Batavia High School - Batavian Yearbook (Batavia, NY)

Page 27 text:

J Grim BATA Arhm' Bag Gbraiiun April zz, 1921. The world today is dotted with pyramids and obelisks, statues and memorials, erected in honor of the great men and women of history, but no piles of lifeless marble and granite, be their mass ever so great, or their beauty and richness un- surpassed, could adequately commemorate some lives. Some men and women have so interwoven their lives with the lives of their community, their nation, their age, enriching it, enlarging and ennobling it, that a dead shaft would be a mean- ingless tribute. For that lover of nature and the great out-of-doors who'se'r1'a1rielive ihonor today, what could be a more fitting tribute, a more worthy 'memorial, than a living tree. ' 1 ' T ' Dui-' john-Burroughs was a man among men, simple and unaffected, beloved by high and low alike, a friend to .allihe world. Born on a farm among the hills, he tehs us that as a boy the only iarrnuvork that appealed to him wt sugar mak- ing in the mapief woods in the spring. This he thoroughly enjoyed'as it brought him near -to wild nature, and from these trees he earned his lirst money. Through- out all his long,life he never strayed far, or stayed long from the woods and fthe birds he lovedg so deady. U- ri 4 - - John Bui-faugiis ilpved' -...re not as a scientist but as a man. It is said it was enough for hiingo obs e with loving accuracy the already familiar animals and birds, to record -.-eir dc .gs, and to report the truth in English as simple and direct and crystal clear as the note of thrush or brook. Roosevelt in dedicating a book to Dear Oom john, as he was affectionately called, said It is a good thing for our people that you have lived, and surely nc man can wish to have more said of him. Many were the pilgrimages made up the hill to the Hermit of Slabsidesu and the pilgrims found, not a recluse, but a hearty old man with a genial welcome and an earnest hospitality for all, So in dedicating this tree to john Burroughs we are dedicating it also to nature and to an increased love for the woods and streams, the hills and meadows, the birds and flowers 3 to a greater appreciation of the living things around us, and as this tree grows may it serve to remind us that from these living things about us there is many a lesson we can draw. May it instill in us a deeper interest in the things he loved. As we look back upon this tree and remember this occasion in future years, after we have put our best 25 44.-. , .

Page 26 text:

BATA 0112155 HHPI11 Now as through ages uncounted, history itself is repeating, We as the hundredsibefore us, ascending the ladder of learning, Have climbed to the round, where for yars Our hopes and ambitions have centered. Here on the threshold of life we pause for a moment's reflection, Assuming the aspect of Janus, we look in the past and the future. Four yearsrhave passed since as Freshmen l.Ve entered these halls of instruction, Clad in the armor of hope, fed by the fire of ambition, W'e for four years together have labored through trials and pleasures, - - Discouragernents, failures, misfortunes, A . ' Su sesses, adventures, achievements, -A Guided, advised and instructed that lcnowledge is infinite power. Now that the struggle is over, success has at last crowned our efforts, ii.ook forward! the curtain is drawn on the second of 1:1an's seven. ages. iflsions of future achievements, of fond dreams fulfilled rise: before us, Rosy visions-dim, misty and vague stretching bevond Elie h 'lzong Visions of worlds to be conquered, of problemsd cience and learning We are the hope of the future, in no end must N J be defeated, Thus, looking into the future, ambition surging in ,thin us, ' We're bidding adieu to our High School, for four years our sheltering mother Under whoselblue and white standard our highest ideals were fostered. llilfhat we attain in life's school we owe to thy patient instruction, arewell to our first Alma Mater whose motto IS Nulli Secundif' -FLORENCE E. REED, '21. 24-

Page 28 text:

X , ' . Ihr ' an I BATAWAN X efforts into our preparation for a useful life, may we, with the sublime confidence of john Burroughs, wait and say 'KMine own shall come to me. Listen to his words- ' Serene, I fold my hands and wait, Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea, I rave no more 'gainst time or fate, A For lo! my own shall come to me. I stay my haste, I make delays, For what avails this eager pace? ' I stand amid th' eternal ways, And what is mine shall know my face. Asleep, awake, by night or day, '7'li1i frie11ds I seekarefffeeking me, 'Ho' wind can drive iiijgl' bark astray, Nor change the tide of destiny. f l ugh, The stars come nightly to the sity, R, The tidal wave comes to the E I Q Nor time, nor space, Anor declifinor high, Can keep my own away from me. K 'H A -Robert F. Lewis, '21 26