Goshen Central High School - Yearbook (Goshen, NY)

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THE PIONEER 13 as we have, nevertheless you will be inspired by our splendid example, You may be the first class to graduate from our new High School. Think what it means to you. You must set a standard that no class will ever be able to raise. There will be a junior class following you, who will watch every move, and so remember you are no longer children but dignified Seniors. Remember not to mark or deface the new desks, or to misuse the textbooks which are loaned to you. For the day of reckoning will surely come. Be considerate to the faculty, for they are always ready and willing to help you (if you only could realize how much you needed it) and when they are forced to use stern measures to preserve peace and tranquility do not doubt that you deserve them-Strive hard to succeed even though your senior year may seem the hardest, and rest assured you will not fail. E. H. P.,’10. - .. — . -si Acknowledgment TO the many friends of Goshen High School, who by giving prizes and medals add to the interest of the various contests, we desire to extend our heartiest thanks. Among those who contribute prizes are Mr. Frank Drake, $10, for an essay to be written by the Senior Class; Mr. George F. Gregg, Mr. Joseph Merritt, Esq., Mr. Wm. N. Hoffman and Principal M. C. Smith, who give the prizes for the local speaking contests, amounting to $30, and those who give the prizes for the interscholastic speaking contest, Dr. E. G. Parker, Dr. Charles Thompson, Judge J. B. Swezey and Sheriff A. C. Sutherland. In addition to these there are two prizes of $3 each for the D. A. R. prize essay contest given by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the scholarship prize of $ 10 given by the Board of Education. “ Your teeth are like the stars, he said ; Her dear, dim eyes grew bright. “ Your teeth are like the stars, he said, “ They all come out at night. The Minisink Prize Essays THE Minisink Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution very generously offered two prizes again this year for the two best essays written on the subject of the Iroquoian Confederacy. The essays were not read before the High School as in former years, but the prizes will be awarded Commencement night. The two prize-winning essays were written by Everett M. Vincent and Paul Schriver. The essay written by Miss Mary Lewis was given honorable mention. Following are the prizewinning essays: THE IROQUOIAN CONFEDERACY. A tribe of redmen, foremost in war, foremost in eloquence and foremost in political development were the Iroquoian Indians, who dwelt in the central part of what is now New York state at the time when our nation was springing into existence. Today a traveler passing through that section of the state, as he gazes upon the beautiful scenery with its lakes and forests, and on the many large and growing cities, scarcely realizes that one hundred and sixty years ago this region was pathless forest and the home of the redman. This tribe of Indians, comprising five distinct nations, the Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Onondagas and Mohawks, was the most powerful and aggressive band of marauders in the country and was feared from one end of the land to the other. Although at the period of its greatest power and splendor the confederacy could scarcely place four thousand warriors in the field, nevertheless its roving bands had conquered all of the other tribes within a radius of many hundred miles and the very name of Iroquois was enough to make the opposing bands fly in terror from the onset of these savage fighters. The success of these Indians as conquerors may be attributed to several causes. The natural location of their homes in the center of numerous lakes and rivers made access to the lands of their neighbors very easy for their war parties. More than this, however, the success of these Indians was due to their ambition, joined with their courage and ferocity in fighting, and perhaps the greatest reason of all, the political organization which bound them together. Other Indians, although they were most brave and daring fighters, were not ambitious enough to carry war into the country of their neighbors. They usually preferred the more peaceful life of hunting and fishing, fighting only when it was necessary to repel invaders. To the Iroquois, however, fighting was living and they were never so happy as when carrying murder and devastation against some rival nation. Moreover, the other nations

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12 THE PIONEER class with whom she will not be so frivolous; also a sheet of paper to stand upon to add a few cubits to her stature. To Molly Foster, the sedate Vice-President of this illustrious (?) class, we leave a repeating alarm clock that she may arrive at school on time once in a while; also some solemnity to keep her from laughing for at least ten minutes every day. To Ruth Thompson, the worthy treasurer, we leave the advice that she shall not appropriate any of the class funds for purchasing a new horse, no matter how much she may want one, To Bertha Schoonmaker we bequeath a considerable amount of wisdom; and suggest that she love her neighbor as herself. To Margretta Farley, the editor, we do hereby bequeath a little more voice. To our little Emmie Kattmann. the famous class jester, we give a cap and bells, together with a bunch of “ Cherokee Roses. To our dear Elma Abrams we leave the sporting section of the “ Harold. ” To Adele Witt we give the choice of any young man in the school, and we hope that she will make the most of her opportunity. To Mae Carr we leave high aspirations and the hope that her ambition will not give out. To our “short Jane Coleman we give the advice that she will not monopolize the West-(ervelt). To Florence Mapes we leave the pleasure of playing the piano in chapel as often as she wishes. To Marion Sargeant, “ our fashion sheet,” we bequeath plenty of clothes and wish her luck in Algebra. To Mattie Sutherland we leave a list of borrowed articles which might be returned. To Paul Schriver, the poor lone male of his class, we bequeath a full set of armor to protect himself from the female sex. CLASS OF 1910. “ What is your automobile record ? Earl—“Two a minute.” “ Two miles a minute ?” Earl—“ No, two victims.” The Comet Class of 1910 Now this is the tale of 1910, Such a wonderful class as will ne’er be again. It came in the year of the comet, too. But you will be wiser e’er 1 am thru. The Class of ’ 10 is the comet class. Now what I'm telling you is not all gas. There are lots of them all full of might And in other things they are out of sight. The president of the comet class Is the nucleus of the senior mass; Harold Parker is this wonderful head, But there are lots of books he has not read. The one who is next in the line of the tail (tale) Is Everett Vincent, studious and pale, His brain is full of knowledge crammed, As vice-president he’s much in demand. Reynolds Farley is the secretary grand. He also has charge of the “ golden sand;’’ 'Tis said that many girls’ hearts he has hurt, For, indeed, he's an awfully wicked flirt. The rest of the tail is spreading wide, Of boys and girls from every side. The part of the tale which gets lots of attention Are three girls, whose names I need not mention. The comet is flying away to the west, This class, with its trials, will soon be at rest. With the Alumni they will soon take their place. As the comet is now going out into space. C. H. E., ’09. Charge to the Juniors Dear Juniors : E, the class of 1910, of whose importance you are well aware, wish to leave a few words of profound wisdom to you. We, having had experience, fully understand how much you may profit by our advice. The time is fast approaching when we are to leave the old school, and then a great responsibility will fall upon your shoulders. Try to bear it as we have done. Although you will probably not succeed as well

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14 THE PIONEER lived in a state of independence from one another, jealous of their rights and privileges, and seldom helping each other in times of war. On the other hand the Iroquois were bound together by the closest ties of blood and friendship. Whenever a matter arose that concerned the whole confederacy, representatives were sent to meet in a council at the council house of the Onondagas where the matter was settled in a manner satisfactory to all concerned. Here questions of war and peace and everything concerning the welfare of the whole race were discussed and the quarrel of the least of the members became the quarrel of the whole nation if war was decided upon. So it was in all things and this characteristic of standing by each other in times of danger was probably accountable for the very existence of this comparatively small nation surrounded on every side by little enemies. In their home life the Iroquois differed in many, although not in all, respects from the other savages living round about them. They were about the only Indians who had fortified homes and these as described by the early Freneh explorers were by no means insignificant either in size or strength. The houses were long and built something after the style of modern bams, although of course not so high. A hall extended down the center of the building and on each side were rooms connected with the large hall. One family occupied each room and the cooking was done on a fire in the hall, one fire being sufficient for three or four families. Several such dwellings were surrounded by a palisade or a row of pointed logs set upright in the ground and pierced with loopholes through which the defenders could fire at the enemy. Outside of these forts were large fields of Indian corn and vegetables and large orchards of fruit trees which were cared for by the Indian women, the men, as was the case with all Indians, thinking it beneath their dignity to do such work. The people were bound together by no system of written laws and still they had regard for certain rules and customs, which were handed down from one generation to the next. The council of each tribe and the grand council of the whole confederacy had no power to enforce their orders but they were regarded and obeyed in almost the same spirit as are the laws of today. The people took a great interest in their political life and it was considered one of the greatest of honors to be chosen to fill some high political office. Here an opportunity of displaying their oratorical ability was given to the more brilliant among their number, and nowhere in the history of Indians do we read of such eloquent and stirring adresses as delivered by these dusky statesmen when moved by some great question of war or politics. In religion also, the Iroquois were deeply interested and their attention was frequently given to some religious festival or ceremony in honor of the spirit whom they worshipped. They never started a new enterprise without first asking the favor and assistance of these spirits whom they thought to be in all living things. Especially before , ..... , i. . . -j ... i, r»- - — ■ aaaa going to war whole weeks were spent in war dances and other mysterious rites not only to s£ek this divine aid but to encourage and strengthen the hearts of the warriors. In their political and religious life we see the serious side of the character of these people, but they also spend a good part of their time in sports and other pastimes. When not engaged in the more serious occupation of war they turned their attention to the chase and the game of chance, or else took part in the religious festivals and political struggles. Some of these pleasures, however, had a dark side for one of the customs of these savages which gave them the greatest delight was the torture of prisoners taken in war. The suffering and agony undergone by the captives at the hands of these madmen was too terrible to be described or conceived of in our present state of civilzation. But let us not condemn the savage too harshly for this barbarism, for it was his nature to be cruel to his enemies and when circumstances were reversed and he was the one to be thus treated we do not see him terrified and pleading for life, but rather dying bravely and scorning his tormentors to the last. The story of all the conquests made by the five nations would be long enough to fill a book, but perhaps the tale of the destruction of the Erics will show their spirit when angered and the merciless way in which they dealt with their enemies. The story as told in the Indian legends is this: From early times the Eries living along the southern border of lake Erie were the most powerful of all the tribes living in that part of the country. Now the Iroquois began to loom up into prominence and the Eries became jealous of the powerful confederacy springing up to the east of their country. So they determined to challenge their neighbors to a series of athletic contests and so prove their superiority over them. A delegation from the Erics challenged the Iroquois to a game of ball with one hundred men on a side and after much deliberation on the part of the grand council the offer was refused. In the following year the Eries again renewed their challenge which was again declined, but when on being repeated the third time, the Iroquois inflamed by the insolence of the Eries accepted the challange and prepared for the struggle. At last the day for the contest arrived and the opposing teams met on a field near the home of the Eries. The young men representing the Eries were much more self-confident than their opponents but this was as far as the superiority went. For after a desperate struggle the visitors were victorious and carried off the prize, a great pile of guns, blankets, beads and otber trinkets dear to the Indian's heart. The Eries angered by this defeat then challenged the Iroquois to a running race with ten runners on a side and this offer was accepted with no hesitation. Again the Iroquois were victors and then the wrath of the Eries knew no bounds. As a last trial of skill the chief of the Eries proposed a series of wrestling matches, the victor in each contest to kill his adversary with the toma-