Kalona High School - Centerika Yearbook (Kalona, IA)

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a THE CENTERIKA THE CENTERIKA Published by Center High School Kalona, Iowa The Staff Francis W. Palmer Maynard C. Reber Jacob F. Swartzendruber Clifford H. Hess Fern Swartzendruber Vernon Bontrager Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Business Manager Athletic Editor Literary Editor Feature Editor Reporters Mary Eash, Otha Jones, Harold Miller Faculty Advisors Literary, Mrs. Osborn; Business, Mr. Osborn Price per copy, 25 cents May, 1928 Viola No. 1 THE PURPOSE OF A HIGH SCHOOL ANNUAL As in any line of endeavor, the purposes of a high school annual are manifold., [In the first place, of course, the principal aim of such a publication is to afford vocational training to the students. In collecting and arranging material for publication not a little editorial experience is acquired, while the financial end of the venture gives one practical training in business. The contents of the book are written almost entirely by the students in connec- tion with their regular English course, thus tending to add greater variety and interest to the course. Another purpose of an annual is to serve as a chronicle of the school. Years hence, when other students have filled our places, it will no doubt be interesting to glance through the annuals of the school and review the activities which took place in its infancy. A casual reader, no doubt, will scarcely realize the amount of work necessary in selecting material from the horde of manuscripts, revising much of it, and arranging it for publication in the neatest man- ner possible. While preparing the material for pub- lication, the reader’s viewpoint must be kept upper- most in mind, only material that will prove inter- esting being collected. That is where the editorial experience enters. Though necessarily small, it gives one an inkling of the work connected with a newspaper or magazine. The business end of the annual is as important as the editorial part. As a business venture it should at least be self-supporting, the necessary revenue being derived from the sale of subscriptions and advertisements. This is when the business experience enters. Another important purpose of an annual is to ad- vertise the school it represents among the patrons of this and adjoining communities. In publishing this annual we have endeavored to fulfill the various purposes of an annual, in a small way at least. We have made the venture a self- supporting one and we have tried to present our material in as concise a manner as possible. —Ed. THE VALUE OF EDUCATION Half a century ago, when our parents and grand- parents were children, the education which was pos- sible for them to obtain was meager. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were the principal subjects taught. If one could read the ordinary newspa- pers of that time, write his name, and work such arithmetic problems which came up in everyday life, he was considered well educated. Even those who could neither read nor write were not considered uneducated. The times have changed. Gradually people be- gan to acquire more and more education until at present the field of learning is indeed very great. The fields of science and many others have been mastered to a large degree. If it were not for the great advancement in educa- tion, modern inventions would be unknown. The grain would be still gathered with the cradle and threshed with the flail. Housewives would still be laboring at their looms and spinning wheels. Thus we can readily see that education has helped to advance the civilization of the world. It matters not what your life work is. Even though you hold one of the lowest and most humble positions there is, you will never regret that you have an education. Although some do not agree, the farmer is greatly benefited by education. Studies of the income of tenant farmers in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa at the outbreak of the World War showed that men who never went to school were averaging $680 a year, common school grad- uates $742, high school graduates $1268, and col- lege graduates $1721. This shows definitely the value of education to farmers. If farmers are so greatly benefited by education, surely other business men will be as much or more benefited by it. —Ass’t Ed. A WORD FROM SUPERINTENDENT OSBORN In this, the first ‘‘Centerika’”’, the graduating class of Center has done its best to give some idea of our school—its nature, its history, its activities, and its ideals. The members of this class have been a part of and have grown with this institution. Each one is a booster for our school. They have been here long enough that they have their minds made up to the fact that a high school education is both necessary and worthwhile. Our best wishes go with them as they leave our daily fellowship in (Continued on Page 5)

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erie ks CENTERIKA 3 A TIP BY RADIO “He won’t get a nickle’s worth of good out ot that radio,’’ remarked Jim Blake when he heard that John Akers had invested two hundred dollars in one. “T wouldn’t give a nickle for a carload of them,” piped up the richest ranch owner in Texas, and the tightest; he looked the part too. Thus was the conversation at Sleepy Hollow store. John Akers was a man of small means who had two sons Jim and Bill, who helped with the ranch work. John had bought a radio so that the long even- ings would not seem too lonely, for he and the boys “batched.” All the neighbors thought him foolish. This evening the three had stayed at home to listen to the new radio instead of going to the store, as was the usual custom on Saturday night. “In spite of the fine entertainment we get from the radio, I guess I will have to get rid of it,’ John said, while they were eating supper. “It’s getting on my nerves the way the neighbors talk about my radio and me. The way they talk you’d think I’d gone mad.” “Let ’em talk,” said Jim. ‘““‘We surely can run our own business.” At about ten o’clock the weather report was given. With a surprised look they stared at each other. “A fierce blizzard is coming from the west, ac- companied by an eighty mile wind,” announced the voice from the air. “That means we’ll have to round up those cattle and get them under shelter, and it won’t be easy to drive them toward a storm if we wait too long. Get the horses ready and we'll start out.” With this they were gone. They finally reached the cattle and succeeded in getting most of them moving toward the buildings, which was a great deal of satisfaction. About midnight they had them un- der shelter. No sooner had they got settled in the house by the cozy fire than the storm broke. The buildings creaked and groaned under the fury of the blizzard. “Well,” John said, “it will take more than two hundred to buy that radio from me.” The next morning after they had looked the stock over Jim Blake came riding up. “That sure was a ‘whiz bang’ of a storm, wasn’t it?”’, he drawled. ‘‘How many did you lose?” “None,” replied John. “None!” he gasped. ‘“‘You gotta show me.” “There they are,” replied John. “How is it that you lost none when I lost about seventy-five head? How did you know about the storm coming?” “Just a tip by radio,’”’ John replied. “You mean to tell me, John, that your radio told you that storm was coming?” “That’s it,’ he said. “Say,” Jim said shamefacedly, ‘‘would you mind telling me where I can get one of them; I’ll be kicked if I don’t get one and take a few “tips by radio’’ myself.”’ IDs Je Weyl THE COMEDY OF “HARERS” (Introductory afterward). This beautiful, path- etic poem was written by a well know school teach- er in the literary field, that is, C. H. Hess. Mr. Hess was born in Hessville on Oldman’s creek about four thousand years ago. Hewas well known in radio fields being a loud speaker in the recent Tea- pot Dome oil scandal. (Directions to teachers). This story of sixty-four volumes should be thoroughly digested with a grain of salt. One bright summer day during midwinter in about the middle of the month of May or there- abouts Julius Grabber started on his daily annual trip to the scene of his literary pursuits into the land of fascinating science, in other words to Cen- ter High School. The sun shone brightly from a clear sky. The lightning flashes played across the skies and thun- der burst resounding cricks over the landscape; the snow drifted over the roadways while the rain fell in torrents, as Julius ran down the road in a tireless walk. Julius Grabber was a thin youth of about eighty summons. He began his career on a level New England farm situated on a high bluff overlooking the beautiful Mississippi River in America’s most beautiful spot near Frytown, Iowa. Suddenly a small large hare leaped from a thicket bordering the mountain side. He was closely fol- lowed in about an hour by an enormously small hare. In another second there came a third hare. In less time than it takes to bat an eyelash the road was filled with hares. They blew about everywhere. They drifted into piles and heaps. They got into our hero’s eyes. They stuck to his beautiful, patched, ragged gar- ments. His little brother who had caught up with him at this moment, exclaimed, as an exceptionally large hare became caught on Julius’ ear, ‘““Caesar man! Grabber!’”’ Julius’ hand shot out and down faster than the eye could follow. There was a cresh of metal on metal. “Gosh! There goes the last bell,’’ exclaimed he. (Hand note). Julius was of Polynesian descent having been born near the arctic circle. (Printer’s apprentice note). All rights including the rights of women to vote are reserved by the DUOUSherss eee MeN ss ser: CeH.e 28

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TPES CE NGE RIK A 5 History of Center High School In the year of 1923, a few persons in Washing- ton Township, Johnson County, Iowa, having child- ren of high school age discussed the possibility of offering one year of high school work in the base- ment of the grade school building of District num- ber five. While a few parents in the Township were in- terested, and the project was discussed at various times, no definite steps were taken until June 23, 1924. On this date a meeting was held at Center School, where the merits of a country high school were discussed by several speakers. After a great deal of solicitation, worry, and sus- pense during the summer, thirteen students in the Township were found willing to forego the conven- iences of older, better established, and better equip- ped schools which they might have attended, and thereby make it possible to open a high school in Washington Township. On the 8th of September, 1924, the above men- tioned 13 students gathered in the basement of Cen- ter School, and the first days work of high school was begun. Whether the number thirteen has been unlucky, can be best judged by those who have watched the progress of this school for the past four years. It is gratifying to those responsible for the opening of the school to know that eight of the original thirteen are completing their four years of work at this school this year; one finished three years; only two of the number failed to complete two years of work; and two others moved away and are finishing at other schools, Due credit for the success this school has attained should be given to Miss May E. Francis, then Super- intendent of Public Instruction, for the encourage- ment given. While the first years’ work did not en- tirely meet the standards of the State Department for high school approval, being convinced that an honest effort was being made to make the best of existing circumstances and also seeing that much good work was being accomplished, the State De- partment very wisely approved our first year’s work. Without this aid the school would have died in its infancy, and there would have been nothing fur- ther to write than its obituary. We are pleased to say that the present State Superintendent, Miss Agnes Samuelson, is also anxious that this school shall continue to grow and be an asset to this com- munity. After two years of approved work the problem of adequate room and equipment to handle a full four year high school course confronted the school board, which, it should be made clear, is nothing more than the board for District number five. Ac- cording to law Center High School is a District High School. A number of public meetings were held in order to arouse enough enthusiasm in the Town- ship to make it possible to go on with the school without any interruption and offer a full four year high school course. Again it required a consider- able amount of solicitation and time to raise enough money by public subscription—this being the only way the plan for a high school could be carried out under the present Township school organization, unless the sub-district idea were used, which was and is impractical in our case—to erect a building suitable for high school purposes. But by persis- tent efforts the task was completed June 25, 1926. Five thousand dollars was pledged in amounts ranging from five to five hundred dollars. On June 28, the ground which had been donated to the school, was fenced, and the hauling of ma- terial was begun by people of the community. From this time work went steadily on until the completion of the building and opening of school, September 15, 1926. It has not been the motive of those sponsoring this school to compete with town or city schools, or to forward any selfish purposes, but rather to give the children of the rural districts at least some of the advantages that towns are offering to their young people. As a result of this high school, many are enjoying the benefits of a high school education who otherwise would have had to stop with graduation from the eighth grade. A WORD FROM SUPERINTENDENT OSBORN (Continued from Page 4) the classroom and school activities to enter the stern realities of practical life. May their days spent at Center ever be a pleasant memory and inspira- tion to them. In writing an invitation for new students, as we must have new students each year, I can think of nothing better than to point to the testimony of our graduating class. Each has a character without taint, a friendly attitude which does not speak of boastfulness, and each has in his mind the fruit of four years of diligent application of his energies to his high school work. We have three other classes which will be an equal credit to their school. You will be welcome to Center. You will receive in- dividual attention. You wiil be among your own home friends. Your work will be interesting and stimulating. In fact, you will have all the opportun- ities that a growing home community school with hign ideals and a personal interest in you has to of- fer. You need Center High School. Center High School needs you. Plan to join us. ....By working to- gether, we can make your life fuller, richer, and more worthwhile. Make your decision now to be here when school opens this fall. You will never be sorry.