Le Roy Central School - O At Kan Yearbook (Le Roy, NY)

Page 14 text:

f . e THE O-AT-KAN 1912 As he saw that, another was glistening, but they both slipped out of his hand, And the tide came in with a roaring and washed them down the strand- And never had anyone seen them, the gems that were hidden therein, And he no more than knew it when they passed on down the stream. There were other gems among them, but they were m0deSt, Sedafe, V And never pushed forward to show all their beauty and splendor innate. And some were only brown pebbles with scarcely the trace of a glow, But they found their place in the stream and followed, faithful but slow. And they found the sea a large one with room enough for all To go their own desired way, or the way of the water's call. But for four short years they traveled down a channel side by side, Sharing each other's vexations through whirlpools, rapids or tideS- The last two years of their journey they seemed more united as one, The channel grew narrow and harder, their trifling years were gone. Each little pebble was laboring to first reach the ocean main, Tho' there in the vast expanse of sea they might seek each other in vain. And so have we like the pebbles, gone down the stream as one, And when we reach the ocean and begin for ourselves alone, We may .forget our comrades, with whom we cheered and sang In the high school days of long ago, when the halls with laughter rang. Tho' we leave the stream for the ocean, tho' the ocean be broad and wide, Still let us remember our schoolday friends, in spite of the winds and the tide. We're just beginning the great life work that each of us has to do, May we in all the years to come to our,Alma Mater be true. fiiffiii Extracts from Commencement Parts Salutatory Address Ellen Hill - Let us go back to the days of Ancient Greece, to the city of Delphi. Today are gathered within its walls the greatest musicians of all Greece, to contest for the prize to be awarded the most accomplished competitor. The great master comes forth and holds his audience enrap- tured by notes pure and sweet, notes almost divine. Another and another gifted musician sways the assembled group by the magic of his music until only the last, a poor, obscure competitor, makes his way forward. How can he gain the prize among so many masters? He holds his hearers spellbound. The divine harmony ceases. A string has broken. The audience waits in breathless suspense. Softly and gently a note sweeter, purer, clearer than all the rest fills in the broken harmony. A cricket, charmed by the mystic music, has filled in the missing note. Ah! how many missing notes, how many broken harmonies in lives are supplied by simpler things than the chirp of a cricket. How many men and women have needed but a suggestion to move them to great deeds. Friends, to-night is our Feast of Appolo. To it we bid you each and all a hearty welcome. We have striven to do our best to produce unbroken harmony, but it rests with you to supply the missing notes with your sympathy, and help us make our feast one great harmonious song of success. A The Wizard of the 20th Century Louis E. Bauer Edison's seven hundred patents have not been gained without years of labor. In this way he has spent his life, aiding humanity to a grander civilization. Today we should honor hirn,e0t

Page 13 text:

THE O-AT-KAN 1.912 continue in a given course in spite of discourngements. The practical meaning of Perseverance is, that quality which aids in producing a man who does not know defeat. The foundation of Perseverance is optimism. No man is persevering unless he is nn opto- mist. Did you ever see a pessimist, a man seeing nothing in the world worth living for, who pos- sessed the smallest particle of Perseverance? The man who lives his life in the passive voice: intent on what he can get rather than what he can do, will never accomplish anything. To the persevering man the great problems of life have no terrors. He is undaunted by the difficult tasks that arise in his path. because the future, veiled to the procrastinator, is opened to his eyes and he can see success waiting to crown his efforts. Review our history. Do you remember how persevering Columbus was? For fifteen years he battled with many hardships before he succeeded in obtaining aid for his plan to find a new route to the East Indes. Though he did not find the route he was desirous of, he accomplished something far greater. he discovered a new world. Turn to the time when those sturdy Pilgrims landed upon that stern and rock bound coast of New England. Why did they not turn their faces from the hardships that confronted them? Fortified by Perseverance they came to America to stay, and in the long. fierce struggle that ensued they were victorious. Note the many other early settlers and pioneers. men who fought for Amer'ica's liberty, the men who conquered the great West. These were the men who laid the foundation of America as it is to-day, stretching in stately grandeur from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Ninety per cent. of all our inventions can be traced to Perseverance. Cyrus Field met all sorts of opposition in his determination to lay the cable across the Atlantic, but after five unsuc- cessful attempts, he accomplished this remarkable feat. Samuel Morse toiled unfalteringly for Efteen years before he perfected the telegraph and caused the world to recognize its efficiency. The Wright brothers labored eight years on the theory of aeronautics before their efforts were crowned with success. Such men as these are the men who make the nation. They have come, seen and conquered, until now there is no element that is not under the control of Perseverance. What factor has brought the class of Nineteen-twelve before you tonight? Perseverance. Twelve years ago these members began their first steps in fundamental education. We mastered the alphabet, reading and writing. And through the long struggle, through the district, the the union and the high school every discouragement and obstacle has been overcome. Now we are before you, twenty-two strong, about to launch upon the stormy sea of life. Some of our number will take up their favored professions at once, others will enter higher institutions of leaming, but no matter what our calling in Life may be, we are fortified with that great gift--- Perseverance-and are bound to succeed, for: What is worth Success' name But carrying out a noble project to a noble end. did!! Class Poem Winifred Philleo On the shore beside a sunny brook just four short years ago, Where the waves could roar and leap and the sand looked white as snow, Where ripples washed their faces and the sun could warm their backs, Lay twenty-two little pebblesg still, as if set there in wax. Not a passerby noticed or gave them a glance as they lay on the shore, But simply walked over and past them and tho't of them no more: Such insigniicant pebbles as they could hardly expect To be the center of notice or even have show of respect. ' One day as a lover of nature, an elderly gentleman passed, He stooped, and smiled as he did it, while a handful of pebbles he grasped. Now at last those same little pebbles, respected and cherished were they, For he found in their midst a treasure, a pearl resplendant and gay.

Page 15 text:

THE O-AT-KAN 1912 because he invented the phonograph, the pleasure of millions of human beingsg not because he perfected the electric light, the greatest foe of crime in our large cities, not because he brought to light the marvels of electricity, marvels that astound the scientific world, but because he has taught the lesson that perseverance and constancy must conquer in the end, and that there are no secrets in nature but will reveal themselves to diligent patient toil. Pandora's Box Vera I. Rogers When life is in the bud is it not Hope that paints the world so bright, spreading a glamour over all: when in full bloom, is not Hope, ever present, lending golden linings to every cloud? when the flower of life begins to droop and wither is it not Hope that lightens all the sorrows of decays ? In every man's mind there is a bright vision of what he would like to be and what he would like to do. And no man ever yet attained success in any field of human labor who did not have floating before him such a vision. ' ' ' The first mortals lived on earth in perfect in- nocence. All the year the sun shone brightly, the earth brought forth luscious fmits and fragrant flowersg man was content. Cold, hunger, sickness, death were unknown. Pandora, with a casket in her hands which she was forbidden to open, was sent to Epimetheus. Happy were the first days of their union. But overcome with curiosity, Pandora opened the casket. Out flew all the Troubles that afflict humanity. She hastened to replace the lid, but a sweet, pleading voice from the casket cried, Do let me out Pandora, I will help you. Again she lifted the lid, out flew a sunny, smiling, little creature. I am to be called Hope, said the fairy creature, I will stay with you as long as you need me and that will be as long as you live in the world. I promise never to desert you. ' ' ' What in the world would we do without Hope? Hope spiritual- izes the earthy Hope makes it always newp and even in the earth's best and brightest aspect, Hope shows it to be only the shadow of an infinite bliss hereafter. Agriculture as a Science Fred R. Walkley They used to say: Anyone can become a farmer. It doesn't take brains to cultivate the soil and harvest crops. Buta revolution is in progress, intelligent people are changing their opin- ions. They realize that although almost anyone can work a farm, in order to make it profitable and to get the best retums, it is just as necessary for a farmer to know his business as it is for a physician, a lawyer or a banker. The time has come when all intelligent people agree that agriculture is a great science, a science in which much has been discovered but which has many more unknown facts to be discovered. All the wonderful progress which has been made in agri- Culture in the last twenty-Eve years is due to the scientific methods which have been used, and twenty-Eve years from now, if scientific agriculture advances at this rapid rate, it will be as much a science as medicine is and will require as much skill. Characterization of Lady Macbeth Ina Brown In every work of art, whether architecture, literature, sculpture, or painting, character is por- trayed. William Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist the world has ever known, may be called, too, the greatest creator of character. In his tragedy Macbeth, he has surpassed himself, for Lady Macbeth is believed to be his greatest creation. She urged Macbeth on to his ruin with only one sacred thought in mind-her lover and husband would be Ruler of Scotland. This wonder- fully gifted woman appears to grow more cruel, more heartless, and more unwomanly as the play progresses. But at last her woman's heart asserts itself and her husband goes on alone in his dreadful career of bloodshed. She has lost her mind through the sufferings of remorse, and goes about from room to room bemoaning her fate. With her maids surrounding her, this poor, heart-broken wife breathes her last. So in this greatest creation of Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth, there is a deep moral lesson. This sweet, attractive woman is drawn into crime even through a pure motive-love for her husband. iYet in every crime there is sin. For every sin there is. punishment, and in every punishment there is retribution.