Axton High School - Axtonian Yearbook (Axton, VA)

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THE AXTONIAN Opportunities For Life’s Work C LASSMATES, friends, patrons and teachers : Tonight I have the honor of welcom- ing you to our graduation exercises. I am very happy in doing so. As I look into your faces, I know that you are thinking of us and the opportunities ahead of us. Perhaps some of you are wishing you could be in our places and relive your lives and be able to grasp the opportunities open to us as we leave Axton High School. We as students should have been thinking more, throughout our four years in high school, about the work for which our own particular abilities may fit, and we should have prepared ourselves to win a good place in the affairs of the world. Some of us have; in fact, most of us have made some plans for our future. Our school has offered us the great priv- iledge of preparing ourselves for a future career. It has been the key to unlock the door which leads to the outside world and its opportunities. We American youth must grasp these opportunities before us to fill the positions of importance and become as good or bet- ter leaders in the future than you, dear friends and patrons. We have won our first round in graduating tonight — our second one will be selecting a life work in which we can use our own type of brains and our own physical and moral equipment to the best advantage. There are more than seven hundred different occupa- tions which offer opportunities to fulfill cur ambitions and inclinations. Some of us are undecided as to what field to enter. Our decisions should not be hasty. We should study ourselves. Perhaps we should take advantage of the aptitiude tests and get profesisonal advice if we cannot come to a decision as to our life work. Ex-service men are using such means to advantage. Whether we make our choice to become industrial workers, account- ants, nurses, doctors, or teachers in life, the third round is in taking advantage of what- ever general or special education that may be helpful in the chosen career. We are only commencing tonight. We mmst become better prepared for that life work. There are so many opportunities open. Schools of all kinds exist. If one does not have the funds, one can borrow them. Man.v scholarships are offered from colleges to challenge youth to better preparation. Some of them are working scholarships. We should not be afraid to work! Some commercial companies are offering scholarships which cover entire expenses. These may be obtained by ambitious youth who meet the requirements. To those of us in Virgin- ia who desire to become teachers, there is state aid. For instance, at a special session of the General Assembly of Virginia. Governor Tuck was authorized to initiate a special Vir- ginia Teaching Scholarship plan. Some of us should avail ourselves of this opportunit.v. In nearby cities are industrial schools, liberal arts, professional and business school. No one need be uneducated in his chosen field ! When we shall have made ourselves efficient enough by further training to plunge into the work of our choice with that spirit and persistent energy which makes of any useful work a glorious thing, we shall have then reached the fourth round. That is our goal ! Success is not reached at a single bound. Nor will it always be obtained, for “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft a-gley. An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain For promised .I ' oy.’’ When success does not attend our efforts, we must not lose courage, for other oppor- tunities will come and we must go on building and seeking other goals. The world today is a world of opportunity and there are many ways to travel the road to power, honor, and success. We must have sticking qualities, and not listen to those who would discourage us in our life work ! Let us listen to the poet, “Somebody said that it couldn’t be done But he with chuckle replied That ‘maybe it couldn’t,’ but he would be one Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin on his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn’t be done, and he did it.” Martha Holland Salutatorian Page Tweyiiy

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Senior Superlatives (Left to Right) 1. Most serviceable — Billings and Agee. 2. Valedictorian and Salutatorian — L. Starliiig and Martha Hol- land. 3. Best all round — Agee and L. Starling. 4. Wittiest — Watkins and Jones. 5. Most athletic Mildred Holland and M. McDaniel. 6. Most intelligent — L. Starling and Billings. 7. Best dress — Lawrence and A. M. Ashby. 8. Quietest A. M. Ashby and C. R. Jones. 9. 10, Best looking— Moss and Agee. 11. Most popular— Martha Holland and Lawrence.

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THE AXTONIAN Scientific Advancement Must Work Hand in Hand v ith Democracy F riends of the community and patrons : I am pleased, yet sad, as I say the final words of farewell from class 1947. I realize how interested each of you have been in our progress and how that interest will continue throughout the years to come. The world into which we are graduating is so different from that into which you plunged the earlier part of the century. There have been so great changes wrought in scientific discovery and invention that it is almost unbelievable. The half-century in which you have lived has practically revo- lutionized the state of human affairs. It is up to you, patrons, and us, the youth graduat- ing from our schools, to see that scientific advancement works hand in hand with democ- racy. This is the only way to save our world from destruction. If we glance backward, science had slow progress with our early ancestors. No know- ledge was at all certain. What was gained by a life time of research from such men as Ro- ger Bacon was regarded as magic or superstition. It was not until 1561 that Francis Ba- con laid the foundation of modern scientific research. The distressful thought, however, about scientific findings has been that the greater effort for discovery has been for destructive power. The invention of gunpowder brought the end of the feudal system in Europe. The armored knight was no match for the soldier with his matchlock. The feudal castle could not withstand the fire of the cannon. This same kind of scientific evolution has continued up to the present time. The in- vention of new scientific facilities has been a tightly fought battle between nations, or groups of nations. The invention of the airplane is a milestone in the evolution of science. Though not meant for destructive power, it was not long until the airplane was used for such. Great exertion has been made to perfect means to disable whole nations with disease. The robot bornb and rocket planes are other examples of destructive in- ventions. The climax of such destructive research was reached when scientists split the atom and released its mighty hidden power. We all know the devastation which it brought and the possible destruction which future use may bring. It is absurd to think that the secret of our atomic power can be kept from other nations. In a few years the secret may be the possession of many nations. Then, we too, will have to protect ourselves from its destructive power. Why do nations and people keep this race in the field of scientific destruction, instead of trying to make more discoveries of a beneficial nature? The answer to the question is FEAR. Most of our destructive inventions have been made from fear of aggressor nations. The United States is now the most feared nation in the world because of her atomic knowledge. It is up to us to remove this fear and show other nations that we do not want to use our knowledge for destruction but for the uplift of mankind. Many say we shall have an atomic war which will destroy the world. But was it not said at the end of World War I that the human race would be eliminated by poisonous gas? This was controlled. Likewise the use of atomic power can be controlled. Democrat- ic principles must be extended to cover the world. We survivors of the past war will have to learn to live together in the world. It is predicted that the atomic fission may ultimately provide a new source of power which will be available at any point throughout our country. This turn in its use may bring other nations to look on our knowledge from a different viewpoint and to seek it for its usefulness to mankind rather than for its destructive power The forces of science must be freed from these shackles of fear and distrust, and it is in a land, or a world of democracy, like ours that can be brought about. We must first Page Twenty-one