Medina High School - Medinian Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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THE MEDINIAN I I f - j s ! i il -» i I | I i 1 i 1 I 1 I 1 1 I - ij 5 3 S this broader life, for, according to that old adage: “It is never too late to learn,” our opportunity for development is unlimited. Proof of this is shown by the fact that some of our greatest thinkers have passed their three score and ten and are still pro ' gressing energetically. This statement also shows us the importance of maintaining good health, for without good health, we cannot work to our greatest ability. If we cannot work to our greatest ability at something which we like to do, our happiness will, certainly, not be at maximum. Furthermore, no career which any of the class of 1932 may choose to enter, can be efficiently carried on without specific training for the work which it entails. Our immediate task, therefore, is to obtain this training. In doing so, however, our sense of perspective must not be lost, for knowledge of vocations, other than our own, is not only desirable but, in many in ' stances, helpful. And so, as we separate tonight, each to obtain the additional training necessary for success in the vocation of his choice, let us remember that our horizon widens only when we climb, and that the climbing depends more and more upon our own power to move ourselves. Let us not forget to express our sincere gratitude to those w ho have been instru ' mental in widening our horizon to its present extent. In saying Farewell, we realize now, more than ever before, how much we really owe to our parents and teachers for their guidance to our present position. We can and will prove the truth of this statement by according to others the same degree of assistance for broadening their horizon that has been accorded to us. Salutatory By William Batchelder It is with great pleasure that we, the Class of 1932, welcome you, our friends and relatives, here tonight. Every member of our class realizes and appreciates to the fullest extent all that he owes to his parents, friends, members of the faculty and of the School Board, and all who have made possible the erection and maintenance of this fine school plant which affords such splendid educational facilities. This debt is one which we can never hope to repay in full, but it is our determination to strive to become respected members of society so that none of you will ever regret the labors and worries which you have expended on our behalf. Indeed, were it not for the constant encourage ' ment and neverTailing aid which you have so generously extended to us it would have been impossible for us to be here at all. Our four years of high school have been happy ones and we may certainly con ' sider them well spent. In fact, it might be said, that we have now learned enough to know that we really know nothing, which, after all, is the first prerequisite to an education. Under the present industrial and economic conditions, it is a well known fact that unless a person has a good, well balanced education he is hopelessly handicapped. It used to be that a man possessing superior scholastic training was the exception; and, as such, was entitled to an easy living. Today, the same type is the rule and, far from being handed a soft job for life, he must scratch as hard as anyone else for his bread and butter. An education was once a luxury; now it is a necessity. S3 iiiZ sm ml ml mlml ' ml ml mlml ml mT mlmr l mlml mlml mlml ail ml WWlullDllmZ Twenty-Two

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THE MEDINIAN mmm. Valedictory By Lawrence Prehn As the thought comes to us, that we, the Class of 1932, are now leaving our Medina High School to whom we have all become attached, we are apt to wonder at the significance of such an act, for only occasionally shall we be able to come again within its friendly atmosphere and then, only as visitors. There may be the thought that this is the end of our school days and, therefore, the end of our learning. It is true that we have finished our secondary school training, but it is also true that our education is far from being completed. Our life, thus far, has been a continual educational process, which has progressed through three distinct stages, and this, our Commencement Day, marks the conclusion of the third stage. Permit me to trace the outlines of these stages and their inception. The first had its beginning with our introduction into this world. Our task was to become acquainted with the world immediately about us, especially with those things which were most important to our welfare at that time. Becoming accustomed to our homes and every day adventuring forth into the new little worlds of our in ' fantile perception under the patient guidance of our parents found us, after five years, with our horizon of existence much larger than it was when we first became aware of our surroundings. The second stage of our life, or education, began when we entered school, where we came into contact with many more people whom we learned to know by name and appearance as well as by certain other characteristics. Advancing from grade to grade increased our activities. Our studies were fascinating. We were amazed to learn that the earth was saped like a ball and that it was spinning around and around, and that, although the sun appeared to be much smaller than the earth, it was, in reality, many times larger. New people were continually entering our lives and they, together with our study of other lands and their inhabitants, left their impression upon us. The horizon of our little world which had been expanding all the time began to widen out at a greatly increased rate, when we were promoted to high school. Here, we were accorded many new privileges and the consequent responsibilities challenged the more intensive use of our mental powers. Here, too, we began to realize that our progress no longer depended so much upon our parents and teachers, but more and more upon our own ability and our willingness to apply it. This realiza ' tion was further emphasized by our study of the languages and history of other men whose independence made them worthy of our attention. Unlimited fields, both con ' crete and abstract, were revealed in our study of mathematics, while chemistry and physics acquainted us with the complicated structures which constitute our planet. Although the development of independence is very important, our life is inter ' dependent in character, like that of a tree, for as a tree grows, it sends out new roots and branches, which, in turn, enable it to grow larger, and as we grow, when new things are acquired, they, in turn, furnish the foundation for our continued growth. By the time we have finished high school our outlook has so broadened that our past life is beheld from a newer more mature viewpoint and we are able to see, at least dimly, the trend of our future education or life. This new period will be, or at least should be, one of greater expansion than has ever been experienced before, and having acquired the basic foundation of our education we should now continue building Twenty-One

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3QMMMMM THE M ED I N I AN Education, in itself, is nothing; one must know how to use it. True education must develop character in the individual as well as skill and mental capacity. Indus ' try, honesty, temperance, perseverance, dependability and kindred virtues are more es- sential to success today than ever before; one must possess these qualities before he can even hope to compete on an even scale with others. Under our present system one must either be prepared to fulfill one’s duties absolutely to the letter, or give way to some one else who can. We, the Class of 1932, realize all this and are only the more determined to go out into the world and do our best at whatever we may attempt, no matter how lowly it may be. We must not, however, think that by success we mean the mere accumulation of money. If it has done nothing else, the chaos in the economic world which has ef- fected so many changes in our idea of what we once considered the fundamentals, has given us a severe jolt in regard to what we thought was a successful man or woman. We now realize that, though a reasonable amount of money is necessary to happiness, the act of possessing it, in itself, means nothing. We now realize just how unstable monetary values are, and are just beginning to appreciate these things which money can not buy. It is to be hoped that when money again becomes as plentiful as it once was, that we will be able to retain our sense of values which a great many of us have obtained at such a great cost, and will be able to retain our appreciation of the arts and all the beautiful things of life. Let us hope that the main characteristics of our civilization in the future may be a perfect balance between the arts and the more material things. Let us hope that we will strive to develop ourselves to as great an efficiency in the arts or at least in the appreciation of them as we now work to attain in those things from which we think we can see an ultimate monetary return. We must remember that gold is worth only what it can buy and, as far as it concerns those things which it can’t buy, it is worthless. This is where our high schools enter in, for, in such institutions, we learn to value things according to their true worth, not by their exteriors, pretentious though they may be, but by their true characteristics, the real essentials. Though many people think that “book-learning,” as they call it, is a useless thing, who can say that it doesn’t awaken qualities, desirable qualities, which otherwise would lie dormant within us, leaving us and the world poorer for it. After all, when one gets down to the basic purpose of our high schools, are they not in existence mainly to make better citizens, better men and women of us all? The need for good citizens is being felt more and more, especially under present conditions, not only in this country, but all over the world. As we look about us and see the condition of the world, our crippled economic system which denies millions of willing people the right to work, our archaic political system, and our social system which, at the very least, is badly bent, we can appreciate, in times like these, just how much clear thinking men and women of good character and high ideals are worth to us. We can be thankful that our high schools have done so much to develop these de- sirable traits in our future citizens by the excellent training and guidance they have given them. Undoubtedly, many potential leaders have remained followers simply be- cause they were never given a chance to develop their abilities. May I close by again welcoming you here, and by hoping that you will enjoy our Commencement Exercises this evening; that you will remember that as we par- ticipate in them, we do so, realizing that only through your generosity are these Ex- ercises made possible. Twenty-Three