Burgard Vocational High School - Craftsman Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

Page 21 text:

NINETEEN THIR Top ro TY-SIX.. ll91 cfm Qfpm W, left to right- Bottom row, left to right- PAUL W. MILLER OLLIE E. HELLMAN President Secretary jOHN I. NOWAK HORACE C. DUTCHER Vice-president Historian RUSSELL I. RENDA ANTHONY I. SAGLIANI Treasurer Prophet

Page 20 text:

18 ..THECRAFTSMAN O 655 fm of YQ 6 .... You have now arrived at a milestone in life's journey. Most of you are leaving school to enter upon your chosen vocations. Some expect to continue at college. You are all to be congratulated upon the successful completion of your high school course. But, more especially are you to be congratulated upon the fact that you have been giving serious thought and attention to the big questions: What am l to be? For what am I best fitted? ln which line of work will l be most successful? These are some of the great eternal questions which many a young man does not try to answer and therefore fails to find himself. He goes through school with little or no plan for the future. His graduation day arrives and his choice of a career is often flippantly and carelessly made. Some chance information, some superficial advice, the accident of a vacant place which requires filling, the convenient or handy location of the business offering the job-these things frequently decide the question: What shall be my choice of a vocation? The trouble with most men, said the head of a great industry, is that they have no needle pointing north. The slightest circumstance affects such compass as they have and the needle points to a new path or drifts every time a new idea hits them, and off they go to a new job. But every one of you graduates of '36 has a compass that points north. You have made up your mind. You know what you are about. You have had adequate prepara- tion. Now, go out and make the best use of your talents. Luckily for you, there is an up-trend in business. The depression is almost at an end. There are going to be oppor- tunities for worthy young men. Don't give up if you have to start at the bottom. A right start is a fortune in itself. Begin by thinking and talking, Get the experience and gain the responsibilities. You may develop interests and acquire abilities that will fit you for many promotions in your chosen field as well as in occupations allied to the vocation in which you majored. Changing conditions in this scientific and mechanical age will open up new opportuni- ties. Chances for higher positions will present themselves, and cause you to make changes. Do so after most careful deliberation and not for reasons that are trivial or superficial. I have confidence in every one of you and I know you will make good. May your pathway through life be bright and cheery, and may success attend you at every turn of the road. 1 This is the wish of your friend, W M- W

Page 22 text:

Z0 ..THECRAFTSMAN fam cilrfiafofzy .... About four years ago sans the blare of trumpets and pompous celebrations, four hundred odd youths shouldered imaginary shields and grasped more imaginary swords and set out upon a modern Crusade to partake of the advantages of vocational education. Armor we had, not the glistening mail of the medievals, but sturdy cover- alls and aprons destined to ward off the obstacles of our occupations. Our pavilions were the rugged walls of Burgard from whose turrets floated the pennant of royal blue and white. Our army, youths of stalwart ambitions and worthy causes, was mustered from North, South, East, and West, and under the supreme guidance of King Kamprath and his staff of lesser potentates, our faculty, the modern Crusade began to attack the studies set before us. The First Crusade began in the year of our Lord 1933. We commenced our march to gain diplomas by becoming acquainted with our respective duties and by following the priceless advice of our skilled instructors. The enthusiasm of the army was flaw- less. ln june we fought our battle of examinations with the eagerness of the siege of Acre and proceeded on to greener pastures. By the second year of our Crusade we were seasoned veterans, having passed from the timid stage of our initial entrance to one of joy and happiness by participating in the myriad special activities offered us. The second lap passed swiftly for us, who had but glanced at the shape of things to come. lt sped by, but our alertness captured mounting friendships and left no regrets. As the Third Crusade opened we realized the road to our jerusalem, although a beaten path, was pregnant with dismal obstacles of fate. But this allowed our true qualities to become exposed and we covered with leaps and bounds the path of knowledge. By the beginning of the Fourth and final Crusade we were dignified seniors filled with the fire of success. Completely gone were the shrouds of disillusion and ignorance, for our guiding officers had brilliantly illuminated the road we were to follow. We were clear-headed and eager for we saw at the end of that Fourth Crusade a gilded diploma, our Christian cross, the goal of our wanderings. We had quenched our thirst for knowledge from the overflowing cup of Burgurd. So at the close of our adventurous campaign we, the graduating class, are aware that the world does not owe us a living. We will be content with life's opportunities for which we were trained. And now as we stand on the threshold of our Alma Mater, to face life's great commencement, we hope that those to follow in our footsteps will drink deep of the goblet of erudition with open minds and open hearts, for life was made to be lived. Let us live it. '