Ponca City High School - Cat Tale Yearbook (Ponca City, OK)

Page 11 text:

tlharll-s ll. fiunningl. illli1'f'llHIlLilt'ly known us f.ltll1'li. was infspl-4-tml :intl lwloywl lay ull. for he inforporalr-fl in his wry l'llllI'ilf'lPl' tlit-1-ssl-:iw 1-fall that IS goofl :intl lwillllllilll. Et lhosf- who r-anne into 4-ontavt with him mul . 52' eh that numlwr inrlurlwl sturlents unfl teavhers - for il pf-rioll of thirty xt-urs. his rihurr-h von- gre-gation whom he st-ryecl faithfully :incl well. , his 1-onimunity whivh ht- 1-nrieherl hy his lIlllllt'IlI'4' uncl his zu-tiw pzntir-ipation. his state. unrl his nation as well as neigzhhoring nations were inspire-rl hy tht- iiitvgxrity of his 1-lmrar-te-r. for how 1-un ont- not only proclum- tht- utmost ol heauty in musir' hut also molml il refine-int-nt in those who sing: it who rloes not Q-mhotly tht-sv ye-ry elements in hinisell? Wie lIlSllIlI'llYi'ly rc-4-ogmizefl his worth hut were surprisefl to reafl after his death of the extent of the honors he hall revviyefl from all ow-r our nation. for suvh was his morlesty anrl st-lflessness that he gave no thought to his own awwvmplishmc-nts 4-xvept as they were inyolyecl in his stuflents. Nor were his inter- ests confinecl to musir-. for all of life inter- estefl him. and he spent nmvh time with nature. hunting unrl fishing: anrl sturlying the stars so that his Conversations reflecterl a well-halanc-efl man of gzvntlene-ss and of yirility. llis love and understanding envoinpassefl all people anfl his religious faith servecl as a rock to the faltering ones. Chuck Cunning unwittingly 1-aryorl out a living memorial for himself with his own 1-ompositionsg for whenever students joyously sing. march. and Clap their hanrls in pep assemhly to the school songs he vomposecl. his spirit of HV-I-C-T-0-R-Y will he with them. anrl whenever and wherever they breathe the worfls HPOIICZI City. we love you... they will he refleetingz his spirit Never loyal. faithful. and truef, And so Mr. Cunning will he immortalizcrl by this influence on us all. and in the very words he sang to thousands of departing.: gI'ZNlll8tPF we hid him a 4'Bon Voyagzeff MRS. ALMA LEE OATES Above Seq Mr. Cl1arles . Cunning Page 7

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Page 6 As you came to school this morning l am sure you saw the :Xnierican flag flying at half mast. lt was so displayed in honor of a faithful teacher and a worthy' citizen of this vomnnmity. Bay Baird was a member of the high school staff since 10-12. llc may' not have been as well known to many of you students as those who teach academic subjects. but throughout the connnunity' and the county' lil? Yfas kllfllf ll HS f'Y0l'yblHlyf5 lililtillfl. He was not content to serve a seven or an eight hour shift. but he was helping others before most of us were awake and long after many' of us were in lied. ln giving so freely of himself he undoubtedly' short- ened his own life. 'He was a member of the Rotary' Club. The motto of that splendid organization is 'Service above selff How well he lived up l to that motto is well-known by the hundreds 1 he helped at all times of day' and night and '3 in all kinds of weather. Nwhen I talked with Mr. Baird last Sun- day. he was most apologetic for being such a sissy' and having to spend a few days in the hospital. ln my brief conversation with him he men- tioned his concern regarding the projects of his students. One of his very last requests dealt with the activities of the Ponca City chapter of the Future Farmers of America. HA short time ago we sang our school song with the phrase 'Ever loyal, faithful, and true., I do not know of anyone who better exemplified the meaning of.these words than Ray Baird. We can honor him most by being faithful and loyal to the things in which he believed, and to which he gave the last full measure of devotionf' This worthy tribute was Mr. Andersonis announcement to the student body of the untimely death of one of our hardest-working faculty members. The loss of Mr. Baird to our community is immeasurableg for he not only served as sponsor and advisor to our future farmers, but he gave of his time to befriend and advise the present agriculturists in their everyday problems. Mr. Andersonis praise of Mr. Baird touched the heart of every student, and no higher praise can be given a man than that he Loved his neighbor as himselff' Service Mr. Ray O. Baird

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