Norfolk High School - Milestone Yearbook (Norfolk, NE)

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THE MILESTONE. Hi great. We ask that in the future it may be as great and even greater. The people have much more to do with the success of the school than they may think, for although the teachers and pupils may do their best, unless public appreciation is shown the work falls short. Although the class started with fifteen members it has dwindled to two, thus necessitating the addition of the Juniors to the evening’s program. Hoping you will find much to praise and little to criticize, I again welcome you.

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THE MILESTONE. 15 What good does a graduate of any of these schools get, or how is he any more civilized if, as soon as he is through with school he goes back to the tribe, to his wild and depraved associates to readopt the customs of his fathers? After a little while he becomes no better than his companions for “Where all is selfish the sage is no better than the fool, only a little more dangerous.” If the Indian graduate has nothing to do, he will at once degenerate and, from the observance of the white man’s bad qualities which are nearly the only thing he does observe, he will become more of a hinderance to the civilization of his race than if he had never seen a school. “Satan always finds work for idle hands to do.” If he have a taste for farming, why not put him on some fertile ground, not barren, stony or alkali soil, where even a w hite man accustomed to farming could not raise anything? Give each Indian his own land, implements and stock. Thus in a short time, if all is favorable, he will be able to lay by something, making himself more respectable. Others having a liking for machinery might be put in machine shops owned by the government, and run by graduates of Indian schools, and thus agricultural implements could he made there. Give the Indian factories for the weaving of blankets. Even w ith such crude machinery as they have, the Navajoes always had an enviable reputation as blanket weavers. If this were all done instead of being a race of idlers we would see them a race of busy, cheerful workers and the whir-r of the spindle, and the rattle of the machinery would drown the wild cries of their uncivilized fathers. SALUTATORY. Ladies and Gentlemen: It is with pleasure that in the name of the class of ’91 and the school, I welcome you this evening to the Third Commencement of the Norfolk High School. The interest taken in the schools in the past has been

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IVjill Will N|eVer ©rind Witl] ’Tl'je W ter’Tl]at Clara A. McHride. In the history of all nations there has been much of latent power that might have been made useful, much of hidden talent that might have been brought out, and much of undeveloped character that might have placed its country in the foremost ranks of the world. Shakespeare says, ‘‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bounded in shallows and misery.’ And so we find, throughout history, monuments of warning with lessons of sadness written for others to avoid, examples of lost opportunities or forfeited privileges, chances forever thrown away. At the court of the proud king of Portugal an unknown Italian navigator applied for aid to fit out an expedition of discovery. Three times did the haughty sovereign refuse the humble petitioner. Finally disappointed though not despairing he turned to Spain. Through the generous Isabella Spain gained what Portugal forever lost, a claim to the broad valleys, mighty rivers and towering mountains of America with its rich soil, vast forests, and exhaustless mines. To-day Portugal is of less account than a single state of this mighty nation. Fewr years pass without recording some neglected opportunity of advancement carelessly thrown away. We find Fulton seeking that “Man of Destiny,” Napole on. Greenough, the sculptor, said of this visit: “Fulton knocked at the door of Napoleon with steam and was rejected, and