Elwood Community High School - Crescent Yearbook (Elwood, IN)

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Second row: Wendell Willkie is second from the --Vuurlscy ofEdg1r1r li. Hull right, Edgar Ball is second from the left PRESI DENT'S TRIBUTE The nation will long remember Wendell Willkie a. a forthright American. Earnest, honest, wholesouled, he also had tremendous courage. This courage-which was his dominating trait-'prompted him more than once to stand alone and to challenge the wisdom of counsels taken by powerful interests within his own party. In this hour of grave crisis the country loses a great citizen through his untimely passing. LEditor's Note: This tribute is published with the permission of the late President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was sent to The Crescent directly from the White House, Washington, D. C.l .s..g..-. He grew to manhood from an humble birth, Through boyhood days he walked the common way, Building a life of sterling worth As on he toiled through each weary day. Building, ever building, Reaching for that star Of high ideals for all mankind He had visioned from afar. A statesman, great among the great, Noble of soul and mindg Striving to bring unity, Freedom, and peace to all mankind. Great though he was, he loved to walk The path with the common man -f To talk with him, be friends, with him According to God's plan. God rest you, Wendell Willkiel You've fought a noble fight, Holding high the banners Of a cause you knew was right. You were sent a while to help us To face reality, A noble soul from ageless realms Of immortality. Orville Bowers Page Seven

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Slx months old Seventeen years His Spirit Marches Un What prophet among us could have foreseen some forty odd years ago that here in Elwood was beginning a brilliant career which was destined to know no national boundaries nor to recognize any international barriers? Yet here in our very streets and parks, churches and schools was laid the foundation for a Iife's work which was to take Wendell L. Willkie far from the limits of his small, midwestern, farming community even into the far corners of the globe. ' Through Indiana University to a teacher's desk in a Kansas High School we follow the trail of our favorite son. Back to an Akron, Ohio law office his footprints lead us and from there to the firm of a corporation lawyer in New York City. Next we stand with him at the nominating convention of 1940 in Chicago and watch and listen as he leads us through a vigorous presidential campaign across the nation. Even defeat for the highest elective office in the land could not dampen his indomitable spirit. We cheer when he offers full cooperation in governmental matters and in the war effort. We fly with him on a 'round the world trip during which he walks with kings and eats with the common man. We read his thoughts, his warnings, and his dreams in ONE WORLD. Humanly speaking, WiIIkie's trodden path comes to an end in a cemetery near Rushville in his native Hoosier State. Here the personal side of the humble world leader rests. But men like Willkie never die. They live forever in the hearts of all who knew them. Their ideals are passed on from generation to generation. These heroes, become more respected in death than in life. Memory of them comes to be eternally enshrined in memorials and monuments throughout the world. In keeping with the spirit of remembrance, our schools have been official- ly renamed the Wendell L. Willkie Junior and Senior High Schools. Tributes of this kind bear little weight, however, in perpetuating the undefeatable courage of Wendell L. Willkie. History and time alone will inscribe in the lasting record his true worth. Already his spirit was present at the council tables of Dumbarton Oaks. lt has again been felt at the council tables at San Francisco. It will again be harkened unto in the coming peace con- ferences when the guns of this war will be forever silenc- ed. His spirit willlnot be pushed aside. It will stop only when all nationsf clasp hands in a friendly and peaceful ONE WORLD. wfourlsry of Mrs, Frrznlr Willlril'

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Page Eight The American Way of Life The American Way of Life. These five words mean something different to each and every one of us. To most of us the meaning takes the form of a tangible reality such as the coke at the Sweet Shoppe, a ride in the country, or trip to visit friends. No matter what it means to you, there is one basic word in this philosophy of life that includes all- FREEDOM. Freedom is not an abstract quality, but an intimate part of our life. lt is the church we attend, the books we read, the vote we cast. lt is ours to hold and to defend. It was the word freedom that set the course of the seventeenth-century sail boats towards the West. This freedom was handed down to us through the tears, laughter, and speeches of our forefathers. Patrick Henry was aware of the full force of the meaning of liberty and many others followed him in his cry for liberty. This element is ever present in our songs, nature, and even our breath of life. Let us remember that this freedom is created in sunlit streets of America, in children's play, in the sound of church bells, and in the right to stand up and speak the truth as we see it. Someday we hope that people all over the world will know the meaning and strength of freedom. Americans, take up the torch of Freedom today, light this darkened world, and make it a better world for tomorrow.