Norfolk High School - Milestone Yearbook (Norfolk, NE)

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32 THE MILESTONE. “For the structure that wo raise, Time, is with materials filled, Our todays and yesterdays Are the blocks with which we build. There are many agencies which influence the building of characters, prominent among which are the climate and country. We cannot expect to find in the Sandwich Islands as high a type of character as in North America. In this respect we are among those favorably situated we are in a land the climate of which invigorates the system, and the unlimited independence of which allows the full development of the intellect. Should we not therefore, lend all our energies to the work, and cause our characters to shine brighter and brighter, day by day, as we plod along the avenues of life? Do we not admire the untarnished character of Florence Nightingale, who, throwing aside all obligations to self, devoted herself to the nursing of the sick and needy soldiers on the fields before Sebastopol. It is said that every rope in the British navy contains a colored strand, which identities it wherever found, whether on the coast of China or Nor h America. So should be our characters, distinguished by some noble trait that will illuminate the whole of our work. One of the greatest and most powerful auxiliaries with which we unfavored is the education which is afforded by the excellent public schools found in every city, town and village throughout our beloved nation. One of the most favored is Norfolk where we have been fortunate enough to attend school for some time and where we have gained information which we hope to use to the honor of our city and the credit of ourselves. But what a change has now come over ns, we feel a strange sensation of sadness as we begin to realize the fact that we are about to depart from the happy scenes of our high school life. There are revived in our memories many fond recollections of days gone by. On this occasion, our final opportunity of showing our appreciation and gratitude for the many favors bestowed, we wish to extend to the citizens of Norfolk our sincere thanks for their generous patronage and kindly interest shown in our work. You have ever manifested an enterprise in school mat ters, a zeal in the cause of education. You have, by your efforts, obtained for this noble city a new high school building, which will have few, if any peer

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THE MILESTONE. 31 council chamber sat the English governors as a reminder of burdensome taxes and unjust rule. What was the outcome of this state of affairs? Was it the submission of an oppressed people to an unpopular sovereign? No. The stream of opposition ran rapidly and angrily, bearing toward the final plunge into the Revolutionary War. The eloquent voices of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, crying aloud with the energy of despair, “Give me liberty or give me death,” touched the keynote of American patriotism. The people responded with a will, establishing the declaration of independence, and announcing to the world the birth of a new nation, between the Atlantic, anti the setting sun. From the time when the patriot minute guns sounded the death knell of oppression, from the time when the father of his country was inaugurated first president of the United States, the progress of our country has been the ever increasing marvel of the civilized world. Sheltered 'neuth the undulating folds of our national banner, science ami art and peaceful industry have expanded under the genial influence of the sun of liberty. The secrets of the universe have been revealed to the inquisitive eye of science. The domain of the mind has extended wider and wider, even the realms of the stars have been explored, and thousands of revolving suns descried majestically sweeping through space, all bound by the same great universal law. Thus has the pyramid of our nation been built up, until now we stand high, and, viewing our dominions round about, behold in every part the unmistakable effects of progress. We s e a land whose surrounding waters arc patrolled by ships of the latest do.iign. whose fertile fields are traversed in every direction by the flying railway frain, and who people are among the most enlightened of the globe. Thus are manifested unto us in the history of the past and the facts of the present, the existence and growth of the great structures of the world. Notwithstanding the prominence of these national pyramids, we are building, day by day, a far different edifice, our characters; and, as some one has said, ‘’the building of our character is our own labor, it is a thing of beauty, it is u thing of shame, as we ourselves make it, holding us responsible for its substantial erection.''

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THE MILESTONE. 33 in the state; and although we do not expect to pursue our studies there, we shall always hold it in memory as a most fitting monument to the enterprise and prosperity of the citizens of this place. To the honorable Hoard of Education we tender our thanks and gratitude for the many encouragements which, through their influence, we have received. You have provided for us apparatus necessary for the successful pursuit of our work. While laboring in the interests of the Schools of Norfolk, may you ever enjoy the hearty co-operation of her citizens, and be rewarded with abundant success, As we depart from the s cenes of our school life, with its calamatius and pleasures, we shall still retain in memory our beloved instructors, by whose patience and zeal our little fleet has l eon kept afloat on the sea of improvement. You have been not only our instructors but our friends and sympathizers; as we leave your guardianship to seek other fields of lal»or we wish you t he best of success. To our schoolmates, with whom we have ever been closely associated, we bid an affectionate farewell. We have long been together sharing in common each other's triumphs and defeats, and, though we may have had at times slight differences, they have all l een forgotten. We have always been able to combine our forces when some difficult project was in view; as we withdraw our little force, may others fill our places so that all will move in as good accord as before. Classmates: We are leaving the bay; the ocean is before us; for a long period we have Wen closely associated as one under the protection of the Norfolk High School and the guardianship of its teachers. We meet here this evening to disolve our triumvirate, the bonds of which have Wen growing stronger day by day. In the past we have been able to mass our strength when an attack was to be made on some difficult problem in geometry, but now our little party separates, and, in the future, each will have to meet difficulties alone. As we abandon the posts we have held so long, may our paths diverge not too widely; and muy we ever W united by the fond recollections of the time we, have passed together.