Maynard High School - Screech Owl Yearbook (Maynard, MA)

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14 THE SCREECH OWL WHAT OUR TOWNSPEOPLE HAVE TO SAY TO US A Series of Interviews and Articles Obtained and Edited by Aaron Glickman. HOW TO OBTAIN A POSITION By Oswald C. Drechsler First, you must be qualified for the kind of a position you are seeking. Second, you must have several very good friends w ' ho are willing to introduce you to such persons who are employers of different firms or industries that employ help of vari- ous kinds. You should also contact such employment agencies that make business of placing men and women in jobs to which they are best adapted. Third, your record of the past must be of the best. You must be willing to work with the sun and not by the clock, be trustworthy at all times, as truth is above all things. Also, you must be neat and alert when mak- ing your appearance to your prospective employer. By giving him the impression that you are the young man that he should have in his firm, and that you are going to be an asset instead of a liability, you should have no difficulty in finding a position. To the Class of 1939 of Maynard High School: It gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to say a word to you. While it must be conceded that the chance of immediate employment is not as good as in the years before the depression, it re- mains for you to find some method to fill in the time until you can be gainfully employed. Do not hesitate to accept any honest work that will tide you over until you find that for which you feel that you are fitted. Cultivate a hobby — it need not be expensive. Go to your Library and ask for books that will aid you in your endeavor, and we shall gladly obtain them for you. In no other country in the world could you have the advantages that you have right here. Our State and Nation are doing every- thing possible for the young people, in order that they may have every opportunity. You are masters of your own destiny. If you meet your problems with heads up, I am sure that you will be the victors. Keep God at your mast-head and the Stars and Stripes close by, and you will succeed. Sincerely yours, Mary E. Moynihan, Head Librarian, Maynard Library. THE LITERARY CAREER By Beatrice Parsons, Maynard News Despite romantic stories of young girl reporters, there is little chance of a girl, equipped with nothing more than the desire to write, making progress in the literary world unless she is properly trained. A course in journalism, or contact with news- paper requirements by way of an office posi- tion on a daily paper, will help her on her w ' ay. University Extension courses are eco- nomical and practical. Ability to use a type- writer is an important requirement. While there are many rules for the prepa- ration of manuscripts, there is only one for acquiring proficiency and ease of expression in writing — to write and write and write! Form the daily habit of sitting at your type- writer and expressing yourself on paper, even though you write but one paragraph. Feature stories, short articles and “spot ’ news, written for the newspapers, are ex- cellent practice for a more ambitious career. All material must be well written in a style acceptable to the editor. The “pulp” maga- zines are kind to the new writer, and many authors have started by submitting stories to them. The “slick” magazines, however, are almost impossible to “crash” without a literary agent. A literary career is a long, hard, often discouraging climb, and while many start, comparatively few persevere and reach the top. If you write with facility, and would rather write than eat, then, by all means, write! It is at once as simple and as difficult as that. ADVICE TO GRADUATES By the Reverend Matthew A. Vance First of all . . . this is not advice. . . . This is observation of experience. You have a perfect right to disagree with it if your observation is better and more complete. I give you my observations simply and direct. Examine yourself at graduation. Are you educated in the real sense or are you re- ceiving a diploma? Can you think through problems, and come to honest conclusions ? Have you developed mental habits that lead into further study, appreciation, and cul-

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THE SCREECH OWL 13 FISHING A streak, a splash, The song of the reel. He’s away like a flash. What a glorious feel! What does every fisherman love ? A mild blue day ’neath the skies above. By a foam-capped hook in some shady nook. With a rod, a line, a fly, or a hook. A mellow pipe which he smokes serene. As he waits his luck on the bank so green. He does not always his basket fill. But what of that? He goes for the thrill. Fishing is really a royal game. And, take it from me, it’s not so tame. So if you want to keep your youth. Take up fishing, and that is the truth. And when a man is old and gray. He still has something to keep him gay. Though football glories are ever sung. Fishing’s the sport that will keep us young. — Albert W. Koch, ’39. ♦ ♦ BACK TO NATURE I’d rather lie on a fresh green bed Where the sun flits among the willow Sweet-scented grass beneath my head. And my cherished books for a pillow. On the green grass let me lie Amid the country’s peace To see the bigness of the sky. The land that Nature has for lease. I’d rather lie on my fresh green bed Than the softest bed of all And know that heaven has safely led And kept me from any evil that might befall. — Helen Smith, ’39. THE WEARY TRAVELER The day was hot and sultry as a lone figure trudged wearily down the lane. He was a tramp, no doubt, for his clothes were threadbare and worn. In his hand he car- ried a leather case which was badly battered. On and on he walked until he came to a sharp path to the left of the lane. Here he paused, turned, looked around, and then darted along the path to a large group of pine trees. A small brook danced merrily over its bed of small pebbles, often gleaming when some small ray of sunlight passed through the trees. Yes, peace was the word for it. Peace and quiet away from the hum of noisy streets and selfish people. Slowly, very slowly, the man leaned for- ward and drank the fresh pure water of the brook. He paused for breath and again he drank. Like some magic potion it revived him, — made him feel alive and rested. Opening his case, he took from it a violin which he placed carefully under his chin. Slowly he drew the bow across the strings, and soon music was floating over the bub- bling brook, over the tall pines, until it seemed that heaven was smiling down upon this secluded spot. Then the tempo changed, — sad and mourn- ful like some weary soul crying for help and consolation. Perhaps he was thinking of the past — reaching out to remember the lost dreams and hopes. Perhaps the memory of a beautiful wife and child, the exact image of her mother, lying still and quiet, never to speak or laugh again. On and on he played, unmindful of the passing time. The music stopped abruptly, and very carefully he placed the violin in the case. For a short moment he sat in deep thought. Then quietly he rose, picked up his case and hurried away, head high and eyes bright. A few more days, months, years — what did it matter? — For soon he would be with his loved ones. He would be home, never to be lonely or sad again. — Edward Donahue.

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THE SCREECH OWL 15 ture ? Have you a taste for what is good, true, and beautiful ? Can you speak the English language, or is your slang worse than it was when you first entered school? Have you oriented your thinking, so that you can relate your basic ideals and motives with the great values of life ? Can you bet- ter the example of your teachers and still be merciful in your judgment? Have you the marks of an educated person, among which are . . . self-discipline . . . self-improve- ment . . . self-expression. . . . Check up on these . . . and do it now! If possible continue your educational ca- reer. You need not stop for lack of funds. You can find ways and means of opening doors for further study and education. Choose some definite career . . . but do not train for this at the expense of culti- vating a well-rounded personality. That is, do not train to be a mechanic and come out thinking that because you are a good mechanic, you are prepared to live. You may be absolutely ignorant of many other important values, and someday you will have to face this lack. But prepare for something — so that you may be useful in life and find your place in the world’s affairs. And when you choose a profession or a definite work . . . don’t be mediocre . . . reach for the highest . . . and become the best. Read widely. Read history especially, and more than one angle of it. Read biography. Read of social trends . . . and above all read and understand the basic philosophies of life . . . and make a choice early in life, so that your years count for something. Re- member that we are here to make a life worth living . . . not simply to get a pay- check at the end of the week. Assume responsibility. Your advantages in school, in education . . . will they direct you into taking a fuller part in the affairs of society ... or will you be selfish with your advantages? To be selfish, no matter how you may be respected . . . means failure in life. To devote yourself to higher ends and assume your obligations means always success in terms of the highest. Be tolerant . . . but not wishy-washy. Toler- ance is understanding and appreciation . . . not lack of principle. Tolerance means that you know truth and realize that it often comes from unexpected sources. All peoples, nations, and classes have contributed to the growth and development of society . . . therefore, appreciate, give credit . . . broad- en your viewpoint . . . and lend yourself to the making of a more harmonious and peaceful world. Be the master of life . . . that means that you must detect error and false thinking . . . discern prejudice and refuse to repeat the sins of the past. It takes big people to becorne self-masters . . . but that is why we have education ... so that we may pro- duce more self-starters . . . and thinkers. And if you do not accomplish in a day, a year, or even a life-time what you know should be . . . don’t give up and quit . . . keep going . . . your working with the Stars .... and their light does not come to us in a day. In yourself ... be a Person ... a real Person. Cultivate integrity in every sense. Above all beware of becoming a “Pharisee” . . . one of those self-satisfied individuals (in spite of many splendid qualities), who without knowing it have substituted osten- tation for honesty of purpose, fear to take risks in life by substituting formalism for faith, and who always fail to interpret tra- dition by experience. On the other hand, be somebody by taking your principles, your attitudes of mind, your religion seriously enough to make them work. If you, in yourself, are a person worthy and valuable, then no matter how much or how little you possess, you will always be able to live bravely, victoriously, usefully. And remember that the final forces in life making for righteousness and stability are not the material but the moral and the spiritual. Society has every right to expect of its school graduates a loyalty to those highest of all values that are in the moral and spiritual realm. Take your place in the institutions of your choice, and in your church. I say in all seriousness, that insti- tutions like the church are among those which are forever challenging you to be- come the best, live the noblest, achieve the highest . . . and serve your brother men. And if you should throw away all this . . . saying to yourself that you can “better the instruction,” then try to do this one thing at least. Keep alive the sense of wonder. Keep your faith in the ultimate triumph of truth in terms of human personality . . . and make room for the mysterious . . . be- cause after we have planned and planned . . . advised and advised . . . careful that every detail be complete . . . life has an odd way of sending unexpected forces over the horizon, changing every preconceived notion of the outcome of events. Therefore, be merciful . . . for “mercy is the quality which is twice blessed.” For God is able to raise “even out of stones . . . His Prophets.”