Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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26 , THE L ADDRESS TO UNDERGRADUATES Iuniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen: It is not pleasant to be critic, but since I have been asked to give you some advice which may be of help to you when you re- turn to school in the fall, the following quotation from Cicero expresses my feel- ings: Both to advise and to be advised is a feature of real friendshipf, We all do things heedlessly, not thinking of the con- sequences, and I hope you will return to school in the fall determined to do better. The main purpose of the high school is undoubtedly for study and learning, but not for that alone. Your high school life should contain three ranges of activitiy: intellectual, social, extra-curricular. As you grow mentally you will want to make more friends, because of the broader view you will have toward other students. Your social activity will then be a daily event instead of merely a special occasion. If you keep your intellectual and social life well-balanced, you will feel the urge to go out for extra-curricu- lar activities: music, sports, or public speaking. Soon your veins will thrill with school spirit, and you won,t think school such a bore after all. It is surprising when we stop to realize it, how much time we waste though every day seems crammed with activity, but all too often, it is with useless, ineffectual activity. We Hit spasmodically from one thing to an- other. Too many times we half-heartedly tackle the easier task and hopelessly wish the harder one were done. Before we know it, there isnlt time enough to thoroughly study that important assignment in chem- istry or biology. That is why you frequently see so many of your friends hurriedly scan- ning a text-book during the twenty-five minute period or a few minutes before class. You will rarely find time to study that les- son you didn't fully prepare last week. Slackness in one thing has the tendency to lead to slackness in others, and it doesn't take long to gain the reputation of being a shirker. AUREL Have you ever walked along a busy street just at the rush hour when a group of persons decide to call a conference and do so right there and then? If you have never encountered such a congestion, take a glance at the bevy of girls conversing at the end of the girls, walk just before school begins. Will they move to let one by? Not a frac- tion of an inch more than the Rock of Gibraltar would! It is a very convenient place to talk before the bell rings, but we should show at least the common courtesy of stepping aside when someone would like to get by. Now I admire a person who has a little get-up-and-go in him, but when it comes to getting up and going all over the building when he should be studying just to ramble around in order to satisfy a yearning to travel is quite a different story. We all know who the chronic meanderers of the school are. I-Iave you ever been in the library when two so-called book worms of the human variety were trying to whisper fOh! 50 quietlyj and then they looked up innocently to Find the eyes of the student teacher turned toward them? It is advisable not to use a speaking privilege for a tete a tete either in the library, main room, or elsewhere. More- over, have you ever heard anyone speak right out without permission because he thinks the teacher librarian is his friend and will overlook the broken rule? In the October issue of the Reader's Digest there was an anecdote telling of the thrill the Serbians get from breaking glass just for sheer enjoyment. I can sympathize with this idea of pleasure. There is something about the sound of breaking glass that is fascinating, but will someone please tell me where the fun comes from tearing paper into tiny bits until it looks like confetti, and then covertly dropping it on the Hoor or depositing it in another person's desk? Missives which are of such private nature that it is necessary to tear them into minute particles in order to keep their contents hidden from inquisitive eyes should not be

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THE LAUREL U 25 or Hower. Gardening is one of the hobbies that bring us to a closer communion with nature and with God. Generally speaking, the kind of hobby you ought to mount should be quite different from the work you do. If your profession is chiefly mental, you should take up a hobby that calls for physical exercise, and likewise, one whose work is physical gener- ally enjoys an intellectual or brain-teasing hobby. Children should have their hobbies as well as Mother and Dad. Boys especially like to collect small things, such as stamps, marbles, pebbles, and small animals. A striking example of this is Tom Sawyer and his pet toad. Radio appeals to young and old alike. One of the first acts of a radio enthusiast is to build a one-tube radio set. What a triumph it is after hours of intensive work to hear distinct voices penetrating through the ether. And sometimes very unexpected things result from ones hobby. A man told me the other day what his radio hobby did for him. He built his own two-way trans- mitter and in using it contacted a young lady in a neighboring foreign country. After talking back and forth each day for some time, he visited her and returned with her as his bride. Hobbies of prominent people are. doubly interesting. Everyone is familiar with Pres- ident Roosevelt's hobby, deep-sea fishing. He finds relief from pressing national affairs by retreating to his yacht for a week or two of tranquil deep-sea fishing. Perhaps a most unusual hobby for a man is that of the Duke of Windsor. He knits and crochets scarves and muliiers. When a youngster he learned this skill from his royal mother. This hobby is not so unprecedented as it seems. For generations the shepherds of Scotland have whiled away the long hours by knitting. Almost any kind of hobby you adopt will cost you money, a little or a lot depending on what it is and the thoroughness with which you ride it. Therefore, one should choose one that is within his means. Garden- ing, wood-work, and reading are inex- pensive, while photography, music, aviation, and travel are considered among the more costly ones. Oftentimes it happens that what one chooses for a hobby may later become a vocation. Henry Ford was a machinist by trade and his hobby was making things. He conceived the idea of building a gasoline buggy, or automobile as it is now called, merely as a hobby. He was prevailed upon by his friends to build similar cars for them. He finally went into the business of manu- facturing and marketing them to such an extent that the slogan now is: Watch the Fords go by. Among the hobbies which interested me was that of a country doctor who brought forth from the depths of his pockets samples of tatting in three threads. He declared that he was the only tatter in the world that could use three threads at once. He invented his own shuttle for the purpose while re- cuperating from a long illness. Then there is the dentist who is the creator of some magnificent hooked rugs. He volunteered that he was only one of many men who have reached prominence in an art usually considered the field of women. Aviation is a very recent hobby. We modems learn to fly ships of the air much easier than did our ancestors learn to sail their ships of the sea. We cannot think of the speed and comparative safety with which these winged couriers travel over land and sea without realizing that it is the coming means of travel. You perhaps know the lines of one of Robert Browning's poems where he says, Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be,,' but I would change this and say, Grow young along with me, the best is yet to be.', And how can you do this? Why, by galloping away on a hobby. Glenys L. Gould '38.

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THE LAUREL Q 27 in circulation in the school. At this time a definition of wastebasket might be appro- priate. According to Mr. Webster it is a basket to hold scraps, waste paper, etcf' The etc.', is Mr. Websterls, not mine. No one wants it said of him that he can't take itfl We all have occasions when it takes every ounce of self-control to keep our feelings under our thumb. There are times in our school life when we all make a mark lower than usual. Instead of throw- ing up your hands and blaming the mark on the teacher or on a difficult assignment the night before in some other subject, you should put the blame on yourself, where it generally belongs. Life is full of pitfalls and failures, and you might just as well learn in high school to face a low mark or punishment and blame no one but yourself, as to have to learn to do it after leaving school. Have you ever played dodge ball? The idea is to keep out of the path of the ball because of the penalty to the one whom the ball hits. There are some pupils who apply that game to school life. Convenient illness may seem to be an easy way to get around a difficult exam or an unprepared lesson, but we can't always dodge distasteful as- signments now or later. You are only in high school four years. Some of you are realizing how fast time does Hy, and how much of the profitable things you miss. How often outside in- terests separate you from the companionship of class and schoolmates. Soon you lose interest, and perhaps your ranks drop. It is impossible to be happy deep down inside without friendship and companionship in connection with your business, and your business, at the present time, is school. Most of you enter high school in the first or second year of your teens. With a few exceptions that is too early in life to definitely decide on a vocation. However, you ought to begin to lay plans, as far as possible, in your freshman year so that you can plan your course of study. If you don't, when you come to your senior year, there will be a great many vocations and lines of busi- ness which will appeal to you. Which are you going to take? You must decide for yourself, and it takes a great deal of thinking. Have you ever heard this quotation: Fools' names and fools' faces are always seen in public places P We have all seen some of the inscriptions written or carved on desks or books. You wouldnit want anyone to come into your house and mark up the furniture. Moreover, you wouldnlt deface your own property. Although the school is owned collectively, that is, it is public property, it is your personal duty to respect and take care of it individually. Slightly changing the words of a seven- teenth century poet, I shall say, Yet, if in my desire to do you service, I humbly offered my advice fbut still under correc- tionj, I hope I shall not have incurred your high displeasure. Then to come back to dear old Cicero, He loves who advises. Farewell and be- waref' Laura Worthley '38. fr ADDRESS OF WELCOME-CLASS DAY ARENTS, teachers, and friends: I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and the privilege of welcoming you to the long- anticipated Class Day of the Class of 1938. Mothers and Fathers, we want you to realize that we appreciate your mingled feelings at this time as you become keenly aware that your boy or girl is steadily veering from beneath your parental and friendly guidance. As you have joined with us individually in our joys and cares of past years, we invite you to unite with us today in our facetious reminiscence and prophecy. W'e, the class, sincerely express to you our gratitude for this cooperation of the past. It is through your aid and under- standing that many of us were able to re- main throughout the four years. We, as a class, are intensely proud of our size, it is the largest to ever graduate. The spirit of fellowship has not, however, been