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

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE The Benefit of a College Education in a Postwar World THELMA LEWIS, 1945 At the present time there is no great demand for a college education in procuring a job. The reason is that there is a manpower shortage for skilled and unskilled labor, the unskilled outnumbering the skilled workers. Factories are willing to hire untrained workers and train them to fill various positions. When this war is over the picture will be a very different one. The servicemen will be returning home to their old occupations. Not only will the present workers be out of a job, but the servicemen will be given preference in the remaining positions. Also, when the war ends there will not be such a great demand for labor. There will not be such a great demand for labor. There will be the task of rehabilitating the warftorn countries, but this cannot compare with production at present. Employers are going to look for the cream of the crop when they seek employees. This means that they want men with the best knowledge of the work to be done. Not only does a college education give one a better chance because of his book learning, but he also gains a wealth of riches in his contacts while in college. This supplies him with agood background for getting along in society, and it gives him an opportunity to mingle with all types and races of people. To be able to know people and to understand them is one of the greatest achievements in life. These are some of the reasons why one should consider college. It will mean that he must put his full attention on it and work his hardest, but I am sure that he will not regret one single part of it. Race Prejudice Race prejudice is a very serious problem facing our country today. New York state is proud to be the first state in the union to pass a law regarding this problem. It is called the IvesfQuinn bill which forbids any employer to discriminate against any applicant for a job because of his race, creed, or color. Strongly supported by Negro, Jewish, and Catholic groups, it was opposed by some employers and unions who said it was unenforceable, and by some who feared it would increase intolerance, not extinguish it. In many parts of our country Negroes are not allowed to hold any civic position. Abraham Lincoln once stated that all men are created equal regardless of their race, creed, or color. And the sooner people realize the truthfulness of this statement, the quicker peace will come to the world. In the past, the colored race has given us several educators, scientists, and musicians. Who knows what the colored people have in their power to offer in the advancement of American culture if given the opportunity? You will find that in this global war, negro and whites are fighting side by side for the ideals of our country. Should they not be able to enjoy the fruits of peace on equal footing? JOAN GOLDTHWAITE, 1946

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GDITORHSLS l-I-ow We Corn I-lelp The Returning Disorbled Soldier CAROL BALLOU, 1945 Every soldier coming back from the battlefields has had some experience which he will never forget, which has changed him in some way. Every soldier has been affected by this experience and therefore may be, to some extent, maladjusted in civilian life. We must adjust ourselves to his different actions when he comes home, expecting him to be somewhat edgy and unpredictable. In the army no one says thank you or uno . He gets so accustomed to giving and to taking commands that many times he forgets how to make his own decisionsg but he rebels against those who make them for him. Shakespeare noted that the soldier was jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel. So far I have written only of some of the things which we should expect from a returning veteran. Now I will touch on the more important factse-how we should treat him. First of all, I think the most important thing to learn is to be casual, naturally casual. Let him talk if he wants to, and permit him to be silent if he prefers to do so. Some sympathy from you is to be expected, but don't harp on his misfortunes. If you can see that he really wants to break down and have it out, cry with him. Let both of you get it out of your systems, for this will break the strain and tenseness. Be hard' boiled-to his face at least. If the man understands the reason for this attitude, he will regard it as a service provided you do not overdo it. Be on the alert to help him get away from any inferiority complex he might start to develop. Encourage him to go on and try to be the useful citizen he would have been if he had not been wounded. Make him realize that whatever his physical infirmities may be, he is still the same per' son that he was. I know that the closer one comes to such a man, the harder it is to overlook his disability. I think that an employer should discuss it with him frankly. A wife or a mother can hardly avoid a strong emotional reaction toward it. They must help him to take up his life, and to make the most of it in spite of his handicap. They must induce him to assume his full share of responsibility in family relationships. I think that the most workable solution will be to accept the disfigurement, grieve over it until you both feel better, refer to it when necessary, and never let it get to the point where it cannot be referred to. Then it will slowly melt away from consciousness and you will forget it in a healthy way. Community programs help a great deal in assisting the disabled soldier to become adjusted to civilian life, especially veteran organizations. Soldiers are bound to feel banded together after the war, for they have shared experiences which they, and only they, will ever be able to understand. Psychiatric facilities of some sort should be made available in every community as a part of the health program. We should help veterans eligible for schooling. We should encourage them to take advantage of the opportunity of a free college education, which is a provision of the G.I. Bill of Rights. Professional help for soldiers involved in tangled marriages and in family troubles should be made available. So you see that there are many ways in which we can help our wounded men to gain happiness and to find a place where they will be needed in our postwar world.

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FLAMSTEAD CHALLENGE OUI' We'll Always Remember- Speedy Westine hanging around all the girls and trying to woo them. Joan and Pat starting everybody to jitterbug. Jean Munro and her many beaus. Especially Robert Stocker and Charlie Maynard. Howard Hill for his insistent babbling and fooling in study hall. Henry drawing his beautiful women and portraits of Roger Zanes. What a romeo fand good at the linefgivingj Ralphie was to the girls. Our C. H. S. genius-jack Ovitt. The dance William Salo played so well on his violin for the operetta. Charlene Baker and Barb Jeffrey for their basketball ability. Marilyn Farmer and Lucille Smith for their strong alto. Al and his cars tearing around with a load of kids at noon. Ray Lawrence for his version of Beautiful Dreamer . Helen and Harold . Need we say more? Zanes, for his delight in pestering. Helen and Helvi and their sailors. Miss Cutting, for her vivid dramatic impcrsonations that make us never forget history. Miss Morse for her laugh. Mr. Barnes for his wonderful dry humor. Pauline Forrest and Arnold Lauren walking home from school hand in hand. The Juniors and their Clique . The fire ball with Willie and Lois . Maurice with the Clark Gable effect on the upper lip. Mr. Stevens playing basketball at noon. Gibby's portrayal of Dr. Nickolov. Tommy, the Hindu . Sylvia and her ankle.