Alton High School - Tatler Yearbook (Alton, IL)

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us fill our souls with noble ideals of knowledge, of art, and of action, and let us “lay up a stock of enthusiasms in our youth, lest we reach the end of our journey with an empty heart.” MAYME E. COLEMON. i' A Senior Prank. One day not very long ago. Some Seniors made a plan just so; And when the Juniors left that day. These Seniors did behind them stay. And when the room was very still. And they could do their work at will, They posted “ ’08 everywhere; On boards and pictures and a chair. But when next morn these Seniors came. They found that all their work was vain; For the janitor had, in the night, Removed all posters from their si ght. They gnashed their teeth in silent wrath. At this unlooked for aftermath; And also felt some cold, cold chills, When B. C. lectured on POST NO BILLS. J. W.. 10. Ye Freshmen. I stood upon a mountain; I gazed down on the plain; I saw a lot of green stuff That looked like waving grain. I took another look at it, I thought it must be grass; But goodness, to my horror, It was the Freshman Class ! ! 19

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cation between America and Europe,—an achievement which ranks second in importance only to the discovery of our continent. It was a terrific struggle which lasted for thirteen years, a period of anxious watching and ceaseless toil. 1 hink what that enthusiast must have suffered, as he paced anxiously back and forth upon the deck of the ship, in the heating rain and high gale. I hink what he endured from public ridicule, while the unbelievers sneered at his project, and called the telegraph a stupendous hoax, because the first cable that was laid ceased to act. Think of the courage that could hear the terrible disappointment, when the second cable snapped in two. after twelve hundred miles of it had been laid. Surely, this great undertaking could never have been accomplished without an enthusiastic leader. John Bosco. was a social enthusiast, who perceived a divine idea and proclaimed it to his countrymen. Although they laughed at his ideas, and called him a madman, he worked on. and with the labor of his hands, he established a home for little street waifs. In the fervor of enthusiasm he d-ew pictures of a great system of schools and hospitals which wee to spread over the continent, and he lived to see these great things accomplished,—the result of his never-ending interest and untiring energy. When I Iauy offered to teach the blind to read, he was confronted by “practical men who laughed at his folly and called him “foolhut no opposition or ridicule could discourage the man who was laboring to free the suffering prisoners of darkness. Consequently he achieved this seeming impossibility, and proved to his countrymen that his “absurd enthusiasm was not mere folly after all. Thus the enthusiast accelerates the progress of the world, while the conservative keeps the world at a standstill. No indifferent, apathetic man ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to discover unknown lands, or opened the eyes of the heathen. The majority of the world's greatest philosophers, reformers, arid men of action and achievement have been enthusiasts. 1 rue. enthusiasm is by no means the only element in successful effort, but it is an indespensihle element. As common sense is the rudder and genuine effort the engine of the human craft, so is enthusiasm its propeller. As the lesser enthusiasms fade and die, one should take stronger hold of the higher ones, for it is then that one sees in better perspective the things that need doing. It is thus possible to grow old as a grand old man like Gladstone or our own Mark 1 wain. Grand old men are those who have been grand young men. and carry still a young heart beneath old shoulders. hen the heart is full it shows itself in action as well as in speech ; when the heart is empty and one has no ideal in life, life is no longer worth living. 1 herefore. let 18

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Alton High School. Class of 1907. Class I ay Program, June 13th, at 2:00 p.in. Music ...... Piano Duett Margaret Mitchell, Bertha Roenicke. Class History Margaret Radcliff Music, “The Bird’s Message” G. F. Suck Mildred Dixon, Edith Volz, Mabel Uzzell. Eunice Nolan. Oration, “The Value of Personal Character Edward Bassett Class Poem Edith Volz Piano Solo Grace Gaukrodger Declamation, “Commencement Octa Darr Oration “The Spirit of Martyrdom’ . Mabel Uzzell Vocal Solo A Day in June” Mildred Dixon Class Prophecy . Emma Joesting Class President’s Address Edwin Sparks Music, “Serenade” . Gillet Orchestra. 20