Agawam High School - Sachem Yearbook (Agawam, MA)

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THE SENIOR CLASS

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ELEANOR ZCCCO 7 Portland Street, Feeding Hills “EL” .‘HI passes. Art alone enduring slays to us. Mirror Staff 5-4; Sachem Staff; Tri-Hi 4; Senior Play Committee; Kid Party Committee; Operetta Committee 4; Junior Prom Commit- tee; Christmas Play Committee 3-4. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS OF WELCOME Parents and friends, we, the Class of 41. welcome you to these our class night exercises. We hope that you will enjoy this evening with us. We who are leaving Agawam High will never forget her; the hours which we spent in her halls will always be near our hearts. The pleasures we have enjoyed, the friends we have made, the preparation for life that we have received, we owe to the efforts of Mr. Phelps. Mr. I Lacey, the faculty, and the School Committee. But we are especially indebted to you, parents and taxpayers, who have made these educa- tional opportunities available to us. The Class of ’41 will endeavor to be citizens worthy of your efforts. — Robert Healy CLASS POEM In ourselves, our future lies.' Sow that knowledge opens pathways Sever dreamed or sought before, fVe, who fee! the urge of slewing Toward a higher, brighter goal. See before us straight and narrow Paths long made by former feet. And with firmer tread and purpose. Seek to delve our footprints deep. Blazing forth their golden glory. Deeds non• spring to be our guide. H e must grasp these worthy treasures for with these our future lies. Pushing boldly ever onward Sever heeding base desires. We, who live to seek fulfillment Of a long-desired dream. Conseerate our time and labor To the building of our lives So that we may be the patterns f uture steps in turn will traee. As we leave our Alma Mater, We go forth with this, our trust — Girded non• with faith and knowledge In ourselves our future lies. Geraldine Balhoxi [ 19]

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All over the United States millions of young men arc offering one year of their lives to the defense of their country. The schools, too, arc in the front line of defense; they, however, give not one but twelve years of training. In the schools the impressionable clay of American youth is fashioned. Here are instilled the earliest teachings in patriotism and democracy. The stability of our faith in our democracy rests upon this earliest of foundations. The futility of a gun in the hands of a man who does not have complete faith in the government which he is defending is illustrated by the wretched plight of France. If the tragedy of France is not to be repeated here, it will be because school, aided by the home, develops responsible American patriots. By an American patriot I mean a self-reliant, intelligent, well-educated individual who is a responsible cog in the great wheel of our democracy and who is ready to fight for his country because by his own thoughts he concludes that in spite of its faults, democ- racy is the freest and most civilized form of government in the world. Such a man is immune to the most deadly saboteur at work in the U. S. today, the dread that democracy’s day i over, that whether we like it or not the world of tomorrow will be totalitarian. He realizes that a more tragic fallacy could not be found : that there is nothing inevitable about a dictatorship; that it comes about only when the free man neglects his responsibility, grows soft, distrusts himself, and in his fear turns to a leader to solve his problem. In Germany the schools, warped by the sickness of Nazism, have produced the goosestepping, emotional. leader-loyal Hitlerite. Every subject is taught with the idea of glorifying Hitler and instilling in the pupils by constant repetition the idea that their first duty is always to the leader, that he comes before themselves, their families, and their God. The German schools forge the chain of dumb obedience that is fastened about every Nazi neck. The free American schools provided by townspeople like yourselves grant every person the right to his opinion. Every subject is taught with the idea of giving the student a background upon which to form intelligent opinions. We learn tolerance of all races and creeds. We learn manual training instead of the manual of arms. The aim of our educational facilities is to enable us to live intelligent, varied, and happy lives. But more than that, today in this era of tottering democracies the schools are faced with the additional task of arousing every citizen to his responsibility to his government. To quote Commissioner of Education John W. Studebakcr: “An educa- tional program for the common defense must sharpen our wits and deepen our under- standings of ways in which to bring about the more rapid solution of the social and economic problems of the machine age. For we can lose democracy in either of two ways—by pressure from the outside, or by collapse from within.” Difficult though the next few years will inevitably be, in spite of the sacrifices they may demand, we of the Class of '41 believe that our educational training will enable us to face resolutely these trying years. Through the public schools and your efforts, we shall be soldiers of democracy in heart as well as in uniform. — Robert Healy [2. ]