Milton High School - Blue Gold Yearbook (Milton, VT)

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14 Blue and Gold 'mm' nmuumumunmn mnmunuum unmnl nmnmuuuuuuuu nmnunnunn umumuu I mnnmmnnn uumnmummnnnnu mumnunummu nunumnunumunun- mm nnnunmnnn Szzlumiofjf E, THE graduating class of 1951, welcome you here tonight to our Commencement exer- cises. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our parents who have undergone various sacrifices to start us on the road to success. We wish to thank our teachers for the patience and encouragement they have given us. We wish to thank the School Board for providing us with a varied program of studies. Last of all, we thank our friends who have been good in helping all of us to complete our twelve years of school. As we leave this school tonight we become a part of the future of tomorrow. VVhat this future will be depends largely upon what we make it. As citizens of this country we will do our utmost toward making the best possible world. Now let us look back to our school and one important subject that we have studied-namely Sociology. People who have never been to school and also many of those who have been, never stop to realize that man is custodian of culture. This, from a sociological sense means, civiliza- tion or the man-made environment. We are influenced at all times by a culture environment which is made up of material and non-material traits. Many people never stop to think of its consistency. VV e have many culture traits which have been handed down to us from other generations and we just carry them on without the slightest idea of what they are and how they came about. A man tipping his hat, whenever he meets a woman, is a custom which is performed but many do not realize that it was once customary for a knight in armor to raise his visor when speaking to a lady, as an act of courtesy. Customs ought to be the outgrowth of intelligence and of the careful planning of what is best for society rather than the chance by-products of trial and error. Man alone is a culture-builder because he has four distinct physical advantages which help to accomplish this. He has an,upright position, free hands, a vocal apparatus, and an excellent ummm umnnmuummmnmumm 4unnIInInunnimnnnnvnnnnniunmu11nI1InnuIinni1IInin1nIiiI111InuImumnnmumnumm mumnnnunIinuInn11n111111nunnnI-uuIIInuimIIiInnnInn1iIIII111IvInIInnnnIIInInIunn1IIunn1nnnmmm1InnnInunnnnIInnn1IIunn1u111u1Iunmuummuunmunu mm . brain structure. With these advantages man is superior to animal. Every individual acquires a culture heritage as he grows up. Man profits through this as it improves. He brings all the past to bear upon his present, and will bring the present to bear upon his future. Each generation has the ad- vantages of what the previous generations learn- ed, because of the power which man has to teach his offspring the things that have been learned through trial and error. Children fall heir to the methods, to the tools, to the religious beliefs, and to the forms of social organization which have been developed. Man is so de- pendent upon his culture heritage that were it taken from him, he would be left almost as help- less as an infant. People of other races seem peculiar to us be- cause different surroundings make different human beings of us, as far as personality traits and behavior patterns are concerned. We often think of the Chinaman as being peculiar be- cause he uses chopsticks, without realizing that he thinks we are peculiar using knives and forks. The reason for this is that people fail to appre- ciate the background of those from other en- vironments. The culture environment in which one grows up is mastered naturally and without too much effort, but learning to live in a new environment is a more difficult problem. As time goes on, our culture changes, and we adopt new traits which spread rapidly in the United States. As these change, our personality must be adjusted also. It has no doubt become clear that man is first of all a social creature, depending for his very life and growth upon others. It is evident also, that he is dependent upon the culture ac- cumulated by societies past and present. As we leave this school tonight we will take over by doing our part in carrying on the culture traits and trying to make our world a better one in which to live. By Dorothy Dubuque

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Blue and Gold 13 azledzk ary vunnumnmm uuuuIunnnniiIiInnIIIIInum-uniimmmmIIinmnmumnmnu munnmumunnnuunnnnnmnmn inannumIIuvuI41uumnmminnunnnumniunnumuunnnnwmu YESTERDAY GUIDES TOMORROW By Barbara Gonyeau Lost Memory Found! Man Recovers ldentity! Amnesia Victim Returns to Arms of Familylv Red and black headlines scream forth the glad tidings, and readers throughout a commu- nity let out a sigh of relief. For, of all the mala- dies that can befall mankind, none is more shock- ing to the victim than sudden loss of memory. VVithout a past and robbed of identity, he is the epitome of despair. I can think of no more dramatic illustration of the vital part that a knowledge of the past plays in our daily lives. VVithout it, we are as a new-born babe dependent upon instinct, with no experience on which to base sound iudgment, no understanding of cause or effect, no fact on which to guide our future. In this light, history is not a by-product of civilization. It is a sixth sense without which we cannot function! Ralph VValdo Emerson has declared that 'fthe use of history is to give value to the present hour and its dutyf and pithier words were never phrased. Noah Wfebster, or one of the heirs to his magic with a dictionary, defines history as a narrative of eventsv and, armed with this defini- tion, we come to see that all of us are alternately reading and writing history every day of our lives. Today we are again defending our freedom extends across our land on a battlefield that from sea to shining seafp lt reaches to every doorstep where communist propaganda in all its insidious forms and under the most artful dis- guises is seeking to destroy our freedom by un- dermining our faith in the principles on which our government was founded. How grave is the danger of this all-out attack against us is best told in the words of Bernard Baruch. bersonal adviser to our presidents through six administra- tions: If we lose, we lose foreverf, KVe can best combat this attempt to destroy our freedom by gaining from our American his- tory a clear understanding of the principles on which our government was founded, by learn- ing of the long struggle, the privations and hard- ships that had to be endured before those prin- ciples could be established. Then we will have a true appreciation of the freedom we enioy, and we will be of a firm mind to defend it. And only the staunchest firmness will match the fanatical determination of the plotters who seek to under- mine us. So let us turn to the history of the United States as the effective antidote for the poison of communist propaganda. And while we are about it, letis read again the Declaration of In- dependence and the Constitution of the United States to remind ourselves that All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happinessf, Letps not wait until our apprecia- tion of these inalienable rights is tempered by the despair of losing them. Letis bear in mind that once again Uthese are the times that try menis soulsf, and that the enemy who would des- troy those rights is one who denies the very exis- tence of the soul. Thomas Paine's prophetic words should be written today across the blackboards of every schoolroom in our country. Then we need not fear that these propaganda attacks will ever sub- ject us to the humiliation of having our speech dictated by the group of ruthless political plot- ters whose sole aim is power for themselves and slavery for the rest of the world. So it is that the events of yesterday and today will guide to- morrow. Therefore we need a knowledge not only of the past but we need to give our best to today. VVe are drawn together here tonight to say farewell,'. And, departing, leave behind us. footprints in the sands of time.

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Blue and Gold mmmmmumunuu muummnnun 1munmmnmunnn mvIIiiiiiiinnnuuununmunmiiiiIIIumnmnnnmmm 6, file Graduzzfas VIRGINIA LOIS ADAMS 1. Gmmf, COMMERCIAL Counsiz Ginny is one of our outstanding students in the Commercial course. Her good looks, pleasant manner and secretarial ability should take her far in a business career. Activities: Clee Club 11, 2, 3, 45, Majorette 12, Minstrel Show 1I, 3, 45, Three-act play 145, Style Show 11, 35, Christmas Cantata Music Festival 1I, 2, 45, Blue and Cold staff, Alumni Editor Operetta Christmas Pageant NANCY LOIS BAIIROWS Nunn COIXINIERCIAL Counsis Nancy has a very charming and cheerful personality. When we ask about her plans she's not too definite, but that pretty dia- mond tells us her study in Home Ec. will not come amiss. Activities: Glee Club 11, Style Show 1I, 35, Minstrel Show 115, Christmas Cantata 135, Blue and Gold Staff, Ioke Editor Maiorette 125, Physical Education 1l, 35, Usher one act plays 145, Senior play, advertising committee, Driver's Train- ing Class History. DAVID CARL B I ,ATT 'fnawv COLLEG14: PREPA1iATo1n' Couusii David is a very pleasant and easy-going fellow. Ile is usually rushing about on some important mission. He has decided that he would make a good school master. Activities: Glee Club 1l, 2, 45, Kake WValk 145, Minstrel Show 11, 3, 45, One-act play 13, 45, Blue and Cold Stail 145, Class vice-president 145, Three act play 145, Music Appreciation 145, Acrobatics 145, Cheer Leader