Lafayette High School - Oracle Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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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

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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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Our Amkmn! PVZWCQJIJ Lafayette has been fortunate in her assistant principals. Mr. Charles Elbert Rhodes, head of the English depart- ment, became assistant principal in 1918. His A Student's Prayer suggests his sincere attitude toward his profes- sion but gives no idea of his vast knowledge of books. Help me this day to keep my body under control, to train my mind in the great truths of life and to grow in spiritual power. Let me not slight my task, however hard it be. Enable me to look upon this day and every day as a series of opportunities, as a part of life that cannot be recalled. Keep me from the sin of thoughtlessness, from the slough of sluggishness, and from the bane of conceit. Keep me ever mindful that I am but a learner and that Thy truth is large. Give me an open mind, a loving heart and a will that yields, not too easily, but upon sufficient evidence. May I be always reverent. And at the close of day, may I be a little wiser, a little stronger, a little better, and thus more fit for tomorrow's tasks and for life. Amen Charles Elbert Rhodes Mr. Frank R.Gott was appointed when Mr. Rhodes became principal of Bennett High School in 1925. His suc- cess as assistant principal was demonstrated when Mr. Mellen, the faculty, and the students welcomed him as prin- cipal at Captain's retirement in 1934. Mr. Himmele, member of the social science department and very successful debate coach, succeeded to the position. His loyal service to Lafayette was interrupted in 1941 when he left to serve his country. In 1948 he re- turned, a lieutenant colonel. We are pleased that as the present Co-ordinator for Secondary Schoolshe remembers us kindly. , Lafayette High School has completed fifty years of service to the children and citizens of Buffalo. The record of this half century devoted to the enrichment of the lives of thousands of pupils is one of which all who have any association therewith, or who have made a contribution thereto, can be most proud. The in- fluence of an institution of this high character upon the lives and achievements of all who came within its walls cannot be measured, but we must know that its light has been carried to all parts of this nation and to many far flung parts of the world. So all of us can ioin in this anniversary celebration in sincere apprecia- tion of the quality of Leadership, Honor, and Service which have prevailed at Lafayette High School for fifty years. Irvin H. Himmele We lived under the pleasant regime of Mr. Carl Walz, assistant principal from 1941-1948 until he was trans- ferred to East High School. Now as assistant principal of Bennett High School, he sends us his greetings. It was my good fortune to begin my teaching career at Lafayette High School in the days of Cap Mellen and also to have continued under your present prin- Q tg clpal Frank R. Gott. 1 also served as Assistant Principal of the old plant for sev- I en years, and I look back on these experiences with great pleasure. May I, on this your fiftieth anniversary express my congratulations to the pre- sent faculty and student body for having so successfully carried on the Lafayette traditions. Carl S. Walz 16