Ionia High School - Ionian Yearbook (Ionia, MI)

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PRESIDENTS ADDRESS Parents, Teachers, Friends: Today marks one of the outstanding events of our lives. For four years we have looked forward to this goal with enthusiastic eagerness. We are proud of our attainment and yet we realize that only your encouragement and cooperation have made it possible. It is difficult for many of us to realize the type of education which present social and economic changes are demanding. We have reached the point where a man’s success can no longer be evaluated by mere possession of dollars and cents. Experience has taught us that education must be regarded not as a means of securing a high salaried position, but as a social attribute intended to prepare us for world citizenship. We are no longer confined to our own local communities, but are fast becoming world neighbors. There are state, national, and world problems, which can only be solved by the combined efforts of individuals. Therefore, I believe that the major role of our school today is to prepare us to meet these world problems and to render intelligent solutions. I feel confident that Ionia High School has done its part in preparing us for this task. We, the seniors of ’36, are indeed grateful to all of you for the opportunities you have offered us. To you, parents, we wish to express our sincere appreciation for your encouragement and support. It has been through your sacrifices that we have reached our goal. We are genuinely grateful to the faculty for their splendid help and cooperation. Their attitude and willing suggestions have been an important factor in awakening within us a desire for knowledge. We wish to thank the business men for their whole-hearted backing of our school activities. To the tax-payers and the Board of Education, we wish to express our thanks for making it possible for us to attend school. On behalf of the officers, I wish to compliment the members of the class on their cooperation in backing the various senior activities. This spirit has made each and every one of these activities a success. To each of you, I wish continued advancement and happiness in the future. 20 Elwood Brake

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VALEDICTORY Friends: We, as graduates, are leaving our school days behind us and facing a vast and challenging problem. In our high school training we have been prepared to meet this decisive test. Like the ancient Greek hero Ulysses, we are starting forth on a trip of adventure and exploration. Although not looking for new lands and people to conquer, we shall be seeking wisdom and experience. The elusive phantom, understanding, is captured by so few that he who succeeds is considered one of a select group. We may take either of two attitudes toward our task—a weak, resistless one, or the dauntless attitude of the unconquerable Ulysses. Our whirlpool of Charybdis will not be a visible one, but will be rather the depths of despair, into which it will be easy to fall if we lose our bearings and wander off the course. Achieving a broadening education is not a pleasure trip. Many have found, to their dismay, that learning and hard work go hand in hand. We must not expect to receive only the one and to escape the other. Perhaps many of us will have difficulty in choosing one field of life work when so many interesting ones lie open before us. The idea that we must limit ourselves to one course and live only one life has its disturbing and irksome side. If we find it necessary to wander from one study to another before a definite plan is elected, we should be like the famous philosopher, a part of all that we have met; we should gain some value from every experience with which we are confronted. Then, when we finally achieve the goal of success, these periods of indecision will not have been in vain; they will have added to our growth and development. We must not continue to experiment with different vocations and never finish the task of perfecting ourselves in one. The dilettante’s way of hinting at his great potentialities does not actually deceive the clear thinkers. They realize that he is only trying to fool them, and perhaps himself also, into thinking that he could have achieved wonderful results if he had really wanted to. Although few of us realize it, energy must be expended in order to fail. It is natural for a person to want success. Now if this desire to make the most of ourselves is overcome, that is, if we allow ourselves to be failures, a powerful struggle must be waged against the forces of life. Let us, instead, use our will power towards gaining an honorable place and achieving that which all of us desire. Success is usually in only one line. To counteract this narrowing atmosphere, much of our leisure can be spent in broadening our life through literature and through our imagination. Reading acquaints us with many peoples and lands, and our imagination allows us to visit them, thus breaking the monotony of our regular existence. A motto that seems appropriate for us now is one from Tennyson given through the lips of the invincible though buffeted Ulysses: To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” John Lombard 19

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PROPHECY Such a treasure! To think that I should be the one to find this scroll! Perhaps I should explain that I am a collector of old manuscripts and books, owning several first editions. In my library are some old manuscripts noted in the realm of connoisseurs as outstanding in the world’s collection. But this—ah, this is very different. During my recent wanderings, I chanced to be traveling through some foothill country in northern Greece. One night, toward sundown, a terrific storm arose, and my company and I were forced to accept whatever shelter we might find. As we struggled valiantly on, one of the guides pointed out a building looming up ahead of us. It was an old partially-ruined temple, but still possessing enough roof space to shelter us from the wind and rain. The tired porters and guides, rolling up in their blankets, fell asleep at once, but not I. Searching about in the gloomy passages and winding corridors, I suddenly came upon a light. Who could be here? Surely it was none of my party! Then I discerned the habit and features of an old priest. Quietly approaching, he laid his hand upon my shoulder, and murmured, “I knew you would come.” Handing me this manuscript, he continued, “This foretells the destiny of the Class of 1936, tracing the threads of their lives since leaving Ionia High School June 19.” Opening the manuscript, I noticed that many of my old schoolmates’ addresses read New York City. The Waldorf-Astoria hotel is still there, and more exclusive than ever, as it is run under the very capable managership of Wilson Perry and Lawrence Lemmen. Presiding over the massive kitchen in the hotel is Robert Perry, head chef. Under his able and skillful guidance are Leo Lake, Rhoda Chapman, and Vera Jackson, who try to keep their fingers out of the soup. The hotel beauty salon boasts the fact that Elaine Ruehs has become successful in her chosen field of work—for the neon sign reads, “Madamoiselles Elaine and Viola.” The latter is Viola Stanton, who is Elaine’s business partner. In the dining room that evening, whom should I see entering but “Madame Shirlie.” Later I was to learn that the lovely decorating work of that very dining room, with its soft lighting and blended colors, had been designed by Miss Nelson at the request of the hotel’s business manager, Lola Gee. Several of our ambitious business women have obtained positions in Washington, D. C. Velma Schipper has made quite a name for herself, for she has been acclaimed the world’s fastest typist and most efficient secretary. At present, she holds the position of private secretary to the President of the United States—The Honorable Vernon Smith. The First Lady of the Land was formerly Miss Mary Jo Weisgerber. In the president’s cabinet appear the names of two more of the old class—John Whorley, Secretary of Agriculture, and Kenneth Ward, Secretary of Interior. When the president needs the aid of United States troops for any occasion, he merelv sends notice to General John Lombard of West Point. Washington’s largest newspaper, “The Diplomat,” is edited by our 21