Natick High School - Sassamon Yearbook (Natick, MA)

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ll' Tllli SASSA Nl ON FAREWELL ADDRESS BY lCmvARo Lowif 'lihe next year marks the beginning of a new decade. For us, it denotes the beginning of a new step in life. lfor the past twelve years the school has nurtured us, fostered us, and guided us. These twelve years of school exper- ience are of immeasurable importance to us: twelve years of education made available to us - regardless of race. creed, or economic status -- at your expense. 'lihe training which we have received during these years constitutes the corner- stone of the edifice of which we hope to make our lives. We have all been pro- vided with an equal opportunity to lay that cornerstone, thenceforth it is our duty to shape our lives upon this cornerstone in such a manner that they shall be, in your eyes, worthy of the years of patient guidance that you have alloted us. lVe learn from history that the ancient Spartans indulged in a race known as the marathon relay. ln this relay, all persons who accepted a chal- lenge to race were required to run with a lighted torch, until they were incapable of carrying it further. 'lihen they were to pass it on to new hands: striving, above all, never to allow the torch to cease glowing brightly. XVe graduates Find ourselves in a parallel situation. A great challenge is now being thrust at us - the challenge of a beckoning future. VVho is issuing it? Age, Timei perhaps: but we like to consider it as coming from you, our parents, teachers and friends. You have created new fields of work and thought for us that we must continue 'intelligently to expand and enlarge. This is a time when you are warning us: counseling us to be not hasty in our judgments, advising us to weigh carefully your advice and opinions. VVe appreciate these warnings and we believe that they will prove of worth to us. There are also insidious doctrines of hate and greed which would influ- ence us - subtle suggestions that the world owes us a living. These we IDUSI shun and cast forth from our consideration with all the vigor of our con- certed effort. lVe want nothing from the world except an even chance to show that we are able and willing to earn our own living. Wye hope that in the future our deeds shall show you that these warnings and your advice have not been in vain Ir is possible to express thankfulness and gratefulness in a great variety of ways. How we are to show our gratitude remains to be seen, but there is one sentiment that runs like a silken thread through our convictions. Vfle want you to be proud of us in the years to come: not only of the material things we do, but also of the efforts we make to embody in our future life and work the principles of honesty and integrity. Therefore, let us firmly accept our torch, and carry it triumphantly down life's highway, remembering to pause in those places where we will leave some person happier for our having passed that way. As we bid our Final adieu, let us remember Thomas Carlyle's words, Have a purpose in life, and, having it throw into your work such strength of mind as God has given you.

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THE SASSAMON 11 voice of experience, Joseph Murphy, and his secretary, Angie Pezza. Leaving here, the Mayor asked if they would care to attend a church service and whom should they find seated in the pulpit but Deacon VVilliam VVells. Other notable persons attending were Mary Grupposo, the owner of the grocery mart, Alice Houlihan, employer at tht employment agency, and Irma Noyes, owner of the taxi business in Natick. Due to the visitors' short stay, the Mayor declared Sunday a holiday and permitted racing, so after dinner they were off to the races at the new race track operated by John VVhite. Diamond Jerry Cardellicchio escorted them to his box seats whereupon the first race was begun. The favorite, picked by sports- man George Tibbert. was Bluebird from the famed stables of Leo Valle, ridden by Jockey VValdron Newell. The next favored was Golden Boy, ridden by Philip Quatrale. The official timer, Arlene Harrington, and the official sighter, Claire Kadlik, nearly came to blows over the decision which was given to Sweet Pea, an unknown, but Ruth O'Connell kept them from fighting. Sitting in the debutante box, admired by all, were Lydia Emanuelli, Eleanor Garvey, and Emily Johnson. Thus ended the week-end with the visitors from the earth. Now, Son. said Frank, this is how it all went. Of course. it's up to you to believe it or not. You know that the people whom you have heard me mention are all good sports and won't take this little epistle wrong, but if any of them should, you can tell them that it's a pretty hard job for me to tell such a story and have to use two hundred names. When the class of 2270 graduated, they only prophesied for about tweny-live out of two hundred and fifty. f'Yes, Gramps, but what happened to those earthmen and the hole in the sky? Well, I'll have to tell you that one in another story. Now it's time for you to go to bed. ADDRESS OF WELCOME - GRADUATION Parents, Teachers, Friends: It is an honor and a privilege for me to extend to you on behalf of my classmates a cordial welcome to the Graduation lfxercises of the Class of l9-TO. Today we are before you for the last time as a class. From here we shall enter society individually and each will offer his contribution in appreciation for the training you have provided for us. Vile are grateful we are living in a country where education is required, and w here we can further that education without the constant fear of the horrors of war, so prevalent in most corners of the earth today. Some of us will enter college in Septemberg others will enter the business world, while still others will be absorbed in the various skilled or unskilled positions. Optimists paint a rosy picture for the future of the high school graduates of todayg pessimists paint one of gloom and tell us we are next in this terrible struggle going on in Europe. Vvhat Fate has in store for us, no one of us can tell. It is our sacred obligation to do all we can to make these United States an even better place to live in. As we stand on the threshold let us resolve to do our utmost to keep this beloved land of ours truly the land of the free and the home of the brave.

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THE SASSAMON 13 LEADERSHIP Today, more than ever, American youth must produce the leaders of the world. For many years it has been evident that there has been a great lack of outstanding men in positions of social, political, and economic importance. ls it mere chalice that we have privation in the midst of plenty? 1s it necessary that we, the richest country on earth, should have one-fourth of our population in want? Should we be passive to the industrial and agricultural wrongs surround- ing us? To be sure, we have made some strides toward the correction of these nationwide problems: but to obtain real success we must have men who have the moral courage and honesty to lead the people toward a better way of living. VVe do not expect a Utopia, nor do we believe that all of us will become author- ities on any subiectg but we do believe that the educated people of America can all becomeileaders at least in thought and consequently will select men who will not be motivated by self-interest but who will have for their goal the happiness and prosperity of all the people in all the states. Soon, 1 hope, the world will look to us for guidance: and this time we cannot say to the old world as we did in 1919 and 1920, take care of yourselves, for if Europe is allowed to be plunged into anarchy, chaos, or worse, they may successfully try to involve us. Therefore we must look to the future when America will be recognized as the center of culture, finance, and power - the last haven of peace and hope. Yvith lfurope again in such a precarious position, disintegration has already begun in its educational system. According to statistics given in the Rockefeller Foundation Review for 1939. we learn that the University of Wlarsaw has ceased to exist with its faculty either killed or in concentration camps. During the recent Spanish Civil Vvar the books from the University library at Madrid were used by the Moors to line their rifie pits. The University of Prague has been closed by the German government. For reasons of economy and because their students are in military service, more than half the universities of fnierniany are closed. The University of London has been uprooted and scattered over a wide area in southern England. 'lihe 20 OOO student population of the University of Paris has shrunk to 5,000 ln China the war has swept practically all the uni- versities off the map and those remaining are badly,crippled. Many public and private libraries which housed rare manuscripts and some of the earliest printed works have been destroyed. lfrom these institutions came many of the leaders of the past. If we are again called upon to accept the leadership of the world after this war is over, let us be prepared to receive it. Anierica must produce the leaders of tomorrow Vile must be humble about the question of our intellectual leadership, lf, as the result of the present cataclysm on the other side of the Atlantic, lfurop: freezes into an Arctic night, we may DOY easily keep the fires lit in the universities and laboratories of Kmerica. It was a Frenchnian, Pasteur, who discovered the process of purifying milk. Ir was an lfnglishman. Lister, who furtherezl develop- ments in sterilization. lX 1arconi, an Italian, invented the wireless. ln many ways we have been dependent upon the great minds of lfurope for the cross-fertiliz-a- tion which is necessary for scientific and social growth. The last great war found us no longer a debtor nation in economics. The present sacrifice must fizixl us a leader in all things intellectual. Still, we cannot all be scientists. ln this America of ours there is room for all the varied talents which can be offered. There are the professions of law, social science, and religion. There are designing, engineering, and teaching which reuuire college training. It may be said that these occupations are crowded, but