Des Moines Technical High School - Engineer Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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1921 coMMENcEMEN'r NUMBER-THE TATLER 1921 Class Song QWords and Music by Marjorie Needhamj I Dear old West High We have longed so for the day, That would crown our efforts here, Send us on our destined way, Prepared to meet Life's sorrows and its joys And the hardships that befall us With a purpose strong and brave. May the class of twenty-one Never cease to do the right, And keep up the reputation Of our Alma Mater dear. So then it's Dear old West High, To you a fond farewell May God send his richest bless ings To the school we love so well. II Dear Old West High We regret to leave you now, We have been so happy here With our schoolmates, teachers dear. As we go forth To ascend life's rugged hill, May the lessons learned at West High Be a guidepost to us still. May we aim with sturdy will, To perform our tasks with skill. Let each one do his duty In being ever prompt and true. So then it's Dear old West High, To you a fond farewell May God send his richest blessings Tothe school we love so well. The Wars of Peace N EARLY childhood we loved to play war with martial pomp and show of infant valor. With what zeal we donned a paper hat plumed with a jaunty rooster feather, and with a gleaming dishpan as shield, charged the ramparts of the doughty knight next door. And over the din of the conflict came the cries of encourage- ment from the fair ladies, arrayed in big sisters' long skirts. O dash- ing, impetuous youth! Deeds of daring told in rousing verse or prose formed the most dearly loved treasures of our literature. Who was not thrilled to vibrant response on first reading Scott's immortal lines: Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, 'This is my own, my native 1and!' Who has not known the delightful torment of mounting the school platform to deliver Browning's Incident of the French Camp ? No music so charmed us as the martial Marching Through Georgiaf' no art so impressed us as the vivid scene of Washington Crossing the Delaware. That lust for combat early asserts itself in the normal youth, those childish struggles and instincts are but the earliest expression of a quality which is one of the richest inheritances left us by the races which for centuries maintained their prestige through instrumentality of war. It was due to the continuous struggle of weak versus strong, right versus wrong, inspired by that combative urge, that eventually 0 0 o o o c o c 1 o Q 9-4.4..g..g..g.-a..u..c..g..g..g..g..g..g..g..g g........g..g..g.g g 9 g Q ,..g..g..g..g..g..g q 9 16

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1921 COMMENCEMENT NUMBER1THE TATLER 1921 A Farewell to W'est High Hear ye! Hear ye, under classmen! Hearken to a Senior's word. As we've reached the longed-for hilltop, Are we not worthy to be heard? Just four years ago we came here We had reached High School at last! These four years we've worked and studied, Gaining wisdom as they passed. First believing all they told us, Swallowing bait and hook and all, Looking for the elevators, Tickets to assembly hall. Then the next year, growing wiser, We gain courage as we go. Then WE lord it o'er the Freshies, Telling them the mark to toe. Each semester brings new interests, Football, basketball, and gym. Clubs and music, plays and dances Fill each moment to the brim. We've worked and played with equal ardor, For the classroom work's not all. Other things than Math. or Latin We have found in Learning's Hall. Many a lesson for Lifeg problems That will always help us through, Sportsmanship and friendly spirit, Service, and obedience, too. So, dear West High, we hate to leave now, Happy have been these years with you. But to Life's higher goals We hasten, Seeking greater deeds to do. And now we say, good-bye, dear West High, Good luck to those we leave behind! May the lessons you have taught us Ever linger in our mind. .lane Kauffman. -1--onwo--0--of-o--a-4'-ofma--0--0--o-o-wo--0--0--wsa-no--ofca-on0--of-0--0--0--s--0--o--q..g........g..g........g........g..,.. 15

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1921 COMMENCEMENT NUMBER-THE TATLER 1921 out of chaos, comparative order possessed the land, till this twentieth century dawned upon our nation in as free and settled a state as might fairly be achieved. Then in the memorable year 1917, the foreboding clouds about us gathered and the storm burst. The rallying roll of the drum again summoned our people to battle's stern arrayg our flag, unfurled to the blood-tainted breeze, spurred them on to glorious death or victory. The air was charged with a patriotic fervency before unknown. The thought of the time, the talk of the time, was centered alone in the progress of the war. The press, literature, drama, art, music, indus- try, the entire scope of 1ll3,Il,S activity, was dominated by the war. '40 Mars, the mighty Jove himself Uneasy is when o'er the land you stalk. Our brothers, our friends,'the fiower of the land, leaped up responsive to the martial call. And can you wonder that our boyish hearts longed to join that manly throng, to fight with bomb and bayonet the bar- barous forces whose sinister power threatened the established civiliza- tion? That same instinct which in childhood prompted us to stirring snow battles and clod fights, cried out in this crisis for expression. Yet to the vivid appeal of the glory, the glamor of warring on the field of battle, we had to give answer No, we fought our own fight in pursuance of education, hard though it was in such spirited times to keep the even tenor of our way. For four interminable years the world stxuggle continued with its hideous devastation, its degradation and degeneracy. But as Right must ever triumph, so its united defenders emerged from this titanic conflict victorious. Freedom was retained, saved from the bestial sovereign who would have worked his evil will upon the world. Aye, freedom is ours! Yet must we recognize that this freedom achieved is not an end, but merely a means to an end,-that it was not alone for freedom but for the achievements which freedom makes possible, that so many of our heroes gave the last full measure of devotion. Peace, at least for us in America, was ushered ing victory was ours with the attainment of that freedom. And some of the youths, deep down in their hearts were a little despondent, for it now seemed that there was nothing remaining in life that might call out their strength, their courage, their manliness and heroism. They had longed to enter the fray that they might test their mettle, try their strength against another's, glory in the dash and daring of the struggle, that they might be brave in the face of danger and fearless in the face of death. But now, with the advent of peace, it seemed that there was nothing left to fight for. As the livid flames from the battlefield faded out into the purer light of peace, life seemed drab and almost futile by the contrast, to youthis imagination. The monotony of the commonplace, toil, and the daily rounds, seemed colorless, indeed. But oh, could we all but realize the great challenge, the fierce struggle, the keen demand upon the heroic stuff we are made of, that this peace hurls at each one of us! Everything noble, everything 1I'1I0'O''II'lf'lI'O lf'Ol'l0O0O0OMO0O0O O0OUlWl0l'4 l O7'0 'l''OHCUIHI O O O O0lCI-IHIUOI-Olfllvll