University of Virginia Library

Faith In Future

Now, with things so changed,
the headmaster is a man seeking
reassurances. A near bitterness enters
his tone in considering the state
of things today. He detests Nixon
ambiguity politics and resents the
growing weight of problems unsolved.
Overriding it all is what he
calls great faith in the future.

Such men are worrying more
than they normally admit, and a
handful of preppies going Ho Ho
Ho down in Massachusetts is easy
to handle faced with heavier facts:
that Columbia is on the verge of
massive financial breakdown; that
Boston University may be shut
down by October; and that Berkeley
is surrounded by frenzied
Yippies, like drunken Sioux circling
a wagon train at dusk.

Reassurances being hard to
come by of late, Casco Bay may be
as good a place as any to seek them.

Several of the outer islands contain
ruins. They bear witness to an
earlier struggle, one unique to Mr.
Needham's generation. Like deserted
temples, concrete citadels,
stand massive lookout towers. As a
major harbor for the North Atlantic
Fleet during World War II, Portland
demanded tight security against
Hitler's submarines. Channels were
blocked, netted and mined to stop
the U-boats. Men stood guard for
years in wait of an enemy who
never came.