North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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Of course, the Bible is the most remarkable of all books. It contains prose that is singular in its calm beauty, poetry that has been unsurpassed in the history of the world. It teaches with a quiet simplicity that assures the reader, This is the truth.” Yes, books have much to offer us. To the student, a library is a garden of information from which he may choose the fruit which seems most tempting to him. Francis Bacon once said, Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” The groping student tastes a great many books—books which deal with every phase of life; he swallows a smaller group—the books that he studies in school, and from the books he has tasted and the books he has swallowed he gradually singles out the few that he will chew and digest. Books are necessary, not only to students but to everyone in the world. They provide hours of enjoyment, escape from the reality of life, information which makes the world seem more interesting, and inspiration when times are hard. In the words of Emilie Poulson, Books are keys to wisdom’s treasure; Books are gates to lands of pleasure; Books are paths that upward lead; Books are friends. Come, let us read.” Marjorie A. Terret Salutatory WHAT MAKES THE TRUE AMERICAN? In these troubled times we are all very proud to call ourselves Americans, citizens of the greatest nation on earth. This title carries with it a sense of assurance and strength in a war-ravaged world where, in the last years, few people have been able to feel any confidence at all. Yes, it is a wonderful thing to be able to say, I am an American,” and thus to link oneself with such a democratic, peace-loving, and yet powerful country such as our own. But, actually, do we ever stop to think exactly what kind of person is worthy of that cherished title in its true sense? Although many citizens fully enjoy all the rich benefits that it offers, how many of us honestly shoulder our share of its very heavy responsibility? Each one of us, down deep in our hearts, know that many times in our life we have very gravely shirked our duties as United States citizens. Sometimes it seems of so little importance to go out and cast a single ballot, especially if it is cold or rainy. And yet, if those who feel this way would only realize that in casting that single ballot they are making use of a very wonderful privilege, one that few people enjoy, and one that many have died for, perhaps they would make more of an effort. Although very few of us really measure up to the title American citizen” in its true meaning, unfortunately there are many people in this country who attach a totally different meaning to it. These people insist that to be a true American, one must be of a certain race, creed, or color. Also, there are those who proudly claim this title simply because they can positively trace their family back to the earliest days of our country, even, in some cases as far back as the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. f 16

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Valedictory BOOKS Books are as many and varied as men. Each one is an individual and de¬ serves our respect and love for its virtues, and our patience and tolerance for its faults. For books, all kinds of books, have much to offer us. Books are the vaults in which the wealth of the world is stored. They hold the accumulated thoughts of centuries, the stepping-stones to future achievement. Boger Bacon, that amazing man of the thirteenth century, left a wealth of information in his writing, including an explanation of convex and concave lenses and their possible application to reading and viewing distant objects which undoubtedly aided later stu¬ dents in devising glasses, telescopes and microscopes. William Harvey, the seventeenth century physician, left a remarkable treatise dealing with the circulation of blood in the human body which led to the discovery, thirty years later, of the system of capillaries uniting arteries and veins. It is in this way that the knowledge of the world is amassed. Books offer travel and adventure that we would never experience otherwise. Physical ability in any endeavor is no problem to the reader. A man who has never left the city may still feel the thrill of bronco-busting vicariously. Nor is money a necessary asset. The poorest man in the world may experience more through books than the multi-millionaire who spends hundreds of dollars in traveling; for a poor man with a lively imagination may catch more of the spirit of Paris through the descriptive genius of his author than the dull-witted spender who has no guide to show him beauty in a Paris street. No one need lack in friends or companionship if he is able to read, for lurking beneath the closed covers of books are a multitude of fascinating creatures whose only demand of the reader is that he give them a chance to show their worth. The reader may choose to spend a quiet hour with the dignified Jane Eyre, or he may join impish Jo March of “Little Women” on one of her impulsive escapades. He may follow with pity the sad boyhood experiences of Oliver Twist, or laugh heartily over the troubles of the adventurous Penrod. He may creep with The Deerslayer through the silence of the virgin forests of America, or flee hastily across the heather of Scotland with David Balfour. According to his mood he may choose his companions, assured that their adventures together will not lack in interest. Books are not bound by the years. In one turn of a page, the twentieth century reader can step back into the past, and stand, an amused spectator, watching the fine ladies and gentlemen of Louis the Fourteenth’s court step sedately through the intricate patterns of the minuet. Or, tiring of this amusement, he can leave them with¬ out formality, and instant ly install himself at a vantage point on the deck of an old schooner, where he can watch without any fear of bodily harm a desperate struggle for mastery of the ship. Books, the best kind of books, subtly point out to us a safe road to a happy and virtuous life. Who could read Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” without resolving, con¬ sciously or unconsciously, to avoid the horrible fate to which “unbounded ambition” led Macbeth? Or who could follow the cunning manoeuvers of Becky Sharp in “Vanity Fair,” and meditate on the hopeless ruin to which she finally came, without vowing to be fair and honest in all one’s dealings? And how far books can go toward reforming unfair practices of society when their message is clothed in the attractive garb of fiction! Dickens was a master in this way, with his ability to create situations which at first seemed hilariously funny, but after reflexion showed some very tragic lapse of public morals. In this clever way he exposed the dreadful conditions of child labor in England, the harsh treatment in Eng¬ lish schools, the miserable lives of children in orphanages, and many other equally bad conditions. 115

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Is thi s the right way to go about judging anyone? It is certainly no way to judge an American, says our Constitution! Our entire system and idea of government is based on the worth and dignity of an individual as a person! It is a very sad thing that in a democracy, where equal rights are granted all, so much intolerance should flourish. We must be made, if necessary, to realize that it is not who we are, but what we do and how faithfully we live up to our duties and responsibility that really determines which of us are true Americans. I would like to tell very briefly about someone who, in my opinion, is an ex¬ cellent example of Americanism at its very best. This man is the widely known states¬ man, Dr. Ralph Bunche, a prominent member of the United Nations and one of the world’s leading scholars in the field of race relations. Dr. Bunche is the grandson of an American slave and he also has some American-Indian blood. Although at a great dis¬ advantage, simply because he was a Negro, he rose magnificently to meet this challenge and to force the world to recognize him for what he is, a brilliant scholar and statesman. It couldn’t have been an easy fight, for many doors were politely but firmly closed in earlier years to the eager, ambitious, hard-working young Negro. His career itself has been on a steady upswing since the day when he gradu¬ ated with highest honors from college. He was the first Negro to hold a really important job with the State Department. After receiving countless awards down through the years, Dr. Bunche joined the U. N. where he indeed has written a brilliant page in its history. Recently his career was crowned when he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Here indeed is a true American who has given a great deal to his country. Of course, most of us are not able to contribute as much to the country as Dr. Bunche has, and actually we need not, to be good Americans. However, each and every one can ask himself these questions, “Am I earnestly trying in every way to be a good citizen, or instead am I taking the easy way out? Am I taking the precious free¬ doms and privileges I possess for granted? Do I even unconsciously tend to discriminate against certain people who are of a different race or religion than I am? If you are guilty of any one of these things, it is entirely up to you to conquer them, and be really worthy of that proud title, American citizen. Margaret Willett Class Essay SHALL WE SURVIVE? While we Americans have been absorbed in our own problems, our worries over the Korean war and the threat of Communism, we have neglected to keep a tight rein on our government and its operation. There are many evidences of corrupt forces operating within our government. The recent senate-crime investigations, for example, brought to light the decay that has crept into our nation and threatened our society. Scandal in government can be traced to the Romans. The great Roman Empire was constantly threatened, as we are, by external forces and survived them all. No, mighty Rome wasn’t crushed by attacks from foreign powers—the Roman Empire crumbled from the corrosion of its own internal decay and corruption. Is that what our great country is facing? We must realize that we can survive in the face of inter¬ national disaster, but cannot survive if our democratic principles and moral standards, decline. Let us examine the causes of this corrupton. When our country was first taking roots, there was too great an emphasis on the material aspects of life, a phe¬ nomenon quite common in a pioneering country like our own where a young and vigorous people were filling a virgin continent, hewing down the forests, breaking the plains and, in general, developing the physical resources. { 17