Altoona High School - Horseshoe Yearbook (Altoona, PA)

Page 16 text:

MR. JOSEPH N. MADDOCKS SCHOOLS, LIKE PEOPLE, MUST KEEP UP TO DATE Your theme this year implies that schools, as well as people, must keep up with the times. Not onlv must the textbooks and equipment be ad- justed to the changing conditions, but what is more important, the philosophy which the school seeks to inculcate in each student must be one that will serve him well in these increasingly complex and troubled times. It is the aim of our school to impart to each graduate a philosophv of living that will promote progress and real liv- ing. not onlv for the individual but also for all mankind. Heal living means satisfactory dailv contacts with people. people as individuals. people as groups, and people as nations. Heal living means awareness of the spiritual as well as the phvsical, the cultural as well as the me- chanistic. Any good nhilosophv of living recognizes that life is filled with stress and strain. for the essence of life is struggle and striving for the better wavs and the better things. VVhen the light and will for advancement and betterment go out of an individual or nation, the end is in sight. Security and freedom from care in every step of our lives from infancy to senility, either through government or group action, is im- practical and absurd. It destroys the incentive for Work and increases the tendency to sloth. In the long run, each man-not the government -is responsible to himself for his wav of living and what he contributes to life. Onlv bv awak- ening the inefficient and slothful with an inspira- tion for real service-to oneis self as well as to others-can the world make trustworthy growth. Genuine progress can be achieved onlv through sustained and honest effort. Chaos is upon the world todav and a real challenge faces everv member of this class. May the lessons learned in the Altoona High school equip you for a future of progress, achievement. and a good life.

Page 15 text:

gx 1.- J. sh- ,-v , My 9 fi .H Y f, f' ., vu -.we Qvxs..-x.1wvx.f','-,fwsx DR. A. BRUCE DENNISTON YOUTH TODAY FACES A WORLD OF CHANCE You young people of today live in a world vastly different from the one in which your grandparents grew up. Added to the influences of these times are, among other things, radio. television, and a new kind of newspaper which has had to compete with these new comnnmica- tion devices. l believe that it is no overstatement to say that you seniors have had no first-hand experience of anything but the uHbI10I'lH21l.,, Your short life of eighteen vears has spanned a depression, urgent preparation for war, then war, a short period of readjustment, and again preparation for the defense of our American ideals. As one who believes that our American sys- tem of individual initiative, individual rewards, and individual liberties has more to offer you than any other system so far devised, I am na- turally concerned that vou be well equipped to understand the operation of this system. And so through literature, history, economics, etc., we have tried to give you perspective and a glimpse of the fundamentals upon which our system is based. From reflecting the thinking of great authors of literature, from considering the history book wherein is stored the memory of things said and donef' you will find that change and progress are not always the same thing and that the latter is a slow process, and that through all times there have been sincere men who took opposite views on questions of great human importance. How- ever, that which has endured has done so only because it has stood the test of time. May you, by evaluating the pressing problems of today against this background of the past, gain some vision for the future.

Page 17 text:

MR. I. EDGAR BROOKS EDUCATION ENABLES MAN TC MAKE WI E CHOICE It was a great moment in history when man plucked a code signal from the air-and wire- less communication was born. It was a great moment when steel was first made, when man first flew. when the first automobile ran, when the first atom bomb exploded. Each was a moment of progressg each was a tremendous impact on history. The great moments seem to pass in an endless review as research and inven- tion continue to delve into the now unknown for new knowledge. It may be that some day man will find the wav to prosperity and security through lasting peace. That will be the very greatest moment of all. the greatest progress the world has ever made. Great moments have also been happening in your life-moments of progress. your progress --your first day at school, your first day of each succeeding school year. your junior and senior high school years. vour school experiences, your many scholastic achievements. AIIS through television-your 1952 yearbook theme-is in keeping with another great moment in vour his- tory, that moment for which you have been pre- paring-Commencemeiit-and for greater mo- ments yet to come when perhaps you. too. can be a part of some new movement. some moment of civilizationls advancement. Through education you have been taught to keep abreast of the times and to prepare for things to come, to choose wisely and well from that which is new. As you leave us to go on with your chosen work thus prepared, mav l sav, Congratula- tions for a job well done and every wish for success in the future.