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

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THE HISTORY OF THE NEW ATHENS COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL New Athens Community High School, which was organized in 1920, is located in District No. 68. The first board of education consisted cf George Nuernberger, President; George Wirth, Jr., Secretary; S. J. Woodward, Henry J. Reuss, Jr. and William Eberhart. Attempts were made to discontinue the high school in the summers of 1922 and 1924, but both failed. Our present school building was built in 1931 and the gymnasium added in 1938. This year the school has an enrollment of 126 and a faculty of 10.

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To The Class of Nineteen Fifty-One You may well be proud of a class of unusual scholastic ability and better than average school leadership. As time goes on you will probably turn less often to this book; the results of much work and the storehouse of many memories. But each time that you do turn, you will find enriched memories and new values; as time goes on, past events will appear in a new light; added meaning will come to some of the lessons taught during your four years at NACHS. You are graduating into a troubled world; if you carry into it the intelligence, initiative and understanding which your high school days have indicated that you possess; it will become a better world because of your participation. I shall always be glad to help you in any way that I can. Graduation from high school does not mean that you can no longer use the facilities there. Nor should it mean that you are no longer interested in or loyal to your Alma Mater. Some of you will be able to do more for NACHS as graduates than you were as students. Always remember that the satisfaction of doing anything well is a rich and ample reward. I extend to each of you my best wishes for a happy and successful life. Don D. Schriner

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To The Graduating Class of 1951 We as a board can say little to this graduating class of ’51. It is expected that we inject a note of cheer — something to spur you on. However, it is difficult to be cheerful when we ask you to face a world once more on the brink of a full scale war. War has many hideous aspects, but it does speed perfection of things that are useful. For example, the First World War perfected the radio and the Second the airplane. Will this Third impending turmoil bring atomic power for peace use? But does civilization have to pay such a tremendous price for each such achievement. Again you will hear the age old cry — the world is in your hands. You, the graduates, feel yourself tiny and insignificant, but your voices mingled with hundreds and thousands of others must be heard. Learn as much of the world as you can. It is imperative. Our world is shrinking day by day. A jet plane spanned the Atlantic in four hours recently. Today Rome is as close to us as was St. Louis ten years ago. Our only sure weapon today is knowledge. You possess it and will strive for more. Again we say you are our hope — fulfill our trust in you.