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

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THE EXPONENT 5 words have very different meanings. When I say living I mean merely existing, making enough to live on and perhaps a little more, but having no desire to do much better or to economize to obtain something bet¬ ter. It is easy to mistake those lack¬ ing in natural ability for those living in this way. The latter have nat¬ ural ability but do not use it. In other words, they are satisfied with just getting by in this world and in just having a good time, as they say. As a result, when they are near the end of their lives, they look back and see • that they have accomplished nothing for themselves or for any one else. On the other hand, those without natural ability may not have accomplished much more materially, but they have acquired the reputation that they have at least worked hard to accomplish something worth while. Life, to me, means making a living and at the same time working for something better. I will illustrate my idea by an account of two young men starting for themselves on two farms. Both farms offer equal op¬ portunities in fruit growing. Both young men care for their farms well, but whereas one does not try to in¬ crease the value of his farm, the other plants young orchards and makes his farm more valuable in every way, at the same time adding to his interest in it. In other words, it is the story of the talents in the Bible, in which the three servants received five, two and one talent re¬ spectively. The man receiving the five talents increased them to ten. The one who was given two talents also increased them doubly in the given time. These two were congrat¬ ulated and encouraged, but because the servant who had received the one talent hid it and presented it at the given time, his master called him lazy and gave his talent to the one having the ten. I have decided that there are four ' characteristics of men who are suc¬ cessful in life. When I say success¬ ful, I mean that they have contribut¬ ed something to mankind. A man may have helped only in bettering an¬ other’s character, but that to my mind is also success. The amount that a person does to aid mankind in any way determines the degree of his success. The four characteristics which result in success are: A defi¬ nite aim, persistency, unselfishness, and a perfect trust in God. If you look through the pages of history, you will find that every outstanding character had an aim in life and stuck to it. He may not have done exactly what he set out to do, but he will have achieved something along that line. For instance, a man may have set out to be President of the United States and although he may not have attained that high of¬ fice, you may be reasonably sure of finding him holding some responsible public office. William Jennings Bryan worked hard for the Presiden¬ cy from the start. He never realized this ambition, but he was Secretary of State and one of the greatest po¬ litical leaders of his time. Everyone knows that without per¬ sistency in our work we cannot ex¬ pect to rise very high or be very skillful along any particular line. The men who make college athletic teams are not the men who practice only occasionally or who break train¬ ing rules. The reliable men are the men who persist and do not give in against odds. It is easy enough to stick to a job when things go well, but when everything goes wrong, to stand up and fight it out, shows what is in you. Behind every aim and throughout the persistency of working for it, must be unselfishness. Without this there is no real success. When the word success is defined as meaning the amount of wealth or of praise a person acquires during his life, un¬ selfishness is perhaps not necessary, but the definition that I have given requires unselfishness. Benedict Ar¬ nold was selfish. As a result he died broken-hearted and utterly cast out. The last characteristic is a perfect trust in God. Almost everyone in this country believes in a Supreme Being. People have different ideas on that subject, but rare is the man who does not believe in a Creator who is watching over all and bestow¬ ing- blessings on us daily. We have also found that a true faith in our Creator carries us through many try¬ ing places. Let us review briefly the lives of

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4 THE EXPONENT his way through life. The Seniors have so well carried out their part in G. H. S. activities that it will be with a bit of regret that we shall return next fall without them. The class of ’26 has had a fair representation on the honor roll and is well supplied with abilities of various types. The athletic teams, as well as the band and orchestra, will lose a great deal of valuable material by graduation. The Seniors have shown their drama¬ tic talent in the Senior Play, which was a roaring success. The art de¬ partment has also shown the talents of many. We could say that the Senior Class has been ‘‘the best class yet”, if it did not savor of insincerity. We can, however, truly say that G. H. S. can be as proud of the Class of ’26 as of any other class which it has graduated. T. A., ’27. ADDRESS OF Classmates: These exercises suggest to me the challenge of a great opportunity. For four years we have been on the same level, thinking ordinary thoughts and doing commonplace things. Now there suddenly rises before us a splendid opportunity. This is called “Commencement”, the .commencement of a business of a more serious nature than we have heretofore experienced. Hard tasks are just ahead—Weaklings will fail. Moral cowards will be put into the discard. Loafers, who were dream¬ ing when they were supposed to be SALUTATORY Friends and Parents of the Class of ’26:— We extend to you the heartiest of welcomes to our Class Day exercises. We wish to thank you for making it possible for us to be before you now, but we realize that our future lives will most truly manifest the amount of appreciation that we hold. “Life or Living” Now that we are living in such a highly civilized industrial age, when nearly everything depends on speed and accuracy of both mind and body. As the class of ’26 joins the regi¬ ments of the alumni, it goes with the light step and happy expectation that comes to the hardy adventurer. The members of ’26 are now adven¬ turers in the unexplored depths of life and living. But bordering on a certain natural rejoicing there is a slight tinge of sadness as they look back over days of carefree abandon and pure unadulterated joy, for there comes the vision of days ahead with¬ out the close association of all these high-school traditions and influences that have done much to mold and stimulate the minds of those who are departing. And yet, with such train¬ ing, the class should feel, with the over confidence of all youth, that the time has come when they are to make the world better by their deeds. “And, departing, leave behind us. Foot-prints on the sands of time.” R. HARPER, ’26. WELCOME thinking, following the line of least resistance when they should have been putting up a good fight, will go down like nine-pins before a well placed ball. It will be no child’s play to live a useful life and do a real work in the days just before us. Some of us will enter higher institutions of learning, while others will go direct¬ ly into the work of life. May we so use our opportunities that we may be fully prepared when the work of active life shall call. LESTER HODGEN, ’26. AND ESSAY the question often enters our minds in our moments of leisure, “Are we really living?” or “Is this life?” The answer to this question rests on our idea of the meaning of the words life and living. The dictionary definitions of the two words differ but little. Life meaning the quality which distinguishes an animal or plant from inorganic or dead organic bodies, especially manifested by the vital activities; and living being life in its operation. However, taken freely, the two

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6 THE EXPONENT George Washington, Abraham Lin¬ coln, and Theodore Roosevelt to see if they have these characteristics. We find that George Washington had the desire to be a great leader of men. He was born of wealthy par¬ ents, but this did not interfere with his attainments. We find him in his youth climbing the highest trees and bridges and cutting his initials to show that he had won over all compe¬ tition. Later we find him leading armies and finally the whole United States as its first president. The at¬ tainments in climbing and the ter¬ rible winter at Valley Forge speak for themselves in respect to his per¬ sistency. The fact that he would not take a cent for his services is proof that he was unselfish, while we know that he had a perfect trust in God to help him in all his tasks of leadership. Abraham Lincoln determined when only a boy to be some day President of the United States. He carried this before him as his goal until he reached it, but he had many strug¬ gles to win to attain it. His trials and defeats are not unknown to any of us, and neither is his persistency to be honest and helpful to others at whatever cost. By means of his hard work and perfect trust in God while President we were safely car¬ ried through the Civil War. For four long years he labored incessant¬ ly and now, though he was not al¬ lowed to reap the rewards of his work on earth, his fame and the inspiration of his character will never die. My last example, Theodore Roose¬ velt, is another man who had a defi¬ nite aim in life. As a boy he was sickly and weak, but on being told by his father that he could make himself a strong man by hard prac¬ tice in a gymnasium, he determined to take the hint. He was so per¬ sistent in his gymnasium work that by the time he was twenty years of age he had built up an iron constitu¬ tion. He may have seemed selfish to some of us, but a selfish man would hardly make it possible for others to have wealth and happiness through his untiring efforts in behalf of con¬ servation. Although we do not hear so much about his trust in Providence we know that he did have that faith and that it was dear to him. I could go on with numerous exam¬ ples, but they would all tend to show that life freely defined has a far deeper meaning than living and that it is obtained by having a definite aim in life, being persistent to the end, holding unselfish thoughts, and keeping a perfect trust in the Almighty. RUSSELL NIMS, ’26. CLASS HISTORY Father Time is writing and study¬ ing notes in his Book of Records. He is also talking to himself. St. Anne comes on. the stage carrying a book similar to that of Father Time’s, sees Father Time and says ‘Good Morning, Father Time. You seem busy this morning.” Father: Good Morning, St. Anne. Yes, I am rather busy. I’ve been looking over the records of the class of 1926 at Greenfield High school and I find that these records are not com¬ plete. By the way, where’s your brother, St. Peter? I asked him to come over and compare his records with mine. St. Anne: Oh, business is rushing for St. Peter this morning, so he sent me over with his entries of the class of Greenfield High School. Father: All right. Honestly if that class had conducted itself in a quiet and respectable manner every¬ thing would have been right but those rascals were always up to something. Before I had recorded one thing they had started something else. Now, pay close attention while I read my records of this class and you are to see whether they conform with St. Peter’s. (turns over pages) Ah! Here we are—the month of Septem¬ ber, 1922. One hundred and seventy darling little cherubs entered the freshman class of Greenfield High School. St. Anne: That’s right. Don’t for¬ get that it was the present Junior High School which was then their high school. And, oh how little and sweet these children were. Can’t