Lee Academy - Crescent Yearbook (Lee, ME)

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V... -- V Y ...- .. ., ,,-,,, ...- ,, .. ,,,,, -.-....,.,, , ,,.-.,.,,,, -,,,- THE CRESCENT CLASS ESSAY HONOR Altus Altlor Altisslmus VVe the Senior class of Lee Academy haxe chosen for our c ass motto Altus Altlor Alt1SS1lI1L1S xxhich means high higher highest Clur choice seems xerv fitting and proper for txxo reasons The first reason is that it Fits our class for xx e have reason to beliex e and xve have reason to hope that xve as a class stand high 1n the estimation of our friends and school courage and uncompromising independ ence rose to Englands most influential position and during the Worlcl XV'1r he xx as England s dynamic force and xvas his country s representatixe at the Peace conference in Paris For a moment let us look for illustra tions in our oxvn h story Have you ever stopped to think how many men xvho have sat in the pres dential chair have risen from humble birth? Of course we all hold dear to our hearts the shining and llx- 13 SP5 ' ing - ' , n u Q , A P ' . C Hg ' its g , ' L C p J y 9 , ' c . . 1 r 4 C . she Y xc L ,, 1 , . , , . - . '. V . . 7 5 ni- i ' X ' t S f N . . :jst I , K D ' . V C - . as . ' . ' ' i 1 'V . 25- . ' i I I C C . na' N . . c l on . . . i , , . 1 c . . I C , - be Nfl LBC- :is Eus- CX' na., lxbs ,. .KET the A 3: age 195. 'il1C ake :Ura hi' 3 mg ner the U5 mates xvho are gathered here on this Com mencement Day. Some of us, having completed our four years' work here, plan to obtain a higher education by attending some college or university, and we hope that at least one of our number will attain one of the highest positions in the school of life. The second reason for choosing high, higher, highest, for our motto is the beauty of the motto itself, the meaning of which is so significant that it gives us an ideal to work for. It represents the dif- ferent steps in the education and uplifting of the human mind. It seems to suggest that a person of the humblest birth can, by his oxvn physical! or mental ability, reach a high, higher or even one of the highest places in the xvorld. This fact is proved in the case of Oliver Cromxvell, the great English Protector, who was born in one of the rural districts of England, and by his physical strength, ambition and ability to control men, came to be ruler of England for a period of twenty years. Another illustration is that of David Lloyd George, ex-Prime Minister of Eng- land, xvho is the son of a poor Welsh schoolmaster, and xvho, by his hard study, inspiring example of Abraham Lincoln, but let us remember that about one-third of the presidents of our country were the sons of very democratic' midi humble parents, and have reflected much credit both upon themselves and upon our country by climbing high, higher and highest. A A i ' This motto also 'makes clear to -us that xve cannot reach the highest places in the xvorld at a single bound, but that step by step we must reach the top. VVhen thinking of this motto, I am re- minded of an incident which is recorded of a boy who was visiting the great Nat- ural Bridge in Virginia, where it has always been a custom with visitors to cut their names as high up as they can on,the massive limestone ,wall of the bridge. The boy mentioned cut his name a foot above the names of all the other people, xvith the exception of the name of George Vxfashington. He was not satisfied with xvhat he had done but began to think that it would be an honor to cut his name on a level xvith that of the father of his country. Thus, xvith a pocket knife, he cut a foot- hold in the limestone and climbed up ta the level that he xvished to reach, but find-

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12 THE CRESCENT was Andrew Carnegie, an American capi- talist and philanthropist. born in Scotland in 18337 and came to :Xmerica in 1848. His family settled in Pittsburg and An- drew Carnegie began life as a telegraph messenger. XYhen a young man Carne- gie had a great passion for reading, but L A being very poor was unable to obtain books. Une day he made up his mind that he would accumulate wealth and es- tablish public libraries, thereby giving to millions of people an advantage which he himself had never had and which he al- ways desired. fl Ie succeeded in his deter- mination far beyond his wildest dreams, rising from telegraph operator to the head of the Carnegie Steel Company. the largest single steel interest of the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. Another man may spend his life in med- ical research work as did Cen. 1Yilliam C. tiiorgas. whom our government put in charge of sanitation in the Panama Canal Zone. XYhen he got through with his work there. yellow fever and malaria ha-'l disappeared, and today the zone is as safe as a health resort. llis achievement at l'anama won for him recognition as the world's most successful epidemic hghter. I might mention an innumerable num- ber of men and women who have attained success in their chosen professions, but time and space are limited. llowever. I wish to say a few words about a woman whom you already know but who can- 1101 be mentioned too often. That woman is jane .-Xddams, the great settle- ment worker. who out of her great love for humanity founded llull llouse. in the poorest district of tbicago. to llrlp the outcast and the ignorant to a hfgher plane of living. Her energy and ability and her sane sympathy with the dwellers in the slums soon brought the settlement to prominence and made it the leading institution of its kind in the United States. She has made an intimate study of the problems of the slums, and she is uni- versally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on such social questions as tenements and child labor. She has as- sumed many duties of a semi-public na- ture and has written many books on social and political reform, records of the great work for which she will always be remembered. All these examples which I have cited have been illustrations of successful sue- cess, but let us remember that there is such a thing as unsuccessful success, illus- trations of which are the lives of Alex- ander the Great, the world's greatest conqueror, Napoleon, the greatest soldier of the modern world and Cicero the 7 7 greatest orator of Rome, whose life was spoiled because he did not have courage to resist the depraved spirit of the times, who was suspected, charged with public crime and banished. As we go out into the world let us take as our model the life of Christ, our Savior, who was born in a stable, who spent his life among the poor and humble working people, and who was the greatest teacher the world has ever known and still is the greatest. ' XYith this thought in mind, let us remember that 'I he glory of our lives below Comes not from wlat we do or know Hut dwells forever m what we are. 4 A We. W half Chili Altief- 'i ' . highff- il attire? il hrs! fffii 'i 'E to W 1' the 651173 mites irhf- menceffff' eompleze: - to tilliili i ggme coli: that az lezs . ' .L , Ont Ui we ot lite. 1: high. lijfif' btiltltt' iii which is 51 ideal ee er ferent sig- ei the his than bl' lik or reaeh Q kg hiv the ,QS In

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14 THE CRESCENT ing the ascent so easy. he cut more steps in the limestone and kept climbing higher and higher until he was nearly at the top of that great Natural Arch. His knife was worn nearly to the handle when he accidentally dropped it and found himself helpless. :Xt last a rope was let down to him from the top of the bridge and his life was saved. The boy had the right idea of climbing high, higher and highest of all but he was unprepared to do so great a feat without more equipment. As we. the class of 1923, leave Lee Academy to go out into the world to climb high, higher and highest, let us not go out without proper equipment which, I should say, should consist of perseverance, pa- tience. sharpened intellect, common sense, courage, good health, fairness of judg- ment. a broad mind, willingness to accept responsfbility. and last but most impor- tant of all, good character. And as we climb let us not do as Alexander Pope says about critics in his Essay on Criticism, Now, they who reach Par:assar's lofty crown Employ their pains to spurn some others clown, but when we attain great heights let us remember our motto and help some others perhaps less fortunate than we to climb high, higher and highest. ll.ueor.n Cieockizre, '23, - EMMY LOU'S FAMILY ALBUM lfmmy l.ou was going to college. .-Xgain and again she had pictured to her- self the delightful times that she would have. The last few days at home were spent in a flurry uf packing and in saying good- bye to friends. and not until she was seated upon the train did Emmy give way to the lonesomeness which had deprived her of some of the happiness of her en- trance into a new life. Arriving at Harlowe Hall Station in Carroll County, New Hampshire. she found herself in the school cab with a smartly dressed young lady who said that she was returning to Harlowe for her second year. Upon entering the reception hall Emmy was immediately introduced to the matron and assigned a room. To her surprise she found that her roommate was to be Miss Helen Graham, the very girl whom she had met in the school cab. The two girls soon went down to din- ner and Helen was quickly surrounded by a group of chattering friends to whom she introduced Emmy and soon forgot her. Emmy, being rather reserved, did not make friends easily and found herself left much alone. As soon as she could she escaped to her room and was preparing for a good cry when Helen returned. As they sat talking upon various sub- jects, Emmy mentioned her country home and Helen told her of her home in the city not far away. Suddenly stopping in the midst of a sentence, Helen exclaimed, I suppose you have the old family album upon the parlor table ? And Emmy blushingly owned that the family album was upon the best parlor table. From that time Helen made a great joke of the album, and never failed to mention it often, especially when there were other girls present. The days passed swiftly and Thanks- giving recess was only a week away. All but limmy who must spend the recess at the llall, were going somewhere. Helen was hurrying to get her prettiest dresses X u'0Uld .ii Wd um haf of ill After givingiii Emmf' her to fi sumlllff' my un invimrjfrf angioui T Emm? uai gllf only SH for thai hired ru? Helen if But fl could. 22 would ru As the uubearai album. z leave ie' return c angrily of your rather quickly uith a E d ies