Coopersville High School - Zenith Yearbook (Coopersville, MI)

Page 27 text:

IjDoparj'ville j-Jigh 5c§|t| iiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil 1926 liimimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim for others as well; we can do our part and do it well; famous or not, we can fill life with worthy deeds, deeds that are truly achievements. Thus may the class of '2d gain true success so that it will always he said of them, “They served well—they always did their best.” As we go out into the world, leaving our schoolmates and friends behind let each of us remember the following verses of Longfellow: “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footsteps on the sand of time. “Footsteps, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecker brother. Seeing, shall take heart again. “Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate, Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.” —M. R. F. 25

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I1926 jpcrjvilla High School iiiiiiiiiiiiti'iiii!iiiiiiiiiiiii;iiitn Valedictory yS?]Q-NITE, classmates, is the last time we come together as a class. We have at last reached the pinnacle of our hopes and desires—Commence- ment and graduation. Because of the many and great sacrifices, the support, and the unwavering patience of our parents and teachers, we have attained that longed-for goal, that first milestone in our lives. It is they who have helped us through some of the most trying and dilficult hours of our High School life. They are the ones who have rejoiced with us when we have succeeded in performing a task well, who have sorrowed with us in our troubles, and comforted our grievances. The debt we owe to them is one of those debts which can never be paid in gold or silver, but only bv our greatest expressions of gratitude and thanksgiving. 1 hose little thoughttul, unremembered acts of kindness and good-will are the things which have counted most with us. Xow, however, the time has come to say “farewell' . Although this is one of the most joyous days of our lives there is one bitter drop in our cup of happiness. We cannot leave dear old C. H. S. without a certain feeling of sorrow and regret. The Class of ’26 has spent many happy and carefree days together, but now we are about to enter the storm-tossed sea of life with its infinite trials and stupendous tasks leaving behind the clear placid days of our High School life. Our Senior year is now over; our days of work and fun have ended. But leaving High School and ending one period of our life we start another—a far largei and more important one. Our hopes of success are high—those tender buds of hope—to-morrow’s full-blown blossoms, which will carry us far along in our struggle with adversity and misfortune. We all know that a will to work brings the power to achieve, so let us struggle ever onward and upward, overcoming with determination the many obstacles that block the hard road to success. By success fame and glory are not necessarily meant. In order to succeed it is not necessary that one be a genius, for “he who ascends to mountain-tops often finds the loftiest peaks wrapped in clouds and snow.” The isolation of genius is the only rew ard for the toils wrhich are necessary to gain the summits. But let us remember that fame is not set off to the world in the glittering gold and silver leaf used to increase the bril- liance of gems, nor does it lie in broad rumor or the opinions of a few, but fame is the natural reward each one receives for a deed wrell done for which he will sometime be paid in full. Most of us will never be famous, but we can all contribute to the happi- ness of the world; we can be unselfish and live not alone for ourselves but 24

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fiiminmmtMiimMiwimu 19 6 fp U p 2 V j jj }jj j) y j J iJ £j iniiiiiiiiiiiiiini 111111111111111111» Salutatory by the wind. For years we have looked forward to this event. Now that it is upon us and swiftly passing, we realize with a pang what it means. Although it is the close of our happy school days it is but the beginning of our broader life. These years, passed in close friendships, jolly times, and study, have prepared us for the life ahead of us. They have been our char- acter-forming years. They have heralded the birth of dreams, ideals. hen, as small children, the doors of knowledge were first opened to us, we found that we knew nothing. However, as time advanced, we decided that we knew a great deal. Our ideas have changed considerably by this time and we realize how really little we do know. When we first entered school, how little did we realize that: “All the world’s a stage And all the men and women merely players. And each man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” How few of these stages have we lived and how many yet lie before us. Our parents, teachers, friends have lovingly guided us this far, and now the future is in our own hands to do with as we will. We know from our small contest with life and the experiences of others that the difficulities in our path will be great and the obstacles many, we also know that life holds out to each of us a far greater measure of success and happiness than we anticipate, if we give always the best there is in us. It pays to aim high, to set our ideals beyond our grasp for as Tennyson said, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp or what’s a heaven for?” May we always dream dreams and strive to carry them out. E. L. © OXIGHT as we stand on one of the pinacles of our desires, it is hard to realize that it is the end of our school life together. After tonight we shall be scattered by the storms of life as are the sands of the seashore 26