Milford High School - Spartan Yearbook (Milford, NH)

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THE SENIOR YEARBOOK deep in our hearts, wish to be constantly fighting? I think not. Then, why do we? This is one of the many questions and problems that faces us as we go into the world. Some we will master, some will remain for future generations. But whatever we accomplish, we will accomplish by peaceful methods. Thus, as we finish the task of our high school studies, we begin a greater task- the task of bringing peace and hope to the entire world. I only pray that God will give us the power to face and grapple with this tremendous task, and make a reality of: Peace on Earth - Good Will to Menf, Salutatory Barbara Fisher Superintendent Bowley, members of the school board, Mr. Hutton, parents, teachers and friends of the Class of 1950: . On behalf of my class, I wish to welcome you here tonight. It is because of your interest in us that we are now seated here before you. Tonight marks an important milestone in our lives as we graduate from Milford High School and prepare to take our rightful places in the world. We have finished one phase of our education only to begin again enither in an institution of higher learning or in the school of experience. Many of us liigkie fears and doubts about what is in store for us. I believe that my thoughts tonight as well as those of my classmates can best be ex- pressed in the words of this poem written by Dorothy Smith. Life! I1 What hast thou to offer me Young, enthusiastic, free, Unwilling to follow the straight proven way, Eager to start a new course with each day. Have I a straight one through a smooth sailing sea, Or a storm full of peril charted for me? Is my ship worth the sailing? Will the winds always blow? Will there always be ports to which I may go? Sometimes may I stop in the midst of the deep, To wander and play, to drift and to sleep? Or must I keep sailing, sailing ahead, Changing my cargoes from silver to lead? Life, what is the answer? Show me the way, Give me the courage to live through each day. The house of life has many windows through which we may see clearly what is to be done, but we will consider only four- knowledge, challenge, beauty, and religion. Knowledge may be defined as a clear perception of fact, of truth, or of duty. Its pri- mary aim is toward the development of adults rather than scholarship. With knowledge, race and religious prejudices based on ignorance are wiped out. Knowledge is essential to progress, only according to our lack of it does society become stagnant. Thought develops character which can dominate conditions. Knowledge has personal rewards to

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THE SENIOR YEARBOOK Valedictory Doris jones Tonight marks not only the finish of our high school careers, but also the beginning of something far more important and far more serious than anything we have as yet undertaken. It is the beginning of a new life-a life in which we must learn to think and to act for the benefit of mankind. Tonight we also stand on the threshold of a confused world - a world filled with prejudice. It is a world which needs help - help which cannot come from the citizens of today, but must come from us, the citizens of tomorrow. It is our duty, as firm believers in just and equal rights for all, to assure these rights to people all over the earth. We must bring freedom, in every sense of the word, to every person on this planet. If we do no more than this in our lifetime, our years will have been indeed well spent. A huge burden awaits us, it is the burden of taking over what our elders left us. It will take a true believer in the human rights' doctrine to assume this responsibility with all the vital sense of justice and integrity which it will require. Let us hope that all of us will be thins endowed. For, if we are not, our handling of world affairs will only cause conditions to deteriorate. This must not happen, it is our job to improve conditions to wipe out totalitarian forms of government, to educate the ignorant, to improve the lot of the unfortunate, and to bring peace to this frightened world. To bring peace to the world is our most important du . Surely, no one who is pres- ent tonight wants a third World War. Have not the o world-wide struggles this nation has experienced in the past fifty years been enough? Have not our losses in life, material, and time been irreplaceable? Some people say that a third World War is inev- itable. They say that great and powerful nations cannot be at peace on the same planet. Conflicting types of government, ways of life, and standards of living - all contribute to war between such nations. They say that past history proves these statements, but are we living in the past? Must our history be a repetition of the past? Is our country doomed because we believe in democracy and other countries do not? If our country is doomed, it is because such people say it is. How can we avoid another war if people keep saying that it is inevitable? Peace is obtained not by war, bloodshed, and misery. We must learn to live peacefully and settle our differences in peaceful fashions. Only then can we say that we have taken the first step toward a world of peace. In this modern world of ours there is no place for war. Wars must become a thing of the past -as have the horse and buggy. We must give up our war machines as we have given up other antiquated phases of life. When we realize this fact, the world will be a better place in which to live. Then, and only then, will we proudly say that we are good American citizens. For it is up to us, as the most advanced people in the civilized world in other phases of life, to lead the way to everlasting peace. Why have we developed to such a high degree of perfection our different sciences, our industries, our education, and raised our standard of living, but allowed our inter- national relations to fall to such a low ebb? We claim that we live in the most advanced nation in the world, and yet we have not been able to keep on friendly terms with other great nations, or even with ourselves. Why? Are we a warring nation at heart? Do we,

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THE SENIOR YEARBOOK offer. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had this to say about knowledge: An enlightened mind is not hoodwinkedg it is not shut up in a gloomy prison till it thinks the walls of its own dungeon the limits of the universe, and the reach of its own chain the outer verge of intelligence. The window of challenge is beckoning to us today from all phases of life. Our his- tory course this year has made us particularly aware of the challenge which the national affairs have for young people. So many of us are prone to call politics a game through which crooked politicians are operating our state and national governments. I grant that there are many defects in our system of government. Yes, it is true that in Washington billions of dollars are apparently being spent needlessly because of the bureaucratic system. Maybe we are right when we fight for less national security and more international secur- ity. Our democracy is not perfect, we don't even pretend that it is. Democracy, rather than being an actuality, is an ideal toward which we are striving. Our government is what we are as individuals. I think that any young person with enough gumption to enter politics today deserves credit and encouragement rather than hindrance and discour- agement. For those of us who can't enter politics actively, there is the challenge that we should read and try to fully comprehend what is happening in our state and national capitals and vote intelligently for those who are to govern for us. Another challenge is Communism in our country and other countries. Benjamin Dis- raeli once said, The longing for fraternity can nggpr be satisfied, but under the sway of a common fatherf, We have tried in vain toncompfomise with Communism. Can God- loving people live side by side with Communists 'whose Cod is hate, greed, and power? The answer to that question must be settled peacefully or otherwise by our generation. A third window of life is beauty. There are so many bad things said about our country that we overlook much of its beauty. There is the quiet beauty in the basic generosity of the American people for all underprivileged. This can be evidenced by the American Red Cross, cancer drive, CARE organization, American Heart Society and countless other agencies. There is the beauty of music, art, and poetry which can add great depth to our lives if we learn to appreciate them. There is the beauty of true love which can only be found in the giving of ourselves. Yes, beauty is an all-pervading pres- ence. The ocean, the mountains, the clouds the heavens, the stars, the rising and setting of the sun -all overflow with beauty. This beauty is so precious that it is pitiful to think of our going through life in the midst of it and yet blind to it. With appreciation of beauty, life ceases to be monotonous and dull because each new day brings new beauty. A fourth window is philosophy or religion. It is so hard for us young people to be- lieve in Cod when there is talk of the destruction of the world with the splitting of an atom or of a third World War when many of us have lost loved ones in the war just ter- minated. Yet there must be a faith to which we can cling, because without one, there is no point in our living. Some of us worship Cod one way, others have an entirely different interpretation of Him. Our generation must realize that there is no one religious denomination which has the monopoly of goodness. For every man, that religion is good which makes him gentle, upright and kind. Though our thoughts may differ in regard to religion, the important factor is that we do have a religious faith of some sort. Life, what hast thou to offer me? Life, what have we - the future teachers, parents, and citizens of the world -to offer you? Tonight we finish to begin our lives, and let us hope that we can prove ourselves worthy of the opportunities which you as parents and friends have given us.