Brattleboro Union High School - Colonel Yearbook (Brattleboro, VT)

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W + PRINCIPAL JOSEPH A. WIGGIN X +

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lv. + + G - G IN RECOGNITION OF THE EXCELLENT VVORK HE HAS DONE AS DIRECTOR OF TH E IIRATTLEIIORO HIGH SCHOOL BAND ANII ORCHESTRA FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS AND IN FURTHER RECOGNITION OF THE PERSONAL INTEREST HE HAS MANIFESTED IN THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENT OF MUSIC IVE GRATEI-'UI.I.Y DEIIICATE THIS BOOK To . FRED C. LEITSINGER G Q + + L J

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' 'oo 'H BRATTLE-BORO . . BRATTLEBORO HIGH SCHOOL VERMONT VOLUME XXVI JUNE, 1931 NUMBER 5 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS ODAY marks the beginning of the commencement exercises of the 47th class to be grad- uated from this building. It is with a feeling of awe that we consider the marvelous ad- vancements which have been made during the last fifty years in the fields of science and inven- tion. We now have the automobile, the radio, the airplane. VV e have knowledge of vitamins, ultra-violet and infra-red raysg we have new methods of disease prevention-all developed within the past half century. Graduates of former classes, not only from Brattleboro High, but from countless other schools have had a part in creating and perfecting these important factors of modern civilization. XVe, the class of 1931, are about to enter a world of unbounded opportunity. Great deeds are still to be done, inventions to be developed, machines to be perfected, and new discoveries to be made in every field of human activity. Only fifteen years ago it required tive days to carry a letter from New York to San Fran- ciscog today by air mail it requires but twenty-four hours. If such advancement has been made in fifteen years what marvels may we not expect in an equal period in the future? VVe, the citizens of tomorrow, are responsible for the answer. The time is ripe for great accomplish- ments. Vtfe, the members of the class of 1931, are privileged to enter into active living at a time when opportunities and advantages were never greater. It is our fond hope that we also, like graduates of the past, may play a part in the further benenting of mankind. It is then my pleasure, as president of the class of 1931, to welcome you, members of the faculty, parents and friends, to the Class Day Exercises of Brattleboro High School. -J. STEXVART BARNEY CLASSORATION HE lack of formality in our present-day dress, speech, and social relations is the cause for the idea prevalent among many people, especially those of the older genera- tion, that good manners have vanished, and that todayfs young people are actually rude. In the comparison of our age with that of fifty years ago, the most outstanding social change is the decrease of elaborate formality, the absence of which must not be confused with bad manners. Rather, with this dwin- dling of formality, has come an improvement in manners-the place formerly occupied by formality has been taken by consideration. It is an interesting fact that most of us when we encounter a gentleman having plenty of time for courtesy, refer to him as a gentleman of the old school. Contrary to the belief that we are being original in the utterance of this phrase, we absolutely are not, for when people met that kind of man fifty years ago, they then called him a gen- tleman of the old school. Probably this same reference was made one hundred, and even two hundred years ago. Is there really such a great difference be- tween then and now, with the exception of clothes? The informalities of today cannot be denied, but haven't we a distorted rather than a true idea as to the formalities of yesterday? VVhen we think of the long ago, our thoughts are inclined to dwell more on the serious rather than the intimate aspects of the people. Demosthenes in the act of delivering an oration is a more familiar fig- ure to our minds than the Demosthenes seated in his house after supper, roaring with laughter at a fmmy story. Yet, the Greeks and the Romans spent more of their time in natural, intimate relations than they did in any official capacity. People from the pages of history were just as human as we are today. Or, to take the opposite stand, have we been growing more informal since the very beginning to the present time? If so, it is probably due to the increasing preciousness of time. Before the advent of our present time-saving devices, leisure seemed to Hour- ish. People had plenty of time for writing letters, conversation, and prolonged polite-N ness. Since we have seen what we can do with time, the scene has changed and every- one who amounts to anything is busy. No longer do we tolerate superfluous prelimin- aries, but at once get down to brass tacks. Modern Americans are shockingly poor in time g they never seem to have any. Several things may be said to support the proposition that the lack of superficial courtesy is a sign of the growth of civiliza- tion, instead of the reverse. Many people are inclined to entertain the opinion of an elderly pessimist who said: The young people of today have no man- nersg if this goes oii, we shall relapse into barbarismf' However, one of barbarisnfs chief charac- teristics was elaborate and formal courtesy. For proof of this, read what Benjamin Franklin said about the courtesy of the In- dian braves of North America, and what Sam Houston thinks about their manners in comparison with those of white men. The tfiontinued on page 443 U .