Central High School - Central Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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$irti! principal A, ,i.. , (Our Sfliwrb Principal

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What am I going to be! This moat important question if rightly decided will make the future, but if unwisely nmi without careful consideration passed over till the morrow then surely that person will follow in the footsteps of those other thousands of listless college graduates who crowd the cities of this country without stamina and independence, with crumbled ambitions and lack of strength to start in some other form of work than the one they have unwisely chosen. These men ore called failures, they are the undecided sort with the wrong start and the fatal finish. By their example must we guard ourselves against further failures. Some of us have gained a definite ambition very soon in life, through constant interest in the best and most distinct qualities possessed. These people have wisely choBen even in high school those studies which will most directly further their education towards their aspirations, and they are now one step in front of the other and fairly running for their goals. Through n period of childishness we have passed. Youths garnished phraseology is now fairly reduced to meaning letters. Pettish thoughts have or should have been determinedly erased and new ideas of honesty, obedience, and determination substituted. Sooner or later must come the realization that only through hard work and sincere study can we approach and scale the unsteady rungs of success. At this stage of development we should be able to view life with man's eyes if not altogether in it extremity far enough to realize its purposes, reward and failures. Experiences (greatly undeveloped ’tis true) have added their xeal and lesson to our general knowledge, for after all high schooling i but a period of growth more than assessment in specific knowledge. We are leaving our cherished school, perhaps some of us are leaving home, and parent , but let that fond refleo-tion back to our happy p»st nml the memories of dear Central High School always spur us on and lend new courage when we ore flagging on Life's Hoad to Success.

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Andrew JFrrrar Miter‘i Sole: Tht foittfii g tiaty um» extracted from (A II. S. i unllily t, October, JO .- Tfie articif u,u imllfn 6ji Kltirrt Pttli, VMS. For it good many years past, on pleasant sunny days, all met on the street a kindly looking old gentleman, neatly and somewhat quaintly dressed in the style of forty years ago. He walked slowly and with a cane, stopping now and then to speak with a child or watch the workers on a new building, as an old man will. Oftencst, in spring and fall, the end of his little walk would he a nearby schoolhouso. He was alwuytt welcomed by the teachers and, carefully laying his silk hat and cane on a chair, would listen for a time as the pupils recited or would set a problem in fractions for them to solve. Sometimes he talked a little, telling of his boyhood days in Maine or the big trees he once had seen where now the school house stood. Then in a trembling but cheery voice he would bid the class •'Goodbye’” and they would nnawer Goodbye, Mr. Freeze! and would go. Everywhere he was loved and respected and spoken kindly of. Thus passed in gentleness and honor the sunny winter time of the life of n good man, who had worked and studied liurd in bis youth, and in the prime of his life had wrought many good works for his fellowmen. In the year 184(1, a young man came to Cleveland, bringing with him a hard' earned college diploma, a few books and an unchangeable resolution to succeed in his chosen profession of teaching. He applied to the Board of School Managers for a position and was given one. In the school record of that year, accordingly, we find the name of A. Freese entered ns teacher of the xenior boy department of the Prospect Grammar School. He soon was recognized os the leader among Cleveland touchers, and when Mr. Charles Bradhurn, whose portrait, with that of Mr. Freese, hangs on the south wall of the otlico, secured legislation providing for the establishment of a high school, Mr. Freese was selected us the first principnl. Central was the first free high school in Ohio. The school was opened July 13, 1816, in the basement of a church on Prospect Street. Even in this dark and unhonlthful place, Mr. Freese's strong personality and earnest effort overcame every difficulty and the infant school soon equalled enthu-aiasm in efficiency with older brothers in the east. He taught his boys the vnlne of good books, how to write, and how to talk in public, and the enreere of his pupils show how sucessful his efforts were In 1854. the office of Superintendent of Instruction was created and Mr. Freese was the first to fill it. Here he evolved beauty out of chaos. Hi customary energy and intelligent industry so strengthened anil systematized the