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THOMPSONjS    ISLAND 


Vol.  15.  No.  1.  Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.   .       May,  1911 

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


Cottage  Row  election 

Wednesday  evening,  April  fifth.  Cottage 
Row  held  its  second  quarterly  election  for  this 
year.  The  meeting  came  to  order  about  half 
past  eight.  Benches  were  arranged  to  write 
upon  so  as  to  accommodate  as  many  as  possible. 
The  Shareholders  voted  first.  They  are  allowed 
to  vote  for  all  the  officers.  After  their  votes 
were  closed  the  Non-shareholders  voted.  They 
vote  for  all  except  Assessor.  The  Australian 
ballot  was  used  as  is  the  custom  and  after  they 
were  marked  they  were  put  into  the  ballot  box 
head  in  and  down.  After  the  election  the  tellers 
went  to  the  reading-room  and  counted  the  votes. 
The  next  morning  the  returns  were  posted  on  the 
bulletin-board.  The  officers  elected  were  as 
follows: — Mayor,  Royal  R.  Ellison;  Shareholding 
Aldermen,  Preston  M.  Blanchard,  Richard  W. 
Weston,  and  Thomas  Milne;  Non-shareholding 
Aldermen,  James  A.  Blakemore,  and  William  E. 
Rowell;  Treasurer,  Frank  A.  Tarbell;  Assessor, 
Ernest  E.  Slocomb.  The  following  were  later 
appointed: — Chief  of  Police,  John  H.  Marshall; 
Police,  Edric  B.  Blakemore,  Ernest  M.  Cat- 
ton,  Cecil  O.  Jordan,  William  B.  Laing,  John 
LeStrange;  Janitor,  Lawrence  C.  Silver;  Street 
Commissioner,  Thomas  H.  Taylor;  Librarian, 
William  E.  Cowley;  Clerk,  Dick  W.  Steenbrug- 
gen.  Royal   R.   Ellison. 

Cboositid  Up  Sides 

April  nineteenth  we  chose  up  sides  for  base- 
ball. The  first  class  had  the  privilege  of  choos- 
ing the  four  best  players  in  the  School  for  cap- 
tains. They  are,  in  order,  Robert  H.  May, 
Royal  R.  Ellison,  William  B.  Laing,  and  Ralph 
A.  Jones.     The  captains    chose    their   players. 


the  last  named  captain  having  first  choice. 
Each  side  had  fifteen  players,  nine  regular  play- 
ers and  six  substitutes.  Mr.  S.  V.  R.  Crosby, 
one  of  our  Managers,  is  going  to  give  a  shield  to 
the  team  winning  the  most  games,  and  individ- 
ual cups  to  the  best  players,  the  same  as  he  did 
in  the  foot-ball  games.  Mr.  Bradley  arranged  a 
schedule  of  games  which  has  been  printed  and 
one  given  to  each  fellow  so  that  we  may  know 
when  we  are  to  play  and  who  the  opposing  teams 
are.  George  A.  Mansfield. 

Spring  mork  on  tbe  Steamer 

April  twenty-fifth,  about  eight  o'clock,  we 
took  the  steamer  around  to  the  blocks  near  the 
Chilton  boat-house.  The  tide  was  too  high  for 
work  on  the  hull,  so  the  painters  worked  on  the 
top  of  the  cabin  and  smoke-stack  while  two  other 
fellows  scraped  the  rails  so  they  would  be  ready 
to  be  varnished.  At  noon  the  tide  was  low 
enough  for  us  fellows  to  begin  work  on  her  hull, 
and  with  old  brooms,  water  and  sand  we  scrubbed 
the  hull  and  sheathing.  Then  after  the  water 
line  was  marked  upon  the  sheathing  the  screws 
were  taken  out  and  each  piece  was  taken  away 
as  it  came  off.  After  the  sheathing  was  all  taken 
off  the  screw  holes  were  puttied  up.  Then  the 
two  painters  removed  all  loose  paint  and  painted 
the  hull.  All  the  painting  we  could  do  that  day 
was  finished  about  six  o'clock  then  she  was  ready 
to  go  back  to  her  berth,  and  about  eight  we  got 
her  off  and  pulled  her  back  to  her  place  at  the 
north  side  float.  Ralph  A.  Jones. 

Going  for  1)av 

Friday  morning,  March  lliirty-first,  Mr. 
Kibby,  some  of  the  fellows  and  I  went  to  City 
Point  to  get  a  scow-load  of  clever  hay.     Two 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


teams  brought  it  to  the  landing,  one  four-horse 
team  with  a  hundred  bales  and  one  three-horse 
with  eighty  bales.  There  were  ten  tons  in  all. 
We  had  hooks  so  that  we  could  handle  the  bales 
easily.  We  covered  the  bottom,  of  the  scow 
first  with  the  bales  running  across  it.  The  next 
layer  we  piled  just  the  opposite  so  that  it  would 
bind  the  load.  We  could  not  pile  it  all  on  the 
scow  so  we  left  part  of  it  over  there  to  go  for 
again.  A  canvas  was  put  over  the  hay  to  protect 
it  from  the  salt  water  as  it  was  quite  rough,  and 
we  started  for  the  Island,  We  stayed  on  the 
side  of  the  steamer  to  keep  the  scow  from  bump- 
ing up  against  it.  The  scow  was  landed  on  the 
north  side  of  the  wharf  and  the  farm  fellows  un- 
loaded it.  Ralph  A.  Whittemore. 

Cottm  How  CridI 

Five  fellows  had  been  arrested  for  not 
having  their  cottages  cleaned,  and  two  for  not 
having  their  cottage  certificates  framed,  so  a 
trial  was  held.  The  fellows  who  did  not  desire 
to  stay  to  the  trial  went  to  bed.  In  holding 
court  the  Judge  calls  the  court  to  order.  Then 
the  prisoners  plead  guilty  or  not  guilty.  Those 
who  are  guilty  are  fined  by  the  Judge.  Those 
who  plead  not  guilty  are  tried.  The  Judge  se- 
lects his  jury  of  nine  citizens.  The  lawyers 
each  sit  at  a  table,  the  government  on  the  right 
and  the  defensive  on  the  left  of  the  Judge.  If 
either  lawyer  objects  to  any  of  the  jury  they 
leave  and  other  citizens  are  put  in  their  places 
and  when  all  are  satisfactory  they  take  the  oath. 
Then  the  witnesses  are  put  under  oath.  The 
prisoners  don't  have  to  testify  unless  they  wish 
to,  but  if  they  do  they  take  the  oath.  The  trial 
starts  by  the  government  lawyer  picking  the 
prisoner  whom  he  wishes  to  try  first.  The  wit- 
nesses are  questioned  first  by  the  lawyer  who 
called  them  and  then  by  the  other  lawyer.  If 
the  ones  arrested  are  all  for  the  same  offense 
they  are  all  tried  in  the  same  manner  and  after 
they  have  all  been  tried  each  lawyer  makes  his 
plea  to  the  jury.  Then  the  jury  retire  into  an- 
other room  and  the  cases  are  decided  upon. 
The  foreman  writes  out  the  verdict  and  brings 
it  to  the  Judge  when  the  jury  comes  back  to  court 
and  the  decision  is  read  in  court.     The  Chief 


of  Police  goes  with  the  jury  to  see  that  they 
have  no  communication  with  anyone  outside. 
The  prisoners  found  guilty  are  fined  by  the  Judge. 
At  the  last  trial  the  prisoners  were  all  judged 
not  guilty.  If  the  Judge  sees  fit  he  may  fine 
anyone  making  a  disturbance  for  contempt  of 
court.  After  the  trial  is  over  the  clerk  makes  a 
record  of  it.  Norman  V.  Johnson. 

Cbc  Size  Up 

On  Tuesday  night,  April  twenty-fifth,  after 
bath  a  size  up  was  held  in  order  to  have  the 
fellows  in  their  right  places  as  regards  height. 
Capt.  Dix  began  with  the  large  fellows.  In  order 
to  get  the  right  height  a  thin  straight  board  is 
used  with  a  handle  in  the  middle.  This  board 
is  held  on  the  fellows'  heads  and  if  one  fellow 
is  taller  than  the  one  next  to  him  it  will  show 
the  difference  and  he  will  be  moved  up.  After 
one  set  of  fellows  has  been  sized  up  the  largest 
one  says  "one"  the  next  "two"  and  so  on  down 
the  line  until  each  fellow  has  his  number.  After 
this  the  fellows'  things  are  changed  from  their 
old  drawers  to  their  new  numbers.  Later  the 
tooth-brushes  and  towels  are  also  changed  in 
order  for  each  fellow  to  have  his  own.  Usually 
we  have  a  size  up  after  new  fellows  come  to  the 
School.  Walter  I.  Tassinari. 

new  Base  ball  Jlrticles 

April  twenty-seventh  a  large  wooden  box 
came  over  on  the  steamer  and  was  taken  up  to 
the  clothing-room.  I  told  Mr.  Bradley  that  a 
box  had  come  and  he  said  for  me  to  unpack  it. 
When  I  took  the  cover  off  I  found  it  contained 
base-balls,  base-ball  gloves  and  bats.  All  the 
goods  were  either  Reach  or  Victor  make.  There 
were  twelve  fielders'  gloves  and  three  catchers' 
mits,  one  of  them  for  a  left-handed  thrower.  One 
box  contained  a  dozen  Reach  official  American 
League  base-balls.  These  have  a  center  of  cork 
instead  of  rubber  as  other  balls  have.  There 
were  twenty-three  base-ball  bats.  All  the  fellows 
who  play  ball  will  enjoy  using  these  things. 

Edson   M.   Bemis. 

Che  Caster  Concert 

On  Sunday,  April  sixteenth,  we  had  our 
Easter  Concert  in  assembly-hall.     The  choir  was 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


seated  in  the  front  of  the  room  facing  the  boys 
and  instructors.  In  front  of  the  choir  was  a 
railing  decorated  with  plants  and  draped  with 
white  bunting.  The  wall  was  hung  with  white 
and  decorated  with  ivy  and  Easter  lilies.  Near 
the  piano  was  a  large  plant  stand  filled  with  ger- 
aniums. The  windows  were  also  filled  with  ttiem. 
For  other  flowers  there  were  pinks,  roses,  ferns, 
tulips,  and  growing  plants  of  different  kinds. 
The  three  pots  of  Easter  lilies  I  liked  the  best. 
When  a  fellow  spoke  he  stood  between  the  choir 
railing  and  the  front  settee. 

The  program  was  as  follows: — 
Song       -  -  -  -  Choir 

"With  Joy  We  Hail" 
Responsive  Reading 

Leader,  LeRoy  B.  Huey 
Invocation 

Mr.  Creelman 
Song        -  -  -  .  Choir 

"The  Lily  Song" 
Recitation       -  -  Frank  A.  Tarbell 

"To  Make  a  Happy  Easter  Day" 
Exercise      -  -  -  Eight  Boys 

"Crowns  for  the  King" 

Song  -  -  -  Ten  Boys 

"What  Do  the  Lilies  Say?" 

Violin  Obligato — Ernest  M.  Catton 

Recitation  -  -  Perry  Coombs 

"The  Joy  that  Easter  Brings" 
Exercise     -  -  -  Three  Boys 

"Life  of  Christ" 
Recitation  -  George  A.  Mansfield 

"Easter  Harmonies" 
Song       .  -  -  -  Choir 

"The  Glorified  Savior" 
Reading         -  -  Frederick  V.  Hall 

"The  Date  of  Easter" 
Exercise         -  -  -  Six  Boys 

"Jesus  Lives" 
Song       -  -  -  -  Choir 

"Jesus  of  Nazareth" 
Exercise       -  -  -  Five  Boys 

"The  Friends  of  the  Flowers" 
Song        -  -  -  -  Choir 

"Banners  of  Spring" 
Remarks  -  -  Mr.  Creelman 


Recitation  -  George  W.  M.  Starrett 

"Christ  is  Risen" 
Song        -  -  -  .  Choir 

"King  Eternal" 
Exercise  -  -  -  Six  Boys 

"Easter  Opening  of  the  Owl  Club" 
Song       -  -  -  -  Choir 

"'Tis  Sweet  to  Know" 
Recitation      -  -  Perley  W.  White 

"To  Know  the  Christ" 
Recitation         -  -  Theodore  Milne 

"The  Waking" 
Song       -  -  -  .  Choir 

"Angels  Rolled  the  Stone  Away" 
Remarks  -  -  Mr.  Bradley 

Everett  W.   Maynard. 

Caking  off  Storm  Windows 

As  the  weather  was  getting  warmer  it  was 
thought  best  that  the  storm  windows  should  be 
removed  from  the  main  building.  The  windows 
were  fastened  on  the  inside  so  we  had  to  take 
the  screws  out  from  the  inside.  Then  someone 
on  the  ladder  outside  took  the  window  down  and 
it  was  wiped  off  and  a  tag  put  on  so  that  it  could 
be  put  back  in  the  same  window  next  winter. 
On  the  second  floor  the  windows  were  taken  off 
from  the  inside  and  then  taken  care  of  in  the 
same  way.     They  were  stored  in  the  west  loft. 

Robert  H.   May. 

Cops 

When  Mr.  Bradley  announced  he  would 
give  out  tops,  the  fellows  who  wanted  them  lined 
up,  and  as  they  passed  Mr.  Bradley,  he  held  the 
box  of  tops  out  and  they  took  their  pick.  As 
they  passed  along  LeRoy  Huey  gave  them  top 
strings  with  wooden  buttons.  Then  everywhere 
about  tops  were  being  tried  out  to  see  how  they 
could  spin.  The  fellows  have  games  they  play 
with  the  tops.  One  of  them  is  called  "Top  in 
the  Ring."  If  a  player  fails  to  spin  his  top  in  the 
ring  he  must  put  it  in  the  center  of  the  ring,  and 
the  other  boys  have  a  chance  to  get  a  hit  at  it 
with  their  tops.  Sometimes  there  are  ten  or 
eleven  tops  in  a  pile  and  a  fellow  hits  the  top  in 
the  center  of  the  pile  and  most  all  the  rest  fly 
out  of  the  ring.  John  W.   Lincoln. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON     DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS 
A     PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 


Vol.    15.  No.   1. 


May,   1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


PRESIDENT 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 

managers 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr, 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 


It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  picture  the  young 
people  of  the  schools  of  our  country  assembling 
in  the  open  to  celebrate  Arbor  Day  by  the  plant- 
ing of  trees. 

Arbor  Day  will  make  the  country  more  beau- 


tiful every  year,  and  valuable  lessons  in  economy 
and  unselfishness  will  be  taught.  Its  observance 
will  serve  to  recall  the  services  of  the  trees  on 
every  hand  and  remind  us  of  their  ministry. 
One  of  the  happiest  results  of  the  new  holiday 
will  be  the  increase  of  knowledge  which  springs 
from  personal  interest  in  trees  attracting  boys 
and  girls  to  a  love  and  knowledge  of  nature  and 
a  new  interest  in  them. 

Mr.  Charles  S.  Sargent  says: — "A  knowl- 
edge of  trees,  the  ability  to  at  least  recognize 
and  identify  them,  adds  vastly  to  the  pleasures 
of  life.  One  who  knows  trees  will  meet  them 
like  old  friends;  each  season  invests  them  with 
fresh  charms,  and  the  more  we  study  and  know 
them  the  greater  will  be  our  admiration  of  the 
wonderful  variety  and  beauty  displayed  in  the 
different  seasons." 

It  is  high  time  we  considered  the  trees. 
They  are  among  our  chief  benefactors  and  are 
much  better  friends  to  us  than  we  are  to  them. 
Their  service  begins  with  our  earliest  needs. 

In  this  country,  our  homes,  the  furniture, 
and  the  fences  that  inclose  them  are  largely  their 
product.  The  fuel  that  warms  us,  even  if  it  be 
coal,  is  the  mineralized  wood  of  past  ages.  In 
the  frames  and  handles  of  the  agricultural  imple- 
ments that  our  boys  use  on  the  farm,  wharf,  boats, 
and  carriages — wherever  the  eye  falls  it  sees 
the  beneficent  service  of  the  trees.  We  like  to 
think  that  no  view  from  our  windows  can  hide 
their  beauty  from  us. 

Tree-planting  has  been  connected  with  our 
School  from  its  earliest  history.  Our  location 
demands  unusual  care,  first  in  the  kind  of  trees 
selected,  then  their  planting  and  constant  vigi- 
lance during  their  growth.  As  a  result  it  is  now 
our  privilege  to  enjoy  the  distinction  cf  being 
"Th'^  island  in  the  harbor  with  trees  on  it,"  the 
reward  of  past  years  of  unmitigated  labor.     A 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


nearer  view  reveals  numerous  groves,  an  orchard 
that  every  May  presents  an  appearance  of  great 
beauty,  an  arboretum  containing  many  choice 
varieties,  and  large,  stately,  shade  trees  scat- 
tered over  broad  lawns. 

These  trees  that  we  so  thoroughly  enjoy,  we 
must  remember,  are  the  result  of  unselfish  labor 
and  devotion  of  the  past.  They  have  been  the 
constant  companions  of  the  boys,  and  as  the 
boys  watch  the  development  of  tree-planting  may 
they  feel  its  spiritual  and  refining  influence. 

The  thoughtful  youth  may  see  in  a  great 
tree  a  noble  image  of  a  strong  man  struggling 
with  obstacles  that  he  overcomes,  wrestling 
mightily  with  the  wintry  gales,  and  extorting  a 
glorious  music  from  the  storms  which  it  trium- 
phantly defies. 

We,  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  welcome 
most  heartily  Arbor  Day  and  trust  that  in  the 
years  to  come  its  observance  will  be  in  every 
home  as  well  as  in  the  schools  of  our  land. 

notes 

Apr.  4.     Chemicals  for  fertilizer  came. 

.Apr.  5.  Second  quarterly  election  of  offi- 
cers of  Cottage  Row. 

Apr.  7.     Finished  pruning  the  orchard. 

Howard  B.  Ellis  began  assisting  Mr.  Morse 
with  the  band. 

Apr.  11,  Annual  setting  out  of  willow 
shoots  in  east  side  bank. 

Mr.  H.  Taggard  sent  an  interesting  lot  of 
magazines  and  books  to  the  School. 

Apr.    12.     First  radishes  from  hotbed. 

Apr.    14.     Job  plasterer  here  patching  walls. 

Apr.  15.  Paul  R.  Rietz  returned  to  his 
mother. 

Prescott  Merrifield  visited  the  School. 

Apr.  16.  Easter  Sunday.  Concert  in  the 
afternoon. 

Apr.  18.  Magazines  received  from  Mrs. 
H.  S.  Grew. 

Apr.  19.  Graduate  Clarence  DeMar  won 
the  Marathon  Race. 


Graduates  Charles  A.  Blatchford,  Robert 
H.  Bogue,  and  George  1.  Leighton  visited  the 
School. 

Apr.  22.  Graduate  James  Clifford  visited 
the  School. 

Harold  Leon  Carlton  admitted  to  the  School. 

Apr.  24.  Painted  fire  doors  in  boiler  and 
engine  rooms,  and  blacksmith  shop. 

Apr.  25.     Received  10  tons  of  clover  hay. 

Manager  MosesWilliams,  Jr.,  gave  "Duke," 
a  horse,  to  the  School. 

Apr.  26.  Steamer  on  the  blocks  to  re- 
move winter  sheathing  and  paint  hull. 

Sowed  peas  and  clover  and  stocked  down 
with  red  clover  and  timothy. 

Apr.  27.  Mr.  Gustaf  Larsson  and  Prof. 
Henderson  visited  the  School. 

Universal  saw  bench  came,  gift  of  Mr.  Laban 
Pratt. 

Two  motor-driven  manual  training  lathes 
given  the  School  by  Mrs.  H.  S.  Grew. 

Apr.  28.     Painted  steamer's  decks. 

Apr.  29.     Removed  storm  windows. 

Began  using  ice  in  the  refrigerators. 

Set  out  seventeen  horsechestnut  trees 
around  the  spring. 

Sprayed  the  ditches  with  gas  oil  to  kill 
larvas  of  mosquitoes. 

First  base-ball  game  of  the  season  for  the 
Crosby  cups  and  shield. 

Cbc  Tartn  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  April  8,  1911  $888.02 

Deposits  to  May  1,  19 11  16.10 

^04.12 
Withdrawals  to  May  1,  1911  10.57 

Cash  on  hand  May  1,  1911  $893.55 

Jlprll  mcfeorolodV 

Maximum  temperature  78°  on  the  27th. 

Minimum  temperature  15°  on  the  5th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  43°. 

Total  precipitation  1.96  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 

.74  inches  on  the  4th. 

5  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 13  clear  days,  12  partly  cloudy,  5  cloudy 
days. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  213  and  35 
minutes. 

Cleaning  tbc  Gardens 

I  cleaned  the  boys'  gardens  one  afternoon. 
I  raked  all  the  paths  around  the  gardens  and 
made  piles  of  leaves.  These  I  put  into  bags  and 
carried  them  to  the  ash  house.  When  the  bell 
rang  I  got  my  tools  together  and  put  them  back 
where  1  got  them.  About  the  middle  of  April 
the  boys  fix  their  gardens.  They  loosen  the  soil 
and  re-stone  the  gardens.  When  the  rest  of  the 
work  is  done  on  the  gardens  the  fellows  put  some 
dressing  on  and  mix  it  in  with  soil,  breaking  up 
the  lumps  and  raking  out  all  the  stones.  It  gen- 
erally takes  two  wheelbarrow  loads  of  dressing 
for  a  big  garden  and  one  for  a  small  one.  Some- 
times a  few  of  the  fellows  will  take  a  quarter- 
inch  gravel  screen  and  screen  the  dirt  to  get  out 
all  the  stones  and  lumps.  In  May  they  begin  to 
plant  their  seeds.  Arthur  G.  Appel. 

Cbe  Incubator  1)0U$e 

The  duck-house  which  has  been  kept  down 
under  the  large  oaks  south  of  the  storage-barn 
was  moved  the  last  of  March  up  under  some 
apple  trees  south  of  the  poultry-house.  It  is  to 
be  used  as  an  incubator  house  this  spring.  It 
has  a  large  window  in  the  side  toward  the  poultry- 
house  and  this  is  to  be  the  door.  A  square  place 
has  been  cut  out  of  the  floor  to  let  the  incubator 
stand  on  the  ground  so  that  when  anyone  comes 
into  the  place  the  incubator  will  not  be  jarred. 
In  the  incubator  there  is  a  tray  which  is  divided 
in  the  middle  and  each  side  holds  sixty  eggs. 
One  hundred  thirty-two  were  put  in  at  first  for 
when  they  are  tested  some  eggs  usually  have 
to  be  taken  out.  The  eggs  have  to  be  taken 
out  once  every  day  for  the  first  nineteen  days 
and  turned,  and  the  tray  is  generally  put  back  in 
the  opposite  way.  The  lamp  has  to  be  filled 
once  a  day  and  the  wick  trimmed. 

Richard  W.  Weston. 

Getting  tbe  new  1)or$e 

One  afternoon  the  farm  fellows  were  sent 
dov/n  to  the  wharf  to  unload  the  freight  barge 
that  had  hay  in  it,  and  put  two  gang-planks  on 
board.     Capt.  Dix  asked  Mr.  Kibby  if  he  might 


have  a  boy  to  go  over  in  the  barge.  Mr.  Kibby 
said  he  might  have  me  if  I  would  be  any  good  to 
him.  He  said  that  1  would,  so  1  went  on  board 
and  helped  with  the  gang-planks.  The  barge 
was  taken  alongside  the  steamer  and  was  m.ade 
fast.  There  was  a  pail  of  sand  on  board  to 
put  on  the  gang-plank  so  that  it  would  be  easy 
for  the  horse  to  come  up  and  into  the  barge. 
There  was  some  chaff  on  the  floor  and  we,  the 
steamer  fellows  and  I,  cleaned  it  up  and  threw  it 
overboard.  When  we  got  near  enough  to  the 
landing  to  put  out  a  gang-plank  we  did  so.  Mr. 
Gordon  got  on  the  gang-plank  and  coaxed  the 
horse  on.  He  would  come  partway  on  and  then 
go  off  again.  Mr.  Gordon  asked  me  for  more 
sand  and  I  emptied  the  pail  on  the  gang-plank 
and  he  came  on  all  right.  The  horse  is  a  beauty. 
His  name  is  Duke.  Manager  Moses  Williams, 
Jr.,  gave  us  the  horse  and  Mr.  Gordon  went 
to  Needham  Junction  to  get  him. 

Charles  R.  Jefferson. 

transplanting  Raspberry  Busbes 

One  day  Mr.  Kibby  told  some  of  us  boys  to 
get  shovels  and  go  with  him.  First  we  went 
over  to  the  plowed  ground  by  the  orchard  and 
dug  some  holes.  When  we  had  a  row  of  holes 
done,  Mr.  Kibby  told  four  of  us  boys  to  go  over 
to  the  raspberry  patch  with  him.  There  we  dug 
out  some  raspberry  bushes.  After  we  had  a  good 
many  out  Mr.  Kibby  took  a  pair  of  pruning  shears 
and  trimmed  the  bushes  and  made  four  piles  of 
them.  After  he  had  made  the  piles,  each  one 
of  us  took  a  pile  up  to  where  the  holes  were. 
One  fellow  handed  them  to  Mr.  Kibby  and  two 
fellows  shoveled  soil  into  the  hole,  while  the 
others  leveled  off  around  the  raspberry  bushes. 
William  J.  Grant. 

Planting  trees 

There  has  been  some  tree  planting  done 
lately.  Some  trees  were  sent  from  the  Bay  State 
Nursery  to  the  School.  They  were  all  planted 
in  the  orchard.  Mr.  Kibby  had  had  the  old  trees 
taken  up  and  carted  away.  There  were  also 
some  small  trees  dug  up.  The  new  trees  were 
placed  in  the  holes  where  the  old  ones  came  out. 
Four  lellows  went  with  Mr.   Kibby  and  filled  in 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


partly 'around  the  trees  while  he  held  them  up. 
Two  other  boys  and  myself  stayed  back  and  com- 
pleted the  filling  in.  We  planted  about  twenty 
trees  that  afternoon.  After  we  got  all  the  dirt 
in  we  could,  we  got  hoes  and  cleaned  the  rest  off. 
Franklin  E.  Gunning. 

l)arrowing 

Harrowing  is  done  to  mellow  the  soil,  con- 
serve moisture,  kill  weeds,  and  smooth  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  and  also  mix  in  the  compost. 
The  land  here  is  somewhat  moist  and  therefore 
a  little  muddy  in  the  low  parts  of  the  Island.  In 
harrowing  it  is  necessary  to  cut  up  the  dead 
furrows  and  fill  them  in  level  with  the  rest  of  the 
soil.  A  dead  furrow,  as  it  is  called,  is  the  last 
furrow  in  the  piece.  The  kind  of  a  harrow  we 
use  is  a  rolling  cutter.  In  harrowing  the  har- 
row is  generally  lapped  half  the  length  every  time 
back  and  forth.  When  I  harrow  I  work  the  cor- 
ners of  the  piece  round  so  that  the  horses  can 
keep  on  going  without  stopping  to  turn. 

William  B.   Laing. 

Cbe  new  Cable  £loti)$ 

Recently  the  work  of  the  morning  dining- 
room  fellows  was  to  help  measure  and  cut  out 
table  cloths  for  the  boys'  tables.  Three  large 
rolls  of  oil  cloth  were  sent  in.  A  table  was 
measured  and  found  to  be  three  feet  wide  and 
six  feet  long.  The  oil  cloth  was  cut  into  seven- 
teen pieces  of  four  feet  wide  and  about  seven 
feet  long,  so  that  some  would  hang  down  over 
the  edge  of  the  tables.  Some  round  pads  were 
cut  out  of  cotton  flannel  and  these  were  glued 
on,  one  on  each  corner  of  the  cloth  so  that 
the  corners  of  the  cloths  would  not  wear  out 
so  quickly.  There  was  also  a  table  cloth  cut  out 
for  the  table  on  which  the  dishes  are  washed. 
Stanley  W.  Clark. 

easier  Decorations 

On  the  day  before  Easter,  the  teachers,  two 
other  fellows,  and  1  decorated  the  assembly-hsll 
for  the  Easter  concert.  Along  the  walls  of  the 
front  of  the  room  we  draped  white  bunting  over 
which  we  hung  Engksh  ivy.  The  door  was  taken 
down,  the  frame  covered  with  white  cloth,  and 
Easter  lilies  arranged  over  this.     Beyond   the 


doorway  was  placed  a  large  white  cross,  the 
base  of  which  was  covered  with  geraniums  in 
blossom.  The  altar  rails  were  draped  in  white 
and  decorated  with  wistaria,  pink  geraniums, 
and  Easter  lilies.  The  windows  were  filled  with 
geraniums,  while  a  beautiful  rose-bush,  spirea, 
yellow  vetch,  ferns,  and  other  plants  were  placed 
in  different  parts  of  the  hall.  We  also  had  cut 
flowers  such  as  pinks,  tulips  and  roses.  There 
were  one  hundred  and  twenty  geraniums  besides 
those  taken  from  the  dining-room  and  school- 
room. These  will  be  given  to  the  fellows  for 
their  gardens.  Frederick  S.   Hynes. 

Cbe  Ulaste-paper 

In  the  attic  there  are  two  bags  in  which  we 
keep  printed  and  unprinted  waste-paper.  The 
paper  that  is  put  into  these  bags  comes  from  Mr. 
Bradley's  office  and  the  main  office.  Each 
morning  the  basket  that  is  in  Mr.  Bradley's  office 
is  taken  out  and  the  paper  that  is  in  it  is  put  into 
the  basket  that  is  in  the  main  office  and  then  it 
is  taken  up  stairs  where  it  belongs.  When  the 
paper  bags  are  all  full,  one  of  the  office  fellows 
takes  them  down  to  the  storage-barn  where  all 
the  printed  and  unprinted  paper  belongs.  When 
he  has  put  the  bags  in  the  right  places  he  gets 
two  more  bags  and  takes  them  up  to  the  house 
where  he  puts  a  tag  on  each  bag  so  we  will 
know  which  bag  is  for  the  printed  paper,  also  for 
unprinted  paper.  Frank  A.  Tarbell. 

J\  morning's  UlorR  Before  School 

One  morning  after  we  came  from  breakfast, 
I  was  sent  to  Capt.  Dix.  He  had  me  make  a 
fire  in  the  forge.  1  got  some  shavings  and  put 
them  in  the  center  of  the  forge  and  covered  them 
with  soft  coal.  Then  1  lighted  the  shavings  and 
pumped  the  bellows.  When  I  had  a  good  fire, 
Capt.  Dix  came  in  and  put  on  a  pot  full  of  lead. 
He  said  when  I  got  the  lead  melted  to  take  it 
to  the  boiler-room  in  the  power-house,  and  I  did 
so.  We  leaded  iron  soil  pipes.  Oakum  was 
first  put  in  the  bottom  of  the  joint  and  lead 
put  in  around  it  after  it  was  well  calked.  After 
the  joints  were  done,  1  swept  the  floor  around 
the  forge  and  then  it  was  time  to  go  to  school. 

James  A.   Peak. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


B\mn\ 

James  McCabe,  75,  captain  in  the  Cam- 
bridge fire  department,  while  extinguishing  the 
^flames  in  a  blazing  automobile  was  severely  in- 
jured about  the  face  and  head  by  the  explosion 
of  a  chemical  fire  extinguisher.  Though  his  in- 
juries are  painful,  he  is  making  good  progress 
toward  recovery  and  expects  soon  to  be  able  to 
resume  his  duties. 

€lc4nind  Dmps 

My  first  work  after  breakfast  is  to  clean 
lamps  and  lanterns.  I  take  off  the  chimneys 
and  globes  to  be  washed,  then  1  fill  and  wash  the 
lamps  and  lanterns.  After  the  chimneys  are 
done,  I  trim  the  wicks  and  light  them  to  see  if 
they  are  all  right.  After  this  1  wash  the  table 
and  pail  and  put  my  things  away.  These  lamps 
and  lanterns  are  used  in  different  parts  of  the 
house,  and  by  the  watchman  after  eleven  o'clock 
at  night  when  the  electricity  is  shut  off. 

Eldred  W.  Allen. 

Planting  Ulillow  Sboots 

We  have  planted  willow  shoots  on  the  south- 
east bank  of  our  Island.  The  shoots  were  cut 
from  the  large  willow  trees.  Two  fellows  with 
saws  selected  the  limbs  for  planting  and  sawed 
them  off.  Two  other  fellows  brought  the  limbs 
over  to  where  we  were  planting.  Before  setting 
them  out  they  were  pruned  to  about  two  or  three 
feet  in  length.  We  planted  about  two  hundred 
of  these  shoots,  fifteen  feet  apart. 

Charles  E.  Morse. 

Gcttiitd  Bedding  for  the  Cows 

One  day  when  there  wasn't  enough  salt  hay 
in  the  stock-barn  to  bed  the  cows  wjth,  1  asked 
Mr.  Kibby  what  to  do.  He  told  me  to  take  the 
leaf  crate  that  was  down  at  the  storage-barn 
and  fill  it  with  salt  hay.  Another  boy  and  my- 
self took  pitch  forks  and  filled  the  leaf  crate  with 
hay,  then  we  put  it  on  a  wheelbarrow.  One 
wheeled  it  while  the  other  kept  it  from  falling  off. 
When  we  got  it  up  to  the  stock-barn  we  took  the 
crate  inside  and  bedded  the  cows  with  the  hay. 
Then  1   returned  the  crate. 

Walter  S.   Hall. 


J\  Statnt)  Collection 

Stanley  Clark  and  1  have  the  stamp  craze. 
We  have  been  collecting  stamps  for  quite  a  few 
weeks  and  have  between  six  and  seven  hundred. 
We  keep  our  stamps  in  a  large  album  which  we 
got  by  trading.  It  is  called  the  International 
Postage  Stamp  Album  and  has  four  thousand  il- 
lustrations. It  will  hold  ten  thousand  stamps. 
We  are  saving  stamps  from  Mexico,  Brazil, 
New  Zealand,  Persia,  and  Peru.  When  a  fel- 
low has  two  of  the  same  kind  of  stamps  he  gen- 
erally trades  for  some  he  has  not  got.  We  ako 
buy  stamps  from  the  Trading  Company.  Some 
of  the  twenty-five  and  fifty-cent  packages  are 
very  good.  The  fellows  stick  their  stamps  in 
with  stamp  hinges  or  gummed  paper.  Our 
teachers  pass  us  the  gummed  paper.  It  comes 
in  large  sheets  and  is  cut  into  pieces  about  three 
inches  long  and  four  inches  wide.  The  stamp 
hinges  cost  five  cents  a  thousand.  Some  of  the 
fellows  have  between  five  and  six  thousand 
stamps.  Harry   L.  Fessenden. 

Deliverind  Laundry 

Each  instructor's  room  is  numbered,  the 
numbers  running  from  one  to  fifteen.  The 
laundry,  such  as  sheets,  pillow-cases  and  towels, 
is  marked  with  the  number  of  the  room  where 
it  belongs.  All  the  instructors'  clothes  are 
marked  with  their  names  or  initials.  When  the 
clothes  are  all  washed  and  ironed  they  are  sorted 
into  different  pile.s  according  to  the  rooms  where 
they  belong.  They  are  put  into  a  basket  and 
are  taken  around  to  the  rooms  by  Miss  Pierce 
and  one  of  the  fellows.  The  clothes  that  go  to 
the  farm-house  are  taken  over  by  the  farm-house 
boy.  John   LeStrange. 

Painting 

The  hall  near  the  office  has  recently  been 
painted.  We  went  over  the  walls  with  our  putty 
knives  and  scraped  off  all  the  loose  paint  and 
puttied  up  all  the  holes  and  cracks.  After  we 
had  the  walls  smooth  and  in  good  condition  we 
painted  them  with  a  cream  colored  paint.  We 
also  scraped  the  base  boards  and  shellacked  them. 
Walter  R.   Horseman. 


THOMPSO]^    ISLAND 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  2. 


Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston  Mass. 


June,   1911 


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


memorial  Day  Exercises 

According  to  custom  the  E.  P.  A.  had  the 
pleasure  of  conducting  the  Memorial  exercises 
on  the  Sunday  before  Memorial  Day.  Last  year 
the  exercises  were  held  near  the  cemetery  but 
this  year  the  sun  was  so  hot  that  the  place  was 
changed  to  Lyman  Grove.  About  three  o'clock 
the  fellows  lin^d  up  near  the  main  building  and 
the  members  of  the  E.  P.  A.  got  the  guns  they 
use  for  driUing  and  formed  in  line  near  Gardner 
Hall.  There  were  in  the  lead,  two  drummers,  a 
bugler  and  two  color-bearers,  one  carrying  the 
club's  colors  and  the  other  the  United  States 
flag.  Behind  these  were  the  members  of  the 
E.  P.  A.  The  rest  of  the  fellows  fell  in  behind 
the  club.  The  exercises  consisted  of  several 
hymns  and  poems  appropriate  to  the  day.  After 
these  we  marched  to  the  cemetery  where  the 
officers  put  flowers  and  United  States  flags  on 
each  grave  and  also  a  Swedish  flag  on  the 
grave  of  a  Swedish  sloyd  teacher. 

LeRoy  B.   Huey. 

Jlntlcipatloit 

All  through  April  we  were  anxiously  waiting 
for  Mr.  Bradley  to  tell  us  the  date  of  the  first 
Friends'  Day.  At  last  he  did.  From  that  time 
to  Friends'  Day  we  were  all  counting  the  days 
one  by  one.  Finally  we  wrote  the  cards  and 
that  seemed  to  bring  it  a  little  nearer.  The  day 
before  Friends'  Day  we  were  all  prophesying  what 
the  weather  would  be.  At  night  when  the  ob- 
servers came  back  from  the  observatory  they 
were  asked  whether  the  barometer  was  falling 
or  rising.  The  morning  of  the  sixteenth  every- 
body went  out  doors  to  see  what  the  weather 
would  be.     It  looked  stormy  and  it  finally  com- 


menced to  rain,  but  by  the  time  we  came  out  of 
the  dining-room  it  had  stopped.  The  sun  cam.e 
out  and  then  we  were  all  satisfied.  There  were 
two  hundred,  thirty-one  people.  There  were 
only  a  few  fellows  who  did  not  have  friends 
come  so  other  fellows  shared  their  good  things 
with  them.  Ralph  A.  Whittemore. 

Overbauliiid  Cawn-mowers 

Every  spring  the  lawn-mowers  are  taken 
apart  and  we  repair  whatever  needs  it.  The  in- 
casement  which  holds  the  gear  is  taken  apart 
and  cleaned  of  all  the  dirt  and  grass  that  has  ac- 
cumulated  in  the  past  year,  after  which  it  is 
washed  off  with  gasoline  to  remove  all  the  oil 
and  grease.  On  some  of  the  lawn-mowers  the 
cogwheels  are  worn  out  from  constant  use  and 
new  ones  are  put  in  to  replace  them.  New 
rollers  are  put  in  those  that  need  them.  Before 
the  incasement  is  adjusted  all  parts  are  well 
oiled.  The  knives  are  sharpened  by  means  of 
a  crank  inserted  in  one  of  the  wheels  and  a  little 
oil  and  carborundum  powder  put  on  each  knife. 
This  crank  is  turned  around  until  the  knives  be- 
come bright  and  sharp.     Louis  M.  Reinhard. 

Cutting  Jfsparagus 

Some  mornings  1  cut  asparagus  and  carry  it 
to  the  kitchen.  I  take  an  asparagus  knife  and 
a  basket  to  the  asparagus  patch  where  there  are 
five  rows  of  asparagus  to  be  cut  each  morning. 
In  order  to  cut  it,  1  push  the  knife  into  the  ground 
close  to  the  asparagus  and  cut  it  off  down  in  the 
ground.  When  1  have  it  all  cut,  1  carry  it  up 
to  the  barn  and  weigh  it.  I  then  make  out  du- 
plicate cards  and  put  one  on  the  basket  of  aspara- 
gus, and  leave  one  at  the  barn,  after  which  I  carry 
the  asparagus  up  to  the  kitchen. 

Herbert  L.  Dudley. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Buffalo  Blirs  Show 

A  number  of  fellows  had  the  pleasure  cf 
going  to  see  Buffalo  Bill's  show.  One  lot  of 
us  went  Friday,  May  nineteenth,  and  another 
went  on  Saturday.  We  started  a  little  after  cne 
o'clock.  When  we  arrived  at  the  Point,  we 
took  a  car  for  the  transfer  station  and  got  a  car  for 
the  grounds  from  there.  We  got  off  at  the  Back 
Bay  Fenway  and  walked  to  the  grounds.  Mr. 
Beebe  got  the  tickets  and  we  went  in  and  had 
orchestra  seats.  The  most  interesting  perform- 
ances were  the  shooting  by  Buffalo  Bill  and  the 
lassoing  done  by  a  Mexican.  The  U.  S.  Cavalry 
bareback  riders  did  some  good  feats.  The  drill 
of  the  West  Point  Cadets  was  very  interesting 
esoecially  when  they  scaled  the  "Walls  of  Pekin". 
The  coach  robbery  and  the  Indian  settlement 
were  both  interesting.  We  all  had  a  very  good 
time.  Norman  V.  Johnson. 

mintcr  Rye 

Nearly  every  afternoon  lately  1  have  hauled 
two  loads  of  winter  rye  to  the  barn.  When  1 
get  my  tools,  horse  and  cart  ready,  1  drive  over 
to  the  piece  south  of  the  power-house  where  the 
rye  is.  It  is  all  mowed,  so  all  I  have  to  do  is  to 
load  it  upon  the  cart.  I  load  the  rear  end  of  the 
cart  first  because  1  can  get  a  larger  load  on  in 
this  way.  After  1  have  a  load,  I  take  it  to  the 
scales  to  be  weighed.  As  1  weigh  the  horse 
and  empty  cart  before  getting  my  load,  I  can 
get  the  net  weight  of  the  rye  which  is  generally 
from  four  to  five  hundred  pounds  to  a  load.  After 
the  rye  is  weighed,  I  take  it  to  the  feeding  floor 
and  dump  it.  Edric   B.   Blakemore. 

$cc!iO!t$  of  tbe  Band 

So  that  the  boys  on  the  different  instruments 
might  have  more  practise,  Mr.  Morse  divided 
the  band  into  sections  and  put  a  fellow  in  charge 
of  each  section.  In  charge  of  the  five  cornets 
is  Edric  B.  Blakemore;  the  five  clarinets,  and 
piccolo,  Ralph  A.  Whittemore;  tenor  drums, 
bass  drum,  and  cymbals,  William  B.  Laing;  and 
the  harmony  consisting  of  three  altos,  two  basses, 
two  tenors,  three  trombones,  and  a  baritone, 
Willard  H.  Perry.  Tuesday  nights  the  cornets 
go  out  and  practice  from  seven  till  nine,  Wed- 


nesday nights  the  clarinets  go  out,  Thursday  nights 
the  harmony  instruments  practice,  and  Friday 
nights  all  the  band  goes  out  and  Mr.  Morse  is 
usually  here.  Saturday  nights  the  drums  and 
cymbals  go  out.  On  these  nights  we  play  over 
what  we  have  been  told  to  practice  and  this  is 
a  great  help.  Harold  L.  Wynot. 

TisWng 

On  Saturdays  the  fellows  often  go  fishing 
in  the  afternoon.  At  one  o'clock,  we  ask  Mr. 
Beebe  if  we  may  go.  After  receiving  permission, 
the  largest  fellow  is  put  in  charge  and  we  all  go 
to  the  wharf.  If  it  is  low  tide  we  dig  our  bait. 
Sea  worms  are  used  chiefly  but  some  fellows 
use  clams  and  mussels.  The  fish  that  we  catch 
the  most  are  flounders,  but  some  salt  water  perch 
are  caught,  also  smelt  and  crabs.  When  we 
return  to  the  house  we  clean  the  fish  and  take 
them  to  the  kitchen  to  be  fried  for  breakfast  or 
dinner  the  next  day. 

Stanley  W.  Clark. 

6!0ittd  out  Seeds 

On  Saturday,  May  thirteenth,  Mr.  Bradley 
came  out  to  the  Old  Elm  where  the  fellows  were 
with  a  large  box  of  flower  seeds  to  distribute 
among  us.  It  is  the  custom  every  year  for  seeds 
to  be  given  out  for  the  fellows  to  plant  in  their 
flower  beds.  This  year  there  were  a  great  many 
varieties.  The  seeds  were  spread  out  on  a  table 
and  the  fellows  received  them  by  turns.  We 
were  provided  with  envelopes,  and  as  we  told  Mr. 
Bradley  what  kinds  of  seeds  we  desired,  he  trans- 
ferred them  from  the  packages  into  our  envelopes. 
The  most  popular  flowers  among  the  fellows  are 
asters,  zinnias,  marigolds,  and  bachelor  buttons. 
Oscar   E.   Neumann. 

Cransplanting  £clcrv 

One  afternoon  my  work  was  to  transplant 
celery  in  the  hotbeds.  I  set  out  the  plants 
about  two  inches  apart  having  three  plants  in  a 
row.  After  one  row  was  finished  1  began  on  an- 
other, having  themi  two  inches  apart  and  the 
rows  running  the  width  of  the  hotbed.  1  planted 
thirty-one  rows  during  the  afternoon.  Before 
leavjig,  1  watered  all  the  hotbeds.  These  plants 
will  again  be  reset.  Charles  E.   Morse. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Sprayiug  Cms 

This  spring  as  usual  arsenate  of  lead  was 
sprayed  on  the  elm  trees  to  kill  the  elm-leaf 
beetle.  Two  pounds  of  arsenate  of  lead  was 
mixed  in  about  fifty  gallons  of  water.  The 
hand  pump  was  used  to  spray  the  Old  Elm  with, 
but  our  new  "Jack  Junior"  gas-engine  with  a 
pump  attachment  was  far  better  so  that  the  rest 
of  the  tress  were  done  with  this.  The  pump 
was  in  the  cart  and,  after  being  placed  in  the 
right  position,  every  thing  was  ready.  The  two 
spray  nozzle  were  taken  by  fellows  who  could 
climb  well  and,  after  getting  as  far  up  in  the  tree 
as  possible  with  a  ladder,  they  climbea  until  a 
suitable  place  was  reached.  The  wind  carried 
the  spray  very  well.  Some  trees  were  easily 
reached  from  the  ground  so  we  were  saveo  llie 
bother  of  climbing.         Walter  A.  Jordan. 

Uldsbing  BlastKcts 

As  the  weather  grows  warmer  the  blankets 
are  taken  off  the  fellows'  beds  and  taken  to  ihe 
laundry  to  be  washed.  During  the  latter  part  of 
the  week  when  all  our  regular  work  is  done  we 
do  them.  After  we  get  the  dust  out  of  them  we 
wash  them  in  luke-warm,  soapy,  water,  three 
fellows  working  on  a  blanket,  one  on  each  end 
and  one  in  the  middle.  After  we  get  a  dozen 
or  so  washed  we  rinse  them,  and  hang  them  out. 
After  they  are  dry  they  are  taken  to  the  sewing- 
room  and  mended.  Three  fellows  can  wash 
about  twenty  blankets  in  a  morning.  There  are 
about  three  hundred  in  all  to  do. 

John   LeStrange. 

Cbc  StancitsD 

One  morning  five  other  fellows  and  myself 
were  sent  to  take  the  rowboat,  Standish,  to  the 
shop  for  repairs.  Three  of  the  fellows  took  down 
long  planks  so  that  we  could  place  the  rowboat 
on  these,  and  with  a  fellow  on  each  side  of  the 
plank  the  boat  could  be  carried  easily.  We 
carried  the  boat  up  the  rear  avenue  to  the  shop 
in  Gardner  Hall  where  it  was  repaired  and 
painted.  We  then  took  our  planks  back  to  the 
storage-barn  where  we  piled  them  up  with  the 
others.  Preston   M.   Blanchard. 


(Uatcbitig  tbc  Tranccnia 

At  noon,  May  second,  the  fellows  were  on  the 
lookout  for  the  Franconia.  We  watched  her 
leave  the  dock  and  in  a  few  minutes  she  was  out 
in  plain  sight.  The  Franconia  is  a  very  large 
boat  and  through  field  glasses  we  could  make  cut 
some  people  on  deck.  She  stayed  at  quarantine 
for  a  long  time  and  then  went  on  her  way.  We 
like  to  watch  for  the  large  ships.  In  looking  at 
the  different  papers  we  can  keep  track  of  the 
boats  and  when  they  sail.  Some  fellows  hsve 
a  small  book  with  picture:>  of  the  different  steam- 
ship lines  and  showing  how  we  may  tell  them 
by  the  funnels  and  flags. 

William   B.   Deane. 

new  mats 

In  the  hall  by  the  boys'  dining-room  there 
has  recently  been  two  new  mats  put  in.  The 
one  that  goes  from  the  kitchen  dcor  to  the 
stairway  that  leads  down  to  the  lower  hall  is 
twenty-five  feet  long  and  three  feet  wide.  The 
other  is  from  the  dining-room  doer  to  the  store- 
room and  sewing-room  doors  which  are  cppcsile 
each  other.  That  is  twenty-one  feel  long  and 
the  same  width  as  the  other.  They  are  made 
of  rubber  anJ  are  easy  to  sweep.  A  mat  was 
also  put  in  the  dining-rocm  in  front  of  the  sii.k, 
but  that  was  cut  off  one  of  the  n  sts  that  v,  tie 
in  the  hall  before  the  new  ones  were  put  in.  T  liey 
help  save  the  fleers.         Leslie    H.   B/rker. 

l\iv  Baseball  $]\n$ 

Mr.  Bradley  ordered  some  new  ball  suits  so 
that  the  two  teams  playing  could  both  have  suits. 
The  new  suits  came  and  were  worn  for  the  fiist 
time  by  Ellison's  team.  May  twenty-seventh. 
They  are  navy  blue  with  a  blue  monograiri  on 
old  gold  pockets.  The  stockings  are  blue  \>,\{h 
two  old  gold  stripes.  There  were  some  gray  caps 
bought  for  the  old  suits  and  blue  caps  go  with 
the  new  suits.  The  old  suits  are  gray  with  an 
old  gold  monogram  on  the  blue  pockets,  and  .he 
stockings  are  blue  with  one  old  gold  stripe.  1  he 
new  suits  were  made  at  Wiight  and  Ditscn's 
and  the  fellows  like  them  very  n  uch.  1 1  ey 
were  the  gift  of  the  President  of  tl.e  School,  Mr. 
Alfred   Bowditch.  Lawrence   C.   Silver. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published   Monthly   by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,   Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON      DONATIONS      AND      BEQUESTS 
A      PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR      WORTHY     BOYS 


Vol.   15.  No.  2. 


June,    1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 

MANAGERS 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeElois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 


The  purpose  of  our  conduct  system  is  not 
merely  that  of  immediate  discipline,  but  of  cor- 
recting the  faults  and  bad  habits  of  the  pupils 
and  training  them  to  become  good  men  and 
useful  citizens. 


In  order  that  the  terms  used  in  the  opera- 
tion of  this  conduct  system  may  be  understood, 
it  may  be  well  to  make  some  explanation  of  their 
meaning.  A  "check"  is  a  record  of  some  offence 
of  commission  or  omission,  which  is  worth  a  cer- 
tain number  of  "marks."  These  marks,  in  turn, 
determine  into  which  disciplinary  group  or 
"grade"  a  boy  is  to  be  placed. 

During  a  day  each  boy  comes  under  the 
supervision  of  five  instructors.  One  instructor 
is  responsible  for  him  at  night,  another,  besides 
being  present  while  the  boy  is  at  play,  sends  him 
to  work  and  school,  a  third  has  him  at  his  work, 
a  fourth  instructs  him  in  school,  and  a  fifth  is  in 
charge  of  him  while  he  is  at  his  meals. 

When  a  boy  commits  some  offence,  the  in- 
structor under  whose  care  he  is  at  the  time  makes 
a  note  of  it.  At  the  end  of  the  week  the  in- 
structor sends,  to  the  Superintendent,  a  report 
blank  containing  a  list  of  offences,  on  which  a 
check  has  been  made  opposite  the  proper  desig- 
nation. On  this  blank  the  offences  are  arranged 
in  three  columns  under  the  headings  Personal, 
Vocational,  and  Moral.  The  personal  column 
contains  offences  which  pertain  to  appearance, 
etiquette,  and  general  conduct,  the  Vocational 
column  contains  those  which  relate  to  the  observ- 
ance of  rules  and  the  meeting  of  obligations; 
the  moral  column  contains  those  of  the  most 
serious  nature.  Space  is  reserved  below  these 
columns  for  special  remarks  which  may  either 
refer  to  some  check  above  or  to  the  noting  of 
CO  nmendable  conduct. 

This  system  is  made  fairer  than  many  others 
because  the  final  grading  rests  with  one  person, 
the  Superintendent.  He  is  familiar  with  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  each  boy,  his  previous 
record,  his  endeavors,  and  his  hinderances.  He 
is  also  cognizant  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
various  instructors,  their  tendencies,  and  their 
faults.  With  this  knowledge  he  is  able  to  make 
allowances  both  in  behalf  of  the  boy  and  the  in- 
structor and  hence  to  judge  impartially. 

The  grading  of  the  boys  is  done  each  week 
in  the  following  manner.  The  Superintendent, 
after  considering  the  reports  sent  to  him  from 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


the  various  departments,  decides  the  number  of 
marks  each  check  should  receive.  In  general, 
offences  belonging  to  the  personal  column  re- 
ceive few  marks;  those  of  the  moral  column  re- 
ceive the  most.  When  all  the  reports  concern- 
ing one  boy  have  been  collected,  he  is  placed, 
according  to  the  total  number  of  marks,  in  the 
first,  second,  third,  or  fourth  grade.  After  this 
has  been  done,  the  reports  of  each  boy  are  filed 
whe;-e  they  can  be  conveniently  referred  to  at 
any  time. 

Upon  entering  the  school  each  boy  is  placed 
in  the  first  grade.  When  he  has  received  a 
check,  one  to  fifteen  marks  place  him  in  the 
second  grade;  fifteen  to  thirty-five,  in  the  third; 
thirty-five  or  more,  in  the  fourth.  One  perfect 
week's  record  is  required  to  be  entitled  to  rise 
a  grade;  hence  if  a  boy  drops  to  the  fourth  grade, 
it  takes  him  at  least  three  weeks  to  rise  again 
to  the  first. 

The  effectiveness  of  the  system  is  secured 
throught  the  rewards  and  restrictions  which  are 
dependent  upon  the  grades.  This  may  be  illus- 
trated by  showing  hew  the  grades  regulate  swim- 
ming in  summer  and  skating  in  winter.  A 
boy  who  is  in  the  first  grade  may  participate  in 
these  pleasures  every  day;  one  in  the  second 
grade,  every  other  day;  one  in  the  third  grade 
only  on  Saturday;  one  in  the  fourth  grade  not  at 
all.  A  fourth  grade  boy  is  allowed  no  pleasure, 
because,  except  when  he  is  asleep,  at  meals  or 
at  school,  he  is  required  to  work.  Those  who 
stand  highest  in  their  conduct  are  selected  to  be 
responsible  for  others.  They  are  chosen,  when 
the  opportunity  is  afforded,  to  attend  the  theatre, 
a  circus,  a  fair,  a  lecture,  or  to  receive  some 
special  pleasure.  Further  stimulus  is  offered  in 
the  form  of  prizes  which  are  given  to  those  who 
have  been  in  the  first  grade  for  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  weeks  during  six  months,  preference  being 
given  to  those  having  the  smallest  number  of 
marks  against  them. 

The  results  of  this  system  which  we  have 
described  a-e  shewn  in  msny  ways.  The  fol- 
lowing are  am.ong  the  most  striking  examples. 
The  boy  is  taught  proper  habits,  instructed  in  the 


consideration  due  others,   made  to  feel  respon- 
sibility, and  becomes  more  self-controlled. 

This  conduct  system  has  been  successful 
on  account  of  its  wide  scope  and  fairness.  Al- 
though at  times  it  may  appear  to  the  boy  to  be 
rather  strict,  it  does  after  all,  no  more  than  pre- 
pare him  for  active  life,  because,,in  correcting 
his  faults,  teaching  him  that  punishment  of  some 
kind  fellows  misbehavior,  and  that  good  behavior 
has  its  reward,  he  becomes  familiar  with  what 
he  is  to  expect  when  he  starts  out  for  himself  in 
the  world. 

notes 

May   1 .     Renewed  planks   in  horse-stalls. 

Manager  Francis  Shaw  visited  the  School. 

May  2.  Painted  life  boat  on  steamer  Pil- 
grim. 

May  3.     Cut  the  first  asparagus. 

Finished  painting  and  lettering  eighty  gar- 
den stakes. 

May  4.  Electric  motor  came  for  buzz 
planer  and  saw  bench. 

Sowed  pea,  spinach,  beet,  swisschard,  onicn, 
and  lettuce  seed  and  finished  planting  potatoes. 

May  5.     Replaced  several   wharf   planks. 

May  6.  Made  covers  of  enamel-cloth  for 
engines  and  motors  in  engine-room. 

May  8.  Moved  hose-house  back  of  poultry- 
house  for  incubator  house. 

May  9.  Finished  transplanting  blackberry 
bushes. 

May   10.     Refitted  grey  uniforms. 

May  11.  Wet  tool-grinder,  and  gasoline 
engine  spray-pump  came. 

Planted  popcorn,  Farquhar's  first-crop  sug- 
ar sweet  corn,  and  sowed  millet  seed. 

May  12.  12  inch  buzz  planer  received, 
gift  of  Mrs.  George  Howland  Shaw. 

May  13.  Twenty-five  boys  attended  the 
Harvard- Brown  base-ball  game  through  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  /rthur  Beane. 

May  14.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Huxtable, 
accompanied  by  several  of  his  parishcners,  ad- 
dressed the  boys. 

May  15.  Freight  barge  John  Alden  re- 
paired and  bottom  re-caulked. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


May  16.  First  Friends'  Day,  231  visitors 
present.  Secretary  Tucker  Daland  and  Manager 
Francis  Shaw  were  here,  also  graduate  Howard 
Ellis  with  his  wife  and  little  son. 

May    17.     Steamer  Pilgrim  varnished. 

Planted  Peep  o'  Day  sweet  corn,  cucum- 
ber and  melon  seeds.  Cut  the  first  winter  rye 
for  green  feed. 

May  19.  Twenty-two  boys  attended  Buf- 
falo Bill's  Wild  West  Show. 

May  20.  Twenty-two  boys  attended  Buf- 
falo Bill's  Wild  West  Show. 

May  23.  Laid  electric  cable  conduit  in 
concrete  floor  of  carpenter  shop. 

May  24.      Masquerade  dance. 

May  25.   Planted  Longfellow  corn. 

Put  screens  on  windows  and  doors  at  main 
building. 

May  28.  Memorial  Sunday.  Appropriate 
exercises  at  the  cemetery  as  usual  by  the  E.  P.  A. 

May  27.      Repaired  row  boat  Standish. 

May  29.     Turned  cows  out  to  pasture. 

Second  Friends'  Day,  190  visitors  present. 
Secretary  Tucker  Daland  present,  also  graduate 
Bertrand  B.  Keyes,  wife  and  daughter. 

May  30.      Memorial  Day. 

Freight  barge  John  Alden  loaned  for  judges' 
boat  at  S.  B.  Y.  C.  Races. 

May  31.  Twenty-five  boys  attended  Ring- 
ling's  Circus. 

Began  spraying  the  elms  with  arsenate  of 
lead  solution  to  kill  elm-leaf  beetles. 

Cbe  Tarm  ana  trades  School  BanK 

Cash  on  hand  May  1,  191  1  $893.55 

Deposits  to  June  1,  1911  44.27 


937.82 

Withdrawals 

54.78 

Cash  on  hand  June  1,   1911 

$88j.04 

m.JV  mneorologv 

Maximum  temperature  89^  on  the  22nd. 
Minimum  temperature  31°  on  the  4th. 
Mean  temperature  for  the  month  59.9° 
Total  precipitation  .34  inches. 
G.eateot  precipi.aiion  in  twenty-four  hours 
15  inches  on  the  25th. 

5  days  with  .01  or   more  inches  precipita- 


tion, 13  clear  days,  15  partly  cloudy,  3  cloudy 
days. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  232  and 
30  minutes. 

Thunder  showers  on  the  19th  and  25th. 

Kc$cttiit9  €annon-l)all$ 

During  the  winter  the  cannon  balls  on  the 
grounds  that  are  used  for  markers  had  settled,  SC' 
the  pedestals  upon  which  they  rest  could  not  be 
seen.  Mr.  Beebe  told  me  to  get  a  hoe  and  pick 
and  raise  them  to  a  higher  level.  I  rolled  the 
cannon-ball  off  the  pedestal  and  filled  the  depres- 
sion with  dirt.  Then  1  placed  the  pedestal  so 
that  it  was  level  and  rolled  the  cannon-ball  tack 
again  into  place.  I  fixed  seven  cannon-balL  in 
this  way.  Thomas  Milne. 

making  a  Crip  in  a  Kowboat 

Recently  while  the  steamer  was  being 
painted,  trips  were  made  to  City  Point  in  row- 
boats.  It  was  my  pleasure  one  morning  to  row 
over  to  City  Point  in  the  Standish,  a  four-oared 
boat.  The  Standish  is  very  light  and  two  fellcws 
can  row  her.  The  water  was  very  calm  so  the 
trip  was  made  quickly.  Larger  and  heavier 
boats  are  used  when  the  water  is  rough.  It 
takes  about  twenty  minutes  to  row  to  City  Point. 
Herbert  A.  Souther. 

(Uccding  the  Strawberries 

Every  fall  we  put  seaweed  on  the  straw- 
berries so  they  won't  winter  kill.  It  keeps  the 
ground  from  first  thawing  and  then  freezirg. 
When  spring  comes  we  take  the  seaweed  off 
and  cart  it  over  to  the  incinerator.  Then  a 
little  while  after  we  take  it  off  we  commence 
weeding  the  plants.  Our  instructor  shows  us 
what  he  wants  us  to  do.  We  pulled  up  all  the 
weeds,  dandelions,  grass  and  dead  strawberries. 
These  we  put  in  a  basket  and  when  it  is  full 
we  empty  it  over  behind  the  cher  y  trees  where 
the  fellows  can  harrow  it  in.  The  plants  will 
have  to  be  weeded  five  or  six  times  this  sum- 
mer. Last  winter  was  a  bad  one.  Some  of 
our  fine  plants  were  killed  and  we  shall  have  to 
tran.  plant  some  more. 

Robert  C.  Casey. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


gct^crltid  Singing  Books 

The  singing  books  which  are  used  in  chapel 
needed  to  be  covered.  They  were  sent  to  the 
office  and  1  covered  them.  They  were  to  be 
covered  with  black  paper  and  a  label  affixed  to  the 
cover,  with  a  number  stamped  on  it.  The  num- 
bers were  from  one  to  one  hundred  twenty-two. 
The  old  covers  were  taken  out  to  the  waste- 
barrel  where  they  were  collected  and  carried  to 
the  incinerator  and  burned.  It  was  an  after- 
noon's work  covering  these  books. 

Claire   R.   Emery. 

Splicing  Kope 

Every  time  that  we  need  a  line  1  splice 
it,  as  1  like  to  splice.  One  afternoon  it  was  my 
work  to  splice  a  deck-line.  1  measured  fifty- 
three  feet  of  rope,  three-fourths  inch  in  diameter 
as  that  is  the  size  we  use  for  deck-lines.  After 
getting  the  right  length  I  cut  it  off,  mousing  the 
end.  The  loop  of  the  rope  is  three  feet.  In 
splicing,  the  middle  strand  is  put  through  first 
and  then  the  other  two.  After  it  has  been  put 
through  once  it  is  quite  easy  to  finish  as  I  take 
every  other  strand  to  put  the  ends  through.  We 
usually  put  the  ends  through  four  times  for  safety. 
The  places  where  we  use  the  most  rope  is  on  the 
floai  as  they  chafe  a  good  deal'  but  to  keep  them 
longer,  we  put  chafing  pieces  on  them.  These 
are  pieces  of  canvas  sewed  around  the  rope. 
Then  the  wear  all  comes  on  the  canvas  and  pro- 
tects the  rope.  Bernhardt  Gerecke. 

Picking  up  UFastc 

For  a  few  days  my  work  was  to  pick  up 
waste  around  the  roads.  1  got  a  gccd  wheel- 
bariow  from  the  storage-barn  and  started  at  the 
wood  pile  and  went  along  below  the  orchard.  I 
picked  up  papers,  sticks,  and  all  waste.  I  went 
up  the  farm-house  path  as  far  as  the  poultry- 
house.  I  had  to  go  over  to  the  end  of  the  or- 
chard for  some  papers.  When  I  got  a  load  I 
went  back  to  the  storage-barn  and  put  it  in  a 
b?-rrel.  Then  I  went  along  the  beach  rc?d  as 
far  as  the  con  pcst-shed  vhere  1  turned  off  to 
the  road  that  goes  past  the  vegetable  cellar. 
When  I  got  over  to    the  incinerator  1   had  to 


come  up  for  supper.  The  next  day  I  finished  the 
South  End  and  picked  up  stones  on  Highland  Road 
as  far  as  Bowditch  Grove. 

Frederick  E.  Van  Valkenburg. 

Cbc  Pageant  and  missionary  exposition 

Saturday,  May  sixth,  Preston  Blanchard 
and  i  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  "Pageant 
and  Missionary  Expostion"  at  the  Mechanics 
Building  with  Miss  Pierce.  We  arrived  there 
about  half-past  one.  There  were  booths  and  in 
these  were  missionaries  dressed  in  costumes  of 
the  nationalities  which  they  represented.  Some 
of  these  booths  had  bronze  images  which  the  pa- 
gan people  worship.  One  place  of  interest  was  the 
booth  of  China.  Around  it  was  scenery  represent- 
ing the  Wall  of  China.  After  looking  at  the  dif- 
ferent booths  we  saw  the '-Pageant  Play."  This 
play  portrayed  the  manner  of  life  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  world.  Livingston's  life  among  the 
black  race  was  portrayed.      Cecil  0.  Jordan. 

Caving  Sods 

A  large  oak  tree  that  was  dead  was  removed 
from  the  front  lawn  near  the  arboretum.  When 
this  was  removed  it  left  a  large  bare  spot,  and 
it  was  the  work  of  another  fellow  and  myself  to 
fill  the  hole  in  with  dirt  and  cover  the  place  with 
sods.  Before  we  laid  the  sods,  we  each  got  a 
wheelbarrow  and  wheeled  sods  and  loam  to  the 
place.  We  filled  the  hole  with  loam  and  then 
started  laying  the  sods.  I  made  a  row  around 
the  outside  and  one  inside  of  that  and  kept  work- 
ing toward  the  center  laying  them  a  little  higher 
than  the  surrounding  grass  so  as  to  allow  for  a 
settling.  Roy  D.   Upham. 

Sprinkling  Lawns 

During  the  spring  and  summer  our  lawns 
are  watered.  We  have  two  hydrants,  one  by  the 
main  building  and  stock-barn.  The  cap  is  taken 
off  the  hydrant  and  a  valve  screwed  on.  Then 
the  hose  is  put  on  and  lengths  coupled  together 
and  sprinklers  put  on.  When  running  two  sprin- 
klers from  the  same  side  a  "Siamese"  is  used,  the 
hose  running  out  from  the  arms.  When  not  in 
use  the  hose  is  kept  in  the  west  basement  and 
the  spinklers  in  Gardner  Hall  basement. 

John  O.   Enright. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumni 

Harold  W.  Edwards,  '  10,  is  living  at  24 
Park  St.,  Lynn  and  still  working  for  the  General 
Electric  Co.  in  that  city.  Ha  is  regularly  attend- 
ing Sunday  School  and,  in  the  final  report  of  the 
School,  received  second  honor  for  scholarship  and 
conduct.  Harold  is  justly  proud  of  this  distinc- 
tion and  we  congratulate  him,  because  all  efforts 
in  this  line  speaks  well  for  a  graduate's  charac- 
ter. 

Edwin  J.  Tape,  '10,  writes  an  interesting 
letter  from  South  Acton,  Mass.,  where  he  is  at- 
tending High  School  and  working  for  a  farmer 
nearby,  helping  him  with  the  chores.  Edwin 
says  that  the  money  he  earns  is  very  handy  and 
the  extra  work  keeps  him  occupied.  This  va- 
cation, he  writes,  he  is  going  to  work  in  the 
Merriam  Piano-Stool  Factory  the  best  place  in 
town.  Edwin  writes  hopefully  of  his  studies  and 
shows  a  live  interest  in  the  affairs  of  this  School. 

Alfred  W.  Jacobs,  '10,  is  employed  in 
the  stock-room  of  the  New  England  Telephone 
Company  in  Hingham.  He  has  charge  of  the 
stock,  distributing  it  to  the  men.  He  says  he 
likes  his  work.  Alfred  takes  the  Beacon  and 
looks  forward  to  its  arrival.  He  says:  "1  read 
the  Alumni  notes  first  to  see  what  the  other 
fellows  are  doing,  then  I  read  every  thing 
else  in    the    paper,  from  cover  to  cover." 

Harold  Y.  Jacobs,  '10,  is  working  for  G.  H. 
Morrill  &  Co.,  Printing  Inks,  coiner  of  Purchase 
and  Pearl  Sts.,  Boston.  He  is  in  the  mixing- 
room  where  the  special  orders  of  ink  are  mixed. 
Harold  says  he  practices  on  his  cornet  every 
night  and  on  July  Fourth  is  going  to  play  with 
the  Hingham  Band.  Both  Alfred  and  Harold 
are  living  in  Hingham  with  their  mother.  Their 
unusual  neat  and  manly  appearance  are  valuable 
assets  to  them  in  any  pursuit  they  may  follow. 

Cransplantitid  Blackberry  Bushes 

One  afternoon  in  the  second  week  of  May 
Mr.  Kibby  told  another  fellow  and  me  to  get 
shovels  and  come  with  him.  We  went  to  the 
berry  bushes.  He  told  us  to  dig  out  all  the  good 
ones  and  put  them  in  a  pile.    Then  he  cut  off  all 


the  old  branches.  When  we  got  quite  a  few  of  the 
plants  dug,  we  took  them  down  by  the  the  orchard 
where  they  were  to  be  replanted.  The  holes 
were  already  dug  so  one  fellow  handed  Mr. 
Kibby  a  bush  and  the  other  fellow  shoveled  the 
dirt  on  the  roots.  After  we  had  these  all  planted, 
we  went  back  and  got  some  more.  We  made 
four  trips  and  planted  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five.  All  the  dead  ones  were  put  into  a  pile 
and  Mr.  Kibby  burned  them. 

Ernest  E.  Slocomb. 

ZMnq  the  Cows  to  Pasture 

On  May  twenty-ninth,  our  second  Friends' 
Day,  the  cows  went  out  to  pasture  for  the  first 
time  this  year.  We  had  two  cow-boys  and  an- 
other fellow  to  help  as  the  cows  were  quite  frisky. 
After  we  drove  them  to  the  North  End,  we  let 
them  have  their  Friends'  Day  dinner  which 
they  enjoyed  very  much.  Most  of  the  pastures 
have  no  fences  and  it  is  the  work  of  two  cow-boys 
to  keep  them  out  of  the  corn,  hedges,  flats  and 
salt  hay  as  well  as  the  lawns  if  the  pasture  is  near 
them.  The  most  common  pastures  are  Oak 
Knoll,  Lyman  Grove  and  between  Oak  Knoll  and 
Whales  Back  as  well  as  the  North  End.  At  the 
last  of  the  season  the  cows  are  allowed  to  go  into 
the  meadows.  Walter  L  Tassinari. 

moving  the  l)Ose-house 

We  moved  the  hose-house  from  its  old 
place  near  the  power-house  to  the  orchard  near 
the  hen-house  where  it  is  to  be  used  for  an  in- 
cubator house.  When  we  got  ready  to  move  it, 
we  jacked  it  up  and  put  it  on  rollers,  then  we 
put  a  long  rope  around  it  and  a  number  of  fellows 
took  hold  of  the  rope  and  began  to  pull.  There 
were  two  fellows  who  stayed  near  the  house  to 
carry  the  rollers  from  the  rear  end  of  the  house 
to  the  front  end  as  the  house  moved  along. 
Mr.  Bradley  came  down  where  we  were  working 
and  said  that  we  were  getting  along  finely.  Then 
he  went  up  to  the  house  and  came  back  with  a 
case  of  ginger  ale  and  he  served  it  to  Mr.  Beebe, 
Mr.  Kibby,  and  the  fellows  who  were  working 
here.  It  was  not  hard  to  move  the  building  but 
it  took  more  than  one  day  to  move  it. 

Bernard  F.  Murdock. 


THOMPSONjS    ISLAND 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  3. 


Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston  Mass. 


July,    19  11 


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


Graduation  Day 

It  is  the  custom  for  our  graduation  exercises 
to  be  held  on  the  front  lawn  when  the  weaiher 
permits.  Our  surroundings  make  this  a  very 
pleasant  meeting  place  for  our  friends  who  coire 
to  these  exercises.  June  ninth,  seats  were 
arranged  in  a  semicircle  in  front  of  the  platfoim 
from  which  the  speaking  was  made.  The  pro- 
gramme was  as  follows: — 
Music      -  -  .  -  Band 

Prayer        -  -  Rev.  F.  B.  Richards 

Salutatory  -  -  LeRoy  B.  Huey 

Essay  -  -  Norman  V.  Johnson 

Massachusetts  Schools 
Song     -  -  -  -  Chorus 

Crew  Song — Gregh 
Essay  -  -  Walter  A.  Jordan 

Insect  Pe^ts 
Class  Prophecy  -  Dick  W.  Steenbruggen 

Valedictory       -  -  Royal  R.  Ellison 

Song     -  -  -  -  Chorus 

At  Twilight — Gow 
Address  -  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Elder 

Awarding  of  the  United  States   History  Prizes, 

given  by  Frank  E.  Allard,  M.  D. 
Presentation  of  Diplomas     -  Mr.  Bradley 

Music      -  -  -  .  Band 

Class  Motto:  "Fidelity" 
The  following  numbers  were  prepared  but 
on  account  of  the  length  of  the  programme  were 
omitted: — ■ 
Essay  -  -  Ernest  M.  Catton 

Lumbering  in  Maine 
Essay  -  -  Orice  M.  Merrick 

New  Hampshire  Scenery 

Essay  -  -  Dana  W.  Osborne 

History  of  Vermont 


Essay  -  -  John   H.    Marshall 

Rhode  Island  and  its  Oyster  Fisheries 
Essay      -  -  Ralph  A.  Whittemore 

Connecticut's  Famous  Men 
Essay  -  -  George   H.   Appel 

Modem  Paintings 
E^say   -  -  -  Robert  H.  May 

The  Power-house 
Essay         -  -  Bernard  F.  Murdock 

Famous  Ships 
Poem  -  -  John  LeStrange 

Legend  of  Bregenz — Adelaide  Proctor 
We,  of  this  year's  class,  considered  ourselves 
very  lucky  in  having  present  such  a  number  of 
distinguished  speakers.  Mr.  Elder  in  his  ad- 
dress said  that  every  age  in  the  history  of  the 
world  has  had  its  problems  to  solve.  He  said, 
"This  is  the  period  of  individuality.  Hand  con- 
tracts is  an  education  which  books  alone  cannot 
supply." 

While  Mr.  Elder  was  speaking  it  seemed 
that  his  audience  would  be  increased  by  two 
from  the  overhead  route.  The  buzzing  of  the 
airship's  motors  was  heard  coming  nearer,  it 
was  their  intention  to  land,  but  seeing-  us  assem- 
bled on  the  lawn  and  thinking  we  were  holdirg 
exercises,  the  occupants  flew  directly  over  the 
platform,  turned  around,  and  went  away. 

Prof.  Justin  H.  Smith  said,  "The  right  way 
for  boys  to  make  progress  is  to  start  in  the  right 
direction  and  keep  going."  He  told  a  story 
which  is  well  for  us  to  remember. 

Mr.  Gallagher,  one  of  our  Managers  who  has 
taken  the  pains  to  hunt  up  the  records  of  grad- 
uates in  the  last  ten  years,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
in  number,  all  of  whom   have  made  good,  said 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


that  this  should  be  an  inspiration  and  stimulus  to 
us. 

Dr.  Allard  awarded  the  United  States  His- 
tory Prizes,  and  also  addressed  us  giving  a  very 
good  recipe  which,  if  followed,  would  lead  to 
success. 

After  Mr.  Bradley  had  presented  the  di- 
plomas, as  is  his  custom,  he  addressed  the  class 
urging  us  to  do  our  best  for  our  School  and  our- 
selves when  we  leave  and  go  out  into  the  world. 

In  the  evening,  the  graduating  class,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bradley,  teachers,  and  instructors  had 
a  dance,  an  orchestra  from  the  city  furnishing 
music.  The  following  day  the  class  went  on  a 
picnic  to  Norumbega  Park. 

We  feel  that  we  have  finished  a  successful 
year  and  had  an  extremely  good  Graduation 
Day.  We  are  very  grateful  to  all  who  have 
aided  and  encouraged  us  to  do  our  best  while 
we  have  been  in  this  School. 

Royal  R.   Ellison. 

Promotions 

Promoted  from   the  second   class  to   the  first 
class: — 

William  G.  Beadle  Thomas  Milne 

Edric  A.  Blakemore  Charles  E.  Morse 
Preston  M.  Blanchard        Oscar  E.  Neumann 

Clarence  Burton  James  A.  Peak 

Claire  R.  Emery  William  E.  Rowell 

John  O.  Enright  Bradley  M.  Sherman 

Bernhardt  Gerecke  Herbert  A.  Souther 

Harry  M.  Godshalk  Levi  N.Trask 

Frederick  S.  Hynes  Roy  D.  Upham 

Promoted  from  the  third  class  to  the  second 
class: — 

Leslie  H.  Barker  Charles  R.  Jefferson 

Edmund  S.  Bemis  George  R.  Jordan 

Edson  M.  Bemis  John  W.  Lincoln 

Alfred  H.Casey  George  A.  Mansfield 

Robert  C.  Casey  Everett  W.  Maynard 

Allan  B.  Cook  Edward  M.  Powers 

Perry  Coombs  Abraham  Samara 

V/illiam  E.  Cowley  Paul  C.  A.  Swenson 

William  B.  Deane  Frederick     E.      Van 

Howard  A.  Delano  Valker.burg 

Frederick  V.  Hall  Richard  W.  Weston 
Ernest  V.  Wyatt 


Promoted  from  the 
class: — 

James  A.  Blakemore 
Lawson  H.  Billings 
Lawrence  M.  Cobb 
Franklin  H.  Freuden- 

berger 
Walter  S.  Hall 
Promoted  from   the 
class: — 

Stanley  W.  Clark 
Byron  E.  Collins 
Harry  L.  Fessenden 


fourth  class  to  the    third 

Carl  D.  P.  Hynes 
Earl  C.  Miller 
Theodore  Milne 
Harold  D.  Morse 
George  W.  N .  Starrett 
Frank  A.  Tarbell 
fifth   class   to    the    fourth 

Walter  R.  Horseman 
Benjamin  L.  Murphy 
Spencer  M.  Williams 


Plaittiiid  UcdctdDlcs 

Mr.  Kibby  had  some  of  us  fellows  hoe  the 
weeds  away  from  the  peas.  When  we  got  through 
he  drove  a  stake  into  the  ground  at  one  end  of  the 
piece  and  another  opposite  it  at  the  other  end 
and  stretched  a  string  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
Then  he  showed  me  how  to  fix  a  place  to  plant 
squashes.  1  dug  three  places  between  the  trees. 
The  fellows  that  were  not  digging  places  for  the 
seeds  planted  and  covered  them.  1  made  the 
hills  a  rake-handle  length  apart  and  drove  in  the 
stake  with  the  name  of  the  vegetables  on  it  in 
black  letters.  We  planted  squash,  cucumbers,  and 
muskmelon.  Robert  C.  Casey. 

Packing  up  Soap 

It  was  my  work  one  morning  to  unpack  some 
boxes  of  soap.  I  took  the  boxes  up  to  the  attic 
where  1  took  off  the  covers.  Then  1  went  to  the 
west  loft  for  a  box  to  put  the  wrappers  in.  I  began 
to  unpack  the  larger  cakes  of  Ivory  Soap  and  put 
them  on  the  middle  shelves.  When  I  got  all  the 
larger  cakes  packed  up  neatly,  I  began  to  unpack 
the  smaller  cakes.  When  this  was  finished  I 
had  put  up  one  shelf  of  small  cakes  and  one  shelf 
and  a  half  of  larger  ones.  I  then  took  care  of  my 
wrappers  and  put  my  boxes  away  when  the  bell 
rang.  Frank  A.  Tarbell. 

Cutting  meat 

It  is  my  duty  to  cut  the  meat  for  the  instruc- 
tors. 1  cut  up  beef,  veal,  pork,  lamb,  and  sausage 
meat.  When  cutting  steak  1  trim  the  outside 
and  cut  it  into  slices  for  broiling.  Then  1  trim 
off  the  fat,  and  take  out  the  bones  which  are 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


cleaned  and  used  for  soup.  When  a  leg  of  veal 
comes,  I  cut  off  what  is  wanted  for  steak  and 
trim  up  the  other  piece  for  roasting.  We  gen- 
erally raise  our  own  pork.  1  have  to  fix  the  chops 
and  roasts.  When  I  cut  for  roast,  the  ribs  are 
generally  used.  1  cut  through  the  backbone 
making  two  pieces,  then  I  cut  it  through  the  bone 
for  slices.  When  I  cut  sausage  meat  i  cut  it 
in  slices  and  grind  it.  Then  it  is  seasoned  and 
left  in  the  meat  cellar  until  wanted.  When  a 
lamb  comes  1  cut  off  the  neck,  fore  legs  and  flanks 
for  a  stew.  The  shoulders  and  hind  legs  are 
used  for  roasting  and  the  two  sides  of  the  back 
for  chops.  Each  piece  is  done  up  in  paper  and 
put  in  the  meat  cellar.     Norman  V.  Johnson. 

Our  Cradind  Company 

For  the  convenience  of  the  boys  there  is  a 
trading  company  of  which  I  am  manager.  On 
trading  days  after  dinner  the  boys  wait  in  the 
assembly-room  until  they  may  go  up  to  trade. 
Three  or  four  fellows  go  up  at  a  time.  In  the 
trading  company  there  are  stamps,  stamp  albums, 
stamp  hinges  for  boys  who  have  stamp  collections; 
also  jack-knives,  combs,  mirrors,  toilet-soap, 
tooth-powder,  nail  clippers,  shaving-brushes, 
shaving-mugs,  and  straps,  for  larger  boys  who 
shave;  memorandum  books,  pencils,  brass  hinges, 
and  clasps,  carving  tools,  small  thermometers, 
skeins  of  yarn,  and  silkateen  of  the  School's  col- 
ors, navy  blue  and  old  gold.  There  are  also  many 
things  for  summer  use  such  as  fishing  lines  and 
hooks,  sinkers,  bobs,  etc.  There  is  an  iron  safe 
which  was  General  Lyman's  strong  box,  where 
former  records  of  the  trading  company  are  kept. 
When  a  fellow  is  through  trading  he  goes  to  the 
teller  who  gives  him  a  check  and  tells  him  to  make 
it  out  to  the  F.  &  T.  S.  Trading  Co.,  and  when  he 
is  finished,  he  hands  it  to  the  teller  who  looks  it 
over  to  see  if  it  is  all  right.  When  the  boys  are 
all  through  trading,  the  checks  are  given  to  me 
with  a  list  that  has  been  recorded  as  the  fellows 
traded.  1  then  compare  the  list  with  the  checks. 
If  they  correspond,  1  make  out  a  number  of  deposit 
slips  with  the  fellows'  names  on  them  and  pass 
both  checks  and  deposit  slips  in  at  the  office. 
The  book-keeper  withdraws  the  correct  amount 


from  their  bank  books  and  puts  it  to  account  of 
.The    Farm    and    Trades    School    Trading   Co. 
Claire   R.  Emery. 

€lcanitid  tl)c  Jlssembly-ball 

Every  week  Miss  Brewster  has  me  clean 
assembly-hall.  After  I  sweep,  I  move  all  the 
settees  up  to  one  end  of  the  room  and  wash  and 
polish  the  floor  of  the  other  half.  Then  1  put 
the  benches  back  where  they  belong  which  brings 
them  on  the  polished  half,  then  I  can  wash  and 
polish  the  rest  of  the  floor.  If  the  windows  need 
washing,  I  clean  them.  The  settees  are  all 
washed  Saturday  so  that  they  will  not  be  dusty 
for  Sunday.  All  the  other  woodwork  is  also 
washed  Saturday.  Edson  M.  Bemis. 

Sbiniitd  Silver 

When  the  regular  work  in  the  dining-room 
was  all  done  one  day,  Mrs.  Ekegrenhadus  shine 
the  forks  and  some  of  the  spoons.  Part  of  the 
spoons  had  been  done  that  morning.  She  had 
everything  ready  for  us.  I  took  a  wet  cloth  and 
rubbed  it  on  the  cake  of  Bon  Ami  and  then  on 
the  silver.  After  they  were  well  scoured,  1  passed 
them  to  two  boys  who  rubbed  them  with  a 
dry  cloth  which  polished  them  nicely.  After 
they  were  all  polished,  we  took  them  to  the  sink 
and  washed  them.  We  finished  about  half-past 
two.  1  hope  we  shall  do  it  again  before  long  for 
it  is  lots  of  fun.  Everett  W.  Maynard. 

Carryiiid  milk 

One  of  the  occupations  on  this  Island  is 
milking.  A  farm  instructor  and  six  fellows  do 
the  milking,  and  a  fellow  carries  the  milk  up  to 
the  house,  two  cans  at  a  time.  The  milk  is 
strained  at  the  barn  and  when  the  fellow  that 
carries  it  gets  up  to  the  kitchen,  he  strains  it 
there  also,  and  then  goes  back  for  more  cans. 
The  milk  is  weighed  at  the  barn  and  a  record 
of  each  cow's  milk  is  kept.  The  milking  is 
done  between  five  and  six  o'clock,  morning  and 
night.  In  the  morning,  the  watchman  wakes  up 
the  milkers  and  they  go  to  the  kitchen  porch 
and  get  the  pails,  cans,  and  strainers.  While 
the  others  are  milking,  the  fellou  that  carries 
the  milk  is  feeding  the  cows  and  doing  other 
work.  Howard  A.   Delano. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cl)onip$on'$  T$land  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT  UPON   DONATIONS  AND   BEQUESTS 
A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR   WORTHY  BOYS 


Vol.    15.  No.  3. 


July,    1911 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


PRESIDENT 

Alfred  Bowditch 

v/ICF-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

treasurer 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

I  9  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Mflvitj  O.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley, 


Superintendent 


"The  worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
Turns  Ashes — or  it  prospers;  and  anon. 
Like  snow  upon  the  Desert's  dusty  Face, 
Lighting  a  little  Hour  or  two — is  gone." 

Often  we    have    desired    some    article  or 


pleasure.  Almost  as  often  when  we  have  ob- 
tained our  desire,  we  have  found  that  it  did  not 
fulfill  our  expectations,  or  we  have  found  that 
our  desire  was  vain.  Again,  we  have  enjoyed 
and  have  profited  by  the  realization  of  that  for 
which  we  had  wished.  In  the  latter  case,  al- 
though the  thing  itself  may  have  gone  by  and 
disappeared,  it  has  left  its  effect  upon  us.  In 
this  connection  we  should  keep  in  mind  the 
diploma  of  The  Farm  and  Trades  School, 
what  it  means  to  us,  and  for  what  it  stands.  It 
is  given  in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  we  are 
well  started  towards  being  good  men  and  useful 
citizens.  Those  of  us  who  have  received  this 
diploma  are  justly  proud,  because  we  have 
desired  and  won  something  worth  while;  those 
of  us  who  will  soon  begin  the  new  school  year 
should  anticipate  and  work  earnestly  for  this 
distinctic'n. 

In  general  we  may  say  that  the  realization 
of  our  selfish  desires  has  vanished  quickly,  and 
has  done  us  the  least  good.  Anticipation,  in 
regard  to  such,  brought  us  the  most  pleasure. 
The  higher  desires  of  life;  the  desire  to  do  good, 
to  help  our  fellow  men,  and  to  bring  joy  to  others 
have  brought  us  the  greatest  and  most  lasting 
pleasure.  I^^hd  these  same  desires  have  been 
the  means  of  making  us  work  to  be  better  our- 
selves, in  order  that  we  might  be  more  effective. 
Furthermore  they  have  left  a  lasting  mark  upon 
our  hearts  and  souls. 

We  should  keep  these  facts  in  mind.  We 
were  not  placed  in  this  world  for  our  own 
selfish  pleasures;  we  were  created  for  a  purpose. 
We  were  wrought  thoughtfully  to  live  pure  and 
unselfish  lives.  Our  training  at  The  Farm  and 
Trades  School  is  steadily  fitting  us  to  this  end. 
If  we  live  up  to  the  teachings  of  this  School,  v/e 
shall  be  successful   men  in  every  sense  of  the 

word. 

*      *      "Surely  not  in  vain 


^  T.  "tP  Tf 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


M/  substance  from  the  common  Earth  was  ta'en, 
That  He  who  subtly  wrought  me  into  Shape 
Should  stamp  me  back  to  common  Earth  again." 

notes 

June  I.  Magazines  received  from  Mr.  H. 
Taggard. 

Sprayed  elm  trees  with  arsenate  of  lead  to 
kill  elm-leaf  beetles,  using  new  gasolene  spray 
pump. 

Mr.  Gustaf  Larsson,  principal  of  the  Sloyd 
Training  School,  visited  here  with  his  graduating 
class. 

June  2.      Began  haying. 

Thirty  boys  attended  the  circus. 

June  4.  Sunday.  Rev.  George  H.  Flint 
of  Dorchester,  accompanied  by  several  of  his 
parishoners,  addressed  the  boys. 

June  5.  Planted  Josiah  Crosby's  Early 
Strain  sweet  corn. 

Steamer  Pilgrim  on  blocks;  painted  hull 
and  cabin. 

June  7.  Enameled  milk  box  and  renewed 
discharge  pipe. 

Man  from  Domestic  Sewing  Machine  Co. 
here  to  repair  machines. 

June  8.  Dr.  Alexander  Burr,  veterinary  of 
the  Boston  Board  of  Health,  here. 

June  9.     Graduation  exercises. 

Pinks  presented  to  graduating  class  by  Mrs 

A.  T.  Brown,  as  usual. 

Secretary  Tucker  Daland  and  Manager 
Charles  T.  Gallagher  here. 

History  prizes  awarded  by  the  giver,  Frank 

E.  Allard,  M.  D. 

Dance  given  to  graduating  class  in  the 
evening.     Music  furnished  by  graduate  Howard 

B.  Ellis  and  orchestra,  including  graduate  Fred 

F.  Burchsted. 

June  10.  Treasurer  Arthur  Adams  gave 
the  graduating  class  a  trip  to   Norumbega  Park. 

June  12.  Duke,  the  horse,  sent  to  Mr. 
Arthur  M.  Stone. 

Vacation  began. 

Launched  new  pontoon  float  for  north  side 
landing. 

June  16.  Finished  transplanting  two  thou- 
sand celery  plants. 


Planted  Stowell's  Evergreen  sweet  corn. 

June  17.  Alumni  Field  Day,  sixty-three 
present. 

June  18.  Sunday.  Boys  and  instructors 
went  for  a  sail  up  Neponset  River  and  around 
the  Island. 

June  19.  Rowboat  Standish  repaired  and 
painted. 

June  22. 
came. 

June  23. 

June  24. 


Five  forges'for  blacksmith  shop 


Blacksmith  here. 
Picked  the  first  peas. 

Treasurer  Arthur  Adams  visited  the  School. 

June  25.  Sunday.  Boys  and  instructors 
went  for  a  sail  up  by  the  Charlestown  Navy  Yard. 

June  27.     Hive  of  bees  swarmed. 

Third  Friends'  Day,  151  present. 

Messrs.  George  A.  Martin  and  Joseph 
Morrison,  Scotch  bagpipers,  entertained  the  boys 
in  the  afternoon  with  their  playing. 

June  30.     Second  hive  of  bees  swarmed. 

Pole  for  giant  swing  placed  on  playground. 

Painted  flagpole  on  playground. 

Twenty  barrels  of  cement  came. 

Cbe  Tarm  and  Cradcs  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  June  1,  1911  $883-04 

Deposits  to  June  1,  1911  74.16 


957.20 
13.37 
"$943.83 


Withdrawals 

Cash  on  hand  July  1,  1911 

3uitc  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  85^  on  the  19th. 

Minimum  temperature  52°  on  the  2nd. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  64.2° 

Total  precipitation  3.81  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
1.60  inches  on  the  13th. 

8  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 7  clear  days,  16  partly  cloudy,  7  cloudy 
days. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  209  and  10 
minutes. 

(Uasbing  the  Bread  Cupboard 

The  fellows  who  work  in  the  boys'  dining- 
room  have  the  work  of  washing  the  bread  cup- 
board.     It    is    generally    done    on    damp    days 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


when  we  cannot  scrub  the  floor.  There  are  six 
large  panes  of  glass  in  the  doors,  and  five  shelves 
to  wash.  One  fellow  works  on  the  glass  while 
the  other  does  the  shelves.  When  the  shelves 
are  all  done,  the  bread  is  put  in.  The  fresh 
bread  is  put  on  certain  shelves  and  the  older 
bread  on  other  shelves. 

Spencer   M.  Williams. 

Cicaniiid  the  Storadc-biirit 

One  rainy  day  Mr.  Kibby  said  1  was  to 
clean  the  storage-barn.  I  took  a  broom  from 
the  stock-barn  and  went  down  to  the  storage- 
barn.  I  began  to  sweep  in  under  the  farm 
wagon,  hay-rake,  tedder,  and  then  the  plows, 
cultivators,  weeder,  and  manure  spreader.  After 
I  got  the  floor  swept,  1  put  the  dirt  into  the 
pig-pens.  Then  Mr.  Kibby  came  around  and 
told  me  to  take  some  laths  that  were  on  the 
floor,  and  put  them  up  overhead,  and  then 
put  everything  in  order.   Perley  W.  White. 

mm  to  the  Circus 

Wednesday  afternoon,  May  thirty-first, 
twenty-five  fellows  had  the  pleasure  of  going  to 
Ringling's  Circus.  We  left  the  Island  about 
quarter-past  one,  and  got  to  the  circus  grounds 
at  a  little  after  two.  We  went  into  the  main 
tent  and  the  circus  had  begun.  The  acrobats 
were  very  good.  1  liked  the  clowns  best  as  they 
did  many  funny  things.  There  were  some  ele- 
phants that  did  good  performing;  one  walked 
across  the  ring  on  a  barrel.  The  circus  lasted 
until  four  o'clock,  then  we  went  out  to  the  men- 
agerie to  see  the  animals.  There  were  a  great 
many  elephants,  lions,  tigers,  hyenas,  monkeys, 
giraffes,  deer,  elk,  polar  bears,  black  bears,  cam- 
els, and  a  hippopotamus.  The  tigers  from  India 
looked  very  pretty.  We  left  the  circus  grounds 
at  half -past  four,  and  got  home  about  six  o'clock. 
We  all  thanked  Mr.  Bradley  for  the  trip. 

James  A.  Peak. 

Band  Concert 

Friday  evening.  May  fifth,  the  band  assisted 
by  Mr.  Howard  Ellis  gave  a  concert  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Morse.  The  cornet  solo  given 
by  Mr.  Ellis  was  very  good.  There  was  also  a 
good  baritone  solo  by  Willard  H.   Perry  and  a 


duet  on  the  clarinets  by  Ralph  A.  Wittemore 
and  Preston  M.  Blanchard.  After  the  band 
had  played  four  or  five  selections,  Mr.  Morse 
had  the  beginners'  class  line  up  and  play  for 
us.  Just  before  the  close  of  the  concert  Mr. 
Morse  had  the  beginners'  class  line  up  again 
and  stand  with  the  others.  Then  he  told  us  that 
that  would  be  the  size  of  the  band  in  the  future. 
Then  he  announced  that  Edric  B.  Blakemore 
would  be  the  leader  of  the  band  and  he  appointed 
different  boys  as  leaders  on  the  various  instru- 
ments. The  concert  was  fine  and  we  hope  we 
may  have  another  one  soon. 

Orice   M.   Merrick. 

Getting  tbe  Scow  Ready 

The  judges  in  the  races  of  the  South  Boston 
Yacht  Club  use  our  scow  every  Memorial  Day, 
so  just  before  the  thirtieth  of  May  it  is  the  work 
of  the  steamer's,  crew  to  get  her  ready.  After 
she  has  been  painted  inside  and  out,  the  rigging 
is  taken  down  from  the  scaffold  in  the  boat- 
house  and  cleaned  and  painted.  Then  the  frame- 
work or  rigging,  as  it  is  called,  is  put  on.  This 
consists  of  six  posts  bolted  to  the  sides  of  the 
scow.  Then  three  carlines  are  put  on  and 
bolted  to  the  stanchions.  The  ridge-pole  fits  on 
these  three  and  there  are  also  two  side  pieces  that 
are  bolted  to  the  posts.  After  this  is  all  put  on 
and  bolted  securely  the  military  mast  is  stepped. 
The  canvas  is  brought  from  the  clothing-room 
and  fastened  on,  making  an  awning.  When 
Memorial  Day  comes,  the  scow  is  taken  along- 
side the  steamer  and  made  fast.  A  large 
anchor  is  then  brought  aboard  and  the  scow's 
large  anchor  line.  The  line  is  bent  on  to  the 
anchor.  We  then  take  the  scow  over  and 
anchor  it  a  little  way  off  from  the  South  Boston 
Yacht  Club  house.  After  the  races  are  over, 
the  steamer  brings  the  scow  back.  The  canvas 
and  anchor  are  taken  off  and  the  scow  taken  to 
her  mooring.  The  framework  is  usually  left  on 
until  after  graduation  day. 

Bernhardt  Gerecke. 

Planting  €orn 

Mr.  Kibby  picked  me  out  one  day  to  work 
for  him.     He  got  out  some  ears  of  corn  for  me 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


to  shell.  He  showed  me  how  to  do  it  and  told 
me  to  leave  about  one  inch  at  each  end  so  as 
not  to  put  the  poor  kernels  in.  When  I  had  that 
all  done,  he  told  me  to  get  a  hoe  and  go  with  him. 
We  went  over  to  the  farm-house  and  in  a  back 
room  there  was  some  pop-corn  in  barrels.  I 
shelled  some  of  this  and  then  we  went  up  to  the 
corn  piece  by  the  orchard,  and  he  told  me  to  plant 
the  corn  where  there  was  not  any  and  in  hills 
about  three  feet  apart.  That  afternoon  I  planted 
six  rows.  Edmond  S.   Bemis. 

Planring  Seeds 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Gordon  was  away  and 
Mr.  Kibby  was  in  charge  of  us  four  boys.  That 
afternoon  we  planted  seeds  in  the  piece  east  of  the 
orchard.  We  planted  squash,  muskmelon  and 
cucumber  seeds.  There  were  several  kinds  of 
muskmelon  seeds  and  two  kinds  of  cucumber 
seeds.  It  was  interesting  planting  the  seeds,  as 
I  had  never  done  it  before.  One  boy  took  a  rake 
and  measured  the  length  of  the  rake  on  the 
ground  and  then  made  a  hill  there  by  hollowing 
out  a  little  hole  about  two  feet  across  and  from 
two  to  four  inches  deep.  He  spaced  all  the  hills 
in  this  way.  Another  boy  went  along  after  him 
and  planted  the  seeds  and  a  third  boy  covered 
them  over. 

Dexter   L.   Noble. 

tbe  I)e(t9e 

Along  the  north  and  east  sides  of  the  boys' 
gardens  is  a  buckthorn  hedge.  There  is  an  arch 
cut  through  the  middle  of  the  north  end  so  we 
can  follow  the  main  path  through  the  gardens 
to  the  playground.  Every  year  the  hedge  is 
trimmed  and  made  even.  To  do  this  we  have  a 
long  ladder,  made  especially  for  the  purpose,  that 
is  spread  apart  and  goes  over  the  hedge.  A  piece 
of  marline  is  stretched  from  the  corner  to  one 
end  to  go  by  to  get  the  right  height.  We  use 
grass  shears  to  trim  it  with.  This  year  there 
have  been  quite  a  few  birds  in  the  hedge  as  the 
branches  are  very  thick.  1  have  seen  black 
and  white  creeping  warblers,  a  Maryland  yellow 
throat,  redstarts,  a  chewink  and  some  robins. 
There  a  .  three  robins'  nests  there  too. 

Leslie   H.   Barker. 


Jllumni 

Chauncey  Page,  '99,  visited  the  School 
a  short  time  ago.  Chauncey  is  working  for  the 
Michigan  Wire  Fence  Company  at  Adrian, 
Michigan  where  he  has  been  for  the  past  six 
years.  His  practice  on  the  trombone  in  our 
band  has  made  it  possible  for  him  to  be  a  member 
of  the  Imperial  Band  and  of  Cornell's  Dance 
and  Concert  Orchestra,  both  of  Adrian.  Chaun- 
cey is  married,  has  one  daughter,  and  is  evi- 
dently very  fond  of  his  family. 

Philip  S.  May,  '07,  who  visited  us  a  few 
days  ago,  was  graduated  in  June  from  Cushing 
Academy  at  Ashdurnham.  During  the  summer 
he  is  a  waiter  at  the  Mt.  Washington  Hotel  at 
Bretton  Woods.  Philip  was  looking  well  and 
said  that  he  hoped  to  enter  college  this  fall. 

Alfred  H.  Neumann,  '08,  recently  wrote 
an  interesting  letter  from  The  Marine  Officers' 
School  at  Port  Royal,  S.  C.  He  had  just  re- 
turned from  Camp  Myers,  Guantanamo,  Cuba 
where  he  was  one  of  the  fifteen  brigade  signal- 
men. We  are  happy  to  note  the  fact  that  dur- 
ing the  seven  months  he  has  been  in  the  Service 
he  has  maintained  a  perfect  record.  The  ex- 
perience he  had  in  meteorology  here  at  the 
School  has  deen  very  useful  to  him.  We  hope 
to  hear  soon  that  Alfred  has  changed  his  work 
from  the  navy  to  a  position  which  will  enable 
him  to  serve  the  Government  even  more  effi- 
ciently. 

Thomas  Carnes,  '08,  is  the  happy  father  of 
the  "Original  Class  Baby."  The  young  lady  was 
born  June  twentieth,  and  weighed  eight  and  one- 
fourth  pounds.  If  the  young  lady  inherits  her 
father's  genial  smile,  we  predict  many  friends 
for  her  in  the  future.  Our  best  wishes  for  the 
little  daughter  as  well  as  her  prcud  parents. 
Tom  is  still  working  at  the  Fiske  Building,  as- 
sisting one  of  our  enterprising  and  popular  gradu- 
ates, Jimmie  Graham. 

William.  M.  Marshall,  '10,  spent  two 
days  with  us  recently.  He  is  living  with  his 
mother  in  New  Bedford  and  is  working  for  the 
New  England  Cotton  Yarn  Company,  Depart- 
ments one  to  four.     William  took  pride  in  saying 


8 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


that  he  attends  regularly  the  Sunday  School  of 
the  Saint  James  Episcopal  Church. 

J\\mn\  Ticid  Day 

The  annual  field  day  of  the  Alumni  Associ- 
ation of  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  was  held 
at  Thompson's  Island  on  Saturday,  June  1 7th, 
sixty-two  members  with  their  wives  and  children 
being  present.  Superintendent  Charles  H.  Brad- 
ley met  the  party  at  the  School  wharf  and,  after 
a  short  meeting,  lunch  was  served  on  the  lawn. 
The  School  band  furnished  selections.  At  one 
o'clock  races  for  the  boys  of  the  school  were  held 
on  the  playground  at  which  Richard  F.  Bell  and 
Charles  F.  Spear  acted  as  judges.  A  race  be- 
tween the  ladies  was  won  by  Mrs.  Buchan  with 
Miss  Sederholm  second.  The  annual  ball  game 
be';ween  the  married  and  single  men  proved  to 
be  the  same  old  story;  score  single  men  25, 
married  men  7.     The  line  up  was  as  follows: 

Married  men  Single  men 

Bete,  J.  E.  C  *  Jorgensen,  E.  N. 

Hughes,  H.  C.  P  Thayer,  F.  P. 

Fox,  H.  A.  1st   B  Spear,  C.  F. 

Graham,  J.  H.         2nd   B  Davis,  E.  L. 

Buchan,  G.  3rd   B  Ellis,  M.  P. 

Loud,  C.  W.  S  S  Jacobs,  H.  Y. 

Robinson,  J.  C.         R   F  Foster,  W.  W. 

French,  H.  W.  C  F  Frasier,  F.  N. 

Sargent,  J.  M.  L.   F  Jacobs,  A.  W. 

A.  T.   Bunten  and  A.   D.  Fearing,  umpires. 
The  following  were  present, 
Alcott,  William 

BbII,  George  L. 

Bell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard 

Bell,  Miss  Alice  M. 

Bete,  John  E. 

Boutwell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  L. 

Bridgham,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  H. 

Bridgham,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  E. 

B  ichan,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George 

Bunten,  Frederick  R. 

Bunten,  Alger  T. 

Bunten,  Kenneth  R. 

Davis,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  L. 


Denton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  C. 

Denton.  Miss,  Alida  M. 

Duncan,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 

Duncan,  Miss 

Ellis,  Merton  P. 

Evans,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  J. 

Fearing,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arthur  D. 

Foster,  William  W. 

Fox,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  A. 

Frasier,  Frederick  N. 

French,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert  W. 

Graham,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  H. 

Holman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Solmon  B. 

Holman,  Miss  Alice 

Hughes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  C. 

Jacobs,  Alfred 

Jacobs,  Harold  Y. 

Jorgensen,  Ernest  N. 

Loud,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarence  W. 

Lynos,  Miss  Eleancr  N. 

Piercy,  Frederick  W. 

Robinson,  Joseph  C. 

Sadler,  Miss  E. 

Sargent,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  M. 

Sederholm,  Miss  E.  A. 

Smith,  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Charles  A, 

Spear,  Charles  F. 

Thayer,  Frederick  P. 

Wickett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  J. 

Young,  Miss  Alice. 

Merton   P.   Ellis,   '99,   Sec. 

Spreading  Jl$bc$ 

Mr.  Kibby  had  some  of  the  morning  and 
afternoon  farm  fellows  spread  wood  ashes  to 
fertilize  the  grass.  We  got  the  ashes  from  the 
incinerator.  The  first  day  we  did  all  the  front 
lawn  and  all  around  the  house,  and  used  one 
load  of  ashes.  We  carried  the  ashes  from  the 
cart  in  pails  and  threw  them  around  by  the  hand  - 
ful.  It  was  my  work  to  carry  the  full  pails  to 
the  others  when  they  needed  them.  The  next 
day  we  worked  on  Observatory  Hill  and  we  put 
the  ashes  on  with  a  shovel.  We  emptied  five 
loads  that  afternoon  and  had  two  teams  going 
part  of  the  time. 

Ernest  E.  Slocomb. 


SUPPLEMENT  TO 


thompsoNjS  island 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  3.         Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston  Mass. 


July,    19 11 


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


Ristory  of  Our  Printing-office 

The  printing-office  at  The  Farm  and 
Trades  School  had  its  beginning  just  thirty-one 
years  ago.  It  was  on  May  25,  1880,  that  Mr. 
John  R.  Morse,  then  principal  of  the  School, 
bought  a  small  printing-press  and  half  a  dozen 
fonts  of  type  and  had  them  brought  to  the  Island, 
where  they  were  set  up  in  front  of  the  northerly 
window  in  the  recitation  room. 

Bertrand  B.  Keyes,  one  of  the  older  boys  in 
the  School,  was  the  first  printer.  He  received 
his  instruction  in  the  art  from  Leo  R.  Lewis, 
son  of  the  late  Rev.  J.J.  Lewis,  who  at  that 
time  was  pastor  of  the  Broadway  Universalist 
Church  in  South  Boston.  Mr.  Lewis  is  now 
professor  of  music  at  Tuft's  College.  This  was 
the  only  instruction  Keyes  ever  received  from 
others,  and  he  transmitted  his  information  first 
to  Charles  W.  Wilson,  and  Wilson  subsequently 
taught  the  writer. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  printing-press 
was  a  source  of  interest.  The  first  printing- 
press  in  British  North  America  set  up  in  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  in  1638,  could  hardly  have  excited 
more  interest  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mass- 
achusetts Bay  Colony  than  did  the  little  amateur 
printing-press  on  Thompson's  Island  to  the  in- 
habitants thereof  242  years  later.  The  output 
of  the  latter  press,  especially  the  visiting  cards, 
ornamented  as  the  fashion  was  in  those  days 
with  gilt  and  beveled  edges  and  with  turned 
corners,  was  considered  wonderfully  fine. 

The  idea  of  a  printing-press  received  the 
hearty  approval  of   Mr.  William  A.   Morse,  the 


Superintendent  of  the  School,  and  likewise  of  the 
B  ard  of  Managers,  and  before  many  months 
had  gone  by  a  generous  offer  was  made  by  Mr. 
Charles  P.  Bowditch,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  to  provide  a  larger  outfit,  where  prac- 
tical instruction  in  the  trade  could  be  given  to  a 
greater  number  of  boys.  This  offer  came  dur- 
ing the  erection  of  Gardner  Hall,  in  which  pro- 
vision was  to  be  made  for  teaching  several  trades, 
and  the  offer  of  Mr.  Bowditch  made  possible  the 
addition  of  another  trade  to  the  original  scheme. 

The  material  for  the  Farm  School  Printing 
Company  was  bought  from  Golding  &  Co.,  in 
Fort  Hill  Square,  Boston,  on  May  25,  1880. 
The  outfit  cost  exactly  $16.02.  It  consisted  of 
a  self-inking  hand-power  press,  niade  by  Golding 
&  Co.,  and  called  "The  Official,"  and  half  a 
dozen  fonts  of  type.  As  near  as  my  recollection 
serves  me  now,  the  fonts  of  type  were  as  fol- 
lows:— Double  English  Old  English,  Double  Pica 
Payson  Script,  Long  Primer  Light  Face  Gothic 
Italic,  Brevier  Modern  Roman,  Brevier  Modern 
Roman  Italic,  and  Nonpareil  Light  Face  Gothic. 
Mr.  John  R.  Morse  furnished  the  original  capital, 
and  sold  a  half  interest  to  Keyes.  In  a  few 
months  Keyes  had  earned  enough  on  the  press 
to  buy  the  other  half  interest  in  the  business,  and 
it  was  sold  to  him.  With  that  transaction  the 
Farm  School  Printing  Company  came  to  an  end, 
Keyes  becoming  sole  owner.  The  entry  in  the 
memorandum  book  kept  by  Mr.  Morse  is  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"The  Farm  School  Printing  Company  dis- 
solved   this    day,    August    18,    1880,    and    the 


SUPPLEMENT   TO  THOMPSON'S   ISLAND   BEACON 


stock  and  business  passed  into  the  hands  of 
B.  B.  Keyes." 

In  another  part  of  the  book,  in  which  was 
also  kept  the  accounts  of  the  Farm  School  Bank, 
is  shown  the  earnings  of  the  printing  venture. 
Incidentally  it  shows  that  when  the  bank  was 
opened,  Keyes  was  the  largest  depositor,  and  on 
June  2,  1880,  his  account  shows  a  balance  of 
$8.45.  On  June  5,  1880,  he  paid  $8.01  for 
"one-half  interest  in  printing  machine."  On 
August  18  of  the  same  year  another  entry  shows 
that  he  paid  $8.01  for  "other  one-half  printing- 
press."  On  the  same  date  there  was  a  settlement 
of  the  business.  Keyes  paid  for  half  the  expenses 
of  the  venture,  amounting  to  $3.66  as  his  share, 
and  he  was  credited  with  half  the  balance  on 
hand,  his  share  being  $5.34. 

He  continued  the  business,  printing  cards 
for  the  instructors  and  girls  (the  employees) 
and  the  boys  at  the  School,  generally  a  dozen  or 
twenty-five,  according  to  the  style  of  card,  for  ten 
cents.  Keyes  was  real  active  and  managed 
to  make  quite  a  little  money  from  the  press. 
When  Keyes  left  the  School  he  sold  the  out- 
fit to  Charles  W.  Wilson,  who,  in  turn,  1  be- 
lieve, sold  it  to  George  E.  Bridgham,  and  when 
the  latter  left  the  School,  he  took  the  press  with 
him. 

The  amateur  press  was  succeeded  in  about 
two  years  by  a  well  equipped  printing-office. 
This  was  situated  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
first  floor  in  Gardner  Hall,  and  contained  a  quar- 
ter-medium Universal  Press,  with  a  chase  ten 
by  fifteen  inches,  forty  or  fifty  fonts  of  display 
type,  and  several  full  size  cases  of  body  type. 
When  the  larger  outfit  was  purchased,  the  ne- 
cessity became  apparent  for  a  practical  printer 
to  have  charge  of  it  and  to  give  instruction  to 
the  boys  in  printing.  Keyes  had  already  left  the 
School,  and  although  three  or  four  boys  had 
learned  to  set  type  and  to  run  the  Official  Press, 
none  were  competent  to  handle  the  larger  outfit. 

Mr.  Bowditch  had  his  Boston  office  then,  as 
now,  at  No.  28  State  Street,  and  he  had  his 
printing  done  at  the  office  of  John  H.  Eastburn 
at  No.  14  State  Street.  To  Mr.  Eastburn,  Mr. 
Bowditch  made  known  his  wish  to  get  a  printer 


of  practical  experience  and  good  character  as 
instructor  in  the  new  printing-office  at  the  Farm 
School.  There  happened  to  be  employed  at  the 
Eastburn  Press  at  that  time  the  son  of  a  partner, 
Mr.  George  T.  Barker,  Jr.,  who  had  learned  the 
printing  trade  at  the  Riverside  Press  in  Cam- 
bridge, and  who  had  spent  one  summer  at  the 
Isles  of  Shoals  as  assistant  steward  and  printer 
at  one  of  the  large  hotels.  Mr.  Barker  went  to 
see  Mr.  Bowditch,  and  as  a  result  was  engaged 
to  put  the  printing-office  in  operation  and  to  give 
instruction  in  printing. 

The  printing  material  had  just  arrived  at 
the  School,  and  Mr.  Barker's  first  work  was  to 
put  the  press  together,  set  up  the  frames  and 
lay  the  type  before  the  office  could  be  put  in  op- 
eration. In  the  equipment  were  two  full-sized 
frames,  carrying  two  cases  each  of  brevier 
Modern  Roman,  two  cases  each  of  small  pica 
Modern  Roman,  and  one  case  of  double  small 
pica  Modern  Roman.  A  cabinet  of  two-thirds 
cases  contained  the  display  type,  two  or  three 
fonts  being  laid  in  each  case. 

Mr.  Barker  began  his  employment  as  in- 
structor in  the  late  summer  of  1882,  and  con- 
tinued as  such  for  nearly  a  year.  He  lived  at  the 
School  from  Monday  until  Saturday,  returning  to 
his  home  in  Cambridge  for  over  Sunday.  There 
was  some  unusually  severe  weather  that  winter 
of  1882-3,  as  Mr.  Barker  found  to  his  sorrow. 
One  Monday  morning,  upon  arriving  at  City 
Point,  he  found  the  harbor  frozen  so  solidly  that 
no  boat  then  in  commission  either  at  the  School 
or  at  City  Point  could  break  it,  and  the  danger 
of  attempting  to  cross  on  the  ice  without  care- 
ful exploratory  work,  was  out  of  the  question.  He 
reached  the  Island  after  noon  that  day,  through 
the  help  of  the  harbor  police,  whose  boat  was 
equipped  with  steam  power  and  an  ice  cutter. 
Not  many  weeks  later  Mr.  Barker  arrived  at  the 
School  one  Monday  morning  with  both  hands 
and  both  feet  frozen  from  his  exposure  in  the 
open  boat. 

The  new  printing-office,  with  its  new  type 
and  superior  press  was  able  to  turn  out  better 
work  than  before.  The  School  stationery  of  all 
kinds  was  printed,  as  well  as  occasional  programs 


SUPPLEMENT  TO  THOMPSON'S   ISLAND   BEACON 


for  the  Friday  night  entertainments,  and  holidays. 
Then  a  really  large  job  of  printing  was  under- 
taken. It  was  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  School,  together  with  a  brief 
history  of  Thompson's  island  and  the  Farm 
School,  and  an  alphabetical  list  of  all  the  beys 
who  had  attended  the  School,  with  their  names, 
dates  of  admission  and  discharge,  and  the  ad- 
dresses to  which  they  went.  The  work  made 
about  ninety  pages,  and  was  set  up  and  printed 
four  pages  at  a  time,  the  whole  job  occupying 
several  months. 

Upon  Mr.  Barker's  retirement  in  the  mid- 
dle of   1883,  the  printing-office  was  placed   in 
charge  of  Mr.  William  Austin  Morse,  son  of  the 
Superintendent,  who  had  just  finished  a  course  at 
Eastman's  Business    College  in  Poughkeepsie, 
N.  Y.,  and  under  his  direction  the  policy  was 
somewhat  changed.     Up  to  this  time  no  print- 
ing had  been  done  except  for  School  purposes,  • 
but  now  the  office  began  to  do  printing  for  others. 
The  first  and  largest  patrons  were  H .  Bird  &  Co., 
dealers  in  beef  in  Faneuil   Hall  Market,  Nathan 
Robbins  &  Co.,  dealers  in  poultry  in  the  same 
place,  and  the  Washington  National  Bank  on 
State  Street,  Boston.     Although  Mr.  Morse  se- 
cured a  positon  in  Boston  in  the  fall  of  that  year, 
he  continued  to  exercise  a  supervision  over  the 
printing-office  for  some  months  afterward.     In 
his  absence  the  office  was  in  the  writer's  charge. 
Next  to  the  School  report,  the  largest  print- 
ing job  of  the  early  days,  was  probably  "The  Re- 
union Gazette,"  an  eight  page  paper  published 
in  April,  1885,  to  permanently  record  the  reunion 
of  the  former  members  of  the  Farm  School  Band, 
which  had  been  held  at  the  School  on  October 
4,  1884.     The  Gazette  was  edited  by  Mr.  John 
R.  Morse,  while  the  printing  was  almost  entirely 
the  work  of  Masters  George  W.  Russell,  George 
E.  Bridgham  and  Harris  W.  Bates.    The  pages  of 
the  Gazette  were  each  eight  by  ten  inches  in 
size,  with  two  columns  to  a  page,  the  columns 
being  three  inches  wide  and  eight  and  one-half 
inches  long.     It  was  set  in  leaded  brevier,  and 
carried  about  a  page  and  one -half  of  displayed 
advertising. 

In  the  first  group  of  boys  assigned  to  the 


printing-office  under  the  instruction  of  Mr.  Barker 
was  George  L.  Bell,  Clarence  A.  Knowlton, 
George  W.  Russell  and  the  writer.  Upon  leaving 
the  School,  B.  B.  Keyesaim.ed  for  a  musical  pro- 
fession, and  in  it  has  achieved  something  of  suc- 
cess and  more  than  local  fame.  Charles  W. 
Wilson  entered  the  Riverside  Press  in  Cam- 
bridge and  followed  printing  for  some  years. 
George  L.  Bell  has  steadily  followed  printing  and 
is  now  foreman  of  the  Sparrell  Print  in  Boston. 
Clarence  A.  Knowlton  worked  at  the  trade  for  a 
time,  but  long  since  went  into  other  occupations. 
George  W.  Russell  worked  at  printing  while  he 
fitted  himself  for  the  ministry,  and  he  is  now 
settled  over  a  Baptist  Church  in  Vermont.  The 
writer  followed  the  trade  until  he  entered  news- 
paper work,  in  which  he  has  since  continued. 

The  little  Official  printing-press  left  the 
School  in  the  possession  of  its  owner,  George  E. 
Bridgham  in  May,  1885,  who  retained  it  until 
November,  1891,  when  he  presented  it  to  the 
School,  through  Mr.  C.  H.  Bradley,  the  present 
Superintendent. 

It  is  due  to  Mr.  Bradley's  efforts  that  this 
branch  of  the  work  of  the  School  has  steadily 
grown.  New  and  increased  facilities  were  much 
needed,  and  the  Universal  press,  which  was  in 
use,  earned  enough  money  to  buy  another,  a 
Ben  Franklin  Gordon.  In  addition,  new  type 
was  at  that  time  added,  also  a  large  new  paper- 
cutter,  a  proof-press,  a  lead  and  brass  rule-cut- 
ter, and  a  card-cutter. 

On  February  4,  1907,  a  number  four  Bos- 
ton wire  stitching  machine,  and  a  Sterling  ma- 
chine with  round  cornering,  punching,  eyeletting, 
and  perforating  attachments,  were  further  added 
to  the  printing-office.  A  wide  range  of  work 
may  be  done  on  the  Sterling  machine  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  number  of  attachments  which  we 
have  for  it,  and  it  has  a  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  either  hand  or  foot-power.  The  stitcher 
is  equipped  for  both  flat  and  saddle  stitch  work, 
and  on  it  we  stitch  the  Report  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  the  Beacon,  tide  calendars,  and  the 
usual  bound  work  of  a  small  printing-office. 

Besides  these  two  additions  to  the  office, 
on  February  nineteenth  of  the  same  year,  1907, 


SUPPLEMENT   TO  THOMPSON'S   ISLAND   BEACON 


an  improved  Colt's  Armory  Press,  made  by 
the  John  Thompson  Press  Company,  arrived 
and  took  the  place  of  the  former  Universal  that 
had  faithfully  done  the  printing  of  the  School  for 
about  twenty-five  years.  The  new  press  is  much 
larger  than  the  other  and  weighs  twenty-six 
hundred  pounds.  Its  chase  is  fourteen  by  twenty- 
two  inches  and  can  take  an  impression  of  four 
pages  of  the  Beacon  at  once,  running  at  the  rate 
of  fifteen  hundred  sheets  an  hour.  This  press 
is  used  in  printing  all  large  work,  such  as  the 
Report  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  the  Beacon, 
calendars,  weather  charts,  catalogues,  etc. 

In  addition  to  the  new  machines,  the  Ben 
Franklin  Gordon  is  still  used  for  the  smaller 
work,  which,  with  the  recent  machines  pre- 
viously mentioned,  and  a  goodly  supply  of  type, 
completes  the  present  equipment  of  the  printing- 
office.  A  five-horse  power  gasoline  engine  fur- 
nishes power  to  run  the  presses  and  the  wire 
stitcher. 

This  enables  the  printing-office  to  do  all 
the  printing  of  the  School  and  many  outside  jobs 
as  well,  which  include  a  variety  of  work  such  as 
bill-heads,  statements,  checks,  cards,  letter- 
heads, etc.  The  office  is  under  a  competen 
instructor  and  the  training  there  received  gives 
valuable  lessons  in  skill,  neatness  and  accuracy 
that  have  proved  most  practical  to  the  boys.  Of 
the  graduates,  Elbert  West,  Frederick  Thayer, 
Clarence  DeMar,  who  won  the  Marathon  race 
April  19.  1911,  Banks  Quinby,  Frederick  Bar- 
ton, and  Earle  Marshall  are  still  working  at  the 
printing  trade.  William  Alcott,  '84. 

Oiliitd  Ditcbcs 

One  Saturday  afternoon  1  worked  for  Mr. 
Kibby  oiling  ditches.  I  put  on  a  pair  of  overalls 
and  then  I  was  told  to  get  a  watering-pot  and 
rinse  it  out.  We  went  over  to  the  com- 
post-shed where  the  oil  is  kept.  We  moved 
a  barrel  so  that  we  could  get  at  it  easily, 
leaving  the  bung  on  top  so  Mr.  Kibby  could  bore 
a  hole  in  it  with  a  three-quarter  inch  bit.  After 
it  was  done,  he  bored  another  hole  on  the  end  just 
below  the  first,  and  put  in  a  faucet.  We  put  the 
watering-pot  under  and  drew  some  gas  oil.  In 
order  to  draw  the  oil  we  have  to  put  a  key  in  and 


turn  it  half  way  to  the  right  or  left.  After  we  got 
a  pot  full,  we  went  over  towards  the  south  end  and, 
as  we  went  along,  we  put  a  thin  layer  of  this  oil  on 
all  the  ditches.  The  reason  that  we  put  it  on  the 
water  is  to  kill  the  mosquito  larvae.  This  oil 
forms  a  thin  layer  over  the  water  and  when  the 
larvae  try  to  get  air  they  can't  so  they  are 
smothered  There  were  a  number  of  wigglers 
about  to  turn  into  mosquitoes. 

Harold  L.  Wynot. 

CDc  Different  Boats 

At  this  Island  we  have  the  chance  to  see 
the  different  boats  and  battleships  that  come  in 
and  go  out.  Two  or  three  fellows  have  field 
glasses  and  on  Sundays  we  watch  the  boats 
from  the  playground.  The  ones  we  look  for  the 
most  in  the  summertime  are  those  of  the  Nan- 
tasket  line.  The  fellows  try  to  find  out  the 
names  of  the  different  ones  and  see  how  they 
can  tell  one  from  another.  Next  to  the  Nan- 
tasket  boats  we  are  most  interested  in  the 
battleships.  There  have  been  a  good  many  of 
these  in  lately.  We  also  see  the  large  liners. 
Some  fellows  know  them  quite  well.  On  Friends' 
Day,  the  fellows  can  tell  the  boat  that's  bringing 
their  friends  just  as  it  turns  out  of  the  channel. 
1  can  tell  only  one  boat  of  the  Nantasket  line. 
Frederick  V.   Hall. 

Kingiitd  tDe  Bell 

In  the  city  when  it  is  time  for  work  to  stop, 
a  steam  whistle  usually  blows  to  let  the  people 
know  it.  Instead  of  a  whistle  here  we  have  a 
bell  that  can  be  heard  nearly  all  over  the  Island. 
It  is  rung  at  eleven-fifteen  and  at  five  to  let  us 
know  that  work  and  school  for  that  part  of  the 
day  is  over  Then  it  is  rung  again  at  twelve-fifty 
to  mark  the  end  of  our  noon  playtime.  At  seven 
o'clock  it  tells  us  it  will  soon  be  time  to  go  to 
bed,  excepting  the  first  graders  and  observers. 
These  are  the  only  times  the  bell  is  rung 
excepting  on  Friends'  Days  when  it  rings  in  the 
morning  when  it  is  time  to  put  on  our  uniforms, 
and  again  at  the  time  the  Nantasket  steamer 
is  coming  back  for  our  friends.  The  bell  hangs 
in  the  tower  and  is  rung  by  means  of  a  rope 
which  is  attached  to  it.  We  all  like  to  ring  the 
bell.  Abraham  Samara. 


THOMPSO]^    ISLAND 


Vol.  15.  No.  4.         Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston  Mass.        August,   1911 

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


Tourtb  of  3UIV  Sports 

Our  contests  on  July  Fourth  began  with  the 
cross  country  run.  In  this  race  the  contestants 
were  to  keep  the  course  given,  if  not  they  were  to 
be  disqualified.  The  race  was  won  by  John  H. 
Marshall,  Royal  R.  Ellison  being  second,  and 
Preston  M.  Blanchard,  third.  The  barrel  race 
was  won  by  Ernest  V.  Wyatt;  Charles  E.  Morse, 
second,  and  Edward  M.  Powers,  third.  The 
obstacle  race  was  rather  a  hard  one  but  interest- 
ing, and  was  won  by  Lawson  H.  Billings;  Ber- 
nard F.  Murdock,  second,  and  Paul  C.  A.  Swen- 
son,  third.  The  high  jump  is  more  for  the  large 
boys, and  Preston  M.  Blanchard  was  the  winner, 
with  Robert  H .  May  a  close  second,  and  Harry  M. 
Godshalk,  third.  In  the  crab  race  a  number  of 
the  fellows  who  were  first  to  finish  were  disqual- 
ified, but  Perry  Combs  was  declared  the  winner. 
We  thought  we  had  lost  all  of  our  boys  with  large 
mouths  but  the  pie  race  proved  the  contrary  to  us. 
A  generous  number  of  pies  had  been  provided 
and  Abraham  Samara  did  ample  justice  to  his, 
and  Herbert  L.  Dudley  and  Frederick  V.  Hall 
were  not  far  behind  him. 

After  dinner  the  first  race  was  the  mile  run  , 
won  by  our  long  distance  runner,  Bernhardt 
Gerecke,  followed  closely  by  Edward  M.  Powers, 
and  Frederick  S.  Hynes.  The  hundred  yard 
dash  was  won  by  Harry  M.  Godshalk;  Frederick 
V.  Hall,  second,  and  Robert  C.  Casey,  third. 
In  the  two  hundred  twenty  yard  dash  Thomas 
Milne,  Roy  D.  Upham,  and  Dana  W.  Os- 
borne were  the  winners.  The  wheelbarrow  race 
for  fellows  under  fifteen  was  somewhat  crowded 
at  first,  but  Perry  Coombs  won  with  Allen  B. 
Cooke  second.  The  larger  fellows  like  to  be 
in    every   thing,    so    they   had    a    wheelbarrow 


race  with  Robert  H.  May,  Cecil  0.  Jordan,  and 
Harlan  Stevens  for  winners.  The  last  race  on 
the  Beach  Road  was  the  relay  race,  the  teams 
being  chosen  beforehand.  The  team  winning 
was  made  up  of  Frank  S.  Mills,  Walter  A.  Jordan, 
Dana  W.  Osborne,  and  Alfred   H.  Casey. 

In  the  swimming  race  under  fifteen,  Robert 
C.  Casey  won  the  first  place,  with  Allen  B.  Cooke 
second,  and  Thomas  H.  Taylor,  third,  Robert 
was  the  winner  of  this  race  last  year.  In  the 
swimming  race  over  fifteen,  Cecil  O.  Jordan, 
Charles  E.  Morse,  and  Alfred  H.  Casey  were  the 
winners.  The  under-water  swimming  was  won 
by  John  H.  Marshall;  Herbert  A.  Souther,  se- 
cond, and  Clarence  E.  Norrby,  third.  The 
swimming  race  on  the  back  was  also  won  by 
Cecil  O.  Jordan;  James  A.  Blakemore,  second, 
and  Ernest  V.  Wyatt,  third.  Paul  C.  A  Swenscn 
succeeded  in  walking  the  greased  spar. 

Ralph  A.  Jones. 

Tixing  tht  l^ot-bcds 

One  morning  Mr.  Kibby  said  that  he  would 
like  to  have  me  clean  up  around  the  hot-beds 
and  vegetable-cellar.  I  took  a  rake  and  a  hoe 
and  hoed  up  the  weeds  that  had  sprung  up  around 
the  hot-beds.  1  did  the  same  thing  around  the 
vegetable-cellar.  When  I  had  hoed  all  the 
weeds  up,  I  raked  the  ground  all  over  to  make  it 
level.  I  then  pulled  up  the  weeds  in  one  of  the 
hot-beds  and  piled  them  up  in  one  corner.  I  also 
put  the  other  weeds  there  that  I  had  raked  up  in 
the  hot-bed.  There  were  some  large  stones 
laying  around  and  these  I  raked  up  and  carried 
away  in  a  wheelbarrow.  It  looked  a  great  deal 
better  when  I  had  finished. 

Stanley  W.  Clark. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


my  Ulork 

Since  work  has  been  changed,  I  have  been 
on  the  farm  in  the  morning.  When  1  first  came 
to  this  School  1  worked  on  the  farm.  After  1 
was  here  four  or  five  months,  I  went  into  the 
kitchen  and  stayed  until  this  July  when  I  went  on 
the  farm  again.  Every  fellow  has  a  chance 
for  a  different  occupation  after  a  while.  On 
the  farm  I  pick  peas,  hoe  corn,  mangles,  etc. 
The  other  morning  five  other  fellows  and  myself 
picked  two  bushels  of  peas  in  an  hour  and  a  half. 
The  largest  peas  are  picked  first.  Hoeing  corn 
is  done  by  hilling  the  soil  on  each  side  and  get- 
ting all  the  weeds  out,  or  covered  over  with  the 
soil,  and  smothering  them  to  stop  their  growth. 
Harry  L.  Fessenden. 

B  Crip  to  tbe  Tim  Vard 

On  Sunday,  June  twenty-fifth,  the  fellows 
went  on  a  trip  to  the  Navy  Yard.  We  left  the 
Island  at  about  two-thirty  in  the  John  Alden  which 
was  towed  by  the  steamer  Pilgrim.  Some  of  the 
boats  we  saw  were  the  ocean  tug  International, 
the  Franconia  of  the  Cunard  line,  the  police 
boat  Watchman,  and  three  fire-boats.  As  we 
approached  the  Navy  Yard,  the  first  ship  we  saw 
was  the  Wabash  which  is  now  used  as  a  receiv- 
ing ship.  After  that  we  saw  the  cruisers  Chester, 
Des  Moines,  and  Dixie;  the  supply  ship  Celtic; 
the  battleships  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Rhode 
Island;  and  the  unarmored  cruiser  Chicago, 
which  was  at  one  time  flag-ship  of  the  White 
Squadron.  Besides  these  we  saw  two  or  three 
others  that  were  in  dry  dock.  We  also  sailed 
by  seven  torpedo  boats.  We  enjoyed  the  trip 
very  much,  and  thanked  Mr.  Bradley  for  giving 
us  such  a  pleasant  afternoon. 

William  E.   Rowell. 

Cbe  new  Bubble 

Recently  a  new  bubble  was  placed  in  the 
gardens  so  that  the  fellows  could  get  a  drink 
without  going  to  the  assembly-room.  There  is 
a  little  wheel  we  turn  to  make  the  water  come 
out;  and  when  we  let  go  of  the  wheel,  the  water 
stops  running.  When  the  water  was  turned  on 
it  ran  down  to  the  ground  and  wore  it  away,  so 
the  carpenter  made  a  trough  to  drain  off  the 


water.  Then  there  is  the  faucet  where  we  can 
get  our  water  for  the  gardens.  The  faucet  was 
lowered  so  that  they  could  put  the  bubble  on. 
There  was  a  hose  attached  to  it  and  we  put  the 
hose  in  the  watering  pot  and  turned  on  the  water. 
We  had  been  obliged  always  to  hold  up  the 
watering  pot,  but  the  carpenter  has  saved  us 
from  that  by  building  a  gracing  on  which  we  may 
set  the  watering  pots.  That  bubble  has  saved 
us  a  lot  of  trouble.  While  playing  base-ball,  if 
we  are  thirsty  and  don't  have  time  to  go  down 
to  the  assembly-room,  we  can  get  our  drinks 
there.  Robert  C.  Casey. 

J\  Padaock  for  tbc  €olt 

A  little  over  a  year  ago  something  new  came 
to  the  Islandandour  attention  was  turned  towaid 
making  it  comfortable.  The  "something  new" 
was  a  colt.  A  portable  fence  came  and  was  put 
up  at  once.  This  year  the  paddock  is  located 
west  of  the  corn- crib.  It  starts  at  the  stone- 
wall that  is  north  of  the  corn-crib.  The  stone- 
wall runs  east  and  west,  while  the  fence  extends 
southwest  for  a  distance  of  forty  feet  and  then 
directly  west  for  the  same  distance  to  a  fence 
that  extends  between  the  storage-barn  and  the 
stonewall.  It  was  my  work  this  year  to  put  the 
fence  up  for  the  paddock.  The  holes  for  the 
fence  are  eighteen  inches  deep.  Two  trees  that 
are  in  the  paddock  are  fenced  in  on  account  of 
their  having  been  sprayed  with  poison.  After 
the  fence  was  in  place  and  the  holes  filled  in, 
the  dirt  was  tamped  with  a  tamper  so  as  to  make 
the  fence  substantial.  The  paddock  is  nearly  sur- 
rounded by  trees  and  is  well  shaded. 

Cecil  O.  Jordan. 

Cransplatiting  Syritida  Busbcs 

One  morning  the  farm  boys  transplanted 
syringa  bushes.  We  dug  holes  three  feet  in  di- 
ameter and  one  and  one-half  feet  deep.  When 
they  were  done,  the  bushes  were  ready  to  put  in. 
The  boys  who  worked  for  Mr.  Beebe  dug  out  the 
bushes,  and  another  boy  put  them  on  the  drag 
and  hauled  them  to  the  place  where  they  were 
to  be  reset.  When  they  were  in  the  holes  and 
fixed  just  right,  we  shoveled  in  the  dirt  around 
them.  George  W.  N.  Starrett. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Conduct  Prizes 

On  Friends'  Day,  July  twenty-sixth,  Mr. 
Bradley  gave  out  conduct  prizes.  These  prizes 
are  given  out  twice  a  year.  Of  the  Shaw  Con- 
duct Prizes  Lawson  H.  Billings  received  the  first 
of  $5.00;  Roy  D.  Upham  second,  $3.25;  William 
E.  Cowley  third,  $3.00;  Harold  D.  Morse  fourth, 
$2.75;  Dexter  L.  Noble  fifth,  $2.50;  Clarence 
Burton  sixth,  $2.25;  Walter  S  Hall  seventh, 
$2.00;  Perley  W.White  eighth,  $1.75;  Royal  R. 
Ellison  ninth,  $1.50;  and  Howard  A.  Delano 
tenth,  $  1 .00.  The  Temple  Consolation  Prizes 
of  books  were  received  by  John  O.  Enright, 
Frederick  S.  Hynes,  Hubert  N.  Leach,  Ralph 
A.  Jones,  and  John  W.  Lincoln.  The  fellows 
that  received  honorable  mention  were  as  fol- 
lows:— Edmund  S.  Bemis,  Laurence  C.  Silver, 
Louis  M.  Reinhard,  Robert  H.  May,  and  Charles 
R.  Jefferson.  Harry  M.  Godshalk. 

new  maps 

Capt.  Dix  has  recently  completed  some 
maps  of  our  Island.  They  are  made  on  blue- 
print paper  and  mounted  on  heavy  mounting 
board.  The  maps  are  thirty-four  inches  long 
and  twenty-four  and  one-half  inches  wide. 
These  maps  show  all  the  different  buildings, 
roads,  groves,  wharf,  orchards,  and  farm  plots 
where  the  vegetables  are  planted.  The  maps 
are  drawn  to  a  scale  of  five  inches  to  a  thousand 
feet.  In  school  we  shall  use  them  for  problems 
in  arithmetic,  such  as  finding  the  areas  of  differ- 
ent plots,  and  the  value  of  the  vegetables  raised. 
Franklin  H.  Freudenberger. 

Elcctricltv 

1  am  very  much  interested  in  electricity, 
and  Thomas  Milne  and  I  own  an  Ajax  motor, 
which  is  very  good  for  a  little  fun.  We  have  a 
switchboard  on  which  are  numbers  from  one  to 
eight.  One  is  the  lowest  and  eight  is  the  highest 
speed.  I  am  an  owner  in  one  of  the  cottages,  so 
have  a  good  place  to  work  on  all  things.  There 
are  wires  running  through  the  walls  to  which  we 
connect  the  wires  of  the  motor.  Later  on  we 
expect  to  have  more  motors.  Mr.  Bradley  gives 
us  batteries  which  have  been  used  a  little,  but 
they  answer  our  purpose  very  nicely. 

Harold  L.  Carlton. 


Tilling  in  Dircbcs 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Kibby  told  Walter  Jor- 
dan and  myself  to  fill  in  the  ditches  over  at  the 
South  End  with  stones.  There  were  four  teams 
hauling  stones  from  a  field  on  the  west  side  of 
the  playground.  When  each  team  came,  we 
told  them  where  to  dump  their  load.  We  then 
threw  the  large  stones  into  the  bottom  of  the 
ditches  and  covered  them  with  small  ones.  We 
filled  the  ditches  with  stones  to  about  one  foot 
from  the  top.  There  is  going  to  be  loam  put 
on  top  of  the  stones  and  then  grass  seed  sown. 
Lawrence   M.  Cobb. 

lUatcrind  flowers 

One  afternoon  before  school,  another  boy 
and  1  got  a  watering  cart  each  from  the  barn  and 
filled  them  with  water  for  the  flower  garden 
below  the  back  road.  After  the  carts  were  full, 
Mr.  Beebe  got  two  watering-pots,  and  he  and  I 
wheeled  the  carts  down  to  the  garden.  He 
showed  me  how  to  water  the  flowers,  and  then 
left  me  to  myself.  1  watered  almost  all  of  the 
garden.  After  the  watering  was  finished  1  put 
away  the  carts  and  watering-pots.  There  are 
nasturtiums,  bachelor's  buttons,  and  sweet  peas 
in  the  garden.  Edric  B.   Blakemore. 

Cbe  Scotcl)  l)idblandcr$ 

On  Friends'  Day,  June  twenty-seventh,  be- 
fore our  visitors  came,  Mr.  Bradley  told  us  that 
there  were  going  to  be  two  Scotchmen  here  in 
the  afternoon  to  play  on  bagpipes  during  the  base- 
ball game.  When  they  arrived  they  were  dressed 
in  their  Highland  costumes,  and  they  soon  put 
their  instruments  together  and  tuned  up.  They 
began  to  play  and  marched  up  and  down  the  play- 
ground. After  they  had  played  two  selections,  we 
gathered  around  them  and  asked  them  questions 
which  they  were  glad  to  answer.  One  of  the 
questions  we  asked  was  "How  did  the  thistle 
become  the  Scotch  flower?"  One  of  the  High- 
landers told  us  the  story  that  was  handed  down 
to  them.  They  also  told  us  what  their  instru- 
ments were  made  from  and  about  the  different 
parts  of  their  costumes.  This  was  all  very  inter- 
esting to  us.  After  the  game  was  over,  they 
played  several  selections  which  we  enjoyed. 

Roy  D.  Upham. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  T$!and  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARVI  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,   Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT  UPON   DONATIONS  AND   BEQUESTS 
A  PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  WORTHY  BOYS 


Vol.    15.   No.  4. 


August,    1911 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

vice-president 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

1 9  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley, 


-  Superintenden 


We  think  of  the  Fourth  of  July  as  a  time  to 
make  merry  with  fire-crackers,  torpedoes,  and 
fire-works,  forgetting  often  the  real  significance 
of  the  day.  When  our  forefathers  were  fighting 
at  Concord  and  afterwards  signing  The  Declara- 


tion of  Independence,  they  were  doing  what  they 
felt  to  be  fair  to  themselves  and  for  the  best  good 
of  their  posterity. 

It  is  well  to  have  a  national  day  of  festivi- 
ty and  rejoicing,  because  it  unifies  to  a  great 
extent  the  mass  of  the  nation,  but  along  with  our 
rejoicing  we  should  think  of  the  serious  side,  the 
feeling  of  our  forefathers  in  1 776.  It  was  loyality 
to  their  fellow  country-men,  a  patriotic  feeling 
of  community  interest. 

Let  us  profit  from  the  observance  of  the 
Fourth  of  July  by  endeavoring  to  follow  their 
example.  We  may  not  be  called  upon  to  fight 
for  our  country,  but  at  least  we  may  contribute 
to  the  welfare  of  our  fellow  schoolmates  by  living 
each  day  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  worthy  of  the 
advantages  we  are  receiving  at  The  Farm  and 
Trades  School.  In  this  way  we  will  help  one 
another,  and  at  the  same  time  prepare  ourselves 
to  be  loyal  to  the  country  for  which  our  fore- 
fathers fought. 

notes 

July  1.  President  Alfred  Bowditch  visited 
the  School. 

Mr.  Louis  Bacon  gave  the  School  a  foot- 
power  lathe. 

July  2.     Sunday.     Band  concert. 

July  4.     Usual  celebration. 

Dr.  Bancroft  here  for  the  day  with  his  usual 
contribution  of  peanuts. 

July  6.  Quarterly  meeting  of  Admission 
Committee. 

The  following  boys  were  admitted: — Law- 
rence C.  Hopkins,  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  Fred  J. 
Mandeville,  and  Charles  O.  Rolfe. 

July  7.     Graduate   Chauncy  Page  visited 

here. 

President  Alfred  Bowditch  gave  the  School 

a  horse. 

July  8.  Ernest  M.  Catton  and  William  H, 
Sowers  left  the  School. 

July   10.     Summer  term  of  school  began. 

Renewed  flooring  in  some  of  the  horse  stalls. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


July  12.  Rowboat  Brewster  repaired  and 
painted. 

Miss  Alice  C.  Linscott,  who  died  July  7,  left 
the  School  $25,000. 

July   15,     Painted  derrick  on  wharf. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley,  three  instructors, 
and  four  boys  attended  the  convention  of  the 
Massachusetts  Society  of  Beekeepers  at  Stough- 
ton. 

July  16.  Sunday.  Boys  taken  for  a  sail 
around  the  harbor. 

July.  17.  Lawrence  C.  Hopkins  returned 
to  his  mother. 

July  18.  Landing  float  and  gangplank  re- 
paired and  placed  at  south  side  of  wharf. 

July  19.  Varnished  cabin  on  steamer  Pil- 
grim. 

July  20.  Mr.  Frederick  M.  Hersey  in- 
spected the  wharf. 

July  23.  Sunday.  Band  concert  in  the 
afternoon. 

July  25.     Finished  agricultural  maps. 

Planted  golden  wax  beans. 

Norman  V.  Johnson  left  the  School. 

Fainted  gutters  around  main  building. 

July  26.     Fourth  Friends'  Day. 

Dana  W.  Osborne  left  the  School. 

Awarded  the  Shaw  Conduct  and  Temple 
Consolation  Prizes. 

Manager  Charles  T.  Gallagher  and  Mr. 
Nelson  L.  Sheldon  present. 

July  27.  Barge  arrived  with  this  year's 
supply  of  coal. 

July  29.  Graduates  Alfred  W.  Jacobs, 
Harold  Y.  Jacobs,  and  Frederick  J.  Wilson 
visited  the  School. 

July  30.  Sunday.  Boys  given  a  sail  in 
Old  Harbor  and  Pleasure  Bay. 

July  31.     Sloyd  classes  began  work. 

CDe  Tarm  ana  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  July  1,  1911  $943.83 

Deposits  to  Aug.  1,  1911  82.09 


1,025.92 

Withdrawals 

61.37 

Cash  on  hand  Aug.  1 

.  191  1 

$964.55 

3ulv  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  101°  on  the  3rd. 

Minimum  temperature  56^^  on  the  26th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  74.6° 

Total  precipitation  3.76  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
2.80  inches  on  the  28th. 

4  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion,   14  clear  days,  14  partly  cloudy,  3  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  286  and  20 
minutes. 

Solar  halo  observed  on  the  27th. 

B  Crip  to  Stougbton 

On  Saturday  morning,  July  fifteenth,  three 
boys  and  I  got  ready  to  go  to  Stoughton  to  visit 
the  Convention  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  of 
Beekeepers.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  and  three 
instructors  went  with  us.  We  took  the  train 
from  the  South  Station  and  Mr.  Britton,  presi- 
dent of  the  Society,  m.et  us  at  the  station,  and 
showed  us  to  the  automobiles  in  which  we  rode 
up  to  his  homestead.  From  eleven  to  twelve- 
thirty  we  had  a  social  time,  and  saw  many  inter- 
esting things  such  as  hives  of  Italian,  Educated, 
and  Non-swarming  bees;honey  made  in  May  and 
June,  and  observation  hives  made  of  cedar, 
chesnut,  or  pine.  The  Italian  bees  are  supposed 
to  be  the  best  honey  makers.  At  one-thirty  the 
meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  President, 
E.  Clinton  Britton.  The  business  of  the  Society 
was  done  and  quite  a  number  of  new  members 
were  elected,  Mr.  Bradley  being  one  of  that 
number.  Then  Prof.  Burton  N.  Gates,  State 
Instructor  of  Apiaries,  gave  an  address  upon 
Agricultural  Advancement  which  was  very  inter- 
esting. He  showed  us  a  smoker  used  to  stupify 
the  bees  so  that  a  person  may  handle  them  with- 
out protection.  Mr.  Britton  gave  a  practical 
demonstration  of  this  smoker  with  a  three- 
queen  hive.  This  hive  was  divided  into  three 
sections  so  that  the  queens  could  not  fight. 
After  some  musical  selections  by  Messrs.  H.  W. 
and  E.  C  Britton  on  the  cornet  and  trombone, 
the  meeting  adjourned  at  four-thirty.  We  left 
in  time  to  catch  the  four-forty  train,  arriving 
home  at  the  Island  about  six-thirty.     We  learned 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


a  great  many  useful  things  about  bees,  and 
thanked  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  for  the  pleasant 
day  we  spent. 

William   B.   Laing. 

£^iim  Row  Election 

On  Tuesday  evening, Julyeleventh,  the  third 
quarterly  election  for  nineteen-eleven  of  Cottage 
Row  Officers  was  held  in  the  east  basement.  The 
mayor  appointed  three  tellers.  One  teller  gave 
out  ballots,  another  pencils,  and  the  third  took 
care  of  the  ballot  box.  The  shareholders  vote  first 
because  they  vote  for  assessor,  and  their  votes  are 
kept  separate  from  the  non-shareholders  as  the 
latter  do  not  vote  for  assessor.  The  non-share- 
holders vote  after  the  shareholders  have  all  voted. 
When  the  election  was  over,  the  tellers  went  to 
the  reading-room  to  count  the  votes,  and  the 
next  morning  the  clerk  posted  the  result  on  the 
bulletin-board  in  the  assembly-room.  The  re- 
sult of  the  election  was  as  follows: — Mayor, 
James  A.  Peak;  Shareholding  Aldermen,  Law- 
rence M.  Cobb,  Dick  W.  Steenbruggen,  Richard 
W.  Weston;  Non-Shareholding  Aldermen,  James 
A.  Blakemore,  Clarence  Burton;  Treasurer, 
Alfred  H.  Casey;  Assessor,  Ernest  E.  Slocomb. 
The  mayor  appointed  the  following  officers: — 
Chief  of  Police,  Preston  M.  Blanchard;  Lieuten- 
ant of  Police,  Thomas  Milne;  Sergeant  of  Police, 
Edric  B.  Blakemore;  Patrolmen,  Edson  M. 
Bemis,  William  B.  Laing  and  Thomas  H .  Taylor; 
Janitor,  Frederick  S.  Hynes;  Librarian,  William 
E.  Cowley;  Curator,  George  H.  Appel;  Street 
Commissioner,  Harlan  Stevens. 

James  A.  Peak. 

B  masquerade 

Mr.  Bradley  announced  one  night  to  the 
School  that  the  teachers  would  give  a  masquer- 
ade dance  on  the  evening  of  May  twenty-fourth 
and  that  the  first  and  second  grades  were  cordially 
invited  to  attend.  Cloth  was  given  out  for  masks 
and  we  could  wear  any  kind  of  costume  we 
wished.  Some  had  very  good  costumes.  Among 
the  best  characters  by  the  boys  were  an  acrobat, 
school-girl,  old  lady,  dude,  ghost,  Roman, 
sailor,  Chinaman,  cadets  and  darkies.  Robert 
H.     May    and    Preston    M.     Blanchard    were 


the  two  stars  for  the  best  make-ups.  May  was 
the  dude  and  Blanchard  was  the  old  lady.  The 
instructors  were  dressed  up  in  good  costumes 
also.  The  band  played  for  most  of  the  evening, 
but  we  had  the  Reginaphone  for  the  barn  dance 
and  the  piano  was  played  for  a  few  dances  so  the 
band  fellows  could  take  part.  Refreshments 
were  served  consisting  of  lime  juice  and  cookies. 
This  was  the  first  masquerade  ball  we  have  had 
and  we  all  enjoyed  it  and  hope  we  may  have 
another.  Harold   L.  Wynott. 

J\  Picture 

In  our  school-room  there  is  a  picture  called, 
"Move  On."  It  shows  an  old  man  in  the  street 
who  is  picking  up  some  flower  pots  which 
are  scattered  all  around.  His  little  donkey  is 
standing  near  with  his  head  down.  He  looks 
rather  tired.  One  wheel  has  come  off  the  cart 
and  the  top  has  slipped  off.  The  funny  part  of  the 
picture  is  a  policeman  telling  him  to  move  on 
when  his  cart  is  broken,  and  broken  flower  pots 
are  in  the  street.  The  policeman  has  his  finger 
pointed  to  the  man  and  is  standing  very  straight. 
It  is  a  good  picture.       William  E.  Cowley. 

l)oeing  jflround  Jfpple  Crees 

The  work  that  1  did  on  the  farm  one  morn- 
ing was  hoeing  around  apple  trees.  Mr.  Kibby 
showed  me  how  to  do  it.  The  reason  he  had 
me  do  it  was  to  cut  out  the  witch  grass  that  was 
around  the  trees.  I  had  to  be  careful  not  to 
strike  the  tree  with  the  hoe.  He  told  me  not 
to  dig  out  too  far,  because  there  were  some  peas 
planted  near  by.  Mr  Kibby  hoed  around  four 
trees  and  then  left  me  to  do  the  others.  There 
were  ten  rows  of  trees  and  six  trees  in  a  row. 
It  does  not  take  very  long  to  do  a  tree.  I  did 
nine  rows  of  trees  during  the  morning. 

Lawson   H.   Billings. 

Cbe  Tir$f  Swim  of  the  Season 

On  June  eleventh,  the  fellows  had  the  first 
swim.  We  were  called  away  from  our  work 
about  eleven  o'clock  to  assemble  under  the  Old 
Elm.  When  all  were  present  we  went  down  to 
the  wharf.  Mr.  Bradley  then  spoke  to  the  fel- 
lows, telling  us  the  rules  we  were  to  abide  by. 
Then  we  got  ready  to  go  into  the  water.     A  boat 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


which  is  in  charge  of  two  members  of  the  boat 
Crew,  and  is  used  as  a  safeguard  against  ac- 
cident, was  rowed  out  to  its  mooring,  and  then 
the  signal  was  given  for  us  to  go  into  the  water. 
We  were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  water  nearly 
half  an  hour.  When  all  the  fellows  were  dressed 
we  went  to  the  house  to  get  ready  for  dinner.  We 
all  enjoyed  the  first  swim. 

Herbert  A.  Souther. 

Strccr  Commissioner 

When  the  Mayor  of  Cottage  Row  appointed 
his  officeis  last  term,  1  was  made  Street  Com- 
missioner. It  is  my  work  to  see  that  the  street, 
the  land  behind  City  Hall,  and  the  waste  barrels 
are  kept  in  good  order.  In  my  noon  and  night 
hours  lately,  1  trimmed  the  edge  of  the  grass 
ground  that  touches  the  street.  The  two  fellows 
who  were  working  for  me  threw  the  sods  we  cut 
down  over  the  bank.  1  raked  the  street 
ready  for  rolling.  This  will  make  the  street 
level,  so  it  will  look  well  when  we  spread  the 
gravel  on  it.  Thomas  H.  Taylor. 

Kakiitd  the  Jlocnucs 

It  is  my  work  on  week  days  before  school 
to  clean  the  front  avenues.  1  have  a  short  tooth 
rake  as  1  like  it  better  than  a  long  one,  for  the 
leaves  and  twigs  do  not  go  through  it  so  easily. 
The  avenues  are  raked  so  that  they  look  like  a 
herring  bone.  I  rake  both  sides  down  toward 
the  center  and  this  brings  all  the  twigs,  leaves, 
and  other  litter  toward  the  center.  Then  1  rake 
all  the  litter  into  piles,  collect  it  in  a  basket  and 
put  it  into  the  waste  barrel,  after  which  it  is 
taken  to  the  incinerator  to  be  burned.  I  pull 
all  the  weeds  that  have  grown  in  the  stone  gut- 
ters that  line  either  side  of  the  avenne.  It  takes 
about  one  hour  and  a  quarter  to  do  this. 

Frederick  S.   Hynes. 

eoitid  for  Cemciti  and  Sana 

One  afternoon  it  was  my  work  to  get  the 
freight-barge,  John  Alden,  alongside  the  steamer 
and  make  her  fast  so  that  we  could  get  some 
cement  and  sand.  A  small  gang-plank  was 
placed  inside  the  barge  and  also  a  large  piece  of 
canvas.  We  then  started  for  City  Point.  When 
we  arrived  there,  we  made  fast  alongside  the 


stone  wall  where  we  could  load  the  bags  conven- 
iently. There  were  eighty  bags.  These  were 
passed  from  the  wagon  by  two  fellows  and  the 
teamster  to  another  fellow,  who  in  turn  passed 
them  to  four  other  fellows  who  piled  them  in  the 
barge.  The  sand  came  in  barrels  and  was 
loaded  on  by  the  fellows.  After  the  cement  and 
sand  were  all  on,  we  sailed  back  to  the  Island 
where  we  unloaded  at  the  stone  dock  and  put 
the  freight-barge  out  to  its  mooring. 

Bernhardt  Gerecke. 

f)m\m  Jlsbes 

One  Saturday  morning  Mr.  Beebe  told  an- 
other fellow  and  me  to  go  over  to  the  South 
End  and  get  the  cart  that  the  other  fellows  were 
then  using,  and  tell  them  to  go  up  to  the  house 
to  get  ready  for  town.  They  had  just  gotten 
over  with  a  load  of  loam  from  a  place  near  the 
house.  After  we  told  them,  we  dumped  the  load 
of  loam  on  the  pile.  Then  we  loaded  our  cart 
with  ashes  and  hauled  them  up  to  the  house. 
We  spread  the  ashes  in  a  circle  out  on  the  play- 
ground. This  circle  has  a  pole  in  the  middle, 
with  a  cement  base.  The  pole  has  ropes  hang- 
ing down  on  which  the  fellows  swing.  The  sods 
had  been  taken  up  and  we  were  hauling  the 
loam  over  to  the  South  End  and  bringing  ashes 
back. 

Edson  M.   Bemis. 

Playtime 

During  vacations  we  have  the  most  play- 
time. The  fellows  who  usally  go  to  school  in 
the  morning  have  from  nine  o'clock  to  quarter- 
past  eleven  to  play,  and  those  who  go  in  the  after- 
noon have  from,  half-past  two  until  five.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  fellows  can  have  a  lot  of  fun 
playing  ball,  croquet,  working  in  the  shop,  going 
around  the  beach,  and  doing  other  things.  It  is 
base-ball  season  now  and  the  fellews  that  are  on 
teams  use  a  good  deal  of  their  time  for  that. 
When  school  begins,  we  have  our  noon  and 
night  hours  in  which  we  do  numerous  things. 
The  first  graders  can  go  in  swimmtng  every  day; 
and  the  third  once  a  week.  The  fellows  here 
generally  have  something  to  do  in  their  play  time. 
John  W.   Lincoln. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


J{\nmn\ 

Ralph  H.  Marshall,  '09,  visited  us  this 
month  and  we  were  as  glad  to  see  him  as  we 
were  to  see  his  brother  last  month.  Ralph  is 
also  living  with  his  mother  in  NewBedford,  and 
is  working  for  F.  M.  Jenkins,  an  optician  with 
whom  he  has  been  for  about  a  year.  He  belongs 
to  the  Forward  Club  of  the  Saint  James  Episco- 
pal Church  and  is  first  lieutenant  of  a  brigade. 

Frederick  J.  Wilson,  '09,  spent  a  few 
days  with  us  lately.  Fred  is  still  with  Mr.  Mon- 
tague in  Woodstock  Vermont  with  whom  he  has 
been  since  he  left  the  School.  He  has  been  at- 
tending the  Woodstock  High  School  for  two 
years.  It  was  pleasant  to  hear  Fred  speak  not 
only  of  playing  on  his  high  school  football  team 
and  of  playing  the  clarinet  in  Taft's  Orchestra,  but 
also  of  his  work  on  Mr.  Montague's  farm  and  of 
his  work  in  school.  It  was  evident  that  he  enjoys 
and  is  interested  in  his  community. 

l)aulind  Seaweed 

One  afternoon  another  fellow  and  1  hauled 
seaweed  away  from  the  beach.  We  asked  Mr. 
Kibby  if  we  could  take  a  horse  and  cart.  He 
said  "yes,"  so  we  went  to  the  barn  where  we 
harnessed  the  horse  Bell,  and  then  1  took  her  to 
the  basement  in  the  stock-barn  to  get  the  cart, 
while  the  other  fellow  got  two  manure  forks. 
When  we  were  already  to  begin  to  haul  the  sea- 
weed, the  horse  was  driven  down  to  the  beach 
where  the  cart  was  loaded.  The  seaweed  was 
taken  to  the  incinerator  to  be  burned.  After 
two  cart  loads  had  been  taken  away,  we  unhar- 
nessed Bell,  gave  her  a  drink,  and  put  her  in 
her  stall.  William  G.   Beadle. 

Picking  Peas 

On  Friday,  July  fourteenth,  a  number  of  the 
boys  who  work  on  the  farm  were  occupied  in 
picking  peas.  Each  fellow  had  a  basket  and 
started  picking  at  the  end  of  a  row.  We  picked 
all  the  peas  that  were  large  enough  and  found 
that  we  had  just  two  bushels.  We  carried  them 
to  the  stock-barn  and  Mr.  Gordon  made  out  a 
vegetable  tag  in  duplicate.  One  of  these  and 
a  basket  check  was  fastened  to  one  of  the  boxes. 
We  took  the  peas  up  to  the  kitchen  where  they 


were  shelled  and  prepared  for  dinner. 

Oscar  E.  Neumann. 

making  BwW  Blocks 

In  the  new  blacksmith- shop  at  the  power- 
house, a  concrete  floor  is  being  laid,  so  the  an- 
vil blocks  are  being  made  and  sei  in  the  ground, 
and  the  concrete  put  around  them  to  make  them 
firm.  These  anvil  blocks  are  made  of  oak,  and 
are  very  hard.  They  are  about  four  feet  long,  and 
are  set  in  the  ground  and  concrete  at  a  depth  of 
two  feet  five  inches.  They  are  twelve  inches 
square  at  the  base.  Above  the  floor  they  are 
straight  for  six  inches,  and  then  they  slant  for 
thirteen  inches  down  to  ten  and  one-half  by  ten 
and  one-quarter  inches  at  the  top  for  the  anvils 
forest  on.  These  'blocks  come  from  the  butts 
of  trees  that  have  been  cut  down  on  the  Island. 

Thomas  Millne. 

Clapboarding 

When  the  winter  was  over  and  the  snow 
was  off  the  ground,  Thomas  Milne  and  myself 
began  to  clapboard  our  new  cottage.  We  first 
went  to  the  storage-barn  where  we  secured  the 
clapboards  necessary  for  our  work.  Then  we 
went  to  the  shop  and  got  our  tools.  When  we 
were  ready,  we  started  on  the  front,  beginning 
at  the  top  and  using  a  small  block  as  a  spacer 
so  that  the  clapboards  would  be  the  same  distance 
apart.  When  we  had  finished  the  front,  we  went 
around  to  the  sides  and  so  on  until  we  had  fin- 
ished the  whole  cottage. 

Preston   M.   Blanchard. 

Cbe  machine  shop 

Lately  I  have  been  washing  windows  in  the 
machine-shop.  There  are  eleven  windows  and 
two  doors,  and  it  takes  about  two  mornings  to 
get  the  windows  washed.  The  machine-shop 
is  thirty-eight  feet  three  inches  long;  twenty  feet 
five  inches  wide;  and  eight  feet  ten  inches  high. 
In  one  corner  of  the  room  there  is  a  sink  and  a 
towel  hanging  up  beside  it.  There  are  six  ma- 
chines there  now  and  a  dynamo  and  switch. 
There  is  a  large  cupboard  in  which  to  keep  tools, 
bolts,  and  other  articles.  In  the  other  corner,  op- 
posite from  the  sink,  is  a  bench  running  along  the 
side  and  end  of  the  wall.  One  of  the  doors  opens 
from  the  carpenter-shop  and  the  other  from  the 
outside.  George  A.  Mansfield. 


THOMPSONjS   i»sland 

DEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  5.     Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston  Mass.     September,    1911 

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


Our  JInitnals 

We  have  eight  horses  and  one  colt.  They 
are  General,  Colonel,  Major,  Bell,  Dolly  Gray, 
Dan,  Yellow  Jacket,  and  George.  General  and 
Colonel  make  a  splendid  pair,  and  they  do  a 
great  deal  of  work  for  us.  The  colt,  whose 
mother  is  Dolly  Gray,  was  born  about  a  year  and 
a  half  ago.  Her  name  is  Topsy  and  her  color 
was  entirely  black,  but  is  now  turning  to  an 
iron-gray.  Topsy  is  put  out  in  the  paddock 
every  day.  The  horses  are  fed  by  Mr.  Simpson 
and  ars  given  cracked  corn,  oats,  and  hay  for 
each  meal.  They  are  watered  three  times  a 
day. 

We  have  twenty-eight  cows.  They  are 
Jerseys,  Guernseys,  and  Ayrshires.  The  cows 
are  milked  twice  a  day  at  five  o'clock,  morning 
and  night.  They  are  fed  on  mixed  grain  and 
cut  or  green  feed,  besides  going  to  pasture  twice 
a  day  during  the  summer.  There  is  a  large 
watering  tank  in  the  barn-yard  where  the  cows 
get  their  water.  Each  cow  gives  from  two  to 
seventeen  pounds  of  milk  at  each  milking. 
The  cows  are  cleaned  and  taken  care  of  by  four 
cow-boys,  two  in  the  morning  and  two  in  the 
afternoon.  We  have  one  bull  which  is  of  Guern- 
sey breed. 

For  poultry  we  have  two  Chinese  geese, 
five  other  geese  and  a  gosling,  two  hundred 
seventy-nine  pigeons,  twenty-eight  ducks,  nine- 
teen turkeys,  forty  chickens,  three  roosters, 
and  forty-four  hens.  We  have  two  different 
kinds  of  hens,  Rhode  Island  Reds,  and  Barred 
Plymouth  Rocks. 

Our  hogs,  of  which  we  have  eleven,  are  in 
the  basement  of  the  storage-barn.  Hogs  are 
often  killed  during  the  winter,  and  we  enjoy  the 


fresh  pork.  We  have  four  dogs,  two  of  St.  Ber- 
nard breed,  and  two  fox-terriers.  We  have  had 
Major,  a  St.  Bernard,  but  a  few  days.  He  is 
a  very  pretty  dog  and  so  gentle  and  affection- 
ate that  we  all  like  him. 

For  pets,  we  have  rabbits,  Guinea  pigs,  a 
monkey,  and  two  tame  crows.  We  have  the 
crows  in  a  large  cage  now,  but  once  in  a  while 
we  let  them  out.  They  were  presented  to  us 
recently  by  Mr.  Mead,  a  former  supervisor. 
The  rabbits  and  Guinea  pigs  are  kept  in  Au- 
dubon Hall.  One  of  the  boys  takes  care  of  the 
poultry,  and  another,  the  curator,  has  charge  of 
the  pets.  There  are  a  number  of  gray  squir- 
rels which  play  around  the  yards.  We  have 
about  five  hundred  animals  in  all. 

James  A.   Blakemore. 

forking  on  rbc  Catbc 

On  July  thirty-first,  the  fellows  began  to  go 
to  sloyd  again.  That  morning  v,e  were  given  a 
few  rules.  We  went  on  the  following  Wednes- 
day morning  for  the  next  lesson.  Mr.  Ekegren, 
the  instructor  in  charge,  took  us  around  the 
lathes  and  explained  things  about  them.  Then 
he  set  another  fellow  and  me  to  work  on  them. 
The  first  thing  1  made  was  a  cylinder.  1 
used  two  tools  on  it,  the  large  gouge  and  the 
large  chisel.  When  I  got  the  cylinder  done,  1 
made  a  file  handle  out  of  it.  In  making  the  file 
handle,  1  first  cut  a  place  for  the  brass  ring  and 
■fitted  it  on.  Then  1  marked  the  dimensions  en 
the  cylinder  and  shaped  it  out  like  a  file  handle. 
I  sandpapered  it  all  up.  The  tools  I  used  on  it 
were  two  gouges,  two  chisels,  and  a  parting  tool. 
The  lathe  is  motor  driven.  The  switch  is  under 
the  lathe.  On  the  right  hand  side  of  the  lathe 
is    the    rheostat.     To   start    the    motor,    close 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


the  main  knife  switch.  Then  move  the  lever 
on  the  rheostat  to  first  segment  and  hold  it 
there  for  one  or  two  seconds,  then  to  the  sec- 
ond segment  and  hold  it  there  for  one  or  two 
seconds,  and  so  on  from  one  segment  to  the 
next  until  the  lever  has  been  moved  to  the 
short  circuit  position  where  it  is  held  by  the 
retaining  magnet.  To  stop  the  motor,  open 
the  main  line  switch  and  the  rheostat  will  take 
care  of  itself.  Alfred  H.  Casey. 

Spraying  Potato  Plants 

We  sprayed  our  potato  plants  this  year 
with  Bordeaux  mixture.  Four  barrels  were 
used  for  this  mixture.  One  barrel  was  about 
half  full  of  water  and  lime,  a  pound  of  lime  to  a 
gallon  of  water.  In  another  barrel  there  was 
blue  vitrei  water.  This  blue  vitrei  had  to  be 
dissolved  in  a  bucket  of  hot  water.  Then  an 
empty  barrel  was  taken  and  filled  about  two- 
thirds  full  of  water,  and  half  a  pound  of  Paris 
green  was  put  in  it.  Added  to  this  were  four 
gallons  of  lime  water.  Then  four  gallons  of 
blue  vitrol  water  were  put  in,  and  more  clear  water 
was  added  to  fill  the  barrel,  and  the  other  barrel 
was  filled  in  the  same  way. 

William   B.   Laing. 

J\n  Observation  Crip 

On  the  ninth  of  August  the  fourth  and  fifth 
classes  had  the  pleasure  of  going  on  a  trip  to  the 
State  House.  We  left  the  Island  about  quarter 
past  twelve  and  arrived  at  the  State  House  early 
in  the  afternoon.  We  were  taken  by  our  teacher 
and  another  instructor.  A  guide  escorted  us 
around,  first  showing  us  the  flags  which  were  in 
glass  cases  in  the  corners  of  the  room.  He 
spoke  especially  of  the  only  flag  brought  back 
from  the  Civil  War  with  a  blood  stain  on  it. 
That  was  carried  by  a  sergeant  who  had  both  of 
his  arms  torn  from  their  sockets  in  one  of  the  bat- 
tles. He  dropped  the  flag  and  it  was  picked  up 
by  another  soldier.  In  the  center  of  the  building 
is  Memorial  hall.  The  circular  gallery  is  sup- 
ported by  sixteen  pillars  of  Siena  marble.  Our 
guide  told  us  that  all  the  marble  we  saw  came 
from  Italy.  We  visited  the  ladies'  reception 
room  and  Representatives'  Chamber. 


These  rooms  are  both  finished  in  white  ma- 
hogany. The  walls  are  covered  with  embossed 
leather  that  cost  forty  dollars  a  yatd.  There  is 
a  table  in  the  ladies'  reception  room  that  cost  one 
thousand  dollars.  It  is  made  of  white  mahogany 
which  came  from  the  west  coast  of  Mexico. 
In  the  library  we  saw  a  manuscript  which  was 
written  by  Governor  Bradford  in  the  cabin  of 
the  Mayflower.  We  went  up  in  the  dome  of  the 
State  House  where  we  could  get  a  fine  view  of 
Boston.  We  could  see  our  Island.  There  are 
seventy-three  clocks  in  the  building  all  run  by 
electricity.  The  correct  time  is  sentfiom  Wash- 
ington to  the  State  House  every  day  at  quarter 
past  twelve.  We  had  the  privilege  of  shaking 
hands  with  a  gentleman  who  was  awarded  a 
medal  of  honor  for  bravery  in  the  battle  of  Get- 
tysburg. We  discovered  later  that  cur  guide 
had  attended  Mr.  Lincoln's  last  reception  ten 
days  before  his  assassination.  We  were  glad 
to  have  the  privilege  of  shaking  hands  with  a 
person  who  had  shaken  hands  with  Mr.  Lincoln. 
When  we  got  back  to  the  Island,  Mr.  Bradley 
was  at  the  wharf  and  we  thanked  l-im  very  much 
for  the  trip.  Harry   L.   Fessenden. 

Sorting  Paper 

On  July  twenty-eighth  it  rained  pretty  hard  all 
the  morning,  so  the  farm  boys  could  not  work 
outside.  Mr.  Gordon  took  seven  of  us  fellows 
down  to  the  storage-barn  to  clean  it  up.  We 
went  up  on  the  scaffold  and  sorted  paper.  We 
put  the  printed  paper  and  the  unprinted  paper  in 
separate  bags.  After  a  bag  was  full,  it  was  tied 
up  and  a  tag  was  put  on  it  telling  if  it  contained 
printed  or  unprinted  paper.  This  waste  paper 
comes  from  the  printing-office  and  is  sorted. 
Here  it  accumulates  and  is  finally  sold. 

Oscar  E.  Neumann. 

J\  Seocntccn-ycar  Cocust 

One  morning  as  I  was  coming  up  the  av- 
enue, 1  saw  a  little  black  thing  move  on  the 
gravel.  I  went  away  for  a  little  while,  and  then 
returned  to  see  what  it  was.  1  took  it  up  to  my 
teacher  and  she  said  it  was  a  seventeen-year 
cicada.  I  put  It  in  the  insect  case  in  the  back 
of  the  room.     This  one  had  been  out  of  the  pupa 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


case  for  quite  a  few  days.  The  eggs  of  these 
locusts  are  deposited  in  slits  in  twigs  of  trees. 
These  eggs  hatch  in  a  few  weeks,  and  the  lavae 
fall  to  the  ground,  where  they  bury  themselves 
and  feed  on  the  roots  of  trees  for  seventeen  years. 
When  they  are  fully  grown,  they  crawl  out  of  the 
earth  on  the  tree  trunks,  and  the  skin  on  the  back 
bursts,  and  the  locust  crawls  out.  In  a  few  min- 
utes they  fly  away  to  enjoy  the  few  weeks  of 
their  life  in  the  tree  tops.  These  locusts  do  very 
little  harm  to  trees  or  crops,  and  the  hens  and 
pigs  devour  them.  Theodore   Milne. 

Cbe  Giant  Switid 

The  giant  swing  is  erected  on  the  play- 
ground. This  consists  of  a  pole  set  six  feet  into 
the  ground,  and  rising  to  a  height  of  about  twenty 
feet.  At  the  top  there  is  a  plate  of  iron  where 
the  ropes  are  hitched.  This  plate  revolves  so 
that  the  ropes  will  not  wind  around  the  pole. 
The  ropes  hang  down  within  four  or  five  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  on  the  end  of  each  is  a  han- 
dle. Around  the  pole  there  is  a  circle  of  sod 
taken  out  and  ashes  are  spread  over  the  dirt  so 
that  it  will  dry  up  quickly  and  so  that  we  will 
not  slip  while  swinging.  Mr.  Bradley  told  us 
that  the  way  to  swing  was  to  take  a  stride,  mak- 
ing our  strides  longer  as  we  went  around,  and  so 
making  a  complete  circle  around  the  pole  until 
at  last  we  should  swing  off  into  the  air. 

Preston   M.   Blanchard. 

6ytiina$tic$ 

The  pupils  of  the  second,  fourth,  and  fifth 
classes  have  had  gymnastic  exercises  and  deep 
breathing  this  term.  The  exercises  were  at 
first  very  simple  and  were  not  enjoyed  quite  as 
much  as  the  harder  ones  we  have  now.  They 
last  only  a  short  time  each  day.  The  time 
seems  too  short  to  most  of  us  but  we  are  glad  to 
have  them  at  all.  We  take  such  movements 
as  will  exercise  all  the  parts  of  the  body.  We 
have  foot  placing,  facing  exercises,  arm  ?nd 
balance  movements,  trunk  bending,  and  deep 
breathing.  These  gymnastics  tend  to  make  the 
body  agile,  shoulders  erect,  and  chests  high. 
We  all  enjoy  this  very  much. 

George  R.  Jordan. 


Seaweed 

Some  people  not  knowing  the  value  of  sea- 
weed and  the  money  that  can  be  saved  by  using 
it,  buy  other  materials  to  use  as  bedding  for  the 
animals.  On  our  Island  we  make  a  practice  of 
using  every  thing  we  have  to  the  best  advantage. 
The  seaweed  is  gathered  and  spread  out  en 
some  open  space  where  the  sun  can  get  at  it 
and  dry  it.  This  year  we  put  it  on  the  grass 
plots  between  the  stock  and  storage-barns,  and 
on  the  bank  where  the  boys  undress  to  go  in 
swimming.  It  was  rather  wet  when  it  was  put 
there  and  had  to  be  turned  a  number  of  times. 
We  worked  on  this  seaweed  for  about  four  days 
in  all.  Finally  it  was  taken  to  the  stock-barn 
and  the  piggery  where  it  will  be  kept  until  it  is 
wanted.  Edward   M.  Powers. 

€lcanind  a  Cowcl  H^ck 

In  the  afternoon  before  school,  I  work  for 
Capt.  Dix.  One  afternoon  he  told  me  to  go 
to  the  dining-room  and  get  a  towel  rack  that 
was  to  be  re-varnished.  When  I  returned  to 
the  paint  shop,  1  selected  two  of  the  best  steel 
scrapers,  one  large  and  one  small  size,  and 
started  in.  I  scraped  the  rounds  first,  and  ir.ade 
them  all  white.  Then  I  scraped  the  two  end 
pieces.  The  rounds  are  made  of  spruce,  and 
the  ends  are  made  of  oak  This  rack  is  about 
three  feet  high.  When  1  finished  scraping  it,  I 
sandpapered  it  and  then  it  was  ready  for  varnish. 

Roy  D.   Upham. 

Cbc  Oia  Elm 

The  Old  Elm  is  a  chief  source  of  interest.  It 
is  quite  old,  having  weathered  many  years.  It  is 
situated  between  Gardner  H?ll  and  the  main 
building.  This  tree  is  the  oldest  on  the  Island. 
Around  the  tree  is  a  bench  where  the  fellows 
can  read  and  study.  In  summer  it  has  a  lot  of 
leaves  and  gives  a  good  shade.  As  the  tree 
grows  older  the  fellows  will  take  more  notice  of 
it  as  they  should.  When  fellows  have  their  pic- 
tures taken  they  often  sit  around  the  Elm  using 
this  as  a  background.  After  the  fellows  leave 
the  School,  they  will  always  look  back  fondly 
to  the  good  times  they  had  under  the  Old  Elm. 
John  W.   Lincoln. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbontp$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,   Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT  UPON   DONATIONS  AND   BEQUESTS 
A  PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR   WORTHY  BOYS 


Vol.    15.   No.  5. 


September,    1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

vice-president 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

treasurer 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.  Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 

Nothing  tends  to  the  destruction  of  na- 
tional and  individual  prosperity  more  than  idle- 
ness. Circumstances,  to  a  certain  degree,  cause 
this  evil.  Some  climates  and  seasons  of  the 
year  induce  lassitude;  some  constitutions  possess 


less  energy  than  others;  but  in  by  far  the  larger 
number  of  cases  idleness  results  from  the  indul- 
gence of  luxurious  habits  which  destroy  the  en- 
ergy of  the  character.  Some  people  lack  enter- 
prise, and  others,  lacking  perseverance  are  dis- 
couraged by  difficulty  and  accomplish  but  little 
or  nothing. 

The  lack  of  method  and  habit  in  early  life 
is  answerable  largely  for  this  evil.  When  a 
person  in  youth  becomes  accustomed  to  regular 
and  industrious  employment,  he  seldom  loses 
such  habits  in  after  life.  The  more  a  person 
accomplishes  the  more  he  is  capable  of  doing, 
for  the  enterprising  are  most  busy.  "An  active 
tool  never  grows  rusty." 

The  Farm  and  Trades  School  teaches  ac- 
tivity in  body,  in  mind,  in  everything.  The 
preservation  and  improvement  of  our  abilities  de- 
'pend  upon  their  constant  exercise.  Everything 
is  kept  going,  and  the  reward  of  our  industry  is 
success  in  our  undertakings. 

"Labor  is  life!     'Tis  the  still  water  faileth; 
Idleness  ever  despaireth,  bewaileth." 

notes 

Aug.  1.  Set  channel  marker  off  Head 
House  at  South  Boston. 

Aug.  2.  Painted  and  varnished  first  floor 
toilet. 

Aug.  3.  First  class  boys  visited  the  Har- 
vard University  Museum  with  Mrs.  Cotton. 

Aug.  4.     Began  painting  the  stock-barn. 

Aug.  6.     Excursion  around  harbor. 

Aug.  7.     Mowed  rowen. 

Began  plowing  the  meadow  at  south  end. 

Laid  concrete  floor  in  blacksmith  shop. 

The  Massachusetts  Press  Association  met 
here. 

Aug.  9.     Dug  the  first  new  potatoes. 

Graduate  Ralph  H.  Marshall  visited  .the 
School. 

Raymond  Hooker  Batchelder  entered  the 
School. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Third  class  boys  visited  the  Boston  Public 
Library  with  Mrs.  Cotton. 

Fourth    and    fifth  class   boys   visited    the 
State  House  with  Miss  Lothrop. 

Aug.  10.     Sprayedpotatoes  with  Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Repaired  copper  gutters  on  main  building. 

Began  digging  drain  for  south  basement. 

Aug.    12.     Cut  first  fodder  corn. 

Painted  iron  telephone  poles. 

Graduate  Edward   M.   Bickford  visited  the 
School. 

Manager  and  Mrs.   I.  Tucker  Burr  visited 
the  School. 

Aug.    14.     Manager  Francis  Shaw  paid  us 
a  visit. 

Renewed  planks  in  bridge  entrance  to  stock- 
barn. 

Aug.    15.      Twenty-five    barrels    of    flour 
came. 

Man  here  to  overhaul  printing  presses. 

Aug.    16,     Charles  H.   Herrick,  agent  for 
Nash  gasolene  engine,  here. 

Second  class  boys  visited  the  Natural  His- 
tory rooms  with  Miss  Lothrop. 

Aug.    17.     First  pears  picked. 

Steamer    Pilgrim  at  Lawley's  for    annual 
overhauling. 

Aug.    18.     Began  cutting  marsh  grass  for 
bedding. 

Aug.    19.      Laurence     Carlton    Silver    re- 
turned to  his  mother. 

Aug.  2 1 .     Painted  hull  of  steamer  Pilgrim. 

Aug.  24.    Picked  Bartlett  pears  and  plums. 

Aug.  25.     Fifth  Friends'  Day.      186  pres- 
ent. 

John   Hermann  Marshall  went  to  live  with 
his  mother. 

Aug.  26.     Renewed  part  of  flooring  in  as- 
sembly-room. 

Last  base-ball  game    of  the  season.     All 
went  to  south  end  of  Island  to  see  the  airships. 

Aug.  27.     Seeded    piece    west    of  farm- 
house with  timothy. 

Aug.  30.     Preserved  plums. 

Picked  one  bushel  grapes. 


Aug.  31.  Graduate  Terrance  L.  Parker 
visited  the  School. 

CDe  Tarm  and  Cradcs  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  Aug.  1,  1911  $964.55 

Deposits  to  Sept.  1,  191  1  21.14 

^985^69 
Withdrawals  33.05 

Cash  on  hand  Sept.  1,  1911  $952,64 

jiuaust  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  90''  on  the  10th. 

Minimum  temperature  50°  on  the  3rd  and 
31st. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  66. 7*^. 

Total  precipitation  4.72  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
1.38  inches  on  the  31st. 

10  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 5  clear  days,    17  partly  cloudy,  9  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  224  and  14 
minutes, 

Pmcrvind  Blueberries 

Lately,  in  the  kitchen,  we  have  been  pre- 
serving blueberries.  The  blueberries  are  first 
looked  over  very  carefully.  There  is  a  large  ket- 
tle to  cook  them  in  before  putting  them  into  jars. 
\fter  they  are  put  on  the  range,  the  berries  are 
cooked  until  they  boil,  and  then  put  into  the  one- 
quart  and  two-quart  jars,  and  set  in  the  pantry  to 
cool.  Then  they  are  carried  to  the  dairy  cellar, 
where  they  will  be  kept  until  winter,  when  they 
will  be  used  for  pies.       Thomas  H.  Taylor. 

making  €ocoa 

One  day  I  made  cocoa  for  the  fellows.  1 
put  on  a  large  boiler  and  a  small  ere.  1  filled 
them  half-full  of  water  and  put  them  on  the  range 
to  be  ready  in  the  morning.  I  made  a  paste  of 
the  cocoa  and  sugar,  using  two  and  one-hflf 
cans  of  cocoa  and  five  pounds  of  sugar.  When 
1  got  up  the  next  morning  I  put  the  boilers  where 
the  water  would  boil.  I  then  put  the  milk  and 
cocoa  in  each.  A  little  salt  was  added  and 
then  some  sugar.  1  tasted  it  to  see  if  it  v?s 
sweet  enough.  At  twenty  minutes  past  six  it 
was  taken  into  the  dining-room  and  put  on  the 
tables  in  pitchers.  Harold  Pearson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jl  Uisit  to  tDc  University  museum 

Thursday,  August  third,  the  members  of 
the  first  class  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the 
University  Museum  at  Cambridge.  We  arrived 
there  about  three  o'clock.  The  first  rooms  we 
went  into  contained  a  collection  of  glass  flowers. 
They  are  beautifully  colored,  and  show  not  only 
the  flowers  as  a  whole,  but  the  different  parts, 
very  much  enlarged.  These  flowers  are  the 
handiwork  of  Leopold  and  Rudolph  Blaschka 
of  Germany,  and  the  collection  was  begun  in 
eighteen  hundred  eighty-six,  and  now  consists 
of  one  hundred  forty-seven  natural  orders. 

In  the  next  rooms  there  were  many  different 
kinds  of  birds,  their  nests,  and  eggs.  The  tailor- 
bird,  which  is  noted  for  its  skill  in  sewing  leaves 
together  for  a  nest,  the  ostrich,  penguin,  the 
macaw,  with  its  brilliant  coloring  and  large  bare 
spots  around  the  eyes,  the  lyre  bird,  and  differ- 
ent kinds  of  phesants  were  all  very  interesting. 
The  American  flamingo  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  birds  we  saw.  It  is  pink  with  touches 
of  black  along  the  wings,  and  the  tail  is  about 
four  feet  long.  A  large  case  was  completely  filled 
with  humming  birds  of  great  variety  and  color- 
ing. The  two  largest  animals  we  saw  were  the 
elephant  and  giraffe.  There  were  also  buffalos, 
a  zebra,  a  hippopotamus,  bears,  musk-ox,  wolves, 
and  a  wild  boar.  A  Rocky  Mountain  goat  was 
on  a  shelf  above  the  other  animals.  Its  head 
was  lowered  so  as  to  make  it  look  downward.  It 
had  a  coat  of  white  wool,  and  short  black  horns. 
Among  the  smaller  animals  were  monkeys  of 
many  sizes  and  kinds,  an  ant-eater,  minks,  otters, 
beavers,  opossums,  foxes,  porcupines,  and  arma- 
dillos. 

After  seeing  the  animals  we  went  up  into 
the  balcony  where  we  saw  a  great  many  snakes 
and  lizards  of  which  we  noticed  the  American 
lizard  or  iguana.  Many  of  these  specimens  were 
preserved  in  alcohol.  From  here  we  could  look 
down  on  the  skeletons  of  the  fin-back  whales  and 
the  octopus.  We  were  much  interested  in  the 
skeleton  of  a  giant  squid  which  was  caught  off  the 
coast  of  Newfoundland.  Science  has  reported 
the  existence  of  these  monsters  for  only  a  few 
years.     Other  fish  we  saw  were  the  hogfish,  the 


ling,  and  the  broad  nosed  gar  having  a  head'  one 
third  as  long  as  the  body.  We  also  saw  many 
members  of  the  crab  family. 

Another  room  was  filled  with  cases  of  butter- 
flies, the  gift  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Gardner.  We  could 
have  enjoyed  ourselves  for  a  long  time  studying 
the  collection  of  minerals  in  another  room,  but 
we  had  time  to  look  at  only  a  few.  We  saw 
large  specimens  of  purple  quartz  or  amethyst. 
About  the  last  interesting  thing  we  noticed  was 
a  large  semi-circular  relief  map  of  Boston  and 
vicinity  made  by  G.  C.  Curtis,  upon  which  one 
of  the  places  we  located  was  our  Island.  We 
left  there  about  half  past  four,  and  arrived  at  the 
Public  Landing  about  half  past  five.  We  enjoyed 
the  trip  very  much.        Wilijam   E.   Rowell. 

Rorse  Tellow 

There  are  two  fellows  who  take  care  of  the 
horses.  1  happen  to  be  one  of  these  fellows. 
We  go  down  to  the  barn  at  five  in  the  morning, 
and  at  the  same  time  at  night,  and  stay  until 
the  work  is  done.  We  have  our  horses  to  Icok 
out  for.  When  we  get  down  there  in  the  morn- 
ing, we  water  the  horses,  curry  them  off,  and 
spray  them.  At  night,  the  steamer  generally 
gets  freight  and  it  is  our  work  to  take  it  from  the 
wharf  to  wherever  it  belongs.  We  know  when 
there  is  freight  because  the  steamer's  whistle 
blows  one  long  blast  and  one  short  one.  When 
the  whistle  is  heard,  we  take  the  horse  that  is  left 
in  the  cart  and  go  down  to  the  wharf.  Every 
other  night  I  go  down  for  freight.  While  the 
other  fellow  is  after  it,  1  polish  the  brass  on  the 
harness.  Harold  L.  Wynot. 

Cleaning  the  Plaster-room 

One  rainy  day  Mr.  Kibby  told  me  to  clean  the 
plaster-room  in  good  shape.  I  got  the  key  from 
him  and  went  to  the  storage-barn,  unlocked  the 
door,  and  started  my  work.  I  first  moved  all 
the  things  out  of  my  way  and  began  sweeping 
the  floor.  When  the  farther  corner  of  the  room 
was  done,  I  put  all  the  things  back  in  their  places 
and  fixed  up  the  pile  of  plaster  bags.  I  then 
began  my  sweeping  again.  I  got  a  barrel  and 
put  my  dirt  in  it.  After  dusting  I  was  done. 
Arthur  G.  Appel. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


€oal 

On  July  twenty-seventh,  our  annual  supply 
of  Pocahontas  or  New  River  soft  coal  came  for 
the  power-plant  and  steamer.  The  lighter, 
"Lark,"  brought  the  coal  this  year.  Last  year 
the  "Marie"  brought  the  coal.  We  began  haul- 
ing the  coal  at  one  o'clock  with  five  carts,  four 
single  and  one  double.  When  the  carts  were 
loaded,  they  were  weighed  on  the  scales  near  the 
stock-barn.  They  then  took  the  coal  to  the 
pocket  at  the  power-house  and  to  the  pile  at 
the  boat-house.  As  soon  as  the  carts  were 
dumped  at  the  coal  pocket,  three  fellows  shov- 
eled the  coal  back  against  the  wall  so  that  more 
loads  could  be  dumped.  This  was  repeated 
until  all  the  coal  was  unloaded. 

Cecil  0.  Jordan. 

my  mork  in  m  Shelter 

About  every  week  1  have  to  clean  out  the 
shelter.  The  shelter  is  ocated  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  front  lawn  in  the  arboretum.  One 
Saturday,  after  1  had  my  regular  work  done,  1 
asked  Miss  Stratton  what  to  do.  She  told  me 
to  clean  out  the  shelter.  1  got  a  pail  of  water, 
some  soap,  a  brush,  and  some  cloths.  I  first 
washed  off  the  furniture  and  set  it  out  of  doors. 
Then  I  washed  the  woodwork  and  washed  the 
windows.  After  that  1  scrubbed  the  floor  and 
while  1  was  waiting  for  the  floor  to  dry,  1  brushed 
all  around  the  outside  of  the  shelter  so  as  to 
make  it  look  clean.  Then  1  put  back  the  furni- 
ture. The  shelter  looked  clean  when  1  had 
finished.  Hubert  N.   Leach. 

Cbc  Bread  Cutter 

In  the  boys  dining-room  near  the  sink  is 
the  bread  table.  At  one  end  of  the  table  is  the 
bread  cutter.  It  can  also  be  used  to  cut  cold 
meats  such  as  ham  and  bologna  sausage.  There 
is  a  shelf  made  of  iron  to  put  the  bread  on. 
When  a  loaf  of  bread  is  put  in,  the  bottom  of 
the  loaf  is  placed  against  the  back  of  the  shelf 
with  one  side  of  the  loaf  down  on  the  shelf.  The 
loaf  is  pushed  through  as  one  turns  the  handle 
which  makes  the  blade  go  around.  The  blade 
may  be  regulated  so  as  to  make  the  slices  thick 
or  thin.     When  the  handle  is  turned,  the  part  to 


which  the  knife  is  attached  goes  back  and  forth 
on  a  piece  of  steel.  The  bread  that  is  cut  falls 
into  a  tray  where  another  fellow  picks  it  up  and 
puts  it  in  place  and  then  places  it  on  a  plate  to 
go  on  a  table.  1  have  to  cut  seventeen  loaves 
of  bread  for  a  meal.  The  waiter  cuts  more  if  it 
is  needed.  After  this  I  clean  the  bread  cutter 
and  put  the  crumbs  in  the  chicken  feed,  and 
the  fellow  who  catches  the  bread  brushes  up  the 
crumbs  on  the  floor.        Leslie   H.   Barker. 

Cbe  new  Books 

On  August  ninth,  some  new  books  came. 
They  were  put  in  the  reading-room  to  be  covered 
before  they  were  sent  to  the  school-rooms. 
There  were  some  general  histories,  American 
histories,  stories  of  American  history,  writing 
books,  dictionaries,  and  some  reading  books. 
The  general  or  ancient  histories  are  written  by 
Myers.  They  are  used  by  the  first  class.  The 
fellows  who  had  old  editions  got  new  ones  and  I 
had  one  of  these.  General  history  is  one  of  the 
most  important  studies  in  the  first  class,  and  we 
have  to  recite  nearly  twenty  pages  each  week. 
The  American  histories  were  given  to  the  second 
and  third  classes.  Stories  of  American  history 
were  given  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes.  All 
the  classes  use  the  writing  books.  The  readers 
will  be  used  by  the  first,  second,  and  third  classes. 
Harry  M.   Godshalk. 

mm  tbe  new  macbiites 

July  thirtieth,  we  started  to  use  our  new 
machines.  At  nine  o'clock  Mr.  Ekegren  had  the 
gas  engine  started  which  runs  the  small  generator 
in  order  to  get  current  to  run  the  motor  for  the 
machines.  He  said  he  would  run  the  machines 
in  the  carpenter  shop.  After  putting  on  the  saw, 
he  started  the  motor  to  see  how  they  both  worked 
together.  Then  taking  off  the  planer  belt,  the 
saw  was  started  and  a  piece  of  wood  put  through. 
Then  getting  the  planer  ready  to  run  and  regu- 
lated for  the  thickness  of  the  shaving,  it  was 
started  and  a  piece  of  wood  put  through  to  see 
how  it  worked.  The  wet  grinding  machine  which 
sharpens  all  the  tools  was  used,  as  well  as  the  two 
new  sloyd  lathes.  These  are  found  to  be  great 
labor-saving  machines.       John  O.  Enright. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumtti 

Frank  C.  Simpson,  '03,  was  married  on 
July  seventeenth.  His  honeymoon  of  ten  days 
was  spent  at  Peak's  Island,  Maine.  Frank  is 
employed  as  salesman  by  the  Cyphers  Incubator 
Company  in  Boston,  with  whom  he  has  been 
about  three  years  in  all.  The  young  couple  will 
probably  live  in  Somerville.  We  wish  them 
much  happiness. 

Walter  L.  Carpenter,  '99,  spent  Sat- 
turday  afternoon  here  lately  with  his  wife  and 
cousin.  Walter  lives  at  88  Vane  Street,  Revere, 
and  has  been  a  fireman  for  the  past  two  years 
for  the  Revere  Rubber  Company. 

Earle  C.  Marshall,  '10,  has  followed  the 
example  of  his  two  brothers  in  visiting  the  School 
this  summer.  Earle  also  lives  with  his  mother 
in  New  Bedford  and  seems  to  take  the  same  in- 
terest as  his  brothers  in  the  Saint  James  Episco- 
pal Church.  At  present  he  is  employed  in  the 
stereotyping-room  of  The  New  Bedford  Standard. 

Terrance  L.  Parker, '10,  has  completed 
his  first  year  at  Colby  Academy  at  New  London, 
N  H.  He  has  been  taking  the  classical  course 
but  next  year  expects  to  take  the  scientific  course. 
Terrance  spent  the  summer  taking  care  of  a 
boat  livery  at  George's  Mills  on  Lake  Sunapee. 

makitid  Butrer 

Recently  I  have  been  helping  to  make  but- 
ter in  the  kitchen.  The  butter  is  churned  in 
the  morning  and  the  butter-milk  is  drawn  off. 
The  butter  is  washed  until  it  is  clean  and  all  of 
the  butter-milk  is  out.  In  the  afternoon  when  1 
come  into  the  kitchen  1  get  the  butter  materials 
which  consist  of  butter-board,  butter-paddle, 
print,  pounder,  butter-papers,  platter,  and  some 
water  in  a  press-pan  to  wet  the  papers  with. 
We  put  the  butter  on  a  platter  and  weigh  it. 
After  we  weigh  the  butter  we  add  salt  and  sugar, 
using  one  scant  tablespoonful  of  salt  to  every 
pound  of  butter,  and  one  scant  tablespoonful 
of  sugar  to  every  five  pounds  of  butter.  Then 
we  put  it  back  in  the  churn  and  mix  it  well.  I 
get  a  larger  platter  and  put  some  ice  on  it  with 
which  to  keep    the    butter  cool.     We  put  the 


print  together  and  put  some  butter  in  it  with 
the  butter-paddle.  Then  Mrs.  Burke  or  I  pound 
it  down  hard,  putting  more  butter  in  it  when  it 
seems  necessary  and  pounding  that  hard  too. 
When  we  get  it  printed  we  wrap  it  up  in  papers 
and  put  it  on  the  platter,  and  later  in  the  refrig- 
erator to  cool  and  harden.  Each  print  is  sup- 
posed to  weigh  one-half  pound.  After  we  get  all 
the  butter  done  and  put  away,  1  wash  and  wipe 
the  churn  and  the  other  butter  making  materials 
and  put  them  away. 

Charles   R.  Jefferson. 

J\  Crip  to  m  Public  Eibrary 

One  day  the  third  class  went  over  to  the 
Boston  Public  Library  to  see  the  paintings  by 
Mr.  Edwin  A.  Abbey  of  the  Holy  Grail.  We 
boarded  a  car  at  City  Point  that  took  us  to  the 
door  of  the  Library.  The  first  thing  we  saw  as 
we  went  into  the  Library  was  the  statue  of  Sir 
Harry  Vane.  As  we  went  up  the  stairs,  we 
saw  two  stone  lions  that  were  designed  by  Louis 
St.  Gaudens.  The  first  room  we  visited  had  the 
paintings  of  the  Holy  Grail.  These  pictures  are 
beautiful  and  illustrate  Lord  Tennyson's  poem, 
Sir  Galahad,  a  supposed  descendant  of  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  is  shown  in  his  search  for  the 
Grail.  His  face,  as  a  youth,  is  bright,  and  free 
from  care,  but  as  time  goes  on  he  shows  the 
results  of  his  long  search  until  at  last  he  succeeds 
in  finding  the  Cup.  In-  all  the  pictures  he  is 
dressed  in  very  brilliant  colors.  Mr.  Abbey  who 
painted  these  pictures  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
on  April  1,  1852,  and  died  in  London  August  1, 
1911.  He  was  a  great  painter,  and  his  works 
were  liked  all  over  the  world.  His  idea  was  not 
to  make  money,  but  he  painted  for  the  love  of  the 
work.  After  leaving  this  room,  we  looked  from 
the  balcony  down  into  Bates  Hall,  which  is  two 
hundred  eighteen  feet  long,  forty-two  and  one- 
half  feet  wide,  and  fifty  feet  high  to  the  crown  of 
the  arches.  This  room  is  named  in  honor  of 
Joshua  Bates  who  gave  the  Library  at  its  begin- 
ing  $50,000.  In  Sargent  Hall,  we  saw  the  deco- 
rations by  John  S.  Sargent  which  represent  the 
triumph  of  religion.  We  spent  a  very  pleasant 
morning,  and  returned  to  our  Island  about  one 
o'clock.  Frank  A.  Tarbell. 


THOMPSONjS    IkSLAND 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  6.        Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.      October,   1911 

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


Lately  some  excavating  has  been  done  on 
the  avenue  in  front  of  the  main  building.  A 
trench  was  dug  in  which  pipes  were  laid  to  drain 
the  south  basement.  This  trench  was  nine  feet 
deep  at  one  end,  and  four  feet  deep  at  the  other 
end.  A  platform  was  made  from  two  sections 
of  a  concrete  mixing  board  and  put  in  place  to 
put  the  dirt  on  and  keep  it  off  the  grass,  but  as 
the  work  progressed  the  dirt  was  hauled  away  or 
filled  back  in  again,  so  the  platform  was  taken 
away.  When  the  trench  was  deep  enough,  it 
was  continued  across  the  avenue  and  down  into 
the  grove.  The  pipe  was  then  laid,  and  as  fast 
as  it  was  laid  it  was  covered  up  with  the  dirt 
that  was  taken  out  of  the  trench  in  the  grove. 
This  pipe  was  connected  with  the  drain  from  the 
west  basement  which  was  lowered  to  the  same 
level.  As  soon  as  the  trench  in  front  of  the 
main  building  was  filled  within  two  feet  of  the 
top,  the  avenue  was  dug  down  two  feet.  Some 
large  stones  were  hauled  from  the  beach  and 
these  were  thrown  in  to  make  a  blind  dr?in. 
Several  loads  of  cinders  were  put  in  and  tamped 
down.  Then  a  few  loads  were  screened  and 
put  on  top  to  make  a  better  path  and  to  absorb 
the  water  readily.  Then  some  screened  gravel 
was  put  on  top.  It  took  us  quite  a  while  to  do 
this  work.  •  Roy  D.   Upham. 

Mm  Experiments 

One  afternoon  in  the  physiology  class,  cur 
teacher  suggested  that  we  try  some  experiments 
with  bones  to  find  out  of  what  material  they  con- 
sist. One  of  the  boys  in  our  class  who  works  in 
the  kitchen  volunteered  to  supply  us  with  a  bone 
and  also  to  burn  one  in  the  fire  for  a  little  while 
and  bring  the  remains  up  to  the  school-room  the 


next  day.  Our  teacher  took  the  bone  she  had  and 
put  it  in  a  bottle  of  diluted  nitric  acid.  When 
we  looked  at  the  bones  later,  the  animal  matter 
was  all  that  remained  of  the  bone  which  was  put 
in  the  acid.  The  acid  was  so  strong  that  it  had 
eaten  away  the  mineral  matter  entirely  and  al- 
though the  shape  of  the  bone  was  the  same,  it 
was  soft  and  flexible.  The  bone  that  had  been 
put  in  the  fire  was  very  much  changed.  It  was 
very  light  and  brittle,  and  crumbled  easily.  The 
hot  fire  had  burned  the  animal  matter  out  of  the 
bone  leaving  only  the  mineral  matter.  We  hope 
to  try  other  experiments  in  the  future. 

Bradley  M.  Sherman. 

Cutting  Corn 

One  afternoon  the  farm  fellows  cut  corn. 
First  some  fellows  with  baskets  picked  all  the 
ears  of  corn.  We  then  started  to  cut  the  corn 
with  sickles  and  lay  it  in  a  pile  to  be  tied  up. 
After  1  cut  for  a  while,  Mr.  Gordon  gave  me 
some  string  and  told  me  to  tie  up  the  corn  to  be 
put  in  stacks.  There  were  two  fellows  putting 
the  corn  in  stacks.  Mr.  Gordon  said  to  put  as 
much  corn  in  a  pile  as  the  string  would  reach 
around  and  to  tie  it  in  a  good  hard  knot.  After 
tying  it  I  helped  the  fellows  pick  corn.  We 
put  the  corn  that  we  picked  in  the  field  below 
the  storage-barn.  Lawrence   M.  Cobb. 

B  Debate 

The  second  class  have  been  studying  about 
slavery  in  history.  We  became  interested  in 
John  Brown.  He  was  one  of  the  men  who  went 
to  Kansas  when  it  was  about  to  decide  whether 
or  not  it  should  join  the  Union  a  free  or-a  slave 
state.  He  deliberately  killed  five  men  in  their 
beds  at  Lawrence  and  later  shot  another  man 
who  was  a  slaveholder  in   Missouri.     This  was 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


in  payment  for  the  attack  the  slave  state  men 
had  made  on  Lawrence.  He  made  a  raid, 
sometime  afterward,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia, 
with  about  twenty  men,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
call  out  the  National  troops  to  put  him  down. 
In  this  attack  two  of  his  sons  received  their 
death  wounds  and  one  other  escaped.  He  was 
slightly  wounded  himself.  Our  teacher  sug- 
gested that  we  have  a  debate  about  John  Brown. 
The  class  was  about  evenly  divided  in  opinion, 
half  choosing  the  positive  side  of  the  argument 
that  John  Brown  did  right,  and  the  other  half 
deciding  against  him  and  what  he  did.  The 
boys  for  the  positive  side  argued  first,  Cecil  Jor- 
dan opening  the  debate  and  Fred  Hall  summing 
up  their  evidence.  George  Mansfield  spoke 
first  for  the  negative  side.  The  debate  was 
closed  when  Edson  Bemis  summed  up  their  ar- 
guments. It  was  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  present  that  John  Brown  did  not  do  right. 
The  class  decided  that  William  Deane  spoke  best 
for  the  positive  side  and  George  Jordan  for  the 
negative  side.  We  all  enjoyed  the  debate  very 
much.  Abraham   Samara. 

mm  to  churcD 

On  Sunday,  September  tenth,  the  advanced 
and  first  classes  went  to  church  in  South  Boston. 
On  Sunday,  September  seventeenth  the  second 
class  went  to  church.  Before  leaving  the  Island 
Mr.  Bradley  arranged  us  in  squads.  There  were 
five  squads  and  four  or  five  fellows  in  a  squad. 
Each  group  was  in  charge  of  a  large  fellow. 
The  squads  chose  what  church  they  wanted  to 
go  to  and  told  Mr.  Bradley.  The  churches  at- 
tended were,  Phillip's  Church,  St.  John's  Church, 
Hawe's  Church,  and  the  South  Baptist  Church. 
I  was  in  the  squad  that  went  to  the  South  Baptist 
Church.  We  all  enjoyed  the  services  very  much. 
William   B.   Deane. 

Cbe  Jli^iatton  meet 

This  year  the  fellows  became  very  enthusi- 
astic about  aviation  as  the  time  for  the  meet 
drew  near.  It  opened  August  twenty-eight,  and 
that  afternoon,  after  the  ball  game  was  over,  we 
went  to  the  south  end  of  the  Island  to  watch  the 
aviators  flying.     The  following  Monday  it  rained 


hard  and  continued  to  do  so  until  Friday.  Fri- 
day was  an  ideal  day  for  flying.  We  saw  two 
biplanes  up  for  speed  and  passenger  carrying. 
The  real  fun  for  us  was  September  fourth.  Labor 
Day.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  saw  Mr.  Ovington 
in  his  monoplane  start  on  the  cross-country  flight 
for  the  Globe's  $10,000  prize.  He  passed  quite 
near  the  Island.  In  the  afternoon  we  got  the 
steamer  and  freight  barge  ready  and  nearly  all 
the  instructors  and  fellows  sailed  over  as  near 
the  aviation  field  as  we  could  go.  We  got  a 
good  view  of  everything  that  was  going  on.  We 
saw  two  or  three  biplanes  up,  among  them  was 
Mr.  Beatty's.  Grahame-White  was  in  his  mon- 
oplane and  we  had  a  good  view  of  him.  About 
five  thirty,  Mr.  Beatty  gave  an  exhibition  flight. 
One  of  the  things  he  did  was  to  swoop  down 
among  the  many  boats.  At  five  forty-five,  we 
saw  a  small  dark  object  just  over  Blue  Hills. 
We  could  not  make  out  what  it  was  at  first. 
Some  of  us  thought  it  was  a  kite.  But  when  it 
came  closer  we  discovered  it  was  a  monoplane. 
We  later  learned  that  it  was  Mr.  Ovington,  the 
winner  of  the  cross-country  flight.  About  fifteen 
minutes  later  Mr.  Atwood  was  observed  coming 
from  the  direction  of  City  Point.  After  waiting 
to  see  these  two  land  we  weighed  anchor  and 
sailed  for  the  Island  thinking  of  the  pleasant 
afternoon  we  had  enjoyed. 

Bernhardt  Gerecke. 

SDelling  €orn 

Recently  the  farm  fellows  have  been  shelling 
yellow  corn  for  the  horses  to  eat.  We  take  a 
corn  cob  in  one  hand  and  rub  an  ear  of  corn 
against  it,  turning  it  all  the  time.  One  afternoon 
we  used  a  machine  which  looks  like  an  oblong 
box  with  a  hole  in  the  top  where  the  ears  are 
put  in.  On  the  inside  are  two  round  disks 
with  teeth  projecting  from  the  sides,  pointing 
toward  each  other.  When  the  ears  of  corn  pass 
through  these,  the  kernels  are  taken  off  and 
they  fall  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom.  One 
ear  is  put  in  after  another  and  when  the  handle 
is  turned  the  disks  draw  the  ears  along.  The  cob 
comes  out  the  other  end.  The  fellows  took  turns 
running  the  machine  and  we  shelled  four  barrels 
of  corn  that  afternoon.     Edward  M.  Powers. 


THOMPSOM'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


B  Barge  Hiae 

One  Sunday  afternoon  Mr.  Beebe  called 
the  fellows  to  put  on  their  uniforms.  After  we 
were  ready  we  went  out  under  the  Old  Elm  and 
waited  a  little  while,  then  lined  up  and  went 
down  to  the  barge.  The  band  fellows  went  in 
first  and  sat  down  on  the  benches.  When  we 
were  about  ready  to  start  a  fog  came  up  so  we 
could  not  go  down  the  harbor  as  was  intended, 
but  we  went  to  the  Life  Saving  Station.  We 
went  around  it,  and  then  stopped  up  close  and 
the  band  played  a  few  selections.  Then  we  went 
over  and  anchored  in  front  of  the  South  Boston 
Yacht  Club.  Here  we  stayed  a  long  while  and 
the  band  played.  People  in  boats  came  near  us 
to  listen  and  many  people  at  City  Point  crowded 
around  to  hear  it.  During  this  time  refresh- 
ments were  served.  In  due  time  we  returned 
home.  Perley  W.  White. 

SDarpcning  Tartti  Tttiplcmcnrs 

When  the  weather  does  not  permit  the 
farm  fellows  to  work  outside,  it  is  their  work  to 
clean  the  storage  and  stock-barns.  The  work 
is  to  wash  windows,  clean  harness,  and  do  other 
necessary  work.  My  work  one  rainy  morning  was 
to  sharpen  farm  implements,  such  as  scythes, 
sickles,  mowing-machine  knives,  and  an  axe. 
1  took  them  down  to  the  basement  of  the  stor- 
age-barn where  the  grindstone  is  kept.  The 
hardest  of  these  to  sharpen  was  the  mowing- 
machine  knife.  This  knife  is  about  six  feet 
long  and  holds  twenty  small  blades.  It  takes 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  to  sharpen  one 
mowing-machine  knife. 

Herbert  A.  Souther. 

Cottage  Row  Dance 

Wednesday  evening,  September  thirteenth, 
a  dance  was  held  in  the  assembly-hall.  This 
dance  was  given  by  the  officers  and  shareholders 
of  Cottage  Row.  The  dance  was  in  charge  of 
the  judge  and  mayor  of  Cottage  Row.  The 
assembly-hall  was  made  ready  for  dancing  by 
removing  the  settees  that  were  necessary. 
Bouquets  of  asters  were  placed  in  the  windows 
and  on  the  piano.  Each  lady  was  given  a  bou- 
quet of  pinks.     The  dance  began  at  eight  o'clock. 


The  shareholders  brought  their  certificates  of 
ownership  and  the  officers  wore  their  badges 
in  order  to  be  admitted  to  the  hall.  The  music 
was  furni.shed  by  graduate  Howard  B.  Ellis. 
The  orchestra  consisted  of  a  pianist,  a  violinist* 
corneter,  drummer,  and  clarinetist.  Refresh- 
ments were  served  about  half  past  nine.  Mr. 
Desha,  Harvard  '12,  sang  a  few  songs  and 
played  a  few  selections  on  the  guitar.  We  went 
to  bed  about  eleven  o'clock  feeling  that  we  had 
enjoyed  a  pleasant  evening. 

James  A.   Peak. 

transplanting  Ticwers 

After  school  was  over  one  night  before  sup- 
per, 1  went  up  to  the  gardens  to  water  my  flow- 
ers. My  garden  was  crowded  and  uneven  in 
some  places.  1  thought  it  would  be  a  good  plan 
to  fix  it  up,  so  that  night  after  supper  I  thinned 
it  out  and  arranged  it  so  that  it  looked  balanced. 
Every  night  after  school  I  water  and  dig  up  the 
soil  around  my  flowers.  My  garden  is  shaped 
somewhat  like  a  horn.  It  is  straight  at  one 
end  and  curved  at  the  other.  There  is  a  bunch 
of  modesty  at  each  corner  of  the  straight  end,  and 
a  bunch  of  lillies  at  the  curved  end.  There  is  a 
rose  bush  in  the  center,  and  the  rest  of  the 
garden  is  occupied  by  zinnias,  asters,  Chinese  , 
pinks,  and  balsam.      Harry   L.   Fessenden. 

Changing  Sheets  and  Pillow-cases 

Every  Tuesday  morning  the  dormitory  fel- 
lows change  sheets  and  pillow  cases  on  the  fel- 
lows' beds.  The  lower  sheet  is  taken  off  and 
put  in  the  middle  of  the  bed.  The  pillow-cases 
are  taken  off  the  pillows,  and  put  at  the  foot  of 
the  bed.  Then  they  are  all  collected  and  put  in 
a  pile  on  one  of  the  beds,  there  being  a  pile  for 
the  sheets  and  one  for  the  pillow-cases.  The 
laundry  basket  is  taken  into  the  dormitory  where, 
after  the  sheets  and  pillow-cases  are  folded,  they 
are  put  into  the  basket  ready  for  the  fellows  to 
take  to  the  wharf.  After  this  we  go  to  the  cup- 
board in  the  west  dormitory  that  we  call  the 
sheet  cupboard,  where  we  get  the  number  of 
sheets  and  pillow-cases  we  want.  Then  the 
clean  sheets  and  pillow-cases  are  put  on  the  beds. 
William  G.  Beadle. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT  UPON  DONATIONS  AND  BEQUESTS 
A  PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  WORTHY  BOYS 


Vol.   15.  No.  6. 


October,    1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


PRESIDENT 

Alfred  Bowditch 

vice-president 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

treasurer 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St, 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N,  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D, 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S,  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr, 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 

The  value  of  an  effort  is  often  determined 
by  the  motive  which  prompts  it,  rather  than  by 
the  actual  results  obtained.  The  advantages  or 
disadvantages  in  each  individual  case  will  differ. 
As  a  consequence  this  has  a  corresponding  bear- 


ing on  the  degree  of  success  achieved.  By  mo- 
tive, we  mean  the  preponderance  of  the  whole 
of  what  prompts  or  excites  the  mind,  whether 
that  be  one  thing  singly  or  many  things  con- 
junctively, acting  for  the  good  of  some  great 
whole;  doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time 
and  in  the  right  place;  a  determination  of  ac- 
tion; a  virtuous  ambition,  or  a  desire  for  pro- 
motion. 

The  dominion  of  the  mind  over  the  man 
which  leads  us  forward  by  an  appeal  to  our  nat- 
ural desires  for  good,  spurs  us  on  to  an  increased 
endeavor  to  become  proficient  in  what  we  un- 
dertake and  gives  us  a  confidence  in  our  ability  to 
meet  the  issues,  and  distinction  or  development 
of  any  particular  action.  However,  all  persons 
cannot  be  experts,  nor  equally  advanced  in  busi- 
ness, art,  science,  or  any  branch  of  learning; 
but  the  thoughts  we  have  which  lead  us  forward, 
books  we  read  that  injpire  us  to  try  for  greater 
things,  and  the  inestimable  benefits  derived  from 
proper  associations  should  prove  of  incalculable 
value,  and  greatly  aid  toward  the  improvement 
of  personality  and  possession  of  knowledge. 

In  some  cases  a  probable  inability  to  look 
into  the  future  and  provide  therefor,  often  ham- 
pers and  makes  progress  rather  slow,  or  per- 
haps impossible.  Then,  again,  there  may  be  a 
feeling  of  self-satisfaction  or  secureness  in  the 
thought  that  the  future  should  be  left  to  itself. 
We  are  prone  to  think  that  this  belief  exists  in 
the  mind  of  the  younger  or  rising  generation. 
Not  taking  advantage  of  opportunities,  through 
indifference  or  a  combination  of  circumstances, 
will  invariably  bring  failure  and  disappointment. 
There  should  be  no  lost  action.  Nothing  will 
come  to  us  voluntarily.  We  have  to  get  cut 
and  hustle  for  it,  and  the  determination  of  the 
value  of  our  efforts  will  be  proportionate  to  the 
labor  expended,  and  the  enthusiasm  with  which 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


we  perform  our  duty.  We  are  not  judged  so 
much  by  the  things  that  we  do,  as  by  the  things 
that  we  leave  undone.  Let  us  emphasize,  then, 
ambition,  enthusiasm,  energy,  and  thoroughness, 
with  persistency  thrown  in  for  good  measure. 


Toot'Dall  Schedule  1911 

For  the  Crosby  Shield  and  Individual  Cups 


Team  A 
Charles  E.  Morse,  Capt. 

Team  B 

Edric  B.   Blakemore,  Capt. 

Team  C 

Preston  M.   Blanchard,  Capt. 

Team  D 

Clarence  Burton,  Capt. 


A  and  B  play 

C  ' 

.  D  .. 

A  ' 

•  C  " 

B  ' 

'  D  " 

C  ' 

.  B  .. 

D  ' 

'  A  " 

A  ' 

'  B  " 

C  ' 

.  D  " 

A  ' 

'  C  " 

B  ' 

'  D  " 

D  • 

.  p^    .. 

B  ' 

'    C  " 

Sept. 

23 

30 

Oct. 

7 

10 

14 

21 

28 

Nov. 

4 

11 

18 

25 

30 

notes 

Sept.  2.     Began  repairing  stock-bam. 

Sept.  4.  Finished  laying  drain  pipe  for 
south  basement. 

Sept.  7.  Repaired  and  painted  rowboat 
Priscilla. 

Sept.  8.  Sixth  Friends'  Day.  107  pres- 
ent. 

Sept.  10.  Members  of  advanced  and  first 
classes,  and  eight  instructors  attended  church 
in  town. 

Sept.  13.  Graduate  Spencer  S.  Profit 
visited  the  School. 

T.  E.  Ruggles  began  driving  piles  in  wharf 
repairs. 


Dance  given  by  Cottage  Row.  Music  fur- 
nished by  graduate  Howard  B.  Ellis  and  orches- 
tra. 

One  ton  of  gluten,  one-half  ton  of  cotton 
seed  meal,  thirty  barrels  of  pastry  flour,  six 
barrels  of  gasolene,  three  barrels  kerosene,  and 
one  barrel  of  gas  oil  came. 

Sept.    15.     Insurance  boiler  inspector  here. 

Class  in  blacksmithing  began  work. 

Sept.    16.     Last  swim  of  the  season. 

Sept.  17.  Members  of  the  second  and 
third  classes,  and  three  instructors  attended 
church  in  town. 

Sept.    19.     Hauled  up  launch  Sachem. 

Sept.  22.     Summer  term  of  school  closed. 

Vice-President  Charles  P.  Curtis  and  Man- 
ager Gorham  Brooks  visited  the  Island. 

Sept.  23.  Graduate  Frank  W.  Harris 
here, 

Sept.  24.  Abraham  Samara  and  George 
Arthur  Mansfield  returned  to  parents. 

Seventeen  members  of  the  third  class  and 
several  instructors  attended  church  in  town. 

Sept.  26.  Small  load  of  spruce  boards  and 
cedar  shingles  from  Freeport  Street. 

Sept.  28.  One  hundred  barrels  of  flour 
came. 

Lawson  H.  Billings  returned  to  his  mother. 

Quarterly  meeting  of  Admission  Commit- 
tee. 

The  following  boys  were  admitted: — Wil- 
liam Burton  Cross,  William  Hill,  Horace  Carl 
Jenney,  Cecil  Edward  McKeown,  and  Floyd  Al- 
bert Warren. 

Sept.  29.     Sized  up. 

Dentist  here. 

Ten  tons  of  bran  came. 

Walter  A.  Jordan  went  to  work  for  the 
Henry  F.  Miller  Piano  Co.  and  is  to  live  with 
Mrs.  G.  B.  Edwards,  of  33  Sweetser  Street, 
Wakefield. 

Sept.  30.  Royal  R.  Ellison  went  to  work 
for  McGrath  and  Woodley  Printing  Establish- 
ment and  is  to  live  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Alice 
Deane  of  328  Ferry  Street,  Everett. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Che  Tarm  and  Cradc$  School  Bank 


Cash  on  hand  Sept.  1,  1911 
Deposits  to  Oct.  1,  191  1 

Withdrawals 

Cash  on  hand  Oct.  1,  1911 


$952.64 

35.38 

988.02 

40.01 

"$948.0l 


September  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  80°  on  the  2nd. 

Minimum  temperature  43°  on  the  29th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  60.9°. 

Total  precipitation  2.81  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
.89  inches  on  the  25th. 

10  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion,   12  clear  days,  13  partly  cloudy,  5  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  188  and  5 
minutes. 

Thunderstorm  on  the  25th. 

Saluttitd  the  Traitconia 

One  morning  Capt.  Dix  told  Thomas  Milne 
and  myself  to  go  down  to  the  steamer,  put  on 
our  white  duck  suits,  and  be  ready  to  make 
a  trip.  Thomas  Milne  was  stern  deck-hand 
and  I  was  bow  deck-hand.  The  brass  cannon 
was  lashed  to  the  forward  deck  of  the  steamer. 
We  started  out  toward  Castle  Island.  We  had 
not  gone  far  before  we  saw  the  Franconia  com- 
ing out.  When  we  got  near  her  we  saluted  her 
by  firing  three  shots  and  dipping  the  flag  after 
each  shot.  The  passengers  we  saluted  returned 
our  salutations  by  waving  their  hats  and  handker- 
chiefs. Walter   R.   Horsman. 

Steamer  Brass 

Every  morning  before  school  the  two  deck- 
hands on  the  steamer  Pilgrim  shine  all  the  out- 
side brass.  The  bow  deck-hand  shines  all  the 
brass  forward  of  the  engine  room  and  the  stern 
deck-hand  all  the  brass  aft  of  the  hatch.  The 
brass  polish  is  kept  in  the  light  box  on  the  stern. 
The  railing  along  the  top  of  the  cabin  and  pilot 
house  has  to  be  shined,  also  the  stern  railing, 
steam  siren  and  whistle,  the  side  and  stern 
hatches,  the  brass  along  the  gunwale,  and  the 
brass  at  the  stern  near  the  chocks. 

Ernest  V.  Wyatt. 


Pulling  0<>er  a  Cree 

Whenever  a  tree  is  found  to  be  dying  it 
has  to  be  pulled  over.  First  two  fellows  are  told 
to  dig  the  sods  up  in  squares  and  lay  them  to  one 
side.  Then  with  pick  and  shovel  they  dig  out  the 
roots  and  cut  them  off.  After  this  is  done  they 
tell  the  instructor  in  charge  and  he  gives  them 
a  rope,  and  sends  a  lot  of  fellows  down  to  help 
them  pull  it  over.  When  it  is  felled,  two  fellows 
get  a  cross-cut  saw  and  saw  off  the  butt  so  that 
it  can  be  drawn  away  easily.  The  small  limbs 
are  chopped  off  and  put  in  a  pile  to  be  burned. 
The  large  limbs  are  used  for  fuel,  the  stump  for 
filling  in  the  dike,  and  the  log  is  used  for  piling. 
Frederick  V.   Hall. 

Sewing  1)arne$s 

It  is  the  cobbler's  work  to  sew  and  repair 
all  the  harness  that  are  broken  or  need  stitching. 
On  rainy  days  the  harness  can  be  spared  better 
than  in  fair  weather.  Mr.  Simpson,  the  team- 
ster, brought  up  to  the  shop  a  part  of  his  double- 
horse  harness,  a  back  saddle,  and  a  bridle.  On 
the  bridle,  1  put  half  of  a  bridle  head  which  h?d 
been  pulled  off.  I  shortened  up  the  belly  girth 
on  the  saddle  six  inches,  and  also  sewed  in  a 
ring.  I  made  some  extra  strong  waxed  end  for 
sewing  on  the  ring.  On  the  others  1  sewed  in 
some  side  straps.  I  then  oiled  the  harness  with 
Neat's-foot  oil  to  soften  the  leather.  After  that 
1  picked  up  my  tools  and  returned  the  harness  to 
the  stock-barn.  Harold  D.  Morse. 

Discarding  music 

One  night  Mr.  Morse  had  some  band  fel- 
lows help  him  sort  over  a  lot  of  music  to  be 
burned.  Four  or  five  music  books  with  a  great 
deal  of  loose  music  were  put  in  a  basket.  This 
music  was  in  the  way,  and  when  we  looked  for 
a  piece  we  were  about  to  play,  we  would  some- 
times have  to  look  through  a  great  many  books. 
This  music  is  what  the  band  used  to  play,  but 
now  we  have  new  music.  We  saved  four  books 
because  they  have  good  and  easy  music  in  them. 
There  is  one  book  which  we  shall  always  keep, 
and  that  is  the  American  Band  Instructor.  We 
have  new  music  as  fast  as  we  can  learn  it. 

William   B.   Laing. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


One  day  after  1  got  my  work  finished  in 
the  dormitory  I  had  to  wax  the  floor  in  one  of 
the  halls.  I  first  got  a  cloth  and  then  a  can  of 
wax  and  a  piece  of  wood  with  which  to  spread 
the  wax  on  to  the  cloth.  1  rubbed  the  wax  well 
on  to  the  floor.  Then  I  got  a  polishing  weight 
which  has  a  brush  on  it.  1  pushed  this  over  the 
floor  which  made  it  shine.  Then  1  went  all  over 
it  again  with  a  clean  cloth  under  the  weight. 
The  floors  have  to  be  scrubbed  thoroughly  and 
dried  before  the  wax  is  put  on. 

Dexter   L.   Noble. 

Carrying  Bwns  Ulastc 

It  is  my  work  every  morning  when  I  do  not 
go  to  sloyd  to  carry  away  the  waste.  Mr.  Beebe 
sends  me  to  the  stock-barn  for  a  horse  and  cart. 
After  1  am  told  what  horse  to  take,  I  hitch  up 
and  drive  to  the  power-house  and  load  on  the 
waste  which  is  there  in  barrels.  If  there  is 
so  much  waste  that  I  cannot  get  the  barrels  in, 
I  dump  it  in  the  bottom  of  the  cart.  After  that 
1  put  on  the  ashes,  fasten  in  the  tail-board  and 
start  off.  When  I  get  over  to  the  south  end,  1 
go  to  the  ash  pile  first  and  dump  the  ashes,  and 
then  drive  over  to  the  incinerater  and  dump 
the  waste.  Ernest  E.  Slocomb. 

1)u$kind  Corn 

It  is  the  work  of  the  morning  kitchen  fellows 
to  wash  and  husk  the  corn  for  the  boys'  dinner. 
Every  morning  except  Sundays  and  holidays, 
between  two  and  six  hundred  ears  of  corn  are 
sent  up  to  the  kitchen  where  the  kitchen  fellows 
husk  them.  Then  two  fellows  wash  the  corn  and 
two  carry  the  husks  down  to  the  stock-barn 
where  they  are  later  given  to  the  cows.  The 
empty  boxes  are  taken  down  to  the  storage-barn. 
There  they  are  piled  up  where  they  can  be  found 
when  needed.  Stanley  W.  Clark. 

new  Tiy  Catchers 

Recently  we  received  a  box  containing 
some  new  fly  catchers.  These  are  called  the 
"Pyramid  Fly  Catchers."  The  boxes  are  quite 
small  and  are  cylindrical  in  shape.  There  is 
a  role  of  sticky  paper  in  each  one  which  has  to 


be  pulled  out  when  they  are  to  be  used.  It  was 
my  work  to  hang  these  up.  I  got  a  piece  of 
twine  and  put  it  from  one  light  to  the  other, 
in  the  kitchen,  and  then  to  the  pipes  over  the 
sinks.  Then  I  got  some  twine  to  put  through 
the  hanger  on  the  tops  of  the  boxes  with  which 
to  tie  them  to  the  twine  which  I  had  first  tied  to 
the  lights.  I  put  two  in  front  of  each  window 
in  the  kitchen,  and  one  in  front  of  the  window  in 
the  pantry.  I  then  put  twelve  in  the  kitchen  on 
the  twine,  and  five  in  the  pantry  on  the  pipes. 
They  looked  like  candles  when  they  were  first 
hung  up;  but  they  looked  like  fire-crackers  in 
the  box.  There  were  some  put  in  the  bakery 
and  the  boys'  dining-room. 

Charles  R.  Jefferson. 

OlatcDittd  a  Butterfly 

As  I  was  passing  my  garden  recently  I  saw 
a  butterfly  sailing  through  the  air.  1  thought  I 
would  watch  it.  The  color  of  its  wings  was 
orange,  and  a  dark  colored  line  was  zigzagged  all 
over  the  orange.  It  alighted  on  some  of  the 
flowers,  and  it  seemed  to  be  getting  something 
from  within  them  with  its  proboscis.  It  carried 
this  rolled  up  in  its  mouth.  Its  legs  were  long, 
black,  and  thin,  and  when  on  flight  it  carried 
them  folded  up.  I  think  it  must  have  been  a 
milkweed  butterfly  because  of  its  color. 

*  Spencer   M.   Williams. 

making  l^andles 

The  new  blacksmith  tools,  such  as  ham- 
mers, flatters,  hot  chisels,  cold  chisels,  sledge 
hammers,  and  setters,  needed  handles,  so  Mr. 
Ekegren  had  the  shop  boys  make  some.  The 
handles  for  the  sledge  hammers,  cold  chisels,  and 
flatters  were  ordered  all  ready  made,  but  we  had 
to  make  handles  for  the  other  tools  First  some 
hickory,  one  inch  by  three-fourths,  and  two  feet 
long,  was  sawed  out,  and  the  end  was  tapered 
from  the  middle  to  fit  the  head  of  the  tool,  and 
the  rest  of  the  handle  was  made  oval  in 
shape  to  fit  the  hand.  When  these  were  all 
made,  they  were  driven  into  the  head,  and  sawed 
off  at  the  right  length,  sandpapered  and  shel- 
lacked twice,  and  then  they  were  put  in  the 
tool  cupboard  ready  for  use.     Thomas  Milne. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumn) 

William  T.  Walbert,  '07,  works  as  a 
drill  hand  in  Howard  and  Bullock's  machine- 
shop  which  manufactures  cotton  machinery. 
As  a  side  issue,  at  his  home  in  Attleboro,  he 
raises  poultry  in  partnership  with  a  friend. 
His  address  is  Attleboro,  R.  F.  D.  104,  Box  2. 
William  belongs  to  a  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  of 
which  he  is  Master  of  Arms.  During  his  recent 
visit  to  the  School,  we  were  pleased  to  note  that 
he  was  enjoying  his  usual  good  health  and  spirits. 

George  A.  Matthews,  '09,  spent  Sunday 
with  us  a  short  time  ago.  George  is  an  electri- 
cian for  A.  G.  Allard  who  is  at  present  doing 
a  sub-contract  job  for  the  Westinghouse  Com- 
pany at  Natick.  Previous  to  this  he  was  work- 
ing in  the  same  capacity  at  the  Lowell  Car- 
pet Company  plant,  which  has  just  been  fin- 
ished. George  tells  us  that  he  devotes  much 
of  his  spare  time  to  studying  electricity. 

Leslie  R.  Jones,  '06,  visited  us  recently. 
He  lives  at  3  Harvard  Avenue,  Dorchester,  and 
attends  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Leslie 
has  been  working  for  about  a  year  as  a  pattern 
maker  at  the  United  Printing  Machinery  Com- 
pany in  Jamaica  Plain.  His  foreman  is  Louis 
Means,  another  of  our  graduates. 

1)auling  Shindies 

One  afternoon  1  worked  for  Capt.  Dix. 
He  told  me  to  get  a  horse  and  cart  and  then 
take  away  the  shingles  which  were  on  the  beach. 
There  were  a  whole  lot  of  shingles  that  had 
floated  in  one  night.  The  fellow  who  takes 
care  of  the  wharf  had  raked  them  into  a  pile.  1 
took  them  away  in  one  good  sized  load  and 
hauled  them  over  to  the  incinerator  where  they 
were  burned.  Robert  C.  Casey. 

Toot-ball  teams 

On  Wednesday  evening,  September  twenti- 
eth, the  fellows  went  to  the  assembly-hall  for 
the  purpose  of  choosing  up  sides  for  the  foot- 
ball season.  The  fellows  who  received  the  Crosby 
cups  last  year  were  appointed  to  pick  out  the 
four  best  players  for  captains.  After  discussing 
the  matter  a  short  time  we  selected  the  four 


fellows  we  thought  to  be  the  best  players,  then 
the  whole  School  had  the  chance  to  appoint  any 
others  they  considered  were  good  players.  They 
selected  one  fellow  and  then  we  voted  for  the 
four  we  thought  the  best.  The  four  captains  are 
Charles  E.  Morse,  Team  A;  Edric  B.  Blakemore, 
Team  B;  Preston  M.  Blanchard,  Team  C;  and 
Cla  ence  Burton,  Team  D.  The  best  player  of 
the  four  had  the  last  choice,  while  the  poorest 
one  chose  first.  Before  they  began  to  choose, 
the  fellows  who  did  not  care  to  play  went  to  bed. 
Every  fellow  who  wished  to  play  was  chosen 
making  about  sixteen  players  on  each  team. 
It  was  then  arranged  so  that  Teams  A  and  B 
should  play  the  first  game  on  Saturday,  Sep- 
tember twenty-third.     William  E.   Rowell. 

early  (Uork 

Every  week  two  of  the  kitchen  fellows  have 
to  get  up  at  five  o'clock.  The  first  thing  we  do 
is  to  get  a  shovel  from  the  laundry  and  clean  the 
ashes  out  of  the  range.  After  this  is  done  they 
are  carried  down  to  the  ash  barrels  in  the  rear 
of  the  power-house.  While  one  fellow  is  clean- 
ing the  ashes  out  and  carrying  them  down, 
the  other  fellow  sweeps  the  floor,  cleans  the 
range,  and  washes  up  the  floor  in  front  of  the 
range.  Then  we  go  out  and  bring  in  the  milk- 
cans.  These  have  to  be  rinsed  out  and  set  in 
a  row  in  front  of  the  table  so  that  the  milk  carrier 
can  fill  them.  By  the  time  we  have  all  this 
done  the  instructor  in  charge  comes  down  and 
we  put  on  our  aprons  and  help  her. 

William  J.  Grant. 

Sweeping  tbe  Jfssembly-rooni 

Hereafter  in  the  morning,  before  school,  I 
am  to  sweep  the  assembly-room,  tower,  and 
wash-room  cupboard,  rake  the  area  and  water 
the  plants.  First  I  remove  everything  from  the 
cupboard  and  sweep  it  out.  1  then  move  the 
benches,  and  put  the  mats  out  on  the  grass,  and 
begin  to  sweep  the  assembly-room.  When  I 
have  that  done  I  sweep  the  tower.  1  then  rake 
the  gravel  in  the  area  and  get  a  watering  pot  and 
put  two  pots  of  water  on  the  plants.  I  put  my 
things  away  when  the  whistle  blows  to  get  ready 
for  school.  Charles  O.   Rolfe. 


thompsoNjS  island 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  7.     Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.     November,   1911 

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


Papers 

When  a  fellow  passes  in  a  very  good  paper 
it  is  put  up  on  the  wall.  It  may  be  an  arithmetic 
paper  which  is  perfect,  or  a  language  or  writing 
paper.  Never  mind  in  what  subject  the  paper 
is  written,  if  it  is  well  done,  it  is  displayed.  Then 
again,  if  a  fellow  has  hard  work  to  get  his  arith- 
metic examples  all  done  correctly,  but  always 
passes  in  a  tidy  paper,  he  receives  due  credit  for 
his  effort,  and  his  paper  is  shown  to  the  class  as 
an  example  of  careful  work.  Sometimes  our 
teacher  hangs  up  whole  sets  of  papers  with  the 
best  ones  on  top.  We  have  some  very  good 
drawing  papers  up  now.  Every  fellow  is  pleased 
to  see  his  papers  on  the  wall.  It  not  only  shows 
the  other  fellows  what  he  can  do,  but  it  encour- 
ages him  to  try  all  the  harder  in  the  future.  At 
the  end  of  every  term  a  fellow  can  count  how 
many  papers  he  has  had  up  and  then  try  the  next 
term  to  get  more.  John  W.   Lincoln. 

Cottage  Row  Election 

On  October  third  a  notice  was  posted  on 
the  bulletin-board  stating  that  the  fourth  quarterly 
election  for  nineteen  eleven  would  be  held  Wed- 
nesday evening,  October  fourth.  All  the  citizens 
filed  to  the  east  basement  where  the  mayor  called 
the  meeting  to  order  and  appointed  tellers.  The 
shareholders  voted  first  and  as  they  filed  to  the 
table  each  one  was  handed  a  ballot  and  a  pen- 
cil, after  which  they  went  to  the  benches  ar- 
ranged for  this  purpose  and  voted.  The  non- 
shareholders  voted  next,  but  they  were  not  al- 
lowed to  vote  for  assessor.  After  everybody 
had  voted  the  meeting  was  adjourned  and  the 
fellows  went  to  bed.  The  mayor,  clerk,  and 
tellers  remained  to  count  the  votes.     The  fol- 


lowing officers  were  elected: — Mayor,  Preston 
M.  Blanchard;  Shareholding  Aldermen,  Edric 
B.  Blakemore,  Ernest  V.  Wyatt,  and  Harold  D. 
Morse;  Non-shareholding  Aldermen,  George  H. 
Appel  and  William  G.  Beadle;  Treasurer, -Alfred 
H.  Casey;  Assessor,  Harry  M.  Godshalk.  The 
following  were  later  appointed: — Chief  of  Police, 
Herbert  A.  Souther;  Lieutenant,  Charles  E. 
Morse;  Sergeant,  Cecil  O.  Jordan;  Patrolmen, 
Richard  W.  Weston,  Clarence  Burton  and 
Thomas  H.  Taylor;  Janitor,  Claire  R.  Emery; 
Street  Commissoner,  Charles  R.  Jefferson; 
Librarian,  Bradley  M.  Sherman;  Clerk,  George 
R.  Jordan;  Curator,  Frederick  S.  Hynes 

Levi   N.  Trask. 

Picking  Grapes 

We  picked  the  grapes  on  the  afternoon  of 
September  eighteenth.  We  picked  the  Concord 
grapes  first.  We  each  had  a  pair  of  pruning- 
shears  to  cut  the  clusters  from  the  vine  so  we 
would  not  crush  them.  After  we  had  finished 
picking  the  Concord  grapes,  we  began  to  pick 
the  Niagara  grapes.  These  clusters  were  very 
large  and  easy  to  pick.  As  fast  as  we  picked  the 
grapes,  one  of  the  fellows  carried  them  up  to  the 
kitchen.  We  finished  picking  them  that  after- 
noon. Charles  F.   Hopkins. 

B  Uisit  to  the  exposition 

Nearly  all  the  fellows  in  the  School  visited 
the  New  England  Industrial  and  Educational  Ex- 
position by  invitation  of  Mr.  Walter  M.  Lowney. 
We  left  the  Island  at  one  o'clock.  At  City 
Point  we  found  a  special  car  waiting  which 
took  us  to  the  Mechanics  Building.  As  we  en- 
tered we  first  noticed  the  exhibit  of  jewelry.  The 
exhibit  of  the  American  Sugar  Refinery  was  very 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


interesting,  especially  the  machine  which  filled 
the  cartons  wifh  sugar,  and  then  closed  and 
sealed  them.  Further  on,  we  saw  the  entire 
work  of  shoemaking,  and  the  many  machines 
used  in  their  manufacture.  The  exhibition  of 
everything  relating  to  a  New  England  farm  was 
very  interesting.  The  vegetable  products  showed 
what  may  be  done  in  the  way  of  raising  vegeta- 
bles of  the  highest  perfection.  We  saw  many 
interesting  things  such  as  the  making  of  rubbers, 
manufacture  of  cloth  both  by  old  and  new-fash- 
ioned methods,  making  of  paper  flowers,  and 
exhibits  of  automobiles,  and  aeroplanes.  We 
were  interested  in  seeing  the  aeroplane  in  which 
Mr.  Atwood  made  his  cross-country  flight.  The 
time  passed  all  too  quickly,  for  at  about  five 
o'clock  the  car  came  to  take  us  back  to  City 
Point.  We  thanked  Mr.  Bradley  for  the  en- 
joyable and  interesting  afternoon. 

Charles  E.  Morse. 

Zhz  East  Tricnds'  Day 

October  tenth  was  the  date  of  the  last 
Friends'  Day  of  the  season.  The  Nantasket 
steamboat  left  Rowe's  Wharf  at  ten  twenty.  The 
weather  bureau  had  predicted  fair  weather  for 
the  day,  and  the  prediction  was  correct.  When 
our  friends  had  landed  they  came  up  to  the  front 
lawn  escorted  by  the  band  playing  "Facilitation 
March."  When  the  people  were  nearly  all 
seated  the  band  played  two  selections.  After 
the  band  was  through  playing,  the  Grew  Garden 
Prizes  were  awarded  by  Mr.  Bradley.  He  also 
gave  us  the  base-ball  cups  and  shield  in  behalf 
of  Mr.  Crosby.  The  fellows  were  then  dismissed 
and  enjoyed  themselves  with  their  friends  until 
twelve  thirty.  The  boat  returned  and  our  friends 
left  while  we  gave  three  hearty  cheers  to  which 
the  boat  responded  by  three  whistles. 

Herbert  A.  Souther. 

Overhauling  tbc  Steamer 

Our  steamer  needed  repairs  and  was  taken 
to  Lawley's  boat  yard  at  Neponset,  Upon  ar- 
riving at  the  yard  we  made  fast  to  one  of  the 
docks.  A  machinist  came  aboard  to  find  out 
what  repairs  were  needed.  Later  on  two  mach- 
inists came  down  and    began  work.     They  re- 


moved the  pistons,  valves,  crank  shaft  and  cyl- 
inders, taking  them  to  the  shop  to  be  trued  up. 
In  the  afternoon  the  steamer  was  taken  upon 
a  railway  for  repairs  on  her  hull.  While  on  the 
railway  the  crew  got  her  ready  for  painting. 
The  engine's  crank  shaft  was  the  first  thing  to 
be  brought  back  and  put  in  place.  The  crank 
boxes  had  to  be  rebabbited,  necessitating  refitting 
the  crank  shaft  to  them  which  was  done  by 
carefully  scraping  out  the  babbit  until  a  perfect 
fit  was  obtained.  The  high  pressure  cylinder  was 
rebored  and  a  new  piston  fitted  to  it.  When  all 
the  necessary  repairs  had  been  made  upon  the 
cylinders  they  were  brought  on  board  and  set  in 
place.  When  the  last  part  of  the  work  was 
near  at  hand,  I  got  up  steam  to  enable  us  to  get 
away  in  the  afternoon.  When  all  mechanical 
work  was  done  on  the  engine  we  ran  it  a  while  at 
the  dock  to  test  it.  Then  taking  the  machinist 
with  us  we  started  out  for  a  run.  We  ran  at  a 
good  speed  to  our  wharf.  We  stopped  and  then 
ran  back,  returning  to  our  own  wharf  at  night. 
The  next  morning  we  went  to  the  shipyard 
again  and  got  one  of  the  machinists  to  complete 
the  work.  Ralph  A.  Jones. 

Bagding  Ceases 

In  the  autumn  many  leaves  fall  from  the 
trees  and  are  scattered  on  the  lawns  and  around 
the  buildings.  Every  morning  Mr.  Beebe  sets 
a  party  of  fellows  to  raking,  while  some  bag  them 
and  take  them  to  the  stock-barn.  The  easi- 
est way  for  me  to  bag  leaves  is  to  lay  a  bag  down 
in  front  of  the  pile  and  stand  on  the  bag  so  as  to 
hold  it  in  place,  then  hold  up  the  bag  in  the  middle 
with  one  hand,  and  push  in  the  leaves  with  the 
other  hand.  I  can  put  up  fifteen  bags  of  leaves 
before  I  go  to  school.    Walter  I.  Tassinari. 

Che  Size  Up 

Each  boy  is  provided  with  a  drawer  in  the 
east  basement  in  which  he  may  keep  his  private 
property.  These  drawers  are  numbered,  the 
tallest  fellow  getting  drawer  one;  the  second  in 
height  getting  drawer  two;  and  so  on,  the  smallest 
fellow  in  the  School  getting  the  drawer  numbered 
one  hundred.  On  Friday,  September  twenty- 
ninth,  all  the  fellows  were  sized  up;  that  is  ar- 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


ranged  according  to  height.  This  necessarily 
made  quite  a  change  in  drawers.  My  old  drawer 
was  number  fifty-eight  and  my  new  drawer  cor- 
responding with  my  new  number  is  fifty-five.  I 
went  up  three  numbers  only.  The  next  morning 
the  tooth-brushes  were  taken  out  of  the  rack  in 
the  wash-room  where  they  are  kept  and  put  in 
their  new  places.  The  following  Sunday  morn- 
ing the  towels  were  changed  and  we  all  took  our 
new  numbers.  George   R.  Jordan. 

Cbe  €ro$by  Shield  and  €up$ 

On  October  tenth,  our  last  Friends'  Day, 
Mr.  B.-adley  awarded  to  the  winners  in  the  base- 
ball series  the  Crosby  shield  and  individual  cups. 
The  large  shield  is  made  of  mahogany,  with  a 
small  silver  shield  mounted  in  the  centre.  A 
smaller  shield  also  is  on  the  top  bearing  the  name 
of  the  captain  of  the  winning  team  and  his  players. 
The  shield  was  won  by  Team  A,  Robert  H.  May, 
Captain.  The  fellows  who  received  the  cups  were 
as  follows: — Royal  R.  Ellison,  catcher;  Ralph 
A.  Jones,  pitcher;  Thomas  Milne,  first  base;  Earle 
C.  Miller,  second  base;  Arthur  G.  Appel,  third 
base;  Orice  M.  Merrick,  short  stop;  Edson  M. 
Bemis,  left  field;  LeRoy  B.  Huey,  centre  field; 
Edward  M.  Powers,  right  field.  William  B. 
Laing,  Clarence  Burton,  Charles  R.  Jefferson, 
Everett  W.  Maynard,  and  George  A.  Mansfield, 
received  substitute  cups.  We  were  all  sorry 
Mr.  Crosby  was  not  here  to  give  out  the  cups  be- 
cause we  appreciate  his  generosity  in  giving 
them  to  us.  James  A.   Blakemore. 

J\  1)allowe'cn  T)U$king 

October  thirty-first,  a  Hallowe'en  husking 
was  held  in  the  stock-barn.  We  went  down  the 
back  road  to  the  farm-house  path.  The  road 
and  the  trees  were  lighted  up  by  Jack-o'lanterns. 
We  went  down  through  the  orchard  and  saw  a 
ghost.  Then  we  went  into  the  storage  barn  and 
we  met  another  ghost  there.  We  went  up  to 
the  stock-barn.  In  the  middle  of  the  floor  there 
were  piles  of  corn  with  seats  on  either  side. 
We  sat  down  and  began  to  husk  corn.  After 
we  had  the  corn  husked  we  put  the  husks 
in  a  pile  and  got  ready  for  a  witches'  dance. 
There  were  four  witches  and  four  ghosts.     The 


next  stunt  was  eating  candy.  The  candy  was 
on  a  string.  The  object  of  the  race  was  to  see 
who  could  get  to  the  middle  of  the  string  first. 
The  one  who  did  got  the  candy.  Then  the 
spook  orchestra  played  a  few  selections.  Their 
leader,  Robin  Goodfellow,  was  dressed  in  red. 
After  that,  refreshments  were  given  out  which 
consisted  of  cider,  apples,  and  pumpkin  pie. 
Then  a  witch  gave  out  the  fortunes.  After  that 
Capt.  Dix  told  a  ghost  story  and  a  ghost  caine  out 
and  frightened  one  of  the  ladies.  The  last  was 
a  tableau.  A  flag  was  brought  in  and  raised 
while  a  fellow  played  the  bugle.  Then  five 
ladies  with,  guns  and  dressed  as  soldiers  sang, 
"Tenting  on  the  Old  Camp  Ground."  This 
ended  the  party,  at  which  we  all  had  a  good 
time.  George  W.  N.  Starrett. 

B  Dial 

On  Wednesday  evening,  October  eleventh, 
there  was  a  trial  in  the  east  basement.  There 
were  several  prisoners  brought  up  for  different 
offences.  Mr.  Bradley  told  us  the  meaning  of 
a  law  that  had  just  been  made: — "No  persons  are 
allowed  on  Cottage  Row  bounds,  unless  they  are 
shareholders,  without  the  consent  of  the  owners 
or  the  mayor."  We  were  also  told  several  things 
about  courts  and  officers'  duties  which  we  weie 
glad  to  know.  Each  fellow  was  given  a  folder 
that  tells  about  Cottage  Row,  of  what  it  con- 
sists, and  how  it  is  carried  on.  Several  of  the 
fellows  asked  questions  which  were  answered. 
After  the  prisoners  were  tried  we  went  to  bed. 
Warner  E.  Spear. 

Sowing  Grass  Seed 

On  Monday,  October  ninth,  I  helped  Mr. 
Fairbanks  seed  a  piece  of  land  at  the  south  end 
of  the  Island.  First  we  went  to  the  farm-house 
and  got  the  seed-planter  and  the  seed  we  were 
going  to  use.  We  took  them  to  the  piece  where 
the  seed  was  to  be  sown.  We  then  filled  the 
holder  full  of  Timothy  seed  and  started  to  sow  it. 
Mr.  Fairbanks  told  me  to  take  a  potato  digger, 
which  was  handy,  and  drag  it  along  the  ground 
right  after  the  planter  so  that  he  could  tell  where 
he  left  off  each  time.  After  this  seed  was  sown  he 
sowed  some  red  top.      Lawrence  M.  Cobb. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Tsiand  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON     DONATIONS     AND     BEQUESTS 
A     PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 


Vol.   15.  No.  7. 


November,   1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


PRESIDENT 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St, 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S,  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T,  Gallagher 
N,  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

RJCHARD  M,  SaLTONSTALL 

Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H,  Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 


For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
Beacon  we  are  going  to  break  away  from  its 
fixed  policy  and,  although  it  is  with  some  diffi- 
dence that  we  do  so,  we  hope  that  it  will  meet 


with  the  approval  of  our  friends  and  bring  about 
the  desired  results. 

The  age  of  our  School  has  brought  to  it  a 
certain  dignity  and  reserve  which  has  inclined  it 
to  stand  more  and  more  on  its  merits  and  to 
rely  upon  its  friends  to  spread  its  reputation  and 
advertise  its  needs.  In  this  we  have  not  been 
disappointed,  for  our  friends  have  been  loyal  and 
generous.  We  believe  that  they  will  continue 
so,  but  perhaps  we  have  been  too  modest  and  the 
Beacon  can  and  should  interest  more  thoroughly 
our  present  friends  and  try  to  make  new  ones 
by  speaking  from  time  to  time  of  our  needs  with- 
out annoying  our  friends  or  detracting  from  the 
attractiveness  of  the  paper.  Perhaps  some  of 
these  needs,  small  or  large,  will  appeal  to  some 
reader  to  the  end  that  our  work  may  be  made 
more  thorough  and  efficient.  This  may  be  for 
improvement  in  methods  or  equipment,  for 
health  or  safety,  for  economy  or  easing  a  bit 
the  hard  places,  or  for  pleasure.  We  shall  try 
to  state  it  all  fairly  and  candidly  and  leave  the 
rest  to  those  who  want  to  do  something  for 
others. 

Special  Needs 

Two  hundred  dollars  for  extending  electric 
lights  to  the  barn. 

One  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  changes  in 
printing-office. 

Steam  cooking  equipment  for  the  kitchen. 

Machinery  for  the  laundry. 

Band  saw  for  the  carpenter-shop. 

Two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  two  manual 
training  lathes. 

Oct,  I  -  Sunday.  Group  of  boys  went  to 
church  in  town. 

Oct.  2.     Fall  term  of  school  began. 

Oct.  4.  Fourth  quarterly  election  of  Cot- 
tage Row  Officers, 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Ten  books,  "Scenes  from  Every  Land,"  do- 
nated by  Mr.  Arthur  Beane. 

Oct.  5.  Dick  W.  Steenbruggen  went  to 
live  with  his  mother. 

Oct.  6.  Frederick  A.  Sanderson,  photo- 
grapher, here  taking  pictures. 

Covered  the  inside  of  sidewalls  to  corn-crib 
with  one-half  inch  mesh  galvanized  iron  wire 
netting. 

Two  instructors  and  nine  boys  attended  the 
Brockton  Fair  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Arthur 
Adams. 

Oct.  7.  Entertained  by  Mr.  Archie  Leon 
French,  ventriloquist  and  impersonator. 

Oct.  8.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Huxtable 
spoke  in  chapel. 

Oct.  9.  Finished  seeding  field  near  south 
tide-gate. 

Cut  pop-corn  and  Quincy  Market  sweet 
corn. 

Oct.   10.     Last  Friends'  Day,  237  present. 

Grew  Garden  Prizes  awarded. 

Secretary  Tucker  Daland  visited  here. 

Crosby  Shield  and  individual  cups  awarded 
to  base-ball  players. 

Oct.  12.  Graduate  Frederick  J.  Barton 
visited  here. 

Finished  picking  corn  on  south  piece. 

Treasurer  Arthur  Adams  passed  the  day 
here. 

Oct.  13.  Mowed  clover  north  of  power- 
house. 

Orice  Merrick  went  to  live  with  his  mother 
and  attend  high  school. 

Oct.  14.  Graduate  William  Proctor  vis- 
ited here, 

Mr.  Frederick  A.  Sanderson,  photographer, 
finished  taking  pictures. 

Carlquist  William  Walbourne  and  Edward 
Henry  Altieri  entered  the  School, 

Oct.  15.  Sunday.  Rev.  James  Harry 
Holden  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  spoke  in  chapel. 
Mr.  Harvey  King  came  with  him. 

Oct.   16.     Commenced  husking  corn. 

New  piles  driven  in  repairs  to  outer  break- 
water. 


Oct.  17.  Twenty  Buff  Offington  chickens 
came. 

Oct.  20.     Finished  plowing  for  winter  rye. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley,  four  instructors  and 
eighty-eight  boys  visited  the  New  England  In- 
dustrial and  Educational  Exposition. 

Oct.  23.  Managers  S.  V.  R.  Crosby  and 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell  visited  the  School. 

Oct.  24.     Finished  picking  apples. 

Capt.  Dix  with  three  of  the  boys  went  to  the 
New  England  Industrial  and  Educational  Ex- 
position. 

Oct.  25.  Manager  Henry  Jackson,  M.  D., 
visited  here. 

Varnished  outside  of  steamer's  cabin  and 
painted  deck. 

Oct.  26.  Sowed  winter  rye  north  of  Cot- 
tage Row. 

Oct.  27.  Cut  asparagus  tops  and  harrowed 
ground. 

Mr.  E.  Clinton  Britton,  President  of  Massa- 
chusetts Society  of  Beekeepers,  lectured  on 
bees  and  gave  demonstration. 

Oct.  28.  Twenty-four  Plymouth  Rock 
pullets  came. 

Twenty-five  boys  and  three  instructors  at- 
tended the  Harvard-Brown  foot-ball  game 
through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Arthur  Beane. 

Royal  Commission  on  Industrial  Training 
and  Technical  Education  from  Canada,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Gustaf  Larson  and  Mr.  Joseph 
Sandberg,  visited  the  School. 

Oct.  29.  Sunday.  Rev.  Chas.  Francis 
Dole,  of  Jamaica  Plain,  spoke  in  chapel. 

Oct,  30.     Commenced  feeding  the  bees. 

Commenced  banking  and  storing  celery. 

Oct.  31.  Husking  and  Hallowe'en  sports 
at  the  stock-barn. 

Finished  painting  outside  of  stock-barn 
one  coat. 

CK  Tarm  ana  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  Oct.  1,  191  1  $948.01 

Deposits  to  Nov.  1,  1911  52.97 

1 ,000.98 
Withdrawals  43.40 

Cash  on  hand  Nov,  1.1911  "$957^58 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


October  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  67°  on  the  5th  and 
14th. 

Minimum  temperature  33°  on  the  29th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  51.9°. 

Total  precipitation  3.05  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
.65  inches  on  the  7th. 

13  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 8  clear  days,  16  partly  cloudy,  7  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  152  and  30 
minutes. 

Jiutuitin 

In  the  autumn  months  I  like  to  see  the  corn 
stalks  stocked  up  in  the  field  and  the  corn  ears, 
pumpkins,  and  squashes  spread  out  on  the  grass 
to  dry.  Then  when  I  look  at  the  leaves  on  the 
trees  in  autumn  colors  and  the  garden  with  the 
flowers  dying  and  going  to  seed,  I  begin  to  think  of 
the  winter  which  is  coming.  Now  that  the  au- 
tumn winds  are  beginning  to  blow,  and  the  leaves 
are  racing  over  the  ground  helter-skelter  it  really 
seems  like  autumn.  In  the  evening  when  the 
full  moon  appears  and  lights  up  the  fields,  all 
looks  very  beautiful.  As  we  look  across  the 
water  and  see  the  boats,  which  are  few;  and  as  we 
notice  the  winter  birds  beginning  to  come,  and 
the  shortness  of  the  days,  we  are  obliged  to 
realize  the  presence  of  autumn. 

William   B.  Deane. 

Brockton  Tair 

On  Friday,  October  sixth,  eight  fellows  went 
to  the  Brockton  Fair  with  Mr.  Fairbanks  and 
Mr.  Kinney.  We  left  the  Island  about  nine 
o'clock.  When  we  reached  City  Point,  we  took 
a  car  to  the  South  Station,  and  then  took  the 
steam  cars  direct  to  Brockton.  When  we 
reached  the  fair  grounds,  the  first  thing  we  did 
was  to  divide  into  two  groups;  then  we  visited  the 
fair  building  in  which  we  saw  various  things  of 
interest.  We  went  over  to  the  cattle  sheds 
where  we  saw  some  very  fine  cattle  of  Guernsey, 
Jersey,  Ayrshire,  and  Holstein  breeds;  we  also 
saw  some  good  looking  sheep  and  swine.  An 
interesting  scene  to  watch  was  the  firemen's  con- 
test in  throwing  a  stream  of  water.     After  a  little 


more  walking  around  we  had  dinner.  After  din- 
ner we  went  over  to  the  race  track  where  some 
of  us  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Clarence 
DeMar,  one  of  our  graduates,  finish  first  in  the 
Marathon  Race.  We  also  saw  some  horse 
races,  jockey  races,  and  chariot  races,  and  a 
mili'.ary  parade.  On  the  way  home  we  stopped 
to  get  a  souvenir  each,  then  took  a  car  to  the 
station  where  we  entrained  for  home.  We 
arrived  at  the  Island  about  six  o'clock,  having 
had  a  very  good  time.  We  thank  Mr.  Adams 
and  Mr.  Bradley  for  letting  us  go. 

Edric  B.  Blakemore. 

Picking  Peaches 

One  morning  after  picking  vegetables,  two 
other  boys  and  myself  helped  Mr.  Fairbanks  pick 
peaches.  We  first  got  some  bushel  boxes  and 
put  paper  in  them;  then  we  began  to  pick  the 
peaches  we  could  reach  from  the  ground.  We 
put  them  all  into  one  box,  while  Mr.  Fairbanks 
sorted  them,  putting  the  large  ripe  ones  into 
one  box,  and  the  large  green  ones  into  another. 
He  also  put  the  small  ripe  ones  and  the  small 
green  ones  in  separate  boxes.  We  got  a  short 
ladder  and  picked  the  rest  of  the  peaches.  After 
they  were  all  sorted  we  took  them  up  to  the 
kitchen.  Oscar  E.   Neumann. 

helping 

It  was  my  work  one  morning,  after  I  had 
finished  my  regular  work,  to  help  scrub  the  north 
dormitory.  1  got  a  broom  and  swept,  and  then 
moved  all  the  beds  to  one  side.  I  got  my  scrub- 
bing things  and  commenced.  We  finished  in 
one  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  the  beds  were  put 
back  in  place.  The  chests  and  chairs  were 
also  washed.  Frank  S.  Mills. 

making  Banners 

One  afternoon  a  lot  of  felt  came  with  which 
to  make  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  banners. 
The  colors  of  the  School  are  blue  and  gold  so 
some  felt  was  blue  and  some  yellow.  Another 
fellow  came  into  the  sewing-room  to  help  make 
them  because  he  had  made  them  before.  At 
first  the  letters  F.  T.  S.  had  to  be  cut  out  of 
cardboard  and  then  cut  out  of  the  yellow  felt. 
After   this  was  done  a  piece  of  blue  felt   was 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


cut  out  in  the  shape  of  a  triangle.  The  base  of 
the  triangle  was  ten  inches  wide  and  the  sides 
were  twenty-six  inches  long.  The  letters  were 
basted  on  in  the  middle  of  the  banner  and 
stitched  on  with  yellow  sewing  silk.  There  is 
a  piece  of  yellow  felt  placed  across  the  top  so 
the  straps  can  be  sewed  on  between  the  yellow 
and  blue  felt.  The  straps  are  five  inches  long 
and  half  an  inch  wide.  There  are  six  straps  in 
all,  the  three  bottom  ones  are  blue  and  the  three 
top  ones  are  yellow.  One  banner  has  been  made 
with  large  yellow  letters  and  small  blue  letters 
on  top  of  them.  These  are  very  pretty  when 
finished.  Frederick  V.   Hall. 

Sorting  Jfpples 

One  morning  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  me  sort 
apples.  I  sorted  them  in  this  manner: — The 
nice  big  apples  1  would  call  number  one's  and 
put  these  in  a  basket  all  by  themselves.  The 
apples  that  were  medium  sized,  or  large  but  with 
a  worm  hole  or  slight  bruises  were  called  number 
two  apples.  The  small  apples  with  worm  holes 
are  called  number  three  apples.  The  very  small 
apples  that  are  cracked  go  for  cider  apples. 
When  I  got  a  basket  full  I  would  empty  it  into  a 
certain  barrel.  These  were  marked  according 
to  the  kind  and  quality  of  apples  they  contained 
and  then  they  were  put  into  the  old  seed  house 
to  be  stored  for  the  winter. 

Howard  F.   Lochrie. 

Cbe  l^arvard^Brown  Game 

Saturday,  October  twenty-eight,  twenty-five 
fellows  accompanied  by  our  foot-ball  committee, 
Mr.  Beebe,  Mr.  Fairbanks,  and  Mr.  Miller,  at- 
tended the  Harvard-Brown  foot-ball  game.  We 
left  the  Island  at  half  past  twelve.  We  arrived 
at  the  stadium  about  two  o'clock.  While  we 
were  waiting  for  the  game  to  start,  Mr.  Arthur 
Beane,  who  provided  this  opportunity,  csme 
along  and  shook  hands  with  all  the  fellows, 
and  told  them  he  was  glad  to  see  them.  At 
three  o'clock  the  game  started.  Captain  Fisher 
of  Harvard  won  the  toss.  He  chose  to  have 
Sprackling  of  Brown  kick  off  to  him.  Both 
teams  had  strong  and  snappy  players.  The 
Brown  squad  had  a  shift  that  puzzled  the  Har- 


vard men,  but  Harvard  had  a  trick  that  was 
equal  to  theirs.  The  full-back  would  get  back 
and  signal  for  the  ball,  but  the  ball  would  ret  go 
to  him  but  one  of  the  half-backs  who  at  the  time 
was  standing  by  the  quarter-back  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  ball  and  go  through  the  line.  Both 
squads  did  exceedingly  good  forward  passing. 
The  game  ended  with  a  score  of  twenty  to  six 
in  Harvard's  favor.  We  all  enjoyed  the  game 
and  thanked  Mr.  Bradley  very  much  for  taking 
us.  Carl  D.   P.   Hynes. 

One  afternoon,  on  the  farm,  1  helped  the 
farm  fellows  with  the  bran.  First  we  built  a 
staging  overhead  by  the  bran  room.  When 
that  was  done,  Mr.  Gordon  stood  on  it  while  a 
few  fellows  passed. him  the  bags  of  bran  from 
overhead.  When  Mr.  Gordon  got  the  bags,  he 
handed  them  to  the  fellows  down  below  and 
they  put  them  in  the  bran  room.  After  the 
bags  were  all  in  we  swept  the  bran  down  on  the 
floor  so  everything  would  be  clean  for  the  new 
bran  that  was  coming.  Five  fellows  got  the 
horses  ready  so  they  could  go  to  the  wharf  for 
the  bran.  When  it  was  all  taken  care  of  we 
put  up  our  horses.  Arthur  G.  Appel. 

(Uasbitid  lUindows 

One  morning  Mrs.  Ekegren  told  me  to  wash 
windows  in  Mrs.  Bradley's  dining-room.  1  got 
a  pan,  two  cloths,  and  a  piece  of  chamois.  I 
started  on  the  windows  and  cleaned  them  inside 
and  outside.  After  I  had  them  washed,  1  took 
a  clean  cloth  and  went  over  them  and  then 
cleaned  them  with  my  chamois.  1  did  three 
windows  that  day.  Now  I  dust  and  clean  this 
room  very  often.  Eenj/^min   L.  Murphy. 

€bangind  BianRcts 

A  few  mornings  ago  when  we  had  finished 
our  regular  work  in  the  dormitory  Miss  Brewster 
told  us  that  we  were  going  to  change  the  blankets. 
We  took  the  dirty  ones  off  and  folded  them  to  go 
to  the  laundry  to  be  washed.  Then  we  went  up 
to  the  west  loft  and  got  two  sets  of  clean  blankets 
to  put  on  the  beds.  We  had  to  have  two  hundred 
in  order  to  supply  each  bed  with  two  blankets. 
Herbert  L.  Dudley. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jlluniiti 

Merton  p.  Ellis,  '99,  was  married  on 
October  twenty-fifth  to  Eleanor  Louise  Lyons 
in  Dorchester.  Merton  is  superintendent  for 
the  Adanns  Pond  Company,  Inc.,  contractors. 
As  secretary  of  the  Alumni  Association  he  is 
well  known  to  a  large  number  of  graduates.  The 
young  couple  will  be  at  home  after  the  first  of 
February  at  461  Columbia  Road,  Dorchester. 
We  wish  them  the  best  of  good  fortune. 

Thomas  R.  Brown,  '00,  was  also  married 
on  October  twenty-fifth,  to  Mary  Ella  Ross  in 
Worcester.  Tom  is  the  popular  room  clerk  at 
the  Parker  House.  His  cheerful  disposition 
and  conscientiousness  aid  greatly  in  his  suc- 
cess. We  wish  Tom  and  his  wife  many  years  of 
happiness. 

John  W.  Robblee,  '03,  recently  returned 
from  a  trip  around  the  world  during  which  he 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  chauffeur  for  Mrs.  Bar- 
rett Wendell.  This  must  have  been  a  very 
pleasant  experience  and  we  are  glad  that  he  had 
the  opportunity.  On  October  fourth  John  left 
for  the  Philippines  where  he  is  to  take  charge  of 
the  Government  automobiles. 

Frederick  P.  Thayer,  '03,  is  another  of 
our  young  graduates  who  has  recently  been 
married.  On  September  twenty-sixth  he  was 
married  to  Alice  F.  Young  in  Dorchester  where 
the  couple  will  be  at  home  after  December 
fourth  at  55  Olney  Street.  Fred  is  with  the  T. 
W.  Ripley  Company,  printers,  where  he  has 
been  since  leaving  the  School.  Our  best  wishes 
go  with  Fred  and  his  wife. 

William  N.  Dinsmore,  '06,  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  the  announcement  of  his  engage- 
ment to  Miss  Mildred  Lee  Gilkey  of  Cliftondale, 
Mass. 

Frederick  J.  Barton,  '09,  was  in  good 
spirits  and  looking  well  when  he  visited  the 
School  recently.  He  is  living  with  his  brother 
in  Farmington,  Maine,  and  works  as  a  cylinder 
pressman  in  the  Knowlton,  McLeary  Printing- 
office.  Fred  says  that  he  attends  church  regu- 
larly and  is  a  member  of  the  Farmington  Grange. 


Grew  eardcn  Prizes 

On  our  last  Friends'  Day,  October  tenth, 
Mr.  Bradley  presented  the  Grew  Garden  Prizes. 
These  prizes  were  formerly  given  by  the  late  Mr. 
Henry  S.  Grew,  and  are  now  given  by  his  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  S.  V.  R.  Crosby.  These  prizes  are 
given  every  year  to  the  fellows  who  have  the 
best  garden  through  the  summer.  The  winners 
were  as  follows: — Ernest  V.  Wyatt,  first,  five 
dollars;  Charles  E.  Morse,  second,  four  dollars; 
Frederick  S.  Hynesand  Harold  D.  Morse,  third, 
three  dollars;  John  O.  Enright,  fourth,  two  dollars 
fifty  cents;  Alfred  H.  Casey,  fifth,  two  dollars; 
Harlan  Stevens,  sixth,  one  dollar  fifty  cents; 
Levi  N.  Trask,  seventh,  one  dollar;  Oscar  E. 
Neumann,  eighth,  one  dollar. 

James  A.  Peak. 

Jfn  Gntmainment 

One  evening  a  gentleman  came  to  the 
Island  to  entertain  us.  His  name  is  Mr.  Archie 
Leon  French,  and  he  is  a  ventriloquist  and  imita- 
tor. At  seven  o'clock  we  went  to  the  assembly- 
hall,  and  soon  after  this  Mr.  French  came  in. 
H  e  began  his  programme  by  telling  us  a  few  jokes. 
Then  he  played  on  a  mouth  organ.  He  cculd 
play  this  without  touching  his  hands  to  it.  He 
gave  a  monologue  of  a  Swede  who  went  to  the 
World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis.  He  recited  some 
poems  for  us,  and  did  some  feats  in  ventrilo- 
quism, some  of  which  were  very  interesting. 
We  enjoyed  the  evening  very  much. 

Harry   M.  Godshalk. 

Troning  tabic  £incn 

Every  Tuesday  and  Friday,  it  is  the  work 
of  the  laundry  fellows  to  iron  the  table  and  other 
linen.  This  consists  of  table  cloths,  napkins,  and 
the  waiters'  jumpers  and  aprons.  There  are  usu- 
ally about  five  table  cloths,  six  jumpers,  six 
aprons  and  thirty  napkins.  The  table  cloths  are 
folded  and  ironed  on  both  sides.  They  are  folded 
again  and  creased,  and  then  hung  on  the 
reel  ready  for  the  dining-room.  The  napkins 
are  also  folded  and  hung  on  the  reel.  This 
table  linen  requires  some  very  hot  irons,  as  it 
has  to  be  thoroughly  dried. 

Preston   M.   Blanchard. 


THOMPSONjS    ISLAND 

mAtos 


Vol.  15.  No.  8.     Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.     December,   1911 

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


Cottage  Row  Government 

BY  HIS  HONOR 

PRESTON   M.   BLANCHARD 

MAYOR: 

A  PROCLAMATION 

FOR  A   DAY  OF 
THANKSGIVING  AND  PRAISE 


It  is  in  keeping  with  the  custom  of  our  Cottage 
Row  Government  to  appoint  one  day  each  year  to  be 
observed  by  our  citizens  in  thanking  God  for  the  many 
blessings  He  has  bestowed  upon  us. 

On  that  day  we  should  join  in  praising  the 
Almighty  for  the  favorable  conditions  which  surround 
us  at  this  School;  for  the  equipment  of  our  shops  with 
valuable  machinery;  for  the  practical  education  that 
the  Managers  have  made  it  possible  for  us  to  gain;  for 
our  freedom  from  sickness  during  the  year;  for  the 
good  harvest  that  we  have  gathered  from  our  fields; 
and  for  the  knowledge  and  pleasure  we  have  gained  as 
citizens  of  Cottage  Row  Government. 

Therefore,  I,  Preston  M,  Blanchard,  Mayor  of 
Cottage  Row,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  set  apart  Thursday,  the  thirtieth  day  of 
November,  as  a  day  of  Thanksgiving  and  Praise  to 
God  for  the  many  blessings  He  has  granted  to  us. 

Given  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  this 
eighth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eleven,  the  ninety-seventh 
year  of  our  School,  and  the  twenty-third  year  of  Cottage 
Row  Government. 

PRESTON   M.   BLANCHARD. 

By  His  Honor,  the  Mayor  of  Cottage  Row,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen, 

GEORGE  R.  JORDAN, 

CLERK. 

God  Save  the  Government  of  Cottage  Row. 


making  CDanksgloing  Booklets 

Last  month  in  school  we  made  some  little 
booklets  for  Thanksgiving.  I  made  one  six 
inches  long  and  three  and  one-half  inches  wide. 
The  cover  was  made  of  gray  drawing  paper 
folded  together.  I  made  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
margin  around  my  front  cover  and  drew  a  pump- 
kin in  the  lower  left  hand  corner.  Then  there 
was  a  verse  printed  in  the  remaining  clear  space. 
After  this  was  done  I  cut  out  a  piece  of  white 
drawing  paper  to  fit  in  the  inside.  On  this  I 
made  a  picture  of  the  Mayflower  in  silhouette, 
leaving  the  boat  white  against  a  black  back- 
ground. Then  1  wrote  a  verse  taken  from  "The 
Landing  of  the  Pilgrims."  When  I  had  it  all 
finished  I  took  it  up  to  the  teacher  and  she  put 
a  small  paper  fastener  in  it  to  keep  the  middle 
page  fastened  to  the  covers.  The  other  fellows 
in  the  class  made  booklets,  too,  using  various 
designs.  Some  drew  turkeys  on  the  covers  and 
some  cider  jugs,  apples,  and  so  on. 

Leslie  H.  Barker. 

Cbanksgiving  Programmes 

This  year  the  programmes  had  eight  pages 
in  them.  There  was  a  green  cover.  On  the  first 
inside  page  at  the  top  was  printed  "Menu  and 
Programme."  Underneath  that  was  "Thanks- 
giving 191  1"  and  then  a  small  circular  cut,  sim- 
ilar to  a  seal.  At  the  bottom  was  a  design  in 
which  was  represented  a  pumpkin,  apples,  a  pie, 
and  a  cider  jug.  On  the  second  page  there  was 
an  article  on  Thanksgiving  which  told  how  in  the 
history  of  this  Island  we  were  closely  associated 
with  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  It  also  stated  that 
Myles  Standish  when  exploring  Massachusetts 
Bay  had  landed  on  this  Island.     On  page  three 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


was  a  poem  by  Ella    M.  Powers.     Below  the 
poem  was  the  menu  which  was  as  follows: — 

ROAST  TURKEY 

Dressing: 
Giblet  Gravy 

Sweet  Potatoes 

Celery  Cranberry  Sauce 

Mashed  Turnip 

Bread  and  Butter 

Mince  Pie 

Cheese 

Apples  Rasins  Figs 

Dates  Nuts 

After  that  was  another  little  poem.  Page 
four  had  the  President's  proclamation.  Oppo- 
site that  was  the  proclamation  of  Cottage  Row 
Government  written  by  Preston  M.  Blanchard, 
Mayor.  The  sixth  page  had  the  evening  pro- 
gramme which  was  as  follows: — 

First  Part 

Selection  Orchestra 

Baritone  Solo  Willard  Perry 

Selected 

Songs  Ladies'  Quintette 

Please  Won't  You  Be  My— Hm? 

The  Shoogy-Shoo 

The  Elephant  and  the  Chimpanzee 

Violin  Solo  Mr.  Dix 

Rubinstein's  Melody  in  F 
Piano  Duett  Mrs.  Bradley  and  Miss  Wood 

The  Witches'  Flight 
Selection  Orchestra 

Second  Part 

A  Comedy,  Too  Much  Married,  in  2  Acts 

Cast  of  Characters 

Bob  Henshaw  Mr.  Fairbanks 

Who  Needs  a  Wife  and  Baby  and  Gets 

More  than  He  Bargained  For 

Jerry  Finnegan  Mr.  Miller 

Bob's  Gardener 
Deacon  Silas  Jones  Mr.  Beebe 

Bob's  Uncle  from   Missouri 

Miss  Cordelia  Miss  Lothrop 

Bob's  Housekeeper,  a  Vinegary  Virgin 


Sally  Miss  Brewster 

Bob's  Maid  of  All  Work 

Act  L  Scene:  Living  room    in    the    Henshaw 
home;  Time,  morning. 

Act  II.  Scene:  The  same;  Time  afternoon   of 
same  day.  Perley  W.  White. 

Our  Cbanks 

Each  year  the  boys  are  given  an  opportun- 
ity just  before  Thanksgiving  to  state  their  special 
reasons  for  thankfulness.  The  following  are 
some  of  their  expressions: — 

Tirst  Class 

I  am  thankful  for  the  friends  I  have,  and  that 
I  can  see  them  on  Friends'  Days.  I  am  grate- 
ful for  what  they  have  done  for  me  and  I  am  in 
hopes  I  can  pay  them  back  some  day.  When 
I  think  of  the  nations  at  war  it  makes  me  feel 
grateful  to  God  that  our  country  is  not  at  war. 
Sometimes  I  think  of  the  fellows  in  the  city 
smoking  and  doing  other  things,  and  I  am  glad 
that  I  have  not  the  chance  to  do  these  things 
here.  William  G.   Beadle. 

I  am  very  thankful  I  am  a  pupil  of  this 
School  and  that  there  are  so  many  opportunities 
for  each  and  every  one  to  make  good  use  of, 
such  as  playing  in  the  band,  working  in  sloyd, 
blacksmithing,  and  working  on  the  farm.  1  am 
grateful  for  the  good  care  that  has  been  taken 
of  me  during  the  past  year,  and  for  the  good 
health  I  possess.  1  am  thankful  that  my  brothers 
and  sisters  are  in  good  health  and  good  cheer, 
and  that  they  have  done  so  much  for  me  in  the 
past  year.  Clarence   Burton. 

I  am  very  thankful  that  I  am  a  pupil  at  The 
Farm  and  Trades  School  where  I  am  learning 
many  useful  things.  It  will  soon  be  time  for  skat- 
ing and  coasting  for  which  1  am  thankful.  I  am 
glad  that  I  own  in  a  cottage  so  that  I  can  stay 
there  Sundays.  I  am  thankful  that  I  am  in  the 
first  class,  and  that  I  am  in  the  sloyd  class.  1 
thank  the  Lord  that  I  have  had  good  health  dur- 
ing the  past  year  and  that  my  friends  have,  too. 
1  am  very  grateful  for  my  good  home  at  The 
Farm  and  Trades  School. 

Harry  M.   Godshalk 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


As  we  pick  up  magazines  and  papers  we 
read  of  disasters  that  come  upon  boys  that  are 
in  the  city  and  that  are  not  taken  care  of  as  we 
are  at  this  School.  1  am  thankful  that  I  am  not 
one  of  these  boys.  I  am  grateful  for  the  many 
things  this  School  has  done  for  me.  1  am  thank- 
ful that  1  have  a  mother  and  that  she  and  my 
brothers  are  enjoying  good  health.  I  am  thank- 
ful for  the  education  1  am  receiving  at  this 
School;  for  the  sloyd,  blacksmithing,  and  shop 
work.  I  am  thankful  that  all  my  friends  are 
well  and  that  I  can  hear  from  them  from  time 
to  time.  Thomas  Milne. 

Second  €la$$ 

I  am  thankful  1  have  a  good  mother,  a 
grandmother,  a  stepfather,  and  good  friends.  I 
am  thankful  for  what  Mr.  Bradley  and  the  Man- 
agers have  done  for  me.  1  am  thankful  for  the 
good  food  1  get  and  the  clothes  I  have  to  wear. 
I  am  thankful  we  have  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and 
praise.  I  am  thankful  1  have  a  chance  to  go  to 
sloyd,  and  that  we  have  a  good  gymnasium. 
Edmund  S.   Bemis. 

I  am  thankful  for  the  food  and  clothes 
I  get,  and  that  1  have  a  house  to  shelter  me.  1 
am  thankful  that  I  have  a  mother  and  sisters  who 
come  to  see  me  on  Friends'  Days.  1  am  thank- 
ful for  the  good  home  1  have  and  that  I  shall  be 
a  help  to  my  mother  when  1  graduate.  I  am 
glad  we  have  such  good  Managers  and  I  am 
grateful  for  the  pleasures  and  privileges  Mr. 
Bradley  permits  us  to  have.  1  am  thankful  for 
the  education  and  good  teaching  I  get  at  this 
School,  i  am  glad  1  work  in  the  kitchen,  and 
go  to  sloyd.  1  am  thankful  for  my  good  surround- 
ings and  good  health  I  am  glad  I  had  a  chance 
to  play  foot-ball  the  past  season. 

William  E.  Cowley. 

1  am  very  grateful  that  I  am  in  good  health. 
I  am  thankful  that  1  am  in  sloyd  where  1  can 
learn  something  about  woodworking.  I  am 
thankful  that  I  have  sisters,  and  a  guardian  who 
will  look  after  me,  also  that  I  have  a  great  many 
friends.  1  am  very  grateful  that  I  am  in  a  place 
where  I  can  become  fitted  to  do  my  part  in  the 
world  well.     I  am  very  grateful  to  the  superin- 


tendent and  those  who  have  to  do  with  this 
School.  1  am  also  thankful  that  I  am  in  a 
school  where  1  can  learn  to  read  and  write,  and 
do  other  things  which  some  of  the  boys  and  girls 
cannot  do  in  foreign  countries. 

Howard   A.   Delano. 

1  can  hardly  express  all  the  things  that 
1  am  thankful  for.  There  have  been  so  many 
good  times  and  such  a  good  harvest!  1  am 
thankful  that  my  mother  and  friends  are  well  and 
that  my  health  has  been  good.  I  am  grateful 
for  all  the  things  the  School  has  provided  for  me. 
1  am  surrounded  with  good  opportunites  and 
many  costly  things  which  1  am  thankful  to  the 
Managers  for.  There  are  many  improvements 
that  have  been  made  which  make  things  more 
comfortable  for  me  and  my  friends  here  which  1 
am  also  thankful  for.  The  foot-ball  season  was 
a  very  successful  one  and  I  am  thankful  to  Mr. 
Crosby  for  his  interest  in  our  sports  and  his  gen- 
erosity in  giving  us  the  cups  and  shield.  I  am 
also  grateful  that  the  holidays  are  near  and  1  hope 
they  will  be  happy  ones  for  all. 

George   R.  Jordan. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  good  bed  to  sleep 
in,  good  food  to  eat,  and  a  good  dining-room 
to  eat  it  in.  I  am  also  thankful  that  1  am  well 
and  that  this  Island  is  a  healthful  place  to  live  on. 
1  am  grateful  that  my  sisters  and  my  aunts  are 
all  well  and  happy.  I  am  thankful  that  I  am  in 
the  second  class  and  that  1  am  in  the  first  grade 
the  greater  part  of  the  time.  1  am  thankful  that 
I  am  in  sloyd  and  that  I  work  in  the  afternoon  dor- 
mitory. 1  am  thankful  that  I  own  in  a  cottage 
and  have  the  use  of  the  playground,  and  that  by 
the  Cottage  Row  Government  I  am  able  to  learn 
about  the  real  government  of  the  United  States. 
I  am  grateful  that  we  played  foot-ball  this  fall, 
and  that  we  have  a  gymnasium  in  which  we  can 
exercise  and  have  fun  during  the  winter. 

Dexter  L.   Noble. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  mother,  grand- 
mother, grandfather,  and  a  sister.  1  am  thank- 
ful for  the  good  times  we  have  here;  that  1  woik 
on  the  farm;  that  we  have  a  gymnasium;  that  1 
go  to  sloyd;  and  that  I  am  in  the  second  class. 
Frederick  E.  Van  Valkenburg. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON     DONATtONS     AND      BEQUESTS 
A     PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 


Vol.   15.  No.  8. 


December,   1911 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


PRESIDENT 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VrCE-PRESrDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St, 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Dalaptd 

19  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S,  V,  R.  Crosbt 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N,  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M,  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 

From  the  time  of  the  announcement  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  that  he  has 
set  apart  a  special  day  for  "Thanksgiving  and 
Praise,"  many  and  varied  preparations  are  put 


under  way  for  the  fitting  observance  of  the 
occasion  according  to  inclination.  Many  spend 
the  day  devoutly  in  giving  thanks  for  the  success 
that  has  attended  them  during  the  year  past; 
others  express  their  gratitude  for  the  eradication 
of  an  illness  or  an  affliction  of  long  standing;  or 
possibly  that  the  family  circle  still  remains  un- 
broken, and  that  the  annual  reunion  of  the  family 
takes  place  once  more. 

Then  there  is  still  another  element  in  the 
make  up  of  our  population  of  an  athletic  trend 
of  mind  who  see  fit  on  this  day  to  vie  with  one 
another  in  all  sorts  of  events  from  road  racing  to 
foot-ball  games,  and  for  their  success  in  this  line 
of  action  they  have  their  just  reason  for  being 
thankful.  In  fact,  we  feel  safe  in  saying  that  it 
would  be  hard,  indeed,  to  find  a  person  who  has 
not  been  favored,  in  a  way,  commensurate  with 
the  efforts  put  forth,  or  been  the  recipient,  in 
some  form,  of  a  privilege  that  will  enure  to  his 
future  prosperity  or  happiness. 

We  might  continue  with  a  never  ending 
enumeration  of  those  things  for  which  we  have 
cause  to  be  thankful,  but  that  is  not  wholly  our 
purpose.  It  is  our  desire  to  emphasize  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  meaning,  intent,  and  purport  of 
"Thanksgiving  and  Praise."  We  urge  that  the 
recognition  of  that  for  which  we  have  cause  to 
be  grateful  should  not  be  shown  by  an  indifferent 
or  artificial  expression  of  sentiment,  but  by  one 
that  is  genuine  and  spontaneous,  such  as  is  evi- 
denced by  the  spirit  found  in  the  thankful  articles 
of  our  pupils. 

notes 

Nov.    1 .     Finished  banking  celery. 
Nov.  2,     Finished    plowing    about    south 
marsh. 

Renewed  rain  leader  pipes  on  stock-barn. 
Nov.  3,     Telephone  inspector  here. 
Harvested  onions  and  Brussels  sprouts. 
Dr.  Alexander  Burr,  veterinary,  here. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Nov.  4.     Began  hauling  in  corn  fodder. 

Mr.  Joe  Laurens  gave  an  entertainment  in 
the  assembly-hall. 

Nov.  5.  Rev.  Frederick  B.  Richards  con- 
ducted Sunday  services. 

Nov.  6.     Harvested  pumpkins  and  beans. 

Painted  outside  of  tower  at  main  building. 

Five  boys  were  operated  on  for  adnoids  and 
enlarged  tonsils. 

Nov.  8.  Repaired  chimney  tops  at  farm- 
house. 

Entertainment  in  assembly-hall  for  instruc- 
tors and  first  grade  pupils. 

Nov.  9.     Killed  a  pig,  dressing  303  pounds. 

Renewed  riding  cables  for  steamer  Pilgrim. 

Nov.  10.  Mr.  John  Parks  donated  trom- 
bone oil. 

Nov.  11.     President  Alfred  Bowditch  here. 

Nov.  13.  Stored  onions,  and  finished  stor- 
ing celery;  also  planted  peas,  and  set  out  flowering 
bulbs. 

Nov.    14.     Planted  sweet  peas. 

Dug  ditch  to  drain  piece  near  Oak  Knoll. 

Nov.    15.     Seven  boys  visited  the  dentist. 

Nov.    16.     Painted  steamer's  hull. 

Killed  7  Buff  Orpington  Roosters. 

Received  Rhode  Island  Red  Rooster  from 
William  Walbert. 

Nov.  17.  Finished  hauling  corn  fodder 
from  south  piece. 

Nov.  20.     Stored  beets  and  turnips. 

Began  hauling  in  corn  from  field  north  of 
Cottage  Row. 

Nov.  21.     Seven  boys  visited  the  dentist. 

Harold  L.  Wynot  returned  to  his  mother. 

Nov.  22.     Began  harvesting  mangels. 

Managers  Francis  Shaw  and  I.  Tucker 
Burr  visited  the  Island. 

Nov.  23.  Shipped  scow-load  of  old  paper 
and  iron  junk,  and  received  100  bags  of  gluten, 
40  of  cotton-seed  meal,  and  6  of  cracked  corn. 

Nov.  24.     Sixty  bags  of  land  plaster  came. 

Set  up  corn  cracker  on  first  floor  of  Gard- 
ner Hall. 

Shipped  another  load  of  old  paper,  brass 
and  copper  junk. 


Nov.  25.  Wm.'  M.  Flanders  Co.  donated 
a  box  each  of  raisins,  figs,  dates,  and  nuts  for 
Thanksgiving. 

Nov.  26.  Mr.  John  Foote,  of  the  Newton 
Theological  Seminary,  spoke  in  chapel. 

Nov.  27.     Finished    harvesting    mangels. 

Manager  Ralph  B.  Williams  visited  here. 

Laid  150  feet  of  lead  cable  for  telephone 
and  gong  on  wharf. 

Nov.  28.  Finished  raking  leaves  in  Bow- 
ditch  grove. 

Nov.  30.  Thanksgiving.  Foot-ball  game 
between  picked  teams  called  Harvard  and  Yale. 
Harvard  won  6-0. 

Entertainment  consisting  of  a  musical  pro- 
gramme and  two  act  play  given  by  several  in-' 
structors  and  boys. 

Cbe  Tarm  and  trades  School  BaiiK 

Cash  on  hand  Nov.  1,  1911  $957.58 

Deposits  to  Dec.  I,  1911  21.12 

978.70 
Withdrawals  105.38 

Cash  on  hand  Dec.  1 ,  1911  "$873^ 

novcitiDcr  mctcorolodv 

Maximum  temperature  68°  on  the  13th. 

Minimum  temperature    19°  on  the  10th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  41.7°. 

Total  precipitation  3.35  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
.66  inches  on  the  24th. 

13  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 3  clear  days,  21   partly  cloudy,  6  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  143  and  56 
minutes. 

third  eiass 

1  am  thankful  that  1  have  had  such  good 
health  all  my  life.  I  have  many  kind  friends, 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  receive  their  letters, 
I  am  grateful  that  I  have  a  good  superintendent, 
and  teachers.  I  am  very  thankful  that  we  can 
have  a  day  of  Thanksgiving  as  did  our  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  and  that  we  can  give  thanks  to  Him 
Who  has  kept  us  so  well  during  the  past  year. 
Raymond  H.   Batchelder. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


I  am  grateful  that  I  have  a  mother  and  that 
she  is  well.  I  am  very  grateful  for  all  this  School 
has  done  for  me.  1  have  had  many  good  times 
this  year  for  which  I  am  thankful.  I  am  learn- 
ing so  many  different  things  at  this  School 
that  will  be  helpful  to  me  when  I  am  a  man  and 
supporting  my  mother  that  I  feel  very  grateful. 
1  am  thankful  for  the  jolly  time  we  had  Thanks- 
giving Day.  Lawrence  M.  Cobb. 

1  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  good  mother, 
brother,  and  sister.  1  am  thankful  that  1  am 
not  in  the  fourth  grade.  I  am  glad  Christmas 
is  so  near  with  its  good  times.  1  am  glad  that 
I  am  not  sick,  and  that  1  work  on  the  farm  where 
there  is  good  air.  I  wish  to  give  thanks  that  1 
am  where  my  mother  knows  1  am  well  and  cared 
for.  I  am  also  grateful  that  we  have  Friends' 
Days.  1  am  thankful  that  1  am  in  the  third 
class.  I  am  glad  that  winter  is  so  near  that  the 
fellows  can  go  skating  and  sliding.  I  am  glad 
that  I  am  in  the  band  and  can  learn  to  play  well. 
Franklin   H.   Freudenberger. 

Thanksgiving  is  a  day  of  thanks  to  God. 
We  should  all  have  something  to  be  thankful 
for.  1  have  a  great  many  things.  First,  I  am 
thankful  that  1  have  had  no  sickness  during  the 
year.  I  am  also  glad  that  1  have  such  a  good 
mother  who  encourages  me  in  all  my  work. 
I  am  thankful  that  1  have  an  opportunity  to  learn 
the  different  things  at  this  School,  and  as  the 
time  draws  near  at  hand  to  go  out  into  the  world 
I  shall  have  a  chance  to  earn  my  own  living.  1 
am  glad  that  1  have  such  a  fine  lot  of  instructors 
working  patiently  with  me  and  teaching  me 
many  different  things. 

Franklin  E.  Gunning. 

1  wish  to  give  thanks  for  the  many  good 
surroundings  1  have.  1  am  thankful  that  1  am 
in  the  sloyd  class;  for  my  chance  to  work  out- 
doors; for  the  opportunity  to  go  to  school;  for 
my  good  health  and  my  boy  friends.  1  feel 
very  grateful  to  this  School,  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers, and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley. 

Earle  C.  Miller. 

I  am  glad  that  I  live  in  an  age  when  there 
are  so  many  inventions.     1  am  thankful  that  I 


have  the  opportunities  of  an  American  boy  and 
the  chance  of  learning  so  much  at  this  School. 
1  am  grateful  for  having  a  mother  and  brothers. 
1  am  getting  to  be  a  big  boy  now,  and  am  well 
and  strong.  This  is  because  1  have  good  food, 
air,  and  sunshine;  and  for  all  these  things  1  sm 
grateful. 

"1  thank  God  very  much 

For  all  that  1  enjoy; 

And  hope  that  next  Thanksgiving  Day 

Will  find  a  better  boy." 

Theodore   Milne. 

1  think  there  is  one  thing  that  every  person 
in  the  United  States  is  thankful  for,  at  least  it 
is  what  1  am  grateful  for,  and  that  is  that  we  live 
in  a  great  and  peaceful  land.  I  am  thankful  that 
we  can  celebrate  Thanksgiving  Day.  I  am 
grateful  for  all  Mr.  Bradley  has  done  for  me  at 
this  School.  1  am  grateful  for  all  the  pleasures 
1  had  last  summer,  and  for  all  that  Cottage  Row 
Government  means  to  us. 

Harold  D.   Morse. 

1  am  thankful  for  a  good  father  whom  1  can 
send  things  to;  for  the  good  health  I  have;  and 
the  good  air  I  have  here.  I  am  thankful  1  am 
in  sloyd  and  for  what  1  am  learning  there.  I 
am  grateful  for  the  entertainments  1  am  able  to 
see;  that  Christmas  and  the  snowball  battle  is 
drawing  near;  for  Friends'  Days  and  furlough 
time;  for  the  warm  clothing  that  1  get  here.  I 
am  thankful  I  can  enjoy  all  these  things. 

Warner  E.  Spear. 

I  am  thankful  that  1  have  good  health  and 
strength.  I  am  thankful  that  1  am  at  a  School 
where  1  may  receive  an  education  and  learn  many 
useful  things.  I  am  glad  that  1  am  where  1  can 
have-fresh  air  and  sunshine.  1  am  glad  that  all 
of  my  relatives  are  well  and  happy.  1  am  happy 
to  think  of  the  improvements  that  have  taken 
place  in  the  past  year  that  help  us  to  become 
good  citizens.  1  am  glad  for  Cottage  Row  and 
its  government.  I  am  also  happy  for  the  peace 
and  plenty  that  is  blessing  the  United  States. 
Walter  1.  Tassinari. 

1  wish  to  give  thanks  for  the  opportunity 
I  have    as   a    pupil  at  The    Farm  and  Trades 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


School  with  its  wonderful  advantages  and  oppor- 
tunites.  1  am  thankful  for  the  home  that  1  have 
here,  and  for  the  friendship  of  the  boys.  I  am 
grateful  for  the  sunshine  that  makes  us  grow 
healthy  and  strong;  for  the  good  food  we  have  to 
eat;  for  the  good  times  I  have  here.  1  hope  to 
become  a  good  man  and  repay  this  School  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.   Bradley. 

Carlquist  W.  Walbourn. 

Tourtft  Class 

I  am  thankful  that  1  am  alive  and  having  a 
good  time.  1  am  thankful  that  my  father  placed 
me  in  this  School  where  1  can  learn  something. 
1  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  good  place  to  sleep 
and  good  food  to  eat.  1  am  thankful  for  the 
electric  lights  and  the  steam  heat.  I  am 
thankful  that  I  work  in  a  warm  place  in  the  win- 
ter. 1  am  thankful  that  we  have  a  gymnasium 
in  which  to  exercise  our  muscles.  1  am  thank- 
ful that  we  have  some  cows  so  that  we  do  not 
have  to  buy  our  milk  in  the  city. 

Eldred  W.  Allen. 

I  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  good  mother 
and  that  none  of  my  relatives  have  died  this 
year.  1  am  thankful  that  1  am  at  this^School 
and  for  the  good  care  I  receive  here.  I  am 
thankful  for  the  nice  dormitories  we  have  to 
sleep  in.  I  am  thankful  for  Thanksgiving  Day. 
1  am  thankful  for  the  good  education  which  I 
am  receiving  here.  1  am  thankful  that  I  have 
good  health.  William  J.  Grant. 

Some  of  the  things  which  1  have  been 
thankful  for  this  year  are  that  my  mother  and 
father  are  living  and  have  good  health,  and  that 
they  celebrate  Thanksgiving  every  year.  An- 
other thing  1  am  thankful  for  is  that  I  have  had 
a  good  time  this  year.  Another  is  that  we  have 
good  places  to  play  and  good  surroundings.  1 
am  thankful  that  1  came  to  this  School  to  get  a 
good  education,  and  1   am  thankful  that  1  have 

clothes  to  wear.       Floyd  A.   Warren. 


Tim  Class 

The  first  thing  1  am  thankful  for  is  that  1 
have  a  father  and  mother.  I  am  thankful  for 
the  good  education  I  am  getting.     1  am  thank- 


ful for  the  food  and  clothing  1  get;  also  for  the 
pleasures  Mr.  Bradley  gives  me.  1  am  thankful 
for  the  skating  and  coasting  1  have  in  the  winter. 
I  am  thankful  for  the  day  of  thanksgiving  and 
praise.  Elwin  C.   Bemis. 

I  am  very  thankful  that  1  am  at  this 
School  and  grateful  for  the  education  the  boys 
get  here  and  for  the  good  times.  1  am  thankful 
for  the  pure  food  and  good  clothing  and  for  the 
good  people  1  have  who  do  so  much  for  me. 
I  am  very  thankful  also  that  I  have  a  father,  two 
sisters,  a  grandfather,  grandmother,  six  aunts,  six 
uncles,  and  seven  cousins.  1  am  thankful  they 
are  in  good  health  and  living  very  comfortably. 
William  B.  Cross. 

1  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  chance  to  get  a 
good  education.  I  am  glad  that  I  have  a  father. 
mother,  sister,  and  grandmother  who  are  so 
kind  to  me.  1  am  thankful  that  Mr.  Bradley  and 
the  instructors  are  kind  to  me.  Going  into 
chapel  every  Sunday  is  doing  me  good.  1  am 
thankful  to  learn  how  to  do  farm  work.  My 
work  in  school  is  helping  me,  and  1  am  gain- 
ing my  strength  in  the  gymnasium. 

Horace  C.  Jenney. 

1  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  father,  mother, 
brother  and  sister,  an  aunt  and  uncle.  I  am 
thankful  for  our  gardens.  1  am  thankful  that 
we  have  good  playgrounds  and  that  we  have  Cot- 
tage Row.  1  am  grateful  for  the  food  we  get.  I 
am  thankful  for  the  freedom  to  worship  God. 
I  am  thankful  that  I  can  be  at  this  School. 

James  R.  Williams. 

Curmq  tbc  turkeys 

On  Thanksgiving  we  had  a  grand  dinner. 
Each  table  had  a  whole  turkey  and  Mr.  Bradley 
instructed  the  boys  how  to  carve  them.  First 
he  told  them  to  put  the  fork  into  the  breast  of 
the  turkey  so  as  to  hold  it  firmly.  Then  he 
said  to  cut  off  the  legs  and  wings.  Then  the 
carver  has  a  chance  to  carve  the  meat  off  the 
sides  and  breast  of  the  bird.  The  monitor  at 
each  table  carved  his  turkey  as  Mr.  Bradley  had 
said.  We  all  enjoyed  the  turkeys  and  the  rest  of 
the  dinner  very  much.     Cecil  E.  McKeown. 


8 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jilumiti 

Foster  B.  Hoye,  '07,  writes  from  Roch- 
ester, N.  Y.,  where  he  has  been  for  some  time, 
and  tells  us  the  experience  he  gained  here  has 
been  of  inestimable  value  to  him  in  many  ways. 
Foster  has  been  employed  in  a  railroad  repair 
shop  in  various  capacities,  and  now  is  a  locomo- 
tive fireman.  Wishing  to  get  in  closer  touch 
with  the  School  he  has  enrolled  as  a  subscriber 
to  the  Beacon. 

Royal  R.  Ellison,  '  1  1 ,  is  very  enthusias- 
tic in  expressing  himself  regarding  his  position 
with  McGrath  &  Woodley,  printers,  at  74  India 
Street,  as  well  as  to  mention  the  fact  that  he  is 
enjoying  himself  and  occasionally  has  the  privi- 
lege of  listening  to  a  political  orator.  Royal  is 
receiving  a  substantial  stipend  for  his  services, 
a  portion  of  which  finds  its  way  into  a  bank. 

Dick  W.  Steenbruggen,  '11,  who  found 
a  position  with  the  Blake  Electrical  Manufact- 
uring Co.,  at  Rowe's  Wharf,  sends  us  a  very 
interesting  letter  describing  the  various  parts  of 
the  work  he  has  been  doing,  and  that  his  pay 
has  been  increased.  Dick  is  taking  up  machine 
drawing  and  attends  school  two  evenings  a 
week,  which  he  says  he  likes  very  much. 

Bundles 

All  the  fellows  here  are  glad  to  receive 
bundles  from  their  friends.  In  the  winter  time 
some  fellows  write  home  for  them.  Around 
Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  the  fellows  expect 
these  gifts  more  than  at  any  other  time.  Our 
friends  send  these  bundles  by  Pierce's  South 
Boston  express.  They  are  left  in  the  School 
locker  at  City  Point  until  our  steamer  goes  over 
and  brings  them  to  the  Island.  When  there  are 
quite  a  few  packages  there  is  a  team  that  goes 
to  the  wharf  for  them  and  brings  them  to  the 
house.  As  soon  as  a  fellow  receives  a  package 
he  writes  home  telling  that  it  came  safely  and 
thanks  his  friends  for  it. 

Frederick  V.   Hall. 

J\  Toot-B4ll  eaitic 

On  November  thirtieth,  the  last  foot-ball 
game  was  played.     It  was  called  the  Harvard 


and  Yale  game.  The  best  players  in  the  School 
played.  Preston  M.  Blanchard  was  captain  of 
Harvard  and  Robert  H.  May  of  Yale.  The 
two  teams  were  pretty  evenly  matched  but  Yale 
was  a  little  heavier  team  than  Harvard  When 
we  were  playing  Mr.  Bradley  came  over  to  the 
teams  and  said  that  he  would  give  fifty  cents 
to  each  fellow  on  the  winning  team.  Every- 
body buckled  down  and  played  his  best.  It 
was  a  tough  game.  The  score  was  six  to  noth- 
ing in  favor  of  Harvard.  There  was  a  lot  of 
cheering.  The  Yale  cheerers  were  on  the  west 
side  of  the  playground  and  the  Harvard  cheerers 
on  the  east.  When  the  game  was  over  both 
teams  cheered.     The  line  up  was  as  follows: — 

Harvard  Yale 

Upham  1  e  Taylor 

Burton  1  t  Blakemore,  J. 

Casey,  A.  1  g  Stevens 

Appel,  A.  c  Hynes,  F. 

Powers  r  g  Gerecke 

Bemis,  Edson  r  t  Appel,  G. 

Morse,  C  re  L'Estrange 

Blanchard  q  b  Jones 

Jordan,  C.  r  h  b  Blakemore,  E. 

Souther  f  b  Reinhard 

Mills    •  1  h  b  May 

Alfred  H.  Casey. 

Cleaning  tbc  Bcacb 

Every  time  the  tide  comes  in  different  sub- 
stances are  found  on  the  beach  such  as  weed, 
barrels,  boxes,  tin  cans,  seaweed  and  various 
other  things.  These  would  soon  accumulate 
and  cover  the  beach  if  not  taken  care  of.  The 
cleaning  up  work  generally  falls  to  the  farm  fel- 
lows. To  begin  with  we  start  on  the  south  side 
of  the  wharf  and  work  south.  All  tin  or  metal 
that  will  not  burn  is  put  into  one  pile  to  be 
taken  to  the  dump  at  the  south  end.  The  wood 
is  separated  into  two  piles,  one  with  all  the  wood 
in  it  that  is  shorter  than  a  barrel  stave  which 
goes  to  the  incinerator  to  be  burned.  All  wood 
longer  than  a  barrel  stave  goes  to  the  wood 
yard  where  it  is  sawed  to  be  used  as  bakery 
wood.  The  seaweed  is  dried  when  possible  to 
be  used  as  bedding,  but  the  rest  is  burned  in  the 
incinerator.  Richard  W.  Weston. 


THOMPSONVS    I^SLAND 


BEACON 


Vol.  15,  No.  9.       Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.       January,   1912 

Entered  NoTetnber  23.  1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.,  as  Second-class  matter,  undsr  Act  of  CongTess  of  July  16,  1894 


making  a  Booklet 

One  Sunday  evening  after  the  service 
was  over  Mr.  Bradley  said  that  he  had  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Richard  C.  Humphreys  which  he  would 
like  to  read  to  us.  This  letter  was  all  in  rhyme. 
After  reading  it  Mr.  Bradley  said  he  thought  he 
would  have  it  printed  and  he  would  give  us  each 
a  copy  and  also  the  graduates.  When  the  copy 
was  sent  out  to  the  printing-office  it  was  first  set 
up,  and  then  corrected.  It  was  then  locked  up 
in  a  four  page  form  and  printed,  there  being 
eight  pages.  Then  the  title  page  was.printed, 
and  after  that  the  cover.  When  they  were  all 
printed  they  were  folded  and  the  different  parts 
inserted.  This  being  finished  they  were  all 
stitched  and  trimmed.  When  finished  there 
were  six  leaves  and  a  cover  to  it.  In  this  letter  Mr. 
Humphreys  told  of  his  vacation  of  the  past  sum- 
mer in  the  woods  which  was  very  interesting. 
We  were  very  much  pleased  to  hear  from  Mr. 
Humphreys  because  he  has  been  a  friend  of  the 
School  for  many  years.  Roy  D.  Upham. 

morkittd  in  the  Kitchen 

One  afternoon  when  there  was  no  school 
Mr.  Beebe  told  another  fellow  and  me  to  report 
to  Mrs.  Bradley.  She  told  us  to  clean  up  the 
west  basement.  When  I  got  to  the  kitchen  Miss 
Gilpin  told  me  to  take  Thomas  Taylor's  place 
scrubbing  the  stairs.  When  I  got  the  stairs 
done  she  told  me  to  help  another  fellow  sweep 
the  basement.  Then  she  told  me  to  scrub  the 
wall  over  towards  the  heater  in  the  south  corner. 
I  got  a  pail  of  water,  some  soap,  a  scrubbing- 
brush  and  a  cloth  and  started  scrubbing.  I  stood 
up  on  the  water  heater  stove  to  scrub  the  wall.  1 
did  that  and  half  of  the  other  wall  that  afternoon. 
Ei.DRED  W..  Allen. 


making  €Dri$tma$  Cards 

One  day  our  teacher  told  us  we  were  going 
to  make  some  cards  to  go  with  our  Christmas 
presents.  We  were  all  glad  to  do  this.  The 
cards  are  three  inches  long  and  one  and  one- 
third  inches  wide.  Some  of  the  fellows  made 
holly  wreaths  and  some  Santa  Glaus  heads  on 
them.  If  we  wanted  to  make  holly  wreaths  we 
took  a  compass  and  drew  a  circle  and  put  holly 
leaves  around  it  with  berries  between  each  leaf. 
We  painted  the  berries  red  and  the  leaves  green. 
In  the  space  that  was  left  each  one  wrote  "Merry 
Ghristmas,"  the  name  of  the  person  the  present 
was  for,  and  whom  it  was  from. 

Byron  E.  Collins. 

Current  €i)ent  Calks 

In  the  first  school-room  we  have  been  hav- 
ing current  event  talks.  On  Monday  nights  Mr. 
Bradley  sometimes  speaks  of  the  events  cf  Ihe 
week  such  as  the  warinTropli  between  Italy  snd 
Turkey,  the  civil  war  in  China,  and  other  events 
of  great  importance.  We  talk  over  the  different 
subjects  in  our  class  room  and  have  some  long 
discussions.  We  also  read  the  news  of  the  day 
in  The  Christian  Science  Monitor,  Current 
Events,  and  other  reliable  papers,  and  tell  these 
different  things  to  the  class.  We  use  the  Out- 
look in  the  school-room.  In  this  way  we  learn 
all  about  these  things  in  a  broader  sense  than  if 
we  just  read  them  and  let  them  pass  by. 

Thomas  Milne. 

Our  Christmas  Concert 

Every  year  a  Ghristmas  concert  is  given  by 
the  fellows.  We  enjoyed  our  concert  this  year 
very  much.  The  choir  sang  a  number  of  very 
pretty  pieces  and  the  speaking  was  also  good. 


THOMPSON'S  fSLAND  BEACON 


One  of  the  best  pieces  was  given  by  eight  fellows, 
entitled  "King  Christmas  and   His   Subjects." 
The  following  was  the  programme: — 
Song  Bells  of  Christmastide 

Choir 
Prayer 
Responsive  Reading 

Leader,  Thomas  H.  Taylor 
Recitation  A  Christmas  Welcome 

Edmund  S,  Bemis 
Song  The  Gift  of  Love 

Choir 
Recitation  A  Christmas  Carol— Lowell 

Franklin  E,  Gunning 
Exercise  Emblems  of  Christmas 

Eight  Boys 
Song  Let  the  Christmas  Angels  In 

Selected  Voices 
Recitation  The  Queen  of  the  Year 

Frederick  S.  Hynes 
Exercise  Christmas 

Three  Boys 
Song  Bells  of  Gladness 

Choir 
Recitation  The  Shepherds  in  Judea 

Raymond  H,  Batcheidef 
Recitation  Legend  of  the  Christmas  Tree 

Charles  O.  Rolfe 
Song  Star  of  the  Morning 

Six  Boys  and  Choir 
Recitation  Jest  'Fore  Christmas^Field 

William  E,  Cowley 
Recitation  Christmas  Eve 

Claire  R.  Emery 
Song  The  Song  of  the  Heart 

Choir 
Recitation  Our  Christmas 

Walter  S.  Hall 
Song  Bright  Morning  Star 

Four  Boys  and  Choir 
Exercise         King  Christmas  and  His  Subjects 
King  Christmas— Thomas  Milne 
Father — -Oscar  E.  Neumann 
Lord  of  Misrule— Harry  M.  Godshalk 
Babouscka- — Preston  M.  Blanchard 
Ghost  of  Christmas  Feasts— Carl  D.  P.  Hynes 


Knight  Rupert — -Roy  D.  Upham 
A  Christmas  Wait — Carlquist  W,  Walbourri 
A  Messenger — Cecil  E.  McKeown 
Song  Welcome  the  King 

Choir 
Remarks 

Mr.  Bradley 
Song  Bells  Are  Chiming 

Choir 
Frederick  S-  Hynes. 

Seffittd  Out  Cbristitids  Crccs 

A  few  days  after  Christmas  we  started  to 
set  out  our  Christmas  trees  as  wind-breaks. 
Mr,  Beebe  set  trees  around  the  gardens,  in 
front  of  the  house,  near  the  laundry  and  kitchen 
porch,  and  some  along  the  front  avenue.  Mr. 
Fairbanks  had  trees  set  near  the  stock-barn  op- 
posite the  front  avenue,  and  some  in  the  back, 
driveway,  and  along  the  picket  fence  near  the 
storage-barn.  A  few  were  set  around  the  bee- 
hives and  a  number  near  the  wharf  and  boat- 
house.  The  lower  parts  of  the  trees  were  first 
sharpened  so  as  to  set  in  the  ground  easily. 
Then  holes  were  made  with  a  crowbar  the  right 
size  and  the  trees  were  set  in  and  dirt  tamped 
around  them  so  as  to  hold  them  in  place.  Be- 
tween twenty  and  twenty-five  hundred  trees  were 
set  out.  We  are  very  glad  to  have  these  trees 
for  they  shelter  us  from  the  snow  and  wind  and 
look  nice  during  the  winter. 

Lawrence   M.  Cobb. 

Our  Seu^ng^machines 

All  of  our  mending  is  done  in  the  sewing- 
room  by  one  instructor  and  four  boys.  We  have 
two  machines  to  help  us  in  our  work,  a  darning 
machine  and  a  stitcher.  These  are  both  Singer 
machines  and  strongly  built.  They  have  sev- 
eral attachments  which  are  very  useful  such  as 
a  kneelifter  which  lifts  the  presser-foot  by  a 
simple  movement  of  the  knee;  and  an  automatic 
hemmer  which  will  turn  a  hem  of  any  desired 
width.  There  is  also  a  nickel  plated  fixture  for 
the  darner  which  enables  one  to  darn  table 
linen  or  other  things  very  neatly.  There  are 
bobbin  winders  on  both  of  these  machines. 

Oscar  E.   Neumann, 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


mintcr  $Dirt$ 

Recently  the  fellows  have  changed  the 
summer  shirts  for  the  winter  ones.  When  we 
came  from  the  bath  we  waited  our  turns  to  get 
a  winter  shirt.  These  shirts  are  blue  or  gray 
flannel  and  are  of  quite  heavy  material.  After 
the  clothing-room  fellow  fitted  us  out  with  shirts 
we  showed  them  to  Capt.  Dix  to  see  if  they 
fitted  well.  Each  fellow  has  two  woolen  shirts, 
and  they  are  marked  with  the  names  of  the 
fellows  to  whom  they  belong. 

Warner  E.  Spear. 

Place  Cards 

In  the  third  class  the  fellows  cut  some  tur- 
keys from  paper.  Each  fellow  was  given  a  piece 
of  gray  drawing  paper,  six  inches  wide  and  nine 
inches  long.  The  pattern  was  in  two  pieces,  one 
for  the  body  and  the  other  for  the  head.  After 
we  had  it  cut  out  we  began  putting  it  together. 
We  folded  down  the  sides  and  legs  and  brought 
the  tail  up  to  the  back  where  the  wings  held  it 
in  position.  When  we  had  it  all  cut  out  it  was 
ready  to  put  together.  After  that  we  made  a 
cutting  in  the  body  for  the  head  to  fit  into.  When 
we  had  the  turkeys  done  they  would  stand  up. 
We  put  in  the  eyes  with  ink,  wrote  or  printed 
our  names  on  them  and  they  were  finished, 
Ernest  E.  Slocomb. 

CoiJcring  Crccs 

There  are  two  quite  valuable  Colorado 
spruces  on  this  Island,  and  as  winter  was  drawing 
near  it  was  thought  best  to  protect  them  from  the 
sun  and  prevent  fading,  as  they  are  small  trees. 
Mr.  Beebe  had  some  poles  sharpened  at  the  bot- 
tom and  put  into  the  ground  around  the  trees. 
The  poles  were  driven  slantingly  into  the  ground, 
and  to  make  a  tight  fit  at  the  top,  joints  were 
sawed  out  at  the  top  of  the  poles  and  then  nailed 
together.  Bags  were  then  cut  out  the  right  way 
and  were  nailed  around  the  poles,  thus  making  a 
kind  of  wigwam.  Carl   D.   P.   Hynes. 

Paintitid 

About  four  weeks  ago  Capt.  Dix  told  three 
other  fellows  and  myself  to  scrape  the  cahcrrir.e 
off  of  the  ceiling  in   Mr.   Bradley's  chambers. 


After  scraping  the  ceiling,  small  steel  scrapers 
were  used  for  scraping  the  outside  coat  of  paint 
off  of  the  wood  work.  The  first  coat  of  paint,  that 
is  the  one  next  to  the  wood  was  burnt  off,  it  being 
so  hard  to  remove.  We  next  had  to  putty  the 
ceiling  with  white  lead  but  before  doing  so  the 
cracks  were  painted  so  as  to  make  the  putty 
stick.  A  coat  of  thin  white  paint  was  then  put 
on  the  ceiling.  The  wood  work  having  been 
scraped  and  sandpapered,  we  next  put  a  coat 
of  thin  paint  on  that.  The  ceiling  and  wood 
work  were  sandpapered  again  taking  just  the 
rough  places  off.  Three  more  coats  all  around 
were  applied  making  four  in  all.  When  the  last 
coat  of  paint  was  dry  we  applied  two  coats  of  white 
enamel,  the  first  coat  being  thoroughly  dry  be- 
fore the  next  one  was  applied.  The  inside  of 
the  closets  had  four  thin  coats  of  blue  tint  paint. 
Cecil  O.  Jordan. 

€br]$tina$  IHorniitg 

It  was  the  pleasure  of  most  of  the  fellows  to 
go  down  to  the  wharf  Christmas  morning  to  get 
a  "Merry  Christmas"  on  Mr.  Adams  and  Dr. 
Bancroft,  but  they  got  ahead  of  us.  Dr.  Ban- 
croft took  the  bass  drum  and  with  the  beating 
of  that  and  the  ringing  of  bells,  we  marched  up 
the  front  avenue  around  the  main  building,  down 
around  Gardner  Hall  and  around  the  main  build- 
ing again.  When  we  reached  the  assembly- 
room  we  parted  and  got  ready  to  go  to  the 
assembly-hall  to  receive  our  presents. 

Harold  L.  Carlton. 

Cicaniltd  Fainr  Pots 

One  afternoon  Capt.  Dix  told  me  to  scrape 
and  clean  some  old  paint  pots,  1  put  on  a  pair 
of  overalls  and  got  a  putty  knife  and  scraped  out 
as  much  of  the  paint  as  I  possibly  could.  Then 
1  asked  Mr.  Ekegren  for  the  use  of  a  forge,  and 
he  gave  his  consent.  1  got  all  the  pots  and  went 
down  to  the  blacksmith  shop  to  start  a  fire.  First 
1  dug  out  a  small  hole  next  to  the  blower  and  put 
in  some  shavings  and  then  lighted  them.  After 
the  fire  was  hot  I  burned  out  all  the  pots  and 
cleaned  up  around  the  forge.  1  took  the  pots  to 
the  paint  shop  and  scraped  them  out  so  that  they 
were  clean.  James  A.   Blakemore. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbo]iip$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Published   Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON      DONATIONS     AND     BEQUESTS 
A      PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 


Vol.    15.  No.  9. 


January,   1912 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

vice-president 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

19  Exchange  Place 
MANA&ERS 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 

I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L,  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Walter  Hunnewell 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D, 
Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr, 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 

"A  bright  New  Year,  a  glad  New  Year, 
hath  come  to  us  again".  How  much  joy  there 
may  be  in  it  stored  up  for  us!  What  promises 
and  prophecies  it  brings  with  it! 


We  recall  the  events  of  the  past  year  in 
such  domains  as  agriculture,  education,  labor, 
science,  art,  law,  and  religon,  and  ask  ourselves, 
"Was  the  year  which  has  just  gone  darker  or 
brighter  than  its  predecessor?"  We  say  it  was 
better.  This  is  a  wonderful  time  and  a  wonder- 
ful America  in  which  we  are  living.  There  have 
been  great  changes  in  industry,  a  remarkable 
increase  in  productiveness,  and  we  are  told  that 
it  is  the  time  of  greatest  prosperity. 

Yet  we  know  there  are  in  the  world  false- 
hood, meanness,  and  selfishness,  but  with  truth, 
generosity,  and  justice  holding  sway.  If  this  is 
true  of  the  world  in  general  it  is  true  of  the  in- 
dividual for  there  are  constant  likenesses  be- 
tween the  world  and  the  individual. 

There  is  a  danger  which  besets  all  and  that 
is  the  merging  of  the  personality  in  the  great  on- 
ward movement  of  the  mass.  What  is  it  that 
brings  to  many  a  young  man  a  feeling  of  recoil 
from  the  demands  and  habits  of  modern  life? 
It  is  the  fear  that  his  individuality  and  originality 
may  be  lost.  Every  man  can  prevent  this  danger 
from  becoming  a  reality — he  can  be  strong  in 
himself. 

What  can  we  do  at  The  Farm  and  Trades 
School  to  make  this  the  best  year  we  have  ever 
experienced?  Stevenson  has  said,  "There  is  but 
one  person  whom  it  is  my  duty  to  make  good — 
and  that  is  myself."  Our  School  is  strong  and 
based  upon  principles  of  integrity  and  truth. 
Let  us  strive  to  make  it  still  stronger  by  being 
honest  to  a  greater  degree,  more  unselfish,  kind, 
and  just. 


Special   Needs 

Two  hundred  dollars  for  extending  electric 
lights  to  barn. 

One  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  changes  in 
printing-office.^ 

Steam  cooking  equipment  for  the  kitchen. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Machinery  for  the  laundry. 
Band  saw  for  the  carpenter-shop. 
Two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  two  manual 
training  lathes. 

Typewriter  for  office. 

notes 

Dec.  1.  Pumped  out  City  Point  landing 
float. 

One  hundred  bales  of  hay  and  3  bags  of 
plaster  came. 

John  Martin  Thomas,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  presi- 
dent of  Middlebury  College,  Middlebury,  Vt., 
gave  an  interesting  talk  in  the  assembly-hall. 

Dec.  2.  Manager  George  L.  DeBlois  and 
daughter  here. 

Graduate  Harold  Y.  Jacobs  visited  the 
School. 

Dec.  3.  Several  instructors  and  the  first 
grade  boys  attended  church  in  town. 

LeRoy  B.  Huey  went  to  work  for  the 
American  Sugar  Refining  Co.,  and  lives  with 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Neil  D.  Jones,  337  E.  Eagle  St., 
East  Boston. 

Dec.  4  Stored  soil  in  hotbeds  for  use  in 
spring,  and  covered  with  seaweed. 

Blacksmith  here  to  shoe  horses. 

Dec.  5.     Killed  a  calf. 

Storm  windows  put  on  main  building. 

Finished  mulching  peas  with  manure. 

Began  sorting  potatoes  at  vegetable  cellar. 

Dec.  7.     Eighty-one  bales  of  hay  came. 

Secretary  Tucker  Daland  visited  the  Island. 

Col.  James  P.  Ramsey  gave  Scotch  read- 
ings and  dialect  stories  in  the  assembly-hall. 

Dec.    1  1 .     Disinfected  poultry  house. 

Dec.  12.  Plasterer  finished  repairs  on 
walls  and  ceilings. 

Dec.    13.      Plowed  Cemetery   Hill. 

Dec.  14.  One  lot  of  books  donated  by 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Woodsum  came. 

Musical  and  Literary  entertainment  by 
Messrs.  Giles  and  Wheeler  assisted  by  Miss 
Haywood. 

Dec.    15.     Hydrants  repaired. 

Dec.    18.     Covered  the  Colorado  spruces. 


Finished  planting  bulbs  from  R.  &  J.  Far- 
quhar  &  Co. 

Scow-load  of  spruce,  pine,  oak  and  cypress 
lumber  from  Freeport  Street. 

Dec.  19.  Put  storm  windows  on  farm- 
house. 

Dec.  20.     Killed  2  calves. 

Dec.  21.  A.  W.  Draper,  state  veterinary, 
inspected  cattle. 

Dec.   22.     Fall  term  of  school  closed. 

Mr.  Edward  F.  Kibby  visited  the  School. 

Dec.  23.  Oak  floors  laid  in  Superinten- 
dent's chambers. 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Tenney  gave  nuts  and  or- 
anges for  Christmas. 

Dec.  24.  Sunday.  Christmas  concert  in 
the  evening. 

Dec.  25.  Treasurer  Arthur  Adams  and 
Dr.  W.  B.  Bancroft  here. 

Christmas  observed.  Distribution  of  gifts 
in  the  morning.  Treasurer  Arther  Adams  pro- 
vided an  entertainment  in  the  afternoon. 

Dec.  26.  One  hundred  twelve  bales  of 
hay  came. 

Over  2000  Christmas  trees  were  received 
and  set  out  in  various  places  as  wind-breaks. 

Dec.  27.     Forty-two  bales  of  hay  came. 

Shipped  3  cows  to  Somerville. 

Planted  bulbs  from  James  E.  Grey  and  Co. 

Two  tons  of  baled  hay  came. 

Dec.  28.  Finished  putting  loam  and  sub- 
soil on  west  driveway  to  stock-barn. 

Dec.  29.     First  skating  at  south  end. 

Dec.  30.     Disinfected  cow  stable. 

Manager  Charles  E.  Mason  here. 

CDe  farm  and  trades  School  BanR 


Cash  on  hand  Dec.  1,  1911 
Deposits  to  Jan.  1,  1912 

Withdrawals 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1912 

December  Itleteorolosy 


$873.32 

73.46 

94678 

111.98 

'$834.80 


Maximum  temperature  65°  on  the  12th, 
Minimum  temperature    19°  on  the  5th. 
Mean  temperature  for  the  month  37.3°. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Total  precipitation  2.69  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
1.16  inches  on  the  23rd. 

8  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 3  clear  days,  20  partly  cloudy,  8  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  120. 

Wind  attained  a  velocity  of  56.8  miles  per 
hour  on  the  28th. 

£bri$rma$  Books 

For  Christmas  this  year  many  of  the  fel- 
lows got  books  for  presents.  After  they  had  read 
them  they  were  kind  enough  to  lend  them  to 
different  fellows  who  wish  to  read  them.  Now 
some  of  the  fellows'  happiest  moments  are  when 
they  are  interested  in  a  good  book.  The  fellows 
like  the  latest  boys'  books  where  they  read  about 
great  inventions  or  some  military  academy  where 
a  boy  performs  a  deed  of  heroism.  Such  books 
as  these  encourage  a  fellow  and  make  him 
think  he  has  just  as  good  a  chance  to  succeed. 
Some  of  the  Christmas  books  were  The  Rover 
Boy's  Series,  West  Point  Series,  and  Aeroplane 
Series.  Edward   H.  Altieri. 

Catching  Ticia  mice 

One  afternoon  four  other  boys  and  I  went 
after  field  mice.  We  went  in  sections,  three 
in  one  group  and  two  in  another.  One  has  to 
have  sharp  eyes  because  the  holes  are  not  very 
big.  When  we  discover  a  hole  we  look  for  the 
other,  for  you  know  every  family  of  mice  has 
two  holes,  one  for  a  back  door  and  one  for  a  front 
door,  probably.  These  are  not  usually  far  apart. 
We  put  a  stick  into  one  hole  and  drive  the  mice 
out  of  the  other.  Two  fellows  are  ready  to  kill 
them  when  they  come  out.  Sometimes  there 
will  be  only  one  in  a  hole  but  fortunately  we  found 
four  in  one  hole,  the  mother  and  her  young. 
Paul  C.  A.  Swenson. 

making  a  Crip 

One  evening  recently,  Mr.  Beebe  got  seme 
fellows  that  were  in  the  boat  crew  and  had  them 
go  to  the  wharf.  The  steamer's  deck  had  been 
painted  and  the  fellows  were  to  m.ake  a  triple 
City  Point  in  the  rowboat,  Mary  Chilton.  When 
we  got  to  the  wharf  the  boat  was  all  ready  to 


start,  so  we  took  the  places  to  v^hich  we  were 
assigned.  As  the  Chilton  is  a  double  banked 
boat  the  first  command  is  "Stand  by  to  get  up 
your  oars,  shove  off,  forward."  The  next  is  "Let 
fall,"  when  the  oars  are  put  into  the  oar  locks 
"Give  way  together,"  Give  way  port,"  or  "Give 
way  starboard,"  which  ever  is  required  is  the 
next  command.  When  a  landing  is  to  be  made 
the  commands  are  "In  bows,"  when  the  bow 
oarsman  tosses  and  boats  his  oar  and  gets  ready 
to  fend  off.  When  the  order  "Way  enough,"  is 
given  the  oars  are  taken  out  and  put  in  the  boat 
with  the  blades  toward  the  bow.  When  the 
order  "Oars"  is  given  we  rest  on  our  oars.  It 
takes  about  twenty  minutes  to  row  from  our 
Island  to  City  Point.  James  A.   Peak. 

Our  Corn-criD 

In  the  orchard  we  have  a  corn-crib  which 
is  built  twenty-five  and  one-half  inches  from 
the  ground  in  front  and  thirty-eight  inches  in  the 
back  on  account  of  the  slope  of  the  hill.  The 
crib  is  built  on  posts.  This  fall  a  wire  netting 
has  been  put  up  on  the  inside  to  keep  the  squir- 
rels out.  After  this  was  done  the  corn  was  put 
in.  On  each  side  of  the  crib  is  a  bin  extending 
the  whole  length  of  the  crib.  The  crib  is  thirty 
feet  one  inch  long,  fifteen  feet  eleven  inches 
high,  and  twelve  feet  eleven  inches  wide.  The 
bins  are  thirty  inches  wide  with  a  passage  of 
five  feet  in  width  between  them.  These  bins 
are  nearly  filled  with  corn  this  year.  At  one  end 
of  the  crib  is  hung  braided  corn  for  next  year's 
seed.  William   B.   Laing. 

Sbcliiitd  Beans 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Smith  told  two  of  us  fel- 
lows to  shell  beans.  We  went  down  to  the  stor- 
age-barn where  the  beans  were  and  picked  the 
pods  from  the  vines.  We  then  got  the  bean 
blower  which  has  sieves  on  it.  We  turned  a 
crank  which  turns  a  fan  and  moved  the  sieves 
sidewise.  The  dirt  and  beans  fell  through  the 
large  sieve  and  upon  a  smaller  one  where  only 
the  dirt  went  through  and  the  beans  ran  down 
a  shute  and  into  a  box  or  basket  at  the  end.  We 
shelled  more  than  a  basket  full  that  afternoon. 
Franklin   H.   Freudenberger. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jin  Evcniitd's  €ntcrrainment 

One  Monday  night  Mr.  Bradley  told  us  that 
on  the  following  Thursday  night  we  would  be  en- 
tertained by  a  Scotchman,  Col.  James  P.  Ram- 
sey. All  the  fellows  looked  forward  to  his  com- 
ing, December  seventh.  At  last  the  evening 
came  and  the  fellows  filed  into  the  assembly  hall 
where  the  band  played  a  few  selections.  Mr. 
Bradley  introduced  Col.  Ramsey  and  he  began 
his  talk  by  telling  stories  about  his  own  life. 
Then  he  told  us  some  funny  stories  and  also  some 
serious  stories  that  ended  up  as  dreams.  Many 
of  his  stories  had  good  lessons  in  them.  In  clos- 
ing he  did  a  few  tricks  with  cards  to  show 
us  how  easily  the  gamblers  win  their  money  in 
games.  Col.  Ramsey  has  been  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Bradley's  for  a  good  many  years  and  he  is  now 
probation  officer  for  Middlesex  County.  We  all 
hope  that  we  may  see  Col.  Ramsey  again. 

Preston   M.  Blanchard. 

CDC  €oa$t$ 

Each  year  when  the  snow  comes  the  fellows 
begin  to  think  of  coasting.  The  fellows  who  are 
in  the  right  grade  can  go  down  on  the  avenue, 
down  the  back  road,  over  to  the  north  end,  or 
most  anywhere  they  like.  But  the  fellows  who 
are  not  in  the  right  grade  can  only  go  on  the 
playground  where  Mr.  Beebe  had  a  coast  made. 
1  have  been  quite  a  few  times. 

Perry  Coombs. 

€xrra  lUork 

When  we  do  not  have  any  scrubbing  to  do 
in  the  laundry  we  shine  all  the  brass.  The  fel- 
lows who  are  to  do  the  brass  get  two  pieces  of 
cloth,  one  to  rub  the  brass  with  and  the  other 
to  put  the  polish  on.  We  use  bristol  brick 
for  a  polish.  We  cut  it  up  as  fine  as  we  can 
and  then  mix  it  with  some  kerosene.  If  we 
have  time  when  we  have  all  the  brass  done,  we 
wash  out  all  the  tubs  and  put  things  in  good  shape. 
Frank  A.  Tarbell. 

Christmas  Decorations 

I  never  saw  the  assembly  hall  look  prettier 
than  it  did  on  Christmas  eve.  A  cottage  was 
built  on  the  stage,  the  front  being  open  showing 


a  pleasantly  furnished  room.  A  fireplace  was 
at  the  back  part  of  the  room.  The  furniture  con- 
sisted of  some  easy  chairs  and  a  writing  desk. 
Some  pictures,  of  course,  were  on  the  wall  to 
complete  the  coziness  of  the  room.  From  the 
audience  we  could  see  one  side  of  the  roof  which 
looked  as  if  it  had  been  snowing  hard.  Icicles 
hung  over  the  edge  of  the  roof  and  lamp-shades 
with  the  words  "Bells  of  Christmastide"  were 
placed  on  the  electric  lights  just  inside  the  roof. 
The  blue  sky  with  stars  and  a  new  moon,  and 
the  trees  covered  with  snow  made  the  scene 
look  very  real.  Ropes  of  evergreen,  holly  and 
green  wreaths  made  the  hall  look  like  Christ- 
mastide. The  electric  lights  were  shaded  with 
poinsettia  shades  which  made  a  cheerful  light. 
Bradley  M.  Sherman. 

Stretching  a  mooring 

Every  year,  as  winter  draws  near,  it  is  the 
work  of  one  of  the  steamer  fellows  to  stretch  the 
moorings  of  the  sailboat,  Trevore,  and  launch. 
Sachem.  In  stretching,  a  coil  of  galvanized 
wire  is  procured  and  the  line  pulled  up  until  the 
loop  may  be  obtained.  After  the  wire  has  been 
made  fast  to  the  loop,  the  line  with  the  pick-up 
on  it  is  taken  off  and  placed  in  the  boat  house. 
The  line  is  then  stretched  to  the  dolphin  and 
tightly  as  possible,  made 'fast,  and  slipped  down, 
passed  around  one  of  the  piles,  and  hauled  in 
to  the  bottom  of  the  pile  so  that  the  line  will  lie 
on  bottom.  In  the  spring  these  are  hauled  up 
and  a  new  line  spliced  to  the  mooring  chain. 
Bernhardt  Gerecke. 

Scbool-room  Ulork 

I  clean  the  first  school-room  every  morn- 
ing. I  erase  and  clean  the  blackboards  and 
chalk  ledges,  open  the  windows,  and  sweep  the 
floor.  After  sweeping,  I  dust  the  desks,  chairs, 
table,  window-sills,  doors,  and  book  case.  Twice 
each  week  I  clean  the  electric  lights  and  polish 
the  door  knobs.  We  have  some  geranium  plants 
which  I  water  every  morning,  and  if  there  are 
any  bouquets  of  flowers  in  the  room  I  put  fresh 
water  in  them.  Last  of  all  I  empty  the  waste 
basket  and  clean  the  erasers. 

Walter  S.   Hall. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jtlumni 

The  thirteenth  annual  meeting  of  the 
Alumni  Association  of  The  Farm  and  Trades 
School  was  held  on  Wednesday  evening,  De- 
cember 13th,  1911,  at  15  Doane  Street,  Boston. 
Reports  of  committees  were  received  and 
the  following  officers  were  elected: — President, 
Richard  Bell,  73;  1st  Vice-President,  Charles 
H.  Bridgham,  '85;  2nd  Vice-President,  Henry 
A.  Fox,  79;  Secretary,  Marton  P.  Ellis,  '97; 
Treasurer,  Herbert  W.  French,  '78;  Historian, 
Charles  F.  Spear,  '03.  During  the  year  the 
following  were  admitted: — Bertrand  B.  Keyes, 
'81,  and  Joseph  C.  Robinson,  '94;  and  at  this 
meeting  William  F.  King,  '84  and  George  J. 
Walter,  '84.  The  attendance  at  the  annual 
meeting  was  twenty-eight;  semi-annual  meeting 
nineteen;  special  meeting  twelve;  and  Field  Day 
thirty.  Those  present  were: — 
Alcott,  William  Frasier,  Frederick  N. 

Bell,  Richard  French,  Herbert  W. 

Bridgham,  Charles  H.   Graham,  James  H. 
Buchan,  George  Hartman,  George  K. 

Burchstead,  Fred'k  F.   King,  William  F. 
Byers,  George  W.  E.      Loud,  Clarence  W. 
Capual,  Edward  Malm,  Alfred  C. 

Davis,  Edward  L.  Spear,  Charles  F. 

Ellis,  Merton  P.  Stokes,  Henry  M. 

Evans,  Thomas  J. 

COMMITTEES  FOR    1912 
Membership  Committee 
Richard  Bell,  Chairman 
Charles  H.  Bridgham     Edward  Capaul 
Henry  A.  Fox  William  N.  Dinsmore 

Merton  P.  Ellis  Ferderick  P.  Thayer 

Auditing  Committee 
Alfred  C.  Main,  Chairman 
Charles  Duncan  William  F.  King 

Finance  Committee 
Richard  Bell,  Chairman 
Merton  P.  Ellis  Herbert  W.  French 

Entertainment  Committee 
Frederick  N.  Frasier,  Chairman 
George  Buchan  Merton  P.  Ellis 

James  H.  Graham         Charles  F.  Spear 


Sick  and  Visiting  Committee 

Herbert  W.  French,  Chairman 
George  L.  Bell  George  G.  Noren 

Resolutions  Committee 

William  Alcott,  Chairman 
Thomas  J.  Evans  Alden  B.  Hefler 

Trustees  Alumni   Benevolent  Fund 

Frederick  N.  Frasier,  1914 
Richard  Bell,  1913        Herbert  French  1912 

B  Dance 

Christmas  evening  there  was  a  dance  to 
which  the  first  and  second  classes  were  invited. 
The  orchestra  consisted  of  ten  instruments;  two 
cornets,  one  clarinet,  one  piccolo,  one  bass,  one 
alto,  two  trombones,  and  the  drums  and  baritone. 
Mrs.  Bradley  and  one  of  the  instructors  played 
the  piano  part  of  the  time  for  the  people  to  dance. 
Some  of  the  pieces  the  band  played  were:  King 
Gold  March,  Fly  Away  Galop,  Monstrat  Viain 
and  Officer  of  the  Day.  We  all  spent  a  very 
pleasant  evening.  Perley  W.  White. 

Scrubbiiid  Cables 

The  first  thing  in  the  morning  it  is  my  work 
to  scrub  a  table  which  is  in  the  kitchen.  1  get 
the  pail,  brush  and  cloth  which  are  used  for  the 
tables.  1  put  a  little  sand  with  the  soap  and 
scrub  the  table.  After  scrubbing  it  well  1  wipe 
up  the  soap  and  rinse  it  well  with  clear  water. 
During  the  morning  I  often  scrub  other  tables. 
Occasionally  I  clean  the  legs,  bottom  and  sides 
of  the  table  in  the  same  way. 

Clarence  0.   Norrby. 

Cleaniiid  tbe  Boat  bouse 

One  afternoon  1  cleaned  the  boat-house.  I 
moved  all  the  anchors  out  of  the  corner  and 
cleaned  it  out.  Then  I  placed  them  back  in 
order,  the  largest  on  the  bottom.  After  recoil- 
ing the  lines  and  straightening  up  the  cork  for  life 
preservers  1  moved  out  the  canvas  used  for  cov- 
ering and  folded  it  up.  I  moved  the  life  pre- 
servers and  new  lines,  cleaned  out  and  put  away 
the  two  small  boats  and  finished  by  sweeping 
the  floor.  Ernest  V.  Wyatt. 


THOMPSONJiS    INLAND 


BEACON 


Vol.  15.  No.  10.     Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.      February,  1912 


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


Cottage  How  Election 

Tuesday  evening,  January  second,  the  first 
quarterly  election  of  Cottage  Row  for  1912  was 
held  in  the  east  basement.  The  meeting  was 
called  to  order  by  the  mayor.  The  shareholders 
voted  first  and  then  the  non-shareholding  cit- 
izens voted.  The  tellers  counted  the  votes  and 
the  returns  were  posted  on  the  bulletin-board. 
The  following  were  elected: — Mayor,  Charles 
E.  Morse;  Shareholding  Aldermen,  Harold  D. 
Morse,  Frank  S.  Mills,  Dexter  L.  Noble;  Non- 
shareholding  Aldermen,  George  H.  Appel,  Eliot 
Rowell;  Treasurer,  Alfred  H.  Casey;  Assessor, 
Frederick  V.  Hall.  The  mayor  appointed  the  fol- 
lowing:—  Chief  of  Police,  Herbert  A.  Souther; 
Lieut,  of  Police,  Preston  M.  Blanchard;  Sergt., 
Cecil  0.  Jordan;  Police,  Edric  B.  Blakemore, 
William  B.  Laing;  Clerk,  George  R.  Jordan; 
Street  Commissioner,  Perley  W.  White;  Janitor, 
Claire  R.  Emery;  Librarian,  Bradley  M.  Sher- 
man. James  A.   Peak. 

Cracking  Butternuts 

One  afternoon  Mr.  Beebe  asked  us  if  we 
would  crack  some  butternuts,  and  he  would  make 
up  for  the  time  we  lost.  We  went  down  to  the 
blacksmith  shop  in  the  power-house.  We  each 
got  a  hammer  and  went  over  to  the  anvils.  He 
gave  us  some  nuts  and  we  hit  them  on  the  ends  a 
couple  of  times  and  pulled  the  outside  shells  off 
and  then  we  cracked  them  and  put  them  into  a 
box.  We  counted  those  we  got  out  whole  just 
to  see  who  could  get  the  most. 

Robert  C.  Casey. 

B  Stereoptlcon  Lecture 

On  Thursday  evening,  January  eighteenth, 
we  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  a  lecture  by  Mr. 


E.  Cyrus  Miller,  apple  specialist  and  consulting 
orchardist  from  Hillside  Orchards  in  Hayden- 
ville,  Massachusetts.  He  had  his  lecture  illus- 
trated with  stereopticon  pictures.  His  object 
was  to  show  us  the  value  of  the  apple-orchard 
and  what  profit  may  be  derived  from  it  by  giv- 
ing it  good  care.  He  showed  us  how  a  piece  of 
woodland  was  cleared  and  made  into  a  beautiful 
orchard  at  his  home.  Other  pictures  showed 
the  process  of  picking  and  sorting  apples,  also  of 
shipping  them.  Letters  from  prominent  produce 
dealers  that  have  used  his  apples  and  other 
records  certify  that  his  methods  must  be  excel- 
lent to  obtain  such  good  products.  He  gave  us 
pamphlets  about  the  care  of  an  orchard. 

Claire   R.   Emery. 

$now 

After  a  snowstorm  some  of  the  boys  set  to 
work  at  once  to  shovel  the  snow  from  the  av- 
enues. The  boy  who  takes  care  of  the  wharf 
shovels  off  the  snow  there.  The  snow  around 
the  house  is  put  into  piles  and  wheeled  on  to  the 
coast.  Some  of  the  cleanest  snow  is  packed 
away  in  barrels  to  be  kept  until  later  when  there 
may  be  a  sugaring-off.  In  the  drifts  the  snow 
is  about  four  feet  deep,  other  places  there  is 
not  any.  Before  Washington's  Birthday  the 
snow  is  collected  for  forts.  We  have  had  quite 
a  lot  of  snow  so  far  this  year. 

William   E.  Cowley. 

Cbird  Class  entertainment 

Thursday  morning,  January  25th,  an  invita- 
tion was  received  by  the  second  class  from  the 
third  class  requesting  our  presence  in  the  as- 
sembly-hall on  the  following  Friday  at  quarter 
past  nine.     The  exercises  were  brief   but   very 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


interesting.  A  double  quartette  sang  several  se- 
lections which  were  very  much  enjoyed  as  was 
the  school  singing.  The  poem  "Keep  Still" 
gave  the  idea  that  although  one  would  like  to 
say  something  when  things  go  wrong  it  is  best 
to  keep  still.  The  recitations  were  good  and 
well  spoken,  too.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bradley  with 
the  visitors  who  are  here  also  attended  the  ex- 
ercises. At  the  close  Mr.  Bradley  spoke  to  the 
fellows  saying  that  it  reminded  him  of  his  school- 
days when  the  same  things  were  done  and  the 
committee  men  of  the  school  would  come  and 
listen  to  their  singing  and  speaking.  The  enter- 
tainment was  very  much  appreciated  and  the 
second  class  extended  their  thanks  to  the  third 
class  for  the  pleasant  time.  The  programme 
was  as  follows: — 
Song  Double  Quartette 

My  Old  Kentucky  Home 
Recitation  Thomas  H.  Taylor 

Boys  Wanted  ^ 

Song  School 

Maryland,  My  Maryland 
Recitation  Frank  A.  Tarbell 

Keep  Still 
Song  Double  Quartette 

Jingle  Bells 
Recitation  Raymond  H.  Batchelder 

The  American  Boy 
Song  School 

Battle  Hymn  of  The  Republic 

Declamation  James  A.  Blakemore 

Extract  from  Webster's  Speech  in 

Reply  to  Hayne 

Song  School 

The  Star  Spangled  Banner 
Recitation  Franklin  E.  Gunning 

Deacon  Brown's  Way 

Song  School 

America 

Cecil  0.  Jordan. 

When  new  holders  are  needed  in  the 
kitchen  or  laundry  it  is  part  of  the  work  of  the 
sewing-room  fellows  to  make  them.  Those  for 
the  laundry  are  made  in  the  shape  of  a  circle. 


and  those  for  the  kitchen  are  made  square 
about  five  inches  on  a  side.  Both  kinds  of 
holders  are  made  of  Otis  check  gingham.  The 
stuffing  of  the  holders  for  the  kitchen  consists 
of  two  layers  of  heavy  cloth  and  two  of  thinner 
cloth  much  like  the  gingham.  After  the  cover- 
ing is  basted  down  to  the  stuffing  it  is  hemmed 
around  the  edge.  Then  the  holder  is  stitched 
from  corner  to  corner.  The  holders  for  the 
laundry  are  made  in  a  similar  way  only  being 
thicker.     These  are  used  for  ironing. 

John  W.   Lincoln. 

Covering  Books 

Most  of  the  books  when  they  need  cover- 
ing are  sent  to  the  office  and  the  office  toy 
covers  them.  They  are  covered  so  as  to  save 
them  from  being  soiled.  Heavy  paper  of  green- 
ish gray  color  is  used  and  the  books  look  well 
when  they  are  covered.  All  the  school  and 
library  books  are  covered  in  the  same  manner. 
Paul  C,  A.  Swenson. 

Conduct  Prizes 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Francis  Shaw, 
conduct  prizes  of  money  are  given  to  the  ten 
boys  who  have  been  in  the  first  grade  the  great- 
est number  of  weeks  for  six  months.  On  Jan- 
uary twenty-ninth  Mr  Bradley  gave  out  the  prizes 
as  follows:— Charles  E.  Morse,  first,  $5.00; 
Frederick  S.  Hynes,  second,  $3.25;  Dexter  L. 
Noble,  third,  $3.00;  Paul  C.  Swenson,  fourth, 
$2.75;  Franklin  H.  Freudenberger,  fifth,  $2.50; 
Harold  D.  Morse,  sixth,  $2.25;  John  0.  Enright, 
seventh,  $2.00;  Lawrence  M.  Cobb,  eighth, 
$1.75;  Roy  D.  Upham.  ninth,  $1.50;  Walter  S. 
Hall,  tenth,  $1.00.  Mr.  Alfred  Bowditch  has 
continued  the  Temple  Consolation  Prizes  since 
Mr.  Temple's  death.  These  consist  of  five  books 
given  to  the  five  boys  who  came  next  in  rank. 
This  time  the  books  were  awarded  to  the  fol- 
lowing boys: — Walter  R.  Horseman,  George  H. 
Appel,  Charles  R.  Jefferson,  Thomas  Milne, 
Frederick  E.  Van  Valkenburg.  The  five  boys 
who  received  honorable  mention  are: — Edric  B. 
Blakemore,  Edward  M.  Powers,  William  J. 
Grant,  William  E.  Cowley,  Perley  W.  White. 
Erwin   L.  Coolidge. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


morkind  in  tbe  Shop 

The  boys  who  wish  to  work  in  the  shop  are 
allowed  to  if  they  are  in  the  right  grade  and 
have  had  sloyd.  The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  ask 
permission  to  work  in  the  shop  then  to  write  a 
requisition  to  Mr.  Ekegren  for  lumber.  There 
are  two  benches  in  the  shop,  one  on  the  right 
hand  side  and  the  other  on  the  left  hand  side 
of  the  shop.  The  one  on  the  right  hand  side  is 
for  the  boys  to  use  and  the  other  one  is  for  spe- 
cial work.  There  are  four  vices  and  six  bench 
stops  on  the  bench  and  that  will  accommodate 
ten  boys  at  one  time.  There  are  not  usually 
more  than  ten  who  wish  to  work  on  it  at  one 
time.  The  tools  are  kept  in  two  cupboards  and 
the  boys  can  use  the  tools  in  either  of  these  cup- 
boards. Dexter  L.  Noble. 

B  Picture 

In  the  second  school-room  there  is  a  pict- 
ure of  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea.  It  shows 
the  soldiers  taking  up  the  railroad  tracks,  cutting 
the  telegraph  wires,  chopping  down  telegraph 
poles,  burning  houses  and  bridges,  driving  off 
cattle  and  destroying  anything  that  would  be  of 
any  use  to  the  Confederates.  It  shows  two  or 
three  officers  on  horse  back  supervising  the 
work.  It  also  shows  that  many  of  the  negroes 
have  joined  the  army  as  many  of  them  are 
shown  in  the  picture.  Allen   B.  Cooke. 

makind  Envelope  Openers 

Lately  the  fellows  have  been  making  en- 
velope openers.  They  get  a  piece  of  wood  three 
inches  long  and  one  inch  wide.  After  drawing 
a  design  on  the  wood  showing  the  shape  of  the 
handle  and  of  the  knife  part,  they  cut  around 
the  lines  of  the  design  making  the  point  of  the 
blade  very  sharp.  When  this  is  done  the  opener 
has  to  be  sandpapered  and  varnished.  These  are 
sent  away  as  presents  to  friends. 

Clarence  O.   Norrby. 

Toot-ball  €up$  ana  Shield 

On  Monday  night,  January  twenty-ninth, 
Mr.  Bradley  had  the  Crosby  foot-ball  cups  and 
shield  brought  into  the  assembly-hall  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  winners.     The  players  who  thought 


they  had  won  a  cup  looked  forward  to  this  time 
with  great  anxiety.  First  Mr.  Bradley  awarded 
the  shield  to  the  winning  team.  After  he  had 
read  the  names  of  the  fellows  on  the  winning 
team  Preston  M.  Blanchard,  the  captain,  went 
forward  and  received  the  shield.  Then  as  Mr. 
Bradley  read  the  names  of  the  cup  winners  they 
went  forward  and  got  them.  They  were  as  fol- 
lows:— Thomas  Milne,  full  back;  Roy  D.  Upham, 
left  end;  Preston  M.  Blanchard,  right  half  back; 
Carl  D.  P.  Hynes,  center;  Alfred  H.  Casey,  right 
end;  Arthur  G.  Appel,  left  guard;  Frank  S.  Mills, 
left  half  back;  Fredericks.  Hynes, quarter  back; 
Earle  C.  Miller,  right  guard;  James  A.  Peak,  right 
tackle;  and  Frederick  V.  Hall,  left  tackle.  The 
following  fellows  tried  very  hard  but  didn't  quite 
reach  the  mark  for  the  regular  cup  and  so  got  a 
substitute  cup;— Cecil  O.  Jordan,  right  half  back; 
Clarence  Burton,  right  half  back;  and  Edric  B. 
Blakemore,  left  half  back.  As  each  fellow  re- 
ceived his  cup  he  was  heartily  applauded  by  the 
rest  of  the  fellows.  The  fellows  prize  these  cups 
very  highly  as  it  shows  their  ability  in  sports. 
Every  fellow  tries  hard  for  them. 

Frederick  V.   Hall. 

Jin  Gntertainment 

On  Thursday  evening,  January  eleventh,  a 
number  of  men  from  Harvard  College  were  here 
to  give  us  an  entertainment.  Mr.  Arthur  Beane, 
a  former  instructor,  asked  the  men  to  come.  Mr. 
Jack  Desha  of  Hilo,  Hawaii,  played  on  the  guitar 
and  sang  a  number  of  songs  in  English  ard  in 
his  own  language.  Mr.  James  Savery  recited 
some  amusing  selections  which  we  enjoyed  veiy 
much.  Mr.  Maurice  Smith  told  us  about  an  In- 
dian dance  which  he  witnessed.  Then  he  gave 
an  imitation  of  the  Indian  music  on  the  piano 
and  sang  in  the  Indian  tongue.  Mr.  Townsend, 
one  of  the  students,  gave  us  very  much  pleasure. 
He  put  on  his  wrists  a  strong  pair  of  handcuffs. 
A  screen  was  put  up  in  front  of  him  and  he 
came  out  with  the  handcuffs  off.  He  also  did 
some  excellent  card  tricks,  besides  getting  out 
of  a  bag  when  it  was  padlocked  together.  We 
hope  that  they  will  come  again,  for  we  enjoyed 
the  entertainment.  Carl  D.   P.   Hynes. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,   Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS 

A     PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR      WORTHY     BOYS 

OF    LIMITED    MEANS 


Vol.   15.  No.    10. 


February,    1912 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

vice-president 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

20  Broad  St. 

SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

1 9  Exchange  Place 

managers 

Mblvin  O.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 

Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley, 


Superintendent 


February,  though  the  shortest  month  of  the 
year,  occupies  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  cal- 
endar of  months  because  of  its  large  share  of 
important  anniversaries.    At  this  time,  the  birth- 


days of  many  famous  men  are  commemorated. 
This  year  of  19)2,  special  tribute  is  paid  to  the 
memory  of  Charles  Dickens,  the  great  English 
novelist,  because  February  seventh  marked  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birth.  The 
position  his  books  occupy  in  the  literary  world 
shows  far  better  than  words  can  express  how 
greatly  his  talent  and  his  work  for  mankind  have 
been  appreciated. 

Washington  and  Lincoln  were  both  born  in 
the  month  of  February,  and  their  birthdays  are 
celebrated  at  the  present  time  fully  as  enthusi- 
astically as  ever  before.  What  a  thrill  of  patri- 
otic pride  the  true  American  experiences  when 
the  stories  of  these  national  heroes  are  brought  to 
mind!  How  we  admire,  honor,  and  love  them; 
such  truly  great  and  good  men! 

Longfellow  and  Lowell,  too,  have  their  share 
of  the  month's  honors.  We  are  proud  that  these 
two  men  were  Americans!  To  their  work,  to 
their  nobility  of  character  we  gladly  bring  our 
tribute  of  praise. 

We  want  our  boys  to  be  inspired  by  the  ex- 
cellent traits  displayed  in  the  characters  of  these 
men.  We  try  to  influence  them  to  form  for 
themselves  such  ideals  as  shall  lead  them  straight 
along  the  paths  of  right;  learning  as  they  go, 
from  their  daily  experiences  and  from  the  study 
of  the  lives  of  such  men  as  these,  the  necessity 
of  courage,  honesty,  unselfishness,  and  loyalty. 
Longfellow  has  so  truthfully  said: — 

"Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime, 
And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 


Special  Needs 


Two  hundred  dollars  for  extending  electric 
lights  to  barn. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Steam  cooking  equipment  for  the  kitchen. 
Machinery  for  the  laundry. 
Band  saw  for  the  carpenter-shop. 
Two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  two  manual 
training  lathes. 

Typewriter  for  office. 

nous 

Jan.  1.  Mr.  Edward  F.  Kibby,  former  ag- 
riculturist, visited  the  Island. 

Shipped  15  empty  oil  barrels  and  received 
5  barrels  of  gasolene  and  5  barrels  of  kerosene. 

New  Year's  dance  in  the  assembly-hall. 
Music  furni.shed  by  Astrella  brothers  consisting 
of  flute,  violin,  and  harp.  Several  young  people 
from  ashore  attended. 

Jan.  2.     Winter  term  of  school  began. 

Frist  quarterly  election  of  Cottage  Row  of- 
ficers for  1912. 

Jan.  3.  Small  load  of  spruce  and  pine 
lumber  from  Freeport  Street. 

Jan.  4.     Blacksmith  here. 

Hauled  coal  to  main  building. 

Quarterly  meeting  of  Admission  Commit- 
tee. 

The  following  boys  were  admitted: — Les- 
ter Eugene  Cowden,  Robert  Earl  Dudley,  John 
William  Greenwood,  Chester  Royal  Wood. 

Jan.  5.     Killed  a  pig. 

Hauled  up  south  side  landing  float. 

Mr.  Arthur  Beane,  former  instructor,  spent 
the  night  here. 

Jan.  6.  Began  piping  Gardner  Hall  for 
steam  heat. 

Jan.  8.     New  corn  sheller  received. 

One  hundred  Christmas  trees  came. 

Jan.    10.     Veterinary  here. 

Jan.  1  1.  Dorchester  Bay  frozen  over  be- 
yond our  course  to  City  Point. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Arthur  Beane, 
a  former  instructor,  eight  Harvard  students  gave 
an  entertainment. 

Jan.    16.     Sawing  wood. 

Jan.  17.  Louis  Reinhardt  went  to  work 
for  E.  B.  Badger  &  Sons  Co.,  75  Pitts  St.,  and 
is  to  live  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  H.  N.  Bloods- 
worth,  34  Mt.  Hope  St.,  Mt.  Hope,  Mass. 


Jan.  18.  Mr.  E.  Cyrus  Miller  gave  a  ster- 
eopticon  lecture  on  "Apple  Growing." 

Jan.    19.     Veterinary  here. 

Graduates  Alfred  C.  Malm  and  Dana  Cur- 
rier visited  the  Island. 

Made  trips  to  Pleasure  Bay  on  account  of 
heavy  ice  in  regular  course. 

Jan.  22.     Secretary  Tucker  Daland  here. 

Began  collecting  brown-tail  moth  nests. 

Shipped  some  second-hand  wood  working 
machinery,  two  power  lathes,  one  power  saw 
bench,  and  two  foot  power  lathes  with  shafting. 

Jan.  25.  Finished  painting  walls  and  ceil- 
ings of  six  halls  in  main  building. 

Jan.  27.  Removed  Christmas  decorations 
from  the  assembly-hall. 

Jan.  29.  Crosby  foot-ball  cups  and  shield 
awarded. 

Shaw  Conduct  Prizes  and  Temple  Consol- 
ation Prizes  awarded. 

Jan.   31.      Blacksmith  here. 

CDc  Tarm  ana  Crades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1912  $834.80 

Deposits  to  Feb.  1,  1912  73.96 

~90877l) 
Withdrawals  40.33 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1912  $868.43 

January  mcrcorology 

Maximum  temperature  52^  on  the  19th. 

Minimum  temperature  -6°  on  the  13th  and 
14th. 

Mean  temperature  for  the  month  20.2°. 

Total  precipitation  3.20  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
1.16  inches  on  the  15th. 

13  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 3  clear  days,  25  partly  cloudy,  3  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  133  and  18 
minutes. 

Wind  attained  a  velocity  of  68  miles  per 
hour  on  the  9th. 

Dorchester  Bay  frozen  over  on  the    11th. 

Monthly  snowfall  18.55  inches. 

monaay  niabr  Cccrurcs 

Each  Monday  night  we  are  given  lectures 
on  either  agriculture  or  meteorology.     The' ag- 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


riculture  is  given  by  Mr.  Fairbanks,  our  agricul- 
turist, and  the  meteorology  by  Capt.  Dix.  These 
lectures  are  started  the  second  term  of  each 
school  year.  When  we  go  up  to  the  assembly- 
hall  the  books  in  which  we  take  our  notes  are 
given  out  and  also  the  pencils.  After  the  grade 
has  been  read  the  lecture  is  given.  Our  first 
lecture  this  year  was  in  meteorology  and  was 
about  "Frosts  and  Dew."  In  this  we  were  told 
when  to  expect  frosts  and  how  to  protect  plants 
during  this  time.  The  next  lecture  was  on  the 
"Importance  of  Agriculture"  in  which  we  were 
told  about  the  formation  of  soil.  Some  of  the 
other  subjects  were  "Apples,"  and  "The  Origin 
of  the  Atmosphere."  At  the  end  of  each  term 
we  are  given  an  examination  on  these  lectures. 
On  the  Monday  night  before  examinations,  we 
are  allowed  to  ask  any  questions  about  the  lect- 
ures and  study  the  notes  we  have  taken.  Then 
we  are  given  our  examinations  and  the  marks 
are  averaged  up  with  those  of  our  other  studies. 

Roy  D.  Upham. 

Tixing  m  Roda 

The  road  between  the  compost  shed  and 
the  incinerator  has  had  a  coat  of  gravel  about 
one  inch  in  thickness  put  on  it  to  iill  up  the  holes 
and  make  it  level.  The  gravel  is  taken  from 
the  bar  at  the  south  end  of  our  Island.  Three 
fellows  stay  at  the  bar  to  help  load  the  carts. 
There  are  generally  four  teams  hauling:  the 
double-team  and  three  single  carts.  The  loads 
are  shovelled  off  in  about  six  piles  and  then 
they  are  leveled  off  by  Mr.  Smith  and  tvo  boys. 
One  team  carts  six  loads  at  the  most  in  the 
afternoon.  Richard  W.  Weston. 

Scttittd  Craps 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  rats  around 
the  barns  and  I  have  lately  been  setting  traps 
for  them.  In  the  basement  of  the  stock-barn 
the  rats  try  to  spring  the  traps  and  they  succeed 
to  a  certain  extent.  I  finally  got  one  big  fellow 
and  that  encouraged  me,  so  I  set  some  steel 
traps  and  covered  them  over  with  some  light 
substance  so  they  could  not  be  seen  easily  and 
put  them  in  some  of  the  trails.  At  the  storage- 
barn,  I  have  some  traps  and  I  catch  quite  a  few 


rats  there  nearly  every  night.  There  is  one  rat 
there  which  many  of  the  fellows  have  been  after 
but  could  not  catch.  I  have  set  three  traps  for 
him,  one  baited  with  meat,  and  the  other  two  I 
have  put  in  a  basin  of  grain  hoping  he  will  run 
over  them.  Levi   N.  Trask. 

Cbc  Tirst  Snowfall 

One  morning  when  we  woke  up  we  were 
not  a  little  surprised  to  see  the  ground  white. 
When  we  had  washed  up  some  of  the  boys  made 
snowballs.  We  are  glad  to  have  the  snow  so  we 
can  make  snowballs  and  snowmen.  We  are  glad 
that  we  now  have  skating  and  coasting. 

Theodore   Milne. 

Jlftcnding  to  tbc  Tires 

Every  morning  after  I  clean  the  watchman's 
room,  it  is  my  work  to  look  after  the  fires  at  the 
farm-house.  I  go  around  and  put  coal  on  the 
fires  that  are  not  too  low  for  the  coal  to  burn. 
If  the  fire  is  low  I  put  on  some  wood  and  when 
the  wood  is  burning  I  put  on  coal.  If  there 
are  any  fires  out  I  go  and  get  some  wood,  paper, 
and  coal.  I  put  some  paper  and  wood  in  the 
stove  and  light  it.  After  the  wood  has  started 
to  burn,  I  put  some  coal  on  and  go  on  with  my 
work.  About  ten  minutes  of  eleven  I  put  some 
coal  on  all  the  fires  and  shut  the  drafts  and  re- 
turn to  the  main  building  and  get  ready  for  din- 
ner. William   Hill. 

making  a  Burtcr  Paddle 

I  first  drew  a  plan  of  my  butter  paddle  on 
paper.  1  then  wrote  an  order  to  Mr.  Ekegren 
for  some  lumber  of  which  to  make  miy  butter 
paddle.  I  planed  one  broad  surface  and  one 
thin  edge.  1  marked  off  the  thickness  and  width 
and  then  planed  it  up.  I  next  drew  my  model 
on  the  wood  and  sawed  it  out  with  the  turning 
saw.  I  then  got  a  spoke-shave  and  made  it 
square.  In  the  curved  places  where  I  couldn't 
get  in  1  used  my  knife.  I  then  planed  the  pad- 
dle part  down  to  about  a  sixteenth  of  an  inch  so 
that  it  would  cut.  The  next  thing  I  do  will  be 
to  round  the  edges  off  and  then  sandpaper  and 
shellac  it  and  then  it  is  finished. 

Edmund  S.   Bemis. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Tun  in  m  Snow 

Down  along  the  banks  of  our  Island  where 
there  are  big  snowdrifts  the  fellows  have  been 
making  tunnels  so  they  can  crawl  and  slide 
through.  A  tunnel  is  made  in  this  way.  First 
a  fellow  picks  out  a  place  along  the  bank  where 
the  snowdrift  is  its  deepest.  He  then  takes  a 
running  jump  and  lands  feet  first  in  the  drift. 
Another  fellow  is  at  the  bottom  end  who  helps 
to  dig  him  out.  One  can  enjoy  life  here  very 
well  especially  in  winter  when  there  is  plenty  of 
sliding  and  skating.       Benjamin   L.   Murphy. 

Disinfcctind 

A  short  time  ago  we  disinfected  the  poultry- 
house.  First  I  took  the  old  litter  up  and  swept 
the  smaller  particles  up  and  put  them  into  a 
wheelbarrow  to  be  taken  to  the  pig-pens.  Then 
1  took  a  scraper  and  scraped  the  manure  up  that 
was  stuck  to  the  floor,  i  used  a  pail  of  water 
with  some  creoline  in  it  and  scrubbed  the  floor 
and  dropping  boards.  When  that  was  done  1 
rinsed  the  floor  thoroughly  with  clear  water. 
When  the  floor  was  dry  I  put  clean  litter  in  and 
put  sand  on  the  dropping  boards. 

Perry  Coombs. 

Cbc  Blacksmitbtng  Class 

There  are  six  fellows  in  the  blacksmithing 
class.  We  have  six  anvils  and  five  forges. 
Four  of  the  forges  are  supplied  with  electric 
blowers,  and  the  fifth  one  is  a  hand  worked  one, 
and  is  used  for  odd  jobs  when  the  class  isn't  in 
session.  There  is  a  cupboard  divided  into  sec- 
tions. The  first  contains  places  for  each  fellow 
in  the  class  to  put  his  apron  and  models.  In  the 
other  half  are  kept  the  tools,  such  as  hammers, 
sledge  hammers,  flatters,  cold  chisels,  hot  chis- 
els, setters,  etc.  Each  forge  is  equipped  with  five 
flat-nosed  and  five  round-nosed  tongs.  There 
is  in  one  corner  an  iron  table  on  which  are  kept, 
chisels,  punches,  extra  tongs,  etc.  The  class 
works  once  a  week,  on  Friday  afternoon. 

Edric  B.   Blakemore. 

ectting  Burtcr 

Every  time  that  the  boys  have  butter  for 
dinner  it  is  my  work  to  go  with  the  instructor 


for  it.  I  usually  go  at  fifteen  minutes  of  eleven.  • 
First  1  get  a  large  platter  and  a  butcher  knife. 
Then  the  instructor  gets  the  keys  and  we  go  to 
the  meat  cellar.  In  the  meat  cellar  there  is  a 
large  refrigerator  divided  into  three  sections.  In 
the  section  under  the  ice  box  the  butter  is  kept. 
It  usually  is  in  a  tub  weighing  about  fifty  pounds. 
From  this  are  cut  seventeen  cakes  of  butter. 
The  last  order  of  butter  came  in  a  large  wooden 
box.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  pieces  of 
butter  in  the  box  and  each  piece  was  divided 
into  four  parts.  Harry  L.  Fessenden. 

Caking  Charge 

One  day  when  our  teacher  was  out  at  the 
beginning  of  school  I  got  up  and  took  charge  un- 
til she  came  back.  I  thought  that  it  would  be 
all  right  to  sing  so  I  gave  out  the  books  and  we 
sang  until  she  came  back.  She  asked  if  the 
room  had  been  all  right  and  1  said  "Yes."  She 
said  that  I  could  go  on  and  take  charge  of  the 
singing  for  a  while  longer. 

Frank  S.   Mills. 

Cbc  Sunshine  l^ccordcr 

The  sunshine  recorder  is  an  instrument 
which  registers  the  number  of  hours  and  minutes 
which  the  sun  shines  during  the  day  and  the  time 
when  it  shines.  The  recorder  that  we  have  at  the 
School  is  a  hollow  brass  cylinder.  On  one  end 
of  the  cylinder  is  a  tight  fitting  cover  which  keeps 
the  interior  dark.  On  each  side  is  a  small  open- 
ing about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  long.  In  the  in- 
terior of  the  cylinder  there  is  placed  a  piece  of 
undeveloped  blue-print  paper  which  is  marked 
off  into  hours  and  minutes.  This  covers  the 
cylinder  sides  entirely.  As  the  sun  moves 
across  the  sky  it  prints  a  heavy  line  upon  the 
paper.  When  the  clouds  obscure  the  sun  it 
leaves  a  space.  Every  evening  after  sunset 
the  day's  record  is  taken  and  a  new  blue  print 
is  put  in  the  recorder.  The  records  are  washed 
in  cold  water  for  at  least  twenty  minutes  then 
they  are  dried  and  the  date  stamped  on  them. 
There  is  a  chart  in  the  reading  room  upon  which 
is  kept  a  record  of  the  total  number  of  hours  and 
minutes  the  sun  shines  during  the  day. 

William  G.   Beadle. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


;Rlumni 

John  E.  Bete,  '89,  of  Stoughton,  Mass., 
seems  to  be  getting  along  well,  and  is  accumu- 
lating some  of  the  world's  goods,  as  he  has  a 
winter  home  at  Stoughton,  and  a  summer  cottage 
on  an  island  in  Onset  Bay,  with  two  additional  lots 
to  build  on  later.  John  is  doing  well  with  his 
shoe  tree  or  form,  at  the  0.  A.  Miller  Tree- 
ing Machine  Co.,  of  Brockton,  where  he  re- 
ceives a  royalty  on  every  pair  manufactured 
in  addition  to  being  employed  in  their  manu- 
facture. John's  family  consists  of  four  members, 
there  being  one  boy  seven  years  old  and  another 
four  years  old,  and  all  are  happy. 

Silas  W.  Snow,  '94,  of  the  firm  of  Crosby 
&  Snow,  Real  Estate  and  Insurance  Brokers,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  writes  very  enthusiastically  of 
his  home  and  business  life.  Silas  is  exception- 
ally busy  just  now  as  he  is  a  co-executor  of  the 
estate  of  the  late  Prof.  William  Ludden,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,and  Williamsburg,  Mass.,  with 
whom  he  had  been  confidently  and  pleasantly 
associated  for  a  number  of  years. 

Fred  L.  Walker,  '99,  is  in  charge  of  the 
printing  department  of  what  is  known  as  the  Bos- 
ton Duck  Co.,  Holyoke,  Mass.  He  is  also  in 
charge  of  a  550  horse-power  generator.  Fred 
has  been  a  printer  for  four  years  and  likes  the 
work.  After  leaving  the  School  he  worked  at 
the  auto,  business,  and  owns  a  runabout  which 
he  practically  built  himself.  With  his  little  fam- 
ily, his  machine,  and  what  hunting  he  finds  time 
to  do  Fred  is  apparently  getting  considerable 
pleasure  and  making  good. 

Sawim  Ulood 

Each  afternoon  there  are  seven  boys  who 
work  on  the  wood  pile.  There  are  three  boys 
who  work  with  buck  saws  and  four  who  work 
with  cross-cut  saws.  It  takes  two  boys  to  one 
cross-cut.  The  boys  with  cross-cuts  have  to  cut 
hard  and  thick  wood.  The  boys  who  use  buck 
saws  saw  planks  and  wood  which  is  too  small 
for  the  cross-cut  saw.  Each  fellow  has  a  saw 
horse  and  they  saw  as  much  wood  as  they  can 
■  in  one  afternoon.  About  one-fourth  the  pile  is 
gone.  John  W.  Aylsworth. 


ScrubWitg  fbc  Priitting-offlcc 

The  printing-office  floor  needed  scrubbing, 
so  Mr.  Miller  told  me  that  I  should  scrub  half  of  it 
one  morning,  and  another  fellow  was  to  scrub 
the  rest  in  the  afternoon.  1  first  moved  all  the 
boxes  and  things  that  were  under  the  benches 
to  the  other  end  of  the  room,  or  put  them  upon 
the  benches.  Then  1  got  a  broom  and  swept 
the  floor  clean.  1  got  my  pail  and  scrubbing 
materials  and  started  in.  The  water  was  hot 
and  took  the  dirt  off  quite  well.  I  scrubbed 
each  strip  twice.  It  took  me  nearly  all  the 
morning  to  scrub  it.  When  1  finished  1  put 
all  the  things  in  place  and  put  away  my  scrub- 
bing articles.  Frederick  S.   Hynes. 

Substituting 

Whenever  any  fellow  is  sick  or  goes  to 
the  city  another  fellow  is  sent  to  take  his  place 
and  do  his  work  for  him.  1  work  on  the  farm 
regularly  but  I  was  sent  into  the  laundry  one 
afternoon  to  take  a  fellow's  place  who  had  gone 
to  the  city.  The  first  thing  1  did  was  to  wash 
the  fellows'  shirts  and  hang  them  out.  Then  1 
washed  the  printers'  aprons  and  some  of  the 
farm  overalls  and  jumpers.  The  last  thing  1 
did  was  to  bring  in  the  shirts  1  had  washed  and 
hang  them  on  a  pair  of  bars. 

Everett  W.   Maynard. 

Scrap-books 

Lately  the  fellows  have  been  given  books 
called  The  Rudder.  They  contain  fine  pictures 
and  diagrams  of  boats.  The  books  are  given 
out  Sundays.  A  few  of  the  boys  have  started 
to  save  the  pictures  in  them  by  putting  them  in 
scrap-books.  Two  fellows  are  saving  diagrams 
and  two  the  pictures  of  engines.  The  largest 
collection  of  pictures  of  boats  is  owned  by  Ernest 
Wyatt;  the  second  largest,  by  Everett  Maynard. 
Some  fellows  save  base-ball  pictures.  Lawrence 
Cobb  and  Edmund  Bemis  are  first  in  this.  The 
fellows  also  save  swimming  pictures,  pictures 
of  hrrses,  and  so  on.  Richard  Weston  has  a 
good  collection  of  poultry  clippings.  Each  fellow 
makes  a  collection  of  pictures  of  things  in  which 
he  is  especially  interested. 

William   B.   Deane. 


THOMPSONjS    I^SIvAND 

BEAtON 


Vol.  15.  No.  1 1.       Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass.        March,  1912 


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


€uttind  Tee 

In  order  to  make  trips  between  City  Point 
and  our  Island  we  have  to  cut  the  ice.  For 
quite  a  while  there  have  been  ice-fields  about 
our  wharf,  half  way  over,  and  often  all  the 
way  to  the  Public  Landing.  Our  steamer  is 
equipped  with  a  steel  ice-cutter,  and  oak  sheath- 
ing all  along  her  water  line  to  protect  the  hull 
from  the  ice.  In  the  morning  when  the  ice 
is  thick,  we  start  about  seven  thirty.  To  get 
started  the  deck  hands  break  the  ice  at  the  bow 
with  pieces  of  two  by  four  The  engine  is  started 
and  runs  the  boat  ahead  which  breaks  an  open- 
ing. If  we  cannot  go  any  farther  we  back  up, 
then  run  ahead  at  full  speed  into  the  ice;  if  the 
ice  is  not  too  thick  we  run  about  thirty  feet. 
Sometimes  we  can  go  only  four  feet  at  a  time. 
The  way  we  clear  the  bay  below  our  wharf  is  to 
make  a  channel  from  our  wharf  out  to  the  open 
water  then  run  and  cut  a  channel  from  the  break- 
water to  the  open  water  along  the  beach. 
When  the  tide  turns  and  runs  out,  this  ice 
flows  down  and  out  to  sea.  Our  steamer  makes 
good  progress  through  the  ice  although  she  is 
only  a  small  boat.  It  sometimes  takes  three 
hours  to  get  from  our  wharf  to  City  Point. 

Ralph  A.  Jones. 

Coasting  and  Skating 

The  two  out-of-door  sports  that  the  fellows 
have  in  winter  are  coasting  and  skating.  This 
year  we  have  had  a  lot  of  snow,  and  this  means 
large  ponds  and  good  coasting.  One  day  W(Fi,had 
a  storm  and  Mr.  Beebe  had  a  lot  of  snow 
gathered  and  made  a  coast  on  the  playground, 
A  coast  was  also  made  on  the  avenue  but  this 
did  not  last  long  and  we  had  to  resort  to  the  one 


on  the  playground  which  had  turned  icy  and  gave 
us  a  long,  swift  coast.  We  have  a  large  number 
of  flexible  flyers  and  a  few  double-runners.  The 
ponds  are  made  mostly  by  the  melting  snows 
and  when  frozen  over,  one  is  very  large  and  the 
other  large  enough  for  us  during  the  noon  and 
night  playtime.  We  have  nearly  all  kinds  of 
skates  from  the  round  runner  clamp  skate  to  the 
safety  edge  hockey  skate.  We  have  great  fun 
playing  hockey,  and  when  not  skating  around 
generally  play  this.  We  also  play  snap  the  whip. 
Another  thing  we  do  is  to  cut  circles  and  leave 
a  ring  of  scrapings  on  the  ice  where  we  go 
over  it  so  many  times. 

Frederick  S.   Hynes. 

Rewards 

Mr.  Bradley  gave  two  boxes  of  candy  to 
each  teacher  to  be  given  to  one  boy  in  each 
class.  The  teachers  could  give  this  candy  out 
according  to  rank  in  lessons,  good  conduct,  or 
in  any  way  they  thought  best.  The  first  class 
boy  who  received  the  prize  was  Levi  Trask  who 
stood  longest  in  a  spelling  match.  In  the  second 
class  John  Lincoln  got  the  box  for  good  scholar- 
ship, effort,  and  for  not  having  been  checked  this 
year  in  school.  In  the  third  class  Albert  Blake- 
more  won  for  standing  longest  in  a  spelling 
match.  Last  was  Stanley  Clark  who  secured  the 
candy  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes  because 
of  good  scholarship,  effort,  and  conduct. 

Clarence  O.   Norrby. 

Cbe  Snowball  Battle 

The  day  of  the  snowball  battle,  February 
twenty-second,  at  last,  arrived.  We  were  all 
assembled  in  Gardner  Hall  at  about  three  o'clock 
where  Capt.  Dix  read  us  the  rules  of  the  game. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


The  battle  was  divided  into  four  periods.  In  the 
first  period  five  scouts  were  sent  out  from 
each  side,  each  scout  wearing  a  'United  States 
Flag  in  his  cap.  The  work  of  the  scouts  was,  if 
possible,  to  capture  the  enemy's  colors,  Souther's 
being  the  blue  flag,  and  Gerecke's  the  yellow  flag. 
Souther  captured  the  yellow  flag  and  put  it  up 
on  his  fort,  amid  a  heavy  volley  of  snowballs 
from  the  defenders.  Then  he  and  his  four 
scouts  succeeded  in  getting  through  the  port- 
holes into  Gerecke's  fort.  While  the  scouts  of 
Souther's  side  were  doing  this,  Capt.  May  of 
Gerecke's  side  succeeded  in  getting  the  colors 
off  Souther's  fort  and  putting  them  on  Gerecke's 
fort.  The  five  scouts  from  Gerecke's  side  also 
succeeded  in  getting  through  the  portholes  into 
Souther's  fort,  but  unfortunately,  Capt.  May, while 
trying  to  get  the  colors  from  Souther's  fort, 
broke  the  flag  staff  and  was  ruled  out  of  the 
battle  and  his  side  lost  twenty-five  points. 

After  a  short  intermission.  Souther's  men 
attacked,  and  succeeded  in  getting  all  of  the  men 
into  Gerecke's  fort.  This  ended  the  second 
quarter. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  third  quarter,  the 
scouts  were  again  sent  out.  This  time  Gerecke's 
scouts  succeeded  in  capturing  the  colors  and 
entering  the  enemy's  fort  first. 

The  bags  were  then  brought  out  and  put  in 
front  of  Gerecke's  fort.  When  the  signal  was 
given  Gerecke's  officers  took  the  bags  and  tried 
to  throw  them  into  Souther's  fort  and  have  them 
land  on  the  ground.  They  could  be  thrown  out 
again  if  they  had  not  touched  the  ground.  All 
the  bags  landing  in  the  fort  and  not  thrown  out 
counted  five  points  for  the  attacking  side,  and 
all  those  thrown  out  counted  one  for  the  defend- 
ing party.  When  the  time  was  up  Gen.  Souther 
had  won,  having  ninety-seven  points  to  Gen. 
Gerecke's  side  having  eighty  points. 

Eliot  Rowell. 

tide  Calendars 

Every  year  tide  calendars  are  printed  for 
the  School.  They  are  printed  from  electrotypes 
and  these  plates  are  brought  from  the  City. 
Eight  weeks  are    printed  on  a  sheet  at  once. 


After  they  are  printed  they  are  cut  so  as  to  have 
two  weeks  on  a  sheet.  These  sheets  are  piled 
up  and  gathered  so  that  the  weeks  will  come  in 
order.  After  they  are  all  gathered  they  are  in- 
spected, that  is,  they  are  looked  over  carefully 
to  see  that  there  are  not  any  mistakes.  Then 
paper  of  another  color  is  cut  the  size  of  the  cal- 
endars for  the  last  sheet  or  back.  They  are 
then  padded.  After  they  are  padded  they  are 
trimmed.  Then  the  mounts  are  printed,  and 
holes  punched  and  eyelets  put  in.  The  pads 
are  stitched  to  the  mounts  and  the  calendars 
are  then  ready  for  delivery.  The  small  cal- 
endars are  then  made;  these  have  only  one 
week  on  a  sheet.  The  size  of  the  large  one 
is  twelve  and  three-sixteenths  inches  long  and 
six  and  seven-eighths  inches  wide,  and  the 
small  one  is  nine  and  one-fourth  inches  long  and 
three  and  one-half  inches  wide.  The  illustra- 
tions are  generally  those  used  in  the  annual  re- 
port. James  A.   Peak. 

Cbc  Choir 

The  choir  is  now  composed  of  twenty  fellows 
who  are  the  best  singers  in  the  School.  It  is 
the  choir  that  does  most  of  the  singing  Christ- 
mas and  Easter  when  we  have  concerts.  There 
are  four  parts,  soprano,  alto,  tenor,  and  bass. 
Every  Saturday  night  the  choir  rehearses  the 
hymns  that  are  to  be  sung  on  the  following  Sun- 
day. One  of  the  teachers  has  charge  of  this 
work.  Sometimes  selected  voices  sing  the 
verses  of  a  song  and  the  choir  joins  in  on  the 
chorus.  We  are  provided  with  special  book- 
lets containing  songs  appropriate  for  the  time. 
George   R.  Jordan. 

Post-cards  and  Ualentincs 

February  fourteenth,  Mr.  Bradley  came  to 
Gardner  Hall  during  our  night  hour.  He  blew 
his  whistle  and  we  all  came  to  attention.  He 
told  us  if  we  wanted  any  post-cards  to  line  up 
and  he  would  give  them  to  us.  We  went  around 
four  times  and  got  four  post-cards  each.  We 
thanked  Mr.  Bradley  very  much.  In  the  even- 
ing there  was  an  entertainment  in  the  assembly- 
hall  and  after  it  was  over  each  fellow  got  a  val- 
entine. Edmund  S.   Bemis. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbc  n«w  Corn=sbcn<r 

Recently  there  has  been  added  to  our  farm 
Implements  a  new  corn-sheller  which  has  been 
placed  in  the  corn-house.  This  machine  is  built 
on  a  box-like  arrangement  and  has  a  wheel  with 
a  handle.  Near  the  bottom  of  this  box  there  is 
a  trough  divided  into  two  compartments.  There 
is  a  wire  netting  in  this  trough  to  separate  the 
shelled  corn  from  the  cobs.  Near  the  end  of 
the  trough  there  are  two  baskets  placed  to  re- 
ceive the  shelled  corn  and  the  cobs.  One  boy 
fills  the  basket  with  ears  of  corn  to  be  shelled, 
another  turns  the  handle  to  shell  them,  and  a 
third  puts  in  the  ears  of  corn  to  be  shelled. 

Raymond   H.   Batchelder. 

Collecting  Brown-tail  Itlotb  nests 

We  began  collecting  brown-tail  moth  nests 
on  the  twenty-second  of  January.  We  selected 
a  pleasant,  calm  day  for  this  work,  because  if  the 
wind  blows  the  nests  as  they  are  cut  from  the 
trees,  we  are  apt  to  lose  them.  Five  of  us  fel- 
lows went  over  to  French  Grove  with  cutters  and 
baskets.  We  collected  all  there  were  there  and 
then  went  to  Bowditch  Grove.  We  worked  here 
the  remainder  of  the  afternoon,  three  fellows 
cutting  the  nests  from  the  trees,  and  two  picking 
them  up  as  they  dropped.  We  gathered  three 
hundred  and  seventy  nests  that  afternoon.  After 
counting  them  we  put  them  into  a  bag  and  Mr. 
Fairbanks  burned  them. 

William   B.   Laing. 

I)clping  in  tbc  Jlsscmbly  ball 

On  Sunday  morning  1  go  up  and  help  an- 
other fellow  in  the  assembly-hall.  The  first  thing 
we  do  is  to  get  out  all  the  singing  books  and  put 
them  around  in  their  right  places.  Then  1  put 
around  the  quarterlies  and  next  the  Bibles. 
Then  some  Bibles  and  quarterlies  are  taken  to 
the  first  school-room  and  a  quarterly  and  Bible 
put  on  each  desk.  After  we  have  that  all  done 
we  place  the  settees  and  then  sweep.  After 
Sunday  School  is  over  we  collect  the  Bibles  and 
quarterlies  and  pack  them  away.  Before  after- 
noon and  evening  services  we  arrange  the  seats 
and  get  the  hymn  books  ready. 

Frank   A.   Tarbell. 


BeacDing  tbc  mary  £bilton 

A  short  time  ago  we  had  to  use  the  Mary 
Chilton  for  the  trips.  When  the  steamer  came 
back  it  was  thought  best  to  beach  the  boat  then, 
as  the  harbor  was  all  ice  and  the  boat  might  get 
damaged.  So  one  afternoon  fifteen  fellows 
went  down  to  do  this.  Under  Capt.  Dix's 
instructions,  we  carried  the  line  with  which  she 
was  made  fast  to  the  wharf  to  the  beach  and 
pulled  on  it.  At  first  she  did  not  start  but  after 
some  hard  pulling  she  came  up  on  the  ice  and 
we  pulled  her  along  finely  until  we  came  to  the 
large  pile  of  ice  that  was  left  there  by  the  tide. 
Here  we  had  to  lift  the  bow  up  on  the  ice  and 
pull  her  over.  Then  we  pulled  her  upon  the 
level  ground  and  propped  her  up.  A  few  days 
later  we  went  down  and  turned  her  over  to  keep 
the  snow  and  rain  out.  Roy  D.   Upham. 

J\  Picture 

There  is  a  picture  in  the  first  school-room 
of  a  temple  named  the  Parthenon.  This  is  said 
to  be  the  most  perfect  piece  of  architecture  the 
world  has  ever  known.  It  was  built  more  than 
two  thousand  years  ago  as  a  temple  to  Athena 
whom  the  Greeks  worshipped  as  the  goddess  of 
wisdom.  This  temple  is  now  in  ruins.  The 
Parthenon  stood  upon  a  steep,  flat-topped  hill 
named  the  Acropolis.  This  hill  rises  above  the 
center  of  Athens.  The  center  of  the  temple 
was  completely  surrounded  by  rows  of  tall  mar- 
ble pillars.  In  a  windowless  hall  a  large  statue 
of  the  goddess  was  placed.  This  was  made  of 
gold  and  ivory.  Walter  S.    Hall. 

making  Sbeets 

One  day  in  the  sewing  room  we  started  to 
make  one  dozen  sheets.  We  got  down  a  latge 
roll  of  cotton  sheeting  and  Miss  Wood  cut  them 
off.  These  sheets  were  ninety-three  inches  long 
before  hemming,  and  an  inch  hem  was  turned 
at  each  end.  As  we  basted  them  we  measured 
the  hem  with  an  inch  measure.  After  they  were 
all  basted  they  were  stitched  on  the  machine. 
When  these  sheets  are  completed  they  will  be 
put  up  in  the  closet  where  the  new  completed 
articles  are  kept  until  they  are  needed. 

Oscar   E.   Neumann. 


THOMPSON'S  (SLAND  BEACON 


Cbomp$on'$  Uland  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON     DONATIONS      AND      BEQUESTS 

A     PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 

OF    LIMITED    MEANS 


Vol.   15.  No.   n. 


March,   1912 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P,  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

i35  Devonshire:  SrBfEET 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

J  9  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 

1,  Tucker  Burr 
S,  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L,  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N-  Penrose  Hallowell 
Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 

Charles  E.  Mason 

RtCHARD  M.   SaLTONSTALL 

Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spauldjng 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,    -    -    -  Superintendent 

Considerable  effort  fs  being  made  at  the 
present  time  to  suppress  the  publication  of  read- 
ing matter  which  does  not  tend  to  cultivate  the 
best  tastes,  inclinations  or  desires  of  the  reader, 


and  give  him,  subconsciously,  ideals  and  aspira- 
tions, 

Many  fail  to  realize  what  an  influence  a 
picture  or  a  story  may  have  on  a  person's  charac- 
ter. A  good  and  beautiful  picture  is  an  inspira- 
tion to  some,  stirring  them  to  the  very  depths  of 
their  natures,  and  raising  the  standard  of  their 
ideals.  A  musical  composition  or  a  literary  pro- 
duction may  have  the  same  or  like  effect  upon 
those  who  can  be  reached  more  easily  by  one  of 
these  than  by  Art, 

There  are  certain  characteristics  which  are 
almost  universally  admired.  We  admire  brav- 
ery, courage,  honor,  loyalty  and  unselfishness. 
Such  traits  as  these  are  combined  in  our  con- 
ception of  the  ideal  and  the  noble.  After  finish- 
ing a  book  in  which  we  have  been  especially  in- 
terested, we  usually  turn  the  story  over  in  our 
minds  for  a  time,  admiring  this  character  or 
feeling  disappointed  in  that  one.  We  wish  per- 
haps that  we  might  be  more  like  the  one  who  has 
seemed  to  possess  so  many  desirable  traits. 
The  reader  who  feels  like  this  after  completing  a 
book  has  been  benefited. 

We  have  considered  thus  far  some  good 
influences  of  Art,  Music  and  Literature-  There 
are  pictures  and  books  which  may  have  a  dis- 
tinctly bad  effect,  forming  in  one's  mind  the  de- 
sire to  experience  for  himself  something  which 
he  has  just  seen  or  read.  Continuance  of  sim- 
ilar observations  and  readings  may  change  that 
desire  to  a  purpose. 

The  third  result  which  may  come  to  the 
observer  or  reader  is  the  indifferent  effect. 
Either  a  good  or  bad  production  may  influence 
indifferently,  but  of  this  we  can  never  be  certain. 
We  can  be  sure  only  that  a  good  picture  or  a 
good  book  cannot  influence  for  the  bad;  a  bad 
picture  or  a  bad  book  cannot  influence  for  the 
good.      Believing  this  to  be  true,  we  try  to  put 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


before  our  boys  such  Art  and  Literature  as  shall 
certainly  not  belong  to  the  latter  class.  Our 
library  contains  nealy  2000  carefully  and  wisely- 
chosen  volumes.  Our  reading-room  has  only  the 
high  class  daily-papers  both  political  and  relig- 
ious. There  is  a  variety  of  periodicals,  espe- 
cially selected,  touching  on  the  various  trades 
and  industries,  all  of  which  supplement  our  in- 
struction. 

By  carefully  chosing  the  best  literature  and 
surrounding  them  with  the  best  pictures,  we  try 
to  inculcate  in  the  minds  of  our  boys  the  high- 
est ideals  and  noblest  aspirations  which  go  far 
toward  the  make-up  of  true  nobility  of  character. 


Since  our  last  issue  the  improvements  in 
the  printing-office  have  been  provided  for  by  Mr. 
Charles  E.  Mason,  and  Miss  Eleanor  Parker  has 
given  an  up-to-date  typewriter,  all  of  which  are 
gratefully  acknowledged. 


Special  Needs 


Machinery  for  the  laundry. 

Steam  cooking  equipment  for  the  kitchen. 

Two  hundred  dollars  for  extending  electric 
lights  to  barn. 

Two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  two  manual 
training  lathes. 

Two  hundred  thirty-two  dollars  for  band  saw 
in  carpenter-shop. 

Three  hundred  dollars  for  pressure  boiler 
and  changes  in  hot  water  system. 

notes 

Feb.    1.     Stored  snow. 

Feb.  3.  Took  instructors  and  boys  sleigh- 
riding. 

Renewed  shelves  in  west  dorinitory  closet. 

Feb.  6.  Steamer  Pilgrim  taken  to  Lock- 
wood's  for  repairs. 

Feb.  8.  Horace  C.  Jenney  returned  to  his 
mother  at  New  Bedford. 

Feb.    13.     Piano  tuner  here. 

The  water  having  been  shut  off  from  our 


Island  on  account  of  break  in  Milton,  caused  the 
wharf  pipe  to  freeze. 

Feb.    14.     Plumber  here. 

Relaid  water  pipe  on  wharf. 

Entertainment  in  the  assembly-hall  given 
for  instructors  and  boys. 

Feb.    15.     Plumber  here. 

Chose  up  sides  for  snowball  battle. 

Feb.  17.  Finished  piping  Gardner  Hall 
for  steam  heat. 

Graduates  Harold  Y.  and  Alfred  W.  Jacobs 
and  T.  Harold  Doty  visited  the  School. 

Feb.  18.  Mr.  Allen  D.  Creelman  of  the 
Newton  Theological  Institute  here  as  Sunday 
assistant  for  Mr.  G.  S.  Miller. 

Feb.  20.  Scraped  trees  in  west  half  of 
orchard. 

Feb.  21.     Raked  up  Bowditch  Grove. 

Feb.  22.  Annual  snowball  battle.  Gen- 
eral Souther  won,  scoring  97  points  against  80 
for  General  Gerecke. 

Feb.  23.     Received  60  bushels  of  potatoes 

Feb.  24,     Began  feeding  mangels  to  cows. 

Manager  George  L.  DeBlois  visited  the 
School. 

Feb.  26.  Rev.  James  Huxtable  visited 
the  School. 

Received  80  new  books  for  the  library. 

Feb,  27.     Prepared  hotbed. 

Began  pruning  orchard. 

Finished  sawing  30  cords  of  wood  for  bak- 
ery. 

Feb,  29,  A  Deane  three-cylinder  motor- 
driven  pump  came. 

CDe  Tarm  and  Crddcs  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  Feb.  1,  1912  $868.43 

Deposits  to  Mar.  1,  1912  17.04 

"885.47 
Withdrawals  19.69 

Cash  on  hand  Mar.  1,  1912  $865.78 

Tcbruary  mctcorologv 

Maximum  temperature  56°  on  the  22nd. 
Minimum  temperature  -3"^  on  the  10th  and 


Ith. 


Mean  temperature  for  the  month  25^, 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Total  precipitation  1 .33  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-four  hours 
.61  inches  on  the  27th. 

6  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion, 7  clear  days,  19  partly  cloudy,  3  cloudy. 

Total  number  of  hours  sunshine  186  and  20 
minutes. 

On  the  17th  the  ice  went  out  east  of  a  line 
from  our  wharf  to  the  head  house  at  City  Point. 

Che  CbcwinR 

In  the  first  school-room  there  are  some 
pictures  of  birds  that  come  to  our  Island  in  the 
spring  and  summer,  and  the  chewink  is  one  of 
them.  The  chewink  is  a  little  larger  than  the 
Baltimore  oriole.  The  female  chewink's  color 
is  the  same  as  the  male's  only  where  the  female 
has  brown  the  male  has  black  including  the 
beak.  The  song  it  has  is  "cher-a-wink"  or 
"towhee"  and  the  male  has  a  very  pretty  song. 
The  food  they  live  on  is  bugs,  worms,  beetles, 
and  seeds  found  on  or  near  the  ground.  The 
nest  is  made  on  the  ground  of  roots,  leaves,  and 
grasses.  This  bird  has  four  to  six  eggs,  white 
marked  with  brown.  The  chewink  scratches 
among  the  leaves  just  as  a  hen  does  for  food. 
Arthur   G.  Appel. 

Going  Hattiiid 

Sometimes  there  are  fellows  who  go  out 
ratting  after  dark.  They  have  two  dogs  to  go 
with  them  and  each  fellow  carries  a  hockey- 
stick.  Six  fellows  go  at  one  time  and  they  are 
allowed  to  stay  out  until  nine  o'clock.  When 
we  want  to  go  ratting,  one  of  the  fellows  asks  Mr. 
Bradley's  permission.  If  he  is  willing  the  fellow 
arranges  with  Mr.  Beebe  and  the  night  watch- 
man. The  rats  do  a  good  deal  of  damage  to 
the  crops  and  that  is  why  we  are  allowed  to  kill 
them.  Harlan  Stevens. 

£boo$ind  Sides  for  m  Battle 

On  the  evening  of  February  fifteenth,  Mr. 
Beebe  told  us  to  file  to  the  east  basement  to 
choose  up  sides  for  the  snowball  battle,  A  large 
number  of  fellows  were  nominated  as  gener- 
als, mostly  the  big  fellows.  We  then  voted 
for  two  generals  and   Herbert  A.  Souther  and 


Bernhardt  Gerecke  were  elected.  We  were 
told  to  come  up  to  the  front  benches  if  we  wished 
to  play,  and  if  not  to  take  the  benches  in  back. 
Gerecke,  being  the  smaller,  had  first  choice. 
The  generals,  as  well  as  Mr.  Beebe,  kept  an  ac- 
count of  the  fellows  chosen  on  both  sides.  Each 
side,  besides  having  a  general,  had  a  captain,  a 
first  and  a  second  lieutenant,  a  first,  second,  and 
third  sergeant,  and  a  color-bearer.  There  were 
sixty  fellows  who  participated  in  the  battle. 

Charles  O.    Rolfe. 

Oyster  Supper 

Mr.  Bradley  told  us  a  few  days  before  the 
twenty-second  of  February  that  the  trophy  for  the 
snowball  battle  would  be  in  the  form  of  a  supper 
this  year  and  all  the  fellows  who  took  part  were 
to  be  invited.  He  also  said  that  the  winning  side 
would  be  given  an  excursion  to  some  historical 
place.  We  assembled  in  Gardner  Hall  at  half- 
past  seven.  Then  we  formed  in  two  lines  ac- 
cording to  size  and  went  to  the  dining-room. 
We  all  enjoyed  the  banquet  very  much.  The 
menu  was  as  follows: — 

Oyster  Stew 
Crackers  Pickles 

Cup  Cakes 
Chocolate  Cream  Pie  Mince  Pie 

Theodore   Milne. 

Jin  Owl 

On  February  second  when  the  milkers  went 
down  to  the  stock-barn  they  saw  an  uncommon 
sight.  A  small  owl  was  perched  in  the  corner 
above  the  milk  shelf.  When  the  fellows  went 
near  it,  it  flew  from  one  end  of  the  barn  to 
the  other.  1  liked  to  see  him  swoop  when  he 
was  about  to  make  a  landing.  He  perched  on 
different  places  and  looked  around  as  though  he 
were  in  charge  of  the  barn.  Occasionally  we 
see  these  birds  around  the  Island.  This  one 
probably  stays  around  the  barn  because  he  can 
catch  mice  for  food.  Undoubtedly  he  will  stay 
around  as  long  as  he  can  get  what  he  is  looking 
for  and  is  not  disturbed.  The  owl's  color  is  gray 
with  a  dirty  white  speckled  part  here  and  there. 
Edward   M.   Powers. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Building  the  Torts 

This  year  we  had  our  snowball  battle  as 
usual  on  the  twenty-second  of  February,  Wash- 
ington's Birthday.  We  began  building  our  forts 
about  a  week  before  the  battle.  They  were 
fifty  feet  apart,  twenty-two  feet  long,  and  four 
and  a  half  feet  high.  Each  fort  consisted  of 
two  walls  about  six  feet  apart  and  three  feet 
thick.  Two  barrels  were  placed  in  each  front 
wall  one  at  either  end,  one  foot  above  the  ground, 
for  port  holes.  A  trench  six  feet  wide  was  made 
between  the  two  walls.  At  the  back  of  each  wall 
a  shelf  was  cut  out  about  three  feet  down  and  one- 
half  foot  in  for  the  defenders  to  stand  on.  A  nar- 
row wall  was  built  on  the  back  edge  of  the  shelf  in 
the  rear  wall  to  support  the  players.  The  forts 
were  made  by  putting  up  two  rows  of  old  doors 
and  large  boards,  and  filling  the  spaces  between 
with  snow,  and  wetting  and  tamping  it  until  hard. 
We  did  not  complete  the  forts  until  the  day  of 
the  battle.  Lawrence  M.  Cobb. 

l)i$tory  mm 

While  the  second  class  was  studying  about 
the  Civil  War  in  history,  our  teacher  placed  two 
maps  on  the  blackboard  to  make  the  work  more 
interesting.  One  was  of  the  entire  United  States 
as  it  was  in  1861.  The  slave  states  and  slave 
territories  were  colored  in  with  yellow  chalk,  and 
the  free  states  were  colored  in  with  blue  chalk. 
The  other  map  was  of  those  states  in  the  Union  in 
which  the  battles  of  the  war  took  place.  As  soon 
as  we  studied  a  battle  in  class,  some  fellow  was 
chosen  to  mark  the  place  on  the  map  where  that 
battle  was  fought;  with  blue  chalk  if  the  Union 
army  won,  and  with  yellow  chalk  if  the  Confeder- 
ate army  won.  Leslie   H.   Barker. 

Celebrating  Cincoln's  Birthday 

This  year  we  celebrated  Lincoln's  birthday 
in  exercise  and  song.  A  number  of  fellows  pre- 
pared recitations  and  the  whole  school  sang  pat- 
riotic songs.  I  liked  Preston  Blanchard's  reci- 
tation very  much,  and  Stanley  Clark  gave,  "Lin- 
coln's Gettysburg  Address,"  in  a  very  pleasing 
way.  The  program  was  as  follows: — 
Song     -  -  -  -  School 

Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp 


Prayer  -  -  Mr.  G.  S.  Miller 

Recitation  -  Raymond  H.  Batchelder 

Abraham  Lincoln 
Exercise  -  -  Fourteen  Boys 

Life  of  "Honest  Abe" 
Song     -  -  -  -  School 

Maryland,  My  Maryland 
Recitation  -  Franklin  E.  Gunning 

No  Slave  Beneath  That  Starry  Flag 
Recitation      -  -  William  B.  Laing 

Faithful  Unto  Death 
Recitation  -  Cecil  E.  McKeown 

The  Losing  Side 

Declamation  -  James  A.  Blakemore 

Abstract  from  Webster's  Speech  in 

Reply  to  Hayne 

Song     -  -  -  -  School 

American  Hymn 
Recitation      -  -  George  R.  Jordan 

Sheridan's  Ride 
Recitation  -  William  E.  Cowley 

Our  Country 
Recitation    -  -  Thomas  H.  Taylor 

Gone  Forward 
Recitation  -  -  Carl  H.  Collins 

Reunion 
Song     -  -  -  -  School 

Star  Spangled  Banner 
Recitation  -  Oscar  E.  Neumann 

The  Old  Flag 
Recitation  -  Preston  M.  Blanchard 

Bounding  the  United  States 
Declamation  -  Stanley  M.  Clark 

Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address 

Song     -  -  -  -  School 

America,  With  Flag  Salute 

James  A.   Blakemore. 

Cleaning  tbe  float 

Every  little  while  the  north  side  float, 
where  the  steamer  Pilgrim  berths,  has  to  be 
cleaned.  This  is  done  with  a  bucket  full  of 
beach  sand,  water,  and  an  old  broom.  The 
float  is  scrubbed  until  the  mud  is  taken  out  of 
the  wood.  Then  it  is  rinsed  thoroughly  and 
the  water  swept  off.  Ernest  V.  Wyatt. 


8 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Jllumiii 

In  the  February  Beacon  it  was  inadver- 
tently made  to  appear  that  John  E.  Bete  left  us 
in  1889.     It  should  have  been  1898;  also  Fred 

L.  Walker  should  have  been   1904  instead  of 

1899. 

George  Lyman  Look,  '66,  founder  of  Bos- 
ton Lodge,  No.  2,  Theatrical  Mechanics'  Asso- 
ciation, died  on  Friday,  February  twenty-third, 
in  his  fifty-eighth  year.  Deceased  was  promi- 
nently and  actively  connected  with  many  frater- 
nal organizations:  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company,  the  National  Lancers,  De- 
Maloy  Commandery,  K.  T.,  and  other  Masonic 
bodies,  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. 

Theophilus  (Tafley)  Mauch,  '80,  died  of 
tuberculosis,  at  his  home  in  Allston  on  January 
28,  in  his  forty-eighth  year.  He  had  been  solo 
corneter  of  the  Fitchburg  Military  Band  for  18 
years,  manager  for  12  years,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death  was  conductor  of  that  organization. 
Having  been  born  in  Germany  he  came  to  this 
country  with  his  parents  when  he  was  one  year 
old.  After  leaving  this  School  he  was  associated 
with  many  prominent  musicians,  and  musical 
organizations.  Tafley  was  a  man  of  engaging 
personality,  an  enthusiastic  musician,  conscien- 
tious, and  dependable  in  his  work.  A  wife,  two 
daughters,  and  one  son  survive  him.  The  fun- 
eral was  held  from  his  late  home,  58  Royal 
Street,  Allston,  on  Wednesday,  January  31. 

Andrew  W.  Deane,  '03,  whose  address  is 
13  Church  Street,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  works  in 
the  Fairbanks  Scales  Factory  where  he  has  been 
employed  for  the  past  two  years.  Andrew  is 
married  and  is  the  father  of  a  boy  that  joined 
his  household  some  thirteen  months  ago.  All 
hands  are  happy  and  well. 

James  L.  Joyce,  '10,  writes  a  very  lengthy 
and  interesting  letter  from  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
telling  of  the  pleasant  experiences  he  is  enjoy- 
ing there.     James  is  employed  by  the  Sant  Fe 


Railroad  and  is  constantly  on  the  go,  having  trav- 
eled nearly  all  the  Pacific  Coast  he  says.  In 
mentioning  the  weather  he  writes  us  that  he  was 
up  in  the  mountains  one  day  recently  throwing 
snowballs,  and  within  half  an  hour  he  descended 
and  was  walking  through  palms  and  gardens  of 
roses  just  as  though  he  had  never  seen  snow. 
James  seems  to  be  getting  along  finely,  is  happy 
and  well,  and  in  line  for  better  things. 

€nterrdinmeiit 

A  few  instructors  gave  the  boys  a  little  play 
on  the  evening  of  February  fourteenth.  We  all 
enjoyed  it  very  much  and  it  was  certainly  funny. 
These  instructors  were  supposed  to  be  the  mem- 
bers of  the  senior  class  in  the  Nostudie  High 
School  and  they  had  their  commencement  exer- 
cises on  this  occasion.  The  class  had  a  motto 
which  was,  "Me  for  a  Diploma."  There  were 
programs  given  to  the  boys,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  play  each  boy  was  presented  with  a  valen- 
tine. Miss  Brewster  and  Mr.  Ekegren  were  the 
teachers.  After  the  exercises  dancing  was  en- 
joyed by  a  selected  number  of  boys.  The  pro- 
gram was  as  follows: — 
James  Sinbad  Janney  -  Mr.  Alexander 

Salutatory 
Ethyl  Constance  Smythe        -  Miss  McNeil 

Essay — Pies 
Claudius  Culver  -  -  -  Mr.   Dix 

Oration — Life 
Priscilla  Jones     -  -  -  Miss  Lothrop 

Solo 
Mary  Corrigan        -  -         -  Miss  Gilpin 

Essay — Hair,   Hats  and  Clothes 
Class 

Song — Auld  Lang  Syne 
Maybell  Alcott  Wheelcox         -  Mrs.  Cotton 

Class  Poem  and  Class  Prophecy 
Daniel  Webster  Clay        -  -  Mr.  Miller 

Oration  and  Valedictory — The  Auto- 
biography of  a  Microbe 
Class 

Song — Senior's  Farewell 

President  of  the  Board     -         -  Mr.  Beebe 

Presentation  of  Diplomas 

John  W.  Aylsworth. 


THOMPSONVS    I^SLAND 


bem:on 


Vol.  15.  No.  12.       Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  Boston,  Mass. 


April,  1912 


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


Jin  €ntcrtdinnicnt 

On  Friday  evening,  March  twenty-ninth, 
we  got  ready  to  go  to  supper  as  usual,  but  as  we 
entered  the  dining-room  we  were  surprised  to 
see  on  the  tables,  cold  ham,  butter,  cheese, 
bread,  milk  and  cake.  Later  ice  cream  and 
more  cake  were  served.  At  about  eight  o'clock 
we  went  to  the  assembly -hall  where  we  listened 
to  a  musical  entertainment  given  by  the  Hayden 
Concert  Company.  The  progamme  was  as  fol- 
lows:— 

Overture 

"Lustspiel"  Keler  Bela 

The  Trio 
Reading 

Maud  Huntington  Benjamin 
Mandolin  Solo 

"Blue  Bells  of  Scotland"  Farmer 

Air  Varie 

Eleanore  Soule  Hayden 
Operatic  Selections 

With  Chimes  and  Xylophone 
a     Sextet  from  "Lucia  di  Lammermoor" 

Donizetti 
b     "Miserere"  (II  Trovatore)  Verdi 

c     Soldiers'  Chorus  from  "Faust"      Gounod 
The  Trio 
Violin  Solo 

a     "Nordische  Sage"  Bohm 

b     "Souvenir"  Drdla 

Edwin  Byron  Powell 
Chimes  Solo 
"Sweet  Afton" 

Eleanore  Soule  Hayden 
Reading 

A  group  of  selected  poems 

Maud  Huntington  Benjamin 


Xylophone  Solo 

"The  Mocking  Bird"  Stobbe 

Eleanore  Soule  Hayden 
Selections     With  Chimes 

a     Barcarolle  Offenbach 

b     "Chapel  in  the  Mountains"  Wilson 

The  Trio 
Finale 

"Husarenritt"  Spindler 

With  Xylophone 
The  Trio 
The  entertainment  and  the  ice  cream  and 
cake  were  provided  for  by  the  instructors.     We 
all  enjoyed  the  pleasant  evening  we  had,  and 
thanked  the  instructors  for  it.   Eliot  Rowell. 

Diaries 

Some  of  the  fellows  like  to  keep  diaries  of 
things  that  happen  during  the  year.  When  we 
have  gone  away  and  are  out  in  the  world  we  can 
look  back  at  some  of  the  good  times  we  had 
here.  Most  of  the  boys  write  down  all  the  things 
that  happen,  and  some  of  them  only  the  most 
important  things.  1  like  to  make  a  note  of  the 
number  of  weeks  I  have  been  in  the  first  grade. 
I  also  keep  a  diary  of  the  entertainments  and 
pleasures  we  have.        Harold  L.  Carlton. 

Spring 

We  are  all  glad  that  spring  is  here  so  we 
can  see  the  snow  melt  and  see  the  birds  come, 
and  see  the  farmers  get  ready  to  plow  the 
ground  and  plant  the  gardens.  The  buds  com- 
mence to  come  on  the  trees  and  the  apple  blos- 
soms show  their  beauty.  The  cows  go  out  to 
pasture  and  enjoy  themselves  eating  the  fresh 
green  grass.  All  these  things  are  pleasant  for 
any  one  to  look  upon.  Elwin  C.   Bemis. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Caroing  meat 

1  almost  always  help  carve  the  meat.  1  get 
the  large  meat  board,  two  large  knives,  one  fork 
and  seventeen  platters.  The  meat  is  brought  in 
from  the  kitchen  to  be  carved.  The  meat  is 
not  always  the  same.  Sometimes  it  is  roast 
pork,  roast  beef,  lamb  or  corned  beef.  1  like 
to  cut  it  when  it  is  cold  the  best  as  it  cuts  easier. 
1  have  been  told  that  meat  should  be  cut  across 
the  grain  as  much  as  possible  so  that  it  will  not  be 
thready.  While  I  worked  in  the  kitchen  1 
used  to  cut  the  m.eat  sometimes.  1  always 
liked  to  do  it  as  it  may  be  of  some  use  to  me 
some  day.  Mr.  Bradley  orders  the  meat  from 
some  large  miarket  in  Boston.  It  is  always  ten- 
der and  fresh  when  we  get  it. 

Harry  L.   Fessenden. 

Piaying  Games 

Now  tnat  spring  is  coming,  some  of  the  fel- 
lows stay  out  after  supper  and  play  games. 
Some  of  the  games  are  run  a  mile,  throw  the 
bar  and  hill-dill.  There  are  many  other  games, 
but  the  fellows  like  these  pretty  well.  Later  on 
when  it  gets  warmer  the  fellows  will  play  base- 
ball. In  the  winter  time  the  fellows  stay  in  the 
gymnasium  more,  but  when  summer  comes 
again  they  may  have  sport  and  fun  out  of  doors. 
There  is  a  large  playground  where  the  fellows 
spend  their  spare  time.  There  is  a  giant  swing 
which  the  boys  like  very  much.  It  is  a  nice 
time  to  play  games  now  because  it  is  warmer 
and  one  can  have  more  enjoyment. 

Benjamin   L.   Murphy. 

B  minstrel  SDow 

Thursday  evening,  March  fourteenth,  a 
minstrel  show  was  given  by  eleven  of  the  boys. 
Preston  Blanchard  was  manager  of  the  enter- 
tainment and  Miss  Lothrop  drilled  the  company 
in  singing  and  helped  them  out  in  other  ways. 
The  show  started  at  eight  o'clock  and  lasted  till 
nine.  The  jokes  were  very  funny,  especially 
those  which  were  made  up  about  the  instructors 
and  fellows.  Edric  Blakemore  sang  a  topical 
song  in  which  he  mentioned  some  of  the  boys. 
After  the  circle  came  the  olio.  This  started  off 
with  some  clog-dancing,  which  was  fine.     Then 


came  a  comedy  sketch  entitled,  "The  Old  Par- 
son." Third  came  a  Cake-walk.  This  was 
very  fine!  Preston  Blanchard  was  a  colored  girl 
and  Cecil  Jordan  a  colored  man.  Shortly  after 
the  show  came  a  dance.  This  was  given  by  the 
company  for  all  the  instructors  and  some  fellows. 
The  whole  entertainment  was  fine  and  pleased 
everybody.  The  programme  was  as  follows: — 
Circle 
Ralph  A.  Jones,  Interlocutor 
Roy  D.   Upham  George   H.  Appel 

Franklin  E.  Gunning  Clarence   Burton 

Thomas  H.  Taylor  Edric  B.   Blakemore 

Bones  Tambos 

Cecil  O.  Jordan  Charles  E.   Morse 

Frank  S.   Mills  Preston  M.   Blanchard 

Programme 
Opening  Chorus  Company 

Medley  of  Popular  Choruses 
End  Song  Frank  S.   Mills 

Alexander's  Ragtime  Band 

Song  Thomas   H.  Taylor 

It's  Great  to  Meet  a  Friend  From 

Your  Home  Town 

End  Song  Preston  M.   Blanchard 

Listen  to  That  Jungle  Band 
Topical  Song  Edric   B.   Blakemore 

Olio 

A  few  minutes  with  clogs  Cecil  O.  Jordan 

The  Old  Parson,  a  Comedy  Sketch 

in  One  Act 

Characters 

The  Old  Parson  George  H.  Appel 

A  Man  of  Peace 
Mr.  Williams  Ralph  A.  Jones 

A  Mediator 
Jackson  Doolittle  Charles  E.  Morse 

The  Bridegroom 
Ariminta  Barnrake  Roy  D.  Upham 

The  Bride 
Mrs.  Barnrake  Clarence  Burton 

Her  Mother 
Topsey  Franklin  E.  Gunning 

Always  in  Trouble 
Cake-walk 

Preston  M.  Blanchard,  Cecil  0.  Jordan 
William   B.   Deane. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


€ork 

A  little  while  ago,  our  teacher  gave  out 
some  new  books  to  read.  They  told  us  about 
the  origin  and  use  of  cork.  The  cork  territory 
covers  Portugal,  the  southern  part  of  Spain, 
Algeria,  Tunis,  France  and  Morocco.  The  cork 
oak  grows  to  a  height  of  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet 
and  is  sometimes  four  feet  in  diameter.  When 
the  tree  is  twenty  years  old  the  first  bark  is  re- 
moved. This  is  rough  and  coarse  and  is  of  little 
value.  At  the  age  of  forty  years,  the  oak  yields 
the  best  bark.  In  Algeria  they  use  crescent 
shaped  saws  to  remove  the  bark.  In  Spain  they 
use  a  hatchet  with  a  long  handle.  As  the  bark 
is  removed  it  is  put  in  piles  to  dry,  then  it  is 
weighed  and  carried  in  wagons  to  the  boiling 
station.  After  the  boiling  the  outer  bark  is 
scraped  off.  When  it  is  sorted,  it  is  ready  for  its 
first  long  journey.  Broad  sheets  are  placed  at 
the  bottom  and  smaller  ones  are  laid  above  them. 
Then  it  is  securely  bound  and  sent  to  the  United 
States  and  other  countries.  From  cork  they 
make  bobbers  for  fishing  lines,  instrument  and 
fishing  rod  handles,  insoles  for  shoes,  discs  and 
washers,  life  preservers,  buoys,  fenders,  carbure- 
tors, buttons,  penholders,  mats  and  pincushions. 
George  W.   N.  Starrett. 

Scrapind  Crm 

Tuesday,  February  20,  Mr.  Fairbanks  told 
us  we  were  to  scrape  all  the  dead  bark  off  the 
trees.  At  first  Mr.  Smith  and  1  worked  to- 
gether, but  after  awhile,  when  Mr.  Fairbanks 
went  away,  a  boy  came  to  work  with 
me.  The  scraping  is  done  with  a  hoe,  not 
too  dull.  In  scraping,  one  must  be  careful  or 
he  will  injure  the  tree.  One  boy  generally 
climbs  the  tree  that  is  to  be  scraped  and  scrapes 
the  higher  branches,  while  another  scrapes  as 
far  as  he  can  reach  from  the  ground.  In  some 
trees  worms  v/ere  found.  There  are  three  ob- 
jects in  scraping  trees.  First,  it  improves  the 
looks  of  the  tree;  second,  it  prevents  insects 
from  depositing  their  eggs  on  or  under  the  bark; 
third,  it  puts  the  trees  in  a  better  condition  for 
spraying  a  few  weeks  later. 

John  W.  Greenwood. 


mecbanical  Drawing 

Before  we  make  the  sloyd  models  we  have 
to  draw  a  plan  of  them  on  drawing  paper.  When 
we  draw  the  smallest  models  we  usually  draw 
two  on  one  piece  of  paper,  and  the  three  first 
models  are  drawn  on  one  piece.  The  way  we 
draw  the  models  is  to  get  a  piece  of  paper,  a 
drawing  board  a  little  larger  than  the  drawing 
paper,  four  thumb  tacks,  an  eraser,  a  pencil,  a 
T-square,  triangle  and  the  model  we  are  going 
to  draw.  First  we  draw  a  half-inch  border 
around  the  paper  and  then  we  measure  the 
model  we  are  going  to  draw.  We  then  draw  it 
on  the  paper,  drawing  as  many  faces  of  the 
model  as  are  necessary  to  show  all  the  things 
needed  to  make  the  model.  We  put  on  all  of 
the  dimensions  of  the  model.  Every  drawing 
has  a  number  and  it  is  called  a  plate.  We 
print  the  plate  number  in  the  upper  left  hand 
corner  and  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  in  the 
upper  right  hand  corner,  the  date  under  that,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  paper  a  little  below  the  date 
we  print  the  name  of  the  model,  the  kind  of 
wood  it  is  to  be  made  from  and  the  thickness  of 
the  wood.  In  the  lower. right  hand  corner  the 
fellow  prints  his  name.  If  it  is  approved  by  the 
sloyd  instructor  we  pass  the  drawing  in  and  make 
out  a  lumber  order  for  the  wood. 

Dexter   L.   Noble. 

making  a  mbcclbarrow 

One  afternoon  1  went  to  the  storage  barn 
and  picked  out  the  frame  of  an  old  wheelbar- 
row to  put  in  place  of  the  broken  one  at  the 
coal-pile.  I  also  got  some  six-inch  boards  which 
I  cut  three  feet  long  and  nailed  across  the  frame 
with  a  two-inch  strip  on  either  side  to  hold  the 
two  coal  cans  on.  This  made  the  width  of  the 
wheelbarrow  three  feet  and  the  depth  two  and 
one-half  feet,  giving  room  enough  for  a  third  to 
be  placed  in  back  of  the  other  two.  For  a  front 
piece  I  nailed  two  pieces  of  six-inch  board  to- 
gether with  two  two-inch  strips  in  the  center 
about  eight  inches  apart  on  the  outside.  On 
the  inside  1  nailed  two  similar  strips  on  either 
end.  From  the  center  strips  1  nailed  a  brace  to 
each  of  the  shafts.  Ernest  V.  Wyatt. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbomp$on'$  Tsland  Beacon 

Published   Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,   Boston  Harbor 

DEPENDENT     UPON      DONATIONS     AND      BEQUESTS 

A      PRIVATE     SCHOOL     FOR     WORTHY     BOYS 

OF    LtMITED    MEANS 


Vol.    15.  No.    12. 


April,    1912 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Alfred  Bowditch 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  P.  Curtis 

TREASURER 

Arthur  Adams 

135  Devonshire  Street 
SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

\9  Exchange  Place 
MANAGERS 

Mflvin  O.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 

1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 

George  L.  DeBlois 

Charles  T.  Gallagher 
N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 

Charles  E.  Mason 

Richard  M.  Saltonsta!  l 
Francis  Shaw 

William  S.  Spaulding 
Moses  Williams,  Jr. 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,    - 


-  SuDerintendent 


The  care-free  child,  unencuiTibered  by  self- 
consciousness,  makes  friendly  advances  to  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact.  He  speaks  his 
thoughts  without  restriction,  without  fear,  and 


attracts  the  pleased  attention  of  sympathetic 
listeners.  The  little  one  just  beginning  to  talk 
gets  a  responsive  smile  or  word  from  the  person 
upon  whom  he  chooses  to  bestow  his  friendly 
"Hello!"  The  little  fellow  makes  the  advance, 
and  his  feeling  of  friendliness  is  immediately 
reciprocated.  If  more  people  could  but  retain 
in  maturer  years  the  sincere  and  friendly  initia- 
tive of  childhood! 

It  is  so  difficult  for  many  to  show  their  good 
will  toward  mankind  even  when  it  is  present  in 
all  sincerity  in  their  hearts.  They  cannot  for- 
get themselves  long  enough  to  do  or  say  the 
things  prompted  by  instinct,  but  are  restrained 
and  embarrassed  at  the  thought  of  the  adverse 
criticism  they  may  possibly  receive. 

The  person  who  has  the  pleasing  faculty  of 
acting  his  natural  self  upon  all  occasions  is  uni- 
versally admired.  Everyone  likes  him  and  sym- 
pathetically responds  to  his  genial  smile  and  ex- 
tended hand.  He  is  able  to  take  the  initiative. 
This  power  is  considered  a  gift  by  many,  there- 
fore they  fall  to  cultivate  it  in  themselves.  The 
proud  and  apparently  cold  person  gives  this  ap- 
pearance, probably  because  he  has  failed  to  ex- 
press his  real  self.  Let  us  forget  self  and  put 
our  minds  upon  the  other  fellow.  There  is  al- 
ways somebody  to  smile  at;  somebody  to  stretch 
out  a  hand  to;  somebody  for  whom  we  may  do 
a  little  act  of  kindness.  Let  us  not  wait  to  see 
how  someone  else  is  going  to  treat  us,  but  let 
us  determine  to  act  first,  to  invite  the  other's 
friendliness  by  first  offering  our  own.  In  other 
words,  let  us  cultivate  the  power  to  take  the 
courteous  and  friendly  initiative,  and  the  re- 
sults are  best  expressed  in  Lowell's  words: — 

"Be  noble;  and  the  nobleness  that  lies 
In  other  men,  sleeping,  but  never  dead. 
Will  rise  in  majesty  to  meet  thine  own; 
Then  shalt  thou  see  it  gleam  in  many  eyes, 
Then  will  pure  light  about  thy  way  be  shed, 
And  thou  wilt  never  more  be  sad  or  lone." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


g 


Special  Needs 

$1000    has   been    given  by   a   New  York 
friend  for  special  needs. 

Still  Needed 

Part  of  machinery  for  laundry. 

Two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for  two  manual 
training  lathes. 

Two  hundred  thirty-two  dollars  for  band  saw 
in  carpenter-shop. 

notes 

Mar.  1.     New  Remington  typewriter  came. 

Mar.  2.     Treasurer  Arthur  Adams  visited 
the  School. 

Mar.  3.     Yorkshire  boar  came. 

Miss  Fanny  L.  Walton  spent  Sunday  here. 

Sunday  Mr.  George  E.  Miller  gave  a  stere- 
opitcon  lecture  upon  the  Life  of  Christ. 

Mar.  5.     Forest   Leslie  Churchill  entered 
the  School. 

Mar.  6.      Dr.  W.  B.  Bancroft  here. 

Mar.  7.     Installed  motor  driven  pump  for 
cisterns. 

Finished  hauling  thirty-five  tons  of  range 
coal  to  main  building. 

Mar.  8.     Scow    load    of    N.  C.  pine   and 
spruce  from  Freeport  St. 

Filled  wood  cellar  with  bakery  wood  and 
kindling. 

Mar.  9.  Graduate  Dana  W.  Osborne  visited 
the  School. 

Mr.  Beebe  and  several  of  the  boys  attended 
the  Automobile  Show. 

Mar.  11.      Recovered  in  Area  420  lbs.  of 
obsolete  lead  pipe  while  installing  cistern  pump. 

Mar.  13.      Veterinary  here. 

Mr.   Arthur   Beane  spent  night   here. 

Yearling  Ayrshire  bull  received. 

Mar.   14.     Shipped    a    boar    to    Brighton. 
Weighed  455  lbs. 

Minstrel  show  and  dance  given  by  Preston 
M.  Blanchard  and  boys  in  assembly-hall. 

Mar.  15.      Winter  term  of  School  closed. 

Mar.  16.    Scraped  trees  in  east  half  of  the 
orchard. 

High  winds  and  seas  wrecked   City  Point 
Landing  float. 


Mar.  18.  Surveyed  and  staked  out  bulk- 
head line  for  road  to  reinforce  east  dike. 

Several  of  the  Instructors  and  boys  attended 
the  Evacuation  Day  Parade  in  South  Boston. 

Mar.  20.  Admission  Committee  meeting. 
Two  boys  were  admitted,  Harold  LeRoy  Card 
and  Douglas  Abbot  Haskins. 

Mar.  2 1 .    Began  driving  piles  for  east  dike. 

Mar.  23.  Finished  storing  three  hundred 
ten  barrels  ol  snow  in  root  cellar. 

Mar.  25.     Spring  term  of  school  began. 

Planted  radishes  in  hot  beds. 

Began  piping  for  hot  water,  steam  heated 
tank  in  kitchen. 

Mar.  26.  Mr.  E.  Cyrus  Miller  gave  a  dem- 
onstration of  orchard  renovation. 

Mar.  28.  Began  spading  up  around  small 
trees  in  orchard. 

Several  Instructors  and  ninety-one  boys 
visited  the  Italian  gardens  at  Horticultural  Hall. 

Mar.  29.  Entertainment  by  the  Hayden 
Concert  Co.,  provided  by  the  Instructors.  Re- 
freshments were  also  furnished. 

Total  brown-tail  moths'  nests  collected 
for  the  season,  10,695;  total  gypsy  egg  clus- 
ters painted,  2,285. 

Cbc  T4rm  ana  Cradcs  School  BatiK 

Cash  on  hand  Mar.  1,  1912  $865.78 

Deposits  to  Apr.  1,  1912  70.86 

936.64 
Withdrawals  37.86 

Cash  on  hand  Apr.  I,  1912  "$898T78 

march  meteorology 

Maximum  temperature  63°  on  the  15th. 
linimum  temperature  1  1°  on  the  2nd  and 


3rd. 


Mean  temperature  for  the  month  34.2° 

Total  precipitation  3.39  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  twenty-fcur  hours 
.70  inches  on  the  28th. 

13  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precipita- 
tion,  5   clear  days,  19  partly  cloudy,   7   clcudy. 

Total  number  of  hours'  sunshine  2  1  5  and  50 
minutes. 

Wind  attained  a  velocity  of  72.8  miles  per 
hour  on  the  15th. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Kitcbcn  Aprons 

One  afternoon  after  the  regular  work  in  the 
sewing-room  was  done,  another  fellow  and  I  be- 
gan making  aprons.  These  aprons  were  to  be 
made  of  fine  blue  checked  gingham  which  was 
thirty  inches  wide.  Each  apron  was  cut  thirty- 
three  inches  long.  An  inch  hem  was  made  at 
the  bottom  of  the  apron.  After  this  was  done 
the  two  upper  corners  were  turned  in  so  as  to 
leave  a  straight  edge  at  the  top  ten  inches  long. 
A  one-inch  hem  was  made  at  the  top.  The 
edges  of  the  turned  down  corners  were  stitched 
to  the  aprons.  There  was  a  strap  made  to  form 
a  noose  for  the  head.  This  was  twenty-two 
inches  long  and  one  inch  wide.  The  belt  strap 
was  twenty-two  inches  long  also  and  was  sewed 
to  one  side  of  the  apron.  A  button  was  sewed 
on  to  the  apron  on  the  opposite  side  from  which 
the  strap  was  attached.  We  made  four  aprons 
that  afternoon.  John  W.   Lincoln. 

Clcanitid  tbe  Tartti  bouse  Cellar 

One  morning  Mr.  Smith  told  the  farm  fel- 
lows that  we  weie  going  to  clean  out  the  farm- 
house cellar.  He  first  told  some  of  the  fellows  to 
sweep  the  walls,  ceiling  and  everything.  Then 
he  told  two  other  fellows  to  jump  up  on  a  kind  of 
loft  that  was  there  and  gather  up  all  the  old 
papers  and  rags  that  they  could  find  and  bag 
them.  Then  he  told  me  to  pick  up  all  the  sticks 
that  I  could  find  and  put  them  on  the  kindling 
pile.  Mr.  Smith  saw  that  it  was  dark,  so  he 
got  two  lanterns  and  gave  them  to  us  to  use. 
When  I  got  my  work  done  he  told  me  to  help 
the  other  fellows.  1  went  over  with  a  fellow 
who  was  dusting  off  a  lot  of  jars  and  helped  him. 
When  we  finished  that  we  swept  the  floor. 

Howard  F.   Lochrie. 

eicanitid  Up 

One  morning  it  was  my  work  to  pick  up  the 
waste  in  the  meadow  west  of  the  playgrounds.  1 
first  got  a  basket  and  started  around  the  edge 
and  kept  working  in  toward  the  center.  I  put 
the  large  pieces  of  wood  in  the  wood  cellar  and 
the  small  pieces  of  wood  and  papers  in  the  waste 
barrels  in  back  of  the  power-house.     When  1 


got  to  the  middle  of  this  piece,  or  field,  1  found 
a  large  plank  about  five  and  one-half  feet  long, 
eight  inches  wide  and  two  mches  thick.  Under 
it  were  a  lot  of  green  grass  and  dandelion 
leaves  coming  up.  That  reminded  me  of  sum- 
mer. After  1  got  that  piece  done  it  was  about 
quarter  of  nine.  Then  1  put  my  basket  away  and 
got  ready  for  school.         Alfred  H.  Casey. 

Sorting  Beacons 

Lately,  every  day  when  1  get  my  work  in  the 
offices  and  reading-room  done  I  sort  Beacons. 
There  are  Beacons  of  nearly  all  the  months 
from  eighteen  hundred  ninety-five  to  nine- 
teen hundred  twelve.  There  are  a  number  of 
boxes  nailed  together  in  which  we  put  the 
Beacons  of  different  years.  After  we  get  those 
of  one  year  in  a  box  we  sort  them  over  ac- 
cording to  months.  We  separate  one  month's 
Beacons  from  another  by  placing  a  slip  of  col- 
ored paper  between  the  piles. 

Perley  W.  White. 

Paper  for  Practice 

Most  of  the  fellows  like  to  have  paper  for 
practice  in  school.  We  can  get  a  block  of  paper 
from  the  office  if  we  send  in  a  requisition  for  it. 
This  is  about  five  inches  long  and  three  inches 
wide.  Other  times  waste  goes  down  to  the 
storage  barn  from  the  printing-office.  This  is 
about  a  foot  long,  sometimes  two,  and  about  two 
inches  wide.  We  can  also  get  scrap  paper  in 
school  that  is  left  over.  We  use  this  for  arith- 
metic, spelling,  drawing  and  other  things. 

Frederick  E.  Van  Valkenburg. 

masbing  Stockings 

Every  Wednesday  morning  the  morning 
laundry  fellows  wash  the  boys'  stockings.  We 
divide  them  evenly  among  four  of  us.  After  we 
get  through  washing  them  two  fellows  rinse  them. 
We  put  them  into  two  tubs  and  put  cold 
water  on  them  and  do  that  five  or  six  times. 
Then  we  put  scalding  hot  water  on.  After  that 
we  let  them  stay  in  the  hot  water  for  five  or  ten 
minutes.  We  let  out  the  hot  water  and  put  on 
some  cold,  then  wring  them  out  and  hang  them 
up  on  the  bars.  Eldred  W.  Allen. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Rolling  tbe  Grounds 

Each  year  in  the  spring  the  lawns  have  to 
be  rolled.  For  this  a  large  two-horse  roller  is 
used.  It  is  drawn  by  a  squad  of  boys  who  work 
for  Mr.  Beebe  before  school.  When  this  work 
is  first  started  the  roller  is  brought  up  from  the 
storage-barn  and  used.  When  it  is  time  for  the 
boys  to  go  to  school  they  take  the  roller  to  the 
playgrounds,  where  it  is  left  ready  for  the  next 
day's  work.  The  object  of  rolling  the  lawns  is 
to  make  the  ground  even  for  the  lawn  mowers, 
and  to  get  all  the  foot-prints  out  that  were 
made  during  the  winter  and  early  spring  when  the 
ground  was  wet  and  soft.  This  rolling  is  com- 
menced as  soon  as  the  ground  is  dry  enough. 
The  playground  is  also  rolled. 

Roy  D.   Upham. 

my  mork 

I  work  in  the  kitchen  in  the  morning. 
When  1  go  in  before  breakfast,  the  first  thing  I 
do  is  to  toast  bread.  I  toast  about  fifteen  pieces 
for  the  early  breakfast.  If  1  get  that  done  before 
it  is  time  for  me  to  go  to  my  breakfast,  I  help 
the  instructor  get  other  things  ready  for  the  early 
breakfast.  When  1  come  out  from  my  breakfast 
at  seven  o'clock  1  wipe  the  dishes  and  put  them 
in  their  proper  places.  When  the  dishes  are  all 
washed  and  wiped  I  wash  the  dish  towels  and 
put  them  on  the  range  to  boil.  Then  1  do  odd 
jobs.  Sometimes  1  help  get  the  boys'  dinner 
ready  and  sometimes  I  wash  the  windows  and 
scrub  the  walls  or  ceiling,  or  clean  the  woodwork. 
At  quarter  past  eleven  I  help  get  the  boys'  dinner 
into  the  dining-rooin.  Then  1  go  to  my  own 
dinner.  Stanley  W.  Clark. 

€leattitid  tbc  Penthouse 

One  day  it  was  my  work  to  clean  the  pent- 
house. The  first  thing  to  do  was  to  sweep,  pick 
up  the  dirt,  then  get  some  water  and  scrub  the 
floor.  Then  1  got  a  cloth  and  dusted.  1  asked  if 
the  windows  didn't  need  washing,  and  so  1  got 
some  window  cloths  and  washed  them.  There 
was  one  large  door  and  two  small  ones,  and  two 
windows.  The  penthouse  is  on  the  northeast 
wing  of  the  main  building  and  it  has  a  glass 


roof.  On  the  inside  it  has  two  planks  and  two 
landings,  and  a  rail  going  three-fourths  around. 
One  side  has  no  railing.  On  the  outside  it  has 
a  platform  in  front  of  the  door  and  two  planks 
with  some  sticks  going  across  it  for  a  ladder,  and 
one  can  get  up  on  the  ridge  pole.  You  can  see 
good  scenery  from  there.     Frank  S.   Mills. 

Cleaning  Gutters 

One  afternoon  while  I  was  doing  my  work 
in  the  wash-room,  Mr.  Beebe  came  in  and  told 
me  to  go  up  to  the  west  loft  door  and  wait  until 
he  came  up.  He  came  up  with  the  east  and 
west  loft  keys.  We  first  went  into  the  east  loft 
and  got  a  long,  stout  rope  which  he  tied  around 
me.  1  then  got  out  of  the  west  loft  window  and 
slid  down  the  roof  to  the  gutter.  Mr.  Beebe 
passed  out  rope  as  1  needed  it.  1  took  a  hatchet 
and  chopped  out  all  the  ice  that  was  in  the  gut- 
ters. This  was  done  so  as  to  let  the  water  flow, 
as  the  ice  had  been  blocking  its  way.  After  I 
had  cleaned  all  the  ice  out  of  the  gutters  Mr. 
Beebe  pulled  me  up  again  by  means  of  the  rope. 
1  liked  the  job  very  much. 

Carl   D.   P.   Hynes. 

Clappers 

One  day  when  I  went  down  to  the  wood 
cellar  with  my  scrubbing  materials,  1  secured 
an  instructor's  permission  to  get  a  piece  of  wood. 
I  got  a  piece  of  quartered  oak.  When  all  of  my 
work  was  done  1  thought  1  would  make  some 
clappers  from  it.  1  made  two  of  them;  they 
were  six  inches  long  and  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  wide.  Some  of  the  fellows  have  bone 
clappers  and  ebony  clappers  which  they  have 
bought.  Byron   E.  Collins. 

$\)\nm  nty  Tnstrument 

The  fellows  in  the  band  have  to  keep  their 
instruments  looking  well,  therefore  I  shined  and 
cleaned  mine  up.  My  instrument  is  the  third 
E-flat  alto.  It  is  hard  to  get  in  around  the  dif- 
ferent valves  of  the  instrument.  If  once  the  in- 
strument is  well  cleaned  and  taken  good  care  of 
right  along  and  wiped  off  after  it  has  been  used, 
it  will  not  be  so  hard  to  clean  it  again. 

Robert  C.  Casey. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


:Hlunini 

Ernest  M.  Catton,  '1  1,  writes  from  New 
London,  Connecticut,  saying  that  he  has  been 
working  in  a  wholesale  grocery  store  this  winter. 
In  addition,  he  has  had  an  opportunity  to  enjoy 
the  winter  sports.  Ernest  says  he  attends 
church  regularly  and  that  his  health  has  been 
very  good. 

James  R.  Gregory,  '10,  wrote  us  a  letter 
some  time  ago  which  indicated  that  he  is 
interested  in  his  work  as  stock  clerk  with  the 
firm  of  E.  Teel  &  Co.,  wagon  manufacturers, 
of  Medford.  His  brother  Robert,  he  says,  is 
still  in  the  blacksmith  shop  of  the  same  firm. 

Carl  Steenbrick,  '94,  who  works  for  Mr. 
Frank  Bird,  Canton,  Mass,  at  the  Massachu- 
setts Hospital  School,  wrote  us  a  card  from  Ber- 
muda where  he  was  spending  two  weeks  on  a 
vacation.  We  were  pleased  to  note  his  evident 
cheerfulness  of  spirit.  Carl  is  very  well  liked 
where  he  works. 

William  A.  Horsfall,  '96,  is  now  work- 
ing in  San  Francisco,  Cal.  He  says  that  al- 
though he  is  working  at  present,  conditions  on 
the  Pacific  coast  are  terrible,  and  advises  people 
thinking  of  going  to  California  for  work  to  stay 
away.  Wi-lliam  shows  his  interest  by  sending 
the  amount  of  his  subscription  to  the  Beacon. 

When  it  is  time  for  the  fellows  to  stop  work 
or  play  there  is  always  a  signal.  It  is  the  duty 
of  Mr.  Beebe,  the  supervisor,  to  give  these  sig- 
nals. When  it  is  time  for  the  fellows  who  work 
in  the  morning  to  stop  work,  which  is  at  quarter 
past  eleven,  he  rings  the  bell.  Then  the  fellows 
have  about  fifteen  minutes  to  wash  up  and  get 
ready  for  dinner.  About  two  minutes  before  half 
past  eleven  he  blows  the  whistle  for  them  to  line 
up.  He  blows  one  long  and  two  short  whistles. 
He  rings  the  bell  four  times  a  day,  cnce  at  quar- 
ter past  eleven,  at  ten  minutes  of  one,  at  five 
o'clock  to  assemble  the  afternoon  workers,  and 
last  at  seven  o'clock  to  call  the  fellows  to  the  as- 
sembly-room. On  Sundays,  instead  of  ringing 
the  bell,  he  uses  his  whistle. 

Frederick  V.   Hall. 


Cleaning  Pig-pcns 

The  pig-pens  are  cleaned  about  twice  a 
month,  it  was  my  work  to  help  do  it  this  time. 
The  pens  were  cleaned  of  everything  and  new 
bedding  was  put  in.  First  a  pile  was  made  near 
the  front  and  then  it  was  thrown  into  a  team. 
When  we  had  a  load  it  was  taken  to  last  year's 
potato  field  and  there  spread.  The  pens  are 
made  of  concrete  and  the  front  half  is  level  with 
the  floor  outside,  and  the  back  half  has  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  four  inches.  There  is  an  iron  door 
to  each  pen,  which  swings  inward.  A  concrete 
trough  is  just  inside  the  door.  We  shall  have 
about  nine  loads  when  the  pens  are  cleaned. 

Levi   N.  Trask. 

Cbc  South  Pole 

Lately  we  have  heard  a  good  deal  about 
the  discovery  of  the  South  Pole.  We  have  been 
much  interested  to  learn  who  really  did  discover 
the  pole,  Scott  or  Amundsen.  Most  fellows  hope 
it  was  Scott,  but  a  few  hope  Amundsen  was  the 
one.  We  have  a  number  of  pictures  taken  from 
the  papers,  which  show  different  views  of  Scott, 
Amundsen  and  their  ships.  It  was  said  Scott 
had  the  best  fitted-out  expedition  in  polar  history. 
We  also  have  a  map  picture  showing  the  routes 
taken  by  these  men.  Scott  is  an  officer  of  the 
Royal  Navy  and  it  is  hoped  by  the  majority  of 
people  that  he  is  the  man.  However,  1  hope 
it  was  Amundsen  who  discovered  the  pole. 

Edson   M.   Bemis. 

Cleaning  Out  the  Bran-room 

One  forenoon  Mr.  Fairbanks  told  me  I 
could  help  Levi  Trask  clean  out  the  bran-room 
which  is  at  the  west  end  of  the  stock  barn. 
The  bags  of  bran  were  all  over  the  floor  so  that 
we  had  to  pile  them  up  out  of  the  way  so  that 
we  could  sweep  the  floor.  We  swept  the  bran 
that  was  on  the  floor  into  a  pile  and  carried  it 
down  to  the  pig-pens.  We  then  took  the  empty 
bags  and  carried  them  to  the  storage  barn  and 
put  them  up  over  the  junk  room.  After  that  we 
cleaned  off  the  shelves  and  straightened  things 
up.  Cecil  E.   McKeown 


J