Frankfort Community High School - Red Bird Yearbook (West Frankfort, IL)

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Frankie Bows When Mr. Sullivan Says: Where Vision Fails, There People Perish If any community is to be economically self-supporting, it must derive its sustenance from its own industry. So long as it fails to do this it will be a burden for its support upon the larger economic organization of which it is a part. The West Frankfort community has two natural resources upon which it must rely for its economic wellbeing. They are coal and agriculture. It also has an abundant supply of intelligent labor. The possibilities of these three resources have hardly been touched. Coal as West Frankfort knows it is a fuel only. No effort has been made in this community to process coal into its hundreds of by-products. Agriculture has been shunned because in the past it has failed to provide the kind of living desired by most young people of the present day. Little has been done to raise agriculture to the plane of scientific farming and no effort has been made in our community to process agricultural products into their many industrial uses, that is, to farm for industry. As a result of these failures to make the most of our natural resources the employment outlets for our youth have been so few that most of our youth after graduating from high school have left the community to seek employment elsewhere. A high school graduate represents a minimum investment of ten thousand dollars of this community’s resources. From the strictly economical point of view up to the time of his graduation he has been a community liability. At the very time that he reaches the capacity of becoming a community asset he leaves the community to become valuable working capital for the community into which he goes. His new community begins immediately to capitalize upon the investment made in him by this community. With scores of young people leaving this community every year to become intelligent labor elsewhere the magnitude of ARLIE MURPHY, Member Cashier, Benton Bank LEO McDONALD, President Merchant H. B. WILKINSON, Secretary Defense Work LUTHER BURPO, Member Merchant DR. W. S. RAINS. Member Dentist

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 this book to the faithful friend of many generations from whose fields have sprung the towns of Southern Illinois; to the one who has nurtured West Frankfort from a tiny settlement to a thriving city; to the one whose funds have provided our schools, the First Line of Defense; to the guardian of our churches, which protect our faith in the future; to Old King Coal, our benefactor. We, the Senior Class, hope you enjoy your journey with Little Frankie through the 1942 RED BIRD

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est rank(0rt's investment in other communities soon becomes evi-en ‘ ■ lnese young people are to be kept at home. West Frankfort -us P-vide them outlets for employment. If the West Frankfort community is to maintain a favorable balance of trade” it must do two things. First, it must through some leadership catch a vision of the future which will awaken this community not only to its possibilities, but to its absolute necessities if it is to be economically self-supporting. With this vision it must acquire a faith in its future and the courage to do those things necessary to guarantee that future. Second, it must build industries on the foundation of its natural resources such as will provide outlets for employment and keep our ablest young people at home. This means the establishment of both coal and agricultural processing plants which will enable us to use our natural resources not only for fuel and food but for their hundreds of industrial uses as well. This will furnish employment outlets for our scores of young people who are graduating from our high school and leaving this community every year. When this time comes our school will try to keep pace with the needs of its community and will establish vocational courses to train for the skills needed in the particular industries which our community offers.