Momence High School - Monesse Yearbook (Momence, IL)

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PAGE THIRTY-TWO The Commercial Work The City of Momenee is entitled to threat credit for estab¬ lishing a commercial course in her high school. In no other department of the secondary school, is there a more attrac¬ tive field than that which lies open along commercial lines. We are in the midst of a marvelous industrial develop¬ ment. Many of our large manufacturers and merchants will be trained in the higher schools of commerce and busi¬ ness administration, but many more will become successful business men by means of the practical vocational courses in our public high schools. In the business world today, there is always room for a young man starting out in life. However, he must be efficient and prepared. One of the greatest advertising men of the United States recently said: “Preparedness is the secret of most successes in this world; fate seldom makes league with the unequipped.’’ The day has passed by for the man who travels in a rut. Modern business demands wide-awake, alert and efficient men and women. Of all our various systems of education today, a business education is of more common application, and wider scope. Then, in addition to training our young people for the business world, the high school commercial course does another great thing for certain classes. It keeps the boys and girls in high school, who would otherwise be tempted to leave and enter some business school, or worse still, desert school altogether. New England statistics show that forty per cent, of the pupils who enter school, finish the eighth grade and only eight per cent, finish high school. How necessary it is, then, to offer practical work in our high school to hold the pupils there. The high school commercial course has the advantage of “proving the goods,” so to speak. A pupil readily sees that he is not dealing with abstract values. It is to his advantage to get all he can out of the work, for he is sim¬ ply learning what is going to be of definite worth to him. A pupil cannot always sense what value lies in such a study as Latin, but he can always sense the connection between his commercial work and the world which he is about to enter. Best efforts can be put into play when one is stim¬ ulated by thots of definite accomplishment. Moreover, the standards of the actual social world; the standards of promptness, accuracy, definiteness and responsibility of the business world are not regarded as artificialities of the school room, but as a challenge of one’s real fitness to en¬ ter into the real order of things. The commercial course in our high school has proved very successful. Its keynote has been practicability. The course established is on an equal footing with the commer¬ cial courses of other secondary schools. The scope of the work includes touch Typewriting, Stenography, Book¬ keeping, Spelling, Grammar, Business English, Salesman¬ ship, Business Management, Commercial Law, Commercial Geography, Business Arithmetic and Business Practice. The enrollment in the commercial course has been very gratifying, which proves in itself that the work has an appeal to the average pupil of the high school. We were also pleased to welcome back six of last year’s graduates whose interest in the new commercial course attracted them sufficiently to hold them over one year in school even after graduation. Clare Terry-

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PAGE THIRTY-FOUR Sophomore Prize Narrative. OLD IN FERNO. ARLY one bright January morning, Hank Seavey, Buddy Graves, Jim, (the native guide( and I started up the Halifax in my gasoline launch, the Crescent. We had a canoe in tow in which to go up the Tomoka, a shallow snag filled river. Then there were our guns, which were more on the order of cannon, and enough grub for a week. We had heard rumors among the Indians that Old Infer¬ no, the crocodile king, had again appeared in the great cypress swamp, and that he had feasted on young, juicy papoose for Xmas, with a full grown coon for his New Year’s repast. Our mission was to destroy this scourge of the Tomoka. All day our little boat chugged valiantly northward. Great cypresses leaned far over the stream, and ever and anon a gigantic elm, covered with long strings of Spanish moss, came into view. The water was alive with small aligators, water moccasins, and other reptiles. Several times during the day we saw what appeared to be large logs roll over the bank, and disappear. It was night when we reached the mouth of the Tomoka, so we stopped and made camp. The next morning we commenced our journey up the Tomoka in the canoe. After dodging alligators and sand¬ bars all day, we were glad to tie up in the most uninhabited place we could find, and try to sleep in spite of the neigh¬ borly snakes, which visited us from time to time. Late the next afternoon we came to the swamp and found a small island which was vacant except for a couple of crocodile skeletons. Here we made camp. We did no hunting until the next day. Three days passed before we came to a large island which was covered with the footprints of an immense crocodile. This must surely be Old Inferno’s residence, we thought. We went back to camp, but returned that night with a light to attract his attention. Thus, we could see by the reflection of his eyes where to shoot. We circled around the island several times, and about midnight saw two great eyes watching us. I blazed away, and a splash followed. He sank, and we supposed him dead, but we were soon to discover our mistake, for a moment later he came up under the canoe and over we went. I began to say my prayers, but the water, coming into my mouth, stopped me. Just as I rose to the surface, the crocodile rushed past after Buddy, who was swimming away with all the speed acquired from days spent in the quarry. As the monster slipped by, I threw myself on his back, and certainly enjoyed the race more than Buddy did. After we had gone a good ten miles, day began to dawn, and I saw that Buddy still led by thirty feet, and that Henry was being towed along by means of Old Inferno’s tail. For it was indeed no other! The pest had been caught at last! By eleven, I noticed my steed was slowing down, and soon died of exhaustion. I yelled the good news to Hank and Bud, and with their help pulled our victim to shore, where, if his bones have not been taken by superstitious natives for amulets, his skeleton remains to this day. Howard Bradley