Petaluma High School - Trojans Yearbook (Petaluma, CA)

Page 30 text:

HIGH SCHOOL ENTERPRISE ’0 6. Editorial It is truly with pleasure that the class of 1906 presents the 27th volume of the Enterprise to the public—a public, which we are assured, is interested keenly in our high school, the work accomplished therein, and its various enterprises. We have endeavored to make this a paper representative of the high schcol, a paper worthy of its predecessors, one of which the citizens who loyally support this institution may be proud—and to this end we have dilligently and constantly struggled. i To our instructors, to the school, and especially to the advertisers we are exceedingly grateful. But for the hearty cooperation of the last, the Enterprise would be well nigh impossible, for the financial question naturally, is one of extreme importance. Almost without exception, the business men of the city gladly consented to advertising, with the usual “Why, of course! I always am glad to help the young folks up there along.” Many thanks! We realize, of course, that it is not the advertisement itself, that counts for so much, but the good will shown, and indirectly, thru financial aid, the credit it reflects on Petaluma and li e ' r schools. At the time of the fearful calamity, it was thought by many that the paper should be given up and the money devoted to relief. How¬ ever, the opinion of many citizens, “Don’t let the High School give up any of its enterprises,” and we fear, a long cherished desire on the part of many of us to publish our annual, led us on. Whether right or wrong in this, we hope that what we have accomplished may meet with your approval. At the time this paper gees to the publisher, our commencement is undecided. However, we feel assured that cur teachers and the Board of Trustees will decide upon what is best. We regret exceedingly that the pictures of two of our graduating class cannot appear, as the fact that they were really to be of cur class was not fully decided until too late for them to be entered in his bock. And now, again to the teachers, students, ard advertisers—we ren¬ der to ycu our sincere gratitude, and hope that you may find the result worthy of your splendid co-operation. — 28 —

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STRfT: EDITOR IN CHIEF .Florentine Schluckebier ASSOCIATE EDITOR .. Dulcie Bales BUSINESS MANAGER . Malcolm L. Byce ASSOCIATE BUSINESS MANAGER . Otta Long Local Editors: Fiction Marion D. Falconer School Notes Millen E. Winsor Alumni Corallynne McGovern Mata Meyerholtz . A1 . a Athletics enoie Gage Society Emma L. Oeltjen Joshes Class Historian Frances R. Smith Alumni Helen Peters — 27 — Elizabeth Drennon George K. Mills Cecil E. Mills Otta Long

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HIGH SCHOOL ENTERPRISE ’0 6. •hat [ow- up part : or leet lent the ting :lass ck. ren- isult The TeQth Legion “If no one else will follow me I will go on with only the Tenth Le¬ gion; upon this legion I can rely.” Thus spoke a great commander when the larger part of his army, terrified by the reports of the huge stature and mighty prowess of the barbarian enemy whose very eyes shone fire, refused to advance. Nineteen centuries have not sufficed to dim the glory of those four thousand men. There were plenty of other men in that army able to fight, these were the only ones who were sure to fight. No matter what the odds, how great the danger, they could be depended upon. As in the time of Caesar so today men may be divided into two class¬ es—those who can be trusted and those who cannot. The latter are not altogether inefficient, they have in their several avocations more or less skill, and they accomplish a good deal of the work of the world.. But at the critical moment they are found lacking, they never measure up to their full capabilities, and often their lives enidi in ignominy. Henry Clay, a mian who was admired and beloved by a large por¬ tion of the American people to a degree quite without parallel today, might have realized his high ambition and have become President had he not at the critical moment led men to doubt his fidelity to the prin¬ ciple on which he was supposed to stand. For his vacillation he paid a heavy penalty of dissapointment and chargin. “I don ' t care; ” observed the head of a large firm, “whether a young man knows anything about the business. He can learn. But I do want a man who can be relied upon.” This is the supreme test before which all other things are but incidentals. Do not be deceived into thinking that increase in knowledge, whether it be ability to construct an electric battery, to apeak a foreign language or to understand principles of government, it is your prime concern during your school days. These accomplishments are useful, but only relatively so. The degree of their usefulness depends upon the person¬ al integrity of their possessor, upon the reliability of his character. Clay found that eloquence and political skill and engaging manners were of no avail apart from personal integrity. Similarly endowed with brilliant gifts and similarly lacking in the fundamental thing, a prom¬ inent senator from New York is at the present time closing a bright career in sadness and disgrace. He is only one of a number of men, regarded as the pillars of the financial world, who have recently been found not worthy of our trust. In these days of your youth your habits are forming, your character is in the making. You are now determining to a large degree the sort of men and women you will be later on. If in all the work you are doing mow, whether in school or at home, you are thorough and accur¬ ate and conscientious, the severe test, the insidious temptation which is sure to confront you in later life will find you steadfast and un- swervable. If you are dilatory and behind hand with your work and indifferent as to its quality, you are preparing for that fateful day when you will be tried in the balances and found wanting. Reliability is not a garment or a suit of armor to be put on or laid off at will. It is rather an element of character built into the very edi¬ fice of your being as the steel frame is built into the towering struct- — 29 —