Manual Arts High School - Artisan Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 19 text:

Mr. Flovd R. Honn, Principal

Page 18 text:

i 4 THE ARTISAN W 39 THE PRINCIPAL ' S MESSAGE To the Highlanders: A nation is not great because of its size or the number of people who live within its boundaries. It is great because of the courage and the char- acter of the people who populate its plains, its hills, and its valleys. There are many peoples in many lands who live in mountainous regions. These regions are usually populated bv brave and rugged people. The most noted of mountain people live in the mountainous regions of Scotland. The courage of these people, their love for their country, their hone :ty and sincerity, their integrity and their capacity to make sacrifices for those whom they love has epitomized the characteristics of mountain people so dramatically that the term Highlanders has come to common usage in designating the people of the Highlands of Scotland. The Winter Graduating Class of 1939 has much to live up to in the name they have chosen. Commencement will mean to them the begin- ning of an experience in living the like of which has not been available to any generation before them. The developments in the field of science, the achievements in the field of industry and the failure of mankind to keep step with these achievements in the field of human relations have brought our country and the world to a crisis which can only be met by courageous pioneering, bv daring experimentation, and by an unfaltering will to make the world a better place in which to live. It will require everything that is implied by the name which you have chosen to live successfully through your day and age. May I bring to you at this time the sympathy, the encouragement, and the best wishes of those whose jov has been your growth and your development during the three years you have been at Manual Arts High School. Floyd R. Ilonn.

Page 20 text:

i6 THE ARTISAN W ' 3 g PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE PRINCIPAL Floyd R. Ilonn was born in Artesia, Los Angeles County, California, the third in a family of nine children. At nine years of age Floyd and the three younger children accompanied their parents to China where the father was engaged in missionary work. Three other children were born after the trip to China. In Cheng-Chow and other cities in Honan for a period of six vears, this typically American family lived in an oriental house enclosed by a courtyard. It was a life totally different from that which they had known in America, but a life rich in interesting experien- ces. During most of this time, no other American or European family lived nearby and as a matter of course, the entire family learned to use the Chinese language. In these early boyhood days, Mr. Honn found life quite dull because of the limited types of activity. The Ilonn children had almost no oppor- tunities to attend school and were very rarelv permitted to leave the court- yard because of the danger of disease. However, the summer season afford- ed a welcome change, for at that time the family journeyed to the moun- tains where a great deal of liberty and freedom were enjoyed. Today Mr. Honn ' s favorite sport is one he first learned to enjoy in China. Here, hunting in the region of the Yellow River gave opportunity for a fascinat- ing pastime. The family ' s return to the States came at the outbreak of the Chinese Revolution in igio. In Los Angeles, our future principal entered a small denominational school now a part of Los Angeles Pacific College. After completing the high school and junior college courses in this city in 1917, he went to Greenville, Illinois, to attend Greenville College, majoring in social studies. Graduation came in 1921 and with it the urge to find a job. Then came the decisive event. A position in teaching was offered to him by a high school in Superior, Nebraska. FIc accepted and began teaching journalism, debating, and history. Thus, Mr. Honn launched himself on the career that was to lead him to the position of principal of Manual Arts. After teaching social studies in Memorial Junior High School at San Di- ego, he came to Huntington Park High School to teach science. Later he was made evening school principal at Huntington Park. During the next several years, while principal at the high school in South Gate, Mr. Honn was an active community worker and did a great deal for civic betterment, being instrumental in the acquiring and developing of an 86 acre public- park. Then came the promotion to the principalship of Roosevelt High School, where he was active in developing student organizations. This year of progress and improvement at Roosevelt High was followed by an assignment to his present position, that of principal of Manual Arts High School.