Hammond High School - Dunes Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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Washington. D. C. By Stanley Kaminski Wednesday morning April 14, 1954, at 11:01 a.m., was a memorable moment in the lives of many Hammond High School students. The shiny diesel train was ready to take us to our national capital, Washington, D. C., and to that giant metropolis, New York. On the train many of us chatted, some sang, some read, and others looked at the scenery as we passed innumerable farms. It was a trying experience to sleep on the train, the road bed having been laid out purposely around curves and along rough stretches, somehow we survived the night. Washington at last! We arrived at the Union Station by 6:00 a.m. Thursday and walked to our respective hotels lo- cated only one block from the Capitol building. After we were assigned rooms, we had breakfast and took an all-day sight- seeing coach tour. We saw many of the governmental adminis- tration, executive, and judicial buildings. We saw marble and granite memorials to great men. XVe also toured in Virginia's historic towns which were near the capital. Mount Vernon was particularly awe-inspiring. Our evenings were free, many went out to see what they had failed to see during the day, some stayed in their rooms addressing post cards, and others congregated to talk and to have parties in their rooms. Many were very tired. The weather Friday was humid and we toured only a half day. We had an opportunity to see Senator Homer Cape- hart that afternoon. We left Washington that evening for New York. We felt that we would like to stay and enjoy the beauty of magnifi- cent Washington but we were on our way to another great city. That same evening we arrived in New Jersey and took the ferry across to the big city. We were driven to our hotel which was located at the center of Manhattan Island. It rained intermittently that Saturday. Our busses were glass topped and we could see quite a lot. Since our trip was merely sight seeing, and not touring, we left the bus only to see the United Nations Building, to board the boat for Bed- loe's Island and the Statue of Liberty, which we admired des- pite the torrents of rain which drenched usg to eat lunch, and to see the Empire State Building and the Church of St. John the Divine. Our evening in New York was free and many of us went to the television and stage shows on Broadway, the same street on which our hotel was located. Easter Sunday was a glorious and beautiful day. Many found churches nearby and attended services in them. Some went to the beautiful Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Most of us watched the Easter Parade. In the afternoon we took a yacht cruise around the Island of Manhattan. Throughout the trip scores of clicks could be heard wanted from the cameras of the enthusiastic tourists who souvenirs of the very enjoyable excursion to the Eastern coast. Sunday evening we left for New Jersey, via the Holland Tunnel, and headed for Indiana. Everyone was slightly fati- gued from continuous action of the day, and sleep was no problem. Monday morning brought thoughts of the homework which had to be made up, the daily grind of school work, the realization of the rare opportunity that we'd had in taking the trip, and the pleasure that we had gained from it. It must have taken the next few weeks to recover from the journey, but I have heard of no one who regretted spend- ing the reasonable price for the trip or taking the time to see such really memorable places in our great country. Pictures by Stanley Boleski There is a Destiny . . . . By Warren Hildebrandt It must be true that every student in America is taught that our government was formed by ambitious, educated and courageous men. These men performed as soldiers, diplomats, explorers, and politicians. But it seems to me that in all cases it was not the great- ness of men that made America what it is today, but rather, it was what could be described as luck, of fate, or the wish of God. I believe all of us agree that it was the spirit and courage of the Americans that helped them win the Revolutionary War. But doesn't it seem more than coincidence that New York didn't fall to the British because Lord Germain went grouse hunting and forgot to send to the British officer, General Howe, the instructions for the invasion of New York in 1777? 1 It also seems strange, since the continental currency was worthless, and the soldiers were in rags, that General Wash- ington defeated General Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown, in one last effort to win the war. Certainly, under the prevail- ing conditions, the Americans could hardly have been able to fight another battle. It must have been the help of God that aided General Washington in winning the Revolutionary War against extremely difficult odds. But our luck went further than just the Revolution. It stayed with the American people through many decisions, es- pecially in the federal government. What was it that caused America to elect a president rather than to have a king? What kept the men from becoming dictators, once in office? Was it Congress and the Constitu- tion? If so, what brought them into existence? The answer to this question may be public-minded men. But weren't those men just following the word of God? Of course! And if men love thy neighbor, it is possible for all people to find peace and prosperity. It is the chance to do as one pleases, within reason, and the chance to be helped by others or to help others, that has come to mean America to me. 1. A History of Our Country-by Muzzey Page Thvrleen

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THE CONSTITUTION TEMPLE of LIBERTY By Barbara Gabrys The Constxtutlon IS a legal document that estabhshes a successful system of government Its precnsxon and brevlty are admxrable Mllll0nS of words have been devoted to 1ts governmental prxncxples Great jurnsts have mterpreted the meamng of the COHSIIIUIIOH 1n almost all 1ts parts As a frame of government nt has stood the test cf t1me, war, and depressnon It IS based on truth, and, llke truth, lt laughs at the assaults of tm'-e Ir a nutshell, the Constxtutnon was formed for the purpose of perpetuatmg Amerxcan hberty by umtmg the States mto a f1rm Umon All other alms were subordmate to the safeguardmg of the hberty that had been won by the Revolutxon It was evmdent after the Revolutnon that Amerncan hberty would be lost unless the States banded themselves together to preserve xt Lnfe and the rlght to enjoy lxberty come from God The guarantee of the rnght to enjoy hbertv, the power to mamtarn lxberty, must come from the human heart and soul The Constltutnon IS tlus guarantee It enables the Amerxcan people to exerclse thelr power to mamtam thelr hberty aga1nst forelgn attack or mternal d1ssens1on The framers of the Const1tut1on saw the lnght of 11berty dymg m Amerxca as the States quarreled and threatened to dxsband It was a new Declaratnon of Independence whxch the CODSIIIUIIOH makers prepared for the approval of the people-a declaratxon that thelr hard won llberty should not pernsh, but should be made perpetual by jommg the hearts and souls of the people of all the States m an mdestruc table Umon These framers of the Const1tut1on were chosen by thenr States to meet together They were soldlers, planters, lawyers, physxcrans, merchants, and judges Some of them were rlch and others were poor Bemg human, these delegates had human faxlmgs They were devoted to State and local mterests Those from large States were bent upon exerclsmg the strength of large States Those from small States shrank from a Umon that mxght make them the pawns of greater States The commerclal North and the agrxcultural South had clashmg mterests All the States had been dnsappomted by the fanlure of such central government as we exerc1sed under the Artncles of Confederatnon They were susp1c1ous of any proposal for a natlonal government They were also fearful of losmg thexr hard won l1bert1es After many jarrmg sessnons, rn whxch mlsunderstandmgs, jealousles, and selfnsh sectxonal mterest bore down thelr effort to agree, the delegates were almost m despanr Fmally they found a way to make Amencan L1berty forever secure In the Constxtutnon we f1nd solace and securxty nn the next most nmportant thmg 1n lnfe-our lnberty Every word 1n the Constltutxon serves to safeguard us 1n our lxfe, lxberty, and pursu1t of happlness Every Amerncan, as he studxes the marvelous framework of the Con stltutlon, can say wxth truth and prlde Th1s was made for me ustxce IS a guardnan of lnberty my rrghts and nmmumtnes are made secure agamst tyranny Your rnght IS safeguarded aga1nst my wrong doxng your widow and your chxld are protected when you are gone People long for harmony The framers of the Constntunon saw that a central government would brmg the States mto common accord on all natnonal questxons, whale removmg other vexatxous causes of dxsagreement The very fact of equahty of States was a guarantee of domestlc tranqunllty The separated States were not strong enough to ward off forexgn aggress1on Dxvlded, they 1nv1ted mvasxon and conquest, umted they COIISIIIUICCI a nat1on capable of defendxng ntself Even nn 1ts mfancy th Umted States became a powerful nat1on through un1on of the States The CODSIICUIIOD provnded thns umty Freedom ns the hvmg mortar of America s umty It belongs to all of us, and because we are a nat1on of 1nd1v1duals, freedom has many mterpretatxons wlthm the pattern of our danly l1ves A Sunday stroll m the park can be a symbol of securxty nn a land where freedom has long been accepted In Amenca, we accept freedom of relngxon as an unallenable rnght under the proposmon that all men are created equal before God Th1s truth IS the spxr tual base of our freedom Today, throughout our 48 States, stand some 250 000 churches, representmg almost every known creed, denommatlon and faxth for freedom means a faxth for every seeker, and 1n th1s land, wherever and however rehgxous ser vices are held freedom means the rxght of every man to seek God m hrs own way Freedom means more than castmg a vote and abndmg by the wxll of the majorlty Our system of government demands of every cntlzen a deep sense of personal responsnblhty and vngllance for freedom works luke a wheel, wnth government at nts hub Between these men who guard our lnbertnes and the people they lead, there must be a constant mteractlon along the spokes of publlc opmlon The Constltutxon has helped make America a land of opportumtywhere energy, enthuslasm, and an economy of free enterprlse have converted our natural wealth mto the h1ghest standard of lxvmg on earth Behmd every pay check recelved hes a vrtal meamng of hberty the rnght of every man to choose h1s own trade No matter what h1s trade or profess1on ns, every worker has a chance to become the boss Free enterprlse IS the economlc d1v1dend of freedom In Amerlca we are free to mvent, free to try out new ldeas and new methods, free to back up the other fellow or go mto busmess on our own, free to take a chance We are encouraged to do these thmgs and through thxs encouragement we have made our country great When you are free, the human desrre for self lmprovement shows ntself To 1mprove your own lot you must do somethlng better than others do lt If you succeed, you benefnt If you do not succeed, you can always try agam, nf you have the character, and farlure need never be permanent Talent among 1nd1v1duals cannot be produced by ed1ct or order The creatlve mmd must d1scover ltself The creatrve mmd grows by ntself, and nt can do thls onlx 1n the favorable cl1mate of personal freedom Our great men were not chosen or appomted to greatness Gwen a chance, they selected themselves and forged ahead of thelr rrvals Hope of reward or fear of pumshment are the factors that motxvate human efforts Through the Constltutxon, Amenca provxdes the maxnmum opportumtxes for reward, w1th the penaltles 1xm1ted to personal msecurnty and busmess bankruptcy We do not face a fxrmg squad when we farl The lnfe of Benjamm Franklm, one of our great est men, lllustrates thns fact Manv have been great m one thmg but he was great m many thmgs He was what a cmzen of a free and democratnc country should be He was a product of Amencan Freedom Thomas jeffersons theory was that nf God put good matenal mto them, freedom and llberty would brmg lt out Educatlon IS another gateway to freedom Our hbertnes are enumerated for us m the Bull of Rlghts, but the meamng of freedom must be dlscovered by each chlld himself He must learn to llsten as well as speak He must gam tolerance and understandlng of races and creeds not hns own If he rs fortunate enough to go to college, he must use thus pr1v1lege not only for self xmprovement but to prepare for leadershxp m a world where declsnons have become mcreasmgly dlffxcult The hbertles gnven us m the Constntutxon are not wlthout 1'6Sp0I'lS1lJll1tl6S It means jury duty, and volunteer commumty servxce work It means acceptmg offlce, and wrestlmg vuth down to earth local 1ssues long after the town has gone to bed It means knowmg your government whxch ns really a hfe long quest w1th the ever changing 1deas, attltudes, and laws It means takmg a more actnve part through votmg at every electron, or even more so, gettmg into polmcs It means keepmg track of your representatxves and wr1t1ng them when ever you thunk lt IS necessary Surely lf ns worth a httle tnme and effort on our part for all the hbertnes we rece1ve through the Con stntutnon The Constltutnon IS Amerxca's freedom To each of us xt may convey a dnfferent personal meamng No matter how we see xt, the Const1tut1on has gunded our way of hfe, and today sustams our hope for a better world T1me does not wear down nor eat away the eternal truths of the Constxtutlon Instead of fadmg w1th age, the glory of the Constmtutnon takes on new splendor wxth the passmv of the een tunes The faxth of our forefathers gave them strength to plan for the ages Wxth equal fa1th, we mav hand down to our posterxty our bnrthrlght the Constntutmon Page Twelve . . .. - . - . . , . . . . . in. ,, - 3 . . . ' s . , 9 . . .. . 2 . , , . - .3 t ' , . , . . o K - . - . ,

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My Country Free Inequalrty the Source of Progress By Dan Barrett O Beautr ul, my Country' Be thme a nobler care Than all the wealth 0 commerce, thy harvests waung an Be zt thy pride to lz t up the manhood of the poor, Be thou to the oppressed azr reedoms open door For thee our athers su ered or thee they tozled and prayed Upon thy holy altar their wzllzng lzves they lard Thou hast no common hzrthrzght grand memories on thee ehzne, The blood 0 prlgrrm nations eommzngled flows in thine O Beauh ul, our Country' Round thee zn love we draw, Thme IS the grace o reedom, the majesty o law Be rzghteousness thy sceptre jushce thy dzadem, And on thy shzmng orehead he peace the crowning gem Frederrck L Hosmer These words eprtomrze what Amerrca means to m Amerrca means more to me than a street wrth a house upon rt that I call home Amerrca means more to me than a mere l 'neland Amerrca means farth hope and both polrtrcal and relrgrous freedom Amerrca means free speech free press free assemblage free worshrp and free trral Goverment of the people by the people and for the people rs another of the thrngs that Amerrca means to me When I reach the legal votrng age I can vote for the man of my chorce I dont have to worry about an armed guard standrng behrnd me wrth a loaded gun saymg Vote as I tell you In thrs country the vorce of the people rs law Amerrca means rule by the common people, not by an olrgarchy of arrstocrats Grve me your trred your poor To me Amerrca rs a refuge rn the storm of world affarrs At thrs trme when moral rntegrrty and personal srgnrfrcance are berng shunned Amerrca recognrzes the honor of the rndrvrdual and the rmportance of Amerrca also means free enterprrse The theory of subsrs tence wages rs no longer recognrzed Labor rs now grven the chance to make a decent lrvelrhood Amerrca treats the laborer as an rndrvrdual not as a machme Busmess rs allowed to com pete The government does not control labor as many other countrres do Another aspect of Amerrca rs that of a meltrng pot Amerrca has no one natronalrty that can say that he rs the true Amerrcan An Amerrcan rs Englrsh French German Jewrsh Italran Slovakran Polrsh Hungarran plus any other natronal rty combrnatrons Amerrca also consrsts of most of the relr grons known to the world We hold these truths to be self evrdent that all men are created equal that they are endowed by therr Creator wrth certarn unalrenable rrghts that among these are lrfe Irberty and the pursurt of happrness 2 Amerrca means freedom lrberty and equalrty It as ures the rndrvrdual of recognrtron and rn tegrrty Tyranny and suppressron are dead long lrye the Anaerrcan democracy Amerrca' Amerrca' God mend thrne every flaw Confrrm thy soul rn elf control thy lrberty n Amerrca' Amerrca' God shed Hrs grace on thee And crovrn thy good wrth brotherhood from sea shrnrng sea' The New Colossus Emma Lazarus The Declaratron of Independence 3 Amerrca the Bcautrful Kwtherrnc Lee Brtes Page Fourteen By Wayne Stuart In 1776 Amerrcans declared that rf they could not be free and equal Englrshmen they would not be Englrshmen at all Therefore Amerrca establrshed her own government and wrote 1 constrtutron statrng that all whrte men were free and equal Later fter a bloody crvrl conflrct she declared that all men regardless of race color or creed were born wrth every legal rrght that therr fellow men enjoy ed Thrs word equalrty has been the password anthem and backbone of Amerrca But to me the whole structure of Amerrca rs lard upon a foundatron called rnequalrty Thrs word seems harsh and cruel but rn Amerrca rnequalrty rs the fuel of progress whrch burns rn the heart of every actrve crtrzen There has never been complete equalrty among men rn the hrstory of the world however there had never been free rnequalrty erther untrl the Unrted States was founded The free rnequalrty of the Amerrcan rndrvrdual IS the greatest grft that he owns He rs not equal to hrs fellowmen He does not have the same ambrtrons lrkes drslrkes appear ance customs and most of all mmd that any other person on the face of the earth has Each person rs an rndrvrdual a free but strll drfferent and equal rndrvrdual Amerrca has been referred to as the land of opportumty but never truthfully as the land of equal opportumty There -s no such thrng rn Amerrca There are schools but not for everyone There are jobs but not for everyone There are polrtrcal offrces but not for everyone Each person rs lrmrted by hrs rndrvrdual weaknesses or happrly arded by hrs specral grfts If one man rs not grven drrect access to a goal, he has not yet farled to reach that goal He must merely put forth a greater effort to compensate for hrs lrmrtatrons He may, on the other hand never reach hrs goal but he has an opportumty not an equal opportunrty but an opportunrty And through hrs harder work to attarn that goal he has rmproved the qualrty of hrs standard many fold Amerrcan progress rs rn creasmg rn magnrtude and velocrty because of thrs free oppor tunrty for man to be materrally better than hrs fellow and because of the resultrng accomplrshments Amerrca rs a unron now not of states but of rndrvr duals I have trred to pornt out how unequal mdrvrduals are and what a blessrng rnequalrty rs to them But the common land of all these wrdely drverse mdrvrduals IS the beloved coun try of Amerrca Amerrca rs the most progressrve natron rn the world What makes her a leader? The answer lres rn the con trnuous raprd advances berng made by Amerrcans rn the scrences and the humanrtres How were these advances accom lrshed? The answer rs competrtron among the rndustrres and busrne s concerns all over the country to make therr prod uct whatever rt may be better than that of the other fel low Who supports the commerce and lndustry of the natron? The rndrvrdual strrvrng to better hrmself drrves thrs grgantrc machme Who supports the rndrvrdual rn hrs endeavors? Amer rca the Unron of Unequals stands rmpartrally behrnd every crtrzen protects hrm and hrs rrghts and loves hrm dearly for berng an Amerrcan rndrvrdual Do We Take Amerrca for Granted? By Tom Steuer I have a frrend whom I should lrke you to meet hrs name rs Jerome Mrtchell He rs a local banker he has a very pretty wrfe and two happy chrldren He lrves rn a modest yet cheer ful home and he has many frrends Our frrend Mr Mrtchell however seems somewhat subdued thrs frne mornrng as he rrdes to work on the same bus that vse do Let s talk to hrm You there-Mr Mrtchell what s wrong? Aren t you feel mg well thrs mornrng or rs rt that you are strll sleepy? Oh no says Mr Mrtchell Im nerther srck nor sleepy I was just thrnkrng thrnkrng about somethrng that we mrss rn our lrves today . 1 1 f . , 1 . . , . f . f - f - - , f - f y A . . . ' ' ' 9 4 9 9 1 x 1 . ' - - - - u - as 1 ' . V . . . . . A , 1 ' s 1 ' 1 ' . - re- - as ' f . , 1' - 5 - . - . f . , S 1 ' , , ' f ' '1 . . . . . . . ... I l . - ' - 1 1 1 ' C. - 1 - 1 s s n . , , - tr - 91 . . . , . , , u - -1 , , , . . . . I! . 1 1 ' ' H , , l . . . . . . , . , 1 1 , , . . . . . . . . N - , . 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