Lee Academy - Crescent Yearbook (Lee, ME)

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I6 THE CRESCEENT is for young people and you will receive more help in this way than you realize at present. I think it would he a great help for you boys to establish a branch of the Y. M. C. A. here. I am sure that all of us who have attended the Y. M. C. A. conference meetings can see the good that this organization is doing throughout the United States. We can also see that the success of our whele life depends more upon our moral charac- ter than upon any other thing. This is reason enough I should think to make you consider this subject carefully. The number of rules of our school is regulated by the character and conduct of the students. It is only the few in any school that cause rules to be made. If each one is more careful not to abuse privileges few rules will be made and many will not have to suffer for what a few have carelessly done. Students, the success of Lee Normal Academy for the next four years depends largely upon you and I am sure that each one of you will do what you can to further the interests of the school. We as a class rejoice that you will have a better chance than we have had. With the changes that have been made in the school courses, with the Alumni Associa- tion and friends of tl1e school to assist you and with the eictra five hundred dollars appropriated by the state this year, the outlook is bright for dear old Lee Normal Academy. ' ERNEST A. DELANO, 311. CLASS MOTTO KNOW THYSELF' In the heart of Ancient Greece, far distant from all centers of activity, was the quiet, secluded grove of Delphi, the common altar of the Greek race. Here from a chasm in the rocks con- tinuously arose a cold vapor that stupined the priestess who was enthroned above it, and who in her frenzy prophesied to those who sought to gain some knowledge in regard to the future. Suspended above her in letters of gold and contain- ing a meaning unparalleled to the Greeks was the significant motto, 'tKnow thy- Self. Although far removed from Rome, Persia, Cartilage and Magna Graecia, this great oracle, by providing worship and imparting knowledge to all, embraced in a religious union the whole Hellenic world. just as the Jew looked upon the sacred city of jerusalem, as the Mo- hammedan in his pitiful ignorance turned his face toward Mecca, and just as every true Roman citizen regarded Rome, the Greeks held in reverence the sacred oracle of Delphi. It was to them an all- seeing, all-knowing power, a place to which they might turn for guidance in time of great perplexity, and help in every trouble. The days of Greece are passed, l1er glory faded, nevertheless there is just as much need to obey the command of that

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THE CR ESCENT I5 come back and try it again next year. Perseverance will win in the end. Mr. Houghton, stay in school until you finish your course. Don't get married yet, you are young. VVait a few years. Then perhaps the income of your fox farm will be suliicient to support a wife. Undergraduates, there are matters, not comic, but real, concerning which I consider it both my duty and privilege to say a few words this evening. First of all, get yourself established in a regular course. Do not drop out for a term or a half term and loose your place in the class, because when you come back you will find that you cannot take up the same studies and join your former classmates. You will then feel out of place, and in all probability will be dis- couraged and leave school for good. In after years you will look back and regret that you did not make the 'most of your opportunities to obtain an education. Thorouglmess in the freshman year is the one essential thing, for on the work of this year chiclly depends the success or failure of your school course. If you are careless in your freshman year, you will have to work harder the other three years and then not get as much out of your school work as you would if you had been thorough at first. One of the strongsst incentivesito keep a student in school and to do his work well is to enter with a class in the fall and stay with that Llass for one year. He will then feel it his duty to himself, aswell as to others, to stay with that class until he graduates. It is customary in most high schools and academies to elect class officers at the beginning of the freshman year that they may be preparing to meet the expenses of their senior year. I should think this might be a good plan to adopt here because class meetings and class parties help to develop class spirit and this in turn developes good school spirit, which is so necessary to make a school progressive. Debating and public speaking are things which I think you as students ought to take an interest in. These things will be a great help not only to yourself but also to the school. They will give you self control and enable you to talk to an audience without having an attack ofwstage fright. The boys es- pecially ought to consider the help to be obtained in this way for they will have occasion to express their opinions in town meetings and various other public gatherings, and to be able to express them clearly will be a great help. ' Athletics have an important place in school life. Recreation is necessary to keep the body in good physical con- dition, and nothing will do this better than good clean athletics. Then again a good physical condition will strengthen the mind and enable you to do better school work. Another thing in which you ought to take more interest is church work. Take an active part yourself. Church work

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yu, THE CR ESCENT I7 old-time motto. The 20th century is demanding men and women who under- stand their own possibilities, who are thorough in educatirin, strong in purpose and strong in action. Shall we, the class of 1911, heed this call to duty? Some- where in this great world there is a place for every one of us, and no one but our- selves can fill that place. Each one of us was put on earth for some definite purpose and we each must set ourselves directly at the task of discovering our place in life: then never relaxing, never relenting, with a brave determination we must do our best. Even if we never reach the goal that we desire, we may accomplish much by struggling per- sistently for it. Although we may have different works, although our aims are vastly different, we have within us every- thing that is needful to make our character. For surely the Creator who has given us this longing to do something and to be something will grant us the ability and the opportunity to realize the ambition. 'fThe soul contains in itself the event that shall befall it. The slave is held in bondage by the work of his own hand because he does not possess a knowledge of his own rights or know how to assert them. It is the man that posesses the power of knowing what is best, that is sovereign over his own mind and body who masters every difhculty. He rules the world. Knowing our own mindsmakes us more sympathetic and more considerate of the failures of others. We feel within our- selves a sincere desire to assist them, to improve their condition and to hold loving, helpful thoughts toward them. Knowing ourselves helps us to know God by showing us that we are made in His image. Every work of creation bears witness to the fact that some great mind must have been behind all, plan- ning, arranging and constructing. When we- understand the possibilities and capabilities of the human mind, we can- not help but admit that it is the master- piece of a greater intellect. Our physical, mental and spiritual natures bear un- disputable evidence to the wisdom and omnipotence of the Divine Creator. Through the reading of elevating books many lives have been brightened, and many souls have been awakened to noble aspirations. By making the noble characters of which we read our examples, we may derive unlimited good. Un- consciously we take them as ideals and they undoubtedly influence in a great measure our thoughts and actions. We would never progress if we had no other than ourselves to copy, but com- parison of our lives with those of the virtuous must awaken within us a desire to emulate their virtues. In childhood our characters are largely moulded for us by our parents, teachers and companions. In afterlife the only way to improve our mental nature lies in our own effort. Our teachers may