East Hartford High School - Janus Yearbook (East Hartford, CT)

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ence, art, and music. He must not allow himself to put off his reading or whatever method he takes of acquiring this knowl- edge. Each time he delays will make it harder, whereas, if he overcomes his reluctance, he will soon be able to find relaxation in it. He wants to reach his goal with unimpaired strength and energy. Then he must keep himself in good physical con- dition as he goes along. If his health is once broken he will have difficulty in building it up again so that he can pursue his way. But if he takes a few simple precautions daily he will have no trouble in that respect. He wants to gain success as a man of clean sportsmanship, of high ideals, such a man that his Maker can look upon the results of His handiwork with approval. Then he must keep his ideals constantly before him and rule his conduct in accordance with them. He must re- fuse opportunities to gain his desired position more quickly if accepting them means sacrificing the finer part of his vision and his manhood. He must be able to endure ridicule, to stand alone, and in the end he will be well repaid. He will be. one of the few who started out who arrived successfully at the end of the road. He will be among the few who have the right to con- sider themselves of this world's elect. Classmates, to-night marks our completion of four happy and profitable years in high school. We are grateful to our parents, who have made it possible, and to our teachers, who have increased its value. Here we have grown able to look upon the world with increasing understanding and to pick out our particular place in it. We have come to the beginning of the long road and have received the equipment that will sup- port us along the way. We are sorry to leave East Hartford High, but the road is before us. From the eminences along the way we will see this school standing at the beginning, and it will always seem beautiful to us. ARTHUR G. RANDALL. Proudly we stand for the school of our land, Our devotion will endure, Tho' we must leave thee, Never we'll g'rieve thee, East Hartford High! Honor be thine forever, Sorrow come near thee never, Thy great name be sure. Here is a toast, Thy good name let us boast, East Hartford will never fail, To thy great splendor, All must surrender, Blue and White, We will bear thy standards high, We will let thy banners fly- Hail to the East Hartford High! Words and Music by E. LOUISA BUSHER. A 24

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forced to waste time in deciding what to do next, nor to repair damage caused by a Wrong decision. After each fresh dis- couragement the man who gropes his Way along must stop and ask himself if he did right to choose that route. But the man who sees his goal beckoning him on is perhaps prepared for that disaster, perhaps able to figure out its causes and effects. He stops only long enough to correct the fault and presses on toward the shining mark, which is now perceptibly nearer. Some men set themselves such goals which they hope to reach some day. Yet they do not map out ways to attain those marks. The man of this type wanders blindly along the road and does not know when he makes a wrong turning. He is content to let matters take their course in the hope that some day the position he wants will come to him. He uses his vision as a sort of patent medicine cabinet. In it he finds a cure for every fit of discouragement and a shield from every complaint and sneer. Whenever he feels dissatisfied with his present condition, he cheers himself with the thought that some day he will be in a position to command the respect of everyone. Whenever he is asked why he has not gained the position he expected to have, he answers, Just wait until my ship comes in. Some of these men realize that their youthful visions cannot be fulfilled, and they are to them only painful memories. Others continue all their lives to hope and plan fondly toward the same ends. Many attain the business positions they have desired and may feel self-satisfied and complacent, but they have not ful- filled their youthful visions. They have won success in their businesses, but in the struggle to gain that success they have somehow lost sight of the finer parts of the visions they once saw. In the effort to make themselves into successful mag- nates, they have forgotten to make themselves into proper men. Perhaps their good intentions have remained, but they have felt that in trying to reach high positions in their busi- nesses they have Worked too hard to do anything but rest in their leisure hours. Perhaps they have seen .ways to advance their material success that observed the letter of the law but would not have been considered by lovers of fair play. Their success in this and the faint reproaches of their consciences have led them to deride attempts to place ideals above wealth. But these men are not happy. Even if they have the homage of those persons whose respect for a man is in direct propor- tion to his money, they, themselves, know that they are not all they once planned to be. The man who succeeds in fulfilling his vision must never lose sight of his goal. For, to reach it, he must keep on the straight road toward it. To gain the position he wants he must choose the jobs that offer him a chance to learn about it. He must not be turned aside by attractive salaries. To acquire the polish necessary to associate with cultured people on equal terms, he must keep constantly abreast of the world's intellect- ual advance. He must neither depend on what he learned in school nor wait until he has reached the position he desires before learnlng what he wants to know about literature, sci- 23

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SALUTATORY BEAUTY AS TRUTH Trustees of the school board, faculty, parents, and friends of the school, we, the January class of 1929, cordially welcome you to witness our last East Hartford High School activity. We also make this an occasion upon which to thank our par- ents and teachers for the time they have spent in aiding us to earn the written reward of a high school diploma, and the un- written reward of broadened minds ready to better appreciate and contribute to the beauties of the world. We started out from the beach just before sunset, and, un- fortunately, missed that colorful panorama lauded by poets and artists, because of a thick forest which left to sight only a section of the vast heavens above. However, as hill suc- ceeded .hill and the trees thinned down to bushes and open fields, we reached a summit where the remnants of a previous, glorious scene furnished an almost equal splendor. The whole horizen, prominently the western part, was dyed in a deep scar- let. The outlines of distant hills, of lonely pine trees and ma- jestic elms, of tall, stately church spires towering above mas- sive oaks appeared more conspicuous with this crimson back- ground. It was a silhouette of nature painted by herself 3 and what artist is there to excel nature? As twilight approached and we neared the city, the bor- der of scarlet became dull and rusty, turning to pale greenish yellow on the top and melting into a now dusky blue heaven. One faithful little star faintly glimmered in the west, the only beacon between the periods of the setting sun and rising moon. It was like a ray of hope assuring the world of a new guidance to come. In the dark valleys below various little lights flick- ered gaily, looking like stars fallen from the heavens and beg- ging to be raised again. And then the new guidance, the moon, shone forth. It became the watchful shepherd of a rapidly increasing flock of little stars, some huddled together in love of company, others remote, alone, coveting seclusion. 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,'-that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. So said John Keats in his poem Ode on a Grecian Urn. He found beauty in an old time- worn urn, one faithful little herald of past days, a relic of former splendor and glory in Greece. Thus does the exquisite beauty of nature spell out the great truth. Truth of what? Why, the truth of God's love of man. And this most beautiful sight seen by man portrays that most wondrous truth known by man. In life this declaration of Keats is least consciously recog- nized. Truth lends a warm rounding glow to the eye. and re- flects on the entire person in such a way as to compel admira- tion of a deeper sort. Abraham Lincoln possessed a lean, awk- ward figure, shaggy eyebrows, a large long nose, prominently huge ears, a thick lower lip, leathery, yellow skin, and a pro- truding Adam's apple, but he was really beautiful. His de- 25