Henry Ford Trade School - Craftsman Yearbook (Dearborn, MI)

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PAGE SIX THE CRAFTSMAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1937 Text of W. J. Cameron's Remarks This should be a lesson to Mr. Searle. A man can't go on doing what he has done for 20 years without his reputation catching up with him. There's nothing sudden or accidental about his exposure-- he has been under surveillance for a long tirae--day in and day out for a long time, Sir. His older students are experienced men now and able to draw their own conclusions. They have com- pared notes with his younger students, and all the evidence points the same way. Educators have came here to look into this matter; magazine writers and newspaper reporters have been on his trail; the keen eyes of industrial leaders have been watching him. There isn't a chance for even a Scotch verdict,—the case has been proved up to the hilt. And the findings--without a dis- senting voice--are these: That the said Frederick Searle is a Man, a Teacher, a Friend:—a Conciliator, a Counsellor. He is the Helper of slow minds and ambitious minds; the Aider of all who would make something of themselves. And there is not a word that we can say to modify the verdict. I am glad to share in this occasion, and I thank whoever it was that invited me. It seems that when the invitation first came I did not understand what it meant--thought it was a re- quest for a speech, and I avoid speeches whenever possible. But when I later learned what was afoot, I would have come even if I had to crash the gates. My acquaintance with Mr. Searle is as long as my service with the Company, and through the years I have learned not only to respect his character as a man, but also to admire his vision and ability as a teacher. I am quite sure that he would not approve all this em- phasis on himself personally. He and I and all the rest of us are keenly aware that the op- portunity given him to guide and administer this school, and giv- en me to do my work, and given you to improve yourselves--that this opportunity was not created BY US: it was created FOR U3 by the man who has created opportu- nity for so many other millions of persons during the last 34 year8, and what we have had to do was to make the best possible use of the opportunity offered. That is always in the back of our minds when some little praise comes our way individu- ally— What could I have done if Henry Ford had not made the op- portunity for me? That is not only true here but everywhere. Mr. Ford him- self might say of HIS great work: What could I have done, if gen- erations of men and women had not built this great America for us; if generations of scientists and engineers had not labored to lay the foundations of knowledge which we are working to com- plete? We are all the benefici- aries of other men's work, and that constitutes our deepest re- sponsibility to make such use of it that other men may be the beneficiaries of our work. It is an endless chain of recipro- cal benefit. Of course, Mr. Searle has made remarkable use of the un- usual opportunity that was of- fered him here. He has trans- lated with whole-hearted and in- telligent zeal the Ford Idea of preparing young men to take the best advantage of their opportu- nities. If anyone doubts that IS a Ford Idea, .let him only try to find it somewhere else—he will discover that nowhere on earth does it exist in connec- tion with an industry, as it does here. But the point about Mr. Searle is that HE WAS PRE- PARED to take advantage of his opportunity when it came. I don't suppose it ever dawned on him in his early years of work that he would be doing what he is doing now. But he went on learning and working, working and learning,--PREPARING HIMSELF BY EVERYTHING HE DID--so that when he turned the corner of his life that led him into the am- bushed hour where this opportu- nity waited for him, he did not need to run away, he was pre- pared to tackle it. In himself your Principal is an object les- son of what he is teaching here --PREPARATION. I don't suppose many of ua really understand what a great school this Henry Ford Trade School is. We are too close to it. I have often said to audi- ences elsewhere that if this school stood apart, in another city, where it could be seen by itself—not as we see it, over- shadowed by this great industry --it would stand out as one of the most remarkable educational demonstrations in the world. That is what famous educators have frequently said. But per- haps it is too much to expect that the students here should always see it in that light. I tell college graduating classes that their college or university doesn't care a nickel what they think of their school on Ccm- mencement Day—the faculty will stand b y what the graduates think of the school 25 years after graduation. And when you see gray-haired grads flock back to the campus year after year, you know what that means. It is the same with your school. A year or so ago I attended a dinner given by hundreds of old graduates of your school, and I know what they felt,—I know what they said as to what the school had meant to their ca- reers—and the school you have today Is a better one than they had. Perhaps we can read your future verdict in your tribute to Mr. Searle today. I don't know who to con- gratulate most--you or him. You have done honor to yourselves in honoring him. FCA Met in Lansing; O'Rear, Treasurer Emmette O'Rear, senior, was elected treasurer of the Future Craftsman o f America at the state meeting in East Lansing, Saturday, September 25. Twelve boys and advisor from Henry Ford Trade School chapter attended. An invitation was extended to FCA to hold their second na- tional convention in Detroit in conjunction with the 1938 De- troit and Michigan Exposition it J anuary. Contests in technical effi- ciency would be conducted it which national delegates froc high school chapters would com- pete for the benefit of exposi- tion patrons.

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FRIDAY. OCTOBER 8, 1957 THE CRAFTSMAN PAGE FIVE ly. He explains it by saying that he has nothing to bawl out the instructors for. I think the men in this school know pretty well what is right, and what is wrong. he said. Why call them together and preach to them? A student who had graduated from the school recently wrote Mr. Searle a letter. In it he mentioned that he had been some- what of a devil while in the school, but one day he learned a lesson. He had thrown three pieces of scrap paper at a waste- basket and purposely missed the basket to irritate his instruc- tor. The pieces were still on the floor when Mr. Searle walked into the classrocm. He stooped, picked them up, and placed them in the wastebasket, but said nothing. The student added that this had made a lasting impres- sion on his mind. Another said that one of the things he has been impressed with in the school has been the sight of Mr. Searle in the school cafeteria, carrying his dishes from the table like any school boy. Another graduate, now in an office, had studied in th9 tool making course. How did that help you in office work? I ask9d him. It taught me to think, he answered. The instructors tell me that when a boy leaves the school, Mr. Searle calls him in- to the office alone, and there wishes him well. Such contacts, rare as they sometimes must be, are sufficient to inspire the young men with ideas of what one man may do for another. He is never too busy to re- ceive an idea from a student. If the boy is sincere and the idea worthwhile, he likes to hear about it. He may say No at first, but if the student has determination, (which he is try- ing to discover,) and has rea- soned out his problem, Mr. Searle will say: Let's try it out and see if it works. He will be the first to tell you that he has had to grow with the school, to learn about industry, what had to be taught and could be. He himself is one of the school's best students. Before he came to it he had no particular experience in indus- trial education. Today he is an authority; many vocational schools and departments of schools are based on his work or largely influenced by it. Text- books of the school were to a large extent written under his supervision and approved by him; now they are used throughout the world. Mr. Ford'8 idea that a boy can study profitably when he sees what he is doing; when his textbook is experience in prac- tical work, forms the foundation of the school. Carrying out that idea has been the superin- tendent's Job. As a result, we have seen the development of apprentices of industry as a whole rather than the one-time narrow study of one particular trade without a working knowl- edge of the whole. He urges that a boy obtain as broad a knowledge of Industry as possi- ble, specializing later. More than this, he insists that skill without character is worthless. When he received an honor- ary master's degree from his alma mater, Williams College, he declared that the honor was the Trade School's not his. In the final analysis, we should go for our Judgment of this teacher to his students. In their school paper, The Craftsman, recently appeared such an analysis, prepared by the boys in an attempt to de- scribe their superintendent with- out mentioning his name. Here is what they wrote: He is liked by many. He is neat, courteous, a lover of nature, and a strong upholder of all that is righteous. He is a deep thinker and displays a great amount of tact in bringing out his point. Although the greater part of his time is tak- en up and about the Trade School, he still finds time to pursue his hobbies, among which are gardening, flori-culture, and fruit growing. Tact, diplomacy, and natural humor are features which account for his popular- ity. To this, speaking in a hum- ble way for the organization in which I am privileged to serve, let me say to you, Mr. Searle, that our gathering here today is proof that industry is not too busy, too wrapped in its own concerns, too hard, to pause this afternoon and pay this trib- ute for the manner in which you have carried out your trust. No words of ours, of course, are needed to tell you that you have dons well. We know you would prefer to go along quietly and modestly performing your service without all this furore and hul- labaloo. But since it is the unanimous wish of your students, your faculty, your directors, and all of us who know you, to do this thing, on their behalf I now congratulate you on the twentieth anniversary of your work as superintendent of the Henry Ford Trade School. Good luck, and God bless you. Senior Wins Scholarship at Wayne Isaia Red Petovello, a graduate of the January class of '36, won a four-year music schol- arship at Wayne University, De- troit, September 13, by playing on the alto horn an excerpt from a symphony he had never seen. Out of 700 entrants,.100 were given scholarships. From these, a concert band is to be formed. Isaia'8 musical ambition was aroused when he heard the school band play. Although his father forbade him to take trump- et lessons, Red began taking lessons while in the eight grade at Melvindale High School, under the supervision of Joseph Vandervest. The only way he could practice was at the home of his schoolmate. One year later Red in- vited his father to come to a school concert and hear him play a solo part. This his father did and was delighted by his son'8 showing, but was not for- ward in his Joy because of Red's disobeying him. His father died in 1933. Red is now working for a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at Wayne, attending three nights a week. Now connected with a ten piece dance orchestra, the tri- ple tongueing of Red and his trumpet is very pronounced. His ambition is to become a teacher of music or a leader of an or- chestra. The Better your Vocabulary, the Better you will read.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1937 THE CRAFTSMAN PAGE SEVEN Walthausen Tells of Visit to Germany It seemed strange to come tack to a land overflowing with automobiles, remarked Erich Von Walthausen, Henry Ford Trade School drafting instructor, aft- er returning from a three weeks' stay in Germany. The first thing I noticed when entering Germany, contin- ued Mr. Walthausen, was the large number of cyclists. This is because automobiles are too expensive. Many one-cylinder cars are still being used while others do not have a differen- tial. For a small fee, one may cycle through well kept forests and parks in which specially prepared paths have been made. Youth Hostel All over Germany is a great movement called the Youth Hostel. It is an organization that en- ables youth to travel over their country for little cost. These hostels, explained Mr. Walt- hausen, are like inns except that the lodging is much cheaper and they are usually run by an old War Veteran and his wife. The paths that lead to the Hos- tels are cycling paths and in the summer time are full of cycling girls and boys. The German youth is rugged, hearty, and athletic, despite the fact that he was brought up on unwholesome food of which the late war gave plenty. The students are growing cleaner and straighter nowadays. One of Chancellor H i t 1 e r's stressing points in the Youth Program is temperance. He wants the youth of Germany to neither drink nor smoke. Not a few of them are taking heed of this. The public schools are very different, compared to Amer- ican schools, remarked Mr. Walt- hausen, for the boys are sepa- rated into one part of the school and the girls in the oth- er . The German government does not believe in co-education, so the only time they meet is out of school, in plays, choirs, gymnasiums, recess, and Christ- mas festivals. The schools are something like our public schools. They have the same subjects and now (Continued on Page 8) Bowling League Opened With 18 Teams Amid the rumble of bowling ball8 and the tumbling of pins, the bowling championship opened Tuesday, September 21; 8:15 p.m. G. A. Yerex, personnel director, opened this event, the 1937-38 bowling season for the instruc- tors of Henry Ford Trade School, much to the delight of those present, by rolling a strike. Soon the whole hall was filled with cheers, ninety-nine players composing eighteen teams and nine substitutes, became en- gaged in a scramble for honors. Pins began falling everywhere, and bowlers, all decked in white shirts with special monograms, were congratulating each other on their success. Some were se- rious and others carefree as they tried to emulate the pat- tern set by Mr. Yerex. Bowlers established their handicaps the first two evenings of play. The officers in charge of the bowlers are: A. N. Edel, president; J. F. Nagy, secretary; and B. C. Brewen, treasurer. The Argyle Recreation man- agement stated that Henry Ford Trade School Bowling League was one of the few 18-team leagues that is desirable. Saying fur- ther, Most large teams are top heavy, but these fellows are fine to have around. Basketball Gets Underway Basketball practice will begin Wednesday, September 29, according to coach Veraie F. Richards, who is planning an eight game schedule, comprised of a nine team league. The teams, consisting of 8 to 10 players, will be made up from the A, B, and C classes. The C classes will be able to have players from other classes. This year there will be three Craftsman basketball teams; a varsity composed of the ten best players, a reserve team which includes 20 players, and a midget team consisting of boys from the E, F, and G classes. All boys wishing to prac- tice, may use the Miller School Gym, available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 3:30 p.m., and on Tuesdays and Thurs- days at 4 p.m. Epps Signs Contract for Cardinal Farm By striking out the first six batters who faced him, Charles Epps, former Henry Ford Trade School student, gained for himself the distinction of being the first Crafts- man player t o earn a profes- sional baseball contract. Epps, who threw only two balls in pitch- ing strikes to six batters, during tryouts at the St. Louis Cardinal base- ball school held recently at Flint, Michigan, was one of nine given contracts out of 800 youths attending. Other Henry Ford Trade School students attending were William Sonnen- berg, Milton Cross, and Edward Strach. In 1936, Charles captained the Craftsman team of Henry Ford Trade School and gained recogni- tion as a player with exception- al ability, winning ten games while losing only three. This year, however, he suf- fered from an attack of appen- dicitis and was unable to play during the Craftsman schedule. His absence greatly weakened the teams pitching staff and was no- ticeable thru the entire cam- paign. He later played for the Schrader-Haggerty team in the Inter-County League. V. F. Richards, coach, and his Craftsman players Join in wishing him a successful future in the baseball field. He will report for spring training at Albany, Georgia, next April. Tennis Practice Resumes Tennis players wishing to play for Henry.Ford Trade School are requested to contact L. H. Bartholomew, chemistry instruc- tor. Practice is being held on Monday and Wednesday of each week at; i Baby Creek Park, Wood- mere at Vernor Highway W. Students reporting are urged to bring tennis shoes and rackets. Promising candidates will be entered in the State Tournament next spring.