Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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Of its loud life, hints and echoes from the life behind steal in; and the lore of home and fireside, and the legendary rhyme, Make the task of duty lighter which the true man owes his time. Olympic Games By Marion Perkins A SUBJECT of ever-increasing interest to its fans all over the world is athletics. Athletics serves two purposes, for they are con- ducted either for business or for pleasure. The higher type, which is conducted for pleasure, develops healthy bodies, promotes moderate recreation, and forms ideal habits of living. The other type has three aims : to win games, to make money, and to win either personal or group fame. Such a large group of people are interested in the lat- ter type that no roofed building has ever been erected large enough to hold the throngs which gather to witness various athletic games. Athletics is now being more fully appreciated and developed. The length to which this athletic enthus- iasm has gone is far beyond our comprehension. Athletics, with us, stands for democracy, self-control, honesty, and patience. Their origin and growth is of the greatest im- portance to us, for the Olympics have made for democracy and lev- eled social distinctions by the just and fair manner in which they are conducted and by the spirit of friendliness which they create. Farther back than any historian has ever recorded, a group of Greeks began to hold foot-races in honor of Zeus, a Greek god. These races, which were held yearly, gradually became an affair of national importance. The ancient Olympics were held in the valley of Elis, a remote part of Greece, and it was there that the Grecian ath- lete strove for fame. In the course of time, boxing, wrestling, discus- throwing, chariot racing, and other athletic games were added to the original foot-race. These games were held every four years, and spectators came by the thousands, stayed for about a week, and then were gone for another fou r years. The games were celebrated near the end of summer, when rain was least expected, since a wet season would have turned Olympia into a scene of misery. About a month before the festival, messengers went throughout Greece proclaim- ing a sacred truce, and all Greeks were forbidden to bear arms during the season of the games. Those who entered the list were compelled to undergo special gymnastic train- ing and to show a name free from civic or personal dishonor. A boy’s companion may overlook many things, but a boy who cheats or is the least bit unfair in his games soon becomes an outcast. In all the decades and in all the contests at. Olvmpia the rumor of dishonesty did not arise once in a hundred years. At first the contestants were of pure Hellenic blood, but later, after the infusion of the Roman people into Greece, both Greeks and Ro- 26

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The Ipswich town meeting was held August 23rd, 1687, but on the night before some twelve or four- teen men, including the Rev. John Wise, met at the house of John Ap- pleton, town clerk, and resolved that the act of levying taxes in the manner specified by the Andros warrant abridged their liberties and agreed not to commit the town to this method of the said “Sir Ed- mund and his council.” The town meeting held the next day unani- mously voted not to concur in the demands of Governor Andros. The leader in this Remonstrance was the Reverend John Wise of Chebacco parish. The importance of the position taken by Wise and his associates can be understood, for in 1687 Ipswich was second only to Boston in population, wealth, and influence . The penalty of leadership fell upon Wise, and he and five others were soon arrested, carried to the old stone jail in Boston, denied the writ of Habeas Corpus, tried by a packed jury, and found guilty of contempt and misdemeanor. Exces- sive fines were imposed, and Mr. Wise was suspended from the Min- istry. Thus it was from Ipswich that the first open resistance to the Brit- ish crown was offered, and of that historic occasion, two hundred and forty-seven years ago this summer, Ipswich rightfully deserves the honor of the birthplace of Ameri- can Independence. The freemen of Ipswich, with their charter rights abrogated, stood upon the same principle as John Hampden when he resisted the taxation of Charles the First, and John Wise made affirmation of his rights as an Englishman pro- tected by Magna Charta. Rufus Choate, a son of Ipswich, in his oration delivered one hun- dred years ago at the two hun- dredth anniversary of the Incorpo- ration of Ipswich has this to say of John Wise and Ipswich: “These men may justly claim a distin- guished rank among the patriots of America. You, their townsmen, may well be proud of them, prouder still, but more grateful than proud, that a full town meeting of the free- men of Ipswich adopted unani- mously that declaration of right, and refused to collect or pay the tax which would have made them slaves. The principle of that vote was precisely the same on which Samuel Adams, Hancock, and War- ren resisted the Stamp Act — the principle, that if any po wer but the people can tax the people, there is an end of liberty.” We hold the heritage of the Puri- tan fathers in high esteem. It is to the virtues of the early settlers that we owe the bed rock of char- acter on which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was founded. The town of Ipswich was settled by men and women who sought the light of a Power higher than their own, and in the hearts of those who landed on these shores three hundred years ago, come germs of creative life that were not crushed but cher- ished. And in the words of John Greenleaf Whittier: “The great eventful Present hides the Past; but through the din 26

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mans participated. To be a victor in these games was the greatest joy in the life of any boy and the glory about which all fathers dreamed. For that very purpose the boys were put in training at the age of seven, and the training continued for more than thirty years. The prize was simply a crown of wild olive, nothing more, but this was the greatest honor a Greek could ever attain, and whatever position of power or fame he may have later achieved, his proudest title was “Olympian Victor ’ He was greeted at home by his fellow citizens with a mighty celebration for which, during the illustrious period of Greece, the leading poet of poets composed a song, which was ren- dered by a large chorus of trained singers. A statue was erected in his honor at his home and perhaps at Olympia ; and if he had won three victories the statue was his own likeness. During the rest of his life he was a chief citizen. The wildest uproars for a modern athlete have no parallel for the usual, the cus- tomary honors conferred upon an athlete of intellectual Greece. How- ever, in the year 396 A.D. the Ro- man Emperor issued a decree for- bidding further celebration of the games in Greece. These body build- ing and brain building exercises were continued in a slight degree, through personal interest, in sev- eral other countries. After a lapse of fifteen centuries Baron Pierre de Coubertin brought about the modern revival. His per- sonal admiration of the English public schools and English ideals of sport influenced him to determine to impart those ideals both to France and to the rest of the world by organizing an amateur meeting of all the nations in athletic rivalry every four years. The first celebra- tion of the revival was appropri- ately held in Athens in 1896, where the famous Marathon Race was standardized. This celebration was made possible by the munificence of a private citizen of Greece, and forty-four nations were represented by one or more delegates each. The London Olympiad of 1908 is re- garded, however, as marking the commencement of a fresh athletic era throughout the world. During this new era, women were intro- duced into the jranks of athletes, and they are attaining a surprising degree of efficiency. They have raised themselves to an equal basis with the men in nearly all sports. They excel in diving and swimming, although there are many other edu- cational sports which have attrac- ted their attention. The records which they have made in the Olym- pics are comparable to the record of high school and preparatory school boys. In mentioning the place of women in the Olympics, it is only natural to mention “Babe” Didrik- son. She is the heroine of the Olym- pic Games, the breaker of records, and a winner of championships in an amazing variety of strenuous athletic sports, and the most im- portant fact to us is that she is a United States athlete. She is a mod- el American girl, for through ath- letics she has maintained a healthy body, an intelligent mind, and a charming personality. The chief management of the Olympic Games centers about the International Olympic Committee. 27