Berlin High School - Lamp Yearbook (Berlin, CT)

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d Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board of Education, Members of the Faculty, Parents, Friends, and Classmates : We, the class of 42, are about to step into a new stage of life. The conditions which face us are ones wh ich former classes were not required to meet. Already members of oCir class have left school to take positions in our rapidly growing defense industries. Others have taken examinations applying for entrance into our army and navy. Some have taken still other means to aid in our campaign for victory. Those of us who have remained in school have joined Civilian Defense Corps and are doing Air Raid Spotting and 4-H work. We have taken classes in first aid and attended Air Warden Schools. We have helped in every way possible. For the past four years we have followed different courses through high school preparing ourselves for the future. What that future was we did not know. What that future is now we still do not know. However, it is destined to be far different from that which any of us had planned. Many think that this course of preparation has gone to waste. This is not so. We must realize that this present crisis is just a temporary phase of life and our preparation will be very useful to us in the years to come. Students who had planned to attend college will perhaps have to lay aside their plans for the time being and resume them later. Many commercial and general students will have to do the same. We ask ourselves how this preparation will help us in the future. One of the most important things we have been preparing for is the task of being citizens of tomorrow. We are the doctors, lawyers, and merchants of the future. The welfare of our democracy depends on us and the characters, traits, and habits which we have formed. This is the part of our preparation for life which will not be wasted. It is a basic foundation for the future. A foundation that will never crumble. In the past many of us have attained high success in one way or another. May we be able to achieve this success in the future as we have in the past. Robert Alan Werdelin

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Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board of Education, Members of the Berlin High Faculty, Parents, Friends, and Classmates-. Every true American now is confronted with a great problem in his daily life. During this period of war we must all have courage and learn to face life as it comes. If an individual strives to t he best of his ability, to honestly carry on the duties of a true and loyal citizen, a democracy like ours will never fail. General Douglas MacArthur, a loyal and courageous character, has led our American forces against a numerically superior enemy with unquestioned devotion to a cause which has inspired every true American. General MacArthur sets an example for young people as well as old, and his success, in which we all trust, will help change this crisis that confronts us. The word sacrifice is never unfamiliar to anyone, especially during this time of warfare. The sacrifices which we are called upon to make are little enough in comparison to those of the men, young and old, who voluntarily give their service and life to preserve our freedom and rights. It is the young people of today who should do more than their share in this role in order to protect the younger growing generation. Graduating from high school at this particular time, all my classmates must know and deeply feel the seriousness of such a problem. It will be their duty as true Americans to take part in this great crisis of American History, and the reconstruction that will follow. Since you are young and ambitious, you must make more sacrifices in order that the ideals of the American people can be protected. We, the class of ’42 pledge ourselves willingly and wholeheartedly to strive for the complete victory that will make our democracy safe once more. Helena Ines Carsanico

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