Lyman Hall High school - Singer Chronicle Yearbook (Wallingford, CT)

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THE CHRONICLE 7 these are the lessons Life will teach us—love!—give!—serve!—those are the things one must do to find Truth. The world needs us as never before—to give our best, though it be little, in its cause. “Go and toil in any vineyard, Do not fear to do and dare; If you want a field of labor, You can find it anywhere.” And this is the quest, and the only quest, in which we are sure to find happiness. Classmates: Tonight we are bidding good-bye to our school and to each other. We are knights setting out on our journeys. In every pathway there is a battle to be fought for the Truth we profess to be seeking. Now our hearts are high and joyous with the triumph of four years’ labor. With shields bright and hearts pure, we are facing Truth’s path. On this path, there will come times of doubt and uncertainty. We shall not see the road clearly; we shall lose our way and falter. But the night will pass, and if we have faith we shall overcome despair. Light will be given to us. As we go along our way, we shall need strength—-of body, mind and soul. We shall need strength for each day’s work, strength to bear our burdens, strength in the days of weariness and sacrifice. But each step, each burden, will make us stronger—strength will be given to us. But most of all, we shall need courage. It may be that Truth’s vision will point out a new, strange way for us to follow, or perhaps a common, tiresome way. We shall need courage to give up all things for an end we may never see. We shall need courage to suffer in silence, to face our task squarely. Yet if the Right is on our side—what have we to fear? Nothing. Courage will be given to us. Life is very good, and in seeking Truth we shall be happy. Sacrifice itself will be a pleasure. Joy fills our hearts now—joy because there is no higher privilege than to seek for Truth. And the end of our search is sure. “Be strong! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; We have hard work to do, and loads to lift. Shun not the struggle; face it; ’tis God’s gift.” Caroline Keeler. CLASS SONG Four years have passed, and the time is drawing near. When we must go along our way, and leave our high school dear; But when we leave this building, and our journey’s wider span. May the memory of old Lyman Hall give us strength to play the man. Chorus: Lyman Hall, we shall firmly make this vow: Always to try our best, to keep your name as fair as now. In years to come, in our work and play, we’ll fondly recall All the good times that we have had at dear old Lyman Hall. Helen Todd, ’24.

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6 THE CHRONICLE spends all his life cutting steps up the mountain. Finally, in his dying moments, he looks back over the steep path. He has given up everything; and lo! there comes to him at last, just at death, one white feather of Truth. His sacrifice, his labor, was worthwhile. Truth always is. There is another thing to learn from this story. As death drew near, the old hunter looked back, and where he had made a path he saw future generations coming up toward Truth, and he cried joyfully, “They will mount, and on my work! They will climb, and by my stair! They will find her, and through me! And no man liveth unto himself, and no man dieth unto himself.” So it is that he who seeks Truth may never find it here. He may be called upon to lay down his life when he is just beginning the search, or he may have to spend all his life climbing one mountain. But what does it matter, so long as someone finds it? Mankind, as a whole, is greater than its parts. Most of us believe in the ideal of permanent world peace. We may never live to see it, but for the sake of our future brothers let us make the search for it easier by clearing the path, by cutting steps up the mountain. And surely, we, too, shall have a part in the finding. hen the minds of so many of us are like the shallow ground in the parable. For an hour, a day, we follow Truth. Then we cease to believe in it; we cease to seek. To find Truth we must believe in our search. Our Master said, “Seek and ye shall find.” Is it not true? If men seek gold, they find gold. If they seek fame, they find fame. Only, Truth is rarer than gold; it is more elusive than fame; it is more precious than material things. Therefore it is harder to find; it requires a longer and higher search; but those who seek perseveringly will find it, for even death cannot end this quest. We must have supreme confidence in Life’s unfailing goodness and in Love’s eternity. Without this, our hearts will be weak and faint, and we shall give up. We need faith, the faith he had whom Browning described as “One who never doubted clouds would break, Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake.” And now—where is the pathway to Truth? It is here, it is there, it is everywhere. There is only one road to it—Life’s road. Every road of life will lead to Truth if we but make it. Too often we think of the highway to Truth as apart from everyday existence, something very nice to travel if we had time—on a holiday, for example. Sometimes we think of it as solitary and isolated. But this is false. Where is Truth itself? It is not just in the cloister or the hermit’s cell. The kingdom of God—Truth—lies all about you and within you. “To thine own self be true,” said Shakespeare. That does not mean we should be self-centered. “Who seeks for heaven alone to save his soul, May keep the path, but will not reach the goal, While he who walks in love may wander far, Yet God will bring him where the blessed are.” He who would find Truth must have his eyes open to everything beautiful and good, but also he must look for it among the poor, the sick, the unfortunate. He must see it in the church, but he must not forget to visit the slums, the charity homes, and the prisons. Sir Launfal, you remember, found the Holy Grail only when he loved the beggar at his gate. Until we believe that Truth is good and is everywhere, and can see it shining through misery and sin, we shall not find it. It is only by the eyes of love we can see this vision. There is Truth in every fellow man and on every pathway—it is there we must seek it—we must find it there! We are setting out on Life’s road as knights on the quest for Truth. And

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8 THE CHRONICLE CLASS POEM We’ve reached one crossroad in life’s journey here When from the doors of Lyman Hall so dear, We turn our footsteps to the world outside, And by the right or wrong our lives shall guide. We all should choose the road which leads to right; This is the only course that makes for might; If not for might or fame, for truth and good, But rather good than fame, if choose we would. The way we travel may be often steep, The pathway narrow, and with pitfalls deep, And rugged be the rocks which bar our way But ever onward shall we go each day. Through storm and sunshine, let us upward climb, With hope and faith and love to help each time, A heavier load to lift becomes our share, Or greater hardships we are forced to bear. Let all our thoughts be on what lies ahead. The star of fate by which our feet are lead Will guide us to the goal, our journey’s end, Where peace, success, and joy together blend. Jennie Wooding TODAY’S MOST NOTABLE EXPERIENCE When I awoke this morning, the first thought that came to my mind was of school. It was the first time in my life that I had ever greeted the thought of going back to school with a smile. I think it is because I am just beginning to realize what an education really means. In previous years, when the first day of school arrived I was not any too happy. I looked upon the coming school year as one of hard work and little pleasure, but now my thoughts are just the reverse. Now I look upon my school work as a game like basketball or football. I look upon my graduation from high school as a goal which I am to strive for, and which will only be attained by hard work. When I entered the school building this morning I could hardly believe I was in the right place, because of the large number of strange faces that I saw. As I looked at these strangers, whom I presume were Freshmen, a thought suddenly entered my mind. I wondered just how many of those pupils would be here three years from now. Last year, when I saw the new people, or Freshmen, stroll along the corridors, a quite different thought entered my mind from the one of this year. I wondered how much athletic ability was in this new class. This year their athletic ability is the least of my troubles. I am just reaching the age in my life where I think that school work is supreme over athletics and everything. Indeed, I think my most notable experience of today is the change in my attitude toward school. Patrick J. Sullivan. September, 1923.