Billings Senior High School - Kyote Yearbook (Billings, MT)

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THE KYOTE 13 PRESIDEXT'S J I)DRESS Fellow Students, Friends, and Patrons of the Billings High School: As President of the class of 1008, I extend to each and every one of you a most hearty welcome. We are glad to see so many here to witness this faithful frag- ment of '08 pay a last tribute to these lie loved walls. We can not hope in the space of a few hours to tell you what these last four years have meant to us. I)o not expect it of ns. Those of you present who have been through it all: through the struggles, the good times, the days of hcaped-up lessons, the days of care-free picnics; through all the ups and downs, and especially those of of Senior year—-will, I am sure, have hut to call upon memory to appreciate our feelings and what lies behind them. To those of you whose Class I)av is in the future, I can only say, “May you come to it safely and with as much joy bv the way as is compatible with the gaining of knowledge and the ideals your instructors hold up to you.” Is the high school not like a large family? Do we not as brothers and sisters, 1909, 1910, 1911, toil along shoulder to shoulder? But all families are eventually separated and it is time for 1908 to make a final bow. It is hard to realize that we must leave. We have gone almost unheedingly along an appointed path and now we must enter upon some road of our own choosing. Today, Alumni, we bring to you not a large band but one full of an energy and perseverance sufficient to make up for any lack in mere numbers. This you cannot help but appreciate when you have listened to my classmates, for whom I now make room. Once more—a most hearty welcome! —Will McKenzie. '08. CLASS HISTORY OF “IMS'' We meet today to celebrate the end of school days and to hail the begin- ning of serious life. We naturally have more interest for the future than fur the past, yet it would never do for the brilliant achievements of the class of “1008 to go unrecorded. M'is a difficult task under any circumstances, to write a class history, hut when one attempts to do justice to such an extraordinary class as “1908'’ one approaches the subject with fear and trembling. At first it might seem strange to some that I, who only became a niembei of the class the last semester, should lx; chosen “Class Historian,'9 hut when you consider the matter, I am sure you will agree it is not odd but right, for me to chronicle the deeds of “1908. Is it not a fact that many of the great histories are written, not by the men who lived in the period described, but by men who lived long ages after? Is not John Fiske's history of New England far more widely read than that of W illiam Bradford? Seldom is the historian person- ally acquainted with the men lie describes, nor is he a participant in the events he pictures hut he draws his knowledge from research, based upon study, ma- terial relics, and observations. Is it not likewise then fitting, that the history of 1908' should lie written by an observer rather than a participant? It was in the twentieth century, fourth year, during the second year of the

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12 T H E K Y O T E GLASS DAY, 1908 SALUTATORY ADD HESS % Fellow Students and Classmates: Perhaps you have heard great speeches. Perhaps poor ones. It remains to be seen whether mine is great or poor. You are to lx my judges. My speech is the first and the shortest, not that I am the first in my class,—nor am I the shortest. My classmates like to talk so well and have so much to say that it would be eminently improper for me, being first on the program, to speak long. It is difficult for me to express my feelings. Within a few short hours our days here as students of the Hillings High will be ended. Tomorrow we shall receive our diplomas—Dlplomm—Perhaps that does not signify much to all of you but it does to us, the class of '08. We have not earned them by play, al- though we have spent many a happy hour within these four walls. At this time our lives separate. We go forth together but perhaps some of us shall never meet again. We all have ambitions and ideals or we would not be here now. We have all built air-castles: no doubt many of these will be shattered but where there is youth there is always hope. Oh! wise was he who placed that small treasure in Pandora's box. Our ambitions point in different di- rections. In following them we shall drift apart like the seeds of the earthly plants that are blown about by sweeping winds. Some of us will succeed and may none fail. We leave a small token of remembrance not that we shall be remembered by the Hillings High as individuals but that it may remember that there was a Senior class of ’08. May we Seniors in after life when we are weighed down with cares, our faces filled with wrinkles and our heads covered with gray hair, pause at times in the hurry of our busy lives and dwell upon the school days of the Hillings High— Upon the four years' lessons, Upon each well-worn book, Upon the many scoldings That so gracefully we took! Upon basketball and foot'ball games Which we beheld with joy— Upon the teams whose play brought cheers From every girl and boy. Upon the Music period And the many songs we’ve sung Upon our Inward quakings When the bell for class has rung. Upon the many teachers. Kind in every way, Who aided in our studies, And even in our play. And now in future struggles I fear we’ll oft confess That life would be far pleasanter Were'we back In B. H. S. —Flossie Parkinson, 08.

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14 T IT E KYOTR reign of the “gentle Dove,” that a hand of thirty-seven exiles from the grades stood More the gate of the Land of Knowledge and demanded admittance; no cause for fear had they, for they were led by “M illiani the Conqueror, and ill their midst was “George the First ' and “Grace, the Fair. As the march of an advancing army is heralded by its successes, so the valiant deeds of these fair lads and lasses had preceded them! Many tales had been told of their famous record in the Grades; of the din- ner given so successfully on Feb. 20th, the proceeds of which were devoted to the purchasing of magazines; of their splendid rendering of “The Merchant of Venice” on June first. With such harbingers, no wonder the gates swung wide open, and they were joyously received by the Faculty and admitted into the sanctum sanctorum of the Hillings High School. They were surprised to find that far ahead of them, on the Royal Road to Success, were other travelers who looked scornfully upon them, who joked and jested at their expense, but “1908 was above paying attention to such trivial matters, and moved steadily forward with the intent hope of reaching its destination without delay; even at this time, they had their joys and triumphs and often displayed signs of future greatness. Onward they pressed, overcoming all difficulties, until at hist they came to a peaceful valley in the summer of 1905. As Freshmen, they were undoubted- ly a success; nothing could excell the gall of William, the meekness of Etta, or the greenness of Woodson, and are not these the predominating qualities of the verdant class? But gradually they lost their emerald tint and took on the modest, but firm demeanor which has characterized them ever since. One sad instance marked this year. It was when the “Reaper of Death en- tered the ranks and took Mildred Durbin, their beloved classmate, from their midst. In her death each mourned a true friend. “There is no death, the stars go down To rise upon a fairer shore, And bright in Heaven's jewel crown They shine for evermore.” After the refreshing influence of three months' vacation, the courageous army resumed its march; a number of the band were missing, for some had wandered off into the wilderness and failed to return; but reinforcements came with “Don. the Brave, “Flossie, the Gentle,” and “Hazel, the Gay. Many adventures were encountered in the Swamps of Mathematics, but “George, the Wise always came to the rescue, and led them forth in safety; often were they lost in the “Mists of Latin, but “Helene, the Clever held high the gleaming lamp and safe at last were they. As Sophomores, they had gained in the knowledge of the world, they forgot to he afraid of the “Powers that Be, and failed to run upon the approach of Superintendent Brother! On rare occasions, they would smile at one another during study periods and Etta May even went so far as to whisper while Grace, it is said, wrote a note! When the bugle .sounded in 190ft, it was found, bv roll call, that the ranks of 190S had materially diminished. The “Gentle Dove” had flown and