Annie Wright School - Shield Yearbook (Tacoma, WA)

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Rt. Rev. F. W. Keator, D. D. Bishop of Olympia.

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4 THE HYAK. Prayer Two pianofortes, Polonaise Op. 40. No. 1 Chopin Misses Grace McDonald, Martha Chapin, Nellie Parker, Alice Houghton Pianoforte, To Spring Grieg Madeline Clark Address Bishop Keator Chorus, The Mill Wheel Podbertsky Pianoforte, La Polka de la Riene Raff Misses Gertrude Nieol, Irene Muir Presentation of Diplomas Collects Benediction (( TO KALOR KATEXFAE ” “ Hold Fast the Good A “It is altogether certain, my dear friends, that there are some, at least, among us today who would gladly give this maxim, the motto of the class of 1906, in whose honor we are here assembled, a wider application than those who chose it had in mind. And in this wider application, for our- selves, as well as for them, we would like to say: ‘Hold fast the good First of all, w r e would like to hold fast, in the sense of holding hack this good school year which has gone all to quickly and is coming to its end all too soon. Without stopping to make any comparisons, we know that it has been one of the best, at least, in the history of this Seminary. It has been a year full of good health, good study, good pleasure, and good progress both in learning and in manners. With an attendance which has taxed to its utmost the capacity of this building and this school room; and with a band of teachers whose faithfuliness and devotion is best shown by the interest which they have awakened in, and the real affection in which they are held by those under their care; and all, under the leadership of a principal whom we all delight to honor, we believe that the sacred trust com- mitted to us by the founder and the benefactor of this school has been wisely and faithfully preserved. This good year has seen the reputation of this school for thorough work and sound learning amid the refining influence

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6 THE HYAK. of a Christian home-life established more securely, and while there is ample ground for the hope that many more good years are to follow, still we are loath to part with this. We would gladly hold fast the good. 1 hen again we would like to hold fast in the sense of keeping with us, this good class of 1906. If there were not so many graduates of recent years here this morning, I don’t know but what I might be tempted to call it the best class the Seminary has had. If T did so I hope no one would accuse me of fickleness. You know it is always the custom to speak of the last as the best, — and then there are the records to prove that this is cer- tainly the largest class which, up to the present, has graduated. They can truly say, ‘We are seventeen.’ And the best that any class of previous years has been able to say is ‘ We are eleven. ’ Of course, I am well aware that it is not quantity alone which counts. And if you will insist upon quality being taken into the account. I am quite ready to go on with the case. The only quality that counts here, of course, is that which shows itself in hearty co-operation with the aim and purpose of this school, and in influence upon its life and work. The record cf the Class of 1906 is made, — and the verdict of those who Are in position to know is that for the kind of quality I have named, it stands facile prin- cej)s. I put it in Latin for the reason that perhaps it may be easier to take that way. The fact is that in the history ' of every iastitution of learning there are always the ‘famous classes.’ In the good old Yale days we used to hear - great deal about the ‘famous class of ’53.’ So the record stood until ’80 came along and moved the peg up a notch. I stopped counting then, but I doubt not, there are others by this time. The point I want to emphasize is that it is so and that it is well that it is so. Not only is it a mark of progress, but a mark of promise as well, as it gives an incentive to those who come after not only to equal but to excel those who have gone before. My dear girls, you at least, will believe me when I tell you that the Class of 1906 is the ‘famous’ class in the history of the Seminary. You have placed a high mark here by the work you have done, and the influence you have wielded. You have helped in no small part to make the year good by the hearty way in which you have entered into all that has made up the life of this school, by the willing acceptance of its discipline both