Los Angeles High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 24 text:

THE PIPER OF THE DAWN of dawn, Through the woodland it is falling, where it rouses up the faun And awakens sleeping birdings with its clear, imperious call- Hark! the air is hushed and waiting for the melody again. On the breezes Boating downward comes the lilting, tender strain. Pan is piping, nimble fingers, at the gates of rosy dawn, Through the meadows sweet it lingers, over orchard, wall and lawn, Liquid notes of strength and healing, chimed with rippling laughter, fall- Hark! the rushes cease their whisper, for the breezes came again, Burdened with the soul of music, that same lilting sweet refrain. Heart of love, from out the fastness of the deeps of silent dawn Breaking o'er the radiant stillness-Hush! the magic tones are gone, Lost within the carven archways of the woodland's dusky wall, Where the trees shall keep its secret till the dawn comes once again, Bringing back the piper's fluting and its mystic, magic strain. Grace Randall Upper grade prize poem 20

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Tributes to r. Housh Thirty years! A generation of human existence! In point of time, the measure of years of the principalship of the Los An- geles H.igh School held by Mr. Housh. A record of continuous service so rarely attained, that by reason of the fact alone, it is deserving of recognition. Far more important than that, how- ever, the quality of that service, in untiring and patient effort, rare educational leadership and unusual executive ability, merits an expression of appreciation and special commemoration. It is impossible to estimate the importance and far-reaching effect of the work of such a man as Mr. Housh. Accustomed as we are to laud and extol the great ngures in the business world, whom we denominate captains of in- dustry, we often fail to realize that the men at the head of our great public schools perform tasks calling for much higher and rarer qualities. They also manifest a more unselfish nature, for the rewards materially are so much smaller. Mr. Housh, and men like him, who build themselves into the systems of a great school like the Los Angeles High School, are true captains of progress. The writer of this sketch has had ample opportunity to observe the work performed by Mr. Housh. He was in the school when Mr. Housh first came as a teacher of physics. It was at the beginning of his senior year that Mr. Housh assumed the principalship. Few years have passed during the entire period of Mr. Housh's connection that the writer has not visited the school and had an opportunity to keep in touch with its development. From the foundation of the high school, to a little after the beginning of Mr. Housh's principalship, the Los Angeles High School occupied a position in the community a little below that of a small college, Many of the pupils came from Whittier, Downey, Norwalk, Compton, and other nearby towns. In athletics, the school engaged on equal terms in contests with Pomona and Occidental Colleges, and even the University of Southern California. When Mr. Housh took the reins of government, the problems were many and perplexing. A period of growth and expansion was well started. New ideas were clamoring for recognition. The vocational idea made its appear- ance in a. demand for a commercial course department. Students' respon- sibility and participation in school government was preceded by a period of unrest and rebellion which came to a head just before Mr. Housh began his administration. Colleges and universities were investigating and classifying high schools. Altogether the situation presented was one that could only be handled by a strong man who understood the nature of youth, could take a broad view, and was animated by the highest motives. The solution of the problem of order in the school was so unique and char- acteristic of the man that it is worth recounting. A few months after he took control, one morning Mr. Housh summoned about fifteen of the boys to his of- fice. He opened the meeting with a little speech in which he said' that he had called together this group because they represented leadership in various lines of activity: that there were many problems confronting the school that re- r,u.ieu co-operation between the faculty and the students: that the high school was representative in a sense of the city, and had been identified with its history, and that it held a high place in the community. All, of course, were very much flattered to have been chosen to participate in this conference. As 22