John Marshall High School - Marshallite Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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'SGP-5' J. M. H. S. :QQ- SD G2 History of the Class of '26 CEJ my E beginning in any art is an appreciation of it. Therefore, as we pi-V review in reflections the kaleidoscopic bit of the Panorama of Life MQ: which we have staged at old john Marshall High School in the past Ilfvfxiul four years, we feel that truly we have made a beginning in the Art of Living, for we know that we have now an appreciation of that art which surpasses by far that appreciation which was ours four years ago. And that is, we think the paramount and most valuable result of a high school educa- tion. It would be impossible for one to acquire an infinitely vast store of mathematical, scientific, and literary knowledge in the brief time alloted for one to complete his High School course. But it is not impossible for one to gain in this time the valuable lessons of team-work, co-operation, concentration, subordi- nation, and system-lessons which are an invaluable asset to one who possesses them for the whole of his life, and an incalculable loss for one who has them not. Our freshman year was the Age of Skepticism. We entered the stately portals of John Marshall filled with an anticipation which was not wholly pleasant. What was it all about? We felt as though we were in a strange land where strange things were done by strange people. We found ourselves thrust willy-nilly into a whirling eddy of incessant action, thrills, and fears. There Seemed to be an invisible power which turned the mighty wheel of which we were a most insignifi- cant cog. And then, as it is in a half-darkened room, one recognizes dimly, and then clearly and distinctly, the articles in the room as he becomes accustomed to the darkness, so we began to see and understand the significance of our part in the mighty workings of that mechanism which had at first appeared to us an an insolvable mystery. We knew at last that every tiny cog of the mighty wheel of school contributed to the power of the whole. We were a part of it. We were one of the things that make the wheels go 'roundf' We had learned, appreciated, and understood our first lesson in team-work. Our sophomore year was the Age of Deliberation. There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the Hood- Our Sophomore year was the tide of our affairs which demanded that we take deliberate and decisive steps in some direction. We became aware of the fact, fortunately, that there were many mediums of expressing one's school spirit. We say fortunately, because, we believe that everyone is gifted in degrees, in some line, though Cand this is fortu- nate alsoj we are most decidedly not gifted in the same manner. We learned that the boy or girl who was unsuited to express his or her school spirit in any phase of athletics, might.be just as loyal a Marshallite by entering the literary, dramatic, or class field as the heartiest fighter on the football field, or basketball or tennis court. We learned that the supporters of the teams were showing school FQGJ-Pl Twenty- Three

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2 W CLASS OFFICERS Twenty-Two T'

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Q lbllfs. my spirit just as much as the players on the field. At the end of our Sophomore year we knew that even the steady, scholarly students whom it was difficult to picture making a dashing run for a touchdown or a brilliant serve with a tennis racket were also showing commendable school spirit by upholding the academic honors gf ,the school. Perhaps the greatest and most lasting benefit which we derived from our experiences as Sophomores in the year iozg, was the lesson of concentra- tion' and deliberation upon a set object. We think our perspective of life will in future years be influenced by that lesson. Our junior year was the age of Anticipation. In another year we would have reached our Senior year, and have acquired that subtle prestige which is the traditional heritage of the Senior. The friendships which had been begun in our Freshman year had become mellow and prime. lt was the year when we heard much of exemplary behavior. We were then the envy of the Sopho- mores and the hope of the Seniors. Ours was a glory reiiected from the Seniors. Yet, it was not wholly reflected. We were about to enter the vestibule to a much anticipated adventure which awaits the high school student when he makes his Exodus from his Alma Mater. , And then, the Age of Realization. Seniors, at last, with a world behind us and a world before us! Diogenes with his lantern looking for an honest man was not half so diligent in his Search as some of us who were in search for an elusive credit or extra point necessary for graduation. A point! A point! My diploma for a point! Such was the hue and cry of some of us as we juggled our courses of study in the effort to find any weak spot in our outlined plans before it was too late. Never has that number, thirty-six, loomed so important and elusive. But fortunately most of us managed to get North of Thirty-six. I A ' The whole of our Senior year was not spent, however, in looking for ipoints, or in a revival of learning. Our Senior year saw the initiation and beginning of student government. It has begun not so much as an organization, as an awakening to a principle hitherto neglected at john Marshall. lt is a principle, the upholding of which will engender in the students of john Marshall the germs of self-dependence, subordination to proper authority, and, we think, will bring about a closer bond between the faculty and student body. lt is the medium for teaching co-operation and team-work. The class of 'zo has seen but the be- ginning of this new movement. Its life or death rests with those who follow in our footsteps. We are convinced that it will prosper with you, by you, in you, for you. A'-To you from falling hands we throw the flaming torch. Be yours to hold it high-. in 1926 N9 Twenty-Four