,  the  mother  loon  has  many  enemies  to 
contend  with.  Among  them  are  the  hawk  that 
swoopsdown  and  devours  the  young  and  the  her- 
ron  gulls.  Large  pickerel  are  more  dangerous 
than  one  would  suppose,  and  they  of  ten  leap  out 
of  the  water  and  snap  up  the  young.  Bullfrogs 
*  are  also  dangerous  foes.  The  mink,  otter  and 
man  are  enemies.  The  loon  isafraid  of  nothing 
and  can  swim  under  water  as  well  as  above. 
The  loon  lives  on  fish  and  after  he  spears  them 
with  his  terrible  bill,  he  tosses  them  in  the  air 
and  catches  them  head  first,  so  they  slip  down 
as  easily  as  a  sardine.  The  common  loon  va- 
ries much  in  color  and  one  rhight  think  he  saw 
more  than  one  bird  when  it  was  the  same  one 
only  changed  in  color.     The  loon  often    laughs 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


to  himself  giving  a  musical  call  not  unpleasant 
to  the  ear.  Nothing  compares  to  his  wild  call 
which  he  gives  when  he  is  lonely,  and  sometimes 
with  his  playmates.  His  call  sounds  thus:- 
"  haw,  haw,  haw."  The  loon  is  the  spirit  of  the 
lake.  To  hear  his  call  at  night  one  might  think 
the  lake  was  talking.  The  loon  shifts  about. 
He  is  cautious,  shy  and  fond  of  solitude,  discour- 
aging acquaintance.  The  birds  emigrate  from 
the  far  North  in  large  numbers.  It  is  not  good 
to  eat,  being  hard  and  tough  but  can  be  eaten 
if  necessary.  There  are  three  species  of  loons, 
the  black-throated,  common  and  red-throated. 

Roland  Tyler. 

Our  mascot 

On  the  steamer  we  have  a  cat  which  we 
call  our  mascot.  He  is  so  black  he  was 
named  Nigger  and  weighs  seven  pounds  and 
five  ounces  and  is  seven  months  old.  Nigger 
is  a  very  strong  and  stout  cat  and  has 
one  extra  toe  on  each  foot.  We  got  him 
from  a  lumber  yard  in  Dorchester.  Some- 
times a  fellow  who  doesn't  work  on  the  steamer 
or  around  it  will  pick  him  up  and  if  Nigger 
doesn't  know  him  he  will  go  "me-ow,  me-ow" 
and  scratch  the  fellow  with  his  big  foot. 
Sometimes  we  fellows  on  the  steamer  get  him 
a  little  cross,  then  he  will  hit  us  with  his  paw 
and  sometimes  scratch  us.  When  I  carry 
down  his  breakfast  in  the  morning,  he  will  rub 
against  each  of  us  fellows  and  follow  us  any 
where  we  go,  but  after  breakfast  he  won't  look 
at  us  hardly.  If  Russell  should  lay  his  coat, 
jumper  or  anything  on  the  cushions,  as  quick  as 
it  lands.  Nigger  will  jump  on  it  and  try  to  get  to 
sleep,  so  he  won't  be  put  off  from  it.  Nigger 
lives  on  the  steamer  and  goes  on  most  all  of 
the  trips  and  on  rough  water  never  gets  sea- 
sick. He  is  always  the  first  passenger  aboard 
the  steamer  when  she  is  going  to  make  a  trip. 
Nigger  is  very  impolite;  he  will  often  jump 
right  in  front  of  passengers  when  they  are  get- 
ting aboard.  He  is  always  first  to  get  aboard 
and  is  always  first  to  get  off.  When  the  steamer 
is  landing  at  the  float,  Nigger  will  go  up  to  the 
bow  of  the  steamer  and  jump    on    the    fellow's 


shoulder  who  is  passing  the  lines  from  the  float 
to  the  steamer.  From  the  fellow's  shoulder  he 
will  either  jump  onto  the  float  or  the  rail 
of  the  gangway  and  run  up  on  the  wharf. 
If  Nigger  is  left  behind  when  we  make  a 
trip,  he  will  watch  for  the  steamer  to  return 
and  as  quick  as  he  sees  it  coming  he  will  run 
for  the  float  for  all  he  is  worth.  As  quick  as 
the  bow  of  the  steamer  is  in  at  the  float.  Nigger 
will  jump  on  the  fellow's  shoulder  who  is  pass- 
ing the  lines  and  on  to  the  steamer.  He  is 
very  fond  of  bragging  when  he  catches  a  mouse 
or  rat.  He  will  take  the  rat  and  throw  it  down 
at  our  feet  and  play  with  it.  Sometimes  we 
m.ake  him  think  we  don't  see  him,  so  he  will 
rub  against  our  legs  and  purr  and  dig  his  claws 
into  us  and  do  everything  he  can  think  of.  He 
wants  to  carry  every  rat  he  catches  into  the 
steamer  but  we  won't  let  him.  Nigger  is  grow- 
ing larger  and  heavier  every  day  and  is  a  regular 
little  pig.  Clarence  Taylor. 

Grinattid  €orn 

Nearly  every  week  it  is  one  of  my  jobs 
to  grind  corn.  When  I  go  down  to  the  farm,  I 
am  told  to  grind  corn  and  one  of  the  teamsters 
is  told  to  take  the  corn  from  the  corn-barn  to 
the  shop  where  I  grind  it.  I  help  load  the  bar- 
rels into  the  cart  and  then  it  is  carried  to  the 
shop.  After  it  is  unloaded  from  the  cart  it  is 
carried  to  the  basement.  I  then  take  the  belt 
that  is  used  on  the  emery  wheel  off  and  put  it  on 
a  side-wheel  on  the  grinder.  I  put  a  bag'in  front 
of  the  grinder  to  catch  the  corn  in.  After  this 
is  done  I  oil  the  grinder.  Then  1  am  ready  for 
work.  I  pull  a  rope  which  switches  a  belt  from 
a  loose  pully  and  this  belt  starts  the  grinder. 
Standing  near  the  hopper  of  the  grinder,  1  drop 
enough  corn  in  to  keep  the  grinder  busy.  I 
have  to  be  careful  not  to  put  too  much  in  at  once 
or  it  will  cIog._  When  I  have  finished  I  sweep 
the  floor  and  clean  the  grinder.  The  corn  is 
then  carried  to  the  stock  barn.  There  are  usually 
four  barrels  of  corn  and  one  of  cobs.  The  cobs 
are  kept  separate  from  the  corn  and  put  in  the 
cut-feed  pen,  but  the  corn  is  put  in  a  chest  from 
which  it  is  fed  to  the  horses. 

Chester  F.  Welch. 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


ectting  Stones 

One  morning  Mr.  McLeod  told  me  to  go 
and  put  the  cultivator  harness  on  Jim  and 
hitch  him  to  the  dragand  go  over  to  the  hen  house 
and  get  a  stone.  I  put  the  stone  on  the  drag 
and  then  he  told  me  to  take  it  up  to  the  kitchen 
porch  and  then  go  down  to  the  boathcuse  ard 
wait  until  he  came.  When  he  came,  he  told 
me  to  drive  Jim  over  to  the  north  end  after 
some  stones.  When  I  got  there,  Mr.  Dix  and 
two  boys  ware  there.  We  got  the  stones  on  the 
drag  and  I  took  them  up  to  the  house  and  it 
was  a  good  morning's  job.  1  took  two  pieces 
of  granite  down  to  the  old  barn  and  put  the  stone 
on  a  plank.  The  farm  is  just  the  place  for  a  boy. 
George  A.   Maguire. 

making  Putfy 

Painters  use  quite  a  lot  of  putty  for  one 
thing  or  the  other  and  as  our  stock  of  putty  was 
pretty  nearly  run  out,  we  had  to  make  seme 
more.  One  morning  after  we  had  finished 
putting  a  priming  coat  on,  Mr.  Burnham  told 
Joe  Robblee  and  me  to  go  dov/n  to  the  paint  shop 
and  take  out  some  linseed  oil  that  was  in  the 
drip  pan  where  the  oil  barrel  stands  and  make 
some  putty.  We  got  a  tin  pan  that  held  six  quarts 
and  put  in  about  three  and  a  half  quarts  of  oil 
and  t\V0  good  sized  handfuls  of  whiting,  which 
is  a  powder  m.ade  from  a  rock  pulverized,  and 
put  it  into  the  oil  and  stirred  it  until  it  was  well 
mixed.  We  kept  adding  more  M/hiting  until  it 
got  stiff  .enough  to  handle.  Then  I  worked  it 
with  my  hands  and  made  it  stiffer.  Then  we 
took  it  out  and  worked  it  up  well  and  it  was 
ready  to  be  put  into  the  putty  firkin.  After  we 
made  one  batch,  it  was  thne  for  dinner.  We 
returned  in  the  afternoon  and  made  enough  to 
fill  the  firkin,  which  was  about  fifty  pounds. 

Foster   B.   Hoye. 

Sweeping  tHe  I)dll 

Every  noon  Herbert  Nelson  and  I  sweep 
the  hall.  We  pile  up  the  boots.  I  put  the 
sweaters  in  the  box.  I  move  the  chairs  and 
boxes  and  sweep  under  them.  When  I'get  that 
done  I  sweep  half  of  the  hall  and  he  the  other 
half.  He  sweeps  the  stairs  and  I  take  down  the 
dirt.  Ralph  H.  Marshall. 


Picking  Up  Chings 

One  afternoon  I  had  to  clean  up  in  back  of 
the  Hall.  I  picked  the  sticks  and  paper  up 
until  one  o'clock,  then  four  other  boys  came  to 
help  me.  After  we  got  that  done,  we  had  to 
take  a  shovel,  two  pickaxes  and  a  hoe  and  dig 
up  the  frozen  ashes  around  the  ash  pile.  When 
we  got  that  done,  we  picked  the  sticks  and  papers 
up  around  there  and  then  took  them  over  the 
bank.  Then  it  was  time  to  get  ready  for  school. 
Ervin  G.   Lindsey. 

Sbeiling  €orn 

Shelling  corn  is  an  easy  job  if  you  like  it. 
The  way  we  do  is  to  take  one  ear  in  one  hand 
and  twist  it  around  with  the  other  and  the 
kernels  fall  off  into  the  box.  I  got  two  blisters 
the  last  time  1  shelled  corn.  When  Mr. 
McLeod  Is  in  a  hurry  he  uses  the  corn-grinder. 
Then  all  that  you  have  to  do  is  to  put  the  ear  in 
at  the  top  and  turn  the  crank  and  the  corn 
comes  out  at  the  bottom  and  the  cobs  out  of  the 
front.  We  shelled  two  bushels  and  then  we 
had  to  gp  up. 

C.  Clifton  Wright. 

Uiews  of  Ulasbington 

In  our  schoolroom  there  are  mailing  cards 
with  different  views  of  Washington  on  them. 
They  are  mounted  on  cardboard  about  two 
feet  long  and  about  thirteen  inches  wide.  There 
are  two  of  these.  The  one  in  the  first  school- 
room has  ten  views  on  it  and  the  one  in  the 
second  schoolroom  has  twelve.  In  one  set 
there  are  views  of  Washington  from  Arlington, 
the  United  States  Pension  Office,  Treasury 
Building,  the  Capitol,  United  States  Patent 
Office,  Pennsylvania  Avenue  from  the  Treasury 
Building,  State,  War  and  Navy  Department, 
the  Congressional  Library  and  the  White 
House.  In  the  other  set  there  are  the  United 
States  Post  Office,  Presidential  Office,  Wash- 
ington Monument  and  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Arts. 
There  are  also  a  few  outside  of  Washington, 
as  Robert  E.  Lee's  mansion  at  Mt.  Vernon. 
All  the  rest  are  the  same  as  in  the  first  set. 
We  enjoy  looking  at  them  very  much. 

Warren  H.  Bryant. 


4  • 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Domp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthy  by  the 

FARM   SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor. 

A    PRIVATE    HOME-TRAIMNG    SCHOOL 
DEPENDENT      UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS. 


Vol.  7.   No.    12. 


April,    1904. 


Subscription  Price    -    50  cents  per  year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS. 


PRESIDENT. 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall. 

vice-president. 

Alfred  Bowditch. 

treasurer. 

Arthur  Adams. 

secretary. 

Tucker  Daland. 

ivanagers. 

Melvin  0.  Adams, 

L  Tucker  Burr,  Jr., 
Charles  P.  Curtis,  Jr., 
Charles  T.  Gallagher, 
Henry  S.  Grew, 
Walter  Hunnewell, 
Henry  Jackson,  M.   D., 
Francis  Shaw, 

William  S.  Spaulding, 
Thomas  F.  Temple, 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 


Charles  H.   Bradley, 


Superintendent. 


It  has  been  said  that  an  absolute  monarchy 
is  the  best  of  all  forms  of  government,  if  the 
monarch  himself  is  wise  and  good.  The  farmer 
may  be  called  an  absolute  ruler  over  his 
domestic  animals  and  he  should  be  well  equipped 
for  the  duties  of  government.  He  may  be 
naturally  merciful  and  kind,  but  this  is  not 
enough.       More    evil   is   wrought   by   want    of 


thought  than  by  want  of  heart,  and  much  of  the 
discomfort  and  torture  that  animals    endure    is 
caused  by  the  ignorance  of  their  owners.       We 
have  no  right  to  keep  farm    animals    and    pets 
without  taking  thought  for  their  welfare,  and  to 
ourthoughfulness  must  be  added  a  knowledge  of 
their  nature  and  needs  and  a  careful    study    of 
the  best  methods  for  their  care    and    manage- 
ment.    There  is  no  small  return  for  such  labor 
in  the  pleasure  we   derive    from    supplying    the 
wants  of  these  dumb    creatures   so    dependent 
upon  us,  and  in  seeing   them    grow    and    thrive 
under  our  watchful    care.      This    humane    and 
patient  course  is  also  the   only    way    to    secure 
good,   financial   returns    in   keeping  live   stock. 
It  is  one  of  the  natural   results    of    a    Christian 
civilization  that  man  has  awakened  to  his  duties 
and    responsibilities,   even  towards    wild    beasts 
and  birds.     A  due  regard  for  our  just    relations 
with  wild  creatures  has  led  to  more  hunting  with 
the  camera  and  less  with    the    rifle,    and    wild 
species  that  have  been  almost  exterminated   by 
the  hunter  are   now   being   carefully   preserved. 
It    would    be    weak    and    foolish    sentiment    to 
protest    against    the    killing    of    creatures    that 
endanger  human  life  or  are  destructive  to  crops, 
but  an  enlightened  public    opinion    can    readily 
strike      the    balance     true     between     wanton 
slaughter  and  that  which  is  necessary    for   our 
protection  or  for  food.      We  owe  much  to    the 
scientific  lecturer  and  to   information    obtained 
from  government  agricultural   stations    for    the 
education  of  the  public  on  these   points.       Best 
of  all,  the    study    of   animal   lore    is    taking    a 
prominent  place  in  our  public  schools. 

May  the  good  work  go  on,  and  may  nature 
studies  and  moral  and  religious  training  go 
hand  in  hand  until  it  can  be  said  of  man  that 
he  is  worthy  to  have  dominion  over  the  animal 
creation. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Dotes 


March  1.  Rough  day.  Quite  a  little 
snow  fell. 

New  window  sashes  fitted  in  the  office. 

March  2.      Lots  of  ice  going  out. 

March  4.  Pilgrim  crossed  at  1  P.  M. 
and  when  they  came  back  at  5  o'clock  floating 
ice  had  lodged  around  the  wharf  so  they  were 
unable  to  make  a  landing  there  or  anywhere  on 
the  beach.    Steamer  laid  at  City  Point  all  night. 

March  5.  Wire  and  battery  case  in  office 
corppleted. 

Finished  a  wardrobe  for  the  office. 

Every  one  skating  this  afternoon.  Fine 
skating  between  the  Island  and  Squantum  and 
Atlantic. 

March  6.  Sunday.  All  the  boys  and  most 
of  the  instructors  went  to  church  by  way  of 
Squantum  on  the  ice. 

March  7.  Finished  hunting  the  brown- 
tail  moth. 

A  field  of  ice  crowded  against  the  break- 
water on  the  flood  tide  and  crushed  about 
one-half  of  it. 

March  8.     No  school  in  the  2nd  division. 

Put  up  picture  molding.  Varnished  wood- 
work in  the  office. 

March  9,  Boys  arranged  according  to 
size. 

March  10.  Began  drawing  gravel  to  fill 
in  low  places. 

March  13.  Sunday.  Mr.  W.  J.  Clark 
from  the  Newton  Theological  Seminary  spoke 
at  3  P.  M. 

March  14.  Frederic  P.  Thayer  left  the 
School  to  work  for  T.  W.  Ripley  &  Co.,  181 
Devonshire  St.,  and  live  with  his  mother  at  24 
Hammond  Street,  Boston. 

March  15.  Finished  a  medicine  case 
for  the  office. 

Finished  painting  the  general  office. 

March    16.     Moved  into  the  new  office. 

A  box  of  tools  received  from  Miss  Ellen 
S.  Bacon. 

Walter  Norwood  finished  two  mantel 
shelves  ;  one  in  the  north  dormitory,  the  other  in 


the  private  room. 

March  17.  Albert  S.  and  Arthur  Munro 
left  the  School. 

Mantel  in  the  general  office  put  ir  place. 

March    18.     Snow  storm. 

Started  the  incubator. 

Winter  term  of  school  closed. 

March  19.  Weak  floor  timbers  replaced 
with  new  and  floor  partially  relaid  in  the  storage 
barn. 

March  20.     Ice  broke  up  at  the  south  end. 

Carl  Wittig  fininshed  a  table  for  the  north 
dormitory. 

March  22.      Pruned  grape  vines. 

Armour  W.  Sylvester  entered  the  School. 

Commenced  drawing  gravel  away  from  the 
steamer's  blocks  and  the  Chilton  boathouse. 

March  23.     Blackbird  seen  today. 

Finished  a  farm  drag. 

Mr.  Bradley  moved  into  his  new  office. 

Squad  of  boys  went  to  Spectacle  Island  to 
see  the  effect  of  the  explosion  at  the  garbage 
plant.    • 

March  24.  Squad  of  boys  went  to  Rains- 
ford  Island. 

Graduate  George  E.  Hart  came  for  a  visit. 

March  26.  Put  new  frame  and  door 
between  kitchen  and  bakery. 

March  28.     Spring  term  of  school  began. 

Put  dressing  into  the  hot-beds. 

March  29.     Cottage  Row  caucus  held. 

March  30.  Jacob  Glutt  left  the  School  to 
live  with  his  parents. 

Sixteen  copies  of  the  Illustrated  London 
News  received  from  Treas.  Mr.  Arthur  Adams. 

March  31.  Tore  out  the  kitchen  and 
bakery  floors. 


fum  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  March  1st.,  1904 
Deposited  during  the  month. 

Withdrawn  during  the  month, 
Cash  on  hand  April  1st..  1904 


$625.07 

6.20 

$631.27 

n.ii 

$620.16 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Rank  in  Classes 

The  following  named  boys  ranked  first  and 
second  respectively  in  their  classes  for  the 
winter  term  of  school. 

First  Class 
Frank  S.  Miley  ,  Carl  L.  Wittig 

Second  Class 
Louis  P.  Marchi  Herbert  J.  Phillips 

Third  Class 
Charles  W.  Watson  William  T.  Walbert 

Fourth  Class 
Charles  A.  McEacheren  Harry  W.  Lake 

Fifth  Class 
Charles  H.  Whitney  Weston  Esau 

Darning  StocHlnds 

Every  Thursday  a  basket  of  stockings 
comes  into  the  sewing  room  from  the  laundry. 
After  we  get  all  our  other  work  done,  we  spread 
two  plaids  on  the  floor  and  dump  the  stockings  on 
the  plaids.  Then  we  take  two  stools  and  sit 
around  therh  and  turn  them  right  side 
out.  When  they  are  all  turned,  we  take  the 
stockings  and  divide  them  into  fourths,  then 
each  fellow  has  an  even  number  to  darn.  After 
that  is  done  we  put  our  stools  in  place  and  take 
up  the  plaids  and  put  them  away.  Then  we  sit 
down  and  begin  to  darn.  We  darn  until  the  bell 
rings  for  dinner,  when  we  are  dismissed. 

Paul  H.  Gardner. 

Trench  Jlrtists  Boor 

In  the  first  schoolroom  the  boys  are 
making  some  books  about  the  French  artists, 
Millet  and  Rosa  Bonheur.  We  first  had  to 
write  all  we  knew  about  the  artists  on  some 
good  paper  and  when  that  was  completed  we 
designed  our  covers,  which  were  thin  gray 
pieces  of  cardboard.  On  the  back  cover  we  had 
to  put  some  little  thing,  such  as  is  used  on  the 
back  of  books,  and  on  the  front  cover  we  have 
some  good  design  and  "French  Artists"  and  the 
School's  monogram  at  the  bottom.  Then  we 
have  four  pictures,  one  of  Millet  and  one  of  his 
masterpieces  and  Rose  Bonheur  and  one  of  her 
masterpieces.  Then  the  book  is  completed 
and  we  put  it  together  and  we  tie  it  with  raffia 
or  ribbon.  I  think  the  books  look  very  nice  and 
are  good.  Charles  W.  Watson. 


eieanind  the  Root  Cellar 

When  I  clean  the  root  cellar  I  get  a  shovel 
and  a  bushel  box.  Then  I  pick  up  the  potatoes 
and  put  them  in  one  of  the  potato  bins,  because 
one  of  them  has  bags  filled  in  it.  There  is 
one  large  bin  for  mangels.  In  the  mangel  bin 
there  are  some  boards  that  divide  the  bin  and 
make  a  place  for  the  carrots.  I  put  the  mangels 
and  carrots  in  their  right  places  and  sweep  the 
floor  by  the  potatoes,  under  the  stairs  and  by 
the  other  bins.  I  sweep  the  cobwebs  from 
around  the  bins  and  under  the  stairs.  Then  I 
take  my  shovel  and  put  the  waste  in  the  bushel 
box  and  dump  it  into  the  manure  cart. 

Philip  S.   May. 

Stereopticon 

On  Sunday,  February  28,  we  had  a  stere- 
opticon  lecture  by  Mr.  Bradley.  He  told  us 
about  Senator  Hanna  and  some  others  and  then 
set  the  lantern  a  going.  It  is  a  calcium  light 
formed  by  a  combination  of  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen gases  in  a  flame  against  a  stick  of  lime.  First 
the  oxygen  is  turned  on,  then  lighted  and  then 
the  hydrogen  is  slowly  turned  on,  and  all  is 
ready.  The  views  were  upon  Russia,  Japan 
and  the  United  States.  There  were  only  seven 
pictures  of  the  United  States,  a  few,  but  they 
were  best  of  all.  They  included  George  Wash- 
ington and  his  wife,  Garfield,  McKinley,  Lincoln, 
Roosevelt  and  last  of  all  the  United  States 
flag.  Thomas  G.  McCarragher. 

Brinaind  mangels 

About  half  past  ten,  another  boy  and  I  grind 
mangels.  We  get  two  boxes  apiece  and  we  go 
down  into  the  root-cellar  of  the  stock  barn.  We 
take  turns  in  grinding.  First  one  fellow  grinds 
while  the  other  takes  a  manure  fork  and  puts 
mangels  into  the  grinder.  There  is  a  bin  that 
will  hold  two  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  of  man- 
gels. When  we  get  a  half-bushel  ground,  we 
put  six  or  seven  carrots  in  and  then  grind  the 
rest  the  same  way.  We  grind  only  two  bushels 
now  because  there  are  not  many  left.  We 
grind  two  extra  on  Saturday  and  have  them  for 
Sunday.  We  put  them  in  front  of  the  cows  and 
Mr.  McLeod  feeds  them. 

J.  Herbert  Nelson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Office  Ulork 

About  two  months  ago  I  got  in  the  office 
from  the  wash-room  where  I  was  working 
before.  I  like  the  office  work  very  much. 
The  first  thing  I  do  is  to  take  down  my  lamps 
to  the  sewing  room  to  be  filled.  Then  I 
empty  two  waste-baskets  into  the  other,  as 
there  are  three,  and  empty  that  in  the  waste- 
barrel.  After  I  do  that  I  sweep  the  floor. 
About  ten  minutes  after,  which  gives  the  dust 
a  chance  to  settle,  I  dust  all  the  things  in  the 
office,  then  I'm  ready  to  do  whatever  Mr. 
Bradley  or  Mrs.  Morrison  has  for  me  to 
do.  Sometimes  I  fill  out  requisitions  or 
run  errands  and  do  various  other  things. 
Every  morning  there  are  papers  to  be  put  on 
file  and  I  put  them  up  and  put  away  the  old  ones. 
At  about  a  quarter  past  eleven  almost  all  the 
things  are  done  and  the  other  morning  office 
boy  and  I  get  ready  for  dinner.  If  there  is  any 
mail  for  the  boys,  either  the  other  boy  or  I  take 
it  down  to  the  dining  room  to  be  given  out. 

Louis  P.  Marchi. 

making  Butter 

We  make  butter  from  once  to  three  times 
a  week.  The  churn  is  a  small  hand  churn  of 
about  eight  gallons  capacity.  It  is  a  "No.  1 
Stoddard  churn."  After  it  has  swollen  so  it  will 
not  leak,  the  cream  is  put  in  and  the  churning 
begins.  For  the  first  five  minutes  the  cork 
should  be  pulled  out  three  times  at  least  to  let 
the  air  out.  It  generally  takes  from  one-half 
hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half,  depending  on  the 
temperature  of  the  cream,  for  the  butter  to  come. 
When  the  butter  comes,  the  buttermilk  is 
drained  off  and  the  butter  is  washed  until  it  is 
free  from  all  of  the  milk  and  the  water  is  clear. 
It  is  then  salted,  about  one  tablespoon  full 
of  salt  being  used  to  one  pound  of  butter. 
Generally  a  little  sugar  is  added  and  when  it  is 
all  mixed,  it  is  ready  to  print.  The  print  we  have 
holds  one-half  pound.  We  use  the  butted  paper 
after  it  is  soaked  in  salted  water.  We  usually 
make  ten  or  twelve  pounds  of  butter.  When 
the  butter  is  not  yellow  enough,  coloring  is  added. 
Robert  H-   Bogue. 


marbles 

A  little  while  ago  the  marble  craze  came 
up.  The  boys  played  marbles  in  Gardner  Hall 
at  first,  rolling  at  glassies  and  up  against  the 
wall.  Up  against  the  wall  is  played  like  this  ; 
a  boy  rolls  a  marble  up  against  the  wall,  it 
bounces  back  again  and  the  boys  let  it  roll  until 
it  stops.  Then  the  other  boys  roll  a  marble  up 
against  the  wall  and  try  to  hit  the  marble  the 
other  has  rolled  up.  Any  number  of  boys  can 
play  it.  A  few  days  ago  the  boys  played  out 
of  doors,  popping  at  a  glassy  and  bunny  in  the 
hole.  A  great  many  boys  go  partners.  A  boy 
that  can  play  well  and  hit  the  glassy  pretty  nearly 
every  time,  goes  partners  with  a  boy  who  can't 
play  so  well.  1  go  partners  with  Roy  Sawyer. 
Harry  W.    Lake. 

Cbanging  Books 

Lately  we  have  had  anew  bookcase  made 
so  as  to  accommodate  our  increasing  library  and 
so  as  to  have  the  case  in  the  reading  room  for 
our  collection  of  relics  and  birds.  I  helped  to 
transfer  the  books  from  the  old  case  into  the  new 
one.  We  took  the  books  out  of  the  case  and 
dusted  them.  We  then  took  them  into  the 
chapel  where  the  new  case  is  and  put  them  in 
according  to  their  shelf  and  number.  The  two 
cases  are  now  side  by  side  in  the  chapel  and  it 
is  much  easier  to  get  the  books  out  than  it  was 
when  part  of  them  were  in  the  reading  room. 
One-half  of  the  new  bookcase  is  used  for  the 
reference  books  while  underneath  is  a  complete 
set  of  Harper's  Magazines. 

I.   Banks  Quinby. 

Scbooiroom  (Uork 

Every  day  at  one  o'clock  all  the  boys  go  to 
work.  Some  go  to  school  in  the  afternoon 
at  half  past  two,  and  I  work  in  the  schoolroom 
until  that  time.  I  wait  for  the  door  to  be 
opened  then  I  erase  all  the  blackboards, 
sweep  the  floor  and  dust  the  desks,  seats, 
windows  and  trimmings.  I  clean  out  the  chalk 
trays.  Thursdays  I  scrub.  When  I  get 
through  about  quarter  past  two  I  go  down  and 
wash  up,  comb  my  hair  and  go  to  school.  I 
like  the  job  very  much. 

Louis  C.  Darling. 


THOMPSONS  ISLAND  BEACON 


jfllumiti 


George  O.  Whittakek,  77,  died  March 
27,  1904,  at  the  age  of  42.  He  belonged  to  the 
Highland  Mutual  R.  A.  and  the  Boston  Aerie 
No.  45,  F.  0.  E.  He  was  at  the  School  last 
Thanksgiving  with  his  son. 

Walter  McKeever,  '95,  we  are  pleased 
to  learn,  is  now  studying  medicine  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont  at  Burlington.  Since  August, 
1900,  he  had  been  an  attendant  at  the  State 
Epileptic  Hospital,  Paliner,  Mass.  Walter  has 
always  given  much  satisfaction  wherever  he  has 
been  employed  and  we  expect  to  see  him  make 
a  good  record  in  his  neu/  work. 

John  J.  Powers,  '00,  since  leaving  the 
School,  has  been  in  the  employ  of  graduate 
Sumner  W.  Parker  of  E.  Westmoreland,  N.  H 
His  time  being  up  this  spring,  John  has  made 
a  change  and  April  1  he  began  work  for  D.  W. 
Leach  at  Westmoreland  Depot.  The  necessity 
for  the  change  was  mutually  regretted,  but  it 
was  to  John's  advantage  to  do  so. 

Walter  L.  Butler,  '03,  has  finished 
work  for  Miss  Blanchard  at  Petersham  and 
gone  to  live  with  relatives  at  76  Church  St., 
Marlboro,  Mass. 

Cutting  fodder 

One  snowy  morning  when  I  went  down  to 
the  barn,  another  boy  and  I  were  told  to  get 
fodder  ready  to  be  cut  for  feed  for  the  cows. 
When  we  got  quite  a  large  pile  ready,  the  boy 
that  was  with  me  was  told  to  go  down  stairs 
and  get  Dan,  the  horse  we  use  for  cutting  fod- 
der. When  he  came  back,  the  horse  was  put 
into  the  machine  and  we  put  the  belt  on  the 
wheels  and  the  machine  started.  I  had  to  feed 
the  machine  and  the  other  boy  raked  the 
fodder  down  the  trap.  1  had  to  work  fast  to 
keep  it  going  and  I  was  glad  when  the  horse 
would  slow  up  a  little  so  I  wouldn't  have  to 
work  so  fast.  It  took  us  about  twenty  min- 
utes to  cut  it  all. 

Charles  MqEacheren. 


Bdiiind  Out  the  Cow-vard 

One  morning  Mr.  Vaugha"^  told  another  boy 
and  me  to  get  a  horse  and  a  drag  and  go  up  to 
the  shop  and  get  the  sewer  pump  and  two  pieces 
of  hose  that  were  up  there  and  bring  them  down 
to  the  cowyard  to  pump  the  water  out.  After 
we  got  it  down  there,  Mr.  Vaughan  had  us  leave 
the  pump  on  the  drag  and  put  some  blocks  under 
it.  After  that  we  joined  the  pieces  of  hose  and 
put  one  end  in  the  water  and  the  other  was  join- 
ed to  the  pump.  Then  we  fixed  a  wooden  trough 
so  that  the  water  we  pumped  would  flow  through 
it  and  out  of  the  cowyard.  When  we  got  this 
done,  Mr.  Vaughan  started  the  pum,p  for  us  and 
I  took  turns  with  the  other  boy  until  about  half 
past  nine  when  Mr.  Ferguson  came  and  took 
my  place  and  I  helped  some  other  boys  bailout 
with  buckets.    We  did  about  half  that  morning. 

John  F.  Nelson. 

Cbe  l)or$e$ 

We  have  five  horses.  One  is  .  a  carriage 
horse,  Captain,  and  the  others  are  all  work 
horses,  Jim,  Dan,  Max  and  Barbara.  A  short 
time  ago  1  was  appointed  as  the  one  to  take 
care  of  Captain,  Dan,  Daisy  and  Barbara.  Mr. 
Ferguson  attends  to  the  other  two.  I  go  down 
to  the  barn  every  morning  and  again  in  the 
evening  and  look  after  them.  In  the  evening  I 
feed,  water  and  bed  them  and  in  the  morning  I 
feed,  water  and  clear  away  the  bedding  and 
clean  them. 

Don  C.  Clark. 

(Uasbing  Paint  in  the  Cower 

One  noon  Mr.  Morrison  told  three  other  boys 
and  myself  to  get  some  buckets  and  go  up  and 
wash  the  tower  walls.  There  were  ladders  up 
there,  so  we  could  get  up  to  the  top.  As  soon 
as  we  got  quite  a  large  space  done,  we  would 
move  the  ladder  and  take  another  strip.  We 
had  creolin  in  the  water  and  that  made  the  dirt 
come  off,  so  it  would  be  easier  to  paint  it  new. 
We  worked  till  it  was  time  to  go  to  school  and 
we  finished  the  next  day. 

Harris  H.  Todd.