Hamburg High School - Echoes Yearbook (Hamburg, NY)

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Smlntatnrg Friends: Tonight marks one of the milestones in our lives. We shall never again be known as students of Hamburg High School-but do not think we shall ever forget her! Commencement! What does it mean? Many people have the im- pression that it is a terminationg but the word itself very apparently means beginning Some of us will go to college for the further pursuance of formal edu- cation, but some of us will not again know the joys and sorrows of the text- book. Yet we can all continue to gain knowledge, whether still in school or notg for the grandest thing about learning is its illimitability. The more one learns, the more one wants to learn and the more one appreciates the education one already has. Do not think that the lessons of Life are easier than those of the patient mortals who have struggled valiantly with us for the past twelve years. We know that text-book lessons are difficult to learn, and we have soon to dis- cover that a price must be paid for l..ife's lessons also. Thomas Carlyle, in his essay on Robert Burns, says: But so it is with many men: we 'long for the merchandise, yet fain would keep the pricef and so stand chaffering with Fate, in vexatious altercation, till the night come, and our fair is over. The merchandise and the price !--Both we cannot have. Are we going to be willing to pay? A Forum lecturer recently remarked on a Hamburg platform: 'il hate nothing so much as to hear a young person say, 'Well, I have finished my education. Education is not a thing that can be finished So tonight we welcome you, not to the celebration of a task com- pleted, but of task just begun. We are not rejoicing over the end of a perfect dayng we are consecrating ourselves to the struggles and duties of tomorrow. The bay is crossedg the ocean lies beforef' Evelyn G. Tooley 29

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My steps led me down Michigan Avenue. As l neared a huge marble building, a large sign high over head met my eye. ln bold, white letters were these words: Sipprell and Viehe, Radio-Kingsf' On the top floor l found Sherwood and Ted in their renowned wireless station. Sherwood was ex- perimenting on a radio uliissf' These boys were the radio wizards of Amer- ica. They had invented the radio bread cutter, pants presser and numerous other wireless feats. l enjoyed a fine spread that evening at Sherwoodis home. What a fine cook Marjory was! You know her, nee Gunsolly. At I0 o'clock Mr. Sipprell drove me to the station. My next stop was St. Louis. St. Louis is a beautiful city-fine homes and spacious parks. l wondered Whom l would meet in this metropolis. Some celebration was going ong bands were playing, crowds were shout- ing--it was a parade. l pushed my way to the curb that l might see the better. Evidently some noted person had come to town. A beautiful gilded coach, drawn by six white horses, was the center of attraction. l asked what might be the occasion, and who the lady was, seated so gorgeously in the carriage. Why, that's Alice Richardson, the new mayor. Where've you been? ln the afternoon l toured the city in a rubber-neck bus. To the right behold the famous 'Black l..aboratory,' founded in 1925 by Elizabeth Blacking, foremost blacking expert. 2-in-I has long ceased to exist, due to this strong competition. Any senior of Hamburg High School, class of '22, may have a sample box of this shoe polish upon personal ap-- plication. Black ink is also a product of this establishment. At this moment the bus came to a sudden jolt. We had bumped into a gaudy limousine. The occupants of our Vehicle alighted to see what damage had been done. There were two ladies in the limousine, and as they, too, alighted to view the harm, the man next to me told me that they were the two Smith sisters, successors to the Smith Brothers Cough Drop Company. l stepped nearer them. Sure enough, Mary and Josephine! But you aren't sisters, I said, after l had introduced myself. Oh, yes we are-from a business standpoint, they answered in unison. At this l began to cough violently. Here, take this, cried Mary. She held forth a card board box labeled Smith Sisters Cough Drops. This is the last measure-the music ceases. Surely you will agree with me that this prophecy will come true and that the symphony it creates will be one quick, animated movement from start to finish. Beverley Hancock 28

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1Hrv5ihrnt'n Ahhremi lVlr. Park, Members of the Class of Nineteen Twenty-two, Friends: Our meeting this evening is probably the last one which we, as a class, shall hold. Not all of our meetings were destined to be as quiet as this one. Before this evening we were all, technically at least, students of Hamburg High School. When we leave this evening we shall no longer be that, we shall be students of world conditions, trying to find our place in its complex, yet simple, scheme of affairs. Some will stay here, some will go far away. Some will take up one line of endeavor, some another. lVlay all prosper, may all be happy. Much depends on what motives actuate one. l know of no general panacea, no brilliant piece of advice which turns failure into success, in fact, there is no such thing. But there are certain qualities of which all successful people are endowed with a certain proportion. Every person will tell you of his particular formulag what made him what he is. But the key which l wish to suggest this evening is one of those which all people need. Dr. Conwell was recently asked whether the world still seemed bright at seventy-eight. He said: I have never in all my life been happier than today. To explain the secret of his contentment, he continued: First of all, the power of adjustability! If only men and women could learn the im- portance of that secret, what a different world it would be! Everywhere you go, you see people making themselves miserable by a futile struggle against things which cannot be changed. To learn early to change what can be changed and put up with what cannot be-what a blessing it is. The first place to which we look for the demonstration of an axiomatic truth is often in nature. What could show the need for adaptability to con- ditions better than nature herself? It is seen in the plants, the Howers and the treesg the animals and the birds. Their structure and form, even their color, all show the desirability of harmony between the need and the ca- pability of filling it. We do not know whether the giraffe has a long neck and legs because he gets food from the trees, or whether he gets food from the trees because he has a long neck and legsg but we do know that he reaches up and eats out of the trees. Recently l saw an advertisement which showed the picture of a skeleton of a dinosaur. It told how it roamed the plains and was one of the mightiest of animals in its day. Then came this subtle and unobtrusive observation: The dinosaur became extinct ages ago because it could notadapt itself to the new needs of changed times. Natures rule of the survival of the fittest still holds good with men as well as with dinosaurs. Conwell's theory is to change those things which can be changed and adapt oneself to those things which cannot be remedied. A man should not allow easily-changed things to go in a rut, regardless of modern methods. That would be moving according to Chinese principles of antiquated date. Even these conservatives have outlived their superstitions. The person who deplores the unchangeable things of life deserves not very much pity. But let there be no doubt as to whether an unchangeable condition actually exists, or whether you would like to imagine that it does. The person whose prin- ciples are continually Hitting about trying to find a temporary advantage, 30 lJf:fw13g,v'jp--ww af. ., 1 ,o-..,i, .. Lg' ttf- 5-,-f Urn, fe., ,1-, , f 4 , x im- ' .. .. . ril..,.,2fa sm Q Q ee..-sa .uve ff. oem...