Auburn Adventist Academy - Rainier Vista Yearbook (Auburn, WA)

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AVIS M. THOMPSON Practical Nursing MRS. W. K. MELVIN Cook C. A. WYMAN Baking C. E. WITZEL Manager of Industrial Woodworking Woodworking MRS. C. L. WITZEL Piano C. LLOYD TUPPER Farm Manager Agriculture Page eight CLARA SILVER Sewing VIOLET SCOTT Mathematics, Science, and Spanish STRAUSS CUBLEY Treasurer and Business Manager Bookkeeping

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SPIRIT OF V. W. A. In the town hall of a Massachusetts village hangs a huge paint¬ ing, copies of which have been circulated all over the world. It pictures a battlefield, with three figures advancing belligerently in the foreground. In the center, an old man, with gray hair flying, another of middle age, with a blood-stained bandage about his head, while a third, only a boy, is vigorously beating a drum,— the three marching resolutely side by side with never a backward glance nor a faltering footstep. And under it the title, “The Spirit of ’76.” It is a gripping picture, and one cannot help setting his jaw a little harder as he looks at it, and registering a stern determination to reflect the same spirit of loyalty and courage if opportunity offers. The Spirit of W. W. A. is not a martial spirit, but it has much i A m common with that of these three heroes. “What,” we ruminated, as we gazed at this picture, “is the dominant characteristic, the T most outstanding virtue portrayed here?” Probably “Loyalty,”— and the grim determination to sacrifice life itself in the effort to advance the interests of their country. And if we were to attempt to describe the Spirit of W. W. A. in a word, it would be “Loyalty.” Not a selfish worship of the work of our own hands, but an earnest determination to advance the interests of God’s institution, established and maintained through sacrifice and faith. And the Spirit of W. W. A. includes not only loyalty to our school, but to our parents, to our religion, and to our nation. And let us never forget that the finest expression of loyalty to any organization or power is in quiet support of its standards and obedience to its laws. One’s patriotism to this government is not measured by his lung power in “rah-rah-ing” the national anthem nor in his vociferous approval of patriotic sentiments expressed at Fourth-of-July orations. It is usually in direct proportion to his willingness to sacrifice his own selfish interests when they conflict with the welfare of the group. A cartoon circulated at the time our country entered the world war is to the point. A pair of huge balances is weighing the sentiments of men. On one side are a dozen or more men, wildly waving their arms and throwing their hats into the air. On the other side, much overbalancing this group, stood a lone figure in the uniform of his country, quiet and erect. Underneath was the one word, “Patriotism.” Whatever our beliefs may be as to the right or wrong of war, we must concede that the cartoonist drew the contrast accurately. Our country needs other expressions of loyalty in days of peace quite as much as it does the “Spirit of ’76” in time of national disturbance. Our school needs the “Spirit of W. W. A.” as truly as our country needs the “Spirit of ’76.” The essential elements of the two are identical,—a willingness to sacrifice in behalf of others, and a broad conception of our duties in the presence of need. The majority of our students sense this spirit soon after joining our family, and express it in a multitude of ways during their stay. Whether it be in faithfully performing the duities of elective offices, or in participating in field days, or loyally observing the laws of the institution, or in upholding high intellectual standards,—we can depend on the loyal student to uphold the “Spirit of W. W. A.’” Claud A. Shull. Page ten