Chester High School - Flamstead Challenge Yearbook (Chester, VT)

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE Forth to CI Better Woirld SALUTATORY ADDRESS THELMA LEWIS, 1945 We are venturing forth into a world made much better through the efforts of science and medicine. . Less than a few years ago you could not have had a brain surgery without neces- sitating the use of a metal plate, placed where the incision had been made. Now because of medical research a film called fibrin made from fibrinogin, contained in human blood, can be stretched across the opening. When the wound has healed the fibrin film is absorbed by the tissues. This film replaces the membrane which sheathes the brain under the skull until new tissue is formed. We have also gone a long way since the time of Wilhelm Roentgen, the German scientist who discovered the Xfray. At first Xfray machines were extremely expensive and large. During the last war about the only places where there were Xfrays were the large hospitals. This meant that those who needed to be Xfrayed must make the difficult journey to the hospital. Today Xfray machines are so reduced in size that they may be carried about the battlefronts in the back of a jeep. Madame Curie's discovery of radium and work in radiofactivity have now made it possible to cure the primary cases of cancer and slow the pace of the more advanced ones. Through the tireless efforts of many, cancer is not the dreaded disease it used to be although there are many phases yet unsolved. We can do a great deal ourselves. There are numerous cancer clinics all over the countryg it is your privilege to go to these clinics to be examined. The worst of this disease is that many times a person does not realize that he has it. If we all work together we can someday conquer cancer. Sulfa drugs and penicillin have added their contribution to the control of infec' tion. Without these many of our wounded would be minus arms and legs because the infection could not be stopped soon enough to save that limb. Many times doctors have decided to amputate only to find that one of the sulfa drugs has started its work of healing, thus dispelling the need of amputation. This reminds me of the story of the usually cheerful undertaker in a small Oregon town who was looking so glum that a friend asked what was the matter. The trouble was, confided the undertaker, he just couldn't Hgure ahead any more. I used to be able to pick up the weekly paper and count on likely business, he said. Now I can't count on anything. One week I read that Horace Brown is seriously ill-the next, he is reported up and around and as spry as ever. Not, he hastened to add, that I regret a person's recovery. But every' thing is so blame uncertain. And do you know what I lay it to-these sulfa drugs! A soldier has had his arm taken off at the shoulder and yet he complains of pain in his fingers. This is because the nerves have not been adjusted to the fact that they are no longer needed to register the pain in an arm which is no longer there. Through the use of pentothol sodium this pain was relieved permanently. It is hard to realize that some of our nerves send impulses to the brain that travel at the speed of a fast dive bomber, while others move at the speed of a fast walk. It is possible now to have a defective cornea replaced by a clear piece of cornea taken from another eye. There are only about twenty surgeons in the United States who are able to perform such a delicate operation. It is now possible to join severed nerves by the use of nerve glue made from blood. A nerve which has been torn

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE Those who argue that the United States should join the new organization in gen' eral make these points: Q11 It is true that the new organization is imperfect, but this is an exceedingly imperfect world in which progress is almost invariably made by evoluf tion not by revolution. Q21 If the next organization can get underway we have a chance of doing something about imperialism and cartels, one of the prominent evils of today. This private competitive capitalism operating internationally has produced a world monopolization which will hinder the likelihood of prosperity. Q31 The Vandenberg Plan, which has the support of well over twofthirds of the Senate, would solve the prob' lem of the use of American troops without our consult by confining their use to keep' ing down Germany and Japan. This would prevent the vanquished enemy from creat' ing a new world order. Q41 The new League of Nations contains provisions such as an Economic and Social Council to handle social, economic, labor, and humanitarian agencies which were left out of the old League of Nations. Q51 Everyone knows that civilization cannot stand another war-war with science and technology evolving still more deadly weapons. Q61 Even a chance is better than no chance and is worth taking -a corrupt police force is better than no police force, a reactionary government is better than no government as citizens can clean up or throw out an administration. People should accept the fact that international government and policing the peace are both essential. Once that is accomplished and a sense of responsibility and participation is established, the chance of making something decent out of the new peace organization will be better. Popular support of the plans now being drawn must rest on the modest belief that something is better than nothing. Are we any closer to a permanent peace? Yes, in so far as we have moved nearer a world organization. All over the world people are demanding peace, security, and freedom, and in that sense, time is on the side of the angels. It remains for us to do our part by Hghting with every means within our command for a just peace and a respectful world. The nation must recognize that just as the individual is subject to the law of the nation in which he lives, the nation must be subject to the law of the world of which it is also a part. If a citizen refuses to obey the law of a democratic community, the community enforces the law for the common good. There can. be no orderly com' munity based upon the principle that each nation can do what it pleases. The nations of the world are responsible for world law and if one nation refuses to obey the law it becomes the concern of the world association. Law does not govern a nation unless a nation respects, and works continuously and cooperatively for the benefits of all people. I think we may now say that there will be no general international organization unless the people of the United States are willing to take part in it and give it our power and prestige. The mark of maturity among men and nations is the willingness to assume responsibility. Let us assume it with faith in ourselves, not fear.

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE away can be replaced by a new one. These new nerves are taken from people who have donated their bodies to the spare parts banks. These nerves are immediately frozen and then dehydrated under high vacuum. 'Cartilage is one of the most essential factors in plastic surgery. You have all heard stories of soldiers on the battlefront losing an ear or parts of a nose or lips and having them made to look like new through the wonders of plastic surgery. Cartilage under refrigeration can be kept in the spare parts bank in a sterile container filled with a saline solution. No longer is infantile paralysis the dread disease that it has been in the past. Sister Kenny, an Australian nurse, has given us the theory that polio cases become crippled because of the inactivity of the muscles during spasm. Hitherto the victims were placed in casts, thus giving no chance for activity. Under the Kenny treatment the limbs are left free but inactive, the spasm and pain are relieved with hot packs, and then simple muscle training is started. In Minneapolis there is the Michael Dowling School for Crippled Children-a public school for children who are so badly crippled they cannot very well attend the regular schools. In Minneapolis in three years there were a hun' dred seventyfeight poliofstricken children. They were treated by the old method and fiftyfseven, of them were later enrolled in the Michael Dowling School. For the same period of time ninetyfone children were treated with the Kenny method and not one of them needed to attend the Michael Dowling School. This war is not like any other war we have fought. It affects the minds of the soldiers sometimes far more than their bodies. We hope that this will be the war fought to procure a permanent peace. Many advances in science and medicine have been made during this struggle which will make this a better world in, which to live. Third Honor Essay EDUCATION AS A FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE JOYCE SLADE, 1945 What is education? I think all of us will agree that education is the development of the talents and faculties of mind, body and spirit. The goal of education is sound character and trained intelligence. These possessions are valuable in any political order and are possessions that will keep us free. We all realize that education is the way of progress, and is one of the chief pursuits of every wise man. In a democratic government like ours, that rests upon the will of the people, it is tremendously important that education is broad and general. The progressive nations of the world today have seen to it that most of their people can at least read and write. In the countries of northern and western Europe, not more than one in a hundred of the entire population is illiterate. In the United States, people have probably talked more about education than any other country in the world, and yet we still have over four million illiterates. At each great period in American history, the purpose of education in schools and colleges had been redefined by pioneer thinkers. This was done after the estab' lishment of the republic. The purpose of schools, it was then said, was to create in-