Girard College - Corinthian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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GIRARD—Our Benefactor When Qod bent down to earth one day, He gazed on common road; And there He grasped some yet-warm clay, Where seeds of grace were sowed. He pressed it gently in His hands To selfishness destroy, He washed it in a magic dew Of human strength and joy. He bathed it in philosophy Distilled for Qod and man, He moulded it with careful turn, A fervent soul began. He tempered it in flames of Life, Then cooled it in His Word, It saw the sky—beheld the sea, Thus god made one great man. Yes, soon this man defied the waves, Resolved in spirit true; He sent great ships across the seas, New ports to soon review. Those ports, soon swelled with busy trade, To fortune this man led; But ideals turned this fortune to The campus we now tread. We here in humble homage bow, Let no man dare defame The name, Qirard — American — Our hero we declaim. Deep in our hearts enshrined today, Great benefactor — Friend — Brave heart, you’re like Eternity — No rime—no change—no end. —Richard W. Boyd

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fi (Eolumnfl WE HAVE A DEBT The time to do has come; the time to regret is past. What we have had to do, and what we did is past. The mistakes we have made are forgiven. Now, on January 25, 1939, for the first time we are placed in the machinery of a fast-moving world of street cars, trains, airplanes, ships, turning wheels of industry, business, and the vast openness of the country. Tonight for the first time we face the hard reality of our purpose in living. We feel the surging of crowded streets and people of all types. Now comes the stark realism of what Stephen Girard has done for us. Yes, we know he has clothed, fed, and sheltered us for some eight years. We know he has offered us the highest ideal¬ ism in education as written in his will: All the instructors and teachers in the College shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars the purest princi¬ ples of morality so that on their entrance into active life they may from inclination and habit evince benevolence towards their fellow citizens and a love of truth, sobriety and industry.” Those teachers have taught us all that and more than we can ever hope to ex¬ press our gratitude for, and he has placed into our open hands a great opportunity- What we have accomplished only sup¬ plies an incentive to do more and better work. In regret of our failures to put forth a greater effort, we feel now the larger capacities of our being. Tonight Girard College and its rep¬ resentatives send us forth with, Here, America, is a Girard Boy.” And that means that Girard gives again to the world its product of character, leadership, and morality. Fellows, we owe something to Girard more than money. We can never grasp the immensity of his benefaction. We dare not give back less than our best for all he has given us. There are two ways, however, in which we can show our thanks and fervent gratitude. The first is to go out and live as real examples of what Girard expects every Girard boy to be. The second is to prove ourselves worthy of this heritage by using every opportunity to gain the respect of our Alma Mater. Some place their parting u ords in poems, While others use the play, Some books like these go into money, Oh, boy, the price they pay ! Our theme and format, plain and humble, Nobody will extol ' em, But here our story ' s told in prose In column after column.