Nixon Township High School - Nixonia Yearbook (Weldon, IL)

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SENIORS' CHARGE Hoar yc—all under classmen and students who arc about to enter High School —listen, all yc Juniors to that advice which I am about to impart to the class of 1919. It is not my idea this evening, member of the class of 1919, to make startling statements about you nor is it my purpose to hand you any bouquets, but what 1 have planned to do is to give to you those words which you have made necessary because of the fact that you have failed to show that initiative and good judgment which should characterize third year students. A little over a month ago the Junior class secured the services of our Local Hand and immediately advertised that a Junior I lay was going to be given. Look you, they said ‘’Juniors” when over half of those appeared duiing the evening were Seniors. Sophomores or Freshmen. And when 1 say this I do not include the Hand. And Juniors, you do not know how my heart bled for you when you willfully misrepresented the goods you were displaying. I charge you, never again lie to anyone—even the most harmless of the insects will one day point an accusing finger at you, if you do. Do you know' what happens to iittlc folks who stories” to their mammas and especially to Seniors: There is one among you who must be admired for her beauty and splendid physique. Some day the class of 19 will be greatly honored by this young lady. She is going to be commander-in-Chicf of the Temperance forces of the United States, and in latci years 1 am sure that when you read of her shooting up Sony main thorough-fare ot some town or knocking off the head of some policeman, you will say with no little amount of pride: “She was a member of my class in High School.” And then when she becomes real excited and her wonderful temper, of which she is so proud, gains control of her. she will be thrown into the city dungeon. Will that not be a great day for the class of '19? To think that one of your foremost classmates is in Sing-Sing or Joliet on such a disreputable charge. Therefore. I charge you Juniors. Talk to this young lady. Show her the foflly of such a career, whicn she seems intent upon following; point out to her the great dishonor and unasked for notoriety that she will bring upon those who once believed her to possess such intelligence and good judgment as to belong to the class of ’19. And now as to your musical ability and the prospects for the ensuing year. Juniors, it is with much pride that 1 speak of the class of ’18 in regard to its musicians. Has any class leaving this school ever taken with it the number of musicians which the class of ’f8 is so honored? And when I say musicians 1 mean they are proficient along e er line, musicians who make other classes, and in fact the whole community sit up and take notice. In 19 6 Miss Kerr ganizcd the Hoy’s Glee club. Six of the eight members were Seniors and in the two succeeding years the membership has remained the same. Upon these six Seniors has fallen all of the work and responsibility of furnishing the talent. Do you think you will ever be able to appear before the public again in a musical entertainment? In saying this 1 do it not in the spirit of bragging but to bring before you the high standard these me of ’18 have set foi the other classes especially you Juniors. There have been many instances this year, class of 19. in whicn you have proved yourself incapable of bearing the name of Junior, but there is one which stands out among the rest. This occasion has given way to much comment throughout the Other classes and among outside people who are interested in the welfare of the school. The matter to which I refer was the choosing of a vocation by one of the members of ti e Class of 19. Everyone stood amazed and aghast when they saw him standing over a young man whom he was in the act of shaving. Thing ot it ali you who know’ the many horrible gashes which he inflicted upon the poor victim in the chair. Think how: narrowly the class of ’19 escaped having a murderer among its number. Hereafter, you amateur barber, never try to shave anyone except with a safety razor because you must never disgrace your class again. Du.- men have always played a conspicuous part on the Basket Hall Team. They have carried Jne responsibility of the team. When two of our Seniors w'crc removed from the Hasket Hall Team because they moved away, the team was practically broken up. bor a long time it remained in this crippled state, so long that one of our Seniors who had never played basket ball before came to the rescue and starred ai center. It is said there is no person or collection of pcrson but what then is some good trait about them This can be said of the Class of 19. There are two persons worthy of mention. The first has shown that lie is just a trifle above the average member of bis class by winning and holding the love of our distinguished President. You are to he highly complimented on vour choice. You have undoubtedly shown

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CLASS WILL » W c, tiie Senior Class of 1918, being possessed of sound mind and memory, but aware o: the uncertainty of life and with due appreciation of the fact, that as a class we shall soon cease to exist, do therefore make, ordain, publish and declare this to be our last will and testament. hirst. To our dearly beloved Alma Mater we bequeath our unceasing love ami loyalty and all the distinction we have gained while there. Second, We bequeath to this community the remembrance of the first and only “All Star Class’ to graduate or that could ever be expected to graduate from such an Institution as ours. Third. We bequeath to the faculty of the High School in return for the many benefits received from them, the remembrance of our w’ondcrful intellectuality and bnlliancy. which has caused the w'orthy title of “starts to bt bestowed upon us, hoping that in days to come, when the many inferior classes shall try their patience and burden their lives, it may cheer and encourage them. We give and bequeath to them our example of a high standard, and ask that it be held before all Seniors who are to follow us. so that it may aid them in their w’ork and keep the School up to the present standard of excellency which we have established- We give and bequeath to the Juniors who will in due course of time endeavor to fill our empty places, our most desirous wishes of success, the many honors and privileges to whicl Seniors are entitled and our section of seats located on the north side of the assembly room. We give and bequeath the first seat in row six to Gladys Hunt, who is thoroughly acquainted with the front of the room, and since 1917 has had few occasions to visit the rear. The remaining seats they may distribute among themselves in the best way they see fit, altho we ask that they remember that they are tiie future Seniors and that the distribution be made in a peaceable manner. Wc give and bequeath to Emil Parker the art of deep, scientific, mathematical study and reasoning now in the possession of Mildred Saylor. We give and bequeath to Ossie Shearer the undying love for study combined with the sunny disposition which Lola Emery holds among her possessions. vVc give and bequeath to Chas. Adams a remedy for sleepiness in class, which Karl Peterson by many hours of electrical and chemical research work has discovered. Sec Mr. Peterson at once and take the prescribed cure according to his directions. We give and bequeath to Kay Olson the eloquent oratorical power which Fleet Summers now’ possesses. We give ar i bequeath to Earl Koben the secret of having a different girl each night without any serious consequences. Clarence Keel has many other secrets along this same line that lie w ill gla-Jly impart to any Junior or Sophomore who will call upon him within the next ten days. We give and bequeath to I.ila Ra’lcnhach the authoritative power in future years which William Gray has exercised during the year of 1918. W c give and bequeath to Harry Goble the artful and diplomatic characterisitcs which Yen; Shinncman now' possesses. To the Sophomores of 18 we give and bequeath the many qualities which are requited to make a remarkable class. We g.ve and bequeath to the Freshman Class a small amount of sympathy, which we think will be greatly needed by them as they pass through the various stages of High School life. All property not herein mentioned wc give and bequeath to the remaining members of the lunior Class for one year only. At the expiration of that stated time this said property becomes the permanent possessions of the Hoard of Education of the Nixon Township High School. We do Iu rely appoint as executrix of this, our last will and testament, the President oi the Junior Class of 18. who wc think can conscientiously attend to the :arrying out of the terms of these, our last requests. itne s oik hand and seal this Seventh day of Mav, »ot8. . D.. Class of Nineteen Eighteen. C. C. GRAY. 't8. Grader arc not c cry thing — Clarence.

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tlial you have a fine .-onccrtion of women. Your classmates have not been blessed with the knowledge you have displayed in your choice of a soulmate. Again, 1 say, you are to be complimented upon your taste which is so conspicuous among the other men of your class because of its absence. The other person, besides being are all around ladies’ man is a singer. His voice is of such a lccp, melodious and divine nature that when lie sings it is hard to discern whether it is tiie voice of a human or the braying of ar. animal nearby. Last v «eek he received a letter troni a prominent farmer who offered him as high as a dollar a day to call the hogs, horses, cows and chickens at feeding time. I do believe this is your chance; accept the position and I believe with actual experience which you would gain this summer, the next year you may come hack and pour such melodious notes as only befits a Senior. lias not this experiment proved successful in the class of ’l8. Look at our own Senioi who has spent all his holidays among those domestics and is now considered one of the best singers that ever left this school. And so 1 charge you, because of your membership in the Class of ’19 to look well to this piece of advice which has been handed to you. Take the position offered you and I am sure that if you apply yourself in the light manner, that you will attain that position in the musical world which I have already mentioned now belongs to a member of the Class of T8. But these young men are not the only ones who have not been blessed with the dignity that is so preminent in the Class of T8. You have several who still act as they did when Freshmen, but as it would be impossible for me to enumerate the many instances of unseemly conduct among you I shall state onfly a few of the worst as an example so the rest may profit by their mistakes There are two young ladies whom I believe everyone in the school has noticed, in fact, it would he impossible to enter the building without having these two creatures attract your eve. They conic as early as they are nermitted and take fifteen minutes for lunch, returning at 12:20. Why? To prance up and down the halls and stairways watching for an opportunity to talk with ♦lie young men wdio happen to arrive early. Next year you girls will be Seniors, perhaps. Are you going to continue in this undignified manner? Let us hope not. If you know’ not the hearing which becomes Senior girls, look at the girls of 18 Notice how they enter the assembly, how they walk about the balls and notice in particular the dignified manner in which they hold conversation with the young men of the School. Do not put jour feet upon the desk in front or 0 the side of von. Do not giggle at every little silly thing that occurs during the dav. ’Twtill he hard to do at first, hut try hard and by degrees you will assume that dignity so prominent among the girls of T8 and which has earned for them the name of being the most sensible class of girls that has ever left this School- 'Poo much cannot be said in praise of th Senior class of T8. for it was enlirelj' through their untiring efforts that thcNixon Township High School was placed on t • e accredited list of the University of lUinois. When the inspector came on the first dav of iast month his first request was to sec the Seniors. You all know the result. When be gazed unon those beaming and intelligent faces, he was speechless. But we could read in his face those words: “It is enough. I am satisfied.” Wi1! the representative of the lunior Class please come up here on the platform? And so. Juniors, it is with no small amount of pride and tenderness that I hand to von this gavel which represents to us all that is near and dear to our Alma Mater, and I charge you. Juniors, to maintain the lofty and serene position which our School has attained and which is here so fittingly represented. It is with you, entirely, whether or not this School will retain this position. And now friends of the Class of T9 I hope you have marked well these words of advice that I have gi en you this afternoon. I hope that you will profit by the many mistakes you have made this vear. Of course. I have named only a few of the greater errors, because it would be impossible to bring to mind the many unsurmisable defects which stood out so strong in your class this year. But by those which I have mentioned I sincerely hope you will profit. And when the time conies next year I believe you will have assumed that dignity, becoming to Seniors, which was nothing short of perfect Throughout the class of this year- Cultivate some literary ability in your class If you do not know how to start doing this, ask the several members of the Class of T8. who have starred on the lit-crarv platform during the past two or three years. The only literary work ever done in this School has been done, by the Class of TR Is it not enough to show their superiority along this line? Could you look to a better example? And so it is ('lass of T9. It would require much time to point out your deficiencies and it would require an equal amount of time to enumerate the good and worthy deeds of the Class of T8. which were necessary because of the fact that it re-