Medina High School - Medinian Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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®ljr Amutal 9 “ We men of earth have here the stuff Of Paradise — we have enough! We need no other thing to build The stairs into the Unfulfilled — No other ivory for the doors — No other marble for the floors — No other cedar for the beam And dome of man’s immortal dream. Here on the path of every day — Here on the common human way — Is all the busy gods would take To build a heaven, to mould and make New Edens. Ours the stuff sublime To build Eternity in time ! ” Oh that you young people may today catch a vision of the possibilities for service ! You are world builders! You are epoch makers! You are servants of the age! God grant that as you leave this place tonight you may carry away in your hearts a sense of the consecreation of your life for humanity ! All things are yours to serve the age — aye, to serve the ages. Your work will not die with your age. As the past lives today, so will the future live throughout the ages. You are building, not for time, but for eternity. The possibilities for service are unlimited as eternity itself! This body, fashioned of the clay, Will turn again unto the dust; Yon sun, whose light illumes the day. Like ancient shield of brass will rust. Those hills, which stood since time began, Will slumber in the valley’s bed: Those stars, bespangling heaven’s span, Like flower petals will drop dead. But I, e’en I, my self, my soul, A citizen eternal dwell : For me there is a far-off goal Staked out beyond both heaven and hell! And on that goal I’ll fix today The eager vision of my eye, And watch and wait and work and pray Till I shall reach it by and by.

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a Amtital Here let me pause to say that efficiency demands its price. You must be thoroughly trained. Your graduation from high school completes a part of that training, but only a part. Y on are not yet fully trained to be really efficient in life. You need more than you have now. Go to college, if at all possible. If not possible, then continue your study at home. A liberal education is almost an absolute necessity in these days. Get it in college if you can, get it alone from books if you must, but by all means, get it. “ How priceless,” said our martyred President McKinley, “is a liberal education! In itself what a rich endowment ! It is not impaired by age, but its value increases with use. No one can employ it but its rightful owner. He alone can illustrate its worth and enjoy its rewards. It cannot be inherited or purchased. It must be acquired by individual effort. It can be secured only by perseverance and self-denial. But it is as free as the air we breathe. Neither race nor nationality nor sex can debar the earnest seeker for its possession. It is not exclusive, but inclusive in the broadest and best sense. It is within the reach of all who really want it, and are brave enough to struggle for it. The earnest rich and worthy poor are equal and friendly rivals in its pursuit, and neither is exempted from any of the sacrifices necessary for its acquisition. The key to its title is not the bright allurements of rank and station, but the simple watchword of work and study. A liberal education is the greatest blessing that a man or woman can enjoy, when supported by virtue, morality and noble aims.” Another characteristic of this age is its youthfulness. This is the day of the young man and the young woman. In the past generation a patient would hardly trust his case in the hands of a doctor unless he wore a beard betokening age; now the young physician is sought because it is believed that he represents the latest in medical science. Then the preachers that were in demand were the men who had back of them many years of experi- ence and study; now the seminaries can not supply the demand of the churches for young- preachers. Then great business enterprises were managed by men whose years gave evidence of discretion and conservatism ; now the great corporations give their most responsible offices and pay their largest salaries to young men. The trend of the time is anti-conserva- tive and ultra-progressive. The fact that these are distinctively youthful qualities explains the remarkable demand for youthful leadership. It is being predicted that the pendulum is soon to swing back the other way; but be that as it may, you young people are fortunate in being young when the age is youthful, and the demand is for young people. The third characteristic of the age is its idealism. The world is day-dreaming. It is dreaming of a coming golden age, when things will be better than they are now, when the evils of intolerance and intemperance and ignorance and oppression and superstition will be driven out. The world is dreaming of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. And there are many and abundant signs that the world is awakening from its dream. When it awakens, it will set to work to make its dreams come true. Already we hear reports of fulfilment. The air is intense with expectation. Something is coming, coming, coming ! Christ is coming — not in the fantastic and crude notion of antiquated theology, but Christ is coming into the life and heart of organized human society! Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus! Happy are you who are young in these electric times! Y ou will be in it ! Y T ou will see it ! III. But I find that I have just been speaking in the future tense, and this leads me to say that the Future is yours. Thus far I have spoken mostly of possession, now let me connect up the idea of possession with the thought of service. Possession for service. The future is yours. Yours is the future. The past belonged to “them,” and they built well; the present belongs to us, the older generation, and we are building as best we can; but the future belongs to you, and it will be what you make it. The past lays its treasures at your feet, the present puts its opportunities into your hands — you have all the material necessary to build a glorious future. In the glowing words of Edwin Markham,

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10 ®tjr Annual Qllaaa Ahhrraa SHERMAN MAPLE. Ladies and gentlemen, we of the Senior class of 1913 wish to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for the large audience to which we are to submit for approval the crowning event of our whole high-school course, “ Our Commencement.” And we wish to extend a welcome to every one to an extent which is, perhaps, an extra effort on our part to make something of ourselves. For the past four years we have studied faithfully in order to obtain this start, and be prepared for the commencement or the beginning of our work in life. Some of us go forth as we are, our hearts full of unbounded hope and courage, and our minds firmly fixed to the thoughts that nothing is impossible, no one ever got something for nothing, and he who uses his brain as well as his brawn conquers the world. Others go on fitting and preparing themselves for a higher and better education, and to make a mark in the world, of which our community may be justly proud. These Commencement exercises are the apex and the culmination of our high-school life, although in a strict interpretation they are merely the beginning of one of the most vital things in life, Education. During the course of our life we will become vastly wiser and better educated by the greatest of all teachers, Experience. Nevertheless, we have obtained the start, the nucleus of our greater self, to which we may add to a limitless extent, because no one ever reaches that stage in his education where he is absolutely per- fect. No one knows whether we will drift on this boundless sea of fortune; but as we go forth, each to fulfill his destiny, all will look back on the days we attended our Alma Mater as classmates and friends, with our hearts full of regret for the departure from those with whom we sat from day to day and side by side in the class rooms. We wish to thank our parents, teachers, and the community for providing the excel- lent facilities of our schools, which gave us our first preparation to overcome the obstacles with which we will meet in the future. We only hope they will continue the rapid ad- vancement which they have gone through in the past. In spite of our hope and faith in the future, there is a tinge of sadness in the present, which I, for, one, do not fear to cherish or confess, for it testifies to the genuineness of our sympathy and friendship, and the consciousness of our indebtedness to the Medina High School and the community. We welcome you.