Central Catholic High School - Echo Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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THE ECHO II Bishop said in part: I am more than pleased to know that the boys really appreciate this school. You must love it. You must be benefited by it. Almighty God created you and gave you capacities of soul and body. It is your duty to develop your capac- ities to the fullest extent. N o one has done his duty if he had not come up to the expectations of his Creator. We are expected to do no more or no less than we are capacitated to do. The parable of the talents was re- called and applied to the lives of the students. The gist of the application being that every one of us has a right to demand the opportunity to use our talents. Discussing the so-called Aristoc- racy of Brains, Bishop Alerding said in concluding the discussion, There is no 'Aristocracy of Brains! God gave us our brain asit is. We must make the best possible use of it. We must prove our gratitude to Almighty God for the brains He has given us by developing them to the fullest ex- tent, for to whom much is given much will be expected. What a boy will know, what he will dog are based on the relative question of the oportunity he has. Your opportunity is here. Do not praise me for it. God furnished all this because He pitied you. Make the very best use of what you have. Commenting on the graduates, the Bishop said: Under the unfavor- able conditions of the past we sent out .a number of graduates of which we are proud. In conclusion, Bishop Alerding dis- cussed the unfavorable conditions which existed in the past, the con- trast of the present, and said that the improvements made are but a shadow of what is in store for the future. How Santa Claus Came It was a cold day and flakes of snow were falling slowly, only to be melted on the wet sidewalk. A little girl was standing in a doorway with her back to the street. She was poor- ly dressed, her feet were almost bare. She turned around and one could see that her pretty face was covered with tears. She walked down the street to the outskirts of the city. She was weeping now, Oh, tomorrow is Christmas and we haven't a thing, she sobbed. She started across the street when she saw a taxicab coming at a rather dangerous speed. Her feet failed to move, she seemed spellbound. As the car was upon her everything turned black. When she came to, she found her- self in a bed. A nurse and a doctor were standing by her bedside. nurse spoke to her in a very voice. Lie still, my dear, you had a little trouble but will be alright in an hour or so. Oh, may I go home then? asked in a piteous voice. Yes, I guess you mayg but you had a narrow escape. Please tell me who caught me when the auto hit me. That I can't do. A young man brought you here and when he heard that you would be well again soon left with a promise to return. He hasn't shown up yet. I wish I could find him to thank him. He may show up later. But now if you will give me your name and address I'll put them on the record and if he returns he will be able to find you. The kind she

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10 THE young students by instructing them in religion. For you know from ex- perience that a tree is known by its fruit. The chief reason of your found- ing this school was your earnest de- sire to train up good Catholic young men for church and state. Men that will give an account of the faith that has been instilled and developed in them at school. I think we can sin- cerely say that the Central Catholic High School has produced an abun- dance of good fruit. Our graduates can be found in every walk of life and they are, as far as we know, a credit to themselves, to their school, their church, and to their country. We are proud of our graduates because they have proved that the liberal educa- tion which they received in this school made men of them. We know that if their education had been of a less liberal character they would never have been able to take their places as students in the best univer- sities of the country. Today they thank you for the opportunities which you made possible for them. Right Reverend Bishop, we know that you are averse to praise, but Right Reverend Bishop ,this is the only method we have to show our gratitude to you for this institution. The words to which I have given ex- pression today were never uttered with greater sincerity by any repre- sentative of the Central Catholic High School. Yes, Right Reverend Bishop, we are grateful for all that you have done for us and we earnest- ly hope and pray St. Andrew, that great patron of yours, that the good God will bless and reward you and your boys, both in this life and in the lll'9 to come. -Pafr1'f'k Donahue, '23. ECHO Bishop Alerding's Address In opening his address, following the program, Bishop Alerding thanked the students for the good wishes they had extended to him. He told of the visit he had received from a committee of four students on the previous day, and how the commit- tee presented him with a beautiful gold fountain pen. He said that he prized the pen very highly as an em- blem of esteem, but that he doubted if it would improve his penmanship. He went on to say that besides the pen, the boys brought a parcel which he did not open in their presence- for he thought it contained flowers- but after the committee had departed he found it to be a turkey, which he assured them would do good service on Thanksgiving. He said: If the turkey were large enough and my house spacious enough, nothing would please me better than to have all of you with me at my table to- morrow. Continuing, the Right Reverend

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12 THE My name is Mildred Carrel and I live on State street. i Have you lived there - all your life ? No, mam, we used to live in New York but my father died shortly after my brother had to go to war. Mother had to move out here to support us, and somehow we lost trace of brother. We hadn't heard from him for a year before we moved, but we left our address with our neighbors. Half an hour later Mildred was Walking down the street thinking of something she could get for her little brothers and sister to make Christ- mas happy for them. I'll go to Mass for mamma, but I don't know what to do for the others. That night when she was at home talking to her mother, her little sister Mary, who had been looking out of the front window, cried out, Oh goody, here comes Santa Claus l And sure enough, in walked Santa Claus. Merry Christmas to you all, said Santa Claus, his voice a bit husky. He opened his bag and the little ones screamed with joy. Mildred drew Santa aside while the children were absorbed delightfully in their toys. Mrs. Carrel stepped over to them, her face beaming with happiness, tears of joy in her eyes. I'm glad you weren't injured, he said before Mildred could thank him. Oh, you're the man who saved me! exclaimed Mildred. I'd do much more than that for my little sister, he answered with a laugh. And that was a real Christ- mas. -Wayne Betshman, '24. ECHO Our Infant King I Let us now this anthem sing: Christ our Lord and Infant King, Born for sinners hard and old, In a stable dark and cold. II We should always grateful be, And our lives conform to Thee, Though we sometimes stop and falter, We resolve our lives to alter. III That our days in peace we spend, And our souls in sorrow rendg Grant us thru the coming year, This We ask, O Infant dear. -M. S. Autumn and Nuts Autumn is here. To a nature lover it is the glad time of the year. The leaves color, blush, and fall. Every- where the wind hustles them about with a gleeful jingling sound restful to the ear. A slow stroll through un- tended woods or wild forests, seems to be nearer to rest than any reclin- ing position can afford. Autumn is the time for nut gather- ing-that great sport so useful in its aim and pleasant in its practice. For me, an old bag and some trees that are fairly fruitful are enough to give a pleasant afternoon. The tall, state- ly walnut trees and rough hickories perhaps with hazel bushes among them take all thought away but the pleasant one of natural wonders. My, we say, what a tree this is- and that other hickory over there- maybe it's a 'shell-bark'. Then those bushes-can We push through that little opening? and so on-ever at- tentive to what the prospect holds out to us-seeing nature's graces and secrets and admiring them.