Lafayette High School - Oracle Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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MR. ARTHUR DETMERS PRINCIPAL, i903-i906 ARE gifts of heart and mind made Arthur Detmers an outstanding and inspiring leader of young peo- ple. He added nobility to the profession which he deemed the greatest single factor in the welfare of mankind. wrote Philip Becker Goetz, member of the original Lafayette faculty. Students recalled the kindly influence and strength of a man whose ideals were those of faithfulness and honor and re- marked that among the greatest pleasures of their school life were the piano solos played nearly every morning in assembly by Mr. Detmers. He inspired students with an interest in art, presenting Job or readings from Shakespeare or great music. Early Lafayette graduates remember A. D. with deep ad- miration, generations who never knew him have sung the Alma Mater Song he composed Not in the rush and whirl of the city, Vexed by the busy throng and press, But with the tree tops waving about her, Sitteth the Queen whose praise our lips confess. Loud sing her praises, each heart upraisesl Violet and White forever stainless bel Life's strong endeavor, love naught can sever, These be our off'ring to thee, to theel i4

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. WX Mr. GOI1 in 1935. Last year teachers participated in the Buffalo Industrial and Educa tion Day exercises for the first time. In the spring of 1952, the teach ers enioyed their visit to the industrial plants, in the fall, the industri alists made a return visit to the schools. Mr. Gott noted that many were eager to visit with their former teachers. During Lafayette's existence, three wars have occurred and La- fayette has willingly offered her services. At the time of the First World War, the students sold Sl ,053,400.00 worth of Liberty Bonds. Students sewed and knitted garments, made hospital pillows, and pre- pared comfort kits for the American Red Cross. During the Second World War Lafayette sent subscriptions to the READER' S DIGEST to our boys and girls in service. Before each Armistice Day and Me- morial Day, Lafayette students ioin with the John A. Boechat Post in honoring our war dead. As Lafayette students participate in the traditional assembly programs each year, they eagerly look forward to Commencement night in June at Kleinhans' Music Hall. At that time many awards and scholarships are presented, among them the four year honor roll pins and the Detmers-Mellen Alumni Scholarship. Former students recall the many happy experiences they have had, the numerous and lasting friendships they have made, and the inspiring companionship which they have shared with their teachers. Days at Lafayette High School are never forgotten by those who have attended and those who have taught here. I I . I3

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CAPTAIN CALVERT K. MELLEN PRINCIPAL 1906-1934 APTAIN MELLEN'S career as an educator covered a period of fifty years and during these years, he won the love and respect of thousands of people everywhere. His hearty greeting and warm hand- clasp, his kindness and courtesy, his tolerance and sense of justice, his integrity and patriotism - all these marked him as a man of noble character, but perhaps his most endearing trait was his firm faith in the essential goodness of his students. He loved them and they responded in kind. Many young people have found themselves accomplishing that which they had thought impossible as they remembered Cap- tain Mellen quoting those well known lines from Edgar Guest, Somebody said that it couldn't be done, But he with a chuckle replied, That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin On his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done, and he did it. It Cou1dn't Be Done is from THE COLLECTED VERSE OF EDGAR A. GUEST: Copyright 1934, by The Reilly 85 Lee Co. , Chicago. I5