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Vol.  24.  No.   1.     Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.    May,     1920. 

Entered  November  23,   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1874.  ^ 


Cfte  Caster  Concert 

Our  Easter  Concert  was  held  on  Sunday, 
April  4.  As  usual  the  Chapel  was  very  prettily 
decorated.  In  the  front  of  the  room  there  was 
a  pergola  under  which  were  lilies,  pinks  and 
many  other  plants  and  flowers  arranged  so  that 
they  would  look  as  if  they  were  growing.  In  the 
center  of  this  was  a  fountain  which  had  water 
bubbling  up  in  it.  On  the  top  of  the  pergola 
there  was  twisted  lavender  paper  running  from 
one  side  to  the  other  and  from  the  posts  hung 
wistaria. 

Along  the  side  also  were  vines  and  wistaria 
woven  into  the  lattice  work.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  spring  chickens  and  our  canary,  we  had 
two  parrots  and  two  rabbits.  On  both  sides  of 
the  garden  were  seats  for  the  choir  boys  who 
were  dressed  in  robes,  and  behind  the  fountain 
was  the  piano.  The  choir  began  the  concert  by 
singing  Hosannahs.  The  programme  was  as  fol- 
lows: 
SONG  Sing  Hosannah 

Choir 
RESPONSIVE  READING 

Leader,  Alfred  A.  Pickels 
INVOCATION 

Mr.  ViNNE 
SONG  Welcome  The  Easter  Morning 

Choir 
READING  The  First  Easter 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin 
EXERCISE  At  Easter  Time 

George  A.  Adams,  Ernest  J.  Olson 


SONG  Let  The  Glad  Bells  Ring 

Choir 
RECITATION  Message  of  Easter 

Kenneth  E.  Kearns 
SONG  Alleluia 

Choir 

EXERCISE  Song  of  Easter 

John  M.  Levis,  Paul  F.  Reid 

Charles  N.  Robbins 

SONG  O  Hallowed  Cross 

Samuel  L.  Whitehead,  Paud  F.  Reid, 

Albert  A.  Peterson 

EXERCISE  An  Easter  Carol 

Frank  E.  Maxcy,  George  E,  Thompson 
SONG     .  Hail  Bright  Day 

Choir 

EXERCISE  An  Easter  Song 

Desmond  Anderson,   Eric  0.  Schippers, 

Ralph  H  Swenson,  Harold  B.  Buchan 

SONG  Morn  Of  Wonder  And  Glory 

Choir 
RECITATION  Easter  Memories 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 
DIALOGUE  The  Gardens 

Richard  H.  Hall,  Donald  B.  Akerstrom 
SONG  Palm  Branches 

Albert  A.  Peterson,  Samuel  L.  Whitehead 
EXERCISE  Mary 

Ivers  E.  Winmill,    Raymond  H.  McQuesten, 

John  H.  Schippers 
SONG  Glad  Bells  of  Easter  Ringing 

Choir 
RECITATION  The  Message  of  Victory 


THOMPSON'S  hSLAND  BEACON 


Samuel  L.  Whitehead 
EXERCISE  Easter  Week 

Henry  P.  Clifford,  Barton  N.  Slade 
SONG  Golden  Gates  of  Glory 

Choir 
RECITATION  Christ  is  Risen  To-day 

Albert  A.  Peterson 
SONG  The  King  of  All 

Choir 
REMARKS 

Mr.  Bradley 

James  A.  Carson. 

B  Crip  in  the  ''Ittary  CWlton" 

Saturday  noon,  April  10,  most  of  the  boys 
in  the  boat  crew  went  to  the  Wharf  to  put  the 
"Mary  Chilton"  in  the  water  for  the  first  time 
this  year. 

First  two  rollers  were  put  under  her  and  we 
kept  her  on  even  keel  and  pushed  her  alqng. 
As  fast  as  she  went  over  one  roller,  two  boys 
would  pick  it  up  and  bring  it  up  in  front  of  her 
so  that  she  would  be  on  rollers  all  the  time. 
We  kept  changing  around  till  she  reached  the 
water.  We  then  gave  a  bigpu§h  and  all  Jump- 
ed in  the  boat.  If  any  one  was  slow  he  was  left 
out.  After  we  washed  it  out  the  people  came 
down  who  were  going  to  the  city.  After 
every  one  was  aboard  we  set  off,  nine  boys 
rowing,  with  an  instructor  in  charge.  After  we 
reached  the  Point  the  people  landed,  and  we 
began  our  return  trip.  After  pulling  on  oar  for 
about  fifteen  minutes  we  soon  reache,d  our  Whgrf . 
After  we  reached  home  some  boys  went  to  the 
house  and  a  new  crew  came  down  to  go  over 
later.  John  E.  Kervin. 

Jl  Crip  flrouna  tbc  BcacD  u 

During  a  vacation  afternoon  another  boy 
and  myself,  were  given  permission  to  go  around 
South  End.-  We  started  down  Willow  Road  and 
around  by  the  site  of  David  Thompson's  cabin, 
around  by  the  Telephone  ^ooth  and  Cemetery  to 
the  lnciner^,tor  and  from  the  Incinerator  around 


to  the  Old  Barn.     We  then  went  up  to  the  house- 
We  enjoyed  the  trip  very  much. 

Bernard  R.  Morrill, 

Plastcriiid  a  Room 

One  of  the  instructors'  rooms  in  the  Main 
Building  needed  plastering.  As  1  am  learning 
that  work,  1  was  told  to  prepare  for  the  mason. 
1  was  assisted  by  another  boy. 

We  first  took  all  of  the  old  plaster  from  the 
walls  and  ceiling  and  piled  it  in  the  center  of 
the  room  to  be  taken  away.  This  requires 
about  half  a  day's  work.  Then  the  old  plaster 
was  all  cleaned  out  between  the  laths.  To  do 
this  we  hammered  on  the  laths  until  all  of  the 
plaster  which  was  between  them  fell  down  in- 
side. Then  three  or  four  laths  were  taken  off 
the  bottom  to  let  it  out  on  the  floor.  Then  the 
laths  were  all  renailed  for  the  old  nails  were 
rotten.  New  laths  were  put  in  where  they  were 
needed. 

When  the  mason  came  we  first  put  up  the 
staging  so  as  to  reach  the  ceiling  and  the  upper 
parts  of  the  wall.  Next  the  ceiling  was  dam- 
pened and  made  ready  for  the  first  coat.  This 
is  called  hair  mortar,  which  consists  of  slacked 
lime,  hair  aind  ^and,  and  a  little  pulp  plaster  is 
used. 

The  first  coat  which  is  put  on  is  called 
scratching.  This  is  put  on  about  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  thick.  Then  another  coat  is  put  on. 
This  is  called  browning.  Pulp  plaster  and  sand 
is  used  for  this.  After  this  is  all  floated  In  and 
dryed  it  is  r,eady  for  finishing. 

For  the  finishing  coat  there  has  to  be  some 
white  putty  iTjade.  This  is  made  from  lump 
lime  slacked  and  run  through  a  fine  sieve.  It 
should  be  free  from  stones  and  dirt  of  any  kind 
for  they  would  leave  scratches  and  make  it  hard 
to  work  with.  This  is  mixed  with  plaster  of 
paris  and  put  on.  There  is  about  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  of  finishing  put  on  in  all.  When  work- 
ing with  plaster  one  has  to  work  quickly  for  plas- 
ter hardens  very  fast   after    it    is  mixed. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


This  new  plaster  makes  a  great  change  in 
a  room  when  it  is  all  done  and  the  work  gives 
one  who  is  interested  great  experience. 

Norman  F.  Farmer. 

niaKittd  an  Ink  Stand 

One  day  in  the  sloyd  room  I  got  some 
wood  and  started  an  ink  stand.  First  I  planed 
one  broad  surface  and  then  an  edge.  After  that  I 
made  a  place  for  the  ink  bottle.  This  was  a 
very  hard  piece  of  work.  First  1  gauged  a  line. 
Then  1  dug  it  out  with  a  chisel.  When  that 
was  done,  I  made  a  place  for  the  pens. 
This  was  done  by  a  gouge.  When  that  was 
finished  I  ssndpapered  it  all  over.  I  gave  it  one 
coat  of  shellac  and  let  it  dry  thoroughly. 
Then  I  sandpapered  it  with  very  fine  sandpaper, 
and  when  perfectly  dry  it  was  rubbed  down  with 
pumice  and  oil.  This  gave  it  a  very  good  fin- 
ish. 

Chester  B.  Buchan. 

J\n  Tntcrcstina  motion  Picture 

Once  every  week  we  have  motion  pictures. 
Some  of  them  are  very  interesting.  One  edu- 
cational picture  I  liked  was  about  military  life  at 
West  Point.  It  showed  the  grounds,  chapel, 
war  relics,  campus  and  many  other  views.  Then 
we  were  given  an  idea  of  how  a  day  there  was 
spent.  First  there  was  inspection  and  then 
drilling.  We  saw  some  wonderful  stunts  the 
soldiers  did  on  horseback.  These  took  place 
inside  of  the  big  riding  hall.  The  soldiers 
marched,  broke  ranks  and  wheeled.  Then  they 
did  some  fast  riding  and  jumping.  We  next 
saw  them  in  the  trenches.  Here  they  threw 
bombs,  used  machine  guns,  went  over  the  top 
and  also  did  some  make  believe  fighting. 
Also  we  saw  some  big  wire  entanglements  made 
by  the  instructors.  Then  the  soldiers  were 
shown  retreating  with  the  field  cannon,  and  in 
dress  parade,  and  they  certainly  looked  beautiful 
in  their  tall  hats  and  on  well  groomed  horses. 

Their  course  is  four  years  with  a  furlough 
only  once  in  two  years.  But,  it  surely  is  a 
wonderful  training  to  be  able  to  take  and  I  hope 
1  can  some  day.     Samuel   L.   Whitehead. 


Cleaning  tbe  Gymnasium 

When  we  clean  the  gymnasium,  we  first 
pick  up  all  the  rubbish,  then  we  put  all  the 
benches  in  one  corner,  open  the  windows,  and 
we  are  all  ready  for  sweeping. 

One  boy  starts  at  each  end  and  we  sweep 
towards  the  center.  The  hardest  place  to 
sweep  is  the  south  end  as  it  has  the  basketball 
guard  there.  This  structure  is  of  wire,  extends 
from  the  roof  to  about  a  foot  from  the  floor  and 
the  platform  is  behind  it.  After  the  dirt  is 
gathered  up,  we  place  the  things  in  their  proper 
places  and  our  work  is  done. 

Albert  A.  Peterson. 

extra  PritJilcgcs 

Not  long  ago  there  was  posted  on  the  bul- 
letin board  by  Mr.  Bradley  a  piece  of  paper  with 
the  days  on  which  the  different  grades  might 
have  extra  privileges.  They  were  as  follows: 
first  graders  every  day,  second  graders,  Tues- 
day, Thursday  and  Saturday,  third  graders,  Sat- 
urday, and  fourth  graders  none. 

These  grades  are  made  up  from  the  week- 
ly conduct  report;  this  conduct  report  is  read  by 
Mr.  Bradley  every  Monday  evening. 

-When  a  boy  does  something  wrong,  his  in- 
structor may  "check"  him.  For  each  check 
he  receives  a  certain  number  of  marks,  all  of 
which  are  reckoned  up  on  Monday  and  decide 
his  grade  for  the  coming  week. 

If  a  boy  receives  35  marks  or  over  he  is 
in  the  fourth  grade  and  has  to  work  during  his 
play  time  until  he  gets  out.  If  he  does  not  get 
checked  during  the  next  week  he  is  put  into  the 
third  grade  and  so  on  to  the  first. 

Some  of  the  extra  privileges  are:  going  to 
the  shop  or  sloyd  room  to  make  articles  of  wood, 
going  over  to  the  City  to  have  a  good  time,  go- 
ing to  the  reading  room  to  read,  or  skating, 
coasting  or  swimming  in  season. 

This  is  a  very  good  plan  for  it  teaches  each 
boy  to  be  careful  and  thorough  about  his  work. 
James  B.   Rouse. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  islana  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS, 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


May.  1920 


Vol.  24.    No.  1. 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  E.  Mason 

treasurer 

N.  Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
GoRHAM  Brooks 
1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George  L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.  Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiner, 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,   M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


According  to  the  calendar,  the  new  year 
begins  with  January  1st,  but  to  us  in  the  North 
it  may  well  seem  to  come  with  spring.  The 
first  pussy  willows  herald  the  beginning  of  a  new 
year  in  the  world  around  us,  and  in  our  interests, 
occupations  and  feelings  as  well. 

Each  spring  is  a  miracle  in   itself.      Little 


by  little  the  signs  appear,  until  suddenly,  along 
in  May,  the  grass  shows  green,  the  trees  leaf 
out,  the  birds  are  here,  and  overnight,  as  it  were, 
the  scene  is  changed,  the  setting  for  winter  is 
replaced  with  that  for  summer,  and  the  new  act 
commences.  The  very  air  and  light  seem  to 
possess  a  magic  quality,  a  movement — a  varia- 
tion, as  if  something  were  happening  while  we 
look,  as  indeed  there  is;  as  if  a  wizard  moved 
his  wand  and  we  were  privileged  to  see  a  mystic 
transformation,  as  indeed  we  are.  Watch  the 
water  under  the  play  of  light  and  clouds  these 
days.  Not  dull — not  calm — not  wild  and  bois- 
terous, but  almost  quiet  yet  restless,  as  if  with 
a  subdued  excitement,  showing  a  little  silver 
ripple  of  movement,  alive,  mysterious  and  ever 
changing. 

With  so  much  life  and  magic  in  all  around 
us,  we  cannot  help  but  respond  with  new  energy 
and  desires  of  our  own.  We  feel  new  and 
strange  impulses,  we  long  for  new  experiences, 
and  we  develop  a  whole  new  set  of  enthusiasms. 

Marbles  come  again  into  there  own.  Bas- 
ket-ball which  seemed  good  fun  so  recently  has 
become  stupid  and  out-of-date.  We  look  for- 
ward to  the  first  base-ball  game  and  speculate 
on  team  D's  chances  for  the  coming  season. 
The  Friends'  Days,  Graduation,  Alumni  Day, 
Fourth  of  July,  the  barge  rides,  all  are  coming, 
and  as  we  look  ahead,  it  seems  as  if  life  will  be 
as  full  of  color  and  sunshine  as  are  our  flower 
gardens  with  their  flaunting  reds  and  yellows  and 
blues. 

We  are  enthusiastic  and  it  is  right  that  we 
should  be.  Without  enthusiasm  the  wonderful 
spring  and  summer  and  good  times  and  our  sur- 
roundings would  lose  much  of  their  meaning  for 
us.  Let  us  appreciate  and  enjoy  them  all  we  can, 
and  help  those  around  us  to  a  similiar  enjoyment, 
for  thereby  does  life  become  more  worth  while. 

We  know,  however,  that  every  day  cannot 
be  a  gay  sweet  song.  We  will  work  as  hard  as 
in  the  winter;  there  is  much  to  be  done.  Some 
times  an  east  wind  must  blow — things  will  not 
always  go  right,  however  wonderful  they  look 
now.     But  here  again  discriminating  enthusiasm 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


helps.  We  see  the  hidden  wonder,  the  splendid 
gleam  of  beauty  which  lies  in  little  everyday 
things  and  in  the  plain  truths  and  facts  around 
us,  and  which  is  so  often  overlooked.  When 
all  goes  well,  and  good  times  are  being  planned 
and  provided  for  us,  enthusiasm  is  natural;  the 
person  of  true  discernment  is  he  who  can  see 
charm  in  the  usual,  we  do  not  mean  in  the  com- 
mon and  sordid, but  in  ordinary,  quiet,  regular  ways 
of  living,  when  there  are  no  sky-rockets,  but  well 
ordered  busy  days  of  honest  effort.  Enthusiasm 
cannot  create  beauty,  but  it  discovers  and  ap- 
preciates it.  Where  one  person  might  pass  a 
barren  stretch  of  rock  unnoticing,  the  enthusi- 
asm of  another  shines  upon  it,  and  suddenly  the 
gold  and  purple  gleam  forth  for  all  to  see.  The 
discriminating  man  not  only  has  seen  the  vision 
for  himself,  but  he  has  given  it  to  others  as  well. 
He  has  developed  possibilities  which  by  the 
others  were  undreamed  of. 

In  literature,  the  stories  we  like  best  and 
that  are  most  worth  reading  are  not  necessarily 
the  recital  of  the  most  dramatic  events — often 
a  tale  of  quiet  life  is  more  effective. 

So  we  would  not  forget  the  worth  and  true 
beauty  of  our  quiet  busy  days,  although  we  en- 
joy— as  we  should — the  fun  and  excitement  that 
comes  with  summer  and  outdoor  life. 


Calendar 

April  1  Raymond  S.  Metcalf,' 19,  left  the 
School  to  attend  Tilton  Academy. 

April  3  Last  basket-ball  game  of  the  sea- 
son between  teams  B  and  C.  Score:  21  to  3 
in  favor  of  team  B. 

Lester  E.  Cowden,  '16,  and  Hubert  N. 
Leach,  '16,  here  for  the  week  end. 

April  4  Easter  Sunday.  Concert  in  the 
Chapel  in  the  afternoon. 

George  Buchan,  '97,  and  daughter  here  for 
over  Sunday. 

Nicholas  M.  Suarez,  Jr.,  '19,  here. 

April  5     Mason  here  to  begin  repairs. 

April  9     Twenty-five  lbs.  of  chicken  killed. 


April  10  Dr.  Bancroft  here  to  examine 
the  eyes  and  ears  of  all  the  boys. 

Planted  lettuce  and  radish  seeds  in  hotbed. 

April  1 2  Four  boys  sent  to  oculist  for 
further  examination. 

April  13  Three  boys  sent  to  oculist  for 
further  examination. 

A  load  of  grain  came. 

April   14     Blacksmith  here  to  shoe  horses. 

Five  boys  sent  to  oculist  for  further  examin- 
ation. 

Dancing  lesson  in  the  evening. 

Seven  boys  visited  the  dentist  to  have 
teeth  filled. 

Three  boys,  Ralph  Langille,  Edward 
Robertson  and  Waldo  Libby,  attended  Keith's 
Theatre  in  the  evening. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

April  17  Leslie  E.  Russell,  '18,  here  for 
over  Sunday,  and  Victor  H.  Muse,  '18,  here  for 
the  afternoon. 

April  19  Gassing  rats  with  carbon  disul- 
phide  gas. 

Started  plowing. 

Mr.  Bradley  attended  the  funeral  of  Mrs. 
Jane  Norton  Grew  at  the  Arlington  Street 
Church. 

April  20  Planted  pepper,  cabbage,  torn 
atoes,  leek  and  celery  in  hot  beds. 

Mr.  E.  C.  Britton  of  the  Mass.  Society  of 
Beekeepers  here  to  look  over  bees. 

April  21      Dancing  lesson  in  the    evening. 

April  22  Two  men  measuring  boys  for 
new  uniforms. 

April  23  A  trip  to  Weymouth  to  get  fer- 
tilizer. 

April  24  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Mason,  and  two 
sons,  visited  the  School. 

Prof.  F.  C.  Shaw,  former  agricultural  in- 
structor, here  making  farm  survey. 

Warren  F.  Noyes,  "19,  here  for  the  week 
end. 

April  26  Manager  Philip  S.  Sears  visited 
the  School. 

Plowed  at  South  End. 

Limed  field   south   of    Farm  House,  using 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


2200  lbs.  of  lime. 

April  28  Plumber  here  putting  in  dish- 
washer. 

Dancing  lesson  in  the  evening. 

Plowed  for  potatoes  and  n:ianured. 

Preparing  strawberry  bed. 

Preparing  ground  for  peas. 

Put  1  10  willow    stakes  in   east-side   banl<. 

Took  shrubs  fronn  nursery  to  fill  in  around 
the  building. 

Moved  three  young  elms  from  nursery  to 
put  in  along  Highland  Road. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  JJgo  i$7o 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

April  2  Went  to  Braintree  to  see  Mr. 
Brackett  about  boys'  clothes. 

April  7.  Fast  Day.  Pleasant  and  a 
goodly  number  of  graduates  present. 

April  14  A  lovely  day.  Was  up  early 
and  out  in  fields.     Started  plowing  for  peas. 

Went  to  city  with  boat.  Took  up  boys  to 
be  measured  for  patterns.  Got  home  at  5:00 
and  sowed  grain  seed  untill  8:30  p.  m. 

April  15  Went  to  Hull  with  Mr.  Nathan 
Holbrook  to  look  at  oxen.      Bought  a  pair. 

April  29  The  past  week  or  more  has 
been  well  employed  in  house  cleaning,  farm 
work  and  a  general  putting  of  things  to  rights. 

April  30  A  pleasant  day.  The  first  visit 
of  parents  and  friends  for  this  season.  A.  good- 
ly number  present;  of  the  managers,  Messrs. 
S.  G.  Deblois  and  Perkins. 


jHpril  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  58°  on  the  27th. 

Minimum  Temperature  21"  on  the  8th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  36. 

Total  precipitation  6.25  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  1.50  in- 
ches on  the  21st. 

Six  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 14  clear  days,  13  partly  cloudy,  4  cloudy. 


Cbe  Tarm  and  trades  School  BanR 

Cash  on  hand  April  1.  1920  $721.62 

Deposited  during  the  month 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  May  1,  1920 


120.85 

$842.47 

49.17 

$79330 


Our  l)ealtl)  €bart$ 

Lately,  some  health  charts  came  from  the 
Child's  Health  Organization. 

One  of  these  charts  tell  us  how  much  a 
child  should  gain  each  month,  how  tall  he  should 
be  for  his  age  and  hov/  much  he  should  weigh 
for  his  age  and  height. 

In  the  banking  room  are  some  charts  that 
show  us  the  development  of  the  human  race. 
They  show  us  the  cave  men  and  how  they  got 
their  food  and  made  their  weapons.  They  tell 
how  a  child  should  be  cared  for  and  brought  up; 
how  to  sleep  and  also  how  long  a  person  should 
sleep. 

These  charts  are  very  useful  and  help  us 
to  solve  the  health  problem. 

Alfred  A.   Pickels. 

School  Ulork 

In  school  we  are  learning  a  poem  callea 
"Nobility."  It  was  written  by  Alice  Gary. 
Sometimes  our  teacher  has  one  boy  stand  and 
recite  alone  to  see  how  well  he  can  recite  it. 
The  first  verse  is  as  follows: 
Nobility 
"True  worth  is  in  being,  not  seeming, 

In  doing  each  day  that  goes  by 
Some  little  good — not  in  the  dreaming 

Of  great  things  to  do  by  and  by. 
For  Whatever  men  say  in  blindness, 

And  in  spite  of  the  fancies  of  youth, 
There  is  nothing  so  kingly  as  kindness 
And  nothing  so  royal  as  truth." 
We  hope  to  have  the  whole   poem    learned 
soon.     We  enjoy  good  poems  and  good  stories. 
Robert  J.  Buchanan. 


THOMPSON'S^I^LAND  BEACON 


Dancitid  Cc$$on$ 

One  Monday  night  Mr.  Bradley  told  us 
that  we  would  have  dancing  lessons  Wednesday 
nights  for  a  while.  All  the  boys  were  delighted 
as  a  lot  of  us  do  not  know  how  to  dance. 

On  the  next  Wednesday  night  we  put  on 
our  uniforms  and  filed  up  to  the  chapel.  We 
were  then  introduced  to  our  dancing  teacher 
whose  name  is  Miss  Reed.  First  Miss  Reed 
lined  half  of  the  boys  up  in  two  lines  and  gave 
them  some  exercises.  We  had  to  learn  how  to 
bow  correctly  and  how  to  keep  our  limbs  relaxed 
and  not  stiff.  After  this  we  took  other  boys  to 
be  our  partners.  We  then  lined  up  and  she 
showed  us  how  to  dance  the  one-step.  Half 
of  us  took  the  part  of  the  girls.  After  dancing 
for  some  time  the  other  half  of  the  boys  got  up 
and  danced.  After  the  dancing  lesson  was  over 
there  was  more  dancing.  The  boys  danced 
with  the  instructors  and  with  their  friends. 

It  is  nice  to  know  how  to  dance  for  when 
we  get  out  in  the  world  or  into  society,  we  do 
not  want  to  be  wall  flowers. 

After  the  boys'  dancing  was  over,  Miss 
Reed  taught  some  of  the  instructors  different 
methods  in  dancing.  She  was  very  patient  with 
us  as  we  make  a  lot  of  mistakes,  but  we  are 
rapidly  improving. 

Theodore  B.  Hadley. 

Setting  6cc$e  eggs 

A  while  ago  I  set  some  goose  eggs  under  a 
hen.  First  1  went  up  to  the  stock  barn  and  got 
some  chaff  and  fine  hay  and  put  some  lice  powder 
in  the  bottom  of  nest.  I  put  the  chaff  in  so  the  nest 
would  be  warm  underneath.  Then  I  put  the  hay 
around  the  edges.  After  1  had  finished  making 
the  nest,  I  put  in  three  geese  eggs  because  a  hen 
cannot  cover  more  than  three  or  four  geese  eggs 
anyway.  After  I  had  that  done,  I  powdered  the 
hen  as  good  as  possible,  so  that  the  goslings  would 
not  get  lousy  after  they  are  hatched.  Then  I  put 
the  hen  on  the  nest.  It  will  take  about  four 
weeks  before  the  eggs  will  be  hatched. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr, 


l)<iuling  Coal 

On  April  5,  Mr.  Slinger  told  me  to  hitch 
Dick  and  Dennis  on  to  the  double  dump  cart  and 
draw  coal  to  the  Power  House. 

From  April  5  to  April  9,  1  hauled  coal  to 
the  Power  House  every  afternoon,  each  after- 
noon, taking  eight  loads  with. the  exception  of 
Friday,  April  9,  when  1  hauled  nine  loads. 

When  we  start  to  haul  coal  we  go  down  to 
the  pile  which  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  Boat- 
House  and  take  either  screening  or  soft  coal, 
whichever  is  needed.  We  then  draw  it  to  the 
Power  House. 

>  Norman  Moss, 

Cbe  Canary 

In  the  Reading  Room  there  is  a  canary, 
He  is  very  pretty  and  has  a  good  cage.  Every 
noon  one  of  the  instructors  comes  in  and  takes 
down  the  cage.  She  gets  a  little  dish  full  of 
water  and  puts  it  in  the  cage. 

Then  the  bird  takes  a  bath.  First. he  puts 
his  bill  in  to  see  if  the  water  is  all  right.  If  it  is, 
he  will  stand  in  it  and  splash.  When  he  is  all 
done  he  goes  up  in  the  top  of  the  cage  and  dries 
himself.  Then  clean  paper  is  put  in  the  bottom 
of  the  cage,  with  a  little  sand.  His  water  and 
seed  are  changed  and  he  is  hung  up  again. ,     ,. 

The  bird  is  a  very  good  singer  and  he  has 
a  mirror  in  his  cage  in  which  he  sees  himself, 
Osmond  W.  Bursiel. 

Song 

April,  April, 

Laugh  thy  girlish  laughter;  ; 

Then  the  moment  after. 
Weep  thy  girlish  tears! 
April,  that  mine  ears 
Like  a  lover  greetest. 
If  I  tell  thee,  sweetest. 
All  my  hopes  and  fears, 
April,  April, 

Laugh  thy  golden  laughter. 
But,  the  moment  after, 
Weep  thy  golden  tears! 
^  .  .  William  Watson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  JWmm  H$$ociatiou  of  Cbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84,  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis.  '99.  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26,  Ma 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox,  '79,  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,   Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Alden  Brooks  Hefler  was  born  in  Roxbury 
on  April  3,  1875.  He  was  one  of  six  children 
of  John  Charles  and  Sarah  (  Hiltz  )  Hefler. 
He  attended  the  Boston  public  schools  until  the 
death  of  his  mother,  which  occurred  in  1885, 
when  with  a  younger  brother,  he  entered  the 
Farm  School  on  Sept.  10,  of  that  year.  He  re- 
mained at  the  School  until  June  8,  1887,  when 
he  returned  to  his  fam.ily  home,  and  continuing 
his  attendance  at  the  public  schools,  he  gradu- 
ated from  the  George  Putman  Grammar  School 
in  Roxbury. 

He  secured  employment  in  the  printing  de- 
partment of  the  Dennison  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, in  Roxbury,  and  after  working  up  to  the 
position  of  pressman,  he  met  with  a  serious  ac- 
cident, his  right  hand  being  crushed  in  a  press, 
and  he  was  forced  to  give  up  his  position. 

Some  time  afterward  he  secured  employ- 
ment as  book-keeper  and  shipper  with  the  firm 
of  Hugh  Wright  &  Company,  in  Boston,  im- 
porters of  dye-stuffs,  and  after  a  service  there 
of  ten  years,  an  opportunity  presented  itself  to 
go  into  the  same  line  of  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count, with  two  others.  The  Turner  &  Hefler 
company  was  organized  in  Hyde  Park,  with  Mr. 
Hefler  as  treasurer,  which  in  the  15  years  of  its 
existence  has  built  up  a  profitable  and  success- 
ful business.  Preparation  for  this  line  of  work 
had  been  laid  by  Mr.  Hefler  in  his  earlier  years 
by  two  years  of  study  at  the  Roxbury  Evening 
High  School,  supplemented  by  a  course  in  chem- 
istry with  the  International  Correspondence 
School. 

Mr.  Hefler  is  a  member  of  the  Drysalters' 
Club,  a  trade  organization,  and  he  is  active  in  a 
number  of  civic  organizations  in    Hyde    Park, 


where  he  makes  his  home.  For  some  years  he 
served  as  a  trustee  of  the  Hyde  Park  Unitarian 
Church,  and  he  is  active  in  its  welfare.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  corporation  and  a  trustee  of  the 
Hyde  Park  Savings  Bank,  a  32nd  degree 
Mason,  a  knight  templer  and  a  noble  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine. 

Mr.  Hefler  married  Bertha  C.  Richardson 
of  Ayer,  and  two  sons  have  been  born  to  them, 
now  sixteen  and  eight  years  of  age  respectively, 
and  the  former  is  a  junior  in  high  school. 
Their  home  is  at  75  Central  Avenue,  Hyde 
Park.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hefler  also  brought  up  and 
educated  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Hefler's  sister,  and 
the  young  woman  is  now  a  nurse  with  the  Ameri- 
an  Expeditionary  Forces  in  France  and  Ger- 
many. 

Mr.  Hefler  was  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  the  Alumni  Association,  and  he  was  the 
second  president  of  the  Association. 


Howard  A.  Delano,  '13,  visited  the 
School  recently  for  the  first  time  since  his 
Graduation. 

After  he  left  the  School,  Howard  went  to 
work  on  a  farm  in  Ludlow,  Vt.,  for  his  uncle, 
W.  J.  Delano.  He  remained  there  for  four 
years  and  after  a  year  spent  on  another  farm  in 
Ludlow,  he  went  to  Cornish,  Maine,  where  he 
has  a  sister.  There  he  is  employed  on  the 
dairy  farm  of  W.  W.  &  F.  P.  Pike.  This  is  an 
up-to-date  farm,  with  a  line  of  thoroughbred 
Jerseys. 

Walter  W.  F.  Mann,  ex  '21,  writes  us 
a  short  letter  of  good  wishes.  Walter  is  living 
at  home  with  his  mother  at  Sherborne,  Mass. 


Vol.  24.  No.  2.      Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.    June,     1920 


Entered  November  23,   1903,  at 


Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1874. 


memorial  Day 

Sunday  afternoon,  May  30th,  at  2  P.  M., 
we  formed  a  line  and  marched  through  the 
orchard  toward  the  cemetery  at  South  End. 
All  the  way  over  the  snare  drums  beat  time  for 
us.  Occasionally  the  whole  band  played  a  selec- 
tion, and  afterwards  the  drums  would  play  again. 
As  we  approached  the  cemetery,  the  sound  of  the 
drums  deadened  until  we  reached  the  bank  on 
the  right  of  the  cemetery.  Then  we  sat  down 
on  the  grass,  one  above  the  other.  The  ser- 
vices this  year,  as  usually,  were  conducted  by 
officers  of  Cottage  Row,  and  Richard  Hall,  as 
mayor  of  Cottage  Row,  took  charge.  The  pro- 
gramme was  as  follows: 

SONG         America  the  Beautiful        School 

ADDRESS         Richard  H.  Hall 

SONG       Jesus  Lover  of  My  Soul      School 

POEM  Loyalty 

Theodore  B.  Hadley      (Author) 
READING  Our  Heroes 

Samuel  L.  Whitehead 

BRASS  QUARTET  Shubert 

Cameron,  Hall,    Libby  and  Smith 

Flags  were  then  placed  on  the  graves  by 
Richard  H.  Hall  and  Joseph  E.  Kervin,  as  a  tri- 
bute to  the  dead.    American  flags  were  put  on  1 6 


graves  and  a  Swedish  flag  on  that  of  a  former 
instructor  who  came  from  Sweden.  The  drums 
sounded  three  rolls.  Then  Libby,  Antell  and 
David  LeBrun,  the  latter  visiting  the  School, 
went  a  little  way  apart,  one  near  the  cemetery, 
one  down  by  the  shore,  and  one  back  on  the  hill, 
and  played  "Taps"  very  slowly,  one  after  the 
other.  This  was  very  pretty.  The  services 
were  then  concluded,  and  we  marched  back  to 
the  Main  Building  by  the  way  of  Beach  Road. 
Ralph  H.  Swenson. 

Grading  m  Jivenues 

One  afternoon  two  other  boys  and  myself 
were  sent  down  to  the  Front  Avenue  to  work. 
When  we  reached  there  we, were  told  to  scrape 
off  the  gravel  for  about  one  hundred  feet.  Then 
we  put  it  in  piles  on  one  side  and  took  rakes  and 
leveled  off  the  high  places.  After  that  we  raked 
up  all  the  stones,  sticks  and  other  things. 

When  we  were  done,  Mr.  Brown  sent  down 
some  wheel  barrow  loads  of  mixed  dirt  and  ashes 
We  were  given  a  form  that  was  cut  out  just 
the  shape  that  the  avenue  was  supposed  to  be. 
After  putting  this  across  from  gutter  to  gutter 
we  looked  under  it  to  see  where  dirt  was  needed. 

Then  we  put  some  dirt  on  and  made  the 
surface  the  right  shape.  When  one  place  was 
done  we  moved  on  a  little  bit,  getting  the  same 
shape  all  the  way  down.  When  the  bell  rang  at 
five  o'clock  we  were  half  way  done. 

Osmond  W.  Bursiel. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


B  naval  Uictory 

In  school  to-dsy  we  had  a  story  about  John 
Paul  Jones.  He  had  a  fight  in  his  ship,  the 
"Bon  Homine  Richard"  with  an  English  ship 
the  "Serapis."  Jones  came  vip  in  his  ship,  to 
the  Serapis  which  turned  and  fled.  He  chased 
and  came  up  to  it  and  made  it  put  to. 

"Ship  Ahoy,"  shouted  Captain  Jones. 

"Aye  Aye,"- shouted  Captain  Pearson. 

"What's  your  name?"  came  ringing  over 
the  water. 

"Serapis,  what's  yours?" 

"Bon  Homme  Richard,  haul  down  your 
flag,"  shouted  the  gallant  Jones. 

The  Englishman's  answer  was  the  flash  and 
boom  of  a  cannon  shot  that  whizzed  through  the 
rigging  of  the  Richard.  Then  raged  the  light- 
ning and  thunder  of  battle.  Fast  and  furious 
canie  the  roar  of  the  big  guns  now  from  this 
ship,  now  from  that.  They  drifted  nearer  to- 
gether, now  their  rigging  was  entangled,  now 
they  touched,  now  the  struggling  crew  fought 
hand  to  hand.  Right  and  left  the  conflict  raged, 
with  pikes  and  pistols  and  cutlasses. 

Jones  was  now  here,  now  there,  seeing  all, 
controlling  all,  and  mixing  with  the  bravest,  now 
training  some  gun,  now  pulling  some  rope,  now 
cheering  some  lagging  sailor  lad.  His  strong 
will  and  sturdy  pluck  gave  new  life  to  his  men. 

The  American  flag  was  obscured  with 
smoke  so  that  Captain  Pearson  not  seeing  it, 
shouted  "Are  you  ready  to  surrender?"  In- 
stantly came  Jones's  defiant  reply,  "Surrender! 
I've  not  yet  begun  to  fight!"  Then  Jones  lash- 
ed the  ships  together  while  the  cannon  balls  tore 
through  the  vessels,  cut  the  masts  and  scatter- 
ed the  wounded  and  dead  all  around.  The 
Richard  was  leaking  badly  and  both  vessels  were 
on  fire  three  times  but  the  pumps  were  at  work 
and  the  battle  still  raged. 

The  scene  was  one  of  appalling,  indescrib- 
able grandeur.  Finally  at  about  10:00  o'clock 
Captain  Pfearson  saw  there  was  no  hope  against 
such  a  foe  as  this  and  so  struck  his  flag. 

When  the  haughty  English  captain  gave  up 


his  sword  to  the  brave  Yankee  sailor,    he    said, 
"1  cannot  but  feel    much    mortification   at    the 
idea  of  surrendering  my  sword  to    a    man   who 
has  fought  me  with  a  rope  around  his  neck." 
Charles  N.  Robbins. 

maKiitd  a  Plant  Stand 

Making  a  plant  stand  is  very  interesting 
work.  The  wood  that  I  used  was  butternut,  one 
inch  thick,  which  was  rough. 

The  top  of  the  stand  was  cut  about  10  1-2 
inches  square  and  planed  on  one  broad  face  and 
then  it  was  gauged  to  the  thickness  of  3-4  of  an 
inch.  When  the  piece  was  planed  to  the  gauge 
lines  it  was  made  10  inches  square  and  the 
corners  were  cut  off,  which  made  the  top  an 
octagon,  four  and  1-8  inches  on  a  side. 

The  top  being  finished,  four  pieces  were 
made  10  by  1  and  1-2  by  3-4  inches  for  cross 
pieces,  one-half-lap  joints  in  each  of  the  cross- 
pieces.  One  of  the  cross-pieces  was  screwed 
to  the  top  with  six  1  and  3-4  inch  screws. 

The  legs  were  then  made  which  were  81 
by  I  and  1-2  by  3-4  inches.  There  were  four 
of  them,  one  on  every  other  edge  of  the  top. 
The  other  cross-piece  was  put  about  five  inches 
from  the  bottom  of  the  legs.  The  legs  werei 
then  screwed  on  the  top  with  eight  2  and,.  1-2 
inch  No.  12  round  head  brass  screws,  and 
four  screws  in  the  bottom  cross-pieces.  T^e 
stand  was  then  sandpapered  with  No.  0  sand- 
paper, then  oiled,  shellacked  and  rubbed  down 
with  pumice  and  oil.  Clifton  H.  Sears. 

Cbc  Jack  Plane 

The  plane  we  use  most  in  sloyd  is  the 
jack  plane.  The  jack  plane  is  used  for  planing 
straight  surfaces.  Some  of  the  principal  parts 
are  as  follows:  the  body,  throat,  knob,  handle, 
frog,  plane  iron  blade,  cap,  cap  screw,  adjusting 
screw  and  adjusting  lever. 

There  are  many  other  different  planes. 
Some  are  the  block  plane,  rabbet,  jointer,  and 
smoothing  plane. 

Bernard  R.  Morrill. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


mylUorkanaall  JiboutTt 

I  have  charge  of  the  Stock  Room.  I  go  to 
work  there  in  the  morning,  also  before  school 
in  the  afternoon.  The  Stock  Room  is  quite 
large.  The  south  side  and  the  west  have  shelves 
next  to  the  wall.  On  the  north  side  there  are 
barrels  containing  tools,  such  as  farm  tools, 
brooms  and  brushes.  In  the  middle  of  the  room 
is  a  large  table.  Under  the  table  we  keep  our 
bags  of  beans.  There  are  barrels  of  food  and 
other  things  which  come  in  barrels  under  the 
shelves.  We  keep  all  things  such  as  glue,  lamps, 
lamp  shades  and  many  other  utensils  on  the 
shelves.  On  the  eastern  half  of  the  same  shelves 
are  many  boxes  of  the  same  size,  in  which  we 
keep  locks,  and  other  small  articles.  Or.  the 
eastern  and  northern  sides  we  keep  our  flour. 
There  is  a  back  door  in  the  middle  of  the  north 
side  that  leads  out  to  the  Avenue.  Opposite 
that  is  the  door  opening  into  a  hall  which  leads 
into  the  kitchen.  The  wood  work  is  all  white 
and  the  floor  is  cement. 

My  work  is  to  keep  the  place  clean  and  to 
keep  the  tools  from  rusting,  also  to  fill  requisi- 
tions which  1  receive  from  the  office.  When  an 
instructor  wants  anything  for  his  work  he  writes 
a  requisition  for  it.  Then  Mr.  Bradley  signs  it 
and  1  fill  it  out.  1  take  the  things  that  each  in- 
structor wants,  put  them  in  a  pile  and  check 
them  on  the  slip.  I  then  return  the  slip  to  the 
office  and  take  the  articles  to  each  instructor. 
Then  1  record  them  in  the  record  book.  1  have 
had  requisitions  to  fill  for  all  departments.  1 
have  to  be  sure  that  there  is  plenty  of  every- 
thing on  hand,  and  report  to  the  office  when  we 
are  low  in  anything.  It  is  quite  a  responsible 
job.  Harold  B.  Buchan. 

Painritid  a  Sign 

One  day  a  sign  from  the  Wharf  came  to 
the  paint  shop  to  be  painted. 

Mr.  Ferguson  told  me  to  give  it  a  thin  coat 
of  "'hite  paint  that  day.  The  following  day  it 
was  given  another  thin  coat  of  the  same  paint. 
A  couple  of  days  later  he  told  me  to  mix  some 
lampblack  and  linseed  oil  together,    and  when   I 


finished  that  to  put  in  some  crystal  spar  varnish. 
Then  I  gave  the  letters  one  coat.  It  took  a  few 
more  days  for  this  to  dry.  After  it  did  dry,  I 
puttied  the  cracks  and  gave  it  another  coat  of 
white.  After  this  dried  I  added  to  the  black  I 
had  left  from  the  other  some  Spirits  of  Japan,  so 
that  it  would  dry  more  quickly.  I  then  gave  the 
letters  the  last  coat  of  black.  The  words  on  the 
sign  are  "Mean  High  Water,"  with  an  arrow 
extending  the  whole  length. 

1  like  to  paint  signs,  as  it   helps    to    steady 
the  nerves  in  my  hands  for  my  future  work. 
Henry  C.  Lowell. 

B  Ground  Ulirc 

As  I  am  learning  to  be  an  electrician  it  is 
my  duty  to  see  that  the  lights  on  the  Island  are 
always  in  good  condition. 

Sometimes  a  wire  is  broken,  sometimes  it 
may  be  an  electric  light  bulb,  but  the  thing  that 
is  hardest  to  repair  is  a  ground  wire.  This  is 
a  wire  that  is  bare  and  is  resting  on  the  metal 
pipe  that  forms  its  casing.  It  is  very  hard  to 
find,  for  one  may  have  to  tear  things  down  be- 
fore it  can  be  found.  It  may  be  where  the 
wires  have  been  put  together  and  when  it  was 
taped,  one  of  the  sharp  ends  came  through  and 
come  in  contact  with  metal  pipe. 

I  like  this  kind  of  work  very  much. 

Joseph  E.  Kervin. 

Pigeons 

One  afternoon  while  feeding  the  pigeons  1 
saw  two  little  eggs  in  a  nest.  The  next  day 
there  was  a  little  pigeon  lying  beside  the  eggs. 
He  was  a  little  smaller  than  a  baby  chicken  and 
looked  a  lot  like  one,  although  he  had  a  very 
large  bill.  He  could  wiggle  his  head,  but  his 
eyes  were  closed. 

A  day  later  the  other  pigeon  had  broken 
through  the  shell  and  both  pigeons  were  hoppmg 
around  in  the  nest.  Not  long  after  both  of  the 
pigeons  had  their  eyes  open.  The  little  pigeons 
grew  very  fast  and  soon  had  darker  feathers  like 
their  mother.  1  enjoy  watching  little  pigeons 
grow  from  day  to  day  and  seeing  them  try  to  ■ 
walk  and  fly.  John  P.  Davidson. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbontp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS   OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Vol.  24.    No.  2.  June.  1920 

50  Cents  Per  Year 


Subscription  Price 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 
vice-president 

Charles  E.   Mason 

TREASURER 

N.   Penrose  Hallowell 
secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

MANAGERS 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George  L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.  Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiner, 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,   M.   D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw- 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


As  graduation  approaches,  it  is  well  to  stop 
and  consider  if  we  have  gained  what  we  should 
have  from  our  work.  We  all  think  much  of  get- 
ting our  diplomas,  and  they  should  mean  a  great 
deal  to  us;  they  certify  not  only  that  we  have 
completed  a  certain  amount  of  school  work,  but 


—in  this  school,  at  least — that  our  life  and  work 
outside  the  schoolroom  has  been  properly  con- 
ducted. They  will  open  for  us  new  doors  to  new 
adventures,  and  they  are  rewards  of  which  we 
well  may  be  proud. 

But  the  thoughtful  among  us  must  realize 
that  the  aim,  the  real  aim  of  our  course  is  not 
merely  to  furnish  us  with  diplomas,  treasured 
though  these  may  be.  The  real  aim  of  any  ed- 
ucation is  more  than  that. 

First  we  must  earn  our  living,  and  any  ed- 
ucation that  neglects  to  teach  men  and  women 
something  about  taking  care  of  themselves  is 
lacking  in  an  important  respect.  We  believe  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  man  and  woman  to  learn 
how  to  do  well  at  least  one  thing  by  means  of 
which  he  can  earn  a  decent  living  if  he  so  wish- 
es, and  here  we  learn  the  rudiments  of  many 
kinds  of  work. 

Another  purpose  of  education  is  to  teach  us 
to  enjoy  the  right  sort  of  things.  We  learn  to 
distinguish  the  worth  while  from  the  trivial,  and 
to  find  the  greater  pleasure  in  the  things  that  are 
worth  while.  This  applies  to  music,  art,  and 
many  other  things.  Take  the  question  of  read- 
ing, for  example.  At  first  we  may  prefer  to  read 
exciting  stories  whether  or  not  they  have  any 
claim  to  merit  in  their  style  of  expression.  But  if 
we  force  ourselves  to  read  books  that  we  know  are 
worth  while,  even  though  at  first  they  may  seem 
rather  stupid,  the  time  will  come  when  the  tables 
will  be  turned.  We  will  learn  to  appreciate  the 
clever  character  drawing  or  the  forceful  descrip- 
tion or  whatever  particular  characteristics  the 
better  written  book  may  have,,  and  we  will  become 
really  interested,  whereas  the  formerly  excit- 
ing story  often  has  become  stupid,  merely  a  poor- 
ly told  story,  and  usually  untrue  to  life,  imposing 
itself  upon  the  reader  as  being  true  to  facts. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Here  we  have  accomplished  the  purpose  of 
education  —  learned  to  enjoy  the  right  kind  of 
things  —  by  giving  them  a  fair  trial,  and  they 
have  developed  in  us  the  ability  to  appreciate 
them. 

Education  develops  in  us  the  ability  to  en- 
joy more  fully  the  beautiful  things  of  life,  and  it 
also  teaches  us  to  appreciate  the  efforts  and 
achievments  of  others.  As  we  study  our  history 
the  example  of  great  men  is  ever  before  us,  and 
these  should  influence  us  to  make  our  lives  of 
more  value,  to  do  something  that  will  make  the 
world  a  little  farther  advanced  because  we  have 
lived.  Some  of  us  have  a  talent  which  should 
be  made  the  most  of,  but  most  of  us  will  owe  all 
we  become  to  sheer  hard  work  and  grit-luck  and 
pull  help  only  temporarily.  But  by  straight  living 
and  doing  one's  work  well,  (and  whether  or  not  it 
is  done  well  is  entirely  up  to  the  individual — if 
you  don't  know  enough  for  your  work,  study  up 
for  it)  one  may  succeed,  and  successes  are  an 
inspiration  to  others  and  an  asset  to  a  nation, 
while  failures  help  nobody. 

But  after  all,  education  has  done  little  for 
us  if  it  has  not  taught  us  to  consider  the  rights 
and  interests  of  others.  That  you  and  1  go  a- 
head  is  of  account,  but  it  is  of  just  as  much 
account  that  the  next  person  advance  also,  and 
it  may  be  within  our  power  to  help.  "Man  is  a 
social  animal"  and  in  order  successfully  to  live 
with  others,  he  must  occasionally  give  up  the  good 
of  the  one — himself — for  the  good  of  the  many. 
Although  one  person  may  point  the  way,  civili- 
zation advances  with  the  people  as  a  whole. 

G.  Stanley  Hall  has  stated  the  aims  of  ed- 
ucation as  follows:  "To  teach  us  to  delight  in 
what  we  should;  to  earn  a  living;  to  become  a 
good  neighbor:  to  enrich  the  life  of  our  time," 
and  this  seems  to  sum  up  the  whole  story. 


If  we  think  over  for  a  moment  our  teach- 
ings here  at  the  School,  we  will  see  that  they 
pass  the  four  tests  of  "the  aims  of  education" 
as  stated  above,  and  when  we  have  finished  here, 
we  should  bear  our  lessons  in  mind,  and  make 
our  lives  prove  that  our  education  has  not  been 
in  vain. 

Calendar 

May  1  Seven  boys  attended  the  Child- 
ren's Festival  at  the  Masonic  Temple  in  Boston. 

Band  concert  and  dancing  in  the  evening. 

May  3  Man  from  R.  T.  Adams  Co.  here 
to  examine  floors. 

Finished  transplanting  strawberry  bed, 
2225  plants  in  all.  Spread  ashes  east  of  Ob- 
servatory. 

Set  out  three  trees  along  Highland  Road. 

May  4  Two  men  here  to  do  work  on 
floors. 

Spread  ashes  on  Oak  Knoll,  and  started 
ploughing  there.  Trimmed  Farm  House  path. 
Preparing  asparagus  bed  and  cultivating  rhubarb. 

May  5  Finished  ploughing  Oak  Knoll,  and 
started  the  North  End  potato  piece. 

Seed  for  gardens  came. 

Killed  25  lbs.  of  poultry. 

Dancing  lessons  in  the  evening. 

May  6  Seven  boys  went  to  the  dentist  in 
the  morning. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

May  7  Working  on  asparagus  bed. 
Planting  oats  and  peas  and  seeded  South   End. 

May  8     Planted    500     asparagus     roots. 

Sorted  potatoes  for  seed.  Planting  oats 
and  peas. 

May  9  Sunday.  John  A.  Robertson,  '15, 
here  for  a  few  hours  leave  from  the  "Nantucket" 
before  she  started  on  her  summer  cruise. 

May   10     500  more  asparagus  roots  in. 

May  11  Sorting  potatoes.  Harrowed  and 
smoothed  by  Oak  Knoll.     Hoed  small  fruits'. 

May  12  Secretary  Tucker  Daland  visited 
the  School. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Planting  oats  and  peas  on  Oak  Knoll,  and 
seeding.  Hoed  around  small  fruits  and  trees 
by  nursery.     Weeded  hot  beds. 

Dancing  lessons  in  the  evening. 

May   13     Six  boys  visited  the  dentist. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

May  18  Began  caulking  and  painting 
the  scow. 

Began  planting  2  acres  potatoes  by  Farm 
House. 

May   19     Dancing  lesson  in  the  evening. 

May  20     Five  boys  visited  the   dentist. 

Began  planting  3  acres  potatoes  at  North 
End. 

Nursery  stock  came  as  follows:  74  apple   trees, 
34  pear,  15  cherry,  6  plum,  36  peach  trees. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

May  21      Nursery  stock  put  in. 

May  23  Mr.  Fay  and  Mr.  Bemis  showed 
stereopticon  pictures  and  boys  sang  in  the  even- 
ing. 

May  24  Trip  to  Lawley's  to  have  engine 
of  launch  looked  over. 

May  25  First  Friends'  Day.  Two  hun- 
dred forty  visitors  present.  President  Arthur 
Adams  here. 

May  26  Moved  linden  trees  from  nursery 
to  East  Side  bank.     Stripped  willows. 

Dancing  lesson  in  the  evening. 

May  27  Five  boys  visited  the  dentist. 
Planted  three  varieties  of  beets  and  second 
planting  of  peas  in  garden.  Motion  pictures  in 
the  evening. 

May  28  Treasurer  N.  Penrose  Hallowell 
visited  the  School.  Planted  two  varieties  of  car- 
rots, and  onions. 

Killed  25  lbs.  poultry. 

David  B.  Lebrun,  ex  '21,  came  to  stay 
over  Memorial  Day. 

May  30  Memorial  Exercises  in  the  Cem- 
etery. Taps  played  by  Herbert  Antell,  Waldo 
E.  Libby  and  David  B.  LeBrun. 


May  31  Memorial  Day.  Baseball  game 
between  instructors  and  boys.  Score  21  to  10 
in  favor  of  the  boys. 

Calendar  so  Vears  Jfgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

May  14  There  have  been  no  visitors 
during  the  week.  We  have  been  busy  planting, 
sowing  grain,  etc. 

May  19  Went  to  the  city  with  the  Lyman. 
Bought  skiff,  $22.00. 

May  20  Planted  field  corn  and  prepared 
ground  for  potatoes. 

May  23     Planting  potatoes  and  sweet  corn. 

May  26  Received  a  visit  from  Manager 
A.  D.  Weld,  Esq.,  via  Squantum.  Planted 
beans  and  hoed  some  crops. 

May  28  A  stormy  windy  day  from  the 
east.  A  good  deal  of  rain  fallen.  Self  with  the 
boys.     Men  pressing  hay. 

May  31  The  2nd  visiting  day  of  the 
season.  The  "Rose  Standish"  came  withfriends 
of  boys.  The  only  Manager  present  was  Mr. 
S.  G.  Deblois. 


may  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  78°  on  the  19th. 

Minimum  Temperature  32"  on  the  14th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  52. 

Total  precipitation  1 .60  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .75  inch- 
es on  the  22nd. 

Six  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 12  clear  days,  14  partly  cloudy,  5  cloudy. 

Cbe  Tartti  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  May  1,  1920  $791.90 

Deposited  during  the  month 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  June  1,  1920 


99.69 

$891.59 
17.23 

$874.36 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Crcc  Inspecting 

We  have  inspectors  on  the  Island  for  sev- 
eral different  kinds  of  work.  Among  them  are 
tree  inspectors.  The  work  of  a  tree  inspector  is 
to  cut  all  the  dead  limbs  from  the  trees  on  the 
Island  to  get  all  the  cocoons,  nests  and  eggs  of 
the  brown  tail  and  gypsy  moths;  to  report  all 
dead  trees  so  that  they  may  be  cut  down,  and  to 
pick  up  all  limbs  that  are  on  the  ground  in  any  of 
the  groves  and  put  them  in  piles  so  that  they  may 
be  hauled  to  the  brush  pile. 

When  any  tree  inspectors  go  tree  inspect- 
ing, they  generally  take  a  saw,  a  can  of  paint 
and  a  rope.  They  saw  off  any  dead  or  broken 
limbs  and  then  paint  the  stub  that  is  on  the  tree. 
The  paint  used  consists  of  lamp  black  and  turpen- 
tine. The  reason  that  paint  is  used  is  to  keep 
the  sap  from  running  down  the  side  of  the  tree. 
When  we  find  out  where  there  are  any  nests  of 
brown  tail  or  gypsy  moths  we  take  a  sharp  knife 
and  a  bag  and  get  them.  When  we  get  all  the 
nests  we  can  find,  they  are  burned  in  the  power 
house.  Frederick  E.  Munich. 

milking 

We  have  a  dairy  of  grade  cows  which  in- 
cludes these  breeds,  Holstein,  Jersey,  Guernsey 
and  Durhams.  There  are  20  cows  being 
milked.  In  addition  we  have  three  heifers,  and 
six  small  calves. 

We  do  the  milking  at  five  o'clock  morning 
and  night.  It  requires  four  boys  to  milk  and 
one  to  carry  milk.  So  that  no  dirt  can  get  into 
the  milk  the  milkers  wear  milking  aprons  and 
brush  their  cows  off  before  sitting  down  to  milk. 
No  feeding  is  done  while  milking,  or  the  dust 
would  get  into  the  milk.  As  soon  as  the  milker 
is  done  with  one  cow,  he  weighs  the  milk  and 
puts  it  in  the  strainer  pail.  The  milk  carrier 
then  puts  it  into  the  milk  cans.  As  soon  as  the 
milk  cans  are  full,  the  milk  is  taken  to  the 
house.  One  quart  of  grain  is  given  to  every 
three  pounds  of  milk.  In  the  morning  the  feed- 
ing is  done  after  milking  and  at  night  the  feeding 
is  done   before  the  milkers    go   down.      Hay  is 


being  fed  three  times  a  day.  Grain  is  fed  twice 
a  day.  At  present  we  are  getting  about  six 
cans  of  milk  twice  a  day. 

Albert  Anderson. 

Uiolin  Practice 

Since  last  March  one  of  my  greatest 
pleasures  has  been  practicing  on  my  violin. 
The  violin  was  given  to  me  by  one  of  the  boys 
who  went  away.  Mr.  K-ihIstrom,  our  sloyd  in- 
structor, who  plays  the  piano  and  knows  some- 
thing about  the  violin,  gives  me  lessons  and 
helps  me.  He  plays  the  piano  while  1  play  the 
violin. 

Some  of  the  hours  that  1  practice  are  from 
12:00  to  1:00  at  noon  or  from  6:00  to  7:00  at 
night.  Sometimes  I  go  dov(/n  to  the  band  hall 
from  7:00  until  9:00  with  Mr.  Kihlstrom.  Sun- 
days we  sometimes  play  in  Chapel  together. 
We  have  some  very  interesting  hours  and  I 
hope  to  be  a  good  player  some  time. 

Norman  F.  Farmer. 

J\  trip  UlitD  the  mail  Boy 

One  noon  hour  as  I  was  playing  up  in  the 
gymnasium,  Mr.  Brown  told  me  he  wanted  me 
to  make  the  trip  with  the  mail  boy. 

First  we  (the  mail  boy  and  I)  washed  up 
good  and  clean.  Then  we  combed  our  hair, 
shined  our  shoes,  then  went  to  the  drawroom 
and  put  on  our  uniforms.  Next  we  went  to  the 
office  to  get  the  mail  bag  and  instructions  con- 
cerning the  errands  we  had  to  do. 

We  left  on  the  steamer  about  1 :30  o'clock. 
When  we  reached  City  Point  we  boarded  an  in- 
town  car  After  doing  our  errands  we  went  to 
the  Post  Office  and  got  the  mail. 

Then  we  got  on  a  City  Point  car  and  ar- 
rived at  the  Public  Landing  at  5:15  o'clock  to 
return  to  the  Island.  I  enjoyed  the  trip  very 
much.  Samuel  L.  Whitehead. 


"Whether  people's  gratitude  for  the  good 
gifts  that  come  to  them,  be  wisely  conceived  or 
dutifully  expressed,  is  a  secondary  matter,  after 
all,  so  long  as  they  feel  gratitude." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


the  Jllumni  jRssociation  of  Cbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84.  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis.  '99.  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26,  Mass. 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  Vice-Presi 
Boston 
Richard  Bell.  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox,     79.  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,    Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Edward  A.  Moore,  79,  is  president  of  the 
Massachusetts  Public  School  Janitors'  Associ- 
ation, and  is  editor  of  "The  Custodian,"  the 
monthly  publication  which  the  association  issues 
as  its  official  organ. 

Perry  Coombs,  '14,  went  to  Liverpool  in 
the  fall  of  1915  on  the  Devonian,  sailing  from 
Boston  with  a  load  of  horses.  Upon  arriving 
there,  he  enlisted  in  the  8th  Liverpool  Irish 
King's  regiment,  and  trained  in  Blackpool  until 
about  February,  when  he  went  to  France,  and 
went  directly  to  the  front,  in  Belgium.  Later 
they  went  to  the  Somme,  and  he  was  there  until 
August,  1916,  when  he  was  captured.  His 
batallion  went  over  800  strong,  and  got  cut  off 
from  the  batallion  on  their  left,  after  penetrating 
the  German  lines  to  the  third  line.  The  Ger- 
mans practically  surrounded  them  and  cut  them 
off  from  any  relief,  about  6:00  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  they  fought  until  eleven,  when  148 
of  those  that  were  left,  were  captured.  Of  the 
800,  only  these  148,  and  60  that  got  back  to  the 
English  lines  were  left,  the  rest  being  killed. 
During  the  fight  another  batallion  tried  to  get 
through  along  a  sunken  road,  and  were  exposed 
to  a  terrific  German  machine  gun  fire  from 
both  sides.  Perry  went  over  with  about  50 
men,  and  cleaned  out  the  German  machine 
guns,  giving  the  other  batallion  a  chance  to  get 
through,  but  only  15  of  the  original  50  came 
back. 

When  he  was  first  captured,  he  was  sent  to 
Dulman,  in  Germany,  and  put  to  work  in  a  stone 
quarry.  A  number  of  the  prisoners  went  on 
strike,  because  the  Germans  wanted  them  to 
work  on  Sunday,  and  about  20  of  them,  Perry 
included,  were  picked  out  as  leaders,  and  made 
to  stand  at  attention  out  on  a  hill  outside  the 
camp  for  three  days,  when   they    were    sent    to 


Muenster,  and  put  to  work  in  a  coal  mine. 
This  was  a  punishment,  but  was  really  easier 
than  the  stone  quarry,  as  there  were  large  num- 
bers there,  and  the  guards  could  not  keep  track 
of  them  all.  On  one  occasion  he  and  another 
man  managed  to  get  a  supply  of  civilian  clothes, 
and  planned  to  get  away,  by  jumping  under  some 
freight  cars  that  they  passed  going  from  work  to 
their  quarters,  and  riding  on  the  trucks,  but  one 
of  the  Russian  prisoners  gave  the  plan  away,  and 
they  were  caught  before  they  had  a  chance  to 
start.  For  this  they  were  punished  by  being 
made  to  stay  under  some  coke  ovens  for  seven 
days.  For  the  first  seven  months  they  had  to 
live  on  German  prison  food  and  got  so  weak 
they  could  hardly  work,  but  after  that  the  British 
government  sent  them  food  and  asupply  of  cloth- 
ing, and  they  fared  better.  He  stayed  in 
Muenster  until  a  week  after  the  armistice  was 
signed,  and  then  returned  to  England  through 
Holland.  In  England  he  receiveda  two  months' 
furlough,  and  was  released  from  military  service 
on  April  10th,  1919.  He  was  in  the  German 
camp  for  two  years  and  four  months,  and  had 
been  at  the  front  for  eight  months  prior  to  that 
time.  He  received  four  shrapnel  wounds,  but 
none  of  them  were  very  serious. 

Since  returning  to  the  United  States.  Perry 
has  gone  to  Canada,  with  the  intention  of  taking 
up  a  government  claim  of  320  acres  of  land  at 
Nepawin  in  Saskatchewan,  about  90  miles 
northwest  by  north  from  Prince  Albert. 

Lawrence  M.  Cobb,  '14,  is  now  with 
Drake  Brothers  Company,  bakers,  of  Roxbury, 
and  is  taking  a  course  on  salesmanship,  which 
the  firm  is  furnishing  through  the  Sheldon 
School  of  Business. 


Vol.  24.   No.  3.      Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.    July,     1920 

Entered  November  23,   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,   1874. 


Graauatioit  Day 

The  one  day  of  the  year  which  means  most 
to  members  of  the  first  class  is  graduation. 
This  year  it  occured  on  June  16.  As  the  weath- 
er was  unsettled  the  exercises  were  held  in 
the  Assembly  Hall,  instead  of  on  the  Front 
Lawn  as  usual.  The  room  was  prettily  decor- 
ated with  the  school  colors,  gold  and  blue,  and 
flowers.  The  class  motto  "Step  by  step  to  the 
heights  beyond,"  was  mounted  in  gold  letters  on 
a  large  blue  banner,  in  the  rear  of  the  room. 

Mr.  Bradley  and  a  number  of  th?  Board  of 
Managers  sat  in  the  front  of  the  room  on  the 
right  side  of  the  entrance,  with  the  22  mem- 
bers of  the  graduating  class  sitting  opposite. 

The  speaker  of  day  was  the  Rev.  Thomas 
M.  Mark  who  was  introduced  by  Vice  President 
Charles  E.  Mason.  He  in  turn  was  introduced 
by  Mr.  Bradley.  Mr.  Mark  spoke  of  our  motto 
and  made  it  his  general  theme. 

The  exercises  were  as  follows: 


Class  Prophecy 

John  Edward  Kervin 

School  Song 

School 

Valedictory  and  Essay 

West  Point 
James  Albert  Carson 
Brass  Quartette 

Hall,  Libby,  Cameron,  Smith 
Introduction  of  Speaker 

Vice  President,  Charles  E.   Mason 

Address 

Rev.  Thomas  M.  Mark 

Presentation  of  Diplomas 
Mr.   Bradley 

Song  America 

School 
March  N.  C.  4  F.  E. 

Band 


F.  T.  S. 


Shubert 


Overture  Determination  Beyer 

Band 
Prayer 

Rev.  Thomas  M.  Mark 

Salutatory  and  Essay 

The  Rise  of  a  Genius 

Bernard  Ross  Morrill 

Song  Anchored  M.  Watson 

School 


After  the  exercises  we  went  about  the 
grounds  showing  our  friends  the  places  of  inter- 
est. 

At  5:30  as  the  steamer  cast  off,  and  left  the 
Wharf,  we  gave  three  rousing  cheers  and  a  tiger 
for  our  friends,  and  returned  to  the  house.  In 
the  evening  we  held  a  dance  in  honor  of  our 
graduation. 

Alfred  A.  Pickels 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


GRADUATING  CLASSES 

Literary 

Albert  Anderson  Henry  Carpenter  Lowell 

Osmond  Wolcott  Bursiel  William  Theodore  Marcus 

James  Albert  Carson  Bernard  Ross  Morrill 

Albert  Ellis  Norman  Moss 

Donald  Wilbur  Ellis  Frederick  Eldridge  Munich 

Harold  Ellis  Alfred  Augustus  Pickels 
Norman  Frederick  Farmer  Arthur  John  Schaefer 

Richard  Homer  Hall  Clifton  Howes  Sears 

John  Edward  Kervin  Daniel  Emery  Smith 

Joseph  Kervin  Thomas  Lawrence  Unwin 

Aldevin  Adolph  Lammi  George  Wainwright  Vincent 

Sloyd 
Albert  Anderson  Richard  Homer  Hall 

Donald  Wilbur  Ellis  John  Edward  Kervin 

John  Goodhue.  Jr.  Arthur  John  Schaefer 

Luke  Wilson  B.  Halfyard    Clifton  Howes  Sears 
George  Wamwright  Vincent 


ESSAYS  PREPARED  BY  MEMBERS  OF  THE 
CLASS  OF  1920 

Agriculture Albert  Anderson 

A  Great  American     .     .     .     Osmond  Wolcott  Bursiel 

Sloyd Albert  Ellis 

Development  of  the  Rifles     .      Donald  Wilbur  Ellis 

Our  Neighbor— Canada Harold  Ellis 

Concrete Norman   Frederick  Farmer 

A  Few  Facts  of  the  World  War  Richard  Homer  Hall 
Electricity  in  the  Home     ....     Joseph  Kervin 

Gold Aldevin  Adolph  Lammi 

House  Painting     ....     Henry  Carpenter  Lowell 

Football William  Theodore  Marcus 

Horses Norman   Moss 

Dairy  Farming  .  .  .  Frederick  Eldridge  Munich 
History  of  Our  Band  .  .  Alfred  Augustus  Pickels 
The  Art  of  Printing  ....  Arthur  John  Schaefer 
Wood  Used  in  Cabinet  Making  Clifton  Howes  Sears 
The  American  Red  Cross     .     .     Daniel  Emery  Smith 

Wheat Thomas    Lawrence    Unwin 

Locomotives     ....     George  Wainwright  Vincent 


CLASS   MOTTO 

"Step  by  step  to  the  heights  beyond." 

CLASS  OFFICERS 

President Joseph  Kervin 

Vice  President     ....     James  A.  Carson 

Secretary  and  Treasurer     .     .    John  E.  Kervin 

Entertainment  Committee    .     Richard  H.   Hall 

Albert  Anderson     .     William  T.  Marcus 

Clifton  H.  Sears 


Alumni  Tield  Day 

On  June  17,  we  had  our  Annual  Alumni 
Day.  As  all  the  people  of  the  Alumni  did  not 
come  in  the  morning,  the  games  and  sports  did 
not  begin  until  the  afternoon. 

After  dinner  all  the  people  went  to  the 
gymnasium  as  it  was  a  rainy  day.  The  boys 
were  there  too. 

Some  of  our  Alumni  friends  threw  candy 
for  which  we  scrambled.  Some  boys  succeeded 
in  getting  a  lot  of  candy,  peanuts  and  money. 

When  everybody  was  there  the  games 
were  begun.  There  was  an  obstacle  race.  It 
was  very  funny  as  some  of  the  boys  had  a  hard 
time  getting  through  the  race.  There  was  a 
potato  race,  a  three  legged  race  and  a  spar  con- 
test. Besides  these  they  had  a  crab  race  and 
some  other  interesting  races.  Three  prizes 
were  given  out  for  the  three  winners  in  each 
event. 

When  it  came  supper  time  everybody  dis- 
appeared to  eat  supper.  When  this  was  over 
the  Alumni  and  all  the  graduates  went  up  in 
the  Assembly  Hall  and  danced.  Everybody 
could  not  go  as  it  would  have  made  too  large  a 
crowd  in  the  Assembly  Hall.  About  nine  o'clock 
the  Alumni  and  their  friends  left  for  their  homes. 
Theodore  B.  Hadley 

Instructor's  Day 

Through  the  kindness  of  President  Arthur 
Adams  Saturday,  June  19,  was  set  apart  as"In- 
structor's  Day."  Each  instructor  was  given 
the  privilege  of  inviting  friends  to  visit. 

The  visitors  arrived  at  1:15  p.  m.and  were 
met  at  the  Wharf  by  the  instructors  and  our  band. 
Dinner  was  served  on  the  side  lawn.  The 
tables  were  arranged  in  a  hollow  square.  The 
caterers  were  from  T.  D.  Cook  Company.  An 
entertainment  immediately  followed,  to  which 
the  instructors  invited  the  boys.  This  consis- 
ted of  songs  and  humorous  readings  and  was 
one  of  the  best  of  the  year.  The  day  ended 
with  a  theatre  boat  for  the  instructors. 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Outing  of  Dorcbcster  Boy's  Band 

On  June  5,  1920,  Mr.  Bradley  invited  the 
Dorchester  Boy's  Band  here  for  a  field  day. 
Although  it  rained  we  had  a  good  time.  We 
made  three  trips  with  our  Steamer,  "Pilgrim," 
to  get  the  people  to  the  Island.  After  all  the 
people  had  arrived,  they  left  their  wraps  and 
bundles  in  the  West  Basement. 

Later  the  visiting  band  and  our  band 
assembled  together  in  Gardner  Hall  and  gave 
a  short  concert.  We  enjoyed  this  very  much. 
After  this  we  had  some  sports.  Among  them 
were  the  three  legged  race,  blind  boxing,  pie 
race  and  potato  race.  At  the  close  of  the  sports 
we  had  a  few  speeches  by  Mr.  Bradley,  Rev. 
Mr.  Pierce  and  Mr.  H.  B.  Ellis,  the  latter  being 
our  band  instructor.  After  lunch  we  had  dancing 
in  the  Assembly  Hall. 

Thus  the  day  passed  quickly  and  pleasant- 
ly, although  we  were  kept  indoors  by  rain.  We 
all  hope  Mr.  Ellis  can  bring  his  band  here  again 
next  year. 

Albert  Ellis 

B  VacM  Ride 

On  June  15,  the  School  was  invited  for  a 
ride  in  the  Constellation,  flagship  of  the  Eastern 
Yacht  Club,  by  Cfimmodore  Herbert  M.  Sears, 
brother  of  our  Manager.  The  "Constellation"  is 
a  two  masted  auxiliary  yacht.  At  ten  o'clock  we 
were  ready  at  the  Wharf.  The  launch  with  the 
"Mary  Chilton"  in  tow  took  us  to  the  yacht  in 
two  trips.  As  we  went  aboard  the  yacht  we  all 
shook  hands  with  the  Commodore  and  his  broth- 
er, Mr.  Philip  S.  Sears.  Soon  we  began  to  move. 
We  all  were  interested  in  seeing  the  sailors  do 
their  work.  Among  the  Islands  we  passed  were 
Long  Island.  Deer  Island  and  George's  Island. 

About 'one  o'clock  we  anchored  off  our  Island 
for  lunch.  We  had  sandwiches,  lemonade, 
icecream,  cake,  and  candy,  besides  other  things. 
We  returned  about  three  o'clock  to  the  Island. 

We  all  appreciated  the  trip  very  much. 

IVERS   E.   WiNMILL 


B  Crip  to  Concord 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Arthur  Adams, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  the  gradu- 
ating class,  the  remaining  members  of  the  '18 
and  '  1 9  class  and  a  few  instructors  were  given  an 
auto  ride  to  Concord. 

On  Sunday,  June  20,  1920,  we  were  taken 
to  the  South  Boston  Yacht  Club  landing.  We 
waited  a  short  while  in  front  of  the  Yacht  Club 
for  the  sight  seeing  busses.  We  went  over  the 
rout  of  Paul  Revere,  through  Cambridge  first, 
and  saw  Washington  Elm,  Harvard  and  Radcliffe 
Colleges  and  a  few  other  interesting  places. 

The  next  place  of  interest  was  Lexington 
where  we  saw  Lexington  Green.  It  was  here 
that  Capt.  John  Parker  said,  "Stand  your  ground, 
don't  fire  unless  fired  upon,  but  if  they  mean  to 
have  a  war  let  it  begin  here  "  We  were  told 
many  more  interesting  facts  about  Lexington 
Green. 

We  stopped  at  the  Hancock-Clarke  house 
where  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  were 
sleeping  when  Paul  Revere  rode  through  the 
country  spreading  the  alarm  that  the  British 
were  coming.  We  saw  a  lot  of  old  relics  and 
mementos.  At  the  house  next  to  the  Hancock 
-Clarke  house  we  were  served  refreshments. 
We  then  went  to  Concord  and  stopped  at  the  Old 
North  Bridge  and  had  our  pictures  taken  by  the 
statue  of  the  Minute  Man. 

Coming  back  we  went  past  the  two  col- 
leges, past  Longfellow's  Home  and  up  to 
Young's  Hotel.  Here  Mr.  Bradley  left  us  with 
good-byes  and  hand  shakes,  as  he  was  going 
on  a  short  trip.  We  returned  to  the  South 
Boston  Yacht  Club  where  our  steamer  "Pilgrim" 
took  us  to  the  Island. 

We  all  want  to  thank  Mr.  Adams  for  our 
very  pleasant  time  and  good  ride. 

William  T.  Marcus 


'The  world  is  so  full  of  a  number  of  things; 
am  sure   we  should   all   be  as   happy   as 


kings.' 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS   OF  LIMITED 

MEANS,  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Vol.  24.    No.  3.  July,  1920 

Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 

Charles  E.   Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

MANAGERS 

Melvin  O.  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.  Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiher, 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

Another  year  has  passed  and  again  a  class 
is  ready  to  graduate,  twenty-two  this  time,  to 
wear  the  gold  and  blue  emblem  and  to  have 
their  names  added  to  the  list  of  alumni.  All  are 
proud  to  graduate,  but  we  think  that  only  an 
"old"  boy,  who  has  been  here  several  years  en- 


tirely knows  the  true  meaning  of  graduation, 
this  occasion  that  but  crowns  former  efforts  and 
experiences. 

Let  us  follow  the  career  of  an  average  Farm 
and  Trades  School  boy  who  has  just  entered 
the  School.  Perhaps  life  hasn't  seemed  very 
serious  to  him.  He  comes,  quite  excited  about 
going  to  a  new  school,  asking,  "Do  the  boys  ride 
bicycles?  May  1  go  swimming  whenever  I  like? 
Do  we  have  ponies  to  ride?  May  I  work  on  the 
farm?"  and  so  on.  He  enters,  say,  the  fourth 
class  of  school,  and  half  the  day  he  works,  or  he 
begins  to  learn  to  work — perhaps  on  the  farm  or 
in  the  kitchen.  Gradually  the  newness  wears 
off  and  life  begins  to  look  a  little  less  exciting. 
Working  steadily  for  a  forenoon  is  a  new  game 
for  him.  He  cannot  run  around  anywhere  as 
he  did  at  home.  When  he  came,  he  announced 
with  assurance  that  he  had  come  to  learn  to  be 
an  electrician  or  perhaps  a  printer,  but  strange 
to  say,  his  wishes  are  not  given  proper  consider- 
ation; older  boys  are  in  the  Printing  Office  and 
Power  House,  while  he  scrubs  the  dining-room 
floor.  On  the  farm  other  boys  drive  the  horses 
while  he  goes  out  to  pull  wee'ds.  One  night  at 
grade  reading  his  name  is  read  in  the  fourth 
grade  and  he  has  received  the  largest  number 
of  marks.  Not  that  he  has  done  anything 
especially  bad,  but  he  has  been  careless — and 
too  many  checks  are  the  result.  He  was  noisy 
when  the  bell  rang  for  silence,  he  fooled  with 
other  boys  when  he  should  have  been  hustling 
to  get  his  part  done,  and  everything  has  count- 
ed against  him.  Secretly  he  is  a  little  proud  as 
well  as  ashamed  of  his  distinction.  Not  every 
boy  received  the  greatest  number  of  marks! 

A  vacancy  occurs  in  the  Power  House,  and 
Smith,  an  older  boy,  is  placed  there,  partly  be- 
cause he  shows  an  aptitude  for  such  work,  and 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


partly  because  he  is  becoming  increasingly  care- 
ful and  reliable,  and  his  work  looks  more  and 
more  like  a  man's  work,  and  less  like  a  boy's 
job.  There  is  a  trip  to  town  for  three  boys, 
and  Black,  Brown  and  White  go  because  they 
have  seemed  to  their  instructors  to  have  tried 
to  do  the  right  thing,  and  to  deserve  a  little  re- 
ward. 

As  time  goes  on,  gradually  it  becomes 
plain  to  our  boy,  if  he  is  a  thoughtful  boy  (and 
we  assume  that  like  most  of  our  boys  he  really 
is  thoughtful),  that  he  is  being  watched — he  is 
being  "sized  up,"  his  habits  and  interests  noted, 
and  his  improvement  perceived.  He  sees  that 
as  the  old  Bible  prophets  preached,  here  at  least 
to  the  deserving  comes  reward,  but  to  the  un- 
deserving comes  punishment,  and  he  begins  to 
realize  that  boys  who  do  their  work  well  and  at- 
tend to  their  own  affairs  are  to  be  respected. 
From  that  time  his  tactics  begin  to  change. 

At  last  the  day  comes  when  he  is  promot- 
ed to  the  first  class.  By  this  time,  if  he  is  the 
thoughtful  boy  that  we  assumed,  he  is  given 
some  responsibility,  and  while  his  work  is  more 
interesting,  he  finds  that  the  period  of  apprentice- 
ship as  a  scrubber  and  a  weeder  has  helped. 
He  has  learned  to  work,  and  he  has  learned  a 
little  about  doing  a  number  of  different  things 
and  how  to  take  hold  of  new  work,  a  knowledge 
which  again  and  again  will  come  in  useful.  He 
is  interested  in  a  much  larger  number  of  things 
than  he  formerly  was,  and  he  now  looks  with  a 
little  feeling  of  amusement  at  the  new  boy  who 
has  so  much  ahead  of  him  to  learn. 

This  first  class  is  quite  different  from  the 
little  fourth  class  which  he  entered  so  long  ago. 
A  few  members  are  the  same,  but  some  have 
gone,  and  many  have  come  in.  But  more  mar- 
vellous is  the  feeling  of  unity,  the  class  spirit 
that  has  developed  since  those  early  days.      In 


the  beginning  each  boy  stood  for  himself  and  for 
nothing  else.  Now  it  is  no  longer  "mine"  but 
"our  class"  and  "our  president"  and  "our  teach- 
er." The  class  are  proud  or  ashamed  of  him 
as  he  may  deserve.  His  wrong  doing  disgraces 
them  all.  The  graduation  exercises  are  look- 
ed forward  to  with  much  anxiety  lest  they  be 
poorer  than  those  of  other  classes.  The  class 
speakers  learn  their  parts  carefully,  not  only  in 
order  to  do  well  before  their  families  and  other 
visitors,  but  in  order  to  do  their  class  credit. 

So  our  course  is  finished,  and  for  some  of 
us,  our  days  at  the  School  are  nearly  over.  We 
have  had  many  pleasant  experiences  together  to 
remember.  But  we  are  not  parting  from  the 
School  as  much  as  at  first  we  may  think.  Our 
training  here  may  be  over,  but  our  connection 
has  not  ended.  Our  teachings  have  impressed 
themselves  upon  us  so  thoroughly  that  we  shall 
never  entirely  forget  them,  and  our  School  will 
remain  in  our  thoughts  after  we  leave.  As 
members  of  the  Alumni  Association,  we  can  and 
should  keep  in  touch  with  the  School,  and  by 
our  interest  and  active  help  give  back  to  her,  as 
many,  many  of  our  graduates  are  doing,  a  small 
part  of  what  she  has  given  to  us. 

Calendar 

June  1  Planted  parsley,  cress,  and  three 
varieties  of  beans. 

June  2  Manager  Walter  B,  Foster  visited 
the  School. 

Blacksmith  here  to  shoe  horses. 

Planting  field  corn,  peas  and  oats,  and 
seeding  back  of  cottages. 

Hoeing  the  small  fruit  and  the  strawberries. 

Dancing  lesson  in  the  evening.  Miss  Fer- 
guson, former  instructor,  with  five  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Girls  City  Club,  here  for  the  danc- 
ing and  over  night. 

June  3     Seven  boys  visited  the  dentist. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Planting  field  corn  back  of  cottages. 

Hoeing  in  garden,  also  hoeing  the  small 
fruit  and  the  strawberries. 

June  4  Six  heifers  sent  to  pasture,  through 
the  kindness  of  Manager  Francis  Shaw. 

Steamer  "Pilgrim"  hauled  up  to  be  paint- 
ed. 

Planting  peas  and  oats,  also  alfalfa  seed  by 
Farm  House  and  by  Power  House. 

June  5  The  Band  of  the  Second  Church 
of  Dorchester,  of  which  Howard  B.  Ellis,  '97,  is 
the  instructor,  and  their  friends,  held  their  Field 
Day  here.  Present  79,  including  George 
Buchan,  '97,  Herbert  Dudley,  '16,  and  Wesley 
Angell,  '17.  As  it  was  rainy,  sports  were  held 
in  the  gymnasium,  followed  by  dancing  in  the 
Assembly  Hall. 

June  6  Began  to  practice  music  for  grad- 
uation. 

June  7  Plowing  at  South  End  and  trans- 
planting tomatoes. 

June  8  The  launch  "Winslow"  taken  to 
Lawley's  to  be  looked  over. 

Transplanting  tomatoes,  cauliflower  and 
cabbage. 

Pigs  put  in  South  End  pens. 

June  9  Second  Friends' Day.  175  guests 
present. 

June    10     Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

June  1  1  Last  day  of  school  before  sum- 
mer vacation. 

June  12  Louis  R.  Croxtall, '19,  discharg- 
ed to  his  mother. 

June  13  The  graduating  class  attended 
the  Hawe's  Church  in  South  Boston,  where  a 
Baccalaureate  sermon  was  preached  for  them 
by  Rev.  Thomas  M.  Mark. 

June  14  Yacht  "Constellation"  Commo- 
dore Herbert  M.  Sears,  lying  off  Wharf.  Man- 
ager Philip  S.  Sears  and  Commodore  Herbert 
M.  Sears  visited  the  School.  The  Band  seren- 
aded the  "Constellation,"  in  the  evening. 

June  15  All  the  boys,  with  Mr.  Bradley, 
Mr.  Fay  and  Mr.  Ferguson,  went  for  a  trip  on 
the  "Constellation." 

June     16     Graduation.    James  A.  Carson, 


valedictorian,  Bernard  R.  Morrill,  salutatorian, 
and  John  E.  Kervin,  class  prophet.  Present 
Vice-President  Charles  E.  Mason,  Secretary 
Tucker  Daland,  and  Managers  Thomas  J.  Evans 
and  Walter  B.  Foster,  also  57  friends  of  the 
graduating  class.  The  speaker  Rev.  Thomas 
M.  Mark,  of  the  Hawe's  Church  was  introduced 
by  Vice-President  Charles  E.  Mason. 

Graduation  Dance  in  the  evening.  Guests, 
Miss  Reid,  William  G.  Cummings,  '97,  Warren 
F.  Noyes,  '19,  and  Russell  A.  Adams,  '19. 

June  17  Alumni  Field  Day.  Rainy,  so 
sports  were  held  in  the  gymnasium.  Motion 
pictures  on  Candy  Making  by  The  Walter  M. 
Lowney  Co.,  were  shown  by  Howard  F. 
Lochrie,  '16,  employed  by  that  company. 

Dancing  until  9.30  p.  m. 

June  19  Instructors  Day.  19  guests  of 
instructors  present.  Dinner  served  on  the 
lawn  by  the  T.  D.  Cook  Company,  and  enter- 
tainment afterwards  in  Assembly  Hall  by  White's 
Entertainment  Bureau.  Dinner  and  entertain- 
ment provided  for  by  President  Arthur  Adams. 

June  20  Through  the  kindness  of  Presi- 
dent Arthur  Adams,  the  graduating  class,  the  six 
members  of  the  advanced  class,  Mr.  Bradley  and 
eight  instructors  went  on  a  automobile  excursion 
to  Concord  and  Lexington. 

June  21  James  A.  Carson  '20,  left  the 
School  to  live  with  his  sister  at  246  Shaw  St., 
Lowell,  Mass.  James  expects  to  go  to  school 
in  the  fall. 

Norman  F.  Farmer,  '20,  went  to  live  with 
his  grandmother  at  Shirley,  Mass.,  and  to  work 
in  the  suspender  factory  in  Shirley. 

Richard  H.  Hall,  '20,  went  to  visit  his 
grandparents  at  Quonochontaug,  R.  I.  for  the 
summer.  In  the  fall  he  expects  to  go  to  his 
mother  in  Panama  where  he  will  attend  high 
school.  His  address  will  be  Box  66,  Cristobal, 
C.  Z.,  Panama. 

Bernard  R.  Morrill,  '20,  left  the  School  to 
work  for  the  summer  and  go  to  high  school  in 
the  fall.  His  address  is  701  Merrimac  St., 
Lowell,  Mass. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


June  22     Planting  corn  at  South  End. 

Picked  16  quarts  of  strawberries. 

Albert  Anderson,  '20,  went  to  live  with 
his  father  and  mother  in  Wilmington,  Mass., 
1  12  Lowell  Street. 

Donald  W.  Ellis,  '20,  went  to  live  with  his 
parents  and  probably  attend  high  school  in  the 
fall.  His  address  is  175  Springvale  Avenue. 
Everett,  Mass. 

Joseph  C.  Scarborough,  ex  '22,  went  home 
to  live  with  his  mother  at  736  Harrison  Ave., 
Boston. 

June  23  Frederick  E.  Munich,  '20,  went 
to  live  with  his  parents  at  182  Black  Rock 
Avenue,   Bridgeport,  Conn. 

Joseph  Kervin  and  John  E.  Kervin  both 
1920,  left  the  School,  both  to  go  to  Philadelphia 
with  their  mother  and  to  work  there.  They  will 
attend  evening  school. 

Arthur  J.  Schaefer.  '20,  went  to  live  with 
his  mother  at  47  Essex,  St.  Cambridge.  Mass. 
Arthur  will  work  and  attend  evening  high  school. 

Clifton  H.  Sears,  '20,  went  home  to  live 
with  his  aunt  in  Dennis,  Mass.  He  will  go  to 
work  soon. 

June  24  Picked  30  quarts  of  strawberries. 
Killed  30  pounds  of  poultry. 

June  26  Mowing  in  orchard.  Picked  60 
quarts  strawberries. 

June  28  Mowing  clover  by  Power  House. 
Planting  sweet  corn  and  soy  beans  at  South 
End.  Picked  57  quarts  of  strawberries.  Hived 
a  swarm  of  bees. 

June  29  Finished  planting  corn  at  South 
End.  Cultivated  and  hoed  potatoes  at  North 
End,  strawberries,  cabbage,  peas  and  cauliflower. 
Two  loads  of  hay  from  orchard. 

June  30.  One  load  of  hay  from  orchard. 
Picked  62  quarts  of  strawberries.  Set  5  rows 
of  celery.  Finished  mowing  clover  by  Power 
House. 


Calendar  so  Vcars  Jlgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

June  9  Men  engaged  in  planting  peas, 
turnips,  etc.  Sold  two  cows  to  Mr.  Marshall  of 
Neponset  for  $120.00. 

June  18  Went  with  Mrs.  Morse  to  look 
at  carpets.  While  in  Pray's  store  witnessed  a 
tremendous  hail  storm.  Had  it  cold  and  wet 
coming  home. 

June  23     Mowed  clover    at    South    End. 

Mr  S.  C.  Parkins,  music  teacher,  left. 
Paid  him  in  full  $  9.00. 

June  24.  Very  warm.  Sloop  General 
Grant — Capt.  Packard — came  and  carried  away 
a  load  of  hay  to  South  Boston.     Men  haying. 

June  30  Picked  50  boxes  strawberries. 
Mowed.  Got  in  hay.  Hoed  potatoes,  beans, 
etc. 

3unc  mctcorolodv 

Maximum  Temperature  91°  on  the  23rd. 

Minimum  Temperature  44"  on  the  18th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  .64 

Total  precipitation  3.02  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .75  inch- 
es on  the  22nd. 

Seven  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 11  clear  days,  11  partly  cloudy,  8  cloudy. 

Cbc  Tarm  and  Cradcs  Scbool  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  June  1,  1920  $874.36 

Deposited  during  the  month 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  July  1,  1920 


67.45 

$941.81 
210.21 

$731.60 


"We  must  all  set  our   pocket    watches   by 
the  clock  of  fate.     There  is  a    headlong,    forth- 
right tide,  that  bears  away  man  with  his  fancies 
like  straw,  and  runs  fast  in  time  and  space." 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Che  Jllumni  }i$$ociation  of  the  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84.  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis.  '99.  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26,  Mass. 


James  H.    Graham.    77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox.  '79,  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Names  of  Alumni  present  on  the  Field 
Day,  June  17.  follows.  An  account  of  the 
days'  happenings  will  appear  in  a  later  number 
of  the   Beacon. 

Adams,  Russell  A. 
Akerstrom,  Donald  B. 
Alcott,  George  J. 
Alcott,  William  and  Mrs. 

Miss  Louise  Alcott 

Miss  Marion  Alcott 

William  J.  Alcott,  Jr. 

Roger  Alcott 

Miss  Helen  McAndrews 

Miss  Irene  Varrell 
Angell,  Wesley  C. 

Miss  E.  Wood 
Babcock,  Lorin  L. 
Bell,  Richard  and  Mrs. 

Miss  Alice  Bell 

Mrs.  E.  W.  French 
Bemis,  Elwin  C. 
Brasher,  Sherman  G. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Brasher 

Mrs.  I.  M.  Bennett 

Mrs.  C.  L.  Murch 
Buchan,  George  and  Mrs, 

Miss  Pauline  Buchan 
Calkin,  Leslie  M, 
Calkin,  Rupert  F. 
Cameron,  Malcolm  E. 
Capaul,  Edward  and  Mrs, 

Miss  Myrtle  Capaul 

Mrs,  Lena  Burrows 
Casey,  George  W, 
Catton.  Ernest  M,  and  Mrs. 
Clarke,  William  S. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  C.  Clarke 

Miss  Evelyn  Clarke 

Miss  Ruth  Roberts 
Cobb,  Lawrence  M. 
Collins,  Carl  H. 
Conklin,  John  J.  and  Mrs. 

John  J,  Conklin,  Jr. 
Cummings,  William  G. 
Darling,  Norman  W. 

Mrs,  R,  E.  Darling 
Davis,  William  F. 


Dudley,  Herbert  L. 

Duncan,  Charles 

Dutton,  Almond  H.  and  Mrs. 

Donald  Dutton 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  0.  St.  Couer 
Ellis,  Howard  B.,  Sr,  and  Jr. 

Ruth  Thoresen 
Ellis,  Merton  P.  and  Mrs. 

Irving  Ellis  Jennings 
Evans,  Thomas  J. 
Foster,  Walter  B, 
Gould,  Webster  S. 
Graham,  James  H.  and  Mrs. 

Miss  Edith  Robinson 

Mrs,  John  Pettis 
Guillemin,  Alexis  L. 
Guillemin,  Jean 
Hartmann,  George  K.  and  Mrs. 

Mrs.  M.  L.  Hill 

Miss  Krinski 

Mr.  Charles  Honigbaum 
Haskins,  Mrs.  M.  D, 

Miss  Esther  Haskins 

Miss  Ruth  Haskins 
Herman,  Walter  and  Mrs. 

Carl  Herman 
Holman,  Solomon  B. 
Jacobs.  Alfred  W. 

Miss  Helen  M.  Foster 
Kirwin,  Walter  J. 
Larsson,  G,  George 
Leland,  Everett  B, 
Lochrie,  Howard  F, 
Lombard,  Frank  I,  and  Mrs. 

Ernest  Lombard 
McLeod,  George  B, 

Mrs.  M.  McLeod 

Mr.  Thomas  Fitzgerald 
Noyes,  Warren  F, 

Mrs,  G,  L.  Noyes 

Miss  Blanche  Houlahan 
Sherman,  John  L, 
Simmons,  Samuel  J, 
Suarez,  Nicholas  M.,  Jr. 
Wallace,  Frank  W. 
Washburn,  Frank  L.  and  Mrs. 
Wilkins.  Ellsworth  S, 
Wyatt.  Norman  R, 


Vol.  24.  No.  4.      Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.  August,  1920 


Entered  November  23,   1903,  at 


s.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1874. 


Tourtl)  of  3ttly 

As  July  4th  came  on  Sunday,  we  celebrated 
it  on  Monday,  July  5th.  At  5. 13  A.  M.  the  flag 
was  raised  with  a  cannon  salute,  and  "To  the 
Colors."  Nearly  three  quarters  of  an  hour  later, 
reveille  was  sounded.  Half  an  hour  later,  an 
excited  group  of  boys  were  gathered  around  the 
Old  Elm,  and  went  into  breakfast.  After  break- 
fast the  regular  work  was  done.  A  little  before 
nine  Dr.  Bancroft  arrived.  He  played  several 
games  of  marbles  with  the  boys.  At  nine  o'clock 
we  assembled  by  the  Stock  Room  door  and  were 
given  flags,  torpedoes,  horns,  candy,  and  pro- 
grams; from  here  we  went  to  the  playground 
where  the  morning  sports  began.  Cash  prizes  were 
awarded  at  the  finish  of  each  event.  The  glori- 
ous day  passed  quickly.  A  five  pound  box  of 
chocolates  was  given  to  the  winning  side  inthetug 
of  war,  by  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16.  About 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  went  to  the  bon- 
fire, where  redlights  and  sparklers  were  given 
to  us.  Of  the  day's  fun,  1  liked  the  water  sports 
best  because  1  am  fon,d  of  swimming.  I  feel 
sure  every  one  enjoyed  the  celebration. 

The  program  was  as  follows: 

Daylight  Saving  Time 

Morning 
5.13     Flag  Raising  and  Cannon  Salute 

Reveille 
6.30  Breakfast 

9.00     Distribution  of  Supplies 
9.30     Sports  and  Races  on  the  Playground 


11,30 
12,00 


2.00 


3.30 


5:30 
8:24 
8:30 
10:00 


Cross  Country  Run 

Obstacle  Race 

Sack  Race 

Blind  Race 

Spider  Race 

Pony  Boxing 
Dinner 
Cannon  Salute 
Afternoon 
Sports  and  Races  on  Beach  Road 

100-Yard  Dash  over  15 

100 -Yard  Dash  under  15 

220-Yard  Dash 

Wheelbarrow  race  over  15 

Wheelbarrow  race  under  15 

Three  Legged  Race 

Tug  of  war 
Aquatic  Sports  by  the  Landing 

High  Tide  3:06 

Swimming  Race 
Swimming  on  back 
Swimming  under  water 
Standing  Dive 
Running  Dive 
Push  the  Barrel 
Chase  the  Ball 
V/alking  Greased  Spar 
Get-away  Race 

Evening 

Supper 
Flag  Lowering  and  Cannon  Salute 

Bonfire 
Taps 

Cyrus  W,  Durgin 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


CDange  of  mork 

Thursday  the  work  was  changed  and  1  was 
put  in  the  office.  Every  afternoon  at  one 
o'clock  I  go  there  and  change  my  shoes  and  put 
on  a  pair  of  house  shoes.  Then  I  am  ready 
for  work.  I  sweep  Mr.  Bradley's  office,  then 
the  boys'  reading  room,  and  last,  the  main 
office.  When  this  is  finished  I  dust  all  three 
rooms.  Then  the  office  instructor  gives  me  ex- 
tra work  such  as  cleaning  the  attic,  cleaning 
the  lofts,  and  waxing  floors.  There  are  cer- 
tain bells  by  which  the  instructor  calls  me. 
Every  other  Saturday  1  take  duty.  I  do  errands 
which  take  me  to  different  places  on  the  Island. 

Chester  W.  Buchan 

(Uaste  Paper 

We  do  not  throw  our  waste  paper  away  as 
a  good  many  people  do.  We  save  it.  It  is 
taken  to  the  Storage  Barn,  where  it  is  pressed 
very  tightly  and  wires  are  put  around  it,  and  it  is 
put  up  on  the  first  landing  with  the  other  bales. 
When  there  are  enough  bales  they  are  sold  to 
someone  in  the  city. 

Frederick  R.  Metcalf 

making  a  Box 

Lately  a  lot  of  boys  have  been  making  box- 
es in  their  playtime,  so  1  made  one.  I  got  some 
wood  and  started  to  work  by  planing  all  the  wood 
smooth.  1  then  cut  joints;  when  that  was  done  I 
glued  the  parts  together.  1  left  it  that  night  to 
dry,  and  next  noon  hour  1  worked  on  the  bottom 
and  top,  planing  these  two  until  smooth.  Then 
1  beveled  the  edges  to  3-16  of  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness. Then  I  put  the  top  and  bottom  on  and 
glued  them.  1  set  in  some  fancy  inlaying  a 
quarter  of  an  inch,  around  the  top  of  the  box. 
and  let  it  dry.  1  then  planed  the  top,  sides,  ends, 
and  bottom,  and  sandpapered  them.  What  was 
to  be  the  cover  of  the  box  was  cut  open  on  the 
circular  saw.  The  hinges  and  the  clasp  were 
next  put  on.  I  oiled  and  shellacked  it,  and  my 
box  was  done.  Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard 


Swarms  of  Bees 

One  day  when  1  was  mowing  hay  in  the  or- 
chard, I  heard  a  loud  humming  noise  near  by  and 
it  kept  growing  louder  and  louder,  I  looked  up 
and  saw  a  swarm  of  bees,  swarmmg  in  a  tree  near 
by.  1  got  Mr.  Brown  and  showed  them  to  him. 
He  told  me  to  stay  there  while  he  got  a  hive. 
After  they  had  swarmed,  I  still  heard  the  noise 
and  1  found  another  swarm,  and  also  told  him 
about  these      We  got  one  of  the  swarms. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

B  Crip  to  Revjere  Beacb 

On  my  vacation  1  went  to  Revere  Beach. 
As  I  only  had  a  dollar  I  had  to  spend  my  money 
wisley  because  a  dollar  does  not  last  long  at  Rev- 
ere. 1  first  went  on  a  roller  coaster  called  the 
"Dragons  Gorge."  After  I  went  into  the  place 
1  got  into  one  of  the  cars.  After  the  cars  were 
quite  well  filled  we  started.  The  first  thing  we 
did  was  to  go  up  a  big  incline.  When  we  got  to 
the  top  we  went  around  a  curve  and  shot  down 
through  the  tunnel.  The  incline  was  so  steep 
it  almost  took  my  breath  away.  After  1  came 
out  I  went  into  various  other  amusements  that 
they  have.  I  enjoyed  the  day  and  had  quite  a 
lot  of  fun  out  of  my  dollar. 

Robert  J.  Giese 

mv  Ulork  in  the  Sewing  Room 

Five  afternoons  a  week  1  go  into  the  sewing 
room.  Sometimes  1  mate  stockings  or  draw 
them  together  for  darning.  Other  days  I  do 
hand  sewing  on  the  old  clothes  or  on  the  under- 
wear and  shirts. 

The  work  1  like  best  is  hand  sewing.  1 
take  the  black  thread,  a  needle  and  a  pair  of 
scissors  and  begin  on  a  pair  of  pants.  First  1 
look  at  the  fly  and  tighten  the  buttons  and  button 
holes,  then  I  look  at  the  pockets  and  so  on  a- 
round  the  whole  pair.  Then  I  look  at  the  legs 
and  if  there  is  a  patch  to  be  put  on,  I  put  the 
garment  on  the  patch  pile.  Or  if  there  is  darn- 
ing 1  put  it  in  the  darning  basket.  I  do  not  re- 
pair many  clothes  but  1  do  as  many  as  I  can. 
Charles  N.  Robbins 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


n  trip  to  see  tbc  $.  $.  Qcorge  masbington 

One  Sunday  afternoon,  Mr.  Bradley  an- 
nounced that  we  would  go  for  a  barge  ride. 
We  each  had  a  bag  of  peanuts  and  a  little  skull 
cap,  made  of  stripes  of  different  colors.  We 
marched  down  to  the  Wharf  and  got  on  the  boat 
and  went  over  to  the  South  Boston  Yacht  Club 
where  some  people  got  off.  We  started  on 
again  (still  eating  our  peanuts)  and  went  over 
to  the  "George  Washington."  The  President 
went  to  France  and  returned  on  that  boat.  She 
is  a  very  large  boat,  with  two  large  smoke 
stacks.  While  we  were  looking  at  the  ship,  I 
saw  three  destroyers.  The  "George  Washington" 
was  lying  near  the  Army  Supply  Base.  We 
went  further  on,  and  saw  another  big  boat  named 
the  "City  of  Lincoln."  It  was  a  foreign  ship. 
Then  we  started  back.  On  our  way  back,  we 
saw  "The  Guardian,"  a  police  boat.  It  whistled 
three  times  as  a  salute,  and  our  steamer  an- 
swered the  salute.  Soon  we  came  to  our 
Wharf.  We  marched  up  to  the  house  and 
changed  our  clothes,  and  had  our  supper.  1 
had  a  fine  time  and  I  hope  all  the  others  did. 
After  supper  we  began  to  change  hats  to  get  the 
the  colors  we  wanted,  that  is,  the  boys  on  each 
base-ball  team  wanted  the  same  color. 

Howard  E.  Keith 

my  Ulork  in  tbc  Printing  Office 

In  the  afternoon  when  1  go  out  to  the  print- 
ing office  there  are  many  things  for  me  to  do. 
First  1  get  a  pail  of  warm  water.  After  this  is 
done  I  usually  ask  the  instructor  what  1  shall  do. 
Sometimes  he  tells  me  to  "set  up"  some  articles 
tor  the  "Beacon,"  which  is  our  School  paper. 
First  I  get  a  stick  which  is  a  steel  frame 
about  six  inches  long  and  two  inches  wide,  i 
then  get  an  article  and  set  it  up.  This  work  I 
like  very  much  as  it  teaches  me  to  be  quick  and 
accurate.  Other  times  I  "throw  in"  type,  that 
is,  1  distribute  type  that  has  been  used  into  the 
different  type  cases.  Often,  after  we  have  been 
using  the  printing  presses,  I  take  the  gasoline 
can  and  a  cloth  and  clean  the  ink  off  the  type 
and  rollers. 


Another  job  that  I  like  is  that  of  running  the 
printing  press.  1  like  it  very  much,  but  as  lam 
a  new  boy  in  the  printing  office  1  don't  get  it 
very  often.  Some  other  work  I  do  is  to  run  er- 
rands, keep  the  benches  and  floor  clean,  to 
straighten  out  the  lead  cases  and  other  miscell- 
aneous work. 

1  like  my  work  very  much  as  it  teaches  me 
to  be  careful  and  to  see  mistakes  that  other- 
wise 1  might  not  notice.  But  most  of  all  1  like 
it  because  it  is  preparing  me  for  a  good  position 
when  I  get  out  in  the  world. 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 

Quarterly  Election 

On  the  evening  of  July  6  Cottage  Row 
Government  held  its  quarterly  election.  First 
the  share-holders  of  Cottage  Row  voted,  and 
then  the  non-share  holders.  The  ballots  were 
then  taken  up  to  the  Reading  Room  and  sorted. 
The  results  were  listed  and  put  up  on  the  bulletin 
board  the  next  morning.  The  officers  are  as 
follows: 

Judge,  John  Goodhue  Jr.,  Mayor,  Waldo  E. 
Libby;  Share  Holding  Aldermen,  Kenneth  E. 
Kearns,  Ralph  M.  Rogers,  Richard  H.  Hanson; 
Non  Share  Holding  Aldermen,  Willis  M.  Smith, 
Samuel  L.  Whitehead;  Treasurer,  Theodore  B. 
Hadley:  Assessor,  Philip  F.  Leary;  Clerk,  Daniel 
E.  Smith;  Chief  of  Police,  James  B.  Rouse; 
Lieutenant,  John  M.  Ely;  Sergeant,  Ralph  L. 
Langille;  Patrolmen,  John  E.  Robertson, 
Adolph  A.  Lammi,  William  H.  Waring,  Albert 
Ellis,  Malcolm  E.  Cameron;  Librarian,  Charles 
D.  Smith,  Street  Commissioner,  Kenneth  L. 
Drown.  Janitor,  Paul  F.  Reid. 

Waldo  E.  Libby 


Somebody 

Somebody  did  a  golden  deed; 

Somebody  proved  a  friend  in  need; 
Somebody  sang  a  beautiful  song; 

Somebody  "smiled  the  whole  day  long; 
Somebody  thought,  'Tis  sweet  to  live"; 

Somebody  said,  Tin  glad  to  give'; 
Somebody  fought  a  valiant  fight; 

Somebody  lived  to  shield  the  right; 
Was  that  "somebody"  you?  —  Berton  Braley 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Dompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS   OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Vol.  24.    No.  4.  August.  1920 

Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 

Charles  E.   Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose   Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

Melvin  0.  Adams 
GoRHAM   Brooks 
1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.   DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Heeler 

Henry  Jackson,   M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.   Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 

Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


This  month  our  nation  celebrates  its  144th 
birthday. 

The  successful  ending  of  the  struggle  which 
resulted  in  the  birth  of  a  republic  in  1776  was 
due  very  largely  to  the  marked  leadership  of  one 


who  had  won  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the 
colonists  during  experiences  th^t  had  greatly 
shaken  their  faith  in  men,  and  tried  their  souls 
almost  beyond  endurance.  That  man  was 
George  Washington. 

Why  should  Washington  have  been  singled 
out  for  this  honor  over  others?  What  training 
had  this  brilliant  and  resourceful  young  man? 
What  warranted  such  trust  in  him  that  he 
should  be  chosen  the  head  of  a  new  nation  in  a 
time  of  great  crisis?  What  equipment  did  he 
possess  that  should  enable  him  to  steer  the  ship 
of  state  safely?  A  good  home?  Yes,  and  that 
means  much.  Helpful  environment, — books, 
friends,  social  life?  Unquestionably.  School- 
ing, study  of  books,  money,  etc?  Maybe,  to  some 
degree.  But  these  were  by  no  means  all.  There 
v/ere  within  himself  certain  qualities  without 
which  all  these  external  influences  would  be 
useless.  One  of  these  qualities  is  best  illustrat- 
ed in  the  following  incident. 

When  Washington  was  quite  young  there 
lived  near  him  a  very  wealthy  man  who  owned 
so  much  land  he  did  not  know  where  it  began 
or  left  off.  One  day  he  told  Washington,  who 
had  studied  surveying,  to  mark  off  his  bound- 
aries. So  over  the  hills  and  into  the  woods  the 
young  surveyor  went  on  his  lonely  and  danger- 
ous task.  After  some  weeks  he  brought  out  a 
map  of  the  boundary  lines  which  he  presented  to 
his  wealthy  employer. 

Many  years  went  by.  The  wood  lands  were 
cut  down  and  roads  put  through.  The  men  then 
owning  the  land  wanted  new  maps  drawn  of 
their  property,  so  experts  were  employed  to  do 
the  work.  When  it  was  finished  they  found 
that  the  lines  made  years  before  by  young 
George  Washington  were  exactly  right  and  not 
a  line  had  to  be  changed. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Alone  in  the  woods  with  no  one  to  see, 
working  for  a  man  to  whom  a  few  acres  more 
or  less  would  mean  nothing,  the  future  leader 
might  have  gotten  by  with  less  effort  on  his 
part.  But  no!  He  did  his  work  straight.  He 
had  set  for  himself  a  100  per  cent  standard  and 
would  not  lower  it,  whether  he  were  working 
alone  or  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  world.  It  was 
this  spirit  in  all  his  life  that  gave  the  people 
their  confidence  in  George  Washington.  It  was 
this  which,  in  no  small  degree,  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  succeed  in  the  seemingly  impossible 
task  that  was  his. 

So  it  has  been  that  other  lives,  minus  many 
of  the  so-called  advantages,  cramped  in  finances 
and  schooling,  and  apparently  lacking  opportun- 
ities, have  made  good  in  their  place  just  as  truly 
as  did  Washington  in  his,  because  they  did  all 
their  work  as  carefully  and  conscientiously  as 
though  the  whole  world  saw. 

In  this  spirit  the  nation  was  born,  and  all 
the  great  things  that  she  has  accomplished  since 
have  been  made  possible  because  of  an  army  of 
noble  men  and  women  who  always  made  it  a 
practice  to  do  the  best  that  was  in  them  wheth- 
er the  immediate  task  was  small  or  great,  in  the 
lime-light  or  in  obscurity. 

We  are  living  in  the  greatest  period  of  the 
world's  history.  With  the  great  work  of  recon- 
struction before  us,  men  who  stand  for  som.ething 
worth  while  and  who  can  be  counted  on  to  do 
things  will  be  at  a  premium.  Every  life  has 
something  it  can  contribute.  What  that  contri- 
bution shall  be  will  vary  according  to  the  gifts 
and  abilities  of  each,  but  let  us  be  very  sure  of 
this:  there  can  be  no  better  preparation  for  our 
work  than  to  acquire  the  habit  of  doing  every- 
thing as  though  it  were  to  be  seen  of  all  men. 


Calendar 

July  1  George  W.  Vincent,  '20,  left  the 
School  to  live  with  his  mother. 

Mowing  clover  below  orchard.  Hoeing 
potatoes  at  North  End.  Two  loads  of  hay  put 
in  barn. 

Motion  pictures  at  night. 

July  2  Put  in  four  loads  of  clover  from 
near  Power  House.  Picked  30  quarts  straw- 
berries. 

July  3     One  load  of  hay  put  in. 

July  5  Independence  Day  Celebration. 
Cannon  salute  at  5:13  A.M.  Sports  on  the 
playground  in  the  morning,  and  water  sports 
and  races  on  Beach  Road  in  the  afternoon. 
Bonfire  at   South  End  in  the  evening. 

Dr.  Bancroft  here,  also  Graduates  Sherman 
G.  Brasher,  77,  Edwin  F.  Brasher,  77,  Walter 
Carpenter,  '99,  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  and 
friend. 

Four  puppies  bcrn  to  "Babe,"'  the  fox  terrier 

July  7  Sixty-three  boys  went  on  an  eight 
day  furlough. 

July  8  Thomas  L.  Unwin,  '20,  left  the 
School  to  go  to  work  and  to  live  with  his  mother 
at  154  Belmont  Street,  Maiden. 

A  yearling  Guernsey  bull  came. 

Picking  cherries  and  wild  strawberries. 

July  9  Mrs.  White — formerly  Miss 
Longley — former  instructor,  visited  the  School. 

Mr.  Charles  M.  Green  of  the  General 
Electric  Co.,  and  man  from  Frank  Ridlon  Co., 
here  to  look  at  generator. 

July  1  1  Launch  ride  for  instructors  and 
boys  not  on  furlough  to  see  the  Japanese  and 
the  Danish  warships  at  Commonwealth  Pier. 

July  14  Admission  Committee  Meeting. 
The  following  boys  were  admitted  on  trial: 
Gunnar  Emmanuel  Anderson.  James  Hudson 
Beattie,  Walter  Hammond  Curtis,  Henry  Elwin 
Gilchrist,  Eugene  Crian  Horsey,  Howard  Edwin 
Keith,  Edward  Lovelace  McAlister,  Robert 
Lawrence  McAlister,  Herbert  Edward  Noble, 
Edward  Valdemar  Osberg,  Harry  Nelson  Perkins, 
George  Harry  Rose, and  Herbert  Eldridge  Wright. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


July  15  Manager  Ralph  B.  Williams 
visited  the  School. 

Boys  returned  from  their  furloughs  at  4:00 
P.  M. 

July  16  Manager  Walter  B.  Foster  here 
examining  wharf  piling. 

Spraying  potatoes  and  hoeing  corn.  Two 
cads  of  hay  in. 

July   17     Five  loads  of  hay  in. 

Mr.  Ferris  took  the  five  boys  who  had  no 
furlough  to  Revere  Beach. 

July  20     Two  loads  of  hay  brought  in. 

July  21      School  opened. 

Two  loads  of  hay  and  buckwheat  by  orchard 
put  in. 

July  22  Eugene  C.  Horsey  and  Harry  N. 
Perkins  returned  to  their  people. 

Four  loads  of  hay  put  in  barn. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

July  23  An  automobile  trip  along  the 
North  Shore  for  those  of  the  instructors  who  did 
not  go  on  the  Concord  and  Lexington  trip. 
Visited  the  "House  of  Seven  Gables"in  Salem. 
This  trip  provided  for  by  our  President,  Arthur 
Adams. 

Two  loads  of  hay  put  in. 

July  24     Two  loads  of  hay  put  in. 

July  25  Sunday.  Mr.  Arthur  Beane, 
former  instructor,  with  family,  visited  the  School. 

A  barge  ride  to  the  navy-yard  for  instructors 
and  boys.  Saw  the  "George  Washington"  at 
Commonwealth  Pier. 

July  26     Three  loads  of  hay  in. 

July  27  Manager  Walter  B.  Foster  here, 
with  Mr.  WilHam  H.  Ellis,  of  the  W.  H.  Ellis 
Co.  here  to  consult  about  the  Wharf. 

No  school,  boys  weeding  in  gardens,  also 
seven  instructors  who  volunteered. 

Blacksmith  here  in  the  morning,  and  the 
veterinary  in  the  afternoon,  who  operated  on 
horse  "Dennis,"  and  snipped  puppies  tails. 

Three  loads  of  hay  put  in. 

July  28  No  school,  and  weeding  continued. 
Spraying  potatoes. 


Three  loads  of  hay  brought  in. 

Man  here  to  measure  for  new  window  shades 
as  needed. 

July  29     Three  loads  of  hay  brought  in. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening,  "The  Battle 
of  Elderbush  Gulch." 

July  30     Painting  rooms. 

Two  loads  of  hay  brought  in. 

July  31      Mowing  oats  at  South  End. 

Four  loads  of  hay  brought  in. 

Frank  A.  Crowe,  ex  '21,  returned  to  his 
mother. 

'     Leslie  H.  Barker,     '13,  visited  the  School 
in  the  afternoon. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  Jfgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

July  4  Ushers  in  the  "  Glorious  Fourth." 
Boys  called  at  5  1-2.  Breakfast  of  rolls  and 
cake.  Dinner,  roast  veal,  green  peas,  etc. 
Swims — sails — lemonade.  Supper  of  cakes, 
followed  by  antiques  and  horribles  and  fireworks. 
The  day  passed  very  pleasantly  and  happily  to 
all  concerned. 

July  6  Morn  fine.  Commenced  mowing 
good  grass.  Wind  changed  to  east.  Signs  of 
rain.      Poor  hay  weather. 

July  9  Fine,  and  we  have  improved  it, 
too,  by  getting  in  a  large  lot  of  hay. 

July  10  A  perfect  day.  Mr.  S.  G. 
Deblois  and  Father  Cleaveland  visited  us.  Mr. 
C.  though  in  his  98th  or  99th  year  was  remarkably 
clear  and  entertaining,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  his 
visit  very  much. 

July  14  This  has  been  a  splendid  hay  day. 
Got  in  1  1  loads  froui  sheep  hill  and  near  house. 

July  15  Secured  10  loads  of  hay.  Cut 
rye. 

July  17  Sunday.  A  lovely  day.  All 
passed  a  quiet  day.     We  rested. 

July  21  Mowed  the  last  of  our  English  grass. 
We  have  been  successful  in  securing  our  crops 
notwithstanding  the  weather. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


July  metcorolodv 

Maximum  Temperature  88°  on  the  31st. 

Minimum  Temperature  58^  on  the  3rd  and 
28th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  71.° 

Total  precipitation  .01  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .01  inch- 
es on  the  3rd. 

Seven  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 12  clear  days,  17  partly  cloudy,  2  cloudy. 

Cbe  Tartti  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand  July  1,  1920  $731.60 

Deposited  during  the  month 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  August  1,    1920 


153.45 

$885.05 

57.60 

$827.45 


B  Pleasant  time 

While  most  of  the  boys  were  on  their  vaca- 
tions Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  gave  a  party  to  the 
boys  who  did  not  go  on  vacations.  The  party 
was  given  in  the  evening  of  July  13.  When  all 
was  ready  the  boys  carried  the  food  and  water  to 
the  north  end  of  the  Island  where  a  fire  was 
made.  When  the  fire  started  to  go  down,  we 
were  given  bread  to  toast,  bacon  to  fry,  and  buns. 
When  these  were  eaten  we  were  given  marsh- 
mallows.  We  sharpened  some  sticks  on  which 
to  put  the  bacon  and  marshmallows,  and  then 
we  toasted  and  ate  them.  Before  we  started 
back  we  were  given  sticks  to  burn  to  keep  the 
mosquitoes  away.  We  had  a  very  pleasant 
evening.  Eric  0.  Schippers 

J\  6ood  Triend 

1  work  on  the  farm  in  the  afternoon  and 
whenever  1  have  time  1  go  down  to  pat  my 
favorite  horse,  Dolly  Gray. 

When  I  got  my  bundle  Christmas,  I  gave 
Dolly  Gray  some  Christmas  candy.  She  liked 
it  very  much,  and  when  1  pat  her,  she  chews  a 
button  on  my  coat.  She  will  shake  hands  with 
me  and  put  her  head  over  my  shoulder. 


I  think  she  is  a  very  good  friend,  and  we 
like  each  other  very  much.'  The  next  time  I 
have  candy  I  am  going  to  put  it  in  my  pocket 
and  see  if  she  can  find  it. 

John  P.  Davidson 

Grade  Reading 

Every  Monday  night  there  is  grade  read- 
ing, in  winter  the  grade  is  read  in  Chapel,  in  the 
summer  time  out  under  the  Old  Elm  or  in  the 
Assembly  Room.  If  a  boy  is  in  the  fourth  grade 
without  being  checked  he  gets  into  the  third 
grade.  It  is  the  same  from  third  to  second  and 
and  second  to  first.  The  boys  in  the  first  grade 
get  privileges,  such  as  swimming  or  coasting, 
every  day  in  the  week.  The  boys  in  the  second 
grade  have  these  special  privileges  on  Tuesdays, 
Thursdays  and  Saturdays  and  the  boys  in  the 
third  grade  on  Saturdays.  The  fourth  graders 
have  to  work  in  their  playtime  and  have  no  privi- 
leges. 

After  the  grade  reading  Mr.  Bradley  tells 
us  some  of  the  news  of  the  week.  Grade  read- 
ing night  is  often  very  interesting  to  us. 

IVERS   E.   WiNMILL 

mowing  Urns 

The  lawns  have  to  be  kept  mowed  on  our 
Island.  Everyone  has  a  share  in  mowing  lawns. 
We  have  three  large  lawn  mowers  and  two  small 
ones.  One  day,  there  was  no  school  and  I  was 
told  to  mow  lawns.  1  took  the  lawn  mower  that 
I  thought  was  the  best.  I  started  to  mow  on  the 
front  lawn.  The  way  we  mow  is  to  take  strips 
across  the  lawn  and  lap  over  half  each  time. 
This  way  no  ragged  edges  can  be  seen  as  each 
grass  strip  is  left  and  it  makes  the  lawn  look 
smooth.     1  mowed  until  the  bell  rang. 

Donald  McKenzie 


'We  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise. 
And  we  mount  to  the  summit  round   by 


round." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  B\mm  J!$$ociation  of  the  Tartu  and  trades  School 


WrLLiAM  Alcott,  '84,  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis,  '99,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26,  Mass. 


James  H.    Graham,    77,  'Vice-President 
Boston 
Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox.     79.  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 

■West  Roxbury 


:Rnnual  Tield  Bay 

Again  this  year  unfavorable  weather  pre- 
vailed for  the  annual  field  day  of  the  Alumni 
Association  en  June  17,  but  despite  that  cir- 
cumstance the  old  reliable  School  management 
proved  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  the  program 
arranged  for  the  day  made  it  one  of  the  most 
enjoyable  in  the  history  of  these  events. 

The  attendance  was  slightly  over  100,  of 
whom  52  were  graduates,  and  55  were  guests. 
The  Pilgrim  was  used  to  convey  the  visitors 
from  City  Point  to  the  Island,  and  although 
several  trips  were  necessary,  everybody  was 
transported  comfortably  through  the  easterly 
storm. 

The  business  meeting  of  the  association 
was  brief,  and  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Hall. 
William  Alcott,  the  president,  presided; 
Richard  Bell,  the  treasurer,  presented  to  Mr. 
Bradley,  for  the  Board  of  Managers,  the  sum  of 
$350  to  be  added  to  the  Alumni  Fund,  which 
brought  the  total  up  to  $3475.  Walter  B. 
Foster,  chairman  of  the  Alumni  Fund 
Committee,  and  graduate  representative  on  the 
Board  of  Managers,  spoke  earnestly  of  the  pur- 
pose of  the  fund.  Samuel  J.  Simmons,  a  grad- 
uate of  1 852,  spoke  of  boyhood  recollections,  and 
Superintendent  Bradley  told  of  the  progress  of 
the  year.  A  collection  among  the  graduates  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  Mr.  Bradley  with  a  fund 
for  special  and  emergency  uses  of  the  boys, 
netted  $78.00. 

Being  unable  to  picnic  on  the  lawns,  tables 
were  spread  in  the  southwest  basement,  lovingly 
nicknamed  "The  Rathskeller, "and  there  both  at 
noon  and  at  the  supper  hour  the  company 
brought  their  baskets  and  boxes  and  spent  two 
very  pleasant  sessions.     Hot  coffee,    cold    milk 


and  tonics  were  supplied  for  all,  while  for  those 
who  had  not  brought  their  own  picnic  lunch, 
sandwiches  were  served. 

The  athletic  contests  and  sporting  events, 
participated  in  by  the  undergraduates,  were  held 
in  Gardner  Hall,  and  for  more  than  an  hour  e- 
voked  hilarious  laughter  for  the  spectators.  Cash 
prizes  furnished  by  the  alumni,  were  awarded  in 
every  event.  Then  nearly  everybody  went  over 
to  the  Assembly  Hall,  where  movie  films  were 
shown  by  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  ')6,  and  this  was 
followed  by  a  band  concert  and  dancing.  After 
supper  there  was  more  dancing  and  community 
singing,  and  it  was  hard  indeed  to  break  off  the 
festivities  and  take  departure. 

Joseph  J.  Colson,  '85,  one  of  the  earli- 
est members  of  the  Boston  Musicians  Union, 
and  a  well  known  cornetist,  died  May  21,  at  his 
home,  76  Sunnyside  Ave.,  Winthrop,  after  an 
illness  of  many  months,  aged  51. 

Born  in  Boston,  he  entered  The  Farm  and 
Trades  School  in  1879  and  upon  graduation  in 
1 885,  took  up  music  as  a  profession.  For  more 
than  25  years  he  was  cornet  soloist  at  Keith's 
Theatre  and  Gordon's  Olympia  in  Boston.  Dur- 
ing the  war  he  was  employed  at  the  Charlestown 
Navy  yard,  until  his  health  failed. 

He  is  survived  by  a  wife,  who  was  Edith 
Ball  of  East  Boston,  and  by  three  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom  is  Melvin  E.  Colson,  who  went 
overseas  with  the  101st  Infantry,  and  in  France 
was  commissioned  a  first  lieutenant,  and  served 
with  the  146th  Infantry.  He  is  also  survived 
by  two  brothers,  Fred,  who  is  a  musician  on  the 
U.  S.  S.  Connecticut,  and  Charles  of  Whitman, 
also  a  musician,  both  graduates  of  this  School. 


Vol.  24.  No.  5.  Printed  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.  September,  1920. 

Entered  November  23,   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1874. 


Printitid  tbc  Beacon 

The  Beacon  is  made  up  of  articles  which 
the  boys  write  during  their  school  hours.  They 
write  about  their  work,  play  and  various  other 
things  concerning  the  School  and  this  is  part  of 
their  English  and  spelling  lessons.  After  the 
teachers  correct  the  articles,  they  are  sent  to 
the  Office  where  they  are  looked  over  and 
the  best  ones  picked  out  and  sent  to  the 
Printing  Office.  Here  they  are  again  looked 
over  and  made  ready  for  composing.  The 
heading  is  set  in  10  point  Bradley,  caps  and 
lower  case  and  the  body  in  10  point  Gushing 
caps  and  lower  case.  Proofs  are  then  taken  on 
the  proof  press  and  are  proof  read,  and  errors  and 
changes  to  be  made  are  marked.  After  these  er- 
rors have  been  corrected,  another  proof  is  taken 
and  sent  to  the  Office,  where  they  are  again 
proof  read  and  sent  back  to  the  Printing  Office 
and  the  corrections  are  made  according  to  the 
corrected  proof. 

The  type  is  now  ready  to  be  put  into  pages. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  interest- 
ing features.  The  pages  are  50  ems  long  and 
33  ems  wide.  It  is  planned  to  put  in  as  many  in- 
teresting articles  as  there  is  room  for,  and  to  re- 
present as  many  different  boys  as  possible.  Be- 
sides boys'  articles  there  are  the  managers'  list, 
editorial,  calendar,  meteorology,  bank  statement 
and  alumni  notes.  A  verse  or  quotation 
is  usually  put  in  on  the  lower  right  hand  corner 
of  page  seven  or  page  three.  As  soon  as  the 
paging  is  done  comes  the  imposing   or    locking 


the  pages  into  a  chase.  Two  pages  are  "locked 
up"  at  a  time,  making  four  forms  in  all.  The 
type  is  now  ready  for  the  press.  The  large 
press  which  is  a  Colts  Armory  Universal  is  used 
for  this  and  takes  a  form  14  by  22  inches. 
Power  is  furnished  by  a  two  horse  power  electric 
motor  which  gives  the  press  1500  impressions  an 
hour  on  high  speed,  1 ,000  at  half  and  600  at  low. 
Pages  1  and  8  are  printed  first  then  4  and 
5,  then  2  and  7,  and  3  and  6,  this  giving  time 
for  each  form  to  dry,  before  printing  the  next 
one.  About  1050  Beacons  are  printed,  making 
2100  sheets  to  handle.  When  they  are  dry, 
the  folding  and  inserting  is  started;  this  is  quick 
work  as  there  is  only  one  fold  on  each  sheet. 
As  soon  as  there  is  a  good  pile  folded,  they  are 
stitched.  A  Boston  Wire  Stitcher  using  num- 
ber 25  wire  does  the  stitching.  This  machine 
is  run  by  the  same  motor  by  which  the  presses  are 
run.  It  is  a  very  serviceable  machine,  easy  to 
operate  and  does  very  good  work. 

After  the  stitching  is  finished,  the  Beacons 
are  counted  out  in  piles  of  25,  and  are  put  through 
the  cutter  which  takes  a  quarter  of  an  inch  off  the 
top  and  bottom,  and  an  eighth  of  an  inch  off 
the  side. 

The  Beacons  are  now  finished  and  sent  to 
the  Office  where  they  are  again  folded  in  the 
middle  and  wrapped,  addressed  and  stamped, 
ready  to  be  sent  out  in  the  mail,  given  to  the 
boys  and  instuctors  and  a  few  put  on  file. 

James  B.  Rouse 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


mr.  jidam's  Tuncral 

Mr.  Melvin  O.  Adams,  a  well  known  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Managers,  died  suddenly 
Monday  evening,  Aug.  9,  1920.  His  funeral 
was  arranged  for  Thursday.  The  services  were 
held  at  King's  Chapel  Boston,  and  a  group  of  boys 
to  represent  The  Farm  and  Trades  School,  was 
chosen  to  attend  the  services.  At  7. 1 5  A.  M.  we 
put  on  our  uniforms,  shined  our  shoes,  etc,  and 
went  to  the  Reading  Room  to  wait  till  all  was 
ready.  We  were  soon  at  City  Point  where  we 
boarded  a  Boston  car.  We  arrived  at  the  church 
at  about  10:15  A.  M.  where  we  were  assigned 
seats  in  a  pew  situated  on  the  right  hand  balcony. 
The  services  began  at  10:30  A.  M.  They  were 
brief,  but  impressive.  There  was  no  music  save 
the  organ  preceeding  and  following  the  services. 
At  the  close,  we  started  for  City  Point  reaching 
there  about  11: 15.  A.M.  Mr.  Adams  was  a 
well  known  man  of  Boston  and  was  president  of 
the  Boston,  Revere  Beach  &  Lynn  Railroad. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  managers  of  our  time  and 
was  a  great  friend  to  this  School.  Our  flag  was  at 
half  mast  in  honor  of  his  memory,  for  three  days. 
Ralph  H.  Swenson 

B  Baseball  Game 

One  of  the  best  ball  games  we  have  had 
this  year  was  played  on  Sept.  4,  1920.  This 
game  was  between  teams  A  and  C.  When  the 
game  started  team  A  was  the  first  to  bat. 

Neither  side  scored  for  the  first  four  inn- 
ings. In  the  fifth  inning  team  A  scored  two  runs 
and  we,  team  C,  scored  two  runs.  In  their  half  of 
the  sixth  they  scored  four  runs  and  in  our  half  we 
scored  one  run.  With  the  score  6-3  against 
us  the  outlook  was  very  gloomy.  At  the  begin- 
ingofthe  seventh  they  scored  one  run, — 7-3, 
against  our  team!  Nevertheless  we  fought 
and  scored  two  runs.  Then  the  game  ended 
as  it  was  only  a  seven  inning  game  and  they  won 
7-5.  It  was  a  hard  fought  game.  The  capt- 
tains  were  Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard  and  myself. 
Waldo  E.  Libby 


€oai  Supply 

Aug.  1 2,  the  barge  Pocasset  of  the  Maritime 
Coal  Co.  came  here  with  some  screenings  and 
hard  coal.  They  made  fast  to  the  south  side 
of  the  Wharf  and  by  the  aid  of  a  boom  they 
hoisted  on  to  the  Wharf  a  hopper.  The  boom 
which  had  a  grab  on  the  end  of  it  would  go  into 
the  barge  and  fill  up  with  coal.  Then  the  engin- 
eer would  push  a  lever  and  the  grab  would  rise 
into  the  hopper  and  return  for  more.  There  were 
four  one  horse  tipcarts  and  one  two  horse  tip- 
cart  brought  into  action.  A  boy  would  lead  a 
horse  down  to  the  Wharf  and  under  the  shute 
and  the  coal  would  come  from  the  hopper  into 
the  shute  and  then  into  the  cart.  We  would 
fill  the  one  horse  tipcarts  about  three  quarters  full 
and  the  two  horse  cart  full.  We  would  then  go 
up  to  the  scales  by  the  barn  and  have ,  it 
weighed.  The  weight  would  be  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  eighteen  hundred  pounds.  We  would 
then  take  the  coal  to  the  coal  pile  by  the  Boat 
House  or  to  the  Power  House  or  woodceller. 
After  the  barge  was  emptied  which  took  a  few 
days  it  returned  for  a  load  of  soft  coal.  The 
second  load  of  400  tons  reached  here  Friday, 
Aug.  20.  It  was  emptied  Monday  afternoon. 
The  mein  except  the  fireman,  went  home  every 
night  while  working  here.  When  dinner  or  sup- 
per came  the  boys  who  worked  on  the  coal  came 
up  black.  They  would  take  a  bath  and  put  on 
clean  clothes.  Ralph  M.  Rogers 

Cbc  Crescent  Cottage 

The  Crescent  Cottage  is  the  third  cottage 
from  the  lower  end  of  Cottage  Row.  I  own  a 
share  in  it  with  two  other  boys.  We  decorate 
the  cottage  with  pennants,  vases,  or  any  other 
pretty  things.  At  the  north  side  we  have  a  wall 
seat  with  a  cupboard.  We  can  invite  our  friends 
down  there  on  Friend's  Days.  Most  of  the  cot- 
tages look  like  real  houses.  We  have  wmdows, 
rugs,  telephones,  pictures,  tables,  chairs,  and  all 
the  things  of  a  regular  house.  1  like  our  cottage 
very  much. 

Desmond  Anderson 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


my  new  mork 

One  day  some  new  boys  came  to  the  School. 
About  a  week  after  that,  one  of  them  was  put  in 
the  dining-room  to  work  in  my  place.  1  had 
been  in  there  almost  a  year,  so  1  was  glad  to  go 
somewhere  else. 

I  hoped  my  next  job  was  to  be  carpentry, 
but  evidently  there  was  no  place  for  me,  for  1 
found  myself  on  the  farm.  Some  days  1  hoe 
weeds,  but  when  the  coal  came  1  helped  to  un- 
load it.  The  first  day  I  helped  push  the  coal 
into  the  manholes;  the  next  day  I  drove  a  horse 
which  carried  coal  to  the  coal  pile. 

When  the  coal  was  unloaded  we  had  other 
things  to  do,  such  as  gathering  vegetables  or 
getting  millet  for  the  cows.  My  outdoor  job 
makes  me  feel  more  tired,  but  I  know  1  have 
done  my  bit.     I  like  to  work  outside. 

Barton  N.  Slade 

Swimmind 

Swimming  is  one  of  the  boys'  best  sports. 
The  first  graders  can  go  in  every  day,  the  sec- 
ond on  Tuesday,  Thursday,  Saturday  and  Sunday, 
the  third  on  Saturday  and  Sunday  only,  and  the 
fourth  can't  go  in  at  all. 

When  we  are  going  to  have  a  swim  we 
form  in  line  and  go  down  to  the  shore.  We 
undress  on  the  grass  facing  the  beach.  As 
soon  as  we  get  down  there  Mr.  Brown  blows  a 
whistle  for  us  to  undress  and  then  one  for  us  to 
go  in.  The  boys  that  can  swim  usually  dive  off 
the  Wharf  and  swim  out  to  the  float.  On  the 
float  is  a  diving  board  on  which  the  boys  have 
great  times.  After  we  have  been  in  a  while 
Mr.  Brown  blows  four  long  blasts  on  the  whistle. 
This  means  that  our  time  is  up  and  to  come  in 
and  dress. 

William  F.  Anderson 

Cl)c  Band  Practice 

Each  boy  is  supposed  to  practise  at  least 
three  hours  during  each  week.  Our  time  for 
each  day  is  put  down  on  a  list  which  is  posted. 
At  the  beginning  of  each  week  a  new  list  is  put 


up,  and  the  week's  record  is  put  on  a  larger  list. 
The  fourth  graders  have  a  chance  to  practice 
every  day. 

Any  boy  who  does  not  have  at  least  three 
hours'  practice  probably  would  be  checked. 

Arthur  W.  Gaunt 

morniitd  Routine  in  the  Caundrv 

At  the  laundry  in  the  morning,  there  are 
three  regular  boys,  and  one  extra  boy  to  help 
until  school  time. 

On  Monday  morning  when  the  boys  enter 
the  laundry  the  three  regular  boys  go  to  the 
wash  tubs,  and  wash  parts  of  the  instructors' 
clothing  while  the  other  boy  sorts  the  boys' 
clothes.  When  this  is  done  the  instructors' 
sheets  and  flatwork  are  washed  quite  enough,  so 
the  washer  is  stopped  and  the  clothes  are  taken 
out  and  put  in  the  extractor,  or  wringer,  where 
they  stay  10  minutes  or  over.  When  10  min- 
utes is  up,  they  are  put  into  the  tumbler,  or  drier, 
and  shaken  out;  then  they  are  put  through  the 
press  ironer,  and  folded.  The  boys'  sheets  are 
then  put  through  the  process  and  that  ends  our 
work  for  Monday. 

Tuesday,  two  boys  who  can  iron  best,  iron 
instructors'  clothing  while  1  run  the  machinery, 
and  do  the  boys'  clothes. 

Wednesday  is  cleaning  day.  The  brass  is 
polished,  the  machinery  and  shafting  cleaned, 
the  tables  and  washers  scrubbed,  the  floor  swept 
and  other  things  done.  When  that  is  accom- 
plished we  "Start  up,"  and  begin  on  the  waiters' 
coats,  and  aprons.  I  run  the  collar  press 
which  irons  the  collars,  and  fronts  of  the  coats, 
while  another  boy  runs  the  body  iron,  and  irons 
the  body  part  of  the  coat,  and  the  third 
boy  does  the  finishing  up  and  the  sleeves.  If 
there  is  time  after  this,  the  instructor  has  us 
deliver  the  instructors'  clothes. 

Thursday,  we  do  the  boys  towels,  handker- 
chiefs and  socks.  There  are  also  some  instruc- 
tors' things  left  to  be  done. 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A    PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS, 

TUITION  FEES   AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


September,  1920 


Vol.  24.    No.  5. 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  E.   Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose   Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

GoRHAM  Brooks 
1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.   Gardiner,  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

Mr.  Melvin  Ohio  Adams,  for  20  years  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  The 
Farm  and  Trades  School,  died  at  his  home  in 
Boston  on  August  9,  in  his  70th  year. 

Born  on  November  7,  1850,  the  son   of  a 


farmer,  in  Ashburnham,  Mass.,  he  attended  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  town  and  an 
academy  at  New  Ipswich,  N.  H.,  a  few  miles 
away.  At  the  age  of  17  he  entered  Dartmouth 
College  and  graduated  four  years  later,  with  an 
ambition  to  become  a  lawyer.  In  order  to 
obtain  money  for  the  purpose  of  study,  he  took 
up  school  teaching,  and  was  able  at  the  same 
time  to  read  law  in  an  office  in  Fitchburg. 
In  three  years  he  was  ready  for  the  law  school, 
and  went  to  Boston,  where  he  entered  Boston 
University,  and  was  graduated  in  1875.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  the  same  year,  and 
within  a  short  time  was  invited  to  become  an 
assistant  district  attorney  for  Suffolk  County, 
a  position  he  accepted  and  held  for  10  years, 
retiring  to  enter  private  practice  with  the  late 
Augustus  Russ.  Mr.  Adams  early  made  a 
reputation  as  a  ready  and  effective  speaker,  and 
he  was  considered  one  of  the  best  jury  lawyers 
at  the  bar.  In  1904  he  accepted  an  appoint- 
ment from  President  Roosevelt  as  United 
States  District  Attorney  for  Massachusetts. 

Since  1891  he  had  been  president  of  the 
Boston,  Revere  Beach  &  Lynn  Railroad,  and 
he  made  the  little  system  not  only  successful  fi- 
nancially, but  popular  with  the  public  because  of 
its  efficient  and  satisfactory  service. 

Yet  these  facts  of  biography  do  not  portray 
the  worth  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Adams. 
He  was  intensely  loyal  in  his  devotions.  He 
was  a  lover  of  humanity.  He  found  deepest  joy 
in  helping  his  fellow  men.  Few  men  have  as- 
serted their  loyalty  as  he  did.  In  his  railroad 
enterprise,  whose  good  name  was  on  everybody's 
lips,  he  found  opportunity  to  develop  ideas  long 
cherished.  Every  summer  he  was  able  to  give 
employment  to  scores  of  students  working  their 
way  through  college  (and  a  preponderance  from 
his  own  Dartmouth  College),  and  every  young 
man  so  employed  who  made  good  gave  him  a 
satisfaction  which  he  delighted  to  express.  He 
showed  his  loyalty  to  his  native  town  of 
Ashburnham  and  his  college  alma  mater  by  giv- 
ing their  names  to  two  of  the  ferryboats  of  the 
railroad  company. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


His  interest  in  The  Farm  and  Trades 
School  and  in  its  graduates  was  deep  and  con- 
stant. Often  it  was  his  advice  and  his  help 
which  relieved  an  emergency,  and  he  was  ever 
ready  to  help.  In  his  professional  capacity  as 
attorney  he  was  able  with  tact  and  sincerity 
to  present  the  moral  claims  of  this  school  upon 
persons  of  wealth.  In  the  gatherings  of  the 
alumni  no  one  was  more  welcome  than  he,  and 
his  addresses,  especially  at  the  recent  annual 
dinners,  were  sources  of  inspiration.  At  the  last 
annual  dinner  of  the  Alumni  Association  he 
spoke  with  emphatic  indorsment  of  the  sugges- 
tion, broached  earlier  by  another  speaker,  to 
have  a  larger  representation  of  the  alumni  on 
the  Board  of  Managers,  a  suggestion  which  later 
received  his  approval  in  the  meeting  of  the 
Board,  when  two  alumni  representatives  were 
elected  thereto. 

Mr.  Adams  will  be  missed  in  many  circles, 
but  in  none  will  the  loss  be  more  seriously  felt 
than  in  the  circle  of  interests  centering  in  The 
Farm  and  Trades  School. 

Calendar 

August  1  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  C.  Shaw,  form- 
er instructors,  here  for  over  Sunday. 

August  2     Putting  in  hay  from  South  End. 

Weeding  in  garden. 

August  3  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  here 
to  spend  his  vacation  and  help  as  needed. 

August  4  Veterinary  here  in  the  after- 
noon. 

Cutting  out  by  Farm  House  corn  stalks  in- 
fested by  European  corn  borer. 

August  5  Assistant  Treasurer  Alfred  C. 
Malm,  '97,  with  Mr.  George  D.  Bourcy  visited 
the  School,  also  Erwin  L.  Coolidge,  ex  '16. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

August  6  Third  Friends'  Day.  Present, 
200  guests. 

Mowing  by  east  side  meadow  with  machine; 
boys  mowing  by  hand. 

August  7  Theodore  Miller,  '09,  here  for 
the  afternoon. 

August  9     Manager  Melvin  O.  Adams  died 


Mowing  oats  on  Oak  Knoll. 

August  10  200  tons  screenings  came, 
also  50  tons  stove  coal. 

August  11  Admission  Day.  Seven  boys 
were  admitted  as  follows:  Clifton  Ellsworth 
Albee,  Robert  Harlan  Carney,  William  Earl 
Ericsson,  William  Rollin  Holman,  James  Edward 
Hughes,  Roger  Kinsman  Smith,  and  Raymond 
Thomas.     Five  came  directly  to  the  School. 

August  12  Funeral  of  Manager  Melvin  O. 
Adams.  Mr.  Bradley,  with  Miss  Winslow, 
Elwin  C.  Bemis,  '16,  and  Howard  F.  Lochrie, 
'16,  and  nine  boys  attended  •  from  the  School. 
The  managers  were  represented  by  President 
Arthur  Adams  and  Walter  B.  Foster,  Mr.  Foster 
being  also  an  alumnus.  The  Alumni  also  were 
represented  by  William  Alcott,  '84,  Merton  P. 
Ellis,  '97,  Richard  Bell,  '73,  Soloman  B.  Holman, 
'50,  Edward  A.  Moore,  '79,  and  John  F. 
Peterson,  '95. 

Two  boys  admitted  on  August  1  1  th,  William 
Rollin  Holman  and  Roger  Kinsman  Smith,  came 
to  the  School. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening, 

August  13  New  boys  measured  for  new 
uniforms. 

August   14     Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  left. 

Chester  T.  Smith,  ex  '21,  here  to  spend 
Sunday. 

Mowing  oats  in  back  of  Cottages  and  by 
Back  Road. 

August  16  Clarence  W.  Loud,  '96,  with 
his  wife  and  three  children,  spent  the  day  at  the 
School. 

Boys  out  of  school,  and  weeding  for  a  few 
days. 

August  18  President  Arthur  Adams  visit- 
ed the  School. 

August  19  Second  barge  containing  400 
tons  of  soft  coal  came. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

August  20  Franklin  P.  Miller,  '18,  came 
to  visit  for  a  few  days  and  help  as  needed. 

August  21  Manager,  Dr.  Henry  Jackson 
visited  the  School. 

August  24  Man  from  Mutual  Boiler  In- 
surance Company  here  to  inspect  the  "Pilgrim's" 
boiler. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Drawing  in  oats. 

Walter  I.Tassinari, '14,here  for  overnight. 

August  25  Dr.  Bancroft  here,  and  vac- 
cinated 15  boys. 

Drawing  in  oats. 

August  26  Motion  pictures  in  the  even- 
ing. 

August  28  Ralph  H.  Swenson,  Ex  '21, 
left  the  School  to  help  his  father.  Ralph  will 
work  for  the  Hood  Rubber  Company,  and  attend 
continuation  school.  He  lives  at  194  Dudley 
Street,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

August  30  Mr.  Beadle,  of  the  Electric 
Storage  Battery  Company  here  to  examine  stor- 
age battery. 

Man  from  S.  H.  Couch  Company  here  to 
put  in  order  the  local  telephones. 

Calcnaar  so  years  M^  i$7o 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

August  8.  'Tis  trying  weather.  My  men 
are  threshing  barley. 

August  10.  Joseph  went  to  get  oxen  and 
horses  shod  at  Quincy.  The  School  continues 
about  the  same  every  day.  As  many  boys  as 
can  be  employed  to  advantage  on  the  farm  and 
about  the  house,  are  so  employed  every  day. 
The  remainder  are   in  School. 

August  27.  Gave  all  of  the  boys  play. 
Went  to  South   End  and   had  a  game  of  ball. 


Bnmt  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  93°  on  the  9th. 
Minimum  Temperature  59°  on  the  1st. 
Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  69.° 
Total  precipitation  .10  inches. 
Greatest  precipitation  in  2  hours  .  10  inches. 
One  days  with  .01   or  more  inches  precip- 
itation,   2  clear  days,  29  partly  cloudy,  0  cloudy. 


Cbe  Tarm  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cashonhand  Aug.  1,  1920  $827.45 

Deposited  during  the  month  32.42 

$859.87 
Withdrawn  during  the  month  31.29 

Cashonhand   Sept.    I,    1920  $828.58 

OurCanguage  Pledge 

The  boys  of  my  class  made  a  language 
pledge  on  September   15,    1920;  the  pledge   is: 

"1  pledge  allegiance  to  my  flag  and  to  the 
language  for  which  it  stands,  the  English  lan- 
guage, which  I  pledge  myself  to  speak  and  write 
more  correctly  and  a  little  better  each  day." 

I  think  it  is  a  very  good  pledge.  We  all 
said  we  would  try  to  remember  the  pledge  and 
correct  ourselves  every  time  we  made  a  mistake 
in  writing  or  speaking.  We  are  trying  to  write 
better  each  day.  We  will  stick  to  the  pledge 
and  so  improve  our  English. 

William   R.   Holman 

Rowing  Practice 

One  day  the  captain  of  the  boat  crew  asked 
how  many  of  the  crew  wanted  to  go  out  in  the 
"Chilton;"  many  of  the  fellows  wanted  to,  but  the 
captain  picked  out  nine.  We  went  down  to  the 
Boat  House  and  got  the  rollers  in  place.  We 
then  launched  the  boat  and  pulled  away.  We 
rowed  around  until  eight  o'clock.  We  had  some 
fine  practice.  The  captain  took  charge  of  the 
crew  but  gave  the  other  three  officers  a  turn  at 
the  tiller.  We  made  very  good  progress  and 
hope  to  go  out  again  soon.  John  M.  Ely 

mosquitoes 

A  mosquito  lays  its  eggs  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  in  ditches,  old  tin  cans  and  in  low 
places  in  the  ground  where  water  settles.  To 
stop  their  breeding,  gas  oil  is  sprinkled  on.  This 
forms  a  coating  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
stopping  the  larvae  from  getting  air  which  of 
course  kills  them.  There  are  five  boys  who 
have  charge  of  the  oiling  of  these  breeding 
places,  and  I  am  one.       Charles  D.  Smith 


I 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


B  Corn  Roa$r 

Wednesday  evening,  September  15,  a  no- 
tice was  posted  on  the  bulletin  board  reading: 
"There  will  be  a  corn  roast  tonight  at  eight 
o'clock."  Everybody  was  excited.  1  went 
down  and  helped  get  wood  for  the  fires,  putting 
it  in  two  piles.  At  eight  o'clock  we  marched 
down  to  the  beach  where  Mr.  Bradley  was. 
Benches  were  brought  down  and  we  sat  and 
sang  until  the  fires  were  ready. 

Soon  somebody  said,  "Line  up  for  corn." 
There  was  a  dash  for  a  line.  When  we  got 
our  corn  we  stuck  the  end  of  our  stick  into  it 
and  held  it  in  the  fire  till  it  was  roasted  good; 
then  we  put  some  butter  and  salt  on  it.  Oh! 
but  wasn't  it  dandy!  1  ate  quite  a  few  ears  and 
1  couldn't  eat  any  more.  Roasting  one  ear  I 
burnt  my  hand  and  it  stung.  1  enjoyed  the  corn 
roast  very  much  and  1  think  all  the  other  boys 
did.  Howard  E.  Keith 

Our  Bce$ 

The  other  day  a  man  came  to  look  at  our 
bees.  I  was  given  the  privilege  of  watching 
him.  He  took  a  smoker  and  put  it  near  the 
hive,  and  began  smoking  the  bees.  We  have 
two  hives  of  bees;  the  first  had  no  bees  in  it. 
He  told  us  that  when  a  hive  of  bees  died  it  was 
best  to  lock  the  hive,  because  there  were  rob- 
bers among  bees  as  well  as  people. 

We  then  opened  the  second  hive.  He 
found  the  comb  had  plenty  of  honey,  but  the 
bees  needed  pollen.  When  the  dandelions 
come  they  will  be  able  to  get  some. 

The  third  comb  had  the  queen  in  it.  There 
is  one  queen  in  each  hive,  also  a  number  of 
kings  or  drones.  The  drones  do  no  work,  and 
have  larger  cells  than  the  workers.  The 
queen  does  the  hardest  work  of  the  hive  for  she 
lays  3000  to  5000  eggs  a  day. 

The  workers  or  citizens    of  the  hive  are 

smaller  than  the  drones  or  queen.     These  bees 

gather  all  the  honey,  wax  and  pollen.     I  enjoyed 

listening  and  watching  the  bee  man  very  much. 

John  P.  Davidson 


l)OW  Dell  caught  a  Hat 

One  of  our  dogs,  Del,  is  a  very  fine  fox  terri- 
er. One  morning  I  saw  him  going  along  a  bank. 
He  took  a  sniff  of  every  hole  he  passed.  At  last 
he  came  to  the  hole  he  was  looking  for.  He 
sniffed  and  sniffed.  He  then  began  to  dig, 
so  I  helped  him  to  dig  his  hole.  After  awhile 
he  took  another  sniff  and  went  on  with  his  digging. 
He  dug  in  so  far  that  you  could  not  see  him 
if  you  stood  on  the  top  of  the  hill  or  on  the  road. 
The  hole  was  about  1  -2  a  foot  in  diameter.about 
two  feet  along  the  bank  and  about  a  foot  into  the 
bank.  At  last  he  got  to  the  end  of  the  hole  and 
out  he  jumped  with  a  rat  in  his  mouth.  Del  likes 
to  dig  rats.  It  is  very  comical  to  watch  him. 
1  like  to  dig  rats  too. 

Raymond  H.  McQuesten 

CDc  Tourtb  Grade 

When  a  boy  gets  in  the  fourth  grade  he  has 
no  time  to  do  the  things  he  would  like  to  do.  He 
works  his  play  time  except  on  Sunday,  and  is 
liable  to  be  called  on  anytime  to  do  a  small  job. 
He  has  to  sit  on  a  bench  all  by  himself  when  he 
is  not  at  work.  He  loses  all  the  pleasures  the 
other  grades  enjoy,  and  has  to  go  to  bed  early. 
I  do  not  think  it  pays  to  be  a  fourth  grader. 

Alexander  McKenzie 

mixind  Paint 

This  morning  the  paint  shop  instructor  and 
I  mixed  paint  to  use  on  the  barn.  We  first  took 
a  keg  that  holds  about  15  gallons  and  put  into  it 
100  pounds  of  "Dutch  boy"  white  lead,  3  gallons 
of  linseed  oil  and  1  1-2  gallons  of  turpentine 
and  mixed  them  all  together,  it  will  take  about 
six  hundred  pounds  of  white  lead  to  paint  the 
barn.  First  we  will  put  on  a  priming  coat  and 
then  a  finishing  coat. 

Stanley  W.  Higgins 


"To  live  is  sometimes  very  difficult,  but  it 
is  never  meritorious  in  itself;  and  we  must  have 
a  reason  to  allege  to  our  own  conscience  why  we 
should  continue  to  exist  upon  the  crowded  earth." 

Stevenson 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  Jllutnni  Jfssociatlon  of  Cbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84.  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


James  H.    Graham,    77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

Richard  Bell.  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox,  '79,  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F    Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Samuel  J.  Simmons,  '51,  one  of  the  two 
oldest  living  graduates  of  the  School,  both  of 
whom  were  present  at  the  annual  dinner  of  Jan- 
uary last,  has  a  Civil  War  record  as  follows: 

His  name  is  upon  the  Muster-out-Roll  of 
Co.  K,  15th  Regt.  Mass.  Vounteer  Infantry- 
Col.  Devens;  he  enlisted  on  the  1st  day  of  July, 
1 86 1 ,  and  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  on  the  12th  day  of  July,  1861,  where  he 
served  for  three  years.  He  was  mustered  out 
on  the  28th  day  of  July,  1864. 

He  received  his  first  promotion  after  his 
first  battle  of  Balls  Bluff,  and  was  promoted  to 
Corporal-Sergeant  after  the  battle  of  Antietam 
where  the  15th  Regiment  lost  more  killed  and 
mortally  wounded  than  any  other  regiment  on 
the  field.  He  was  made  1st  sergeant  after  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  when  on  the  3rd  of  July  he 
was  wounded  while  leading  his  company  against 
Pickett's  charge.  He  commanded  his  company 
at  Bristoe  Station,  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania, 
where  at  the  Bloody  Angle,  he  was  wounded, 
losing  part  of  his  left  hand.  He  served  in  all  the 
battles  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  1861 
to  May  12,  1864.  He  was  never  sick  for  an 
hour  or  off  duty  except  when  wounded, 

Joseph  J.  Colson,  '85,  a  well-known 
cornetist  died  on  May  20th  at  his  home  in  Win- 
throp.  Mr.  Colson  studied  instrumental  music 
here  at  the  School,  and  after  his  graduation  took 
up  music  as  a  profession.  For  over  25  years  he 
was  cornet  soloist  at  Keith's  Theatre  and  Gor- 
don's Olympia  in  Boston.  During  the  war  he 
was  employed  at  the  Charlestown  Navy-yard  un- 
til his  health  failed.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest 
members  of  the  Boston  Musicians'  Union.  He 
is  survived  by  a  wife,  three  children  and  two 
brothers. 


Elkanah  D.  LeBlanc,  '97,  recently  has 
been  transferred  from  Division  14  of  the  Police 
Force  to  the  Bureau  of  Criminal    Investigation. 

Howard  A.  Delano,  '  1 3,  visited  the  School 
this  year  for  the  first  time  since  his  graduation. 
After  he  left  the  School,  Howard  went  to  work 
on  a  farm  in  Ludlow,  Vt.,  for  his  uncle,  W,  J. 
Delano.  He  remained  there  for  four  years  and 
after  a  year  spent  on  another  farm  in  Ludlow,  he 
went  to  Cornish,  Maine,  where  he  has  a  sister. 
He  is  now  employed  on  a  large  dairy  farm  in 
Cornish. 

Lester  E.  Cowden,  '16,  left  us  in  the 
summer  of  1916,  and  went  to  work  as  a  me- 
chanic for  the  Taft  Pierce  Mfg.  Co.,  and  has 
remained  there  up  to  the  present  time,  with  the 
exception  of  two  and  one  half  years  when  he  was 
in  the  service.  He  was  in  the  1 1 th  Machine 
Gun  Battalion,  4th  Division,  7th  Brigade,  and 
ranked  as  a  mechanic.  He  had  15  months  over 
seas'  service. 

Lester  visited  the  School  on  April  3rd. 
He  is  now  leaving  the  Taft  Pierce  Mfg.  Co.  and 
is  going  to  the  Michigan  State  Auto  School, 
His  home  address  is  54  Snow  Street,  Woon- 
socket,  R,  I. 

Hubert  N.  Leach.  '16,  upon  leaving  the 
School,  went  to  work  upon  a  farm,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  entered  the  service.  He  was  in 
the  Headquarters  Co.,  11th  Infantry,  5th  Di- 
vision, 9th  Brigade,  and  was  in  the  service  for 
18  months.  He  is  now  employed  as  machinist 
by  the  Merrimac  Chemical  Company.  His  ad- 
dress is  7  Hubbard  Road,  Dorchester. 

Sidney  C.  Varney,  '16,  who  is  in  the 
Navy,  sends  us  a  card  from  Colon.  He  had  re- 
cently arrived  at  Barbados  from  Gibraltar. 


Vol.  24.  No.  6,  Printed  at  The   Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.  October,  1920. 

Entered  November  23.   1903.  at  Boston.  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16.  1874. 


CDe  Craaittd  Company 

All  boys  want  things  of  which  they  can  make 
good  use  and  they  like  to  buy  these  things  them- 
selves. The  Trading  Company  was  started  so 
the  boys  could  buy  articles  that  they  wanted, 
also  to  teach  the  boys  to  spend  their  money 
wisely,  and  not  beyond  their  means. 

The  Trading  Company  is  situated  in  the 
East  Basement.  It  is  a  small  cage,  8  feet  6 
inches  in  length,  and  seven  feet  one  inch  in 
width.  It  is  enclosed  part  way  by  a  wooden  par- 
tition with  a  wire  grill  above  that.  A 
counter  runs  along  the  front,  with  shelves  under- 
neath. The  Trading  Company  is  separated 
from  the  Banking  Department  by  this  grill. 
Inside  there  is  a  table  and  a  chair.  There  are 
also  three  wooden  chests  in  which  we  keep 
some  of  our  goods. 

The  Trading  Company  is  open  every 
Tuesday  evening  from  six  to  seven  o'clock  in 
the  summer  time  and  on  Mondays,  Tuesdays 
and  Fridays  in  the  winter  time.  When  a  boy 
wants  to  buy  anything  he  comes  to  the  counter 
and  states  his  wants.  He  is  then  asked  how 
much  money  he  has  and  in  what  grade  he  is. 
If  the  customer  is  in  the  fourth  grade  or  if  he 
hasn't  over  a  dollar  in  the  bank  he  usually  goes 
away  disappointed.  But  if  he  has  around  two 
dollars  his  name  goes  down  on  a  slip,  and  he  gets 
his  need  supplied.  The  customer  then  goes  to 
the  Bank  and  makes  out  a  check  to  The  Farm 
and   Trades    School  Trading  Company.     Boys 


who  have  more  money  may  buy  more  articles 
and  more  expensive  ones. 

Some  of  the  things  that  are  sold  are  knives, 
watch  fobs,  carpenter's  tools,  pennants,  ties, 
razor  blades,  pencils,  scrapbooks  and  many 
other  things.  When  the  store  closes  the  names 
of  the  boys  who  traded  are  taken  to  an  in- 
structer  in  charge.  Then  some  time  before  the 
next  opening  of  the  Company  the  clerk  has  to 
go  to  the  office  and  fix  his  books.  In  the  sales 
book  the  names  of  the  boys  and  what  they  bought 
are  put  down  with  the  amount.  At  the  end  of  a 
month  it  is  added  up  to  find  out  how  much  has 
been  sold  in  that  month.  In  another  book  the 
name  of  each  boy  is  written  and  an  account  of 
what  each  individual  boys  buys.  If  a  boy  spends 
his  money  wastefully  he  is  stepped  from  buying 
for  about  one  month,  or  if  the  boy  is  in  the  din- 
ing room  and  breaks  dishes  he  can't  buy  for  a 
certain  length  of  time.  There  is  kept  also  a 
Cash  Book,  a  Ledger,  an  Invoice  Book,  show- 
ing all  goods  purchased  and  a  Stock  Book  for 
inventories. 

Every  Saturday  morning  the  Trading  Com- 
pany is  cleaned.  The  floor  is  swept,  the 
counters  dusted,  and  many  other  things  have  to 
be  done  to  keep  the  place  looking  clean.  At 
the  end  of  each  month  an  inventory  is  taken. 
When  an  inventory  is  taken  all  the  goods  have 
to  be  counted.  When  the  supplies  begin  to  get 
low  the  instructor  in  charge  goes  over  to  the 
city  and  buys  some  new  goods.     On  the  first 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


night  that  they  are  on  sale,  a  good  part  of  the 
School  boys  troop  down  to  the  Trading  Com- 
pany to  see  the  new  goods  and  buy  some.  If 
the  Trading  Company  boy  doesn't  watch  out  he 
will  find  himself  selling  goods  to  a  fourth  grader 
or  some  other  boy  who  has  no  right  to  buy. 
The  boys  make  out  checks  when  they  buy  any- 
thing, but  when  instructors  buy  they  usually  pay 
cash.  Therefore  there  must  always  be  some 
money  kept  in  the  Trading  Company. 

The  Trading  Company  is  very  valuable  for 
the  boys.  They  not  only  get  a  chance  to  buy 
things  for  themselves,  but  they  learn  the  use  of 
the  pass  book,  check  and  deposit  slips.  They 
also  learn  to  spend  their  money  in  a  thrifty  way. 
The  Trading  Company  is  a  pretty  responsible 
job.  As  I  am  the  clerk  of  the  Trading  Com- 
pany, I  have  a  little  of  the  responsibility  resting 
on  me.  1  like  my  work  very  much,  as  it  teaches 
me  book  keeping.  It  also  gives  me  an  idea  of 
the  stores  in  our  large  cities.  Besides  learning 
things  through  the  Trading  Company,  I  also  get 
a  lot  of  fun  out  of  it.  1  have  had  my  job  for 
about  ten  months  now  and  1  hope  that  1  can  keep 
it  the  rest  of  the  time  that  I  am  in  this  School. 
Theodore  B.  Hadley 

Football  season  is  now  on  and  as  at  the  be- 
ginning of  every  sporting  season  everybody  is  full 
of  enthusiasm  over  it.  After  grade  reading 
September  27,  1920  the  captains  and  men  were 
chosen.  There  are  four  school  teams.  The 
best  player  of  the  undergraduates  is  captain  of 
team  A.  The  next  B,  C  and  D.  The  fourth 
or  team  D  has  first  choice  of  the  boys,  then  C, 
B  and  A.  The  next  day  all  of  the  men  were 
on  the  gridiron.  The  captain  put  the  men 
where  he  thought  they  fitted.  He  would  pick 
his  backfield  out,  one  who  could  run  fast,  tackle 
and  on  whom  he  could  rely.  The  captain  would 
then  have  his  men  practice  at  tackling,  upset- 
ting, signals,  etc.  Then  comes  kicking  off  and 
receiving,  kicking  goals  and  punts,  drop  kicks 
and  field  goals.     The  captains  also  teaches  his 


men  to  be  quick  about  getting  down  in  the  line. 
Ralph  M.  Rogers 

^mm  tbe  Beach 

One  Saturday  morning  another  boy  and  I 
were  told  to  rake  up  the  beach,  each  side  of  the 
Wharf.  We  each  had  a  curved  tooth  rake  and 
a  long  tooth  rake.  The  corn  roast  had  been 
held  three  days  before  and  the  fire  was  still 
smouldering.  1  began  to  rake  at  one  end  of  the 
beach  and  the  other  boy  came  after  me,  raking 
it  down  still  farther.  We  did  this  till  we  got 
the  rubbish  into  several  large  piles.  Afterv/ards 
two  other  boys  with  a  team  came  and  got  the 
rubbish.  Philip  F.  Leary 

mmm  a  Rowboar  trip 

Sometimes  when  it  isn't  very  rough,  the 
trips  are  made  in  a  rowboat.  Mr.  Brown  se- 
lects two  boys  from  the  boat  crew  to  make  the 
trip.  One  boy  goes  to  the  office  for  the  Boat 
House  key.  In  the  Boat  House  two  pairs  of  oars 
and  oarlocks  are  selected,  also  a  rudder  and 
tiller  and  the  backboard.  Generally  the  Standish 
or  the  Brewster  is  used  to  go  across.  The  boat 
is  taken  from  its  shelter  on  the  Wharf  and  slid 
over  to  the  derrick.  The  oars,  oarlocks,  tiller, 
and  back  board  are  laid  in  the  boat.  Then  a 
sling  is  fastened  at  the  bow  and  stern,  and  is 
hooked  on  to  the  derrick,  and  lowered  to  the  wa- 
ter. Then  the  rudder  is  put  in  place  and  the  back 
board  and  oarlocks  are  fastened  securely.  The 
boat  also  is  wiped  out,  and  we  are  ready  for  the 
trip.  When  the  passengers  come  down  to  the 
float  to  board  the  boat,  one  boy  holds  it  off  from 
bumping  while  the  other  assists  the  passen- 
gers aboard.  Then  the  boys  take  their  places, 
one  forward  and  one  aft;  the  boy  highest  in  the 
crew  is  stroke  oar.  He  also  keeps  track  of  the 
time  of  leaving  the  Island  and  the  landing  on 
the  other  side  so  as  to  enter  that  on  the  boat 
report,  which  is  made  after  every  trip. 

When  the  boat  returns  to  the   Island  she  is 
put  under  the  shelter  on  the  Wharf  and  the  oars 
oarlocks,  etc.  are  put  back  in  the  Boat  House. 
Samuel  L.  Whitehead 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Ulbile  Paintiitd  m  Barn 

One  morning  last  week,  Higgins  and  I  were 
working  down  at  the  barn.  The  Paint  Shop  in- 
structor was  working  on  the  staging.  Suddenly 
the  staging  moved  with  a  jerk  and  down  came  a 
can  of  paint.  It  spilled  all  over  the  window  sill 
and  on  a  coil  of  rope  and  in  the  window  pocket. 
My  workwaspaintingwindow  sashes,  and  Higgins 
had  odd  jobs.  But  we  both  worked  the  rest  of 
that  morning  cleaning  up. 

Ralph  S.  Blake,  Jr. 

Burning  6ra$$ 

A  while  ago  I  was  burning  grass  with  an- 
other boy  on  the  north  end  of  the  Island.  Be- 
fore lighting  the  fire  we  studied  the  wind  direc- 
tion by  watching  the  smoke  which  comes  from 
the  chimney  on  Spectacle  Island.  We  found  it 
was  blowing  from  the  east,  so  we  lighted  the 
grass  on  the  east  side  of  the  Island.  When  it 
had  burned  over  the  space  we  wanted  cleared, 
we  took  a  hay  fork  apiece  and  put  the  fire  out, 
by  running  the  fork  over  the  ground  where  the 
flame  was.  That  afternoon  we  burned  about  an 
acre  and  a  half  and  a  few  piles  of  weeds. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

Tndiatis 

Lately  we  have  been  studying  about  Indians 
in  our  history.  The  Indians  are  interesting  to 
read  about,  especially  in  their  habits  and  ways 
and  mode  of  living. 

The  other  day  Mr.  Bradley  .brought  four 
Indian  dolls  into  the  first  school  room.  They 
were  made  by  the  Cheyenne  Indians.  The 
dolls  represent  a  warrior,  an  Indian  girl,  a  chief 
and  squaw  with  a  papoose  on  her  back.  They 
represent  the  same  features  of  an  Indian,  with 
high  cheekbones,  copper  colored  skin  and 
coal  black  hair.  They  are  made  of  wood  and 
are  wrapped  with  a  blanket  made  by  the  Indians. 
On  their  feet  are  small  drops  of  paint  to  represent 
the  different  colored  beads  on  an  Indian's  mocca- 
sins.    They  show  skill  and  patience  and  are  very 

interesting. 

Robert  J.  Giese 


Bn  Tncidcnt 

Before  I  came  to  this  School  I  had  heard 
many  times  about  the  wreck  on  Thompson's 
Island,  in  1 898.  My  grandfather  and  uncle  were 
in  the  wreck.  My  grandfather  was  captain  of 
the  "Virginia"  and  my  uncle  was  just  a  sailor. 
After  I  came  to  the  School  I  found  in  an  old 
Beacon  all  about  the  wreck  and  how  Captain 
John  S.  Stanley  was  drowned.  My  uncle  swam 
ashore  but  was  unconscious.  After  a  time  he 
went  back  to  Center,  Maine,  where  my  home  is. 
Stanley  W.  Higgins 

Printers  Rollers 

When  printing  first  began  men  did  not  use 
rollers.  Instead  balls  of  wool  covered  with  un- 
tanned  sheepskin  or  buckskin  made  hard  and  firm 
were  used.  They  were  then  fastened  to  wood- 
en handles.  Making  the  inking  balls  was  a  very 
hard  job.  The  ball  had  to  be  hard,  evenly  pack- 
ed, and  the  right  shape.  The  inking  balls  were 
used  in  pairs.  A  dab  of  ink  was  put  on  one 
ball  and  by  rocking  them  together  hard  the  ink 
was  distributed  over  the  surface  of  the  balls. 
The  ink  was  then  spread  on  the  form.  The  first 
rollers  were  covered  with  buckskin  like  the  balls, 
but  where  the  seam  came  together  there  was  a 
break  in  the  surface.  It  was  also  hard  to  make 
it  "tacky"  enough  to  carry  and  distribute  the  ink. 
Sometimes,  too,  the  buckskin  would  crack  and  it 
would  make  the  roller  worse.  Cloth  very  tightly 
woven  together  was  sometimes  used  for  a  cover- 
ing, but  it  cost  very  much  more.  Next  the  glue 
and  molasses  roller  came  into  use.  New  Orleans 
molasses  was  used  for  this  purpose  for  when 
gluecose  and  molasses  are  mixed  they  form  a 
substance  like  glue.  But  these  rollers  could  last 
only  a  few  weeks  on  account  of  the  weather. 
Glycerine  was  added  soon  after.  Glycerine  nev- 
er freezes  except  at  a  very  low  temperature  so 
the  weather  hurts  it  little.  The  modern  inking 
roller  is  made  of  glue,  glycerine,  and  sugar  syrup. 
The  highest  grade  of  roller  is  made  of  glue  and 
glycerine  alone.  The  absence  of  sugar  syrup  is 
made  up  for  by  the  more  costly  glycerine,  which 
makes  them  more  expensive. 

Ivers  E.  Winmill 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbompson's  T$land  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE     FARM     AND     TRADES     SCHOOL 
Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS,  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS, 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol.  24.    No.  6. 


October,  1920 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  E.  Mason 

TREASURER 

N.   Penrose   Hallowell 

SECRETARY 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

GoRHAM  Brooks 
L  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.  Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 
Aldcn  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

On  September  19,  1899  the  Alumni  As- 
sociation of  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  was 
formally  organized.  The  21st  anniversary  of 
that  event  fell  this  year  on  Sunday,  but  on   the 


following  Tuesday,  September  21,  a  group  of 
about  40  graduates  met  together  and  happily 
observed  the  anniversary  of  an  event  which  has 
meant  so  much  both  for  the  School  and  the 
Alumni. 

No  claim  is  made  that  the  wonderful  de- 
velopment of  the  School  during  the  past  21  years 
has  been  because  of  the  Alumni  Association,  yet 
the  history  of  the  Association  has  been  co-incid- 
ent with  these  developments,  and  in  some  of  the 
advances  the  Association  had  a  part,  while  in 
every  such  step  of  progress  the  alumni  has  re- 
joiced. 

More  space  than  is  available  here  would  be 
necessary  to  give  a  complete  list  of  the  develop- 
ments of  this  period.  Furthermore,  some  of  the 
achievements  cannot  be  catalogued,  as  for  in- 
stance, the  close  and  enthusiastic  spirit  of  co- 
operation between  the  alumni  and  the  School, 
a  co-operation  that  is  both  individualistic  and 
associational.  Also,  it  should  be  stated,  many 
of  the  things  listed  here  were  wholly  or  largely 
initiated  and  consummated  by  the  Superin- 
tendent, Charles  H.  Bradley,  who  is  especially 
responsible  for  the  present  friendly  spirit  of  co- 
operation, as  well  as  for  the  existence  of  the 
Alumni  Association.  Here  is  a  list  of  some  of 
the  notable  points  in  the  School's  development 
during  the  past  21  years. 

1903  Steam  heat  installed  in  Main 
Building. 

Infirmary  furnished  by  Alumni  Association. 
1905     Course  in  Meteorology  started. 

1907  Change  in  name  of  the  School  to  its 
present  title  (The  Farm  and  Trades  School)  in 
order  more  clearly  to  express  its  purpose. 

Establishment  of  an  annual  alumni  dinner 
at  a  Boston  hotel  on  the  second  Wednesday  of 
January,  when  graduates  and  members  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  meet. 

Observatory  built, 

1908  Establishment  of  an  Annual  Field 
day  on  June  17  at  the  School  for  a  reunion  of 
graduates  and  their  families. 

1909  Power  House  built. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


1910     Incinerator  built. 

1912  Election  of  the  first  graduate  of  the 
school,  nominated  by  the  Alumni  Association  to 
the  Board  of  Managers. 

1913  Steam  Laundry  installed  in  Gardner 
Hall. 

1914  Observance  of  the  100th  anniver- 
sary of  the  School,  with  rhe  alumni  having  an 
active  and  prominent  part  in  the  event. 

Establishment  of  an  alumni  fund,  with 
$1750,  as  a  part  of  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion, which  has  since  been  increased  by  fts 
to  $3400. 

1915  Refrigerating   Plant    installed. 

1916  Bequest  of  $150,000  by  James 
Longley  of  Boston,  the  largest  gift  ever  made 
to  the  School. 

1917  Removal  of  Williams  pea-green 
paint  from  Main  Building,  and  beginning  to 
paint  wooden  buildings  white. 

East  Basement  excavated  for  Clothing 
Room,  Banking  Room  and   Trading   Company. 

1919  Election  of  a  graduate  of  the  School 
to  be  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers. 

1920  Election  of  two  more  graduates, 
nominated  by  the  Alumni  Association,  to  the 
Board  of  Managers. 

These  are  all  things  that  furnish  cause  for 
gratitude  to  the  friends  of  the  School,  now  in  its 
107th  year.  For  most  of  this  long  time  the 
affairs  of  the  School  have  been  carried  on  by  the 
Board  of  Managers,  with  the  generous  support 
and  full  confidence  of  the  public,  but  with  little 
help  or  co-operation  apparent  on  the  part  of  the 
alumni.  Happily  for  everybody  recent  years 
have  shown  a  change  in  this  respect.  The  gen- 
eral progress  of  the  past  two  decades  has  been 
equalled  in  no  other  period  in  the  history  of 
the  School  and  it  gives  promise  of  even  greater 
things  in  the  years  to  come,  through  the  con- 
tinued co-operation  of  alumni  and  school  officials. 
The  things  that  may  be  accomplished  with  the 
help  of  an  enthusiastic  and  loyal  body  of  alumni 
can  hardly  be  limited  or  forecasted. 


Calendar 

Sept.    1      Weeding  corn  at  South  End. 

Picked  up  wind-falls  in  orchard. 

Built  yard  by  colony  house  for  pups. 

James  A.  Carson,  '20,  came  to  the  school 
to  study  and  work. 

Mowing  rowen  back  of  Power  House  and  in 
Grove  by  Rear  Avenue. 

Bees  beginning  to  fill  super  from  buckwheat 
pollen. 

Sept.  2     Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Cocked  rowen  by  Power  House. 

Sept.  3     Fourth  Friends'  Day. 

John  Simpson,  '92,  here. 

Dancing  in  the  evening. 

Weeding  potatoes  at  North  End. 

Drawing  hay  from  North  End,  and  drawing 
weeds. 

Glenn  R.  Furbush,  '19,  came  to  spend  a 
few  days. 

Sept.  4     Cutting  millet  green  feed. 

Pulling  beans  in  garden. 

Sept.  6     Repairing  fence. 

Dancing  in  the  evening. 

Drew  in  3760  lbs.  rowen  by  Power  House. 

Weeding  and  drawing  weeds  at  North  End. 

George  R.  Jordan,  '13,  and  Charles  W. 
Russell,  ex  '02,  here  over  night. 

Frank  E.  Maxcy,  ex  '23,  left  the  school  to 
live  with  his  mother. 

Sept.  7     Killed  two  calves. 

The  Steamer  "Pilgrim,"  taken  to  Lawleys' 
shipyard  to  be  overhauled  and  repaired  as  need- 
ed. 

Sept.  8  Albert  and  Harold  Ellis,  '20,  left 
the  School.  They  will  attend  school  and  live 
with  their  mother  at  107  Beech  Street,  Lowell, 
Mass. 

Sept.  9      Motion  pictures  in  the    evening. 

Sept.  10  William  H.  Sowers,  ex  '14, 
here  for  the  night. 

Sept.  14  Donald  B.  Akerstrom,  '19,  left 
the  School.  He  probably  will  attend  high  school 
this  fall. 

Sept   15     Began  plowing  at  South  End. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Corn  roast  in  the  evening. 

Began  cutting  buckwheat  for  green  feed. 

Clifton  H.  Sears,  '20,  here  for  the  night. 

Sept.    16     Piano  tuner  here. 

Water  Department  Inspector  here  to  look 
over  water  pipes. 

Sept.  20  Finished  pulling  beans  and  haul- 
ed weeds. 

Sept.  21  Began  digging  potatoes  at  North 
End. 

The  Alumni  outing  at  Thomas  R.  Brown's 
hotel,  "The  Brenton,"  in  Nahant. 

Sept.  22     Pulled  cabbages. 

Finished  cutting  buckwheat  and  began  cut- 
ting corn  for  cows. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  Assembly  Hall 
in  evening. 

Sept.  23     Cutting  corn  at  North  End. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

President  Arthur  Adams  visited  the  School. 

Mr.  Halliday  of  the  American  Laundry 
Machinery  Company  here  to  do  work  on  the 
laundry  machinery. 

Sept.  26  Sunday.  Entertainment  by 
boys  in  gymnasium  in  the  afternoon. 

Sept.  29  Manager  Thomas  J.  Evans 
here  for  two  days. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  the  evening. 

Sept.  30  Donald  P.  Noyes,  ex  '23,  was 
returned  to  his  home. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  Bq^  i$7o 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

September  8  By  invitation  from  the 
Hingham  Steamboat  Co.  went  with  the  boys  to 
Nantasket  Beach  and  had  a  glorious  time.  The 
day  was  perfect. 

September  19  Prepared  fruit  for  the  N.  E. 
fair. 

September  20  Went  to  Horticultural  Hall 
with  10  varieties  of  apples  and  15  pears. 

September  3!  Mr.  Lyman  here  and  lec- 
tured to  the  boys. 


September  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  81°  on  the  24th. 

Minimum  Temperature  49°  on  the  20th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  66.° 

Total  precipitation  2.05  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .6  inches 
on  the  20th. 

Nine  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 6  clear  days,  15  partly  cloudy,  9  cloudy. 

Cbe  farm  and  trades  School  BanK 

Cash  on  hand    Sept.    1,    1920  $828.58 

Deposited  during  the  month 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  Oct.  1,  1920 


90.33 

$918.91 

57.87 

"$86 1 .04 


Bn  Experiment 

One  day  while  I  was  playing  on  the 
gymnasium  apparatus,  1  heard  three  boys  argu- 
ing about  shining  brass.  One  boy  was  talking 
about  shining  brass  with  paper.  Then  I  began 
to  get  interested  so  I  joined  them.  He  said 
something  about  the  Navy  using  paper  to  shine 
brass.  When  1  went  to  work  I  said  I  guessed  I 
would  try  it.  I  took  the  can  of  brass  polish  and 
shook  it  so  as  to  get  it  mixed  well.  Then 
I  took  a  piece  of  newspaper  and  put  some  brass 
polish  on  it.  I  began  to  shine  a  large  tank 
made  of  brass.  After  rubbing  a  few  times  in 
one  place  to  see  how  it  would  come  out,  I  took 
a  piece  of  clean  newspaper  and  rubbed  off  the 
brass  polish.  Behold!  I  found  a  very  bright 
spot  with  a  good  shine.  Then  I  tried  it 
again.  I  crumbled  the  newspaper  and  found  it 
was  easier.  It  is  very  easy  to  use  paper  on 
brass  that  has  been  cleaned  every  other  day  or 
once  a  week.  But  it  is  best  to  use  cotton  waste 
or  cloth  on  brass  that  has  not  been  cleaned  for 
a  long  time.  If  you  do  it  with  paper  it  takes  a 
long,  long  time  to  do  it. 

Harold  B.  Buchan 


THOMPSON'S   ISLAND   BEACON 


Cbc  Books  of  Knowledge 

Every  evening  when  we  go  from  the 
school-room  we  ask  if  we  may  take  out  a  Book 
of  Knowledge,  to  look  up  some  point  we  are 
studying. 

The  books  tell  a  great  deal  about  ancient 
history,  of  Napoleon,  and  of  war.  There  are 
also  many  stories  which  are  called,  "The  Book 
of  Golden  Deeds,"  including  some  other  stories. 
The  books  are  returned  every  morning  so  that 
they  will  not  be  damaged. 

Some  of  the  things  1  am  interested  in  are 
the  making  of  Russia,  when  Napoleon  was  de- 
feated, how  men  became  great,  and  bull  fights. 
Eric  O.  Schippers 

Che  CaDor  Day  Dance 

Monday,  Sept.  6,  being  Labor  Day,  we  had 
a  dance  in  the  evening  in  the  Assembly  Hall. 
We  had  an  orchestra  of  two  clarinets,  a  baritone, 
cornet,  drums,  and  piano.  The  instructors  and 
boys  attended.  We  danced  until  eleven  o'clock. 
Then  there  was  15  minutes'  intermission. 
Favors  were  distributed  during  the  time.  Re- 
freshments also  were  served.  After  that  we 
danced  until  12  o'clock.  During  the  evening 
we  had  a  grand  march.  Then  we  retired. 
We  had  a  good  time,  and  everyone  enjoyed  it. 
Cyrus  W.  Durgin 

magazines 

One  Sunday  afternoon  the  office  boy  came 
down  from  the  Reading  Room  carrying  a  large 
pile  of  magazines.  Among  these  there  are  sev- 
eral that  all  boys  like.  A  few  were  the 
American  Boy,  Browning's  Magazine  and  the 
llustrated  London  News.  In  the  Ilustrated 
News  there  were  many  war  pictures  and  pictures 
of  countries,  presidents,  kings,  rulers  and  pic- 
ures  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles.  Of  course 
most  of  the  boys  wanted  those  but  there  were 
not  enough  to  go  around  so  we  changed  often 
with  each  other.  Everybody  had  a  fine  time  I 
am  sure.  Philip  F.  Leary 


Cbe  Old  eim 

The  Old  Elm  is  the  largest  and  oldest  tree 
on  the  Island.  It  is  situated  between  the  Main 
Building  and  Gardner  Hall. 

Around  the  Old  Elm  is  a  seat  which  is  wide 
with  a  high  back.  At  this  time  of  year  there 
are  two  lights  above  the  seat  so  that  when  it 
gets  dark  early  we  can  see  to  read  without  strain- 
ing our  eyes. 

The  Old  Elm  reminds  us  of  the  poem 
"Under  the  Spreading  Chestnut  Tree,"  only  this 
is  an  elm  tree.  As  the  branches  spread  out  it 
makes  a  large  shady  spot  which  is  very  pleasant 
to  sit  under.  We  enjoy  the  Old  Elm,  and  we 
would  miss  it  very  much  if  it  were  cut  down. 
John  P.  Davidson 

the  Compact 

In  school  we  are  studying  about  the 
Mayflower  and  the  compact  that  was  signed  in 
its  cabin  in  1620.  About  three  hundred  years 
ago  when  the  Mayflower  came  to  Plymouth,  some 
of  the  men  said,  "We  are  free  now  and  we  can  do 
as  we  please."  So  the  Pilgrims  gathered  in  the 
cabin  and  wrote  a  compact  by  which  they  agreed 
that  they  would  stay  together,  have  town  meet- 
ings, and  other  gatherings  in  certain  places  and 
cabins.  They  also  declared  themselves  loyal 
subjects  of  the  King.  They  elected  John  Carver 
for  their  first  governor.  Thus  was  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  started. 

Charles  N.  Robbins 


Civilization  depends  not  only  upon  the 
knowledge  of  the  people;  but  upon  the  use  they 
make  of  it.  

Money  will  not  purchase  character  or  good 
government. 

Let  us  look  to  the  service  rather  than  to 
the  reward. 

Calvin  Coolidge 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  Jllunini  Jlssociation  of  Cbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84,  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


James  H.    Graham,    77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

RiCHARn  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox,  '79.  Vice-President 

Allsion 

Howard  F    Lochrte,  '16,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Celebrating  the  21st  anniversary  of  the 
formation  of  the  Alumni  Association,  members 
gathered  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  September 
21,  at  the  Parker  House  in  Boston,  where  auto- 
mobiles were  boarded  for  the  Hotel  Brenton, 
Nahant,  for  a  shore  dinner.  Several  members 
furnished  their  own  automobiles  and  carried  oth- 
er members  with  them,  but  the  larger  number 
went  in  autobus.  Those  who  furnished  autos 
were  Richard  Bell  of  Dorchester,  George  J. 
Alcott  of  Bridgewater,  William  F.  King  of 
Chelsea  and  Edward  Capaul  of  Roxbury.  The 
evening  was  clear  and  comfortable,  and  the  hour's 
ride  along  the  Revere  Beach  Boulevard  and  the 
Lynn  shore  gave  everybody  a  sharp  appetite  for 
the  delicious  fish  dinner.  The  fact  that  Thomas 
R.  Brown,  '00,  is  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  ho- 
tel, and  that  he  laid  himself  out  to  do  something 
pretty  nice  for  his  fellow  members  of  the  Alumni 
Association,  resulted  in  a  bounteous  and  well 
served  repast. 

A  colored  trio  of  musicians,  vocalists,  in- 
strumentalists and  dancers,  kept  things  lively 
during  the  serving  of  the  dinner,  and  occasionally 
they  started  some  of  the  popular  songs  in  which 
everybody  joined.  There  was  almost  no  formal- 
ity about  the  affair.  The  company  sat  at  small 
tables  on  two  sides  of  the  large  diningroom, 
leaving  a  wide  space  in  the  center  which  the 
musicians  and  dancers  occupied.  At  one  of  the 
end  tables  sat  President  William  Alcctt,  wiih 
Superintendent  Charles  H.Bradley  and  Manager 
Thomas  J.  Evans. 

After  dinner  President  Alcott  briefly  extend- 
ed greetings  on  "the  21st  anniversary  of  the  as- 
sociation, and  he  read  the  record  of  the  first 
meeting  of  the  organization  on  September  19, 
1899.  He  expressed  the  hope  that  the  next  21 
years  would  see  a  period  of  progress  and  a  de- 
velopment of  co-operation  even  greater  than  in 
the  past.  Here  the  meeting  was  turned  over  to 
Howard  F.  Lochrie,  who  had  been  the  chief  or- 
ganizer of  the  anniversary  celebration,  and  who 
was  received  with  three  cheers.  He  spoke 
briefly  of  the  eagerness  of  the  members  for  the 
affair  and  for  the  opportunity  of  getting  together 
once  more.     He  called  first  upon  Superintendent 


Charles  H.  Bradley,  who  spoke  interestingly  of 
recent  events  at  the  School,  and  of  the  constant- 
ly increasing  spirit  of  helpfulness  toward  the 
School  which  is  manifesting  itself  on  the  part  of 
the  Alumni  in  many  ways. 

Brief  speeches  followed  from  Thomas  R. 
Brown,  Richard  Bell,  Samuel  J.  Simmons, 
Lawrence  Cobb  and  Alfred  C.  Malm. 

The  company  present  was  as  follows: 

Alcott,  George  J.,  '79 
Alcott,  William.  "84 
Angell,  Wesley  C,  '17 
Bell,  George  L.,  '82 
Bell,  Richard,  '73 
Bemis,  Elwin  C,  '16 
Bradley,  Charles  H.  Jr..  '03 
Bennett.  W.  R.,  Jr.  (Guest) 
Brown,  Thomas  R.,  '99 
Capaul,  Edward,  '07 
Cobb.  Lawrence  M.,  "14 
Darling,  Norman  W..  '16 
Davis.  William  F..  79 
Dudley,  Herbert  L..  '16 
Ellis,  Merton  P.,  '97 
Emery,  Claire  R.,  "13 
Evans,  Thomas  J.,  '64 
Gilbert,  Ralph  H.,  "16 
Graham, James  H.,  '81    ■ 
Hoffman,  Edward.  F.  '16 
Holman,  Solomon  B.,  '50 
Hughes,  William  N.,  '55 
Jones.  Leslie  R..  '06 
King.  William  F..  '84 
Lochrie,  Howard  F.,  '16 
Lombard,  Frank  1.,  '95 
Malm.  Alfred  C,  '00 
McKenzie,  George  A.  C,  '05 
Means,  Louis  E.,  '02 
Norwood.  Walter  D..  '04 
Russell.  Charles  W.,  ex  '02 
Simmons,  Samuel  J.,  '51 
Thayer,  Frederick  P.,  '03 
Washburn,  Francis  L.,  '85 
Wittig.  Carl  L.,  '04 


y^v^-  '--s'^'-:"^- 


"^ 


^^H@MP>SON'S_  I^LANTP)^ 


Vol.  24.  No.  7.  Printed  at  The   Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.  November.   1920 


Entered  November  23.   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,  1874. 


l)dllowe'cn 

The  name  derived  from  "Hallow-Eve,"  is 
a  word  meaning  ghosts,  fun,  spirits,  and  autumn, 
to  the  youthful  American. 

This  holiday  was  first  inaugurated  by  Pope 
Boniface  IV,  on  the  occasion  of  changing  the 
Roman  heathen  temple  Pantheon  to  a  Christian 
church.  As  centuries  have  passed  less  and 
less  have  people  thought  of  the  origin  of  Hallow- 
e'en. As  the  centuries  passed  the  long  cumber- 
some name  "Hallow  Eve"  was  shortened  to 
"Hallowe'en."  It  now  to  most  people  means  an 
evening  of  revelry. 

Our  celebration  this  year  was  a  vast  suc- 
cess. It  was  different  from  the  celebration  of 
past  years,  and  as  everyone  likes  different  things, 
everybody  enjoyed  it  this  year.  It  was  held  in 
the  West  Basement,  and  Assembly  Hall.  The 
West  Basement  was  divided  into  booths,  like  a 
regular  fair.  Cornstalks  and  the  usual  para- 
phernalia was  generously  distributed  throughout 
the  room  making  it  quite  pretty,  and  quite  un- 
recognizable from  the  original  West  Basement. 
As  the  boys  passed  out  from  supper,  an  invit- 
ation was  given  to  each  one. 

In  the  West  Basement  were  the  features 
of  the  occasion.  The  Hula-Hula  dancer, 
Mostadogg  and  Madam.e  Tickdollareux  were 
some  of  them.  After  an  hour  of  fun  we  re- 
moved to  the  Assembly  Hall.  The  Crazyola 
Victrola,  Military  Revue,  Motion  Pictures,  and 
others  furnished  a  gocd  hour's  entertainment. 
The  boys,  and  instructors  were  dressed  up,  as 


usual.  One  instructor  dressed  as  a  woman,  the 
part  of  which  he  portrayed  finely  in  the  Story 
Dances. 

The  Motion  Pictures,  "Wild  Nell,  the  Pet 
of  the  Plains,"  was  exceptionally  pleasing,  the 
tragic  ending  drawing  tears  from  many.  Danc- 
ing followed.  This  continued  for  an  hour.  Then 
we  retired.  Everybody  had  a  wonderfully  good 
time.  Cyrus  W.  Durgin 

Puttind  a  Ulinrer  Shelter  on  the  Bees 

A  while  ago  I  was  told  to  put  a  winter  shelter 
on  the  bees.  The  shelter  that  was  on  them  last 
year  had  to  be  repaired.  I  took  all  of  the  old 
roofing  paper  off  the  frame  and  put  on  some  new 
pieces.  I  got  them  in  the  Basement  of  Gardner 
Hall  where  all  such  things  are  kept.  When  I 
put  the  shelter  over  the  hives,  1  put  it  on  so  the 
front  would  be  open  to  the  South.  We  have 
three  hives  of  bees. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

T\  TIdg  in  tbe  Ulind 

Langill  puts  the  flag  up  every  morning. 
Tuesday  morning  the  wind  was  very  strong. 
He  couldn't  put  it  up  himself  so  he  asked  me  to 
help  him,  and  I  said,  "Yes".  When  we  got  to 
the  flagpole  the  wind  almost  knocked  me  down. 
My  hands  were  very  cold  from  holding  the  hal- 
yard. We  at  last  fastened  the  flag  to  the  halyard 
and  tried  to  hoist  it.  Mr.  Brown  came  along 
just  then  and  he  hoisted  it  for  us.  But  it  went 
up  good  and  hard. 

Henry  E.  Gilchrist 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Drawittd  €orn 

One  afternoon  my  work  was  to  draw  corn 
from  the  piece  by  the  Farm  House  to  the  Barn. 
I  hitched  Dolly  Gray  to  the  jigger  and  drove  over 
to  the  piece.  When  I  was  loading  the  corn, 
Del,  oneof  our  fox  terriers  came  over  and  hunted 
for  rats.  After  awhile  he  caught  two  small 
mice  and  ate  them.  After  1  had  a  load  1  drove 
to  the  Barn  and  dumped  it  on  the  floor.  The 
corn  will  next  be  put  through  the  corn  cutter 
and  will  be  fed  to  the  cows. 

John  H.  Schippers 

Kcading  Old  Beacons 

In  the  reading  room  and  school  rooms  are 
kept  volumes  of  old  Beacons  that  the  boys  find 
very  interesting  to  read.  As  we  read  we  like  to 
note  improvements  which  have  taken  place  on  our 
Island,  for  instance,  electricity  taking  the  place  of 
kerosene  lamps  and  the  machine  taking  the 
place  of  hand  power.  We  also  like  to  read 
articles  of  historical  interest,  such  as  the  ones 
written  on  David  Thompson's  cabin,  the  wreck 
in  1898,  and  the  cyclone  which  passed  over 
the   Island    in    1918. 

Clifton  E.  Albee 

Jtmumn 

Autumn  is  here  with  us  again,  and  brings 
with  it  the  harvesting  of  crops,  preparations  for 
winter  and  football.  The  first  signs  of  autumn 
are  shown  by  the  way  the  once  green  leaves  of 
our  different  trees  begin  to  turn  yellow  and 
brown.  On  the  farm  everybody  is  busy  as  they 
must  harvest  all  our  crops.  Day  by  day  it  gets 
colder  and  makes  the  boys  want  to  play  football. 
The  birds,  such  as  the  wild  ducks  and  others, 
are  to  be  seen  flying  to  the  .south  in  flocks. 
Soon  the  School  will  make  itself  ready  for  win- 
ter by  banking  the  root  cellar,  putting  on  storm 
windows  and  in  many  other  ways.  Autumn  is 
always  welcomed  by  the  boys  as  it  brings  many 
holidays,  such  as  Hallowe'en,  Thanksgiving  and 
Christmas.  Theodore  B.  Hadley 


Cbc  Current  Events 

The  "Current  Events"  is  a  paper  published 
once  a  week  in  Springfield,  Mass. 

It  is  an  interesting  paper  and  tells  about  the 
public  news  such  as  "The  League  of  Nations," 
The  Presidential  Campaign,  also  European  news 
about  the  Reds,  the  Sein  Feiners,  and  Italy's 
troubles  with  strikes  and  earthquakes. 

'  It  is  neither  a  Republican  or  Democratic 
paper,  and  it  gives  fair  views  of  both  sides.  It 
is  a  wholesome  paper  and  should  be  read  by  all 
the  people.  We  enjoy  it  in  our  school  where 
we  read  it  and  discuss  the  questions. 

Robert  J.  Giese 

Codav 

Today  the  wind  is  blowing  and  it  is  raining. 
If  you  look  out  at  sea  you  cannot  see  anything 
but  a  little  boat  tossing  among  the  waves,  and  a 
big  piece  of  a  wreck  drifting  ashore.  The  rain 
is  pouring  into  the  roof  gutter  opposite  the  school- 
room window  and  shoots  out  like  a  spray.  I  like 
the  v/ind  and  the  rain  very  much. 

James  H.  Beattie 

B  Queer  Rat 

A  short  while  ago  while  1  was  around  look- 
ing at  my  rat  traps,  1  found  a  queer  looking  rat. 
It  was  very  fat  and  was  sitting  on  its  hind  legs. 
When  I  came  up  close  to,  it  remained  still  in  the 
same  position.  I  thought  there  was  something 
the  matter  with  the  rat.  When  I  tried  to  pick 
it  up  by  the  tail  the  rat  gave  a  squeal,  so  I  took 
it  for  granted  that  it  had  been  poisoned  some  way. 
I  took  a  stick  and  hit  the  rat  over  the  head  and 
threw  it  over  the  dike  into  the  water. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

l^usKind  €orn 

Recently  1  have  been  husking  corn.  1  take 
an  ear  and  strip  the  leaves  from  it,  putting  the 
leaves  in  a  pile  on  the  floor  and  the  ears  of  corn 
in  a  basket.  When  the  basket  is  full,  1  empty  it 
into  a  large  pile.  This  corn  will  be  fed  to  the 
horses.  Hildreth  R.  Crosby 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Forging  is  heating  and  hammering  iron  and 
steel  into  shape.  There  are  six  boys  who  go  to 
the  forging  lessons  which  come  every  Friday 
afternoon.  Each  boy  has  a  pigeon  hole  in  which 
his  models  and  tools  are  kept.  There  are  two 
boys  to  a  forge,  and  an  anvil  for  each  boy.  The 
tools  that  we  use  are  the  forge  which  has  a  trough 
at  the  side  filled  with  water  and  a  rack  for  the 
tongs.  The  anvil  is  the  next;  it  is  used  to  ham' 
mer  the  metal  on.  One  half  of  it  is  round  and 
tapers  from  six  inches  to  a  point.  The  other  half 
is  flat.  There  are  a  number  of  different  tongs 
such  as  flat  tongs,  '-pick  up"  tongs,  tongs  for 
holding  round  iron,  large  and  small  tongs.  The 
leather  aprons  are  kept  in  the  pigeon  holes,  also 
the  steel  squares  and  hammers. 

The  first  model  is  a  forming  exercise.  A 
round  section  is  to  be  drawn  to  a  square,  a 
square  to  an  octagon  and  an  octagon  to  a  point. 
The  finished  piece  must  agree  with  the  drawing 
in  form  and  dimensions.  The  next  models  are 
bending  exercises  such  as  S-hook,  round  iron 
ring  and  flat  iron  ring.  These  models  are  heat- 
ed to  a  red  heat  and  then  bent. 

We  next  take  up  welding;  •  we  take  two 
pieces  of  iron  and  upset  one  end  of  each  piece 
or  make  the  end  larger.  Then  the  ends  are 
tapered  to  a  point.  The  iron  is  put  in  the  fire 
and  heated  slowly  till  you  can  see  the  spark 
which  indicates  welding  heat.  We  then  take 
the  iron  out  very  quickly,  put  both  ends  together 
and  hammer  quickly.  We  next  heat  it  again 
and  finish  it  up. 

After  having  learned  to  make  a  good  weld, 
which  takes  quite  a  while,  we  make  the  links. 
We  get  a  bar  of  3-8  round  iron,  cut  off  three 
lengths  of  five  inches  and  bend  each  piece  to 
the  shape  of  a  link.  We  then  scarf  the  ends 
and  weld  them  together. 

After  a  boy  finishes  this  course    he    shculd 
know  most  of  the  things  a  blacksmith  does. 
Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard 


Ckanitid  i)  Carriage 

Sunday  morning  I  helped  another  boy  clean 
a  carriage.  We  took  the  cushions  out,  beat  and 
swept  them  and  left  them  out  in  the  open.  The 
next  thing  we  did  was  to  grease  the  wheels. 
We  took  them  off  and  ran  a  rag  through  them. 
Before  we  put  them  on,  grease  was  put  on  the 
axle.  Then  they  were  put  on  and  spun  around 
so  the  grease  would  cover  the  whole  of  the  axle. 
After  this  operation  was  over  we  took  some  har- 
ness oil  and  went  all  over  the  carriage  rubbing  it 
in.  Later  on  we  shined  it  and  it  made  the  car- 
riage look  something  like  new.  At  nine  o'clock 
I  went  up  with  the  rest  of  the  farm  boys  and  the 
other  boy  finished  up  the  work  on  the  carriage. 
Albert  A.  Peterson 

Che  Cool  Koom 

Before  school  Mr.  Brown  assigns  work  for 
the  boys.  He  gave  me  the  care  of  the  tool 
room  for  a  regular  job.  First  I  go  to  the  tool 
room  and  hang  the  tools  up  straight.  Then  1 
sweep  the  floor,  stairs  and  landing.  The  tool 
room  is  where  all  the  shovels,  picks,  hoes  rakes 
and  various  other  implements  that  are  'used 
about  the  grounds  are  kept. 

Russell  F.  Metcalf 


Tiivictus 

Out  of  the  night  that  covers  me. 

Black  as  the  pit  from  pole  to  pole, 

r  thank  whatever  gods  may  be 
For  my  unconquerable  soul. 

In  the  fell  clutch  of  circumstance 

I  have  not  winced  nor  cried  aloud: 

Under  the  bludgeonings  of  chance 
My  head  is  bloody,  but  unbow'd. 


It  matters  not  how  strait  the  gate, 

How  charged  with  punishments  the  scrol 
1  am  the  master  of  my  fate: 

I  am  the  captain  of  my  soul. 

W.  E.  Henley 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


tbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE     FARM     AND     TRADES     SCHOOL 
Thompson's  island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS,  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWM  ENTS. 

TUITION  FEES   AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol.  24.    No.  7. 


November,  1920 


Subscription  Pfhce     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARCy  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 


vice-president 

Charles  E.  Mason 


TREASURER 

N.   Penrose  Hallowelh. 


secretary 

Tucker  Daland 


MANAGERS 

Gorham   Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.  Gardiner,.  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Heeler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 

Ralph   B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

It  is  very  natural  for  young  people — and  some- 
times for  older  people  as  well — to  be  extremely 
critical  of  their  surroundings,  and  of  the  people 


with  whom  they  have  to  do.  A  certain^  amount 
of  adverse  criticism  is  desirable,  no  doubt. 
Until  faults  are  realized,  they  cannot  be  correct- 
ed, if  a  structure  is  wrongly  built,  it  has  to  be- 
torn  down  before  it  can  be  rebuilt.  A  wide  a-- 
wake  mind  sees  what  is  wrong  as  well  as  what  is: 
right. 

But  this  rule  works  both  ways — a  wide-awake 
mind  sees  what  is  right  as  well  as  what  is  wrong,, 
and  often  it  seems  as  if  the  fault  finders  are  the 
least  likely  to  see  good  points.  They  criticize 
unfairly  because  they  speak  only  of  the  things 
that  seem  to  them  wrong  or  unpleasant. 

It  is  unfortunately  true  that  a  few  of  us  love 
to  fuss,  and  to  find  an  excuse  for  complaints  we 
exaggerate,  and  if  a  perfectly  logical  reason  is, 
presented  explaining  the  unpleasant  circum- 
stance, whatever  it  is,  for  being  as  it  is,  we: 
calmly  disregard  the  explanation,  and  go  on 
complaining  as  before!;  Of  course  the  outsider 
who  has  to  listen  can  console  himself  with  a  sup- 
erior smile,  well  knowing  that  the  perpetual 
fusser  is  enjoying  himself  very  well.  He  is,, 
nevertheless,  a  tiresome  member  of  society,  an 
unhelpful  and  even  a  harmful  one,  because  he 
may  start  a  totally  wrong  idea  and  by  his  in-, 
fluence,  especially  with  those  younger  than  him- 
self,  and  create  a  general  feeling  which  is  not  just- 
ified and  but  hinders  endeavor. 

One  kind  of  fussing  that  seems  the  silliest 
is  to  stand  back  and  criticize  the  one  who  is  try- 
ing to  do  something,  while  we  don't  even  make 
an  attempt  to  produce  a  better  result  ourselves. 
Not  only  boys,  but  grown-ups  as  well,  are  prone 
to  think  best  of  the  lively,  jolly  person  (and  live- 
liness and  jollity  have  their  value  as  well  as  more 
serious  characteristics)  regardless  of  whether  or 
not  he  contributes  much  in  the  line  of  actual 
effort  and  mental  activity.     He    is   pleasant    tg 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


have  around;  he  does  not  find  fault  with  us  over- 
much or  jar  upon  our  sensibilities,  and  we  are 
perhaps  contented  to  take  him  at  his  face  value 
without  bothering  to  consider  whether  he  is 
actually  doing  much  of  importance,  or  making 
effort  that  way,  whether  his  n^pral  oujtlook  is 
wholesome,  if  he  is  trying  to  imprpye  conditions, 
or  if  we  are  benefitted  in  any  way  by  being  in 
his  company,  in  fact  we  a^e  quite  willing  to 
live  in  a  state  of  mental  coma  so  long,  as  it  be 
pleasant  and  undisturbed-. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  the  person  who 
rasps  most  on  our  nerves  is  the  person  making 
the  biggest  effort  for  iiTiprovement,  and  perhaps 
our  improvement  in  p^articular.  The  very  fact 
that  his  mind  is  engrossed  with  serious  con- 
siderations leaves  him  little  time  or  incHn^tion 
to  be  merely  amusing.  It  may  not  be  easy  for 
him  to  adapt  himself  to  the  moods  of  others, 
and  consequently  he  seems  to  us  unsympathetic, 
and  we  do  not  go  into  th,e  q,uestion  deeply 
enough  to  know  what  ha  may  be  trying  to  ac- 
complish, what  is  really  o^  his  mind.  We  who 
so  like  to  blame  ethers  for  this  and  that  lack  of 
consideration  or  wh|at  not,  in  our  turn  do  no,t 
show  consideration  in  our  judgment. 

It  has  been  said  of  another: 

"He  may  not  be  smooth  or  politic,  but  he 
has  the  energy  and  intellect  to  move  something. 
It  is  such  men  wi^h  such  energies,  not  those 
who  sit  around  and  watch  and  criticize,  who 
accomplish  things  in  the  world." 

This  is  true  of  more  people  than  the  one 
here  spoken  of,  and  in  judging  others  as  well  as 
in  choosing  our  friends,  it  would  be  well  to  think 
a  second  and  third  time  before  we  speak  harshly. 
What  is  that  person  really  accomplishing?  Are 
we  ourselves  doing  more  than  he  is?  Are  we 
even  so  much  more  tactful   and  companionable 


that  we  can  afford  to  maintain  our  critical  alt- 
itude? 

All  are  not  gifted  with  a  like  ability  or  like 
mental  perspicacity,  but  we  all  have  the  power 
to  try,  and  whether  we  infdividually  have  done  so 
or.  not,  at  le_ast  we  show,  more  chivalry  and  dig- 
nity if  we.  are  npt  too  free  in  criticizing  those 
around  us.  Even  if  our  worst  criticisms  were 
trup.  that  would  be.  no  excuse  for  our  making 
pests  of  ourselves  and  adding  to  trouble  instead 
of  relieving  it.  If  any  criticisms  are  to  be  made, 
they  should  be  made  directly  to  the  ones  we 
think  responsible — there  they  may  do  some 
good.     They,  certainly  concern  no  one  else. 

Let  us  m,entally  ally  ourselves  with  theanti- 
fussers'  league,  vote  for  prohibition  and  see  that 
it  is  en£or,ced!i 

«     *     ^ 

Calendar 

Oct.    I      Five  boys  went  to  the  dentist. 

OiCt.  2  Fifth  Friends'  Day.  Managers 
Alden  B,  Heeler  here,  also  William  Alcott,  '84, 
and  122  friends  of  the  boys. 

0,ct.  5,  Steamer  Pilgrim  afte.r  a  thorough 
overhauling  again  ready  to  be  used. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  Assembly  Hall 
\n  evenin^g. 

Qct.  6  Six  boys  with  two  ir^structors,  Mr. 
FergiisQn  and  Mr.  Patten,  attended  Brockton 
Fair,  through  the  courtesy  of  President  Arthur 
Adams. 

Oct.  7      Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Oct.  8     Man  here  to  Iqok  over  stoves. 

Close  of  sumqer  term  of  schooj. 

Oct.  9,  Tl^ree  graduates,  Alfred  H.  Casey, 
ex  '14,  John  A.  Robertsqn,  '1^,  ancj  George  B. 
McLeod,  '17,  here  for  the  afternoon. 

First  football  ganie  of  the  season,  between 
teams  A  aqdC. 

Oct.  11  Everett  B.  Leland.  "19,  here  to 
spend  a  few  days. 

Oct.    12     Columbus  Day.     A  half  holiday. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  Assembly  Hall. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


in  evening. 

A  football  game  in  the  afternoon. 

Gordon  W.  Favier,  ex  '22,  returned  to  his 
mother. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening.  William 
Hart  in  "Every  Inch  a  Man." 

Oct.  15  45  bbls.  and  80  sacks  of  flour 
came,  also  8  bags  of  cement. 

Oct.  19  Plumber  here  to  find  stoppage  in 
water  pipe  to  Wharf. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  Assembly  Hall 
in  evening. 

Burning  weeds  and  clearing  ground  at 
North  End. 

Five  boys,  Durgin,  Hadley,  Lammi,  Daniel 
Smith  and  Osberg  went  on  theatre  boat  in  the 
evening. 

Oct.  21  Admission  Meeting.  Six  new 
boys  admitted  and  came  directly  to  the  School: 
Alton  Bassett  Butler,  Ralph  Merton  Cheney, 
Hildreth  Rounds  Crosby,  Leander  Elmore 
Dorey.  Kenneth  Austin  Priest,  and  Robert 
Franklin  Thompson. 

Started  plowing  at  South  End  near  tide  gate 
with  walking  plow.  Burning  weeds  near  Farm 
House. 

Man  here  again  to  work  on  stoves,  also  man 
from  Electric  Storage  Battery  Co.  here  to  work 
on  storage  batteries. 

Mr.  Halliday  of  the  American  Laundry 
Machinery  Co.  here  to  do  work  on  machinery  in 
laundry. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Oct.  22  Plowing  at  South  End.  Pulling 
onions  and  beets. 

Oct.  25  Blacksmith  here  to  shoe  horses. 
Harrowed  potato  ground  near  Farm  House,  and 
gathered  15  bu.  potatoes  there.  Picked  one 
half  bu.  quinces. 

Oct.  26  Hauled  in  corn  from  near  Farm 
House.     Pulled  19  bu.  beets. 

Party  for  first  grade  boys  in  the  Assembly 
Hall  in  evening. 

Oct.  27  Hauled  corn  from  North  End. 
Pulled  carrots  and  turnips. 


Oct.  28  Sorting  potatoes  in  Farm  House 
cellar.  Cleaned  Storage  Barn,  and  stored  and 
repaired  farm  machinery. 

Oct.  29  Sixth  Friends'  Day.  Boys  with 
their  friends,  Mr.  Bradley  and  five  instructors, 
went  to  Nantasket  in  the  forenoon,  returning  in 
the  afternoon. 

Dehorned  the  young  bull,  also  three  cows. 
Killed  and  dressed  veal  calf. 

Hallowe'en  party  in  the  evening. 

George  Buchan,  '97,  and  Mrs.  Buchan 
here  for  the  night  and  Sunday. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  JIgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

Oct.  5  Dull  changeable  weather.  Even- 
ing rainy.  Picking  pears,  plowing,  etc.  Re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Weld  one  Jersey  cow. 

Oct.  6  Mr.  Ed.  Deming  here  to  cut  boys' 
hair. 

Oct.  9  Sunday.  Were  addressed  by  Mr. 
Moses  Rice  from  city  in  forenoon  and  Mr. 
Sawyer  in  afternoon. 

Oct.  10  Paid  Frank  Morgan  for  socks 
$13.50.  Went  to  city  with  G.  W.  Heath,  who 
goes  to  Dakota  Territory  with  Col.  G.  A. 
Eatchelder,  Sec'y  of  the  Territory. 

Oct.  15  Mrs.  Morse,  Mr.  Heney  &  Mr. 
Sawyer  went  to  concert.     Self  alone  with  boys. 

Oct.  17  A  plumber  here  repairing  pipes, 
etc.     Men  carting  and  picking  fruit. 

Oct.  18  Went  to  city  with  a  lead  of  cab- 
bages for  Hill-Tibbetts  &  Co. 

Oct.  27  A  quanity  of  drift  lumber  came 
on  shore,  which  was  secured.  Rearranged 
stones  at  graves  in  cemetery. 

Oct.  28  John  Homans  came  to  see  boy 
Lloyd. 


THOMPSON'S   ISLAND   BEACON 


October  mcfcorolodv 

Maximum  Temperature  83°  on  the  24th 
and  25th. 

Minimum  Temperature  44°  on  the  29th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  62.° 

Total  precipitation  1.60  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .8  inches 
on  the  20th. 

Three  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 15  clear  days,  15  partly  cloudy,  1  cloudy. 


Cbe  Tartn  ana  trades  School  Bank 


Cash  on  hand   Oct.    1,    1920 
Deposited  during  the  month 

Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  Nov.  1,  1920 


$861.04 
84.1  1 

$945.15 
40.45 

$904.70 


J\  Crip  to  nantaskct  Beacb 

On  the  sixth  and  last  Friend's  Day  of  this 
year,  there  was  a  trip  to  Nantasket  Beach  with 
our  friends.  The  boat  left  Rowe's  Wharf  at 
10:15  A.  M.  It  then  came  to  our  Wharf  and 
we  went  aboard.  On  our  way  down  we  saw  our 
Island  and  others.  We  arrived  at  the  Beach 
about  11:30.  Most  of  the  places  were  closed. 
The  most  of  our  friends  brought  basket  lunches. 
For  those  that  did  not  have  friends,  lunch  was 
carried  from  the  School.  The  boat  came  back 
ac  3:45  and  arrived  at  our  Island  at  about  4:45.  I 
think  all  of  the  boys  had  a  good  time,  and  I  hope 
we  can  all  go  again  some  time. 

Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard 

feeding  tbe  Dogs 

I  have  fifteen  minutes  a  day  in  which  to 
feed  the  dogs.  They  are  fed  the  scraps  from 
the  table.  The  scraps  are  put  in  a  tin  and  fed 
to  them.  There  are  3  puppies,  Del,  a  fox  ter- 
rier. Babe,  a  fox  terrier,  and  Reliance,  a  collie. 
William  E.  Ericsson 


mbat  Use  are  Cows  Rorns? 

Some  cows  have  to  have  their  horns  cut 
off,  or  they  are  liable  to  do  injury  to  the  rest  of 
the  herd.  Recently  six  heifers  were  brought  here 
and  it  was  thought  best  to  have  their  horns  cut 
off. 

Some  of  the  boys  ask  for  these  horns  of  which 
to  make  useful  things  such  as  necktie  racks,  pin 
cushions,  napkin  rings  and  ornaments.  We 
first  soak  the  horn  in  hot  water  and  remove 
the  inside.  When  it  is  cleaned  out  well,  it  is 
made  into  any  desired  model. 

One  model  that  is  made  a  lot  is  a  necktie 
rack.  A  piece  of  wood  is  first  cut  out  the  shape 
of  a  shield;  this  may  be  finished  with  a  fancy 
border  of  inlaying  or  perhaps  a  carved  design. 
The  horn  is  then  plugged  with  a  piece  of  wood, 
and  by  putting  2  or  3  screws  through  the  shield 
into  the  plug,  the  horn  is  fastened  securely.  It  is 
then  rubbed  down  with  sandpaper  and  shellacked 
which  gives  it  a  very  lustrous  finish.  If  a  boy 
gets  a  horn  he  is  lucky. 

Desmond  0.  Anderson 

€atcbing  a  Kat 

One  day  as  I  came  down  from  school  two 
boys  ran  up  to  me  and  asked  me  to  help  them 
catch  a  rat,  so  I  agreed.  After  twenty  minutes' 
work  pouring  four  pails  of  hot  water  into  the  hole, 
the  rat  ran  out.  Then  I  chased  it  and  stepped 
on  it  just  as  it  was  going  into  another  hole. 

George  A.  Adams 

Our  Spelling  Cesson 

After  our  history  lesson  was  over,  our  teacher 
gave  us  10  words  that  she  took  from  the  history 
book.  They  were  about  the  Indians  whom  we 
were  studying.  They  were  pretty  hard,  but  I  tried 
to  get  100.  George  E.  Thompson 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


tbe  Jllutnni  J1$$ociation  of  tbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84,  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  Vice-President 


Richard  Bell.  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox,  '79.  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F    Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


Alfred  Carl  Malm,  assistant  treasurer  of  the 
Board  of  Managers,  has  been  continuously  ident- 
ified with  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  ever  since 
he  entered  as  a  boy  in  his  ninth  year,  on  Jan.  3 1  • 
1894.  He  was  born  in  Cambridge  on  October 
3,  1885,  and  on  Christmas  Day  in  1892,  suffered 
the  loss  of  his  father  by  death.  He  left  the 
School  on  July  11,  1901,  to  enter  the  office  of 
Alfred  Bowditch,  trustee,  who  later  became 
President  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
School,  in  whose  office  the  meetings  of  the 
Managers  were  held  for  many  years.  At  the 
School  he  had  played  in  the  band  and  for  three 
years  worked  in  the  printing  office,  serving  for  a 
short  time  as  foreman  of  the  latter  department. 
When  he  entered  the  office  of  Mr.  Bowditch  he 
pursued  studies  for  four  years  in  the  Boston  Even- 
ing High  School.  In  1907  he  entered  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Law  School,  and  took  another  four-year 
course  in  evening  work,  graduating  in  1911  with 
the  degree  of  LL.B.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar. 

As  a  graduate,  Mr.  Malm  mantained  an 
active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  School.  He 
was  one  of  the  early  members  of  the  alumni 
association.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active 
members  in  pushing  the  alumni  fund,  and  served 
as  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  alumni  fund 
committee.  He  has  also  served  as  historian  of 
the  alumni  association,  as  auditor  and  as  vice- 
president. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  world 
war,  Mr.  Arthur  Adams,  then  treasurer,  enlisted 
in  the  Naval  service,  and  then  the  duties  of  his 
position  were  assumed  by  Mr.  Bowditch's  office. 
The  death  of  Mr.  Bowditch  on  the  following  Jan- 
uary, and  the  election  of  a  new  treasurer,  made 
it  seem  desirable  to  have  an  assistant  treasurer, 
and  Mr.  Malm  was  invited  to  accept  the  place 
which  he  did. 


On  June  12,  191  1,  Mr.  Malm  was  married 
to  Susan  Williams  of  Dorchester,  and  three 
children  have  been  born  to  them:  Elizabeth  A., 
aged  eight;  Susan  W.,  aged  five,  and  John  W., 
aged  two.  Their  home  for  the  past  seven  years 
has  been  at  89  Malvern  Street,  Melrose.  In 
that  city  Mr.  Malm  is  active  in  many  things. 
He  served  on  various  social  committees  of  the 
Melrose  Y.  M.C.A.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Methodist  Church,  and  is  president  of  the  men's 
class.  He  is  a  member  of  Wyoming  Lodge  and 
Waverly  Chapter  of  Masons,  both  of  Melrose. 
For  two  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Guards  serving  in  Company  E,  12th  Regiment, 
and  he  saw  active  duty  for  six  weeks  during  the 
Boston  police  strike  in  1919. 

Richard  Bell,  73,  and  Mrs.  Bell,  on 
November  18,  1920,  celebrated  their  35th  wed- 
ding anniversary. 

Henry  A.  Fox,  79  has  been  made  a  De- 
puty Chief  of  the  Boston  Fire  Department  and  is 
stationed  at  Fort  Hill  Square,  Boston. 

George  W.  E.  Byers,  '86,  has  accepted  a 
responsible  position  at  Thompson's  Spa,  Boston. 

Herbert  A.  Hart,  '99,  died  of  pneumonia 
on  March  26,  1920. 

Bruce  L.  Paul,  ex  '10,  in  the  Boston 
Globe  of  September  30th  announced  his  inten- 
tions of  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  R.  Ferrie  of 
Dorchester.  Bruce  lives  at  35  Wilbur  St., 
Everett. 

Thomas  Milne,  '12,  was  married  on  June 
9th  to  Miss  Gecrgie  Clara  Esther  Sullivan  of 
Jamaica  Plain. 


Vol.  24.  No.  8.  Printed  at  The   Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,  Mass.  December,  1920 

Entered  November  23.   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,   1874. 


Cottage  Row  Government 

BY  HIS  HONOR 

WALDO  E.  LIBBY 

MAYOR 

A  PROCLAMATION 

FOR  A  DAY  OF 
THANKSGIVING  AND  PRAISE 


In  accordance  ^  with  our  usual  annual  custom, 
Cottage  Row  Government  as  well  as  the  Common- 
wealth  sets   aside    a   day   known   as    Thanksgiving. 

On  this  day  we  pause  from  our  regular  routine  to 
observe  the  day  in  feasting  and  merriment,  yet  with 
thankful  hearts  toward  God  for  the  many  blessings  he 
has  bestowed  upon  us.  Thus  we  honor  and  follow 
the  custom  of  our  forefathers  who  first  observed  the 
day  on  the  shores  of  Massachusetts. 

Recently  our  attention  has  been  called  with  great 
emphasis  to  the  life,  ideals  and  experiences  of  these 
brave  pioneers  as  this  year  marks  the  tercentenary  of 
their  landing.  We  are  thankful  that  we  live  in  the 
free  country  they  founded.  We  believe  the  influence 
of  their  courage,  loyalty  and  religious  observance  has 
helped  us  to  be  a  great  nation.  We  hope  to  become 
citizens  worthy  of  their  endeavor. 

We  are  thankful,  too  for  abundant  crops  gather- 
ed, for  health  and  friends.  We  are  especially  grateful 
for  our  School  life,  the  knowledge  acquired,  and  the 
pleasures  enjoyed. 

So  on  this  day  we  join  in  praise  to  God  for  the 
principles  we  are  taught  here;  the  opportunities  we 
have  to  learn  to-  be  good  citizens,  who  in  the  future 
mark  the  progress  of  our  country.     In    our   heart   we 


feel  the  spirit  of  a  continual  Thanksgiving  for  the  daily 
comforts  provided  for  us  at  this  time  of  unrest  and 
stress  in  the  world. 

Therefore  I,  Waldo  E.  Libby,  Mayor  of  Cottage 
Row,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Board  of 
Alderman  set  apart  Thursday,  the  twenty-fifth  of 
November,  as  a  day  of  Thanksgiving  and  praise  to 
God  for  the  many  blessings  He  has  given  us. 

Given  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  this  twenty- 
fifth  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thous- 
and nine  hundred  twenty,  the  one  hundred  and  sixth 
year  of  our  School,  and  the  thirty-second  year  of 
Cottage  Row. 

WALDO  E.  LIBBY 

By  his  Honor  the  Mayor  of  Cottage  Row,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Board  of  Alderman. 

DANIEL  E.  SMITH, 

CLERK 
God  Save  the  Government  of  Cottage  Row 

CbanKs^ii^ind  Day 

One  of  the  days  that  the  boys  enjoy  the 
most  is  the  grand  old  holiday  of  Thanksgiving. 
When  reveille  was  sounded  on  Thanksgiving 
morning  there  was  a  rustling  of  clothes  and  shoes 
that  showed  how  eager  the  boys  were  to  be  out- 
side. Before  breakfast  we  played  cards  and 
other  games.  After  breakfast  time  until  nine 
o'clock  we  did  the  necessary  work.  When  this 
was  done  two  of  the  teams  played  a  football  game. 
The  final  score  was  A  19,  D  41.  This  was  a 
hard  game  and  it  gave  the  players  on  both  teams 
very  sharp  appetites.  A  short  time  afterwards 
we  lined  up  to  go  in  to  dinner.  We  stood  in 
line  about  five  minutes  before  the  door  opened 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


but  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  a  week.  The  minute 
the  boys  got  in  the  dining  room  there  was  a 
whispered  chorus  of,  "Look  at  our  turkey!"  "I 
get  a  leg,"  and  so  on.  After  saying  grace  we 
sat  down  to  our  bountiful  feast.  This  consisted 
of: 

ROAST     TURKEY 

Dressing 

Giblet  Gravy 

Sweet  Potatoes 

Squash  Cranberry  Sauce 

Celery 

Pumpkin    Pie 

Oranges  Raisins  Apples 

For  an  hour  all  that  could  be  heard  was 
the  jingle  of  knives  and  forks,  and  occasionally 
some  would  stop  to  pay  a  compliment  to  the  turk- 
or  the  pumpkin  pie.  When  we  left  the  dining 
room    we    were    a    happy    and  well    filled     lot. 

At  two  o'clock  two  picked  teams  represent- 
ing Princeton  and  Harvard  had  a  battle  on  the 
Gridiron.  The  result  was  Princeton  52- Harvard 
6.  From  the  end  of  the  game  till  supper  time  the 
boys  read  books  or  practiced  in  the  band  hall,  etc. 
Supper  time  came  but  none  of  the  boys  ate  very 
much.  At  about  half  past  seven  we  all  went  to 
the  Assembly  Hall  to  enjoy  an  entertainment 
which  was  provided  for  by  Mr.  Bradley.  It  was 
fine.  Dancing  for  those  who  wished  followed 
the  entertainment.  Finally  as  the  boys  all  filed 
to  bed  more  than  one  tired  but  happy  boy  said 
"Well,  this  is  the  end  of  a  perfect  day,"  and 
about  everybody  agreed  with  him. 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 

Cbanksgi^Jiitg  Day  entertainment 

When  the  evening  of  Thanksgiving  day 
came  the  boys  all  passed  to  the  Assembly  Hall. 
As  soon  as  everybody  was  seated,  Mr.  Bradley 
spoke  briefly  of  the  proclamation  of  Governor 
Coolidge,  our  own  Cottage  Row  Government 
proclamation  and  of  other  facts  of  the  day. 
Next  there  was  an  entertainment  provided  by 
Mr.  Bradley  and  given  by  Miss  Crosby  assisted 


by  Miss  Shevron.  This  was  one  of  the  best 
entertainments  of  the  year;  Miss  Crosby  in  the 
baseball  song  made  a  great  hit. 

James  B.  Rouse 

Getting  Ready  for  CbanKsgiv^ind 

My  work  is  in  the  Bakery.  At  Thanks- 
giving 1  helped  to  clean  and  stuff  the  turkeys. 
It  was  rather  steady  work  for  there  were  23  of 
them.  I  had  made  dressing  before  so  that  was 
easy.  About  20  quarts  of  cranberries  were 
made  into  sauce.  It  was  all  fun  for  I  kept 
thinking  of  the  good  time  ahead,  when  we 
should  all  be  sitting  at  our  tables  Thanksgiving 
day.  Frank  A.  Robbins 

Our  CbanKs 

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

first  Class 

I  am  thankful  I  have  a  mother  and  father 
and  that  they  love  me.  I  am  thankful  that  I 
am  at  a  good  School  where  1  get  good  food  and 
clothing  as  well  as  many  pleasures.  I  am 
thankful  that  Christmas  is  coming  and  for  the 
privilege  of  going  to  the  sloyd  room  to  make 
presents  for  my  friends.  I  have  a  reason  for 
being  thankful  that  1  am  in  such  a  good  country 
under  such  a  good  flag,  and  that  I  am  in  such  a 
good  school  and  in  the  Class  of  1921. 

Desmond  0.  Anderson 

I  am  thankful  for  food,  clothing,  shelter  and 
that  all  personal  needs  are  supplied;  for  the  good 
government  and  the  election  of  the  Republican 
party  to  power;  also  for  the  great  blessings  God 
has  bestowed  upon  us,  for  Nature,  in  all  its 
beauty  and  the  numerous  chances  we  have  to 
improve  ourselves.  I  am  thankful,  too,  for  loving 
friends,  and  watchful  instructors.  Last  but  by 
no  means  least,  for  the  good  times  given  by  Mr. 
Bradley  and  the  instructors. 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Among  the  many  things  for  which  I  am 
thankful,  are  this  School,  where  I  am  receiving 
an  education,  food,  clothing,  shelter  and  pleasant 
times.  1  am  also  thankful  for  the  use  of  the 
Cottages,  books  from  the  library,  sloyd,  for  our 
band  and  for  the  gardens  for  which  we  care.  1 
am  very  thankful  for  the  different  kinds  of  sports 
we  have.  Eric  0.  Schippers 

This  article  is  too  small  to  express  the 
many  things  for  which  1  am  thankful.  However, 
a  few  of  them  are,  food,  clothing  and  good 
health  besides  our  sports. 

1  am  thankful  for  knowledge  gained  in  the 
school  room  and  sloyd.  1  am  very  thankful 
that  1  have  a  mother,  brothers  and  sisters.  1 
am  thankful  for  our  Board  of  Managers,  Super- 
intendent and  instructors  who  care  for  us  with 
great  interest  throughout  the  year. 

Ralph  M.  Rogers 

I  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  mother,  father, 
brother,  and  sister,  who  are  well.  1  am  thank- 
ful for  the  benefits  of  this  School.  1  am  thank- 
ful that  1  can  go  to  the  sloyd  room  and  make 
Christmas  presents.  I  am  also  thankful  that  I 
have  a  good  teacher. 

Chester  W.  Buchan 

There  are  m.any  things  for  which  I  am 
thankful,  among  them  many  loving  friends  and 
a  fine  teacher  who  instructs  us  in  things  we  will 
need  later  in  life. 

I  am  especially  thankful  for  my  dear  father, 
sisters  and  brothers,  and  that  1  am  a  member  of 
the  first  class.  John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

Second  €ld$$ 

I  am  thankful  that  I  have  good  friends  to 
care  for  me.  1  am  thankful  I  have  a  good  bed 
to  sleep  in  and  nice  warm  blankets.  I  am  thank- 
ful that  I  can  play  football  and  that  I  have  an 
opportunity  to  play  in  the  band.  I  am  thankful 
I  am  an  officer  of  Cottage  Row,  and  that    I  am 


in  the  second  class.  I  am  also  thankful  for  my 
health  and  strength  and  for  the  good  Thanksgiv- 
ing we  had.  I  am  thankful  for  everything  1 
have.  Kenneth  E.  Kearns 

1  am  thankful  because  1  have  a  good  father, 
sister,  brother  and  friends.  1  am  thankful  be- 
cause 1  am  in  a  good  place  where  1  can  learn 
something  useful.  1  am  thankful  because  of 
what  the  School  does  for  me.  I  am  thankful 
that  1  have  good  health  and  can  enjoy  the  plea- 
sures of  the  other  boys. 

Alexander  McKenzie 

1  am  thankful  that  all  my  friends  are  well. 
I  am  thankful  that  I  am  in  such  a  good  School 
where  I  am  getting  a  good  training  and  that  1 
have,  here,  an  opportunity  to  become  a  useful 
citizen  of  the  United  States.  I  am  also  thank- 
ful that  I  am  in  the  band  and  that  1  have  almost 
finished  my  sloyd  course. 

Robert  J.  Buchanan 

1  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  good  father, 
mother  and  brothers.  1  am  thankful  that  we 
are  soon  going  to  have  a  Republican  President 
and  Vice  President.  1  am  thankful  we  have  a 
country  where  freedom  is  enjoyed  and  that  our 
nation  is  not  like  some  of  the  European  nations. 
I  am  thankful  that  we  have  a  good  Superinten- 
dent and  a  Board  of  Managers  who  do  all  they 
can  for  us.  David  E.  Long 


1  am  thankful  that  we  have  a  fine  Board  of 
Managers  and  that  I  have  a  good  instructor  over 
me.  1  am  thankful  that  our  country  is  not  at 
war  and  that  we  will  soon  have  a  new  party  in 
power.  1  am  glad  that  1  am  where  1  can  see 
the  ships  and  liners  passing  in  and  out  of  the 
harbor.  I  am  thankful  that  we  have  a  place  to 
play  and  that  we  have  a  band.  I  am  thankful 
that  1  got  a  leg  of  the  turkey. 

Howard  E.  Keith 

Continued  on  page  5 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Domp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS, 

TUITION  FEES   AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol.  24.    No.  8. 


December,  1920 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 

Charles  E.   Mason 

treasurer 

N.  Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

GoRHAM  Brooks 
I.  Tucker   Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.   D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

The  Day  of  Thanksgiving  should  be  not 
merely  a  holiday  authorized  by  the  Governor 
and  filled  with  games  and  enjoyment,  but  it 
should  retain    a  little  of  the  spirit  of  that  first 


New  England  Thanksgiving.  In  our  merry- 
making we  may  know,  for  a  moment  at  least,  the 
seriousness  of  our  Pilgrim  ancestors,  who  with 
no  material  advantages  to  gain,  hazarded  their 
all  for  an  ideal.  We  may  feel  again  a  small  part 
of  their  deep  sense  of  thankfulness,  when,  in  the 
midst  of  great  hardships  and  with  a  second  win- 
ter close  upon  them,  they  were  impelled,  not  to 
count  their  troubles  and  complaint  about  them, 
but  to  thank  God  for  their  many  blessings.  And 
while  their  great  effort  to  succeed  may  have 
tinged  their  thanksgiving  with  a  special  earnest- 
ness, we  should  never  forget  that  what  they  had 
gained — freedom  to  worship  as  they  wished  and 
a  new  home  in  the  new  country — has  come  to 
us  as  our  heritage,  our  America,  the  country  of 
freedom. 

As  we  review  briefly  our  many  blessings, 
thereby  emulating  the  example  of  our  forefathers, 
our  contemplation  leads  us  to  think  of  that  be- 
ginning of  all  Thanksgivings,  and  we  remember 
the  debt  we  owe,  the  Pilgrims'  cause  for  giv- 
ing thanks  becomes  ours,  and  a  little  of  their 
staunch  spirit  must  pass  down  to  us. 


Nov. 


Calendar 

1      Husking  corn;  plowing  at  North 


End. 


Nov.  2     Pulling  tomato  vines  and  weeds. 

Banking  celery. 

Nov.  3  Finished  pulling  carrots,  54  bu. 
in  all. 

Nov.  4  Five  heifers  returned  from  pas- 
ture where  through  the  kindness  of  Manager 
Francis  Shaw  they  have  spent  the  summer 

Nov.  5  Plowing  garden,  sorting  potatoes 
burning  weeds. 

Donald  W.  Ellis,  '20,  here  for  over  Sunday. 

Nov.  6     Harvested  8  bu.  of  onions. 

Nov.  8  Drawing  corn;  Took  24  lbs.  of 
honey  from  supers  to  bee-hives. 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Nov.  9     Finished    plowing  at  North  End 

Nov.  10  Pulling  beans,  tomato  vines  and 
weeds  in  garden.     Plowing  at  South  End. 

Nov.  1  1  Husking  corn.  Pulled  7  bu. 
mangels. 

Nov.    12     Dressed  hens  for  the  house. 

Nov.  16  Cleaned  and  repaired  machin- 
ery at  Old  Barn. 

Nov.  18  Dressed  big  sow,  weight  450 
lbs. 

Nov.    19     Nine  boys  visited  the  dentist. 

Nov.  20     Harvested  celery. 

Clifton  H.  Sears,  '20,  spent  the  night  at 
the  School. 

Nov.  23  Very  high  wind.  Telephone  out 
of  order. 

Banked  Farm  House. 

First  grade  party  at  night. 

Nov.  24  Telephone  man  here  working  on 
the  telephones.  Telephones  working  again  about 
noon. 

Plowing  near  Root  Cellar. 

Nov.  25  Thanksgiving  Day.  Schedule 
game  of  football  in  the  morning  between  teams 
A  and  D.  Another  game  in  the  afternoon  be- 
tween two  picked  teams. 

Entertainment  of  songs  and  stories  in  the 
evening,  by  Miss  Crosby  and  Miss  Shevlin,  pro- 
vided for  by  Mr.  Bradley  The  entertainment 
was  followed  by  dancing. 

Nov.  26  Mr.  Beane,  former  instructor, 
here  for  the  night. 

The  band  played  for  dancing  in  the  even- 
ing. 

Nov.  27  The  blacksmith  here  to  shoe 
horses. 

Mr.  Julius  Zinn,  the  florist,  passed  the  night 
here. 

John  A.  Robertson,  '15,  here  for  the  after- 
noon. 

Nov.  29  Extra  carpenter  come  to  work 
for  a  short  time. 


Nov.  30  Desmond  Anderson  attended 
the  theatre. 

Calendar  so  Vcar$  Jtgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

Nov.  1  Went  to  city  with  my  monthly  re- 
ports— was  late — saw  many  of  the  Managers. 

Nov.  14  Sent  a  grist  of  corn  and  rye  to 
mill  at  Neponset. 

Nov.  15  Mr.  S.  G.  Deblois  here  to  pass 
the  day. 

Nov.  24  As  usual  on  this  day  a  goodly 
number  of  graduates  present.  The  day  passed 
in  pleasant  intercourse,  and  amusements.  Over 
20  visitors  here. 

Nov.  25  The  steamer  Rose  Standish 
came  with  our  winter  supplies. 

noi^ember  meteorology 

Maximum   Temperature   73°   on  the  2nd. 

Minimum  Temperature  38°  on  the  26th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  44°. 

Total  precipitation  1 .55  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  1.41  in- 
ches from  the  16th  to  the  17th. 

Three  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 10  clear  days,  1  1  partly  cloudy,  9  cloudy. 


Cbe  Tartti  ana  Crades  School  Bank 


Cash  on  hand  Nov.  1,  1920 
Deposited  during  the  month 

Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand    Dec.    1,   1920 


$904.70 
89.25 

$993.95 
84.94 

$909.01 


Our  tbanks 

Continued  from  Page  3 

1  am  thankful  that  I  live  in  a  peaceful  coun- 
try that  has  a  good  President,  and  where  there 
is  plenty  of  food,  and  where  you  may  worship 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


God  in  your  own  way.  1  am  thankful  that  I  am 
where  I  am  not  getting  into  mischief  all  the  lime 
and  that  I  can  grow  strong  in  body  and  in 
mind.  I  am  thankful  1  have  such  a  good  mother 
and  for  the  letters  she  sends  me.  1  am  thank- 
ful for  a  good  teacher,  a  good  school  and  a  good 
minister.  I  am  thankful  that  my  mother  and  1 
are  not  sick  and  for  the  many  friends  I  have 
and  they,  too,  are  well.  I  am  thankful  for  the 
work  that  has  been  assigned  to  me  and  that  1 
am  living  in  an  age  of  invention. 

Robert  F.  Thompson 

I  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  father  and 
mother,  and  that  1  have  a  good  school  to  go  to, 
where  1  can  learn  to  do  woodwork  and  play  an 
instrument.  I  am  thankful  for  what  Mr.  Bradley 
and  the  instructors  are  doing  for  me.  I  am 
thankful  that  I  am  not  going  hungry  as  some  of 
the  poor  people  are.  1  am  thankful  that  the 
world  war  is  over  in  which  so  many  young  men 
were  killed.  Arthur  W.  Gaunt 


I  am  thankful  for  a  good  place  in  which  to 
work.  I  am  also  thankful  for  my  instructor.  1 
am  thankful  for  my  school  teacher.  I  am 
thankful  for  a  place  to  get  my  education.  1  am 
thankful  for  my  band  instructor  who  helps  me  to 
learn  my  music.  George  D.  Russell 

1  am  thankful  that  I  have  a  good  mother. 
I  am  thankful  for  living  in  such  a  good  school 
and  that  1  have  good  health.  1  am  thankful  for 
our  sports  and  that  I  have  a  good  teacher.  I 
1  am  thankful  that  I  have  good'  instructors  over 
me.  1  am  thankful  that  1  have  many  good 
friends.  George  A.  Adams 

Tourtb  €!a$s 

1  am  thankful  for  a  mother  and  that  she 
isn't  sick.  1  am  thankful  that  I  am  an  American. 
I  am  thankful  that  the  United  States  has  such 
good  soil  and  crops  and  that  this  is  a  prosperous 
country. 

William  J.  Hayden 


Cbird  €la$$ 

1  am  thankful  for  my  mother,  for  my  health 
and  friends.  1  am  thankful  that  1  have  a  chance 
to  be  at  this  school  and  have  a  chance  to  learn 
different  things.  1  am  thankful  that  I  have  a 
chance  to  be  educated. 

Herbert  E.  Noble 

I  am  thankful  for  a  great  many  things  but 
most  of  all  my  mother,  brother  and  sister.  1 
am  thankful  to  be  at  a  School  where  1  am 
learning  so  much  that  is  useful  to  me.  1  am 
thankful  for  our  good  Superintendent  and  in- 
structors. IVERS  E.  WiNMILL 

1  am  thankful  for  the  home  I  have  here  and 
its  opportunities.  1  am  thankful  that  I  have 
friends.  I  am  thankful  that  I  can  have  plenty  of 
time  for  study  and  work  and  play.  I  am  thank- 
ful for  the  good  times  1  have  at  different  times 
in  the  year.  I  am  thankful  for  good  friends. 
Leandor  E.  Dorey 


I'm  thankful  for  the  rain  and  snow, 
And  for  the  things  they  help  to  grow, 

For  fruits  to  eat. 

For  flowers  so  sweet. 
For  leaves  and  grass  about  my  feet. 

Robert  H.  Carney 

I  am  thankful  that  1  live  in  a  religious 
country  with  peaceful  people.  1  am  thankful  for 
a  mother  and  father.  1  am  thankful  for  a  good 
Thanksgiving  dinner.  I  am  thankful  that  I  have 
plenty  of  warm  clothing. 

Robert  L.  MgAlister 

1  am  thankful  for  a  father,  sister,  grand- 
parents, and  aunts  and  uncles.  I  am  thankful 
they  are  all  well.  I  am  thankful  I  have  a  place 
to  live  and  learn  my  lessons.  1  am  thankful  I 
am  in  the  first  grade. 

Alton  B.  Butler 


"Yes,  the  sun  has  spots,  but  don't  think   of 
the  spots:  think  of  the  light." 


I 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Rcpairind  the  fire  Box 

Recently  it  was  discovered  that  the  brick 
wall  of  the  furnace  needed  repairing.  About 
10:30  in  the  evening  of  November  19,  the  fur- 
nace fires  of  the  Power  House  were  allowed  to  die 
out,  and  I  cleaned  the  ashes  from  the  grates. 
This  cut  off  heat  from  the  buildings,  but  we  built  a 
fire  in  the  Stockroom  stove,  where  there  is  a  boil- 
er to  supply  hot  water.  At  seven  o'clock  a  ma- 
son came  to  work  on  the  brick  wall  in  the  fur- 
nace. About  ten-thirty  o'clock  we  had  the 
Nash  Gas  engine  running.  We  then  started  to 
work  on  the  water  column;  we  packed  the  nuts 
on  the  water  glass,  and  put  a  new  gasket  on  the 
top  of  the  column.  All  the  valves  on  the  col- 
umn were  packed.  About  five  o'clock  we  built 
fires  in  the  furnace.  About  six  o'clock  we  start- 
ed the  Ames  Steam  engine.  By  this  time  the 
steam  was  on  in  the  buildings.  At  nine  o'clock 
the  service  which  heats  the  hot  water  tanks  was 
turned  on.  Everything  was  then  cleaned  and 
put  in  order. 

Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard 

Good  Click  Hi  Halting 

One  Saturday  afternoon  three  other  boys 
and  I  took  a  shovel  and  two  of  our  dogs  Babe 
and  Del  and  walked  around  the  beach.  The  two 
dogs  ran  ahead  to  see  if  they  could  see  or  smell 
any  rats.  At  last  they  caught  the  scent  of  a 
rat  so  they  nosed  around  until  they  found  the 
hole.  We  dug  a  few  minutes  and  we  caught 
three  rats  in  that  hole.  Then  we  went  on  un- 
til we  found  another  one.  Here  we  caught  five 
rats.  We  next  went  over  to  a  group  of  small 
trees  and  we  caught  10  rats  among  them.  We 
started  to  go  home  along  the  beach  when  we 
heard  a  bark,  looking  around  we  saw  Del.  He 
had  caught  one  big  rat  and  was  after  another. 
When  we  reached  the  house  the  boys  asked  us 
how  many  we  caught  and  we  told  them.  Then 
Mr.  Brown  came  and  we  showed  them  to  him. 
He  told  us  to  take  them  and  throw  them  out  in 
the  field  so  the  owls  could  get  them. 

Frederick  R.  Metcalf 


J\  tm  up  Coin 

One  of  the  intructors  gave  m.e  a  large 
round  coin  about  as  big  as  a  fifty  cent  piece. 
This  coin  is  miade  of  brass,  and  is  a  toss  up 
piece.  On  one  side  is  the  picture  of  a  dog's 
head  and  the  words,  "Heads  you  win."  Under 
this  is  written,  "We  will  meet  you  in  'Frisco  in 
1915."  On  the  other  side  is  a  picture  of  a  dog's 
tail,  and  beside  it  is  written  "Tails  you  lose." 
Under  this  is  written  "J.  Moyce,  and  C.  Powers, 
Northampton,  Mass.  to  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
1914."  This  is  is  a  very  nice  toss  up  coin  and 
I  use  it  quite  often. 

John  P.  Davidson 

Scrubbing 

Almost  all  our  floors  are  wooden  so  it  is 
necessary  to  do  a  lot  of  scrubbing  to  keep  them 
clean.  First  they  are  scrubbed  with  soap  and 
water  and  then  washed  and  wiped.  After  two 
squares  are  scrubbed  the  water  is  changed. 
With  clean  water  two  squares  are  scrubbed  again. 
This  is  done  repeatedly  till  the  floor  is  clean.  A 
scrubbing  outfit  consists  of  a  pail,  a  scrub  brush,  a 
scrub  cloth,  kneeling  pad  and  piece  of  soap. 
Philip  F.  Leary 

Owls 

There  are  about  eight  owls  on  our  Island. 
One  day  another  boy  and  I  were  digging  up  an 
apple  tree  near  the  orchard.  We  happened  to  be 
talking  about  the  owls,  when  1  turned  around  and 
saw  a  big  one  following  a  rat  trail.  He  was 
flying  along  very  slowly  and  straight  up  about  two 
feet  from  the  ground  when  he  turned  toward  me 
and  flew  about  five  feet  over  my  head.  1  had  a 
pretty  good  look  at  him.  He  was  brown  and  his 
head  was  as  flat  as  a  board. 

Herbert  E.  Wright    ' 


'These  three  things  are  useless:  to  think 
without  working,  to  speak  without  doing,  to  wish 
without  willing." 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


tbe  JHutnni  Jfssociation  of  tbe  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  'S^.  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


Jamss  H.    Graham,  "77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

Richard  Bell.  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox.  '79.  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F    Lochrie,  M6,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


John  M.  Sargent,  ex  '98,  while  working  in 
Everett  met  with  an  accident  that  laid  him  up 
for  a  time.  He  nows  works  for  James  H. 
Graham,  77,  janitor  of  the  Fiske  Building,  and  is 
living  at  49  Norwood  St.,  Everett. 

Axel  E.  Renquist,  ex  '03,  has  come 
across  with  the  true  School  spirit.  We  wrote 
to  him  concerning  money  which  had  accumu- 
lated in  the  Farm  School  Bank  from  a  small 
sum  which  he  left  here.  He  responded  by  ac- 
cepting half,  but  returning  the  rest  to  the  School 
as  follows:  one  half  to  the  Alumni  Fund,  and 
the  remainder  for  six  years'  payment  ahead  for 
the  Beacon,  and  seven  years'  advance  payment 
for  Alumni  dues! 

Axel  is  employed  by  The  Crompton  Co.,  in 
the  cutting  department  (velvets  and  corduroys). 
Since  leaving  the  School,  he  has  worked  in  a 
print  shop  and  six  years  as  an  iron  molder. 
He  says  his  musical  training  here  has  helped 
him  quite  a  bit,  and  he  is  still  making  use  of  it. 
His  address  is  No.  96,  Crompton,  R.  1. 

William  C.  J.  Frueh,  '05.  is  employed  as 
machinist  at  the  Package  Paper  &  Supply  Co., 
Springfield,  makers  of  machinery  for  filling  and 
wrapping  groceries  in  package  form.  William 
is  married,  and  has  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Foster  B.  Hoye,  ex  '07,  hoped  to  visit 
Boston  this  January,  and  to  attend  the  Alumni 
Dinner  while  here,  but  on  account  of  a  serious 
injury  to  his  right  knee,  he  was  obliged  to  post- 
pone his  trip.  Foster  lives  at  505  Stone  Street, 
Watertown,  N.  Y.  He  has  a  family  of  five,  and, 
as  he  says,  makes  enough  to  break  even  with 
the  world. 

George  R.  Jordan,  '13,  spent  the  night  of 
September  6th  at  the  School. 


When  he  left  the  School  he  went  to  work 
for  the  McGraw-Hill  Co.,  New  York  City,  an 
electrical  concern,  and  has  remained  with  them 
ever  since.  Recently  he  has  been  made  an  ad- 
vertising represenative,  a  position  which  has  good 
possibilities  ahead. 

George  enlisted  ten  days  after  the  United 
States  declared  war,  and  was  sent  to  Canada 
for  training  in  the  aviation  section,  and  soon 
after  to  San  Antonio,  Texas.  He  began  to 
train  to  be  a  military  observer,  studying  wireless 
and  military  map  reading,  bombing,  etc.,  but 
did  not  finish  his  training  in  this  study  as  he  was 
sent  to  France  the  latter  part  of  1917,  and  saw 
immediate  service.  He  had  one  rather  bad 
accident  in  the  Belgium  sector,  and  was  in  the 
hospital  for  six  months  altogether,  but  was  back 
in  time  for  the  Chateau  Thierry  battle,  serving 
as  an  anti-aircraft  machine  gunner  then  and  un- 
til the  end  of  the  war.  His  total  service  in 
France  was  about  one  and  a  half  years. 

His  address  is  3495  Broadway,  New  York 
City. 

Walter  1.  Tassinari,  '14,  was  a  recent 
visitor  at  the  School.  After  his  graduation 
he  went  to  work  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
in  New  York,  at  first  as  air  brake  inspector  in 
the  Long  Island  City  yards,  and  later  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Station  Terminal,  as  a  brakeman, 
meeting  all  trains  about  to  leave,  cutting  off  ex- 
tra cars,  etc.  He  came  back  to  the  School 
from  there  for  the  1916  reunion,  being  the  grad- 
uate who  returned  from  the  greatest  distance. 
Since  then  Walter  has  worked  as  electrician  for 
various  concerns,  including  the  Fidelity  Trust 
Company,  the  Edison  Plant  on  L  Street  and  a 
hospital  in  Dover,  N.  H.,  where  the  electric  wir- 
ing was  being  replaced.  Recently  he  has  been 
doing  electrical  work  in  Lexington,  Mass. 


Vol.  24.  No.  9.  Printed  at  The   Farm  and   Trades   School   Boston,  Mass.  January,  1921 

Entered  November  23,   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16.  1874. 


Cbc  €bristmas  Concert 

Every  Christmas  we  have  a  concert  which 
takes  place  on  the  Sunday  following  Christmas. 
This  year,  Christmas  Day  being  Saturday,  it 
was  thought  best  to  have  it  occur  on  the  Sunday 
following  Christmas  Day.  Chapel  was  prettily 
decorated  having  a  Christmas  scene  in  the  back- 
ground which  represented  a  brick  house  with  a 
snow  covered  roof,  in  the  center  of  which  there 
was  an  open  doorway.  In  back  of  this  there 
was  an  imitation  fireplace  with  stockings  hung 
up.  In  front  of  the  house  on  each  side  were 
evergreens  strung  with  tiny  colored  electric  lights 
which  made  it  very  attractive.  The  program 
was  as  follows: 


Song 

Choir 

Hail  The 

Day 

Song 

Prayer 

Mr.  Bonny 
Scripture  Reading 

Eight  Boys 

Recitation 
Song 

Song                                           IV 

Choir 
Recitation 

usic  of  the  Bells 
Christmas  Bells 

Recitation 
Baritone  S 

Howard  E.   Keith 

Violin  Duet  Silent  Night 

Clifton  E.  Albee,  Ralph  S.  Blake, 

Randall  G.  Thornton 

Recitation  The  Sparrows 

Ivers  E.  Winmill 

Song  Babe  of  Bethlehem 

Choir 


Recitation  A  Christmas  Song 

V/illiam  J.  Hayden 
Song  Merry  Christmas 

Choir 
Recitation  Different  Views  of  Christmas 

Alexander  McKenzie,  Wyllis  A.  West 
Cornet  Duet  0  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem 

Waldo  E.  Libby,  Eric  O.  Schippers 
Recitation  1  Remember,  1  Remember 

Kenneth  A.  Priest 

Trio  The  Christmas  Story 

Walter  H.  Curtis,  Kenneth  E.  Kearns, 

John  M.  Levis 

Recitation  0  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem 

James  H.  Beattie,  Henry  E.  Gilchrist 

Raymond  Thomas 

The  Gift  Day  is  Here 
Choir 
The  Landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
George  L.  Langill 

Echo  the  Beautiful  Song 
Choir 

A  Name  in  the  Sand 
John  M.  Ely,  Jr. 

Christmas  Carol 
Malcolm  E.  Cameron 
Recitation  Babouska 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 
Song  Where  is  Jesus 

Choir 

Recitation  Ring  Out  Wild  Bells 

Barton  N.  Slade 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Song 

Starlight  and  Song 

Choir 

Remarks 

Mr.  Bradley 

Clifton  E.  Albee 

€bri$tmd$  Day 

Christmas  morning  dawned  cold  and  snow- 
less  but  with  the  sun  shining  brightly.  Those 
who  hung  up  their  stocking  awoke  to  find  candy, 
nuts  and  money  in  them.  The  necessary  work 
was  finished  at  8.30.  A  company  of  boys  dress- 
ed in  blue  army  overcoats  marched  down  to  the 
Wharf  to  meet  President  Arthur  Adams,  who 
was  to  spend  the  day  with  us. 

The  procession  returned  by  way  of  Back 
Road  with  the  drums  beating,  the  national  and 
School  colors  flying.  When  they  came  by 
Gardner  Hall  the  other  boys  who  grouped  them- 
selves for  the  purpose  in  front  of  the  building 
jumped  cut  and  shouted  "Merry  Christmas"  to 
our  guest.  The  procession  marched  around  in 
front  of  the  Main  Building  where  there  were 
many  cheers  given  for  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Bradley 
and  Christmas  Day.  At  10  o'clock  we  went  to 
the  Assembly  Hall  which  was  brilliantly  decorat- 
ed for  the  occasion;  Santa  Claus  came  in  and 
greeted  us,  explaining  that  owing  to  the  lack  of 
snow  he  was  late  and  that  next  year  he  would 
come  by  aeroplane.  Mr.  Bradley  then  threw 
horns,  whistles  and  rattlers  out  to  every  one  and 
instantly  there  was  a  jovial  noise.  Mr.  Bradley 
and  three  instructors  assisted  in  giving  out  the 
gifts.  When  an  instructor's  name  was  called 
everybody  applauded.  The  boys  gave  Mr. 
Bradley  a  bouquet  of  flowers.  After  all  the  oth- 
er presents  were  given  out,  a  box  of  chocolates 
was  given  to  each  instructor  and  boy  from  Mr. 
Richard  Bell,  Treasurer  of  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion. Mr.  Bradley  then  read  names  of  various 
friends  of  the  School  who  wished  us  a  Merry 
Christmas. 

After  dinner  some  of  the  boys  read  the 
books  they  received  or  played  with  the  games 
they  received.     About    2:30    we    went    to    the 


entertainment  in  the  Assembly  Hall  which  was 
very  good.  In  the  evening  we  had  our  bath  as 
it  was  Saturday  night.  And  then  everybody 
went  to  bed  feeling  happy  and  with  hearts  full  of 
thankfulness  for  those  who  had  given  and  pro- 
vided for  them.  Ralph   M.   Rogers 

Cbc  €bri$tma$  Entertainment 

As  usual  we  had  an  entertainment  Christ- 
mas afternoon  provided  for  by  President  Arthur 
Adams  It  was  very  good  and  had  quite  a  var- 
iety of  things.  There  were  four  people  besides 
a  pianist.  The  only  woman  among  them  v/as 
Mohala,  a  mind  reader.  She  was  quite  clever, 
we  thought.  She  was  blindfolded.  Then  Floyd, 
her  assistant,  went  up  and  down  the  aisles  taking 
little  things  that  we  gave  him  and  she  would  tell 
him  what  they  were.  Then  Floyd  got  a  black 
board  and  a  piece  of  chalk,  and  went  to  a  boy 
asking  the  boy  to  write  some  numbers  on  it. 
Mohala  told  what  they  were.  Floyd  also  did 
some  puzzling  tricks.  Another  member  repeat- 
ed poems  and  stories  in  French-Canadian  dia- 
lect. 

Then  Joe  Lorraine,  who  was  best  of  all  be- 
cause he  was  so  full  of  life,  played  the  banjo, 
bells  and  xylophones  and  made  noises  with  his 
mouth  like  aeroplanes  and  auto  races  and  many 
others.     We  all  enjoyed  it  exceedingly. 

Clarence  H.  Colburn 

my  Part  in  m  Concert 

A  week  before  Christmas  Mr.  Kihlstrom 
asked  me  if  1  would  practice  a  Christmas  song 
on  my  violin  and  get  ready  to  play  in  the  Christ- 
mas Concert.  The  name  of  the  piece  was 
"Holy  Night."  He  also  gave  a  copy  to 
Thornton,  the  other  violinist,  and  to  Albee,  the 
pianist.  After  practicing  all  the  week  we  could 
play  it  fairly  well.  When  the  night  of  the  con- 
cert came  we  marched  into  Chapel.  After  three 
boys  had  recited,  it  was  our  turn.  Albee  played 
the  piano  and  Thornton  and  1  the  violin.  That 
was  my  first  experience  as  a  violinist  in  front  of 
an  audience.  Ralph  S.  Blake,  J.-^. 


I 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


Itlcctitid  mr.  Jfdattts 

A  week  before  Christinas,  Rogers  organiz- 
ed two  squads  of  boys  to  meet  Mr.  Adams  at 
the  Wharf  on  Christmas  morning.  The  corporal 
of  the  first  squad  was  Robertson  and  the  corpor- 
al of  the  second  squad  was  Pickels.  Each  squad 
consisted  of  eight  boys  including  the  corporal. 
There  was  also  a  color  bearer  and  two  color 
guards.  Every  morning  Rogers,  the  captain, 
drilled  us  in  the  gymnasium.  Some  mornings 
we  marched  down  the  Rear  Avenue  to  the 
Wharf  and  returned  by  way  of  Back  Road. 

On  Christmas  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  we 
went  down  into  the  Banking  Room  and  put  on 
blue  uniforms  that  were  used  in  the  Civil  War. 
When  we  were  all  ready,  we  assembled  in  front 
of  the  Old  Elm.  We  drilled  around  the  hedge 
until  the  boat  came  in  sight.  We  then  march- 
ed down  to  the  Wharf  accompanied  by  snare 
drums,  bass  drum  and  cymbals,  and  stood  at 
attention  until  Mr.  Adams  got  off  the  Pilgrim. 
We  then  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  Mr. 
Adams  and  shouted,  "Merry  Christmas,"  until 
we  were  nearly  out  of  breath.  Marching  up  the 
road  we  looked  fine.  At  the  head  was  the  cap- 
tain with  his  sword,  followed  by  the  color  guards 
and  color  bearer  with  a  large  silk  American 
flag  which  the  wind  blew  straight  out.  Then 
came  a  column  of  blue  soldiers  followed  by  the 
drummers,  Mr.  Buchan  beating  the  bass  drum. 
We  marched  around  Gardner  Hall  where  the 
rest  of  the  boys  were  waiting  for  us.  What  a 
noise!  It  seemed  as  if  the  air  was  filled  with 
"Merry  Christmas!"  After  marching  around 
the  Main  Building  followed  by  the  School,  we 
stopped  at  a  window  at  which  Mr.  Bradley  was 
leaning  out.  Mr.  Bradley  suggested  that  we 
give  Mr.  Adams  three  cheers  which  were  given 
heartily.  Then  Mr.  Adams  suggested  that  we 
give  Mr.  Bradley  three  cheers.  After  giving  our 
Superintendent  three  reusing  cheers  we  were 
dismissed.  Edward  V.  Osberg 


Cbrlsttnas  Carols 

In  England  a  great  many  years  ago  they 
had  a  custom  of  singing  carols  the  night  before 
Christmas.  A  few  days  before  that  time  this 
year,  sixteen  boys  rehearsed  singing  four  carols. 
Christmas  eve  we  went  down  to  the  clothing 
room  and  put  on  some  blue  army  overcoats 
with  capes  which  had  been  worn  in  the  Civil 
War. 

We  then  assembled  by  the  corner  of  the 
Main  Building  nearest  the  Old  Elm  and  sang, 
"Joy  to  The  World."  After  we  were  nearly 
through  the  other  boys  came  out  and  stood 
around  us.  Then  we  went  into  the  Court  and 
sang  other  pieces.  Then  Mr.  Bradley  and  the 
instructors  threw  out  money  to  us. 

After  we  had  sung  in  front  of  all  the  win- 
dows lighted  by  candles  we  were  invited  to  Mr. 
Bradley's  apartments  and  had  a  good  time. 
The  piano  was  played  for  us  and  we  had  re- 
freshments. Then  some  of  the  boys  looked  at 
photographs  of  the  School. 

John  M.  Levis 

l)OW  Our  Cbapei  Cooked 

On  December  25,  at  ten  A.  M.  all  of  us 
passed  to  the  Chapel  to  receive  our  presents. 
When  we  were  seated  and  were  waiting  for 
Santa  Claus  I  began  to  observe  the  room.  In 
front  there  was  a  house  apparently  made  of 
brick.  There  was  a  door  in  the  center,  a  fire 
place  in  back  with  stockings  hanging  from  the 
shelf.  They  were  filled  with  toys.  There  were 
five  windows  in  the  house,  also  a  small  chim- 
ney. The  roof  was  covered  with  artificial  snow. 
There  were'  about  a  dozen  trees  filled  with  pres- 
ents, also  many  on  the  floor.  In  among  the 
trees  was  a  sign  which  read  90°  longitude,  and 
0°  latitude.  The  Chapel  lights  were  covered 
with  twigs  and  artificial  icicles,  also  holly  cover- 
ed chains.  The  windows  were  decorated  with 
crepe  paper  and  bells.  It  was  a  wonder- 
fully pretty  picture  and  added  much  to  our 
Christmas. 

Harold  B.  Buchan 


THOMPSONS    ISLAND    BEACON 


Cbompscn's  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE     FARM     AND     TRADES     SCHOOL 
Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

Vol.  24.    No.  9.  January,  1921 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 

Charles  E.  Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

GoRHAM  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George  L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Walter  B.  Foster 

Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 

Christinas  is  with  us  again,  and  once  more 
we  hear  "Joy  to  the  World"  sung  by  candlelit 
windows;  again  we  meet  our  visitors  with  drums 
and  cheers,  and  again  we  shout  as  the  gifts  are 


distributed  from  the  twinkling  trees.  The  green, 
the  red,  and  the  white  of  Christmas  reveal 
themselves  for  us,  as  in  a  kaleidoscope,  in  a 
new  form — our  Christmas  house  of  yesterday 
becomes  a  dim  fir  forest  of  today. 

Each  year  it  seems  as  if  we  never  before 
had  had  such  a  Merry  Christmas,  and  between 
tiines  we  discuss  the  day  and  compare  it  with 
those  of  other  years.  "Do  you  remember  the 
Santa  Claus  workshop  two  years  ago?"  "That 
was  a  good  show  we  had  last  year,"  and  so   on. 

Perhaps  in  the  minds  of  some,  this  review 
goes  back  further  still,  and  we  picture  groups  of 
long  ago.  Farm  School  boys  like  ourselves,  who 
year  by  year  have  thrilled  as  we  do  today  with 
the  thought  of  a  holiday,  Christmas  associations, 
and  the  possibilities  that  are  hung  on  that  tree. 
For  Christmas  must  always  have  been  a  day  of 
days  even  though  the  entertainment  provided  in 
the  early  years  may  seem  to  us,  now,  painfully 
meagre. 

Let  us  recall  briefly  what  we  know  con- 
cerning a  few  of  those  by-gone  Christmases. 
The  first  mention  we  find  in  1848,  fifteen  years 
after  the  School  moved  to  Thompson's  Island. 
The  record  says: 

"This  being  Christmas  day,  the  boys  have  the 
same  dinner  and  dessert  as  on  Thanksgiving. 
They  appeared  very  happy,  had  several  kinds  of 
games  of  amusement,  and  in  the  evening  play- 
ed blind  man's  bluff." 

A  year  later: 

"A  good  dinner  of  roast,  pies,  etc.,  was 
furnished  the  boys.  They  spent  the  day  mostly 
in  skating  and  the  evening  in  playing  blind  man's 
bluff,  hunt  the  squirrel,  etc.,  and  retired  to  rest 
gratified  and  weary  with  sport." 

In  1849  appears  the  first  mention  of  a 
Christmas  tree,  "a  handsome  Christmas  tree 
was  loaded  with  presents  for  each  person  on  the 
Island." 

In  1856,  five  years  before  the  beginning  of 
the  Civil  War,  we  read  that  Christmas  Day  was 
was  "one  long  to  be  remembered  .  .  .  Rev.  L. 
E.  Caswell  had  obtained  ...  a    large    quantity 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


of  cake,  figs,  candy  and  apples  as  a  feast  for  the 
boys  .   .  .  and  a  fine  time  we  had  of  it." 

In  1875,  we  read  "everybody  happy.  The 
boys  have  enjoyed  their  presents  today,  skates, 
sleds,  tippets,  mittens,  etc.  Our  tree  was 
splendid  and  all  had  something  on  it." 

In  1881,  "everything  was  done  that  could 
be  to  make  a  happy  day  for  all  concerned.  In 
the  evening  a  very  beautiful  tree,  laden  with 
much  to  make  glad  the  eye  and  heart,  was  un- 
veiled and  soon  stripped  of  all  its  artificial 
beauties,  which  were  bestowed  upon  the  expec- 
tant scholars." 

In  1884,  "the  drama  "My  Brother's  Keep- 
er" was  well  enacted.  A  fine  tree,  as  fine  as 
we  ever  had.  When  the  curtain  was  removed 
from  before  it,  it  was  most  rapturously  cheered." 

And  in  1885,  we  "had  a  pleasant  time  in 
the  Hall,  and  a  tree  set  in  a  dory  with  sail  set 
representing  the  bringing  of  bundles  home  from 
the  city." 

As  we  read  these  short  descriptions,  we 
cannot  but  realize  how  many  pleasures  we  have 
now,  at  Christmas,  and  through  the  year,  of 
which  those  boys  of  an  earlier  time  had  no  idea. 
By  1898  the  School  had  acquired  its  Christmas 
concert  on  Sunday  eve,  and  in  1904  came  the 
first  Christmas  afternoon  entertainment  provid- 
ed by  our  Manager,  which  today  has  become  an 
important  part  in  our  fun,  and  gradually  have 
been  added  other  pleasures  which  help  to  make 
the  Christmas  season  pleasant. 

Much  of  the  fun  we  ourselves  help  to  bring 
about.  Much  of  it  means  good  hard  work  on 
the  part  of  instructors  and  boys.  The  Christ- 
mas concert  and  the  carol  singing  represent 
painstaking  preparation;  in  the  Chapel  an  elabo- 
rate Christmas  scene  does  not  come  overnight. 
This  work  of  getting  ready  may  be  a  pleasure  in 
itself,  and  cannot,  we  believe,  but  make  us  ap- 
preciate the  actual  festivities  all  the  more.  As 
we  hear  boy  after  boy  remark  that  "he  has  had 
more  fun  than  he  would  have  had  at  home"  (a 
decided  compliment,  for  what  bey  is  there  who 


hasn't  a  longing  for  home  at  Christmas  time?) 
we  feel  that  our  effort  and  the  gifts  of  individuals 
has  not  been  in  vain.  Perhaps  for  most  boys 
the  power  of  appreciation  does  not  come  till 
later  in  life,  but  we  believe  that  later  this  ap- 
preciation does  come,  and  our  boy  looks  back  to 
his  Christmases  here  as  to  some  of  the  pleas- 
antest  times  of  his  life.  The  fun  and  liveliness 
of  the  day,  the  lesson  he  has  had  in  doing  his 
part  with  the  rest,  the  series  of  beautiful  pictures 
that  come  as  a  part  of  the  season,  all  these  will 
remain  in  his  mind,  and  color  for  him  his  asso- 
ciations of  Christmas. 

Yes,  we  have  much  undreamed  of  by 
those  boys  who  on  Christmas  Day  "played  blind 
man's  buff  and  retired  to  rest  gratified  and  weary 
with  sport.  Theirs  was  a  simpler,  quieter  age 
than  ours;  what  we  have  come  to  expect,  al- 
most as  a  matter  of  course,  would  have  seemed 
to  them  too  good  to  be  true. 

In  imagination  we  can  see  those  rows  of 
"expectant  scholars"  with  their  quaint  clothes 
and  with  hair  plastered  on  forehead,  yet,  we 
know,  they  were  boys  not  unlike  ourselves. 
And  while  we  may  appreciate  '  the  added 
pleasures  and  improvements  that  have  come 
with  time,  to  this,  as  to  any  growing  organization, 
we  cannot  but  like  and  respect  those  boys  of 
long  ago.  They  lived  without  luxuries,  but 
what  kind  of  men  they  became,  and  what  the 
School  teachings  did  for  them,  the  annals  of  our 
Alumni  show. 

It  is  said  that  the  graduates  of  any  School 
are  its  best  advertisement,  and  we  trust  that 
when  our  turn  comes  and  we  have  our  chance 
to  prove  ourselves,  we  may  give  the  Farm  School 
boys  of  a  future  generation  no  reason  to  hear  our 
names  spoken  otherwise  than  with  pride.  For 
by  us  will  our  School  be  judged;  through  our  use- 
ful and  straightforward  lives  and  by  our  loyal  co- 
operation will  she  advance;  by  our  efforts  will  be 
obtained,  for  our  brothers  of  tomorrow,  far  great- 
er opportunities  than  we  have  known. 


THOMPSON'S   ISLAND  BEACON 


Calendar 

Dec.  1  Dentist  here  to  examine  boys' 
teeth. 

Plowed  corn-field  back   of    Cottage    Row. 

Dec.  2     Cleaned  Storage  Barn. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Dec.  3     Drawing  gravel  at  South  End. 

Four  little  pigs,  three  Berkshires  and  one 
Chester  White  received  from  Manager  Richard 
M.  Saltonstall. 

Band  concert  and  dancing  in  the    evening. 

Dec.   8     Business  meeting  of  the   Alumni 
Association.     New  officers  elected    as   follows: 
President:  James  H.  Graham,  '97 
Vice  Presidents:  Chief,  Henry  A.  Fox,  79 

Lawrence  A.  Cobb,  '14 
Secretary:   Merton  P.  Ellis,  '99 
Treasurer:   Richard  Bell,  '73 
Historian:     Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16. 

The  First  Class  held  a  dance  in  the  even- 
ing. 

George  Buchan,  '97,  here  for  the  night. 

Dec.  9     Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Dec.  10  President  Arthur  Adams  visited 
the  School. 

Baseball  shield  and  cups  given  by  Manager 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby,  given  out  to  the  boys. 

Two  horses  humanely  disposed  of. 

Finished  plowing  corn-field  north  of  Cot- 
tage Row.     Finished  sorting  potatoes. 

Herbert  Antell,  '19,  here  for  the  night. 

Dec.    13     Repaired  East  Side  Dike. 

Dec.  14  Junk  taken  in  barge  to  Cow 
Pasture. 

Dec.    15     Three  cows  and  a  boar  sold. 

Dec.    16     Six    boys  went  to   the    dentist. 

Motion  pictures  in  evening. 

Beginning  to  put  winter  sheathing  on  the 
"Pilgrim." 

Dec.    17     Pruning  trees. 

Finished  putting  sheathing  on  the  "Pil- 
grim." 

Dec.   20     Dressed  pig  weighing    320    lbs. 

Dec.  22     Killed  two  geese. 

Dec.  23     Six  boys  went  to  the  dentist. 


Dec.  24  Carols  sung  around  the  house 
at  lighted  windows  by  Miss  Winslow,  Mr.  Bemis 
and  sixteen  boys. 

Dec.  25  Christmas.  Distribution  of  pre- 
sents from  the  Christmas  tree  in  the  morning. 
Entertainment  in  the  afternoon,  provided  for  by 
President  Arthur  Adams. 

Joe  Lorraine,  Y.  M.  C.  A.   Minstrel. 
Floyd,  Slight  of  hand  performer. 
Mohala,   Mind  reader. 
J.  B.  Thrasher,  Story  teller. 

Gift  of  chocolates  from  Mr.  Richard  Bell, 
'73. 

Gift  of  peanuts  from  Mr.  Edward  Capaul. 
ex  '07. 

Gift  of  fruit  from  Manager  Tucker  Daland. 

President  Arthur  Adams  here  for  the  day. 
Met  at  Wharf  by  a  squad  of  boys  with  drums 
and  cymbals. 

Dec.  26.  Christmas  Concert  in  the  even- 
ing. 

Dec.  27  John  A.  Robertson,  '15,  came 
to  spend  a  part  of  his  vacation  here,  and  help  as 
needed. 

William  B.  Cross,  '18,  here  for  over  night. 

Dec.  29     Finished  husking  corn. 

Dec.  30     Seven  boys  went  to  the  dentist. 

Albert  Anderson,  '20,  and  Philip  M. 
Landry,  ex  '20,  here  to  spend  a  few  days. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Dec.  31  Bull,  John  of  the  Abbey,  killed 
and  dressed.     Weight,  987  lbs. 

Manager  Philip  S.  Sears  visited  the  School. 

Graduates,  Clifford  G.  Leonard, '  1 6,  Gordon 
H.  Cameron,  '18,  and  Everett  B.  Leland,  '19, 
came  to  spend  New  Years'  at  the  School. 

Calendar  so  Vears  Jlgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

Dec.  2  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  G.  Deblois 
came  at  noon — rowing  over  themselves. 

Dec.  3  Self  very  busy  putting  up  stoves 
and  making  all  comfortable. 

Dec.    13     Wrote  boys'  letters  for  Christ- 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND    BEACON 


mas.  Took  charge  of  it  myself.  Completed 
them  all.  Mrs.  M.  went  to  Qulncy  via  Squant- 
um.     One  man  plowing. 

Dec.  14  Went  to  town  today  carrying  the 
boys'  letters,  nearly  one  hundred  of  them. 

Dec.  15  Cold  day, — a  great  contrast  to 
yesterday.  No  crossing.  Engaged  in  fitting 
boys'  boots. 

Dec.  18  The  Supt.  and  teachers  officiat- 
ed. It  would  be  a  treat  indeed  to  listen  to  some 
strange  voice,  to  hear  new  ideas  advanced,  but 
such  is  not  our  privilege.  Day  after  day  we 
must  take  the  general  care  of  the  boys  disci 
plining  where  necessary,  and  on  Sundays  turn 
our  School-room  into  a  chapel  and  supply  the 
place  of  pastor  as  best  we  can.  We  feel  that 
instead  of  being  pastor,  we  need  ministering 
unto. 

Dec.  23  Went  to  city  to  get  boys'  Christ- 
mas bundles.  Had  a  full  boat  load  of  them. 
Had  an  uncomfortable  time  getting  them. 

Dec.  24  We  had  our  Christmas  tree  this 
eve,  and  a  fine  time  we  had.  The  boys  have 
been  busy  enough  with  their  bundles  all  day. 
The  bundles  ranged  ....  in  size,  and  were 
well  filled  and  packed.  Truly  'twas  a  "Merry 
Christmas"  indeed  for  the  boys.  May  we  have 
many  such. 

Dec.  31  Carried  in  accounts  and  settled 
with  the  Treasurer.  Thus  closes  the  year, 
which  has  been  one  of  health  and  prosperity, 
worthy  to  be  placed  on  record  with  the  many 
v/hich  have  passed  before. 

December  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  59°  on  the   14th. 

Minimum  Temperature  1 8°  on  the  26th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  35°. 

Total  precipitation  .52  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .30  in- 
ches on  the  22nd. 

Four  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 13  clear  days.  12  partly  cloudy,  6  cloudy. 


Cbe  Tarm  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand    Dec.    1,   1920 
Deposited  during  the  m.onth 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1,  1921 


$909.01 

153.51 

$1062.52 

206.13 

$856.39 


Cooking  in  Our  Stocking 

When  we  went  to  bed  Christmas  Eve  we 
hung  up  our  stockings.  1  hung  up  another  boy's 
because  mine  had  a  hole  in  it  and  I  wanted  to 
be  on  the  safe  side.  About  three  o'clock  I  got 
up  and  looked  in  my  stocking  and  I  found  five 
chocolates  and  a  nickel.  I  woke  up  the  boy  be- 
side me  and  told  him  to  look  in  his  stocking  and 
he  found  something  in  his,  too.  In  about  five 
minutes  everybody  was  awake,  talking,  and  the 
watchman  had  to  tell  us  to  stop. 

Howard  E.  Keith 

B  Contest 

One  day  our  Printing  Office  instructor  told 
the  boys  of  the  Printing  Office  that  the  one  who 
made  the  best  cover  design  for  the  Christmas 
Program  would  be  given  a  prize.  He  gave  us 
three  days  in  which  to  make  our  covers. 
The  design  would  have  to  be  an  original  idea  and 
within  a  certain  size.  Henry  Clifford  won  the 
the  prize  which  was  a  Waterman  fountain  pen. 
We  always  like  a  contest  and  we  can  probably 
have  another  one  at  Easter.  We  all  enjoyed 
working  out  our  designs.      Ivers  E.  Winmill 

B  Useful  Christmas  Present 

Christmas  brought  me  at  least  one  present 
for  which  I  was  very  anxious.  It  was  a  "Chem- 
craft"  chemistry  set.  It  contains  43  different 
chemicals,  test  tubes,  funnel,  gas  delivery  and 
other  apparatus  used  in  chemistry.  All  harm- 
ful and  deadly  poisonous  substances  are  ex- 
cluded. With  it  I  can  do  chemical  magic,  man- 
ufacture colored  and  sympathetic  inks,  dye  tests 
for  alkalis  and  acids,  food  tests,  prepare  chlorine 
gas  and  many  other  things.  It  is  useful,  in- 
structive and  amusing.       Cyrus  W.  Durgin 


THOMPSONS  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  JllumnI  Jfssoclatlon  of  Che  farm  and  trades  School 


William  Alcott,  '84,  President 

Everett 
Merton  p.  Ellis.  '97,  Secretary 
25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  Vice-President 

Boston 

Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 

Dorchester 


Henry  A.  Fox.  '79.  Vice-President 

Allston 

Howard  F    Lochrie.  '15,  Historian 

West  Roxbury 


John  M.  Sargent,  '97,  has  returned  to 
Boston  after  a  year  in  New  Brunswick,  and  is 
now  employed  in  the  painting  department  of  the 
Town  Taxi  Company. 

Henry  W.  Sowers,  ex  '14,  visited  the 
School  September  10,  1920. 

When  he  left  the  School  in  1910,  he  went 
to  Enosburgh  Falls,  Vermont,  and  attended  high 
school  for  two  years.  He  remained  there  on  a 
fariTi  for  about  two  years  afterwards.  He  next 
went  to  Burlington  Business  College  for  a  while, 
and  from  there  into  the  service.  He  was  in  the 
Quartermasters  Corps,  and  was  in  the  service 
for  three  years,  and  28  months  overseas.  He 
was  in  France  for  the  first  eighteen  months, 
and  later  in  Belgium,  and  Holland,  and  back  to 
France.  He  was  discharged  on  August  14, 
1919.  From  Septeinber  8th  until  January  15th 
last  year,  he  worked  for  the  New  York  Edison 
Company^  and  since  then  he  has  been  connected 
with  the  reorganization  department  of  the 
Bankers  Trust  Company,  16  Wall  Street,  New 
York  City.  His  address  is  375  West  55th 
Street,  New  York  City. 

Henry  is  engaged  to  Miss  Gladys  E.  Young 
and  hopes  to  be  married  within  a  year.  Miss 
Young  is  a  district  nurse  in  Belmont,  Mass.,  and 
is  a  graduate  of  the  Mary  Fletcher  Hospital  in 
Burlington,  Vermont. 

To  Geoffrey  E.  Plunkett,  '14,  a  daugh- 
ter, Margaret  Evelyn,  6  lbs.  2  oz.,  March  30, 
1920. 

Earl  C.  Miller,  ex  '15  and  Mrs.  Miller 
announce  the  birth  of  a  daughter.  Pearl  Agnes 
Miller,  on  October  23,  1920,  weighing  7  lbs.  1  1 
oz. 


IvERS  R.  Allen,  '16,  is  working  in  a  lunch 
room  in  Oklahoma  City,  Okla.  He  has  gone 
there  to  work  for  his  uncle  who  has  a  sinall  but 
reliable  business.  Ivers  wished  he  might  be  pre- 
sent at  the  Alumni  dinner,  but  he  was  too  fara- 
way. His  address  is  314  West  Grand  Ave., 
Oklahoma. 

To  Eldred  W.  Allen,  '16,  a  son,  Malcolm 
Mitchell  Allen,  born  on  Saturday,  Nov.  27th, 
weighing  eight  pounds.  Eldred  is  still  in 
Meredith,  N.  H. 

Clarence  E.  Slinger,  '17,  is  now  working 
for  the  EiTierson  Shoe  Company,  being  in 
charge  of  inspection  in  the  lining  department  in 
their  factory  in  Rockland,  Mass.  Before  going 
to  work  for  this  company,  Clarence  was  for  some 
months  in  the  upper  leather  department  of  Rice 
&  Hutchins,  (shoes),  also  located  in  Rockland. 
His  address  is  66  Williams  Street,  Rockland, 
Mass. 

Laurence  A.  Murphy,  '18,  writes  con- 
cerning joining  the  Alumni  Association  and  oth- 
er matters.  Laurence  is  working  in  an  apron 
factory  in  Boston.  He  says  that  while  he  isn't 
very  busy,  he  feels  rather  fortunate  to  have 
work,  with  conditions  as  they  are  at  present 
Laurence  has  taken  cornet^  lessons  ever  since 
he  left  the  School.  His  address  is  1 24  High  St. 
East  Weymouth,  Mass. 

Warren  F.  Noyes,  '19,  is  planning  to  take 
an  agricultural  course  in  the  New  Hampshire 
College.  This  is  a  course  open  during  the  fall 
and  winter  months  only. 


Vol.  24.  No.  10.  Printed  at  The   Farm  and  Trades  School  Boston,   Mass.  February,  1921 

Entered  November  23.   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16.  1874. 


Jilt  Tntmsting  Lecture 

Mr.  Curtis,  one  of  our  managers,  visited  us 
January  29,  1921.  In  the  evening  he  told  us 
all  about  his  recent  hunting  trip  in  Africa.  It 
was  illustrated  by  stereoptican  views,  which 
were  nnade  from  pictures  taken  on  his  trip.  He 
went  out  there  to  hunt  lions,  hyenas,  zebras,  and 
other  big  game.  He  told  us  first  about  his 
party.  He  had  about  50  men  in  all,  and  the 
only  white  man  besides  himself  was  his  guide, 
a  man  named  Percival.  He  was  a  very  brave 
man  and  a  well  known  guide  in  Africa.  The 
two  things  which  white  men  who  go  there  have 
to  look  out  for  are,  the  sun  which  shines  directly 
overhead  and  the  tsetse  fly.  They  wear  heavy 
helmets  so  they  will  not  get  a  sun  stroke.  They 
carry  medicine  to  protect  themselves  against  the 
tsetse  fly.  He  had  three  boys  who  were  his 
guards.  Two  carried  ammunition  and  one  al- 
ways followed  him.  They  were  Mohammedans 
of  the  Massi  tribe  and  would  not  eat  any  of  the 
meat  unless  they  killed  it  themselves.  Some- 
times Mr.  Curtis  would  let  the  Mohammedans 
kill  the  lion  that  he  wounded.  He  had  porters 
to  carry  the  tents  and  other  luggage.  There  was 
a  wagon  full  of  corn  and  meal  for  the  servants 
which  was  drawn  by  20  oxen.  He  paid  the 
Massis  about  six  dollars  a  month  in  English 
money.  They  could  get  it  changed  into  their  kind 
of  money. 

The  guns  the  natives  use  are  very  heavy 
but  the  Massi  Indians  have  a  long  lance  which 
they  throw  at  their  victims  when  they  wish  to 


kill  them.  They  are  very  skillful  in  throwing 
these.  They  also  have  a  long  knife  for  another 
weapon.  Some  of  them  still  have  bows  and 
arrows.  We  were  glad  to  hear  that  the  British 
did  not  interfere  with  their  habits  of  life.  They 
can  do  anything  they  wish  except  kill  their  own 
people  or  anyone  else.  They  have  odd  dances 
and  many  other  queer  customs.  They  wear  but 
little  clothing  which  consists  of  a  blanket  around 
themselves.  The  warriors  have  queer  hats  made 
of  bird  skin  or  of  an  animal. 

Another  interesting  thing  is  the  way  mail 
is  brought  into  camp.  A  man  comes  running 
into  camp  with  a  long  stick  in  one  hand  with  a 
paper  at  one  end.  He  is  called  a  runner  but 
carries  mail  the  same  as  a  mail  man.  He  also 
has  a  revolver  in  the  other  hand  for  his  protection. 
One  day  a  boy  came  running  into  camp  and  told 
Mr  Curtis  there  were  some  lions  out  in  a  dried 
stream  bed  near  by.  Mr  Curtis  and  his  guard 
went  out  in  front  of  the  lions  and  some  other 
servants  went  in  back  of  them.  The  ser- 
vants drove  the  lions  in  sight  so  Mr.  Curtis 
could  shoot  them.  He  said  he  was  afraid  to 
shoot  them  because  if  he  missed  them  he^ 
would  be  liable  to  kill  one  of  his  servants, 
though  he  fired  and  hit  one  of  the  lions  and 
killed  it.  That  was  his  first  lion.  He  killed 
many  other  animals  of  different  kinds  during 
his  stay  in  Africa.  Some  of  his  specimens  will 
be  given  to  Harvard  University. 

We  all  enjoyed  hearing  about  this   expedi- 
tion and  learned  many  things  from   the    lecture 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND    BEACON 


and  from  the  fine  pictures.     We    thanked    Mr. 
Curtis  for  his  visit  to  us. 

John  M.  Levis 

eoittd  Hftcr  erain 

One  day  last  week  Mr.  Brown  picked  out 
seven  other  boys  and  myself  to  go  to  City 
Point  to  help  bring  over  a  load  of  grain.  We  re- 
ported to  Mr.  Ferguson  on  the  steamer  and 
started  for  City    Point. 

We  got  there  before  the  team  had  come. 
When  it  did  arrive  it  did  not  take  long  to  load 
the  grain  because  there  were  only  34  bags.  But 
there  was  still  another  team  coming  with  80  bags. 
We  loaded  the  bow,  inside  the  cabin,  and  the 
stern  deck.  All  of  it  could  not  be  taken  in  one 
load,  so  some  was  left  in  the  locker  to  be  taken 
in  another  trip. 

We  crossed  the  harbor  and  when  about  50 
feet  from  the  Wharf  the  signal  was  blown  for 
freight,  one  long  blast  and  one  short. 

We  landed  at  the  stone  dock.  After  the 
grain  was  all  off  we  started  back  to  City  Point. 
There  was  not  quite  so  much  this  time  so  it 
was  loaded  just  on  the  decks.  Returning  the 
second  time  we  unloaded  at  the  same  place. 
Then  the  steamer  was  put  at  the  north  side  float 
where  it  usually  lies  and  we  went  to  school. 
Alexander  McKenzie 

Risforlcal  Anecdote 

Lately  we  have  been  studying  about  Ex- 
President  Andrew  Jackson.  History  tells  us 
one  interesting  incident  about  his  boyhood. 
During  the  Revolution,  Jackson,  then  fourteen, 
was  a  prisoner  in  a  British  camp.  One  of  the 
commanding  officers  ordered  him  to  clean  his 
boots.  Young  Jackson  refused,  saying  that  he 
was  prisoner  of  war  and  therefore  he  was  not  to 
perform  such  acts  of  drudgery.  The  officer  in 
a  great  rage  lifted  his  sword  and  hit  him  on  the 
forehead  and  arm.  Jackson  carried  these  scars 
to  his  grave. 

George  E.  Russell 


Base  Ball  €up$ 

One  Thursday  evening  recently,  before 
motion  pictures,  Mr.  Bradley  came  into  the 
Assembly  Hall  with  a  big  box  under  his  arm. 
The  boys  all  knew  that  it  contained  the  base- 
ball shield  and  cups  given  by  one  of  our  mana- 
gers, Mr.  S.  V.  R.  Crosby.  Mr.  Crosby  has 
given  these  cups  for  a  long  time  and  says,  "1 
will  keep  it  up." 

The  cups  and  shield  are  quite  expensive. 
The  boys  that  receive  a  cup  are  made  quite 
happy  for  these  are  given  as  a  reward  for  fair 
play,  good  spirit,    and  square  dealing. 

The  boys  who  received  the  cups  are  as 
follows: 

Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard,     Pitcher 
Daniel  E.  Smith,     Catcher 
Edward  J.  Robertson,      First  Base 
James  B.  Rouse,     Second  Base 
Ralph  MacC.  Rogers,    Third  Base 
Kenneth  E.  Kearns,     Short  Stop 
George  A.  Adams,      Left  Field 
Willis  M.  Smith,     Center  Field 
Ivers  E.  Winmill,      Right  Field 
Theodore  B.  Hadley,    Sub.  Pitcher 
Waldo  E.  Libby,     Sub.  Catcher 
William  T.  Marcus,    Sub.  Short  Stop 
Team  A    won    the    shield.     Luke    W.   B. 
Halfyard  was  the  captain  of  team  A. 

Russell  F.  Metcalf 

B  Queer  Ulbistle 

A  few  days  ago  I  heard  a  queer  whistle. 
At  first  1  thought  it  was  a  stray  cow,  so  I  asked 
a  boy  and  he  told  me  it  was  a  whistle  over  in 
Boston.  I  listened  a  minute  and  I  heard  it  again. 
He  listened  too.  "It  sounds  like  a  cow,  does'nt 
it?"  He  agreed  it  did.  It  fools  many  people. 
Charles  N.  Robbins 

Owls 

About  two  years  ago  there  was  only  one 
owl  on  our  Island,  now  there  are  from  four  to 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


five.  We  are  glad  to  have  so  many  because  they 
catch  the  rats.  These  owls  are  gray  and  brown. 
We  see  them  flying  around  in  the  day  time  esp- 
ecially on  a  dark  day  because  the  owls  can  see 
better  in  the  dark.  When  we  come  across  a  rat 
half  eaten  we  know  that  an  owl  has  killed  it. 
We  see  the  owls  on  the  South  End  of  the  Island 
more  often.  With  our  five  dogs  and  the  owls 
many  rats  meet  their  death. 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

m\m  out  m  €up$ 

Monday  night  we  went  up  to  the  Assembly 
Hall  to  listen  to  grade  reading.  The  boys  grades 
were  annouced  for  the  week.  Then  the  Shaw 
Conduct  prizes  and  Temple  Consolation  prizes 
were  given  out  and  later  the  Crosby  Football 
Cups  and  Shield,  so  called  because  they  are 
presented  by  Mr.  S.  V.  R.  Crosby,  one  of  our 
Managers.  A  shield  is  given  to  the  winning 
team  in  baseball,  football  and  basketball.  The 
shield  was  won  by  team  C  whose  captain  was 
James  B.  Rouse.  A  cup  is  given  to  the  best 
player  in  that  position  in  which  he  plays.  Boys 
who  received  cups  are  as  follows: 

Ernest  J.  Olson     Right  End 
Eric  O.  Schippers     Right  Tackle 
Mahlon  H.  Montieth     Right  Guard 
Theodore  B.  Hadley     Center 
Desmond  Anderson     Left  Guard 
John  H.  Schippers     Left  tackle 
George  D.  Russell     Left  End 
Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard     Quarter  Back 
John  M.  Ely     Left  Half  Back 
James  B.  Rouse     Full  Back 
Ralph  M.  Rogers     Right  Half  Back 
Kenneth  E.  Kearns     Sub.  Right  End 
Ivers  E.  Winmill     Sub.  Center 
Kenneth  L  Drown    S.  Left  Half  Back 

Philip  F.  Leary 

Decoratiitd  m  Jlsscmbly  f)H\\ 

As  we  were  to  celebrate  Mr.  Bradley's  birth- 
day the  evening  before,  on  February  12,  we  v/ish- 
ed  to  have  the  Assembly  Hall  appropriately  de- 
corated. So  Friday  afternoon  the  first  class 
officers  began  decorating.     As  Lincoln's  Birth- 


day is  one  day  before  Mr.  Bradley's  we  thought 
we  would  use  the  patriotic  colors  red,  white  and 
blue,  as  well  as  the  blue  and  gold  School  colors. 
We  got  flags  and  crepe  paper  from  the  loft  and 
pennants  from  the  clothing  room.  Three  flags 
were  attached  to  each  light,  and  red,  white  and 
blue  crepe  paper  was  strung  across  from  light  to 
light.  Most  of  the  large  pictures  were  decorated 
with  flags,  and  blue  and  gold  scarfs.  The  win- 
dows also  were  decorated  with  blue  and  gold 
pennants  and  in  the  middle  of  the  lower  part  of 
each  window  there  was  put  an  eagle.  Abraham 
Lincoln's  picture  was  taken  from  the  wall  and 
put  on  a  large  easel,  and  a  large  American  flag 
was  wrapped  around  it.  At  the  further  end  of 
the  hall  were  three  flags  in  a  group,  on  one  side 
was  the  School  colors  on  the  other  side  was  the 
Massachusetts  flag  and  in  the  center  was  the 
American  flag.  There  were  various  kinds  of 
plants  on  the  window  sills,  and  a  tall  rubber  plant 
on  each  side  of  the  entrance.  The  decorations 
fitted  the  occasion  very  well  and  added  much  to 
a  pleasant  occasion.  James  B.  Rouse 

PolisDing  a  Tloor 

Some  times  when  I  finish  my  regular  work 
I  polish  one  of  the  floors  I  have  to  keep  clean. 
I  usually  do  this  on  Tuesdays.  The  first  thing 
I  do  is  to  get  a  pail  of  water  and  wipe  the  floor. 
Then  1  put  some  wax  on  the  floor  after  it  is  dry. 
When  that  is  done  I  take  a  weight  and  polish  it. 
After  15  minutes  I  put  a  cloth  under  the  weight 
and  go  over  the  floor  for  another  15  minutes. 
When  this  is  done  I  put  my  things  away  and  I 
am  all  finished.  Chester  W.  Buchan 

B  Queer  Iiappcnins 

One  day  two  other  boys  and  myself  were 
walking  along  the  beach.  I  noticed  an  extra 
large  billow  coming  in.  I  did  not  say  anything 
to  the  other  boys  about  it,  but  they  noticed  it 
also.  When  about  20  feet  out  in  the  water  it 
broke.  At  first  I  was  surprised  for  a  wave  as  big 
as  an  ocean  wave  broke  on  our  beach.  I  looked 
for  more  but  could  see  none. 

George  A.  Adams 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Cbompson's  Tsland  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS   OF  LIMITED 
MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 
TUITION  FEES   AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol.  24.    No.  10. 


February,  192: 


Subscription  Price 


50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 
Charles  E.  Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

Karl  Adams 

Gorham  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George  L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.  Evans 
Fred  T.  Field 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 
Alden  B.  Heeler 

Henry  Jackson,   M.   D. 
Matt  B.  Jones 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 

Richard  B.  Wigglesworth 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.  Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


There  are  many  not  suffering  from  sleep- 
ing sickness  who  can  be  said  to  be  sleeping 
their  lives  away.  Their  true  selves  are  asleep, 
because  of  the  lack  of  a  vital  vision.  They  have 
never  yet  had  a  living,  definite  aim  in  life,  that 
would  spur  them  and  call  them  into  action. 

Without  a  fixed  purpose,  the  man  is  like  a 
horse  that  is  tied  to  a  tree;  he  moves  but  never 
advances  to  fresh  fields  and  new  attainments. 

Let  us  note  the  difference  between  a  wish 
and  an  aim  in  life.  The  person  who  wishes 
merely  taps  with  a  cane  the  rock  that  blocks 
his  progress,  while  he  who  has  a  vital  purpose 
drills  the  rock,  then  blasts  it,  and  goes  on  to  his 
goal. 

The  basketball  team,  whose  members  have 
made  it  a  real,  definite  aim  to  get  the  shield, 
will  be  the  winning  team.  The  reason  is  that 
their  determination,  which  comes  as  a  result  of 
their  purpose,  carries  them  through  the  games. 
The  captain  suggests  that  they  have  some  prac- 
tice work,  and  so  the  whole  team  lays  aside  the 
little  things  they  are  doing  intheir  free  time,  and 
takes  up  the  big  thing.  There  is  no  complaint 
because  they  feel  the  vision,  they  see  their  goal, 
the  shield  and  the  cup. 

Value  of  the  aim  in  school  life  is  that  it 
organizes  our  forces.  We  know  that  the  mob 
life  in  the  mental  area  is  useless  against  an  or- 
ganized mind.  The  steam  in  the  boiler  of  the 
Pilgrim  is  of  no  use  until  it  is  directed  to  the  en- 
gine. It  is  then  the  engine  has  the  chance 
to  do  its  work.  So  our  aim  in  life  is  a  force 
which  organizes  the  steam  of  our  energies, 
and  by  it  we  are  driven  toward  cur  goal.  Our 
brains,  hand  and  heart  will  unite  in  the  for- 
ward drive. 

Let  not  the  fear  of  failure  cause  us  to  aim 
low.     To    aim    low    is    a  'crime.     To-day    the 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


world  is  calling  out  for  leaders,  and  will  continue 
to  need  them  for  many  years  to  come.  The 
men  must  have  strong,  noble  aims,  with  a  clear 
vision,  and  a  willingness  to  serve  their  God  and 
their  Country. 

Mark  those  in  school  who  have  an  aim  in 
life,  for  they  are  the  ones  who  will  be  respected, 
loved  and  remembered  long  after  they  have  left 
the  School. 

The  bell  finishes  calling  the  boys  into  the 
class  room.  We  wonder  how  many  of  them, 
as  they  enter  the  room,  know  that  they  are  in  a 
place  that  is  lovingly  remembered  by  many  an 
"old  boy,"  because  the  class  room  has  been  the 
birth  place  of  many  a  life's  vision.  Life  took  on 
a  new  meaning  to  them  then,  and  they  no  long- 
er drifted.  The  Island  School  became  an  object 
of  love,  because  it  was  the  mother  of  their  ideal 
and  aim. 

We  do  love  thee.  Island  School, 

For  thou  did'st  give  our  vision  bright. 

May  thy  class  rooms  ever  be 

The  source  of  wisdom,  strength  and  light. 

Now  let  us  look  at  this  matter  squarely;  are 
we  getting  the  most  out  of  our  classes  or  our 
work?  In  a  word  have  we  an  aim?  If  not,  why 
not  acquire  one?  This  does  not  mean  to  adopt 
an  aim  for  a  fad,  half-heartedly  or  for  the  mo- 
ment, because  it  may  seem  the  correct  thing  to 
do.  Being  convinced  that  to  have  an  aim  is 
necessary  to  a  healthy  attitude  of  mind,  and  in 
order  to  accomplish  worth-while  results,  let  us 
consider  what  we  really  would  like  to  aim  for — 
not  forgetting  what  our  special  abilities  may  be. 
Then,  no  matter  how  high  the  aim  we  have  dis- 
covered for  ourselves  . —  the  higher  the  better — 
we  may  begin  at  once  to  mold  our  lives  along 
this  new  line.  At  first  it  may  seem  our  results 
are  poor,  but  if  we  keep  our  purpose  in  mind  and 


work  for  its  accomplishment,  an  improvement 
must  be  achieved,  perhaps  more  noticable  to 
those  around  us  than  to  ourselves.  Looking 
back,  we  see  that  happy  as  we  formerly  might 
have  been,  now  with  an  object  in  mind  for 
which  to  work,  life  has  acquired  a  new  meaning 
for  us;  it  became  enriched  by  new  interests; 
through  the  dull  or  the  brightly  woven  cloth  of 
our  daily  life  runs  the  silver  threads  of  our  shin- 
ing dreams. 

Calendar 

Jan.  I  Norman  F.  Farmer,  '20,  here  for 
New  Year's  and  over  Sunday. 

Alfred  A.  Pickets,  '19,  left  the  School,  and 
went  to  work  with  his  father.  His  address  is 
64  Robbins  St.,  Waltham,  Mass. 

Jan.  3  Running  manure  spreader,  draw- 
ing gravel  and  wood. 

Jan.  4  Dancing  m  the  evening  to  take 
the  place  of  a  New  Year's  Eve  party. 

Jan.  6     Seven  boys  to  the  dentist. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Jan.  8     Working  on  wood-pile. 

Jan.    1  1      First  grade  party  in  the  evening. 

Jan.  12  Annual  Dinner  of  the  Alumni 
Association  held  at  the  Bsllevue  Hotel.  Pre- 
sent from  the  School,  Mr.  Bradley  with  Mr. 
Brown,  and  graduates  Elwin  C.  Bemis,  '16, 
Malcolm  E.  Cameron,  '19,  and  James  A. 
Carson,  '20. 

Jan.  13  Seven  boys  went  to  see  the  den- 
tist. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Jan.  15  Basket-ball  games  for  1920-1921 
started. 

Pruning  in  young  orchard. 

Jan.    18     First  grade  party  in  the  evening. 

Jan.    1 9     Three  boys  sent  to  see  the  oculist. 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


Jan.  20  Four  boys,  the  last  group  need- 
ing attention,  sent  to  the  dentist's. 

Motion  pictures  in  the  evening. 

Dressed  pig,  weighing  246  lbs. 

Jan.  21  Two  boys  sent  second  time  to 
see  the  oculist. 

Jan.  25  Annual  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Managers. 

Three  new  managers  elected,  Mr.  Fred  T. 
Field,  Mr.  M.  B.  Jones  and  Mr.  Richard  B. 
Wigglesworth. 

Mr.  Karl  Adams,  elected  at  December 
meeting,  present  for  first  time. 

First  grade  party  in  the  evening. 

Jan.  27     Motion  pictures  in  the    evening. 

Jan.  28  Drawing  gravel,  and  sawing  wood; 
pruning  apple  trees. 

Jan.  29  Manager  Charles  P.  Curtis  here, 
and  spoke  to  boys  about  his  African  hunting  trip. 

Jan.  31  The  Shaw  Conduct  Prizes,  and 
the  Temple  Consolation  Prizes,  also  the  Crosby 
Football  Shield  and  Cups  given  out  after  grade 
reading. 

Calcnaar  so  Vcars  Jlgo  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

Jan.  1  Ushers  in  another  year.  May  it 
prove  what  we  term  it,  a  "Happy  New  Year." 
May  we  strive  to  make  it  profitable  to  ourselves 
and  others  in  all  respects.  May  we  ask  and 
strive  for  that  wisdom  which  is  profitable  to  di- 
rect, especially  in  the  way  of  goodness. 

Jan.   2     Still  cold.     Ice  all  around  us. 

Jan.  10  Started  at  8:00  o'clock  to  carry 
annual  report  to  city.  Went  across  the  ice  to 
North  Quincy,  taking  cars  at  Atlantic  station,  at 
8:45.  Returning,  arrived  home  at  12:30  same 
way. 

Jan.    l5     The  ice  nearly  all  out  of  harbor. 

Jan.  20  Lovely  day.  Three  girls  and  one 
teacher  went  to  city  returning  at  8:00  o'clock 
eve. 

Jan.  22  Weather  changing  to  cold  very 
fast. 

Jan.  24     Cold,    remained     at    heme    and 


tried  to  make  everybody  comfortable. 

Jan.  26  Went  straight  across  the  ice 
to  Mr.  Reed's,  (Squantum)  got  his  horse 
and  went  to  Neponset  and  took  cars  for  town. 
Came  out    at  1  o'clock  in  a  real  snow  storm. 

Jan.  27  Still  very  cold  and  windy  with  a 
heavy  body  of  snow  on  the  ground.  Snowed  in 
all  round. 

Jan.  29     More  snow  nearly  all  day. 

Jan.  A  beautiful  day  overhead,  thawing  in 
sun.  No  one  over  today — to  much  ice  and 
snow  in  the  way. 

January  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  56°  on    the    5th. 

Minimum  Temperature  1^ on  the   25th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  13°. 

Total  precipitation  1.78  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .83  in- 
ches on  the  1 4th  and  15th. 

Five  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
atition,  15  clear  days.  9  partly  cloudy,  7  cloudy. 

Cbe  Tarm  and  trades  School  Bank 

Cash  on  hand   Jan.    1,   1921  $856.39 

Deposited  during  the  month  99.74 

$956.13 
Withdrawn  during  the  month  97.70 

Cash  on  hand  Feb.  1,  1921  $858.43 

my  eift  from  rbe  School 

As  a  gift  from  the  School  last  Christmas 
several  of  the  boys  received  a  year's  subscrip- 
tion to  either  of  these  magazines,  the  American 
Boy.  Boys'  Life,  and  Popular  Mechanics.  As  1 
like  the  American  Boy  best  1  chose  that  maga- 
zine. It  is  full  of  stories  of  adventure  and  hu- 
mor When  1  finish  mine  I  usually  trade  it  for 
a  Boys'  Life,  which  is  also  a  very  good  maga- 
zine. In  this  way  I  have  the  advantage  of  read 
ing  two  good  magazines  each  month. 

Clifton  E.  Ai.bee 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


Continued  from  page  8 

five 

boys  who  are  next  in  grade  receive    honor- 

Adams.   Arthur 

Ellis,  Merton  P. 

able 

mention. 

Adams.  Karl 

Emery,  Claire  R. 

The  money  prizes  are   given   by    Manager 

DeBlois.  George  L. 

er.  Ernest  B. 

Francis 

Shaw,  and  the    consolation    prizes    are 

Evans,  Thomas  J. 

Fearing,  Arthur  D. 

give 

n  by 

Manager  N.  Penrose  Hailowell. 

Foster.  Walter  B. 

Fearing,  Frederick  P. 

Gardiner,  Robert  H..  Jr. 

Graham.  James  H. 

Shaw  Prizes 

Hefler.  Alden  B. 

Graves.   Leslie  W. 

1 

John  M.  Ely,  Jr. 

Jackson,  Henry- 

Herman,  Walter 

2 

James  B.  Rouse 

Mason,  Charles  E, 

Holman,  Solomon  B. 

3 

Edward  J.  Robertson 

Sears,  Philip  S. 
Williams,  Ralph  B. 

Howard,  Otis  M. 
Jefferson.  R.   Cha'-les 

4 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 

Bradley,  Charles  H. 

Lochrie,  Howard  F. 

5 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin 

Brown,  Clyde  F. 

Lombad,  Frank  L 

6 

David  E.  Long 

Dix,  Almah  L. 

Loud,  Clarence  W. 

7 

Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard 

Alcott,  George  J. 

MacPherson,  Donald  S. 

8 

Harold  B.  Buchan 

Alcott,  Roger  E 

Malm,  Alfred  C. 

9 

Malcolm  E,  Cameron 

Angell,  Wesley  C. 

Matthews,  Charles  W. 

10 

Arthur  W.  Gaunt 

Adams.  Russell  A. 

Moore,  Edward  A. 

Bell,  George  L. 

Morrison,  William  P. 

Temple  Consolation  Prizes 

Bell,  Richard 

Morse.  William  A. 

1 

Clarence  H.  Colburn 

Bemis.  Elwin  C. 

Moss.  Norman 

2 

William  T.  Marcus 

Blakeley,  Frederick  F. 

Norwood.  Walter  D. 

3 

John  Goodhue,  Jr. 

Bridgham,  Charles  H. 
Brown,  Thomas  R. 

Noyes.  Warren  F. 
Oberlander,  James 

4 

Ivers  E.  Winmill 

Buchan.  George 

Pendergast,  Joseph  L. 

5 

Ernest  J.  Olson 

Buettner,  Louis  C. 

Piercy,  Frederick  W. 

Honorable  Mention 

Carson,  James  A. 

Robinson,  Joseph  C. 

1 

Eric  0.  Schippers 

Cameron,  Malcolm  E. 

Sargent.  John  M. 

2 

Kenneth  E.  Kearns 

Capaul,  Edward 

Sears.  Clifton  H. 

Clarke,  William  S. 

Simpson.  John  J. 

3 

Osmond  W.   Bursiel 

Cobb,  Lawrence  M. 

Slmger.  John  L. 

4 

Frank  A.  Robbins 

Conklin,  John    J. 

Spear.  Charles  F. 

5 

Ralph  M.  Rogers 

Darling,  Norman  W. 

Stackpole.  S.  Gordon 

Chester  W.  Buchan 

Davis,  William  F. 

Thayer,  Frederick  P. 

Duncan,  Charles 

Wallace.  Frank  W. 

CDC  new  Boys 

Ellis,  Donald  W. 

Washburn,  Francis  L. 

Conduct  Prizes 

On  Monday  evening,  January  31,  we 
marched  to  the  Assembly  Hall  where  the  grade 
for  the  last  week  was  read.  Then  the  grade 
and  consolation  prizes  were  given  out.  Other 
boys  received  honorable  mention.  These  prizes 
are  given  out  every  six  months  to  the  boys  who 
have  stood  highest  in  their  conduct. 

The  boy  that  has  had  the  fewest  marks 
against  his  name  get  first  prize  and  so  on  down 
to  the  tenth  prize.  These  prizes  consist  of 
money.  The  Consolation  prizes  are  books  and 
are  the  1  1th  to  the  15th  prizes  inclusive.     The 


When  a  group  of  new  boys  come  to  our 
Island  the  boys  here  are  always  somewhat  ex- 
cited. First  we  wonder  who  will  go  to  Boston 
to  help  escort  them  here.  We  call  the  new 
boys,  "New  Johnnies"  until  they  have  been  here 
six  months.  After  they  have  arrived,  eaten 
their  dinner,  had  their  bath,  etc.,  the  boys  crowd 
around  asking;  "Can  you  play  football?  What 
class  are  you  in?  Where  did  you  come  from?" 
A  group  of  new  boys  came  February  17.  Of 
course  they  were  asked  all  these  questions. 
After  a  while  the  newness  will  wear  off  and  we 
will  forget  they  are  "New  Johnnies." 

IvERs  E.  Winmill 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


tbe  JllutnnI  J1$$ociation  of  Cbe  farm  and  trades  School 


James  H.    Graham,  "77,  President 

Boston 

Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 

25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


Henry  A.  Fox,  '79.  Vice-President 
Allston 
Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Lawrence  M.  Cobb,  '14,  Vice-President 


Howard  F    Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 
West  Roxbury 


The  annual  meeting  of  the  Alumni  Asso- 
ciation was  held  on  Dec.  8,  at  the  New  Hotel 
Richwood.  Reports  of  officers  and  committees 
were  presented,  showing  a  busy  and  progressive 
year.  The  membership  was  reported  to  be  182, 
a  gain  of  27  for  the  year.  Fifteen  new  mem- 
bers were  elected  as  follows:  Harry  W.  Gould^ 
ex  '22,  Tilton  N.  H.,  Leonard  M.  Langton,  ex 
'18,  of  Greenfield,  David  B.  LeBrun  ex  '19,  of 
Salem,  Frank  I.  Lombard,  '97,  of  Boston, 
Norman  Moss,  '20,  of  Cambridge,  Frederick  E. 
Munich,  '20,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Arthur  J. 
Schaefer,  '  20,  of  Cambridge,  A.  Edward  Ren- 
quist,  '03,  of  Rhode  Island,  Clifton  H.  Sears,  '20 
of  Dennis,  Ellsworth  S.  Wiikins,  '17,  of  Dor- 
chester, and  Thomas  L.  Unwin,  '20,  of  Maiden. 

The  Alumni  Fund  was  reported  to  be 
$3475,  a  gain  of  $350  for  the  year.  A  resolu- 
tion on  the  death  of  Melvin  O.  Adams,  a  mem- 
ber of  the    Board  of    Managers,    was   adopted. 

Officers  for  the  new  year  were  elected  as 
follows:  President, 'James  H.  Graham,  '77,  of 
Boston,  Vice  President,  Henry  A.  Fox,  '79,  of 
Allston,  Vice  President,  Lawrence  M.  Cobb, 
'14,  of  Cambridge,  Secretary,  Merton  P.  Ellis, 
'99,  of  Mattapan,  Treasurer,  Richard  Bell  '73, 
Historian,  Howard  F.  Lochrie,  '16,  West  Rox- 
bury. 

Mr.  Bradley  was  present  and  the    following 
members  attended: 
Alcott,  William  Emery,  Claire  R. 

Bell,  Richard  Foster,  Walter  B. 

Blakeley,  Frederick  F.         Gilbert,  Ralph  H. 
Buchan,  George  Graham,  James  H. 

Capaul,  Edward  Howard,  Otis  M. 

Cobb,  Lawrence  M.  Lochrie,  Howard  F. 

Darling,  Norman  W.  Loud,  Clarence  W. 

Davis,  William  F.  Malm,  Alfred  C. 

Duncan,  Charles  Milne,  Theodore 

Ellis,  Merton  P.  Moore,  Edward  A. 


Morrison,  William  P.  Robinson,  Joseph  C. 

Moss.  Norman  Sargent,  John   M. 

Pendergast,  Joseph  L.  Schaefer,  Arthur  J. 

Riggs,  George  R.  Unwin,  Thomas  L. 

The  15th  annual  dinner  of  the  Alumni  As- 
sociation was  held  on  Jan.  12,  at  the  Hotel 
Bellevue,  and  in  point  of  attendance,  both  of 
members  of  the  Association  and  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  and  in  general  sociability,  it  proved  to 
be  one  of  the  happiest  occasions  in  the  history 
of  the  Association.  President  James  H.Graham 
escorted  President  Arthur  Adams  of  the  Board 
of  Managers  to  the  dinner,  and  gave  him  the 
place  of  honor  at  his  right  and  Secretary  Merton 
P.  Ellis  escorted  Superintendent  Charles  H. 
Bradley.  Other  members  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers were  escorted  by  members  of  the  Alumni 
Association  as  follows: 

Karl  Adams  by  Alfred  C.  Malm,  George 
L.  DeBlois  by  Clarence  W.  Loud,  Robert  H. 
Gardiner,  Jr.,  by  Charles  Duncan,  Dr.  Henry 
Jackson  by  Solomon  B.  Holman,  Charles  E. 
Mason  by  Walter  B.  Foster,  Philip  S.  Sears  by 
Alden  B.  Hefler,  and  Ralph  B.  Williams  by 
Thomas  J.  Evans. 

With  the  exception  of  the  head  table,  which 
was  quite  large,  the  party  was  set  around  a  num- 
ber of  small  tables,  which  greatly  added  to  the 
social  spirit  of  the  hour.  President  Graham 
spoke  interestingly  of  the  progress  of  the  school 
since  his  school  days  in  the  '70s.  President 
Adams  and  Superintendent  Bradley  spoke  of 
school  needs  and  purposes.  Others  who  were 
called  upon  for  reiTiarks  were  Arthur  D.  Fearing, 
Alden  B.  Hefler  and  William  F.  Davis. 

Following  is  the  list  of  those  who  attended 
the  dinner: 

Continued  on  page  7 


Vol.  24.  No.  11.  Printed  at  The    Farm  and   Trades   School    Boston,    Mass.   March,  1921 

Entered  November  23,   1903.  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16.   1874. 


Printiitd  Office  Equipment 

Among  the  various  educational  advantages 
offered  here  at  the  School,  is  our  well  equipped 
printing  office.  The  printing  office  is  in  the  first 
floor  of  Gardner  Hall  and  is  34  feet  7  inches 
long,  13  feet  6  inches  wide,  and  10  feet  high. 
At  one  end  of  the  room  are  two  presses.  One 
of  them  is  a  Colts  Armory  Universal,  this  is  the 
largest  press  and  the  one  on  which  the  Beacon 
is  printed,  and  other  jobs  that  are  too  large  in  size 
for  the  small  press.  This  press  takes  a  form 
14  X  22  inches  and  will  print  1500  impressions 
an  hour  at  full  speed,  1000  on  half,  and  600  on 
low.  The  other  press  is  a  Ben  Franklin  Gordon 
job  press  and  is  much  smaller,  handling  small 
jobs  such  as  cards,  envelopes,  etc.  This  press 
takes  a  form  8x12  inches  and  will  print  2500 
impressions  an  hour  at  full  speed,  1500  an  hour 
on  middle,  and  1200  on  low.  These  two  presses 
are  run  from  a  shaft,  the  power  being  supplied 
by  a  two  horse  power  electric  motor.  Should 
an  emergency  arise  there  is  a  five  horse  power 
gasoline  engine  that  could  take  the  place  of  the 
electric  motor. 

in  the  center  of  the  room  is  a  proof  press. 
This  is  used  to  take  proofs  of  the  Beacon  before 
it  is  "locked  up."  The  type  is  laid  on  the  press 
in  a  galley  and  inked  by  a  brayer.  The  pa- 
per is  then  dampened  and  laid  over  the  type. 
A  heavy  iron  roller  with  a  piece  of  felt  around  it 
is  rolled  over  the  paper,  thus  taking  the  im- 
pression. 


Also  in  the  center  of  the  room  next  to  the 
proof  press  is  the  stitcher.  This  machine  can 
do  both  saddle  and  fiat  work.  The  thickness  of 
the  stitch  is  regulated  by  turning  awheel  in  the 
back  of  the  machine  until  a  clamp  strikes  the 
work.  By  stepping  on  a  lever  with  the  foot  the 
machine  is  set  in  motion  and  will  take  one  stitch 
at  short  intervals. 

The  paper  cutter  plays  an  important  part  in 
our  work.  It  is  a  26  inch  Oswego  cutter.  The 
paper  when  placed  under  the  knife  is  clamped 
down  by  a  wheel  that  is  operated  from  the  top  of 
the  machine,  this  being  necessary  so  that  the 
paper  will  not  move  while  being  cut.  A  lever 
which  carries  the  blade  is  drawn  downwards  and 
cuts  the  paper.  We  buy  most  of  our  paper  cut 
to  17  x  22  inches  as  this  is  a  convenient  size 
to  handle. 

Another  interesting  machine  is  the  Sterl- 
ing. This  machine  is  operated  by  pressing  on 
a  treadle  with  the  foot.  There  are  different  sets 
that  can  be  attached  to  the  Sterling,  making  it 
a  very  useful  machine.  One  of  the  most  used 
attachments  is  the  puncher.  It  can  punch  holes 
from  one  eighth  of  an  inch  to  three  eighths  of  an 
inch.  Eyeleting  can  also  be  done  with  this  at- 
tachment. Another  attachment  is  for  round 
cornering  cards,  etc.,  and  still  another  for  per- 
forating. 

We  have  a  good  assortment  of  type  faces. 
The  most  used  is  the  10  point  Gushing,  which 
is  the  body  of    the    Beacon   and    the    10   point 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND    BEACON 


Bradley  used  for  the  headings.  There  are  many 
other  faces  such  as  the  Copperplate  Gothic  series 
running  from  six  point  number  21  to  24  point 
number  30,  the  Jenson  Series,  DeVinne  Series 
and  others.  Running  along  the  center  of  the 
room  are  four  single  stands  with  compartments 
for  12  cases  in  each  stand.  The  Gushing  cases 
and  a  few  others  are  kept  in  this  stand.  The 
rest  of  the  type  is  kept  in  Yankee  job  cases  in  a 
special  bench  at  the  end  of  the  room. 

A  good  supply  of  paper  is  kept  on  hand. 
This  is  kept  in  racks  running  along  the  side  of 
the  room.  We  have  a  good  assortment  of 
paper;  the  most  used  is  Warrens  Library  Text, 
on  which  the  Beacon  is  piinted.  Among  oth- 
er kinds  we  have  Old  Hampshire  Bond,  Mun- 
icipal Ledger,  Excelsior  Mills,  etc. 

With  this  equipment  we  are  able  to  do  the 
School's  printing,  including  the  Beacon,  and 
some  outside  work. 

1  think  that  the  Printing  Office  is  the  best 
place  on  our  Island  to  learn  to  be  quick  and  ac- 
curate. I  like  this  work  very  much  and  1  know 
it  will  help  me  to  know  about  it. 

IVERS   E.  WiNMILL 

(Ua$bington'$  Birtbday 

February  22,  this  year  came  on  Tuesday. 
The  boys  did  the  regular  work.  When  it  was 
finished,  some  started  shoveling  snow  by  the 
flagpole,  where  there  was  to  be  a  snow  fight  in 
the  afternoon.  There  were  two  trenches  dug 
about  10  feet  wide  and  160  feet  long  and  run 
parallel  with  each  other  about  120  feet  apart; 
these  trenches  were  to  be  the  forts.  Bags 
were  placed  half  way  between  the  two  forts. 
The  object  of  the  game  was  for  one  side  to  rush 
out  and  capture  the  bags  and  bring  them 
into  their  opponents'  fort  and  keep  them  there 
till  the  end  of  the  period.  There  was  plenty 
of  face  washing  and  throwing  snowballs  so  it 
was  no  easy  task  to  keep  a  bag  in  the  fort 
after  you  got  it  there.  There  were  four 
periods  of  ten  minutes  each,  with  about  two 
minutes'    rest  in  between.     The  game  was  very 


lively  and  ended  with  the  Blues  ahead,  the  score 
being  360  to  200. 

The  victors  then  formed  in  line  and  with 
part  of  the  band  in  the  lead,  marched  around  to 
the  Stock  Room  where  the  trophy  was  presented, 
which  consisted  of  bananas,  and  mixed  cookies. 
The  procession  then  marched  around  the  building 
and  after  giving  three  cheers  for  the  losing  side 
we  went  up  to  the  Gymnasium  where  the  trophy 
was  divided.  The  officers  of  the  losing  side 
were  invited.  After  disposing  of  the  eatables, 
cheers  were  given  for  Manager  George  L. 
DeBlois,  who  was  visiting;  and  for  Mr,  Bradley. 
In  the  evening  there  was  dancing  for  those  that 
wished  to  go.  This  ended  a  very  successful  day. 
Robert  F.  Thompson 

Cleaning  Grain  Rooms 

One  morning  1  was  told  to  straighten  up 
the  north  and  south  grain  rooms  in  the  Stock 
Barn.  First  1  got  a  broom  and  went  up  in  the 
north  grain  room,  and  after  arranging  the  bags 
of  grain,  1  swept  the  floor  and  then  I  worked  in 
the  south  grain  room  for  the  rest  of  the  morn- 
ing. In  the  south  grain  room  1  sorted  some 
empty  bags.  I  took  the  bags  of  grain  that  were 
behind  the  door  out  into  the  middle  of  the 
room.  Next,  I  swept  behind  the  door  where 
the  grain  was  and  then  put  the  grain  back  there. 
1  gathered  up  the  good  grain  and  put  it  in  a  bag. 
After  that  I  swept  the  floor. 

Leander  E.   Dorey 

Hn  Entertainment 

On  March  8  when  we  came  out  from  dinner, 
Mr.  Brown  told  us  there  was  to  be  an  entertain- 
ment that  evening.  He  told  us  the  band  would 
play,  so  everybody  in  the  regular  band  went  down 
to  the  band  hall  to  prepare  for  ^yhat  selections  we 
were  to  play.  After  supper  we  shined  our  instru- 
ments and  took  them  to  the  Assembly  Hall  where 
the  entertainment  was  to  be  given.  At  7:30  we 
changed  our  clothes  and  went  to  the  hall.  The 
band  started  the  programme  by  playing  a  few 


THOMPSON'S   ISLAND    BEACON 


selections.  Then  Mrs.  Jackson,  Mr.  Bradley's 
niece,  sang.  We  enjoyed  her  singing  very 
much  especially  the  song  entitled  "Some  little 
bug  willgetyou,  if  you  don't  watch  out."  It  was 
very  funny.  Then  she  recited  some  poetry  and 
told  some  stories,  after  which  she  sang  "The 
Americans  have  come."  This  concluded  the 
programme.  Afterwards  dancing  was  enjoyed 
by  all  those  that  wanted  to  stay. 

Clarence  H.  Colburn 

mr.  Braaicfs  BirtDday 

Sunday,  February  13,  was  Mr.  Bradley's 
birthday  but  we  celebrated  it  on  Saturday.  The 
banquet  was  held  in  the  boys'  dining-room .  Long 
tables  were  erected  along  the  sides,  and  eastern 
end  of  the  room.  In  the  middle  was  a  table  for 
Mr. Bradley,  and  his  friends.  There  were  beau- 
tiful bouquets  of  flowers  on  the  tables,  and  a 
souvenir  beside  each  place.  Three  boys  acted 
as  waiters.  The  instructors  had  various  places 
at  the  tables.  At  6:30  P.  M  we  marched  into 
the  dining  room  and  sat  down,  and  after  Mr. 
Bradley  had  said  a  few  words  we  began  to  eat. 

About  the  middle  of  the  meal,  the  lights 
were  switched  off,  and  Mr.  Bradley's  birthday 
cake,  lighted  by  candles,  was  brought  in.  After 
Mr.  Bradley  had  thanked  us  for  the  cake,  Howard 
B.  Ellis  a  graduate,  and  band  instructor,  arose, 
and  presented  Mr.  Bradley  with  a  handsome 
bouquet  of  flowers  in  a  cut  glass  vase  from  the 
instructors.  About  8:00  we  arose  and  marched 
out.  The  dinner  consisted  of: 
Grapefruit 


Cold  Ham 
Cake 


Rolls 


Potato  Salad 
Ice  Cream 


Coffee 
After  the  banquet,  48  boys  took  kerosene 
torches,  and  had  a  torchlight  procession,  after- 
wards serenading  Mr.  Bradley.  At  about  9:00 
P.  M.  we  filed  to  the  Assembly  Hall  where  an 
entertainment  from  town,  provided  by  Mr. 
Bradley,  was  given.  This  consisted  of  musi- 
cal numbers  by  Signer  Pietro  Mordeglia  who 
played  a  piano  accordian  which  we  liked  very 
much,  also  humorous  pieces  by  Mr.  Clark,  and 
a  piano  accompanist. 


Before  the  dancing  began  a  boy  dressed  as 
a  messenger  boy  came  in  calling  for  Mr.  Bradley, 
and  presented  him  with  a  gift.  Messenger  boy 
followed  messenger  boy,  and  Mr.  Bradley  had 
quite  an  accumulation  of  presents,  including  two 
mahogany  tabourets  presented  him  by  the  sloyd 
room  and  shop.  The  musicians  played  for  danc- 
ing afterwards,  and  hebed  made  a  good  ending 
for  a  very  merry  evening. 

We  had  a  fine  time  and  wish  Mr.  Bradley 
many  more  happy  birthdays. 

Cyrus  W.  Durgin 

B  memory  Selection 

The  members  of  the  first  class  have  mem- 
orized a  portion  of  a  speech  made  by  Vice- 
President  elect  Calvin  Coolidge  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  September  1,  1919.  The  selec- 
tion is  as  follows: 

"Happily  the  day  of  the  call  to  fight  or  die 
is  now  past.  But  the  day  when  it  is  the  duty  of 
all  Americans  to  work  will  remain  forever. 
Our  great  need  now  is  more  of  everything,  for 
everybody.  It  is  not  money  that  the  nation  or 
the  world  needs  today,  but  the  products  of 
labor.  These  products  are  to  be  secured  only 
through  the  united  efforts  of  the  entire  people. 
The  trained  business  man  and  the  humblest 
workman  must  each  contribute.  All  of  us  must 
work  and  in  that  work  there  should  be  no  inter- 
ruption." 

"There  must  be  more  food,  more  clothing, 
more  shelter.  The  directors  of  industry  must 
direct  it  more  efficiently,  the  workers  of  industry 
must  work  in  it  more  efficiently.  Such  a 
course  saved  us  in  war,  only  such  a  course  can 
preserve  us  in  peace.  The  power  to  preserve 
America,  with  all  that  it  now  means  to  the 
world,  all  the  great  hope  that  it  holds  for 
humanity,  lies  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 
Talents  and  opportunity  exist.  Application  only, 
is  uncertain.  May  Labor  Day  declare  with  an 
increased  emphasis  the  resolution  of  all  Ameri- 
cans to  work  for  America." 

Ralph  MacC.  Rogers 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND    BEACON 


Cbompson's  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A    PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS   OF  LIMITED 

MEANS.  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES  AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol.   24.    No.  11. 


March,  192 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

Charles  E.  Mason 

treasurer 

N.   Penrose  Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

Karl  Adams 

Gorham  Brooks 
1.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.   R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George   L.   DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Fred  T.  Field 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 

Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.   D. 
Matt  B.  Jones 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 

Richard  B.  Wigglesworth 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


Mr.  Thomas  A.  Edison  has  said  that  the 
average  person's  brain  does  not  observe  one 
thousandth  part  of  what  the  eye  observes.  The 
brain  simply  does  not  register  the  things  which 
come  before  the  eye.  The  brain,  like  any  other 
member  of  the  body,  will  become  useless  by 
disuse,  and  the  only  exercise  for  it  is  thinking 
or  reasoning.  Mr.  Edison  goes  further  and 
places  the  blame  for  this  tragic  lack  in  education 
on  the  teachers  and  authorities  of  schools  and 
colleges.  There  is  too  much  rote  learning  and 
theory  without  the  practical  work. 

Mr.  Edison  has  voiced  the  opinion  which 
seems  to  be  becoming  generally  felt  by  educa- 
tors, and,  in  fact,  it  was  to  overcome  just  such 
a  lack  that  the  founders  of  The  Farm  and  Trades 
School  arranged  a  system  which  has  proved  ef- 
ficient for  so  many  years.  Here  the  practical 
goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  text-book  and  school 
room  work.  Yet,  any  system  however  perfect 
must  have  forethought  and  push  back  of  it. 
With  a  half  day  in  the  school-room  and  a  half 
day  of  work  we  find  many  problems  to  solve 
outside  of  mathematics.  Every  problem  care- 
fully thought  out  and  successfully  solved,  every 
difficulty  cheerfully  surmounted,  adds  so  much 
brain  power. 

Whether  it  is  painting  a  cottage,  feeding 
wild  ducks,  planing  a  piece  of  wood,  forging  a 
bolt,  baking  bread,  scrubbing  a  floor,  or  mending 
a  coat,  judgment  must  be  exercised  if  it  is  to 
be  well  done.  Good  judgment  is  acquired  by 
experience  in  thinking  and  doing  things. 

We  do  not  long  remain  acquainted  with 
physical  laziness  at  The  Farm  and  Trades 
School,  and  we  equally  dislike  its  boon  com- 
panion, mental  laziness.  It  is  work  to  think,  to 
reason  or  puzzle  out  knotty  problems,  which 
arise  each  day.  The  temporary  reward  is  their 
perfect  solution,  but  we  agree  with    Mr.    Edison 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


that  the  great  reward  lies  in  development  of 
brain  power.  A  keen  mind  trained  in  right 
thinking  is  the  greatest  gift  any  man  can  bestow 
on  his  generation.  In  fact,  it  is  all  that  distin- 
guishes one  person  from  his  fellows.  But  for 
concentration  of  mind,  this  generation  would 
never  have  known  Thomas  Edison,  Alexander 
G.  Bell,  or  Marconi.  In  that  case  we  might  be 
without  electric  lights,  phonographs,  telephones, 
wireless  and  other  inventions  which  have  revolu- 
tionized our  world.  What  progress  the  world 
might  make  if  every  individual  trained  himself 
to  use  his  brain  to  its  fullest  capacity! 

The  aim  of  education  is  to  produce  a  self- 
reliant  person  whose  three-fold  nature,  mental, 
moral  and  physical,  is  well-balanced  with  self 
control.  True  the  means  employed  lie  in  the 
hands  of  educators  to  a  large  extent.  The  root 
word  of  education,  educo,  means  to  draw  out. 
Sometimes  we  think  leaders  a  better  word  for 
educators  than  teachers,  for  we  really  develop 
the  embryo  man  rather  than  fill  him  with  facts. 
To  use  the  words  of  another,  we  aim  to  reveal 
him  to  himself,  that  he  may  become  adapted 
to  live  in  his  particular  world. 

Someone  has  said  there  is  no  expedient  to 
which  a  man  will  not  resort  to  avoid  the  real 
labor  of  thinking.  We  shall  be  happy  indeed 
when,  instead,  we  hear  the  majority  say  there  is 
no  greater  joy  to  be  found  in  the  world  than  the 
labor  of  thinking.  True,  we  can't  all  think  the 
thoughts  of  an  Edison,  Bell,  or  a  Marconi,  but 
we  can  give  our  best  effort  and  concentration  to 
our  line  of  work,  thus  helping  the  progress  of  the 
world. 

Calendar 

Feb.  1  Man  from  insurance  company 
here  inspecting  boilers. 


Feb.  2  Killed  cow  number  150,  weighing 
463  lbs. 

Feb.  7  Man  heie  putting  addressograph 
in  order. 

Feb.  9  Set  up  horse  power  to  exercise 
the  bull.  Golden  Secret's  Memento. 

Twenty-two  boys  and  six  instructors  went 
to  White  Church,  in  Dorchester  to  hear  a  con- 
cert given  by  the  band  there,  conducted  by 
graduate  Howard  B.  Ellis. 

Feb.  12  Birthday  party  for  Mr.  Bradley 
in  the  evening. 

Supper  for  all  in  boys'  dining-room. 
Torchlight  procession  by  50  boys.  Entertain- 
ment afterwards,  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  by 
Herbert  A.  Clark,  impersonator;  Signo  Pietro 
Mordeglia,  piano  accordian,  player,  with  piano 
accompanist.  A  number  of  gifts  presented  to 
Mr.  Bradley.  The  evening  ended  with  dancing. 
Feb.  13  Mr.  Bemis  showed  slides  he 
had  made  from  pictures  of  the  activities  on  the 
Island. 

Feb.  16  Putting  wire  around  young  trees. 
Feb.  17  Admission  Meeting.  The  fol- 
lowing boys  were  admitted:  John  Albert  Ark- 
erson,  Alexander  Young  Davison,  Norman  Tobey 
Howes,  Seymour  Calvin  McFadyen,  Ralph. 
Irving  Swan,  Irving  Eugene  Thomas,  and  Stan- 
ley Barker  Willmore. 

Donald  W.  Ellis,  '20,  came  to  spend  a  few 
days  at  the  School. 

Pruning  young  oaks. 

Feb.  18  Cleaning  beach.  Finished  prun- 
ing oaks. 

Feb.  19  ■  Drawing  seaweed  to  the  inciner- 
ator. 

Feb.  22  Snow-ball  battle  between  the 
Blue,  with  captain  Daniel  E.  Smith,  and  the  Gold, 
with  captain,  Luke  W.  B.  Halfyard.  The  battle 
won  by  the  Blue. 

Manager  George  L.  DeBlois  here,  also  grad- 
uates Merton  P.  Ellis,  '97.  George  Buchan,  '97, 
John  M.  Marshall,  '98,  and  wife,  and  Fred  H. 
Fleet,  ex  '21. 

Feb.  24  Entertainment  in  the  evening 
given  by  Gordon    Bible    students,    through    the 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


kindness  of  Mr.  Bonny. 

Dressed  hog  weighing  270  pounds. 

Feb.  25  Dr.  Dyer,  from  the  Board  of 
Health,  here  to  examine  animals  and  their  hous- 
ing conditions.  He  pronounced  all  to  be  in  good 
condition. 

Sorting  potatoes  and  carrots  at  Root  Cellar. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  H90 1$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

Feb.  10  It  being  my  46  birthday,  gave  the 
boys  play  and  a  general  good  time.  Gave  them 
roast  veal,  pumpkin  pie,  cakes  and  corn  balls. 

Feb.  17  Mr.  (E.  W.)  Kinsley  gave  a  very 
interesting  account  of  his  recent  trip  to  California 
over  the  Pacific  R.  R.,  illustrating  his  narrative 
with  numerous  and  beautiful  views. 

February  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  57°  on    the    5th. 

Minimum  Temperature  T  on  the  2 1st. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  37°. 

Total  precipitation  2.26  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  1.18 
inches  on  the  21st. 

Four  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 1  1  clear  days.  1  1  partly  cloudy.  6  cloudy. 

Cfte  Tarm  and  trades  ScDool  BanR 

Cash  on  hand    Feb.    1.   1921  $858.43 

Deposited  during  the  month 


78.46 


Withdrawn  during  the  month 
Cash  on  hand  Mar.  1,  1921 


$936.89 
49.56 

$887.33 


Cbe  Dorchester  Band 

On  February  9,  twenty-two  of  the  boys  who 
play  in  our  band  were  invited  to  attend  a  band 
concert  in  Dorchester.  The  concert  was  given 
by  the  Boys'  Band  of  the  Second  Congregational 
Church.  Mr.  Ellis,  our  band  instructor,  is  also 
instructor  of  this  band.  The  programme  opened 
with  the  march  Alamo.     When  the  band  was  rest- 


ing, one  of  the  boys  presented  a  baton  to  Mr.  Ellis 
in  behalf  of  the  boys  who  had  just  been  playing. 
The  concert  closed  with  the  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner. We  enjoyed  the  trip  and  music  very  much. 
Eric  0.  Schippers 

Hn  Entertainment 

On  Thursday,  February  24,  Mr.  Bonny,  our 
minister,  brought  some  of  his  friends  here  who 
entertained  us  in  the  Assembly  Hall.  They  were 
students  from  the  Gordon  Bible  College,  where 
he  attends  school.  The  programme  consisted  of 
solos,  quartettes  and  speaking.  One  of  the 
students  played  some  pieces  on  the  piano  and  the 
boys  joined  in  and  sang  pieces. 

We  went  to  bed  after  enjoying  a  very 
pleasant  evening,  and  we  thank  the  students  and 
Mr.  Bonny  for  giving  us  such  a  good  time. 

Theodore  B.  Hadley 

pictures  of  Cincoln 

In  the  first  school  room  there  are  four  pict- 
ures about  Lincoln.  One  of  them  is  a  picture 
of  his  birthplace.  It  is  a  little  log  cabin  with  a 
great  wide  chimney,  a  small  window,  and  a  door. 
The  next  two  are  of  himself.  One  was  taken 
when  he  was  a  lawyer  and  the  other  when  he 
was  President.  The  last  one  is  entitled,  "The 
First  Reading  of  the  Emancipation  Proclama- 
tion." In  this  he  was  seated  with  his  cabinet. 
These  pictures  help  us  to  learn  about  this  great 
man  and  1  like  them  very  much. 

Charles  N.  Robbins 

mr.  VMCide 

One  Saturday  Mr.  Bonny  our  minister, 
brought  Mr.  Yucide,  one  of  his  friends  with  him. 
Mr.  Yucide  was  born  in  Central  India,  and  was 
brought  up  a  Mohammedan.  He  came  to  this 
country  a  short  time  ago  and  is  studying  the 
Gospel.  The  story  of  his  life  was  very  inter- 
esting. He  was  dressed  in  the  garb  that  is  worn 
by  the  Indians  of  Central  India.  We  enjoyed 
his  visit  and  hope  he  may  come  again. 

Frank  N.  Robbins 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


Sports 

When  the  afternoon  dining  room  and  kit- 
chen boys  get  their  work  done  they  play  basket 
ball.  There  are  two  captains  and  they  chose 
for  their  men.  After  all  the  men  are  chosen  we 
start  to  play.  In  real  games  we  play  accord- 
ing to  time,  but  in  the  little  make  up  games  we 
don't.  When  there  is  enough  snow  we  go  coast- 
ing. Sometimes  we  go  skating  over  on  the 
west  side.  First  graders  may  go  on  any  day,  on 
Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday  second  graders 
cannot  go,  third  graders  can  only  go  on  Satur- 
day and  fourth  graders  cannot  go  at  all.  When 
five  o'clock  comes  we  return  to  the  kitchen  or 
dining  room  to  work.  James  H.  Beattie 

Kattind 

One  afternoon  when  I  finished  my  work  in 
the  dining  room,  another  boy  and  myself  went  rat- 
ting with  the  dogs.  We  went  over  to  the  North 
End  where  we  got  three  rats,  two  out  of  one 
hole  and  one  out  of  another.  The  one  that  was 
by  himself  was  a  big  one.  It  took  us  quite  a 
while  to  dig  him  out.  The  dogs  fought  to  see 
which  one  would  catch  it.  Del  won  anyway. 
In  the  scrimmage  Del  bit  Deuce  and  Deuce 
went  around  the  field  barking;  finally  1  caught 
Deuce  and  the  other  boy  caught  Del  and  we 
got  them  back  to  friendship  again.  Then  we 
went  up  to   the  house. 

GuNNAR  E.  Anderson 

Cbc  Disbwasbcr 

Our  dishwasher  is  a  Blakeslee  washer.  It 
has  two  compartments,  one  for  the  washing  and 
one  for  rinsing.  There  are  seven  baskets  that 
the  dishes  are  put  into  while  being  washed. 
There  is  a  one  horse  power  motor  that  makes  a 
paddle  wheel  go  around  which  throws  the  water 
over  on  the  dishes.  The  baskets  are  left  in  the 
soapy  water  about  two  minutes;  they  are  then 
hoisted  out  and  lowered  into  the  boiling  hot  rins- 
ing water.  After  they  are  well  rinsed  they  are 
hoisted  out  and  wiped  dry.  1  like  to  run  the 
dishwasher  better  than  washing  the  dishes  by 
hand.  George  L.  Langill 


Wimm  Cantcrn  Slides 

Tuesday  night  1  had  the  privilege  of  helping 
to  make  some  lantern  slides.  The  developing 
solution  was  first  mixed;  this  consisted  of 
hydrochinon  powders.  Then  a  fixing  bath  was 
prepared  of  Eastman  granulated  hypo.  When 
the  trays  containing  the  formulas  were  ready, 
they  were  laid  in  a  row  in  this  order:  first  the  de- 
veloper, then  a  tray  of  clear  water  for  rinsing  and 
then  the  fixing  bath. 

When  all  was  ready  the  negatives  to  be 
made  into  a  slide  were  first  put  into  a  frame  un- 
der a  mask,  this  mask  giving  the  desired  size  of 
picture.  It  was  then  exposed  to  a  forty  watt 
mazda  lamp  at  the  distance  of  six  feet,  the  length 
of  time  varying  with  the  density  of  the  negative. 
It  was  then  taken  out  of  the  frame  and  put  into 
the  developer;  we  slide  it  in  vfery  quickly  so  as  to 
start  the  developer  equally  over  all  parts  of  the 
plates.  After  a  few  seconds  the  faintest  outline 
was  visible,  and  gradually  increased  until  the 
plate  was  sufficiently  developed.  It  was  quickly 
taken  out  of  this  solution  and  washed  in  clear 
water  and  then  immersed  in  the  fixing  bath  which 
turned  the  emulsion  from  a  milky  shade  to  black. 
After  remaining  in  the  fixing  bath  for  five  or  ten 
minutes,  it  was  put  in  still  another  tray  where 
clear  water  was  running.  This  was  to  wash  the 
plate.  It  was  sponged  with  a  piece  of  cotton 
and  put  it  in  a  cool  place  to  dry. 

When  the  plates  were  dry  they  were  mask- 
ed and  bound  with  a  piece  of  clear  glass  on  the 
emulsion  siae  of  the  plate,  so  as  to  prevent 
scratches  or  finger  marks  marring  the  picture. 
These  pictures  are  shown  to  the  boys,  who  enjoy 
them.  Charles  D.  Smith 


1)card  in  m  School  Room 

A  denominate  number  is  a  concrete  num- 
ber that  expresses  action. 

A  compound  number  is  a  denominate 
number  that  expresses  thought. 

An  archipelago  is  some  kind  of  an  animal. 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Cbe  fllumni  J!$$ociation  of  the  Jam  and  Crade$  School 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  President 

Bostor, 

Merton  p.  Ellis.  '97.  Secretary 

25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


Henry  A.  Fox.  '79.  Vice-President 
Allston 
Richard  Bell.  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Lawrence  M.  Cobb,   '14,  Vice-President 


Howard  F    Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 
West  Roxbury 


President  Graham  of  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion has  made  the  following  committee  appoint- 
ments: 

Alumni  Notes — William  Alcott  '84,   Elwin 

C.  Bemis '16,  William  A.   Morse  '76,   Edward 
Capaul  '05,  Joseph  C.  Robinson  '94. 

Auditing — Augustus  N.  Doe  '77,  George 
W.  E.  Byers  '87,  Alfred  C.  Malm  '01. 

Entertainment — William  F.  Davis  "79, 
Norman  W.  Darling '16,  Arthur  D.  Fearing  '84, 
Claire  R,  Emery  '13,  Clarence  W.  Loud  '96. 

Membership — Lawrence  W.  Cobb  '14, 
George  J.  Alcott  '80.  Louis  C.  Buettner  '91 
Ralph  H.  Gilbert  '16,  Walter   Herman  '79.   E. 

D.  W.' LeBlanc  '97,  Geoffrey  E.  Plunkett  '14. 

Nominating — Thomas  J.  Evens '64,  Walter 
B.  Foster  '78,  Otis  M.  Howard  '67. 

Resolutions — Alden  B.  Hefler  '87,  Charles 
Duncan  '71,  Preston  W.  Lewis  '81. 

Sick  and  Visiting— George  Buchan  '97, 
Leslie  R.  Jones  '06,   Louis  E.  Means  '01. 

Undergraduates— John  F.  Peterson  '96, 
Harold  W.  Edwards  '10,  George  K.  Hartmann 
'75,  Woodman  C.  Hill  '94,  Alfred  W.  Jacobs 
'10. 

Methods  of  Financing  the  Association 
(Special) — James  H.  Graham  79,  William 
Alcott  '84,  Merton  P.  Ellis  '97,  William  F. 
Davis  '79,  Alden  B.  Hefler  '87. 

The  Alumni  Fund  Committee,  under  date 
of  Feb.  12.  1921,  sent  out  a  circular  appeal  to 
all  members  of  the  association,  asking  for  gifts 
to  the  alumni  fund,  payable  to  Richard  Bell, 
Treasurer,  53  Richfield  Street,  Dorchester,  be- 
fore June  13  next. 

Richard  Bell,  '73,  for  many  years  general 
superintendent  of  the  Boston  factory  of  the 
Walter  M.  Lowney  Company,    was    honored    at 


the  Lowney  Forum  on  Jan.  10,  in  recognition  of 
his  faithful  service  with  the  company,  which 
began  in  1883.  The  decorations  were  of  bells, 
the  menu  card  was  in  the  form'  of  a  bell,  and  an 
original  song  on  "Bells,"  was  sung  by  the  entire 
gathering.  On  Friday  evening,  Jan.  28,  Mr.  ■ 
Bell  was  again  the  guest  of  more  than  100  of 
his  fellow  employees,  at  a  farewell  dinner.  As  a 
tribute  to  his  many  years  of  faithful  service  he 
was  presented  with  a  handsome  mahogany  desk 
and  chair.  Walter  H.  Belcher,  vice  president 
of  the  Walter  M.  Lowney  Company,  was  toast- 
master,  and  paid  high  tribute  to  Mr.  Bell's  many 
years  of  faithful  service.  Mr.  Bell  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Walter  M.  Lowney  Company  as 
an  engineer  in  1883,  and  became  successively 
superintendent  and  general  superintendent  of  the 
great  factory  on  Commercial  and  Hanover 
streets,  Boston. 

Charles  T.  Simpson  '53,  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War,  died  at  the  Soldiers  Home  in  Chel- 
sea, on  Nov.  17,  at  the  age  of  81  years.  He 
had  lived  most  of  his  life,  since  leaving  the 
school,  in  Dorchester,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  teaming  business.  He  had  been  at  the  Sol- 
diers Home  about  18  months.  He  had  planned 
to  attend  the  reception  to  the  returned  war  vet- 
erans at  the  School  in  July,  1919,  but  ill  health 
prevented. 

Royal  R.  Ellison,  '11,  has  written  re- 
cently, giving  a  few  facts  concerning  himself. 
Roy  is  working  at  printing,  for  the  McGrath 
Sherrill  Press,  270  Congress  Street,  the  same 
people  he  went  to  work  for  when  he  left  the 
School.  He  has  two  children,  a  girl  five  years 
old,  and  a  boy  two.  Roy's  address  is  62  Wal- 
nut Street,  Everett,  Mass. 


Vol.  24.  No.  12.  Printed  at  The   Farm  and   Trades   School   Boston;   Mass.  April,    1921 

Entered  November  23.   1903,  at  Boston,  Mass.  as  Second-class  matter,  under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16,   1874. 


Caster  Concert 

Easter  at  The  Farm  and  Trades  School  is 
never  forgotten.  This  year  as  usual  we  had  an 
Easter  Concert  in  which  a  number  of  boys  took 
part.  The  decorations  were  different  than  we 
have  had  before  and  made  the  Chapel  beautiful. 
Flowers,  plants  and  birds,  together  with  the 
singing  and  speaking,  made  the  time  pleasant 
and  cheerful. 

The  choir  consisted  of  26  boys.  Some 
boys  recited  pieces  and  exercises,  while  others 
sang  and  played  on  instruments.  It  took  about 
an  hour  and  a  half  to  go  through  the  programme, 
but  the  minutes  went  too  fast,  because  the  room 
was  full  of  fragrant  odors  and  with  the  birds 
singing  we  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  glor- 
ious springtime.  The  programme  is  as  fol- 
lows: 
Song  Happy  Dawn 

Choir 
Responsive  Reading 

Kenneth  E.  Kearns 
Prayer 

Mr.  Bonny 

Quartette  Easter  Is  His  Sign 

Robert  J.  Buchanan,         Walter  H.  Curtis, 

Wa'do  E.  Libby,         Paul  F.  Reid 

Recitation  An  Easter  Carol 

Gunnar  E.  Anderson 
Song  Springtime  Skies 

Choir 

Recitation  At  Easter  Time 

James  H.  Beattie,         William  R.  Holman, 


James  E. 

Hughes,         Raymond  Thomas   . 

Recitation 

Why  the  Robins'  Breast  is  Red 

Robert  L.  McAlister 

Cornet  Duet 

Easter 

Waldo  E.  Libby,  Eric  0.  Schippers. 

Clifton  E.  Albee 

Recitation 

There  Is  a  Green  Hill  Far  Away 

Alton  B.  Butler 

Song 

Through  the  Early  Light 

Choir 

Recitation 

Night  before  the  Dawn 

Recitation 

Mary 

Kenneth  E.  Kearns 

Song 

Come  with  a  Song 

Choir 

Recitation 

School  Days 

George  L.  Langill 

Song 

Songs  of  Victory 

Choir 

Recitation 

The  Chambered  Nautilus 

Howard  E.  Keith 

Duet 

The  Palms 

Malcolm  E 

.  Cameron,          Waldo  E.  Libby 

Recitation 

Polonius'  Advice  to  His  Son 

David  E.  Long 

Song 

The  Meaning  of  Easter 

John  M.  Levis 

Recitation 

Life,  I  know  not  what  thou  art 

Clifton  E.  Albee 

Recitation 

Jesus,  Tender  Shepard 

Henry  E.  Gilchrist 

Song 

Joy 

Choir 

THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


Trombone  Duet  Spring  is  Here 

Daniel  E.  Smith  and  John  Goodhue,  Jr. 
Recitation  Crossing  the  Bar 

Barton  N.  Slade 

Quartette  I  am  He  that  Liveth 

John  M.  Levis,  Waldo  E.  Libby, 

Albert  A.  Peterson,    Samuel  L.  Whitehead 

Recitation  Recessional 

Ralph  S.  Blake,      Seymour  C.  McFadyen, 

Kenneth  A.  Priest,  Robert  F.  Thompson 

Song  A  Carol  of  Praise 

Choir 
Remarks 

Mr.    Bradley 

Richard  H.  Hanson 

Cbc  €a$ter  £bickcn$ 

After  Easter,  the  chickens,  which  were  in 
the  front  of  the  chapel  on  Easter  Sunday,  were 
sent  to  my  care  in  the  East  Basement,  where 
they  are  warm  and  comfortable. 

Every  morning  as  soon  as  1  come  down  1 
get  fresh  water  for  them  and  give  them  some 
more  feed.  Once  every  week  1  change  the 
sand  and  chaff  in  the  box.  The  sand  helps  to 
strengthen  their  legs,  and  the  chaff  makes  a 
comfortable  bed. 

The  little  things  like  to  doze  in  the  sun;  so, 
when  the  sun  pours  in  the  door,  I  put  the  chick- 
ens in  the  light  where  they  huddle  together  and 
sleep. 

The  chicks  are  growing  fast  and  soon  they 
will  go  down  to  the  poultry  house  with  the  older 
chickens.  They  need  hard  ground  to  scratch 
in  and  will  grow  fast  and  strong  there,  and, 
some  day,  when  I  go  to  the  poultry  house,  I 
shall  see  them  as  hens.       Barton  N.  Slade 

Drawind  Stones 

Lately  I  have  been  drawing  stones  from  the 
ground  that  is  being  harrowed  at  North  End.  1 
draw  them  to  the  South  End  and  dump  them  in 
the  road,  to  fill  up  the  holes.  This  puts  the 
ground  in  better  condition  for  planting. 

John  H.  Schippers 


Playiitd  marbles 

Most  of  the  boys  play  marbles.  We  call 
marbles  dogs  for  short.  This  year  each  boy  re- 
ceived ten  dogs  and  a  glassie.  At  the  end  of 
the  season  the  best  players  have  a  lot  of  dogs. 
The  game  we  play  the  most  is  ringsies;  some 
times  we  pop  at  a  glassie.  Once  in  a  while 
there  will  be  a  few  boys  in  partnership,  and  there 
are  times  when  the  partners  will  have  most  of 
the  marbles  in  the  School.  Then  they  will 
scramble  them.  If  we  are  seen  playing  marbles 
down  on  our  knees  the  privilege  of  playing  is 
taken  away. 

Herbert  E.  Wright 

Drawing 

Most  of  my  play  time  1  use  for  drawing 
which  1  enjoy  very  much. 

One  day  when  1  was  going  down  town  with 
my  mother,  when  1  was  about  five  years  old,  I 
saw  a  canvas  covering  over  a  window.  1  asked 
her  why  the  canvas  was  there,  and  she  told  me 
it  was  there  because  the  artist  did  not  want 
everyone  to  see  his  drawing.  When  I  found 
there  was  an  artist  there,  1  asked  her  to  take 
me  in  so  1  could  watch  him  draw  a  few  pictures. 
After  awhile  she  did  so,  and  1  watched  him  with 
eager  eyes.  My  mother  came  back  and  took 
me  home.  After  supper  I  got  some  paper  and 
a  pencil  and  tried  to  do  the  same  with  some 
pictures.  Since  then  I  have  been  drawing  every 
minute  1  can  get.  1  have  learned  many  things 
by  keeping  at  it  and  I  hope  to  spend  my  life  in 
some  field  where  1  can  make  pictures  with  pen 
or  pencil. 

Raymond  H.  McQuesten 

Ulaxing  tbe  Office  Tloor 

After  we  scrub  the  office  floor  we  put  on 
wax.  1  put  this  wax  on  with  a  cloth.  After  this 
is  dry  1  take  a  weight  which  is  made  of  a  good 
sized  brush  with  apiece  of  iron  on  it,  to  which  is 
attached  a  long  handle.  1  rub  the  floor  with 
the  weight  across  the  grain  of  the  wood,  then  1 
polish  the  floor  with  a  cloth.      John  M.  Levis 


THOMPSON'S   ISLAND    BEACON 


B  minstrel  $bow 

On  Friday  March  25,  a  sign  was  put  on 
the  bulletin  board  in  the  assembly  room,  on 
which  was  a  big  question  mark  and  under  it  was 
printed  in  big  letters,  "Who  are  these  Midnight 
Revelers?" 

That  night  everybody  was  happy.  We  put 
on  our  uniforms  and  went  to  the  Assembly  Hall. 
There  was  a  red  curtain  all  the  way  across  the 
room  and  there  were  foot-lights  in  front  of  it. 
After  the  programmes  were  given  out,  the  lights 
were  all  turned  out  except  the  foot- lights.. 
When  the  curtain  began  to  rise  everybody  in 
the  show  began  to  sing. 

First  we  saw  their  feet  dressed  in  white 
shoes  and  brown  stockings  and  finally  their  black 
faces  and  their  hands  in  white  gloves. 

The  programme  was  in  two  parts.  The  first 
part  consisted  of  singing  by  the  circle  and  solos 
by  its  members.  Jokes  were  given  too.  Mr. 
Brown  in  an  evening  suit  was  the  interlocutor. 
Part  two  consisted  of  dances,  magic  tricks  and 
impersonations.  It  was  very  enjoyable  and  we  all 
liked  it. 

The  programme  was  as  follows: 

PART  ONE 
Opening  with  a  medley  Overture  by  Entire  Company 


Mr.  C.  P. 
Kenneth  L.  Drown 
Richard  H.   Hanson 
Barton  N.  Siade 
John  M.  Levis 
Waldo  E.  Libby 

Anthracite 
Osmond  W.   Bursiel 

Snowball 
Mr.  E.  C.  Bemis 


Circle 
Brown  -  Interlocutor 
Aldevin  A.  Lammi 
Malcolm  E.  Cameron 
Albert  A.  Peterson 
Kenneth  E.  Kearns 
Stanley  W.  Higgens 

Midnight 
Leo  S.  Whitehead 

Lightning 
Mr.  C.  W.  Roundy 


Musical  Numbers 

Now  I  lay  me  Down  to  Sleep  "Lightning" 

Missin'  Mammie's  Kissin'  "Snowball" 
Honey,  yo'  stay  in  yo'  own  Back  Yard     "Anthracite'' 

Wonderful  Boy  "Snowball'' 

Don't  take  away  those  Blues  "Lightning" 

I  Like  the  Fat  Boys  "Liza  Jane" 

FINALE  Entire  Company 


PART  TWO 
MONOLOGUE    "Dark  Stuff"   A  Midnight  Roundy" 
BLACK  MAGIC  Kishi  Kahib 

THE  JIM  JAM  JIG  The  Chocolate  Jiggers 

COMEDY  Bernstein  and  Firestein 

A  Sketch  from  the  West  End 

•LASSES  CAKE  WALK  Cinda  Black  and  Sam 

Moonshine 

GRAND  FINALE 

Entire  Company 

Clarence  H.  Colburn 

''€inda  BlacK" 

Samuel  Whitehead  and  I  were  chosen  to 
do  a  Cakewalk  in  the  Minstrel  Show.  Mrs. 
Jackson  drilled  us  in  the  Assembly  Hall  every 
noon  and  night  hour.  She  told  us  to  step  high 
and  be  sort  of  fancy.  1  was  to  puff  myself  up 
and  bow  very  low  by  bringing  my  right  foot  away 
back  and  bending  down  on  my  left  knee. 

Whitehead's  name  was  to  be  "Sam  Moon- 
shine" and  mine  was  to  be  "Cinda  Black".  At 
the  rehearsal  Whitehead  carried  a  derby  and 
cane  and  was  very  solemn  and  comical.  The 
music  was  a  fox  trot  and  and  a  snappy  one. 

The  night  before  the  show  we  had  a  dress 
rehearsal.  The  next  night  we  were  blacked  and 
had  the  finishing  touches  put  on  to  our  customs. 
Whitehead  had  a  dress  suit  and  he  looked  pretty 
good.  I  had  a  pink  dress  with  a  blue  sash,  blue 
stockings  and  a  wig  with  curls  tied  with  blue 
bows.  Poor  Waldo  E.  Libby  was  now  a  girl. 
Waldo  E.  Libby 

Brusblitd  Uniforms 

One  day  during  vacation  another  boy  and 
I  were  told  to  get  all  the  old  uniforms  out  and 
brush  them,  so  the  moths  wouldn't  eat  them. 
Some  were  very  dusty.  We  took  tables  from 
the  east  basement  and  put  them  in  a  sunny  spot 
yet  keeping  them  out  of  the  wind.  Next,  two 
loads  of  uniforms  were  brought  out.  The  other 
boy  brushed  while  I  folded.  Then  they  were 
put  away.  The  next  load  I  brushed  while  the 
other  boy  folded.  We  were  doing  the  last 
uniform  when  the  bell  rang. 

George  A.  Adams 


THOMPSONS    ISLAND    BEACON 


Cboittp$on'$  Island  Beacon 

Published  Monthly  by 

THE  FARM  AND  TRADES  SCHOOL 

Thompson's  Island,  Boston  Harbor 

A   PRIVATE  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS  OF  LIMITED 

MEANS,  SUPPORTED  BY  ENDOWMENTS. 

TUITION  FEES   AND  SUBSCRIPTIONS. 


Vol    24.    No.  12. 


April,  1921 


Subscription  Price     -     50  Cents  Per  Year 


BOARD  OF  MANAGERS 


president 

Arthur  Adams 

vice-president 

Charles  E.  Mason 

treasurer 

N.  Penrose   Hallowell 

secretary 

Tucker  Daland 

managers 

Karl  Adams 
Gorham  Brooks 
I.  Tucker  Burr 
S.  V.  R.  Crosby 
Charles  P.  Curtis 
George  L.  DeBlois 
Thomas  J.   Evans 
Fred  T.  Field 
Walter  B.  Foster 
Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Jr. 

Alden  B.  Hefler 

Henry  Jackson,  M.  D. 
Matt  B.  Jones 
Roger  Pierce 

Richard  M.  Saltonstall 
Philip  S.  Sears 
Francis  Shaw 

Richard  B.  Wigglesworth 
Moses  Williams 
Ralph  B.  Williams 


Charles  H.   Bradley,        Superintendent 
Alfred  C.  Malm,         Assistant  Treasurer 


The  Easter  Concert  has  come  and  gone, 
but  the  memory  of  it  remains  firmly  fixed  in 
our  minds.  The  message  of  Easter  Sunday 
was  vividly  given  to  us  in  song,  recitation,  mus- 
ic, and  in  the  fragrance  of  beautiful  flowers  and 
the  chirping  of  young  birds.  It  was  the  mess- 
age of  hope,  cheer  and  of  life. 

What  a  dark  world  it  would  be  if  there  were 
no  Easter,  for  it  would  mean  no  Christianity,  the 
light  of  which  has  cheered  millions  of  souls. 
However,  we  may  brush  aside  that  thought,  and 
rejoice  that  we  have  Easter,  and  that  it  comes 
at  the  time  when  nature  is  budding  forth  into 
leaves  and  flowers,  and  the  very  air  we  breathe 
is  filled  with  the  whisperings  of  new  life. 

If,  however,  our  island  home  suddenly  were 
planted  in  Sydney,  Australia,  nature  would  pre- 
sent a  very  different  outlook.  The  leaves 
would  be  falling,  instead  of  budding  at  Easter- 
tide. The  grain  would  be  yellow,  ready  for  the 
harvester,  instead  of  just  green  little  shoots. 
Yet  no  matter  hov/  changed  the  aspects  of  na- 
ture, the  message  of  Easter  would  remain  the 
same  happy  and  hopeful  one. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  there  comes  to 
us  a  feeling  of  happiness  and  contentment  that 
is  due  not  only  to  the  message  of  Easter,  but  to 
the  season  of  awakening  which  it  represents. 
Spring  brings  us  new  interests  and  we  look  for- 
ward eagerly  to  the  pleasures  and  activities  of 
the  summer  to  come.  Many  remember  see- 
ing the  bees,  that  were  out  the  Sunday  before 
Easter,  how  they  flew  in  and  out  of  the  open 
windows,  and  into  the  cottages  of  Cottage  Row. 
They  reminded  us  that  the  winter  has  passed  and 
that  soon  would  come  the  long  warm  days,  with 
their  lingering  twilight  that  makes  a  glorious 
close  to  a  perfect  summer's  day.  Some  of  us 
are  looking  forward  to    Friends'    Day,    and    to 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND    BEACON 


games  of  baseball,  and  so  we  have  among  us  the 
happy  spirit  of  contentment.  But.  when  we 
think  of  it,  the  roots  of  our  present  contentment 
lie  in  the  pleasant  times  we  have  had  all  through 
the  winter.  True  contentment  is  a  priceless 
jewel  that  adds  to  the  dignity  of  any  boy  or  man. 
Because  it  is  something  worth  while,  there  are 
many  imitations.  Beware  of  them.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  inactivity,  laziness,  or  loafing 
in  real  contentment. 

The  Apostle  Paul  was  a  very  ardent  worker, 
and  one  of  the  great  thinkers  of  his  day.  He 
said  "I  have  learned,  in  whatsoever  I  am,  there- 
with to  be  content."  According  to  his  experi- 
ence in  life,  he  found  that  contentment  does  not 
depend  upon  what  we  have.  Remember  this,  a 
tub  was  large  enough  for  Diogenes,  but  a  v/orld 
was  too  little  for  Alexander. 

1  do  not  think  we  shall  make  any  mistakes, 
such  as  taking  an  imitation  for  honest  content- 
ment, if  we  hold  to  what  Dr.  Davison  told  us 
a  few  Sundays  ago.  He  said  this  in  brief:  "To 
be  the  very  best  we  can,  is  a  duty  we  owe  to 
ourselves,  to  others,  and  to  our  Maker." 

Calendar 

March  1  Cleaning  up  sorting  ground  and 
Incinerator. 

March  4     Dressed  hog  weighing   287  lbs. 

March  5  Manager  Walter  B.  Foster  with 
Mr.  Lester  M.  Lane  of  Hingham  visited  the 
School. 

Received  two  leghorn  roosters. 

March  6  An  entertainment  consisting  of 
songs  and  readings  by  Mrs.  Ila  Niles  Jackson  of 
Morrisville,  Vermont,  with  selections  by  the  band, 
given  in  the  evening. 

March  7  Butchered  cow  number  116  for 
beef;  weight  429  lbs. 

Cleaned  by  beach. 

March  9     Digging  up  old  apple  trees. 

An  oil  painting  "Flying  Fish"  presented  to 


the  School  by  Vice-President  Charles  E.  Mason. 
March  10  Sawed  posts  for  grape  vines. 
Worked  on  strawberry  bed. 

March  1  1  Burning  grass  west  from  Main 
Building. 

Working  on  East  Side  tide  gate. 

March  12  Blacksmith  here  shoeing  the 
horses. 

March  13  Sunday.  William  A.  Davison, 
D.  D.,of  Burlington,  Vermont,  visited  the  School 
and  spoke  to  the  boys  in  the  afternoon,  also  spoke 
briefly  in  the  evening. 

Mr.  Bonney  in  the  evening  showed  slides 
illustrating  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  and  told  the 
story  of  same. 

March  14  Charles  W.  Russell,  ex  '02, 
here  working  on  "Pilgrim". 

Plowed  southwest  of  Farm  House.  Sow- 
ed lettuce  and  radish  in  hot  bed.  Set  posts  for 
grape  vines.     Dug  ditch  at  East  Side  tide  gate. 

March  1 5  Man  here  to  examine  and  put 
in  repair  the  steam  engine  in  Power  House. 

Drew  banking  from  Farm  House;  sorting 
seed  potatoes.  Dressed  pig,  weighing  182  lbs. 
Cleaning  ditches  at  South  End;  raking  straw- 
berry beds;  pruning  trees  in  nursery. 

March  16  President  Arthur  Adams  visit- 
ed the  School. 

Man  here  to  finish  work  on  the  engine  in 
Power  House. 

Charles  W.  Russell,  ex.  '02,  here  for  a 
short  time. 

March  17  Ditching  at  South  End.  Re- 
pairing roads  and  pruning  grape  vines. 

March  18  Plowed  southwest  of  Farm 
House.  Burned  grass  at  South  End.  Worked 
on  East  Side  tide  gate.      Cultivated  asparagus. 

Minstrel  show  in  the  evening  given  by  sev- 
eral instructors  and  twelve  boys. 

March  19  Burned  grass  on  East  Side, 
near  tide  gate.  Culled  weeds  in  corn  field. 
Plowed  southwest  of  Farm  House. 

March  21  Sowed  tomatoes  in  hot  bed. 
Digging  ditches  at  South  End.  Cleaned  ditches 
near  East  Side  tide  gate. 


6 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


March  22  Killed  a  pig  weighing  252  lbs. 
Plowing  southwest  of  Farm  House.  Cultivated 
raspberries. 

March  23  Supply  of  soft  coal  for  the  year 
arrived,  and  unloading  began. 

March  25     Finished  unloading  coal. 

Prof.  Raynnond  McFarland  of  Saxton  River 
Academy,  Vermont,  and  Mr.  Wallace  S.  Fowler 
of  Roslindale  visited  the  School. 

March  27  Easter  Concert  held  in  the 
afternoon. 

March  28  Butchered  cow  number  147 
for  beef,  weighing  396  lbs.  Sowed  tomatoes 
and  celery  in  hot  bed. 

March  29  Cultivated  the  raspberries  and 
rhubarb. 

March  30  Two  men  here  taking  notes 
and  pictures  of  School  activities  for  an  article  to 
appear  in  the  Sunday  Herald. 

Rolled  field  south  of  strawberry  bed. 

Calendar  so  Vcars  J\q<i  i$70 

(As  Kept  By  The  Superintendent) 

March  13  The  worst  snow-storm  of  the 
season,  continuing  all  day  and  until  midnight, 
the  wind  blowing  furiously. 

March  14  A  lovely  day  after  the  furious 
storm. 

March    16     A  severe  storm  of  sleet  all  day. 

March  18  Another  snow-storm  all  day, 
clearing  off  at  night. 

March  20     A  mild    beautiful    day. 

March  27  Wind  east  and  blowing  hard 
all  day  with  rain  in  P.  M. 

March  30  A  very  fine  day.  The  School 
Committee  came  to  examine  the  School.  A 
most  satisfactory  examination. 

march  meteorology 

Maximum  Temperature  80°  on  the  21st. 

Minimum  Temperature  23°  on  the  4th. 

Mean  Temperature  for  the  month  45°. 

Total  precipitation  .89  inches. 

Greatest  precipitation  in  24  hours  .34 
inches  on  the  24th  and  25th. 

Three  days  with  .01  or  more  inches  precip- 
itation, 15  clear  days,  12  partly  cloudy,  4  cloudy. 


cue  farm  and  Crades  School  Bank 

Cash   on  hand   Mar.  1,   1921  $887.33 

Deposited  during  the  month  51.13 

$938.46 
Withdrawn  during  the  month  88.51 

Cash  on  hand  April  1 ,  1921  $849.95 

Bird  Inspecting 

Every  year  inspectors  for  the  Cottage  Row 
sanitary  division  are  appointed.  This  year  I 
was  chosen  as  a  bird  inspector.  The  duty  of  a 
bird  inspector  is  to  clean  out  all  the  bird  boxes 
about  the  Island  and  repair  those  that  need  it. 
A  bird  inspector  also  has  to  destroy  the  eggs  and 
nests  of  the  sparrows,  crows,  purple  grackles, 
and  other  harmful  birds.  This  is  done  to  keep 
the  harmful  birds  from  living  on  the  Island. 
All  this  is  to  be  done  in  the  inspectors  playtime. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  he  hands  in  his  record  of 
time  and  results  to  the  superivisor  and  is  paid 
accordingly.  Robert  J.  Buchanan 

B  Baseball  Game 

The  baseball  season  has  not  yet  begun  but 
one  Saturday  afternoon  some  of  the  boys  de- 
cided to  have  a  game  of  baseball.  Two  of  the 
boys  chose  up  and  all  the  boys  who  wanted  to 
play  were  allowed  to  do  so.  When  it  came 
time  to  start  the  game  it  was  found  that  there 
was  nobody  to  umpire,  so  Mr.  Bonney,  our 
minister  who  was  here  offered  to  fill  that  position. 
Then  the  game  started  and  it  did  not  lack  ex- 
citement for  both  pitchers  were  hit  hard  and 
only  fast  fielding  held  the  score  down.  After 
playing  about  seven  innings  it  became  time  to 
stop  and  get  ready  for  supper.  So,  when  the 
side  last  at  bat  had  been  put  out,  the  score  was 
counted  and  it  was  found  that  the  side  last  at 
bat  had  won  by  the  score  of  1  1  to  9.  We  all 
went  into  supper  feeling  very  hungry  after  a 
very  enjoyable  game.  Theodore  B.  Hadley 
«     «     « 

"The  true  materialism  is  to  be  ashamed 
of  what  we  are.  To  detect  the  flavor  of  an 
olive  is  no  less  a  piece  of  human  perfection,  than 
to  find  beauty  in  the  colors  of  the  sunset." 


THOMPSON'S    ISLAND  BEACON 


GoodDuc  and  M$  Kite 

John  Goodhue  made  a  box  kite  covered 
with  brown  paper.  It  stood  about  five  feet  high 
and  two  feet  square.  He  had  a  large  ball  of 
string  to  fly  it  with  and  one  Saturday  afternoon 
he  took  it  up  to  the  playgrounds  to  fly  it.  When 
it  was  quite  high  it  began  to  come  down.  It 
went  up  and  came  down  four  times.  Then  he 
flew  it  once  more:  and  when  it  was  very  high  in 
the  air,  the  string  broke  and  it  glided  out  to  sea 
and  landed  near  the  bouy  that  marks  the  channel. 
Howard  E.  Keith 

J\  l)i$torical  Oration 

In  the  First  Class  we  are  learning  histori- 
cal orations.  Each  boy  has  been  given  one. 
When  he  has  it  learned  so  he  can  recite  it  be- 
fore the  class  he  gets  one  hundred  percent  for 
the  whole  week  in  English. 

I  have  an  oration  to  learn  that  was  deliver- 
ed by  Samuel  Adams  at  the  State  House,  in 
Philadelphia  in  1776;  it  is  entitled  American 
Independence.  Samuel  Adams  was  born  in 
Boston  in  1772.  He  was  a  student  at  Harvard 
College.  After  graduating  he  entered  upon  a 
business  career.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
First  Continental  Congress,  and  the  first  man 
publicly  to  advocate  American  Independence. 
He  was  one  of  theframers  of  the  State  Constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts.  He  afterward  served  for 
three  terms  as  Governor  of  the  State.  He  died 
in  Boston  in  1803.  Samuel  Adams  was  some- 
times called  "The  Father  of  the  Revolution." 
Robert  J.  Giese 

Caking  a  Crip  to  €burcb 

Last  Sunday,  about  nine  o'clock  I  was  told 
to  get  washed  and  go  to  the  drawer  room  and 
change  into  my  uniform.  There  also  were  a 
few  more  boys  changing  theirs.  After  that,  we 
went  to  the  the  boys  reading  room  and  there 
were  joined  by  an  instructor  and  went  down  to 
the  Wharf.  We  got  aboard  the  steamer  and  rode 
to  City  Point.  I  had  heard  by  this  time  that  we 
were  going    to    church.     We    went    to    Hawes 


Unitarian  Congregational  Church,  near  Sixth 
Street  on  Broadway.  The  minister.  Rev. 
Thomas  M.  Mark,  gave  a  fine  talk  especially  for 
us  besides  his  sermon.  The  music  was  fine.  I 
am  sure  we  all  enjoyed  it  very  much.  After 
church  was  over  we  went  back  to  the  Island  on 
the  steamer.  Leander  E.  Dorey 

my  Pet  Cow 

There  are  26  cows  in  the  barn.  I  took 
one  of  these  for  a  pet.  She  is  number  89  and 
stands  sixth  up  from  the  end  of  the  barn.  She 
is  brown  and  white  and  her  horns  are  cut  off. 
She  is  the  oldest  cow  among  them  all  and  has 
had  three  calves;  one  was  killed,  two  are  living. 
They  are  brown  and  white  just  like  their  mother; 
we  call  them  Daisy  and  Brownie.  Neither  give 
milk  but  their  mother  is  the  best  milker  in  the 
barn.  Every  morning  when  I  come  in  the  barn 
she  looks  to  see  if  I  am  coming  to  her.  If  I  am, 
she  holds  her  head  down  so  I  can  scratch  it.  I 
have  other  pets  but  I  like  her  best  of  all. 

Kenneth  L.  Drown 

Getting  Cowels  Ready 

Every  Saturday  and  Wednesday  evenings 
the  boys'  towels  are  changed.  The  towels  are 
taken  off  the  hooks  and  are  carried  to  the  laun- 
dry by  the  washroom  boys.  They  are  placed  in 
a  washer,  where  they  soak  over  night.  In  the 
morning,  after  being  washed  they  are  taken  to 
the  extractor  which  is  a  machine  which  extracts 
the  water  from  them.  It  serves  the  same  pur- 
pose as  the  wringer.  They  remain  in  this  ten 
minutes.  Next  they  are  put  in  the  dryer  or 
tumbler  for  ten  minutes  where  they  are  partly 
dried.  When  taken  out  they  are  shaken  out  on 
one  of  the  tables.  Then  they  are  all  ready  for 
the  flat  worker  which  is  a  machine  that  irons  and 
finishes  drying  them.  From  the  laundry  they 
go  to  the  sewing  room  where  they  are  mended, 
and  renumbered  if  necessary.  They  are  then 
delivered  to  the  washroom  boys  who  hang  them  on 
their  respective  hooks. 

Clifton  E.  Albee 


THOMPSON'S  ISLAND  BEACON 


tbe  Jllutnni  Hssocldtion  of  the  Tartu  and  trades  School 


James  H.    Graham,  '77,  President 

Sostor, 

Merton  p.  Ellis,  '97,  Secretary 

25  Rockdale  Street,  Boston  26 


Henry  A.  Fox.    79,  Vice-President 
Allston 
Richard  Bell,  '73,  Treasurer 
Dorchester 


Cobb,  '14,  Vice-President 


Howard  F    Lochrie,  '16,  Historian 
West  Roxbury 


Leon  H.  Quimby,  '07,  was  written  recent- 
ly in  regard  to  money  which  he  had  left  in  care 
of  the  School,  and  he  has  answered,  giving  a 
few  details  in  regard  to  his  doings  since  he  went 
away.  First,  he  went  to  work  for  his  brother- 
in-law  in  Sanbornville,  N.  H.,  and  went  to  high 
school  in  Milton.  After  one  year  in  high  school 
he  went  to  work  all  the  time  in  his  brother-in- 
law's  store.  In  the  fall  of  1911  he  went  to 
Dover,  to  work  in  the  engine  house  and  in  June 
he  began  as  fireman  on  the  Boston  and  Maine 
railroad,  and  has  continued  in  that  work  since. 
Leon  is  married  and  lives  in  Dover.  He  has  a 
boy  six  years  old.  He  has  bought  a  house  lot 
and  this  summer  expects  to  build.  He  says  he 
will  use  his  money  which  the  School  is  forward- 
ing to  him  to  help  build  his  house  "in  memory 
of  the  four  years  1  spent  at  the  School." 

Samuel  Weston,  ex  '07,  writes  us  from 
Danville,  Virginia.  Sam  says  he  has  been  do- 
ing concrete  construction  work  for  the  past 
eight  years  and  has  been  in  a  number  of  differ- 
ent places.  He  was  m.arried  three  years  ago, 
and  has  been  able  to  save  quite  a  bit  of  money. 
He  was  in  the  army  during  the  war,  and  was 
five  months  in  France  in  the  Ordnance  Depart- 
ment. During  the  past  year  he  has  been  in 
Danville,  engaged  in  helping  build  a  large  con- 
crete cotton  mill,  which  has  just  been   finished. 

His  address  is  312  Floyd  St.,  Danville, 
Virginia. 

Alfred  W.  Jacobs,  '10.  was  married  to 
Miss  Helen  Miller  at  The  Old  Meeting  House 
in  Hingham,  Mass.  on  October  18,  1920,  at 
7:30  p.  m. 

Howard  A.  Delano,  '13,  is  now  at 
Whitefield,  Maine,  address,  care  of  Mrs.  S.  S. 
Bartlett. 


Ernest  V.  Wyatt,  '13,  may  be  reached 
by  the  following  address: 

S.  S.  West  Mahomet,  Barber  S.  S.  Lines, 
1  7  Battery  Place,  New  York  City. 

Carl  D.  P.  Hynes,  '14,  since  leaving,  has 
served  six  years  in  the  navy.  He  says  he  has 
travelled  almost  around  the  world.  In  Feburary 
he  wrote  from  on  board  the  U.  S.  S.  Hancock 
where  he  was  private  secretary  to  Captain  J.  G. 
Church,  but  owing  to  illness  of  his  wife,  he  has 
since  then  been  transferred  to  shore  duty,  and 
is  now  teaching  shorthand  and  typewriting  at 
the  U.  S.  Naval  Training  Station  Yeoman 
School  in  Norfolk,  Virginia.  His  address  is 
840— 49th  Street,  Norfolk. 

Forrest  L.  Churchill,  '15,  has  enlisted 
for  three  years  in  the  Infantry  Band.  His  ad- 
dress is  18th  Infantry,  Camp  Dix,  New   Jersey. 

Webster  S.  Gould,  '19,  is  working  for 
the  Home  National  Bank  in  Milford,  Mass. 
He  says  that  he  enjoys  the  work,  and  that  he  is 
getting  on  satisfactorily  is  evidenced  by  two  in- 
creases in  wages  in  the  last  year. 

Joseph  Kervin,  '20,  is  in  the  5th  Regiment 
6th  Company  of  Marines,  now  stationed  at 
Quantico,  Virginia,  42  miles  from  Washington, 
D.  C.  Joe  expects  his  regiment  will  leave  for 
Cuba  in  a  few  months,  and  go  from  there  to 
California,  also  that  he  will  be  in  the  Parade 
on  March  4,  1921. 

Robert  L.  Clark,  ex  '20,  is  in  his  second 
year  in  the  Milton  High  School.  This  is  the 
same  school  as  that  attended  by  Wesley  C. 
Angell,  '16,  who  is  now  a  senior  there.  Robert 
lives  with  his  mother  on  hiillside  Street,  Milton, 
Mass.