Weymouth High School - Campus / Reflector Yearbook (Weymouth, MA)

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UDE TOOMEY 5' 25' 5856 Kia! 'buf 58 This Is Our Life Z ERE.. SESS 92 .551 BG Sazufdfazy ,4!4f,fw.,

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N 1 W r t LEO T. O'HARE, Vocational School Class President J. RUSSELL BEAN, Vice-President NVALTER K. MARSH, Secretary-Treasurer ROBERT JORGENSEN, Class Marshal

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ti, 'rt-nc Class or 1939, cordially welcome all who are present here on this our Graduation Day. Mothers and fathers, it is witl1 a deep sense of gratitude and affection that we greet you. YVe realize that it is your understanding guidance and your many sacrifices that make this happy day possible. Mr. Pearson and metnbers of the School Committee, we are proud of the Weymouth system of education, which has given us such excellent advantages and opportunities. May we extend to you ot1r heart-felt appreciation. Mr. NVhittle and members of the faculty, we shall never forget the interest you have shown in our work during our four years at Weymouth High School. The story of man's life is the story of his exceptional achievement. Step by step we have been able to unearth his life's narrative by the discovery of what he has done in the past. From the savage stage to the barbaric, from the barbaric stage to the dawn of civilization, from the dawn of civilization to the present time, we are able to unfold a story that far exceeds the greatest fairy tale ever written. ln the beginning, man's exploits were simple, just as his life was simple. 'l'o-day his feats are startling: but, startling as they have been, those which he will accomplish will be more so. This seems as certain as time itself, for history has repeatedly shown us that man's progress is never complete. It is like a winding river that moves toward the sea, sotnetitnes placidly through the shady glens of peace and understanding, sometimes turbulently over the cascades of war and ignorance, but always progressing. That man has advanced we surely must agree. Scientifieally his progress has been phenomenal. As a result, his intellect has become keener and more alert to changes about him. But has his emotional development kept pace with his scien- tific development? 'l'he problem presented by this question must be acknow- ledged. lts answer is fottnd in the story of his life. l.et us begin our story with Cro-Magnon man, who lived about the year 25.ooo lS.C. 'l'his man lived a life of comparative freedom. Wfithout a government, he roamed the countryside, seeking his food supply. To obtain shelter from the wild beasts and the elements he used a cave. Here he raised his family: here he taught his children strict obedienceg here he taught them the law of self-preaer- ration. the law by which the Cro-Magnons lived. ln the succeeding years, as his fruit supply began to decrease and the number of people who were calling upon this natural supply continued to increase, he was faced with one of his first great problems-that ol replenishing his food supply. He solved it by cutting a stone weapon to fit his han'l. XVit1t this he killed small animals. VVhat a field of opportunity he had opened to ltimselfl Before long he attached a handle to the stone so that he could strike harder and kill larger anitnals. Man, guided by his intellect, had started to progress. Cro-Magnon man's successor remained in this barbaric stage for thousands of years. He changed his place of abode from the cave to a shelter made of skins. and later to a wooden hut. He developed a simple govrnment in which the father of the fatnily conducted the religious Worship and tnade the laws for the house- hold. One thing he kept with him, his lust to kill, but this lust did not confine itself to animals. Often, when he saw another man with something he desired, he 14