Eastern High School of Commerce - Eastern Echo Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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VALEDICTORY ADDRESS, 1932 JAMES KERR TO-NIGHT we say our formal fare- well to the building we have learned to love and to the teachers whom we have come to number among our friends. It is they, upon whose daily guidance we have relied so much. The realities of yesterday when we, as students, strolled along the halls of Commerce, will by to-morrow be transformed into memories which we JAMES KERR shall always remember with that vividness which, we understand, is peculiar to memories concerning youth. t The school has undergone many changes since we enrolled. We shall remember it both as we saw it first and as we leave it to-night. Since our enrolment, the swimming-pool. the gymnasia, the cafeteria, several new rooms and this beautiful audit- orium have been added. We have been fortunate in having the use of these facilities in The first were not so plished the EASTERN ECHO our senior years. students of the school fortunate. They accom- same amount of work that we have accomplished, but with- out the diversions we enjoyedg they did not have periods in the swimming- pool and in the gymnasia. To these young men and women, a number of whom are present to-night, we ex- press our admiration for their persev- erance and our congratulations on their success. These pioneers over- came the difficulties of inadequate equipment and insufficient room to carry out their activities. They went out into the business world and made the name of Eastern Commerce heard. Year by year more students enrolled until this school is now one of the largest commercial schools in Canada. Our first month was the worst- certainly not from our point of view, but from that of our teachers whose duty it was to subdue us into some- thing approximating respectability as high-school students. Who of us can ever forget those brush-fights in the basements at noon-hour, those riots in the portables and the inevitable deten- tions which followed? These deten- tions were accepted by us as a matter of course. But eventually we became discip- lined and began to work in earnestg at the end of the year we passed- became lordly second-formers. This we found had its advantages: we could, for one thing, vote in the stu- dent elections. True, we did not know anyone who was running, but nevertheless we voted. It is thus democracy extends its privileges. The following year we became mem- bers of the senior school-third- formers! We felt our pride was justified. Then in our final year we were the top of the student portion of the school. There was, however, an undercurrent of regret: this was our last year. We had not thought that four years of associations so pleasant Seventeen

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year in fifth form at Central Com- merce, he entered Varsity last fall. Looking back, Sheen recalled the shinny games played when in room 201. With 18 or so on a side, tins and sticks to play with, and the ice-rink the scene of battle, the games are most poignant in Sheen's memory. Sheen was editor of the 4G Shush, humor editor of the Echo, and a fluent debater. He is now in a course with 80 others, uses shorthand to take notes of lectures and gives the fol- lowing message to us: I appreciate what Eastern Com- merce has done for me and I hope to see more Eastern graduates enter the Commerce and Finance course soon. if t 'A' Wilson Ross Woodrow, co-student with Sheen at the University and also a participant in the shinny games of halycon '31 days, has the distinc- tion of having pitched against the teachers' team here, and beaten them badly. At Commerce Coot , as he was popularly known, had a reputation of being somewhat of a gay Lothario, and we cannot help admiring such a refreshing personality. He is a member of the Y and in his spare time indulges in ping-pong and hockey, his favorite sports. At Eastern, Woodrow says, he en- joyed accountancy best, while now at Varsity, economics is his weakness. In conclusion, we'1l tell you that Woodrow swims and plays basketball at Hart House, thinks the professors are the best feature of Varsity, and likes reading the Echo. -YE EDITOR. EASTERN COMMERCE ALUMNI EXECUTIVE, l932-33 Back Row: J. Patterson, W. Allport, E. Mahatty, J. Kerr, R. Sanderson, E. Taylor. Front Row: D. Godbold, Treas.g P. Howe, Rec. Sec.: M. Hamilton, Pres.: R. Robertson, Sec.: A. Harrison, Vice-Pres. Sixteen EASTERN ECHO

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would come to an endg that we would have to say good-bye to a period of our lives that had been spent in pre- paration. But to-night this parting has come and it is with deep regret that we realize that this is our last evening as students and that to- morrow a new world is before us, the world of business of which we have heard so many and so varied tales from those who have gone into it before us. Looking back, we are amazed at how rapidly the time has passed. This fact, then, constitutes the basis of our message to the undergraduates. Tothem we say: Your time here is of comparatively short duration, make the most of it. Get all the knowledge possibleg be fair to every subject. Do not neglect one and concentrate on another merely because you dislike the first and enjoy the second. Those subjects which we sometimes think least important will often prove very valuable. We feel that every student should take an interest in some society or organization. Whether it be taking a part in our concert or debating work, or whether it be playing in our excellent school orchestra, taking an active part in the publication of the school magazine, rifle shooting, play- ing on any of the school teams or act- ing in an executive position in any society formed for the interests of the school in general, the time will be well spent. Not only will it serve to help him to enjoy his years at the Eastern High School of Commerce, but it will act as a diversion from regular class- room work and also prove highly instructive. We do not like to draw the under- graduates' attention to the fact that the time must come when they too will be leaving the school, but come it must. And when it does, if they are able to look back over the years here and feel that they have justified the faith of their parents who sent Eighteen them here, justified the work of the teachers who taught them, and if they are able to look back and feel that they are satisfied with their achievements, then the parting will be made easier by a sense of accom- plishment. We repeat then, Your time is shortg make the most of it. Look upon work as something to be done-not to be avoided. We leave here with no doubt as to- the future. We have received here a foundation upon which we must build. The laying of the foundation has taken four years. But before we lay a foundation we have a plan. The plan is the work of an architect. The- building must be worthy of the foun- dation which is a part of the whole- building. Some day the superstruc- ture will be reared, the ornamentation done, and our worth and the worth of' our generation will stand expressed. These times present both difliculty and opportunity-perhaps more oppor- tunity because of the difliculty. We accept our responsibility. We are determined not to fail! iii As We Go to Press MR. C. L. ROWE, head of the Eng- lish Department and Mr. H. A. Fair, head of the Science Depart- ment are ill and will be confined to their homes for two weeks. We wish them a speedy return to health and look forward to their early resump-- tion of their duties here. tiff Sixty of our students have applied for Matriculation Examinations in June. Their ambition is to be con-- gratulated and we wish them success- ir 'A' ir From the line-up of students in front of the office we thought that the- Echo had appeared for sale. It was the distribution of the kodak book, How to Get Better Pictures. ' EASTERN ECHO