Philadelphia High School for Girls - Milestone Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Class of February, 1921 there is nothing quite so strong and comforting as the grasp of the out-stretched hand of the guide ahead. Some of the best things about a mountain path are that it is not too easy, that it brings the thrill of danger, and that it gives the opportunity to help a weaker one. Even when human companionship and strength fail the heights are not truly lonely, for there we come face to face with God. The going is buoyant and joyous and there are many things to sustain one on the way, the Cathedral aisles of hemlocks, where one feels the breath of peace and finds coolness and shelter from sun and raing the vision of beauty found in one perfect blue aster resting against a grey rock covered with soft green geraniumg the glimpses, growing more frequent as we ascend, of the val- ley below with its tumultuous river, or its peaceful settlement sending heaven- ward prayerful smokey the tumbling waterfall with its cooling sprayg and the grey cliff, its crannies full of ferns, beneath which one rests, gaining strength from its strength. Finally one reaches the top and looks out on a fair new world. May- hap, sometimes the things which one would see are veiled in mist. Then again, one must have faith and wait until the fog lifts. VVhile it shifts and settles, wavers and parts only to close again, one waits in hope and watches the strange magic wrought by its fantastic power. W'hen it breaks-I can never hope to give you the thrill of a mountain top. Night or day, it brings a sense of exaltation and power, of confidence and desire,-and always it shows a greater height beyond. Hills or mountains-with what a different spirit we approach the journey. Mountains mean glad effortg hills, toil g mountains mean courageg hills, discourage- ment and lack of vision, mountains mean a reaching out and upg hills, a shutting in. To every man there openeth A Way, and VVays, and a Way. And the High Soul climbs the High way And the Low Soul gropes the Low, And in between, on the misty flag, The rest drift to and fro. But to every man there openeth A High Way and a Low, And every man decideth The Way his soul shall go. If you heed the call of the mountain top and choose the High Way, if you take the challenge of danger, you will find your life transformed. Courage and faith will grow in you and all of your experiences will become invested with dignity and beauty. It is not the easy way, but it is the satisfying one. Some- times it will be cold and steep, but it will never be dreary and irksome, and upon it you will discover the strongest and most helpful of companions. Because you climb, the mean and small will first sink into their proper size and finally fade into nothingness and the big and noble will grow ever more real. Today as my message to you I know of nothing better than to tell you of the wonder and joy of the High Road. I can wish for you no more beautiful wish than that God may give you mountains to climb and strength for climbing. And when you have reached the height may you be able to say with Markham, I have found my life and am satisfied. It is with pleasure that I think of the hours we have spent together and realize that I really know you every one. I thank you for your loyalty and co- operation in the last year and I wish you, for the Faculty and myself, a joyous climb. Come back sometime to share with us the beauties you find by the way and to strengthen our faith in the heights beyond. A. W. MATHEWS. Page Thirlnl

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Philadelphia High School for Girls Mnuntain HHUIH There is an old saying which I love to turn topsy-turvy. You are making mountains out of mole hills, say our sage wiseacres when our experiences seem smaller to them than they do to us. Ah, don't you wish we could? VVhen I was a little girl our lawn was infested by moles and covered with mole hills. We children were always stumbling over those hills and often we were thrown to the ground. If only we could have turned them into something which would have helped us up instead of tumbling us down. If we could have made them into mountains, how joyfully we would have climbed them. Moreover, one of them transformed to a mountain would have blotted out all the others and become a point of vision. Those mole hills typify to me the irksome, trivially unpleasant experiences, and I am sure that whenever I have turned my mole hills into mountains, they have been of more value to me and easier to overcome. If we can glorify the mole hills of our experience into points of vision, and approach them wifh cour- age and faith as dihiculties worth overcoming rather than a hzll over which we fall, can not we live more truly and finely? Did you ever stop to think of the difference between a hill and a mountain? The dictionary fails to note the distinction carefully, but in matters of this kind it has never been an infallible guide. There is something discouraging about a mere hill. Last year I spent some time in a hilly country district and I found that the people there have a strong aversion to hills. To them hills mean toil- and mud. As they trudge upward, the sun scorches, the wind cuts, or the rain drenches them for the trees are too small to give any shelter. They struggle up only to find that the hill top gives no helpful glimpse of wonder and beauty. They see only more hills and valleys and beyond another hill to climb. In such a country a man soon learns to plod, and unless he can find his joy in drudgery he echoes in his spiritual as well as his physical life, that. to me, most discouraging of poems: Does the road wind up hill all the way? Yes, to the very end. But how differently one thinks of a mountain. VVhenever in prose or poetry, hills lose their suggestion of toil, you will find that in the mind of the writer or in actual fact, they are mountains. In some versions of the Bible we find, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help written I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains. The mountain is the place of inspiration and transfiguration. It is on the mountain heights that men have seen God in His glory and holiness and tender love as well as in His power. On a mountain top the greatest sermon was preached. Perhaps it is not true of you, but to me up hill suggests a weary roadg mountain climbingu a magic path. The path, in reality is steeper than the road, but it is more easily trod. Of course in actual experience the beginning of a mountain path is often found in a hill road, a broad, toilsome, well-traveled wayg but we endure it for the thought of what is beyond. VVe know the heights are above us and are to be won. The most important part of a mountain climber's equipment is not his staff, but his faith in the height, for once he is on the real mountain path the summit is lost in view. There must be effort in plenty, but from it and with it comes the joy of get- ting higher, higher near the goal. No mountain climber ever plods. He goes with a sure foot and a light swinging stride. His shoulders never droopg his head never sinks between them. But you must not think that the path is without hardships. Often it is steep beyond belief. Sometimes it lies along the edge of a ,cliff many hundreds of feet in height, and one little misstep on the slippery rock may send you headlong into the valley below. Sometimes it seems lonely, but not often, for we seldom climb mountains alone. When we come to a bit of the path which we can not conquer without aid, Put Twain

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Philadelphia High School for Girls Qnlntatnrg THE TASK AND THE DREAM. Today, our day, is here! It marks the realization of a dream-a dream interwoven with the tasks of four years. Dear friends, we happily and gratefully greet you this morning, for we know that without you, our dreams of long ago would not have come true. We have found during these last four happy years that all our visions have resulted in tasks. However, we have not only accomplished these tasks, but have dared to conceive greater dreams, dreams which will eventuate in the tasks of our lives. Now, as we enter into that vast joy of beginnings-that immeasurable joy of renewed hope, faith and courage-let us remember that our happiness lies not in a life merely of dreams, nor in a life of work alone. As we count and weigh our time in the careful measuring of the hours of our lives, so we must count and weigh the dreams and then the tasks which will fill these hours. Then, to find happiness in our work, we must discover the true relation between the dreams and the tasks, for one without the other will be of no value. This thought is crystallized in the words of Adelaide Procter: Dreams grow holy, put in actiong work grows fair through starry dreaming, But where each ilows on unmingling, both are fruitless and in vain. Dear friends, today you have come to wish us happiness, as, looking into the distance, we prepare for new tasks, made far fairer by our dreams. We are ready to go on, eager to follow that lure of the turn of the road, of the crest of the hill, beyond which we cannot know what awaits us. In all the happiness and joy of this occasion. we turn to you, dear parents, teachers, and friends, whose love and sacrifices have made our place here today possible. Since both your wishes, and our dreams of long ago have been fulfilled, it is with an equal joy that we all share this day. With the very heartiest greeting, we, the class of February, 1921, welcome you to our great festival. KATHRYN M. Brcxizr.. Pnge Fourteen