New Athens High School - Vespa Yearbook (New Athens, IL)

Page 17 text:

To The Class of 1947 of N.A.C.H.S. You have now finished an important step on your road to success. When you entered high school four years ago, you did not realize the obstacles and difficulties which needed to be overcome before you arrived at that all important goal toward which you were striving, your high school diploma. Some of you had to make sacrifices in order to be able to attend school. All of you had to give up some of your pleasures and devote time to your subjects when you would have preferred to do otherwise. Some of your fellow students were unwilling to forego their pleasures and they left school. They did not have the inspiration which kept you at your appointed tasks. All of 'your experiences in high school were not unpleasant. In fact, in the years to come, as you look back over your high school days, your pleasant memories will blot out all the distasteful tasks which were placed upon you, and you will wish that you were once more a student at N. A. C. H. S. You will remember your first days of school and the thrills of the inexperienced. You will recall your many pleasant contacts with your classmates and with the students of the other classes. In your mind you will again experience the joy of receiving your diploma, the evidence of the tasks and pleasures which you underwent for four years. Finally, although some of you may feel differently now, you will appreciate the courage which your teachers displayed in requiring that you do your assigned tasks; you will realize that they were your best friends and were doing what was best for you, even though you did not realize it at the time. You have other important steps to be taken before you have completed your journey to success. Some of you will enter college; others will find employment. Whichever load you choose, you will find that success will come more easily and more quickly if you apply yourself to all tasks and give your best at all times. R. A. Neal, Principal