Plainfield High School - Milestone Yearbook (Plainfield, NJ)

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THE ORACLE; 17 Graduation Exercises, 1909 BY ALAN FITZ RANDOLPH. The Commencement Exercises of the Class of 1909 were held in the First Baptist Church on Thursday evening, June 24th. After an overture by the orchestra, the exercises of the evening were opened by an invocation by Rey. John Y. Broek, of the Trinity Reformed Church. This was followed by the Salutatory Address, given by Agnes Mar- guerite VanNorden. Miss VanNorden spoke on “A Life of Sacrifice,” as exemplified by the life of Bishop Patterson. The address of the evening was made by Hon. George H. Utter, Ex-Governor of Rhode Island. Following this address, Charles F. Abbott, Vice-President of the Board of Education, made the presentation of the various prizes of books and money won by the students of the School. A list of the prize-winners is given in another part of THE ORACLE. Following the prize awards came the Valedictory Essay and Address by Sarah Anne Brouwer. Miss Brouwer spoke first of Joan of Arc, as an example of an ideal woman, emphasizing her sincere and unflinching trust in her divine cause and her magnetic power as a leader. She spoke next of Queen Esther, the savior of her people, and of Charlotte Corday, who “killed one man to save a hundred thousand,’ and finally of the nameless heroines who will never become famous. The valedictory itself, which will be found in another part of this issue, was then spoken to her classmates by Miss Brouwer. The forty-three graduates were given their diplomas by Leander N. Lovell, the President of the Plainfield Board of Education. After the presentation of diplomas, the graduates, alumni and their friends adjourned to the auditorium of the Plainfield High School, where the classes of ’07 and ’o8 tendered a reception to the class of 1909. The auditorium was tastefully decorated with the colors of the three classes, who enjoyed the dancing until two o’clock.

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16 DHE ORACLE. was proud of my painting. It would be a fine thing to tell the girls. I truly could set up as a hard worker now. Two boards were done when a timid knock sounded at the door. Every- body who knows Frieda thinks her a beautiful child. As she came in today she struck me as lovelier than usual, but I did not feel like returning the radiant smile. The dark, heavy circles under her eyes looked darker. Her face was whiter than usual, except when she coughed, and then burned, blood red, a round spot on either cheek. Those eyes, blue as the corn- flower of her father’s own beloved Germany, were bigger, and oh, so much older than twelve years! Frieda sat comfortably on the bed and told me the news. Her mother had subscribed to a magazine for twenty-five cents, and was to get, as a present, three Rambler roses, a red, a pink, and a white, with ‘the subscription. Willie was, working in an office now, but he didn’t like it as well as the factory. He didn’t have anybody to talk to half the time. The quarter I had given her yesterday for washing dishes, she had kept and was going to give some of it to Willie tomorrow with which to buy her father a necktie for his birthday. Her father was going to be forty Sunday, but he couldn’t buy such nice neckties as Willie. The last time they had given him money to buy a necktie, he had spent it for her cough drops. She had had the doctor three times that week, and he had said she must not go to school any more till she was better. “T have to eat four fresh eggs a day, I do. That’s what the doctor said. I want to go to school, ‘cause I won't get out of the sixth grade this year if I don’t. I won't pass in June.” She looked up at me, pathetically, and was suddenly quiet. I painted fast. Why is it that children who deserve above all else to be well should be tortured by disease? “That’s nice poetry you have up there,” she blurted after a pause. The verse she had spelled out was this: “There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave, There are souls which are pure and true, So give to this world the best you have, And the best will come back to you.” “Oh, it is very, very, beautiful,” Frieda whispered under her breath. How big and bright her eyes were! That remark worried me. Why should a child of twelve be so impressed by this theory of compensation in life? Was society right, when there existed such poverty that the chil- dren of some men become aged and sick before they have begun to live their lives? (Continued on page 42.)

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18 THE .ORACLE: ) Wr c ¢ —r 9 uf 9 vf Ira Winthrop Travell BY CLARA SAVAGE. One of the greatest privileges in life is to come into contact with strong and noble personalities, to feel their influence and be helped by their pres- ence and example. Such is the privilege of every pupil in Plainfield High School. Mr. Travell is a principal who has the love and respect of all pupils, for they recognize in him not only the authority and control necessary to his office, but also a friendliness and personal interest in the progress of each pupil, that inspires and encourages. He is anxious that the school should be a pleasant place, that the boys and girls should as- sociate it with happy hours spent together in working, and with evenings full of fun. He helps to make school-life a joy by entering enthusiastically into the amusements and encouraging interest in athletics, dramatics and all other pursuits that help to arouse and maintain school spirit. The boys are his loyal friends and pay him high tribute by declaring him to be “perfectly square.” The girls are no less loyal. A “new girl” finds that the tall man, of whom she is rather afraid, at first, takes especial pains to make her feel at home in Plainfield High School, and when he meets her on the street, he has not forgotten her name. Mr. Travell is honored by the pupils of Plainfield High School because he exemplifies devotion to a noble cause; he is loved by the pupils because they know him to be their personal friend and confidant. Each boy and girl will remember him for some individual kindness. “That best portion of a good man’s life— His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”