Mr. Lester Sabin was the industrial arts teacher in my high school. At that time we called it “Shop”. He was an excellent teacher, demanding quality work and was very patient with us (he had to be!). I believe I learned more things from him that were useful to me in later life than in any other high school course.
Peter Rabbit
Having said that, I have to point out that he had some interesting traits that high school students have a way of picking up on. He was very deliberate and laid-back, and talked in a slow, steady monotone. Sometimes it was difficult to determine if he was awake. The students nicknamed him “Peter Rabbit”, but never called him that to his face. When he needed to get the attention of the class amid the din of whirring machines and pounding hammers he would blink the lights and exclaim several times in a slow drawl “Felllaaas”. The “fellas” would turn off machines, stop all work, and await the pearls of wisdom which were about to be dropped. When he became upset with something or someone he would slowly drawl, “It makes me madder than sixty”
There’s Juice
One time we were checking an extension cord and light socket for continuity. The bulb was not lighting so Mr. Sabin unscrewed it and said,”I will check to see if there is juice”. He stuck his finger in the socket, looked up, and slowly pulled his finger back out. “Theerre’s juice”, he slowly exclaimed.
Mail Pouch
Mahlon was a student who liked to chew tobacco in shop class although it was forbidden. One time the lights started blinking, work stopped, and Mr. Sabin drawled,”Fellas, there is saliva in the waste basket. Mahlon, are you chewing tobacco again?
Tablesaw Etiquette
One time he pointed out to us that when using a table saw, one never uses the rip-fence and miter gauge at the same time since that can bind up the piece being sawed and cause it to be hurled through the air at a high velocity. A few minutes later everyone was back to sawing, Mr. Sabin was sitting at his desk. Suddenly a sharp piece of wood flew right past his ear at high speed and stuck in the plaster wall behind him. Someone had used the miter gauge simultaneously with the rip-fence. What followed was blinking lights, “fellas”, and some slow, methodical scolding.
Buck
A student named Buck had a class schedule that caused him to come into shop class at the middle of the period. He would walk in and scan the place. If he saw that the teacher was not present, he would blink the lights a few times and loudly exclaim, “Fellaas, where-the-f*** is Peter Rabbit?”. The other students got a big kick out of his daring and bravery.
One time Buck came in, didn’t see the teacher, and loudly exclaimed “Where the f*** is Peter Rabbit?”. Well, it turned out that “Peter Rabbit” was working underneath the lathe and Buck didn’t see him. Peter Rabbit slowly crawled out from under the lathe, stood there and stared at Buck. All work stopped in anticipation of Peter Rabbit’s next move. After a minute or two of silent staring, Peter Rabbit crawled back under the lathe and everyone went back to work.
Buck never again entered the class with that profane question.
Many things went on in that class that are hard to explain and made no sense. I remember seeing one boy holding a dead rat by the tail and roasting it with a blowtorch. Another time someone drizzled gasoline in a small stream from a blowtorch across the room and up the ladder to the lumber loft. One end was lit and the flame shot across the room and up both sides of the ladder. Another student, pretending to be a fireman, put his hat on backwards and climbed up the flaming ladder. These incidents were rare, but this kind of thing is what I remember because they would probably not occur in today’s schools. In spite of this, much valuable learning took place in shop class. However I believe the class was often used as a place to relax and wind down from the rigors and boredom of some of the other classes.