Agawam High School - Sachem Yearbook (Agawam, MA)

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President’s Address of Welcome Friends of the Agawam High School: In opening these, our Class Night Exercises, I wish to extend to each one of you a most hearty welcome from the Class of 1939. Every member of the graduating class will agree with me when I say that we are very different tonight from what we were four years agv . Since that time we have grown, not only physically, but also mentally, and socially. Now. we have reached the culmination of this four years' development—a high school diploma. However, wc realize that the growth begun here is not complete, for education is a life process. Wr are eager to go on to new fields of endeavor, but mingled with that eagerness is a feeling of reluctance as we leave this school where we have spent many profitable hours and formed lastng friendships. We wish to thank Mr. Phelps, Mr. Dacey, the school committee, and the faculty for their perceptive guidance and supervision. Our utmost thanks, however, we give to you. our parents and the taxpayers, who have sacrificed to provide these unsurpassed educational facilities. In return we assure you that we shall strive to reflect credit on Agawam by being intelligent, constructive citizens. Oration In 1789, George Washington made a laborious journey over bumpy, muddy roads from Mt. Vernon to New York to be inaugurated as the first president of the United States. He was executive of a nation of some 3,000,000 people in a vast country of over 800.000 square miles reaching frem the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. New York City was a thriving metropolis of 30,000 people, and in the whole country there were only twelve communities with a population of 5,000—less than the present population of Agawam. Tlmre was not a public high school in the land. Rut as soon as the most pressing governmental problems had been solved, foresighted leaders saw the need in a democratic country for education—education for all the people, even those who could not afford it. In 1827. Massachusetts, always a leader in education, enacted a law requiring every town of 500 families or over to provide a high school. Zealous men like Horace Mann devoted their lives to establishing and maintaining high schools in our state. , Events in the last few years, notably in Germany, Italy, and Russia, have demon- strated how important the leaders of those countries feel the schools are to govern- ment. All books differing from their political creeds are fed to bonfires, and the schools are used to foster the ideology of the group in power by preaching ihe doctrine that man exists for the state. The people arc impressed by the direct efficiency of their leader, and. even though he may interfere with their personal happiness, they are still contented with fhat form of government because they have been taught that no other form can insure their existence. Hence, the individual becomes a “cog in the wheel” with set rules of conduct, and little opportunity for self-advancement. In n democracy, on the other hand, the situation is entirely reversed. Here, the state exists for the man, and each individual is responsble for the functioning of the government. To perform, his duty intelligently, the citizen must be educated. Robert Hutchins of the University of Chicago says that the aim of education is “to produce citizens who are capable of achieving happiness, and of making a contribu- tion to the common good. To do this we must help them acquire the moral and intel- lectual habits that happiness and the common good demand.” “The common good” means that the citizen has a social responsibility. He must be educated to select Qualified representatives to carry on the government. He must be able to see through propaganda, to differentiate the false from the true. He must know how to use property and preserve intelligently his priceless liberties and rights. Then, too. in no

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Class Song Regretfully we say good-bye On this commencement day. Though “Here endeth; Here beginneth.’’ We’ll miss our school life gay. So onward, sons of Agawam, Bear forth unto the shrine The torch that stands for high ideals For all of Thirty-Nine. Most happy hours and joyous days In Agawam we’ve seen. And we have found In things renowned Our school stands far supreme. So bear ye forth the torch once more And ra:se it to the sky And pledge again true loyalty To this. Our Ag’wsm High. Words: Evelyn Gardner Music: Norma Colli Class Poem EXCELSIOR We scaled and climbed, And still we climb. The course emerging high Into the jagged massive cliff's That blur the flaming sky. Lightly we sweep From steep To steep; The flag of youth we fly. We tramp and trail Where hills uplift; The winds are wild and strong, And dreary days of drizzling rain Are like some phantom song. But our pathway gleams With glints Of dreams; Our faith cannot be wrong. We scaled and climbed And still we climb Some lofty mountain slope. Through storm and stress and bitterness Our upward way we grope To view the past And claim The vast Tomorrow with our hope! Irene Ann Mulak

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ether government is character more important than in a democratic country. Desir- able traits of character are not forced upon a citizen by the government; they are self imposed. To fulfill these huge responsibilities and to preserve the countless liberties of a democratic country, education is essential. Education and democracy arc inseparable. The United States leads the world in education. In 1930, our percentage of illiter- ate people was 4.3—a rate lower than that of any other country in the world. Each vear we spend three biilion dollars on education—more than any other country In no other nation are there so many well-equipped public schools, so many colleges and universities as there arc in America. In no other country are there so many scholar- ships granted and loans made for the purpose of furthering education. Thus we see that educational opportunities in America are far superior to those in any other country. In spite of these facts, our educational system is apparently inadequate to fulfill the responsibilities of a democratic country. At this moment some of our countrymen, apparently unable to sec through fallacious propaganda, are being deceived by Com- munist and Nazi agitators within our own borders. Moreover, it is still possible for politicians to sway masses of voters to either side of an issue with a few well-chosen words. Still another problem is the growth of crime. J. Edgar Hoover in his address to the National Fifty Years in Business £lub on May 20, 1939, made the following statements: “The subversive forces of crime are gradually undermining the corner- stone of American Democracy. Every 22 seconds a serious crime is committed in our supposedly civilized land; every day, from dawn to dawn, 33 of our citizens are murdered. There are in America today over 3 6 times more criminals than there are stu.'ents in our colleges and universities; for every school teacher there are 4'4 criminals.” False propaganda, unintelligent voting, and crime—these are only a few problems that challenge our democracy. What are we to do about them? During the 150 years since Washington’s inauguration, our nation has made great progress. Now, 128,000,000 people dwell in a land which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Transportation has been revolutionized. Great strides have been taken in science, medicine, and invention. With such a heritage of achievement we can face frankly the problems that beset our democracy, confident that in educa- tion wc shall find our best solution. Roland Perusse (With apologies to Charles Dickens) Time: 1950 Scene: In the apartment of Kathleen Norris and Alice Kennedy in New York City (As the curtain rises, Kathleen is reading a book while Alice is manicuring her nails.) Kay: Alice: Whac was that? It’s just someone at the door. It seems to me you’re letting that ghost story run away with you. (She opens the door and admits two old classmates from Agawam.) Why, Kay, it’s Ruth and Norma! It’s years since I’ve seen you two. Hello there! How are you? Oh, we’re fine. We just stopped in for a minute while we wait for train time. But we can stay only a minute. Come in and sit down. (Both sit down.) You should have seen me jump when you knocked at the door. Alice: Kay: Ruth: Alice: Kay: