Corona High School - Coronal Yearbook (Corona, CA)

Page 26 text:

EL CAMINO REAL Evening was just coming on as we sped along a glimmering highway that wound in and out over the rolling hills of Sunny California. Sud- denly we stopped to read a sign hung beneath a mission bell “El Camino Real.” That meant the King’s Highway or the Royal Road. But why was this highway called the King’s Highway? Why was it more im- portant than any other highway in California? While I pondered over these questions, there seemed to flash before my eyes a picture of the King’s Highway of the Mission days. Yea, and even prior to the Mission days, for in the picture there seemed to be a crude trail and down the trail came a group of aborigines in skin costumes. Next came a band of antelope and behind them lurked a mountain lion. Down the trail came the Portuguese navigator, Cabrillo, the first white man to set foot on California soil. Over the road passed Montezuma with all the splendor of his pagan court. Then came Cortes, vainly searching for wealth and fame. Soon the setting sun gave forth a bright ray of light; and as it died out, there came over the road of thought a traveler of more importance than any who had gone before. He was no great soldier or mighty king, only a priest in a brownish gray cloak. He was slight in figure and walked very slowly, but every step was fired with ardour and determination. This priest was none other than Father Junipero Serra. Father Serra and a group of loyal followers could be seen toiling unflichingly over the work of establishing the Missions and converting a savage race into christianized, self-supporting civilians. How foresighted to have built the missions a day’s journey apart along the King’s High- way, so that at the end of the day the wandering wayfarer might fin d rest and shelter beneath their roofs! Twenty -two

Page 25 text:

FRESHMAN CLASS HISTORY One bright September morn, during the year, 1926, the freshman class entered Corona High School. .When the roll was called, it showed the very gratifying total of something over one hundred students, the largest class ever having entered Corona High School. During the first few weeks of our high school life, we w ' andered rather aimlessly through the halls, gazing heavenward, our thoughts on the unknown ftuure. However, we gradually became accustomed to our new surroundings and soon settled down w r ith earnest endeavor to con- quer our allotted tasks. Our first class meeting was held under the supervision of Miss Horst and Mr. Labrum, our advisory groups being supervised by Miss Zumbro, Miss Mitchell and Mr. Hancock. At our first class meeting, the following officers were elected : presi- dent, Reece Barnsley; vice-president, Charles Iselin; secretary, Delmar Garner; treasurer, Ralph Feuerborn. The regular high school rally was held on October 1, 1926, each class putting on a stunt or one-act play. The freshmen presented a playlet featuring an all-star cast, “A Mock Wedding,” originated and directed by Leah M. Hoover. The girls organized a basketball team, but though all played vali- antly, they were defeated by all other classes of the school — the usual freshman luck. A baseball team also was organized, and to prove to the sophomores that the luck of their basketball team was just an accident, we defeated them by a score of 18 to 13. Another victory was scored in the game with the eighth grade girls. We hope the future years of our high school career will prove as great a source of happiness as the present one has been. THELMA THATCHER LOIS ADAMS Twenty-one

Page 27 text:

As Father Serra journeyed over the road, he must have encountered many dangers and hardships. The question of supplies often became a serious problem and the labors of his fellow missionaries could not always have been so fruitful as had been hoped, lliose unconveited Indians who believed the missionaries to be their bitter enemies must have been incessantly making attacks on the missions and the settle- ments that clustered around them. Through all his trials and tribulations, Father Serra was encouraged and led on by the thought of the peace and quiet of the missions that was ahead of him. The missions that dotted El Camino Real were like the refreshing oases in the center of a hot, sandy desert. How glorious it would be if we could train ourselves to look forward to the brighter days that are sure to follow the darker ones! In life we each have our troubles. But are they anything compared to those of the mission fathers who traveled before and made the way smoother for us? As the day drew to a close and the sign beneath the mission bell along the King’s Highway grew dim in the lengthening shadows of night, my mental picture gradually faded away. The splendor of the mission days had passed. Now the missions are only survivals of a by- gone era. In the noise and bustle of the civilization which has now taken possossion of what was once their territory, they have no part. To those who turn aside from the pathways of the modern world to dream among the scenes where the old padres toiled and died, there is an atmosphere of peace and a charm of romance within the mission walls; and to them the King’s Highway is a pathway of righteousness coming from the history of the past and extending into the dim, dis- tant realm of the future. Evalyn Glass SUNRISE AND SUNSET Dawning — a new day just breaking — Thrilling some lost soul anew. Sunrise — a glorious awakening — ’Tis God’s “Good Morning” to you. Twilight — the shades of night falling— Refreshing a tired world with dew. Sunset — the light of day fading — ’Tis God’s “Good Evening” to you. Lillian Luana Cubley Twenty-three