Lafayette High School - Oracle Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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'fniwmed fha!! Thy Honor and Oun' Ever Ben The Graduating Class of 1904 ROM the time of her very first class Lafayette High School has graduated students who have brought honor to her and to themselves. For the purpose of rewarding with special recognition the outstanding athletic stars of the year , THE LAFAYETTE ORACLE of 1924 started a department called The Hall of Fame . It gave first place to Ray P. Diehl, 1925, now consulting engineer in Oklahoma City, who in his senior year was class president, member of the football team, a senior marshal, and honor student. If we were to include such a department now to recognize outstanding Lafayette graduates in all fields, we should write books enough to fill the Lafayette library. May we instead reminisce proudly concerning a few of the vast Lafayette family as we leaf the pages of old ORACLES? Among the class of 1904 grouped at the girls' entrance, we seek Frank Wilson, retired head of the United States Secret Service and consultant on security for the Atomic Bomb Commission. The prophecy for the class of 1908, refers to Paul Hoy Helms, the class historian, The next three names, Wood, Dodd, and Helms, will go down in history for they have induced all the great powers to accept a new type of harmless battleship fWood's inventionj and thus done away with the peace conference at the Hague. WHO'S WHO lN AMERICA, which records his graduation from Lafayette, indicates among many other things, that Mr. Helm is instead the president of Helms Foundation, Inc. , director of the Los Angeles branch of the Federal Re- serve Bank of San Francisco, and director of the DeMille Foundation. WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA lists other Lafayette graduates. Among them is Leslie Dunn, 1911, now a famous author, geneticist, and professor of zoology at Columbia University, who is included in our ORACLE in football and cross country pictures. Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, Frank Moore was graduated from Lafayette in 1914. Charles Kendall, 1926, since 1949 the general counsel for the National Security Board, led a full life at Lafayette, participating in the Lafayette Club, declamation contests, orchestra activities, and de- bate for three years. Thelma Altman, 1936, who thrilled her fellow students when she sang, won first place in a mezzo soprano voice contest in 1935. Many will recall the spring concert of 1936 when Thelma Altman sang Open Thy Blue Eyes by Massenetp others will remember gratefully her generosity in singing at the school's forty- second anniversary and alumni reunion of 1945, the last Captain Mellen ever attended, and in assembly the next day. Since 1943 she has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera. We feel pride in our athletes led by Charles Reidpath, Buffalo Director of Buildings of whom the class prophecy of 1908 said, Another who is always in the lime light is Charles Reidpath that marvelously fast runner, recently appointed by the city a special officer to catch automobiles who exceed the speed limit. This idea was probably suggested by Charles Reidpath's setting the record of 58 ZX 5 seconds for the 440 yard dash and 22 314 seconds for the 220 yard dash. Following his spectacular running in the 1912 Olympics when he covered 400 meters In 48.2 seconds, he was welcomed at a rousing assembly still rememberedxby students and faculty of that time. 20

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In flkmorzkzm MISS DELA K. HILFINGER l ISS HILFINGER once wrote, lf a Utopian school evolves, it will come as a resultof the contagion of learning which will have its inception in a scholarly attitude on the part of both instructors and students. Toward such a school she contributed greatly. Deeply appreciative of beauty, unstinting in her effort to work with others for it, warmly sympathetic with human vagaries, she inspired both associates and students. With the skill of a great teacher, she shared her knowledge and disposed us toward books. Miss Hilfinger lives in the minds and hearts of innumerable individuals who remember gratefully her guidance toward a better life. I9

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The Class officers of 1910 include Mildred C. Smith, literary editor of PUBLISHERS' WEEKLY, and Martin F. Hil- finger, president of Associated Industries of the State of New York. Miss Smith's interests are suggested by her posi- tion on the ORACLE literary staff. According to an ORACLE account Martin Hilfinger was a versatile man. Actual ly he was an honor student, football player, suggested president of the Senior Six Foot Club, and a member of the cast of The Shakespeare Water Cure in which he played the part of Hamlet. The article explains, Especially does he deserve credit for his work in the management of the basketball team which has been able to pay its own expenses and turn over a surplus to the Athletic Association. A large share of the credit of doing it should go to Hilfinger. His work deserves the more praise because in the midst of the basketball season, he worked on the debate team which de- feated West High School of Rochester. More and more we realize the immensity of our undertaking. We pause to notice William Gehring, 1917, now of Twentieth Century Fox, who during his days at Lafayette was football captain, player of basketball and baseball, presi dent of Lafayette Club and boys' senior marshal. Joseph Hill, 1922, head of Baylor University laboratories, Frank J. Dressler, 1926, supervisor of social studies, Walter Mahoney, 1926, of the state senate, Justin Morgan, 1917, of the state assembly, Samuel Magavern, 1924, member of the New York State Board of Welfare, and Winifred Stanley, 1926, former congresswoman received their training at Lafayette. Miss Stanley, honor student for four years, wrote for the ORACLE and participated in school plays. We like to hope that Timothy Joseph Burke, 1933, now American Consul- ate General at Milan, Italy, thinks occasionally of his experiences in the glee club, school concerts, Spanish club and cross country races during his days at Lafayette. We know that Bruce Shanks, cartoonist of the BUFFALO EVEN- ING NEWS, is grateful for his art training under Miss Weiffenbach. Recent graduates have already gained distinction. Buckley Kozlov is staff member of the radio networks in Radio City, New York. Max Schneider, 1930, recently popular young doctor at the General Hospital, is studying now un- der a coveted fellowship to Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Thomas Schwob, 1947, prominent in sports and dramatics, recently spoke at Lafayette in his capacity as advertising man for all Westen New York High Schools and colleges in the interests of the United States armed services. ln 1951 Jack Smart, 1922, of radio fame, returned to La- 1 fayette to see The Old Plant and to recall the happy days when he played football, swam on Lafayette teams and worked on the ORACLE art staff. We like to think that Lafayette graduates often think of such a visit, for we know they don't forget. We hope that many availed themselves of the op- portunity to recall old times and to observe the present, dur- ing the fiftieth anniversary fes- tivities in May, too late for us to print. Miss Wciffenbach converses with her former student Mr. Jack Smart. 1 21