Paris District High School - Yearbook (Paris, Ontario Canada)

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PARIS HIGH SCHOOL YEAR BOOK maintained in the past-and are still maintaining in the present. There is one other circumstance which we perhaps fail to recognize more than any other, ln a smaller school such as this, more freedom and privilege is granted than. is permissable in the large collegiates, where necessity enforces restrictions. Here you become more or less one big family, each helping the other. Let me take this opportunity, now to say thanks, on behalf of the graduating class of year '34, to all those who are responsible in any way for these con- ditions which we have enjoyed so much. Paris High School will occupy a permanent place, a permanent position in the hearts of us all for reasons other than the academic knowledge gain-A ed here. For many of us it is the only connecting link of our lives. Most of us never saw one another before the opening day of school one September morning, some five or six years ago. Since then we have worked together, in study and in play, up the ladder of high school life. During this period we have come to know each other very intimately, and many close and en- during friendships have been formed. Friends, Paris High School may van- ish, the latin verbs and the binomial theorem learned here, may be entirely' forgotten, but the friendships formed here will live on. Already we are widely separated, scarcely any two of us following the same path, but there is present, always, this connective influence. As the years roll by, we will become more widely separated, but unlike so many things of life which wither with the years, these bonds of friendship will become more cherished and more enduring. , Thus it is we leave. It is true that this is our farewell, yet We cherish the thought, tonight, that we have a school and friends to which We hope to return many times in the future. But now we have reached the summit. Be- d r hi h school career is written in indelible ink across our page of hin us ou g , life. Before us our roadway stretches away into the future, but before we ' h h 1 w love so well. start on that Journey, we take one more look at t e sc Ngorra le A. MCGHL ,...i..i-l. Our Autumn Leaves Ne'er before such a wealth of leaves, Such reddish-crimson, golds and browns, Have I beheld in years gone by, Or ever shall before I dieg Leaves of every kind and hue, All rustling in the .Autumn dew- The leaves, in spring, so fresh and green, To this old world new joy did bring, Made spirits light, and sad hearts gay, A source of pleasure every d'ayg But ch! the leaves of the dying year, As for me, are the ones most dear. The leaves of our blest Maple tree, Red-stained, yellow, gold and bronze, A hood of colour bright do throw O'er the hills and valleys low. No, the leaves of the Waning year Are not the cause to shed a tear. Leafy boughs of this Northern clime, , Ere their greens turn to flaming reds, Must stand the trials of wind and rain, The storms and gales, but not in vain, For no life ever showed a gain That had no sorrow, sadness, pain. The leaves of Autumn are the best Of all the whole year throu' For they, when death is nigh, display The page of life in bright array. Ah yes! the leaves of the dying year As for me, are the ones most dear. 0 Ruth Gilbert 2

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PARIS HIGH SCHOOL YEAR BOOK Valedictory Mr. Chairman, Students of Paris High School, Ladies and Ggntlemeng Once again we have the pleasure of the graduating class, when I say Students cf Paris High School, instead of, Fellow-students. During the-. past few years this expression has often been on our lips, and we were proud of the fact that we were members of this splendid school. This an- nual event, however, is a landmark, a sign-post on one of the corners of the hghway of life, and tonight the graduating class turns that corner. We can hardly say we experience a feeling of regret because this was the goal we aimed at when we entered these halls for the first time, yet the very- wcrd 'last' strikes a sensitive chord in our hearts, and so it is that we har- bour this rather indefinable feeling as we gather here to-night to say good- bye. As we look back over the past, we recall the first day we made our Way to the school on the hill, with much uneasiness and trembling. A new class was embarking upon the quest of higher education, a very new class in the eyes of the second year students. That first year, the first part at least, was something of a mystery. We lived in a foggy haze, seemingly not able to- gain the true perspective of things. We gazed in silent wonder at the migh- ty fifth-formersg and the possibility of acquiring that high and majestic po- sition seemed very remote. As the years went by, the leaves seemed to fall off the calendar with increasing rapidity, until at last the months slipped by like telephone poles when viewed from a fast-moving train. Finally, the thought that we would have to leave our High School suddenly confronted. us. It was then we realized, as we had never realized before, how near and.. dear to us the school and all its associations had grown. As we stood on the steps before we left last summer, there came float- ing back to us many treasured memories of our sojourn here. We vividly remember the Field Days, the Burford-Paris-Simcoe Field Meets,the literary meetings, our at-homes and school dances, the basketball games, and the de- termined searches for the baker at recess. Do you wonder that we stopped and thought for a moment before we went on? And so it is with every class, in fact with us all in every walk of life. We are wont to take so much for granted that it is not until these treasures have flown that we realize what we have lost. We are so apt to gain the at- titude that The world owes me a living, that we miss much of the enjoy- ment of living. It is to try to overcome this attitude in some measure at least, that we wish to mention to you students, who will inhabit these halls, some of the opportunities and privileges that you enjoy. In so doing we will at the same time express our appreciation of these benefits, which, we frankly admit, we accepted as a matter of course while here, but since we: no longer have them, we recognize their true value. Q You owe a great deal to the Board of Education which you have, and. to the citizens of Paris who support it. They are always interested in your welfare, and their continued interest during the rather trying situation of the last few years is to be commended. Perhaps in no way is their interest more strikingly shown than in their selection of the teaching staff. Here you enjoy a great deal of personal direction both in and out of class periods: this is one of the major differences between High School and College. Then, too, you have your various societies. The Literary Society is an organization to which you should all give your heartiest support. I have no doubt that many of you feel, at times, that work in this society is ratlier irksome and is to be avoidedg however, I assure you that the excellent advantage, which its training affords in after life, makes it well worth your 'whilez In addition, there are your athletic functions backed by your Athletic Societies. In this sphere, however, your success this year, and in previous years, shows that Y ou are striving to maintain the reputation that athletes of this school have 19 . I 1

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PARIS HIGH SCHOOL YEAR BOOK Prophecy of 1934 Graduating Class Let us turn the pages of time and journey twenty-five Years into the future. As we stroll down a side street of a very peaceful town, we come to a small white bungalow covered with green vines and rambling roses. We see on the verandah an elderly man and his wife, peacefully rocking in their chairs, enjoying the beauties of the summer sunset. The old gen- tleman is reading his evening paper and as he puts it down, to speak to his wife, we see that it is Mr. Butcher who, after having taught school for' forty years, has retired from that occupation in which he was so success- ful. Well, mother, he remarks to his wife, I see by the paper that a cure for cancer has been discovered. It also says that the man who discovered this miraculous cure is Dr. Adam Miller. Why, By Jove, that's the little red-headed boy I used to teach at Paris High School. 'Well, well , returned Mrs. Butcher, Is it not strange that every sin- gle member of that very class has been remarkably successful in later life? And you aways used to say that it was the most backward class you ever taught. Yes, it is strange, said the elderly Mr. Butcher. Now you take Robert Cowan, the little Princeton lad. Bob after practising law, drifted into po- litics and has recently held portfolios in four different federal cabinets. Murray McGill is another to make a name for himself. You will recall that, while he was in his last year at high school, he edited the Paris High School column in the Paris Star under the name of Sextus. 'l'After his great success there, he took up newspaper writing as an occupation and now he is associate editor of the New York Times . You will also remember Jesse Jasper who is now writing short stories for Cosmopolitan and oth- er prominent magazines. Two of that class are now in the ministry, Alex. McLaren and Harold Kennedy. Alex. has a large church in Windsor, while Harold as you know is Moderator of the United Church of Canada. Harold Higgins is at present the Bishop of Hamilton. Three of the boys are farming and all are' doing extremely well. Llewellyn Depew and Will Guthrie both have large farms near Paris and Joe Meggs is head of a government experimental farm in Saskatchewan. Margaret Buck is now with the Sun Life Insurance Co., and Verta Kener- son is Dean of Women at Western University-neither Margaret nor Verta ever maivied. Three of the boys of the class pursued athletic careers. Wil- fred Ryerse took up professional wrestling, and while at the peak of his career was known as Strang1er Ryerse. After making considerable money during his career as a wrestler, he retired and bought a large interest in some company that makes cellophane. Harland Kempthorne in his young- days starred with the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Team, while Walter Scott, after playing baseball for the New York Giants for many years, is now manager of that same team. Donald Stewart and Verne Martin both pursued theatrical careers. Don, after several years of comedy work on 21