Clifton Springs High School - Cliftonian Yearbook (Clifton Springs, NY)

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THE CLIFTONIAN 3 the value and beauty of unselfish human relationship, the more, as we see Sidney Carton sacrificing his own life for the benefit of one he loved. We feel a little pity for the murderer Macbeth as we see his love manifested to the end for Lady Macbeth. We are able to understand the emotions of Brutus as he struck down his friend for the good of Rome. The understanding of human nature, the beauty of human relationship—these we are beginning to realize. But our quest has only begun; we have only glanced a vision of the beautiful—attainment is still beyond. We have been told that ‘‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever; Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness.” We are glad that we have been allowed the knowledge which enables us to distinguish beautiful things. It is my wish for my classmates that we may continue our quest for all that is beautiful in life. And in our quest let us remember that the mountain must be climbed before we see the beauty outstretched below. “I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty; I woke, and found that life was Duty. Was thy dream then a shadowy lie? Toil on, poor heart unceasingly; And thou shalt find thy dream to be A truth and noonday light to thee.” ELVERE BUCHAN Valedidory: Creative Effort Members of the Board of Education, Principal and teachers, friends and classmates, tonight, we, the Class of 1931, find ourselves about to take a final leave of all that has meant so much to us for four of the happiest years of our lives. We have prepared ourselves to face life, to go out into the world and, by creative effort, to accomplish something in the special field which each of us shall work in. Creative effort is properly defined as the putting forth of one’s strength to bring something into being. Before we can begin to create, however, we must first have a strong foundation of intellectual knowledge such as we have acquired in our High School course, and secondly, we must have a desire to accomplish. We know that this is true, for the example of all our leaders prove the veracity of this statement. Without the foundation of intellectual attainment, reached through the aid of borrowed books and the light of the fireplace, the name of Abraham Lincoln would have no more meaning than that of John Jones or Tom Smith. But Knowledge alone did not gain Lincoln his preeminent position in the hearts of the American people. It was the creative effort to do and to accomplish, which would have been useless without that intellectual foundation, which has gained him his place. Lincoln never ceased to put forth creative effort. He was not only the preserver of the nation, the emancipator of the slaves, but he was, at the time of his death, working on what would probably have been his greatest creative achievement—that of healing the wounded feelings between the North and the South. We can rightly call Lincoln's life a personification of creative effort. An almost miraculous result of creative effort is shown to us in the life of Helen Keller. Can you imagine what a task it would be to learn to talk if you had been deaf, dumb, and blind from infancy? Those were the handicaps Helen Keller had to overcome. But by supreme effort, patience, and the putting forth of will power, she began to create words, to learn something about

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2 THE CLIFTONIAN Salutatory: Our Quest In behalf of my classmates, I wish to welcome each of you this evening. We especially welcome our parents and friends, for the same interest which brings you here tonight was one of the main factors in helping us to achieve the successful accomplishment of our high school course. Members of the Board of Education, we are pleased to have you here with us this evening. We appreciate the support you have given us in our various enterprises. And teachers, without your kind and willing endeavor, we would not have reached this event, for we have needed many times to be guided by your wise counsels. We extend out welcome to our fellow students too. You have helped in many ways to make our school days pleasant. Classmates, we have at last reached this important event in our lives—our graduation. For years it has been a star on the horizon. At first it was dim, but as the years passed, it has grown brighter, and tonight it has reached its zenith. Now that we are about to leave school, we wonder why we came to school, and what we are expected to do after we leave. At first we came because it is customary for all children to enter school. Finally, we came to the place where we could leave school if we wanted to, but why didn’t we? We kept on because, unconsciously perhaps, we were searching for something. It was a vague sort of quest, a search for something indefinite, intangible. Now that we have completed our high school days, we stop to wonder just what it was we were searching for, and whether we have found it. As I took myself to task, I came to conclusion that our quest was for beauty—the beauty of knowledge, of truth, and of well living, the appreciation and understanding of the works of man and nature. Education enables us to see and appreciate beauty. By studying the different types of beauty we come to know each better, and to enjoy each more. The beauties of nature are perhaps the best known and the most enjoyed. The lovely out-of-doors is free for everyone to enjoy. After we have studied nature we find the flowers, the trees, the birds, more wonderful and more beautiful. Until one has studied nature, he cannot fully appreciate it, for everyday he learns more wonderful things about it. Truly has the poet said, “One impulse from the vernal wood May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can.” In the same manner, through growing knowledge and experience, we arc beginning to appreciate the beauty of human relationship. Perhaps we realize it more tonight than at any other time in our lives—tonight when we are about to discontinue an organization which has meant so much to us in friendship. Personalities have made their marks in the world. From acquaintance with the great personalities of literature and history, we too, we hope, have grown stronger and more beautiful in character. The beauty of accomplishment and well doing to others has been exemplified to us in the persons of Jacob Riis, of Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, of Florence Nightingale, and of Dr. Henry Foster. We have experienced through books the joy and the satisfaction that comes through making the world a better place in which to live. With Dr. Grenfell and Florence Nightingale we experience the beauty of helping those in distress. We know that personalities develop with beauty and become great in character and accomplishment through unselfish human relationships. We appreciate, I believe,

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THE CLIFTONIAN 4 her environment, and finally she even learned to talk, read, and write. She created for herself a new world of which she had been entirely unaware until she began to sense things. Helen Keller has not stopped with overcoming her handicaps; her effort has been to aid others also handicapped. She has helped them create a world of which she herself was once ignorant. In music, art, and literature, we find, perhaps, the best example of creative effort. After acquiring the requisite foundation, the musician is ready to create a new composition; the artist, a beautiful painting; the author, an interesting story; the poet, an awe-inspiring poem; the dramatist, a play. We Americans are all too prone to lay aside the work of the artist as we say, “ ’Twas easy for him—a natural gift.” We are apt to overlook the time spent in preparation, and in gaining knowledge of the underlying principles of his art, or the time and effort spent in the actual creation of the masterpiece. Can we think that Dante’s immortal “Divine Comedy”, or Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony”, or Raphael’s “Sis-tine Madonna”, or Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” were created without time and effort or without a thorough knowledge of the work each engaged in? Before these artists created their masterpieces they studied, traveled, and worked hard, laying a firm foundation upon which to build a structure that would last through many centuries and for which the world would be the richer. During our four years of High School we have had a taste of creative effort. In our design classes, we have tried in a very amateurish way to draw, paint and create designs; in our English classes we have tried our hands at creating poems, stories, and essays. We have learned that there is a great amount of satisfaction derived from observing a piece of work which we ourselves have created by our own effort and initiative. We have begun to learn the joy of creation. But some people after laying a good foundation, stop. They do not build upon their knowledge and try to create something to their credit. Numerous speakers have come to us during our high school course with the message “build a strong foundation—else the superstructure of your career may easily tumble down.” Repetition has its effect. We have heard this statement so often that we have come to believe it, but now, as we have come to the completion of our high school course, we realize that the foundation is only the beginning and that no matter how strong it is, it is absolutely useless unless we go ahead and build upon it. Persistent effort, time, and faith, we now know are necessary. And so, we Seniors, by our creative efforts hope to build a worthwhile structure upon the foundation, you have helped us to lay—an edifice of accomplishments. And now in behalf of the members of my class and myself, I wish to thank the Board of Education, our principal and teachers, for all they have dons for us. We are fully aware of their many kindnesses, their anxious solicitude for our good and comfort, and we wish to express at this time our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude. Members of the Class of 1932—we, the Class of ’31, are very grateful to you for your unselfish cooperation in our behalf. You have aided us materially in our dramatic and financial enterprises, thereby, manifesting not only friendship, but true sportsmanship and school spirit. This school, like every other institution of its kind, has its own customs and traditions. We, in giving up our places as Seniors to you, feel that these traditions will be safe in your hands. Remember that as Seniors you have special duties to perform and standards to uphold, and we who are about to join the ranks of the alumni, wish you much success and happiness in their performance. Loyal and loving classmates, tonight we find ourselves assembled for the last time as an organization. Very shortly we shall part, each to go to work in his chosen field. Let us carry into that field not only the knowledge we have