Greenfield High School - Evergreen / Exponent Yearbook (Greenfield, MA)

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4 THE EXPONENT All do not take up the same type of work, thus making it impossible even to suggest just what avocations to think about. Some will go to schools of further learning and may take up sports for their recreation, something that will be entirely different from the work of the day. We may be¬ come interested in taking pictures, as was Gene Stratton Porter, one of our leading naturalists. She says, “In my spare time I mastered photogra¬ phy to such a degree that the manufacturers of one of our finest brands of print paper once sent the manager of their factory to me to learn how I handled it. Thus her avocation led the way to her success as a novelist today, by putting her in charge of departments of the publications of Recre¬ ation, which had to do with photography. In this way she came into contact with literature and de¬ cided to try her hand at it, with what result we all know. Of course, we could not all become novelists, but we could enjoy ourselves just as we did in our childhood days when we pasted funny clippings into scrapbooks. However, that will not appeal to all of us, for— our likes and dislikes are distinctly varied. Who knows but what some of us here tonight may be now or at some time later in. our lives, great busi¬ ness men and women? What shall we do then in our spare time? Shall we idle it away in playing foolish games, in gambling or wasting our energy in some similar pastime? Or shall we keep our minds on our business from morn till night? Truly, we should not be doing justice to ourselves if we did either. Many great business men like to play golf or go fishing, where they can be in Nature’s wonderful wilds, free from business cares and wor¬ ries. Thomas Edison is very fond of fishing, and we read very often of President Harding’s relax¬ ing by playing golf. Aristide Briand, a leading statesman of France, has for his avocation fishing, as well as sailing. He is not a sportsman, strictly speaking, but he realizes the importance of good recreation. Biog¬ raphers say of his love for the sea: “He loves it in all weathers. He is not merely the summer sailor, though he spends his Parliamentary vaca¬ tion on board the yacht Gilda, but he loves the sea for its own sake, for the rude solitude it gives him, for, like many thinkers, he glories in an isolated taciturnity. Fishing, too, attracts him, and he has tried unsuccessfully to induce his friend, Presi¬ dent Poincare, to share his enthusiasm. In this pursuit he thinks more of the exercise or of the rest and change than of the sport itself. It is a mere excuse for recreation that he may work the more. But—many of us, no doubt, prefer avocations which will not require so much physical energy. Many are‘musical and find greatest relaxation and enjoyment in playing some musical instrument or in singing. Thomas Jefferson, one of the first presidents of the United States, was an arder; lover of music. He writes of himself that the pa sions of his soul were music, mathematics, and architecture, and the traditions of his violin-play¬ ing are numerous and amusing. We know that he used to play duets with Patrick Henry. His biog¬ raphies assure us that he was a fine performer upon the king of instruments, but grandmothers in Vir¬ ginia who heard the truth from the preceding gen¬ erations tell us the contrary and quote on early authority as saying that Patrick Henry was the worst fiddler in the colony,—with the exception of Thomas Jefferson. In Jefferson’s home town there was a young man who had a precious violin which he had bought in Italy. It was the one thing in all the world that Jefferson coveted most and he did not relax his persistence until he had persuaded the owner to draw up an agreement in legal form, signed, sealed and witnessed and duly recorded in the general court at Williamsburg, agreeing to sell the violin to him. To everybody but Jefferson this unique contract was a joke, but he was so lacking in the sense of humor and so earnest in his desire to possess the instrument that he took it seriously. This young man, however, soon went to war and before going sold the instrument to Jefferson. From that day Jefferson carried it with him wher¬ ever he went and practiced upon it while he was attending his duties as a member of Congress and Secretary of State, took it to France when he was minister, and occasionally played an old-fashioned air upon it while he was President. He never lost his love for music.’’ However, many of us are often inclined to look upon music as simply an avocation. It does not appear to be a regular work the same as business or professional practice. And yet there are a num¬ ber of great men and women to whom music means the necessities and luxuries of life. Without it they would be destitute. Such was the case with Richard Wagner. His family, once possessing a fair amount of wealth, was reduced to abject pov¬ erty and Richard simply had to do something to earn his bare living. He chose music, not for his avocation, but for his regular work, his vocation. He had an avocation, too, it is true, though it was not so well defined as some. His was that of pro¬ tecting animals. During his whole life he carried on a crusade against cruelty to animals. He had the provident and beautiful Buddhist theory of Pity, and he lived his theory. Believing in the eternal law of Christianity, Buddhism, and every great religion in history, in the laws of Mercy and

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THE EXPONENT 3 quiring mental skill as well as mantial labor. People did not call them freaks and cranks be¬ cause they did do such work. No, they were called patriots. They were not afraid! Women had been wait¬ ing for the opportunity to show that given the chance, they were as capable as men. They wanted to show the boys when they came home that the country had not gone to ruin because they were away. What a blessing the war was to women in one way for it so increased her opportunities. This is indeed the golden age for woman. Now that woman has established herself and is treated as an equal of man there are no drawbacks to her future development. The doors of opportunity are wide open for her 1 to enter in if she will and there is little doubt that in the future woman will open many new doors which hitherto have been closed to the world. This woman of today has been called the “new” woman. There is no “new” woman, but there are new opportunities, new interests and new occupa¬ tions. She is still the same woman as of old days, but through her new and varied opportunities, she has found expression for the ingenuity and capa¬ bility which had been hidden in her for ages. My classmates, “The old order changeth, yield¬ ing place to new.” So spake King Arthur as he was leaving Lyon- nesse and all that goodly fellowship of knights to go on to the beautiful island-valley of Avilion. For us, too, the old order changes. What a splendid thing it is that we have had the privilege of associating with each other for four years in High School. We have worked together through all these years, we have played together, we have formed close friendships in our class which will always remain strong and true in years to come. We have enjoyed studying together in preparation for our life work. Yet, it would not be good for us to stay in school all our lives. We too, must get out into the world. As time dissolved the fellowship of the Round Table, so must our Circle of Friendship break up. The regret we feel tonight at leaving our teach¬ ers, our school and one another, will be replaced by a memory of these years together which we shall always cherish in our hearts. Still, we should not grieve in saying farewell to our school and to our teachers and to one another for we too are going to an Avilion of the great wide world. We must pass on for, “The old order changeth, yielding place to new, And God fulfills himself in many ways Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.” AGNES P. FINNIE ’22. SALUTATORY Friends of Greenfield High School: It has been the custom for the graduating classes to take this time to show their appreciation for the hard work and sacrifice which made it possible for them to be before you ad we are now. So we, the Class of 1922, to show our sincere gratitude to you, our fathers, mothers, and friends, do ex¬ tend to you the warmest and most cordial of wel¬ comes tonight. Avocations for the High School Graduate “Variety is the spice of life.” Probably all of us realize the truth of that old and trite saying, for do we not see on every hand different types of people, different surroundings and different cus¬ toms? Each one of us believes in this doctrine, whether he has ever realized it or not. This old world of ours would be most monotonous were it not so. What a wealth of happiness and satisfac¬ tion does he lack who has but one interest in life, one work to perform! Only stop for a moment to consider some of the avocations which, plus our vocations, may make up the very essence of our lives. The business man and woman has eight hours of regular work, leaving four or five more which may be devoted to worth while avocations of one type or another. For suggestions let us turn to the biographies of a few of our well-known men and women, tot in their lives we can discover some very interesting avocations—recreations which were a vital part of their success. Theodore Roosevelt at one time held the highest position to be had in our country,—President of the United States. Despite the importance of this office and the necessary work to be done, he had time for other things. He had a decided avoca¬ tion, an employment outside his regular work, which gave him pleasure. This was hunting. From his early boyhood until his death he never lost the interest which the out-of-doors held for him. Dur¬ ing his college days he spent his free hours either in actually taking ' trips himself or in asking others about theirs. He would ask the most minute ques¬ tions about the cries and habits of birds and ani¬ mals, thus showing how very great his fascination for nature was. And when it was time to take up his work again, his mind was refreshed, rested. It had had a change. He was no exception to the rule. We are all human beings and have some of the same character¬ istics. We all want a change, and must have it to be well and enjoy our lives and work. During our high school career we are more or less taken up with school work and affairs, and do not have time for any particular avocation. But when we leave that institution of learning, we must seriously con¬ sider how we are going to spend our leisure hours.

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THE EXPONENT 5 Love-and Pity, he, for one thing, justly considered hunting the most barbarous remnant of savagery In modern civilization. It was personal suffering to him to think of any pain, whether in man or animal. The characteristic trait of Wagner’s whole life was this love for animals. He always had a strange collection of pets and was never without at least one dog—mongrel or high-bred, it made no difference to him. Another unique form of recreation is the one which Edward Bok has made famous—that of auto¬ graph collecting. When he was young, he hun¬ gered for education, and so he went to the libraries and studied biographies. One day it occurred to him to test the accuracy of the biographies he was reading. James A. Garfield was then spoken of for the presidency. Edward wondered whether it was true that the man likely to be President of the United States had once been a boy on the tow- path, and with a simple directness, characteristic of his Dutch training, he wrote to General Gar¬ field asking whether the boyhood episode was true and explaining why he asked. General Garfield answered warmly and fully. Edward showed the letter to his father who told the boy that it was valuable and that he should keep it. This was a new idea. If General Garfield answered him, would not other famous men? Why not begin a collection of au tograph letters? Everybody col¬ lected something. So he took his Encyclopedia and began to study the lives of famous men and women. Then with boyish frankness he wrote on some mood in question in one famous person’s life; he asked about the date of some important event in another’s, or he asked one man why he did this or why some other man did that. Most interesting were, of course, the replies. Thus General Grant sketched on an improvised map the exact spot where General Lee surrendered to him; Longfellow told him how he came to write “Excelsior;” Tennyson wrote out a stanza or two of “The Brook” upon condition that Edward would not again use the word “awful” which the poet said “is slang for very” and “I hate slang;” Whit¬ tier told the sory of “The Barefoot. Boy.” One day Edward received a letter from the Con¬ federate General Jubal A. Early, giving the real reason why he burned Chambersburg. A friend visiting Edward’s father, happening to see the let¬ ter, recognized in it a hitherto-missing bit of his¬ tory and suggested that it be published in the New York Tribune. The letter attracted wide attention and provoked national discussion. Then reporters came to see him and he was soon in the public eye. Other autograph collectors all over the country sought to exchange with him, and he was both hap¬ py and prosperous in this, his avocation. Thus, though we may not know it at the time, our avocations may lead to greater things in later life. They may turn out to be the main reason for our existence and surpass in importance what we had hitherto supposed to be our main work. In other cases the benefits may not be evident at first. We may not realize their true value in our every¬ day life. Ho wever, as in the case of Thomas Jef¬ ferson, it is not necessary that we attain high de¬ grees in them. It is the fact that we HAVE the avocation that counts. Aristide Briand and Thomas Edison found the quiet and solitude necessary to rest their minds fishing on the quiet lakes and rivers. Florence Nightingale, because her regu¬ lar routine was that of the society girl, found en¬ joyment in hard work, studying nursing. What¬ ever our status in life, our work or play, our mind requires an avocation which offsets the fatigue of the day, and the choice of what this added employ¬ ment shall be depends upon the ingenuity and energy of each and every one of us. GERTRUDE S. MILLER ’22. PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS OF WELCOME Shakespeare tells us that ‘Welcome always smiles and farewell goes out sighing.” If sighing is to accompany our leaving Greenfield High School it should be at our graduation on Thursday evening. This morning, however, you have assembled to share the pleasures of these last exercises before we receive our diplomas. It is, therefore, with joy that I, as president of the class of 1922, welcome you here to the partly serious, partly humorous pro¬ gram which we have prepared. THOMAS L. NIMS ’22. CLASS ORATION The Good Fortune of the Class of 1922 What is good fortune? Various definitions may be given. To a multitude of people good fortune is wealth. Only to have riches, ah! that is fortune! Fortune is taken in another sense when you have your future told by a gypsy palmist. Here it is your future. There may be many other shades of meaning, but in my mind the greatest good for¬ tune is opportunity for service—for service to man¬ kind, and never before in the history of the world have there been such great opportunities for serv¬ ing humanity as at the present time in these post bellum days. Therefore I say the class of 1922 is fortunate in living at this opportune period. Let us for a moment consider a few of the op¬ portunities for service now open to young people. Perhaps the most urgent demand for service lies in the condition of France and the other countries that have suffered most keenly by the Great World