Port Huron High School - Student Yearbook (Port Huron, MI)

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VALEDICTORY 6 Valedictory A wind came up out of the sea And said , “0 mists , make room for me” It hailed the ships , and cried , “SffiV 0 7, l e mariners , fAe n g i is gone” — H. W. Longfellow. Thus the poet pictures a sunrise on the ocean. The ships are in the harbor ready to set sail. We are in the harbor, too, waiting for the dawn. The sunrise which we perceive is less glorious than the one we have been anticipating during our four years of earnest endeavor, for a misty sky obscures our future. Still we realize that we have arrived at the dawn of our life’s work. No longer shall we be so carefully shel- tered by teachers and parents. We must shoulder our own responsi- bilities. Today our activities as a class cease; tomorrow we work as individuals. We do not feel, however, that this is a time of parting. We hope that our paths may meet in business associations which will be as pleasant as those in the class room have been. May our spirit of co-operation be strengthened rather than weakened as we go forward. These misty skies which we face are only temporary. However, we cannot ignore present conditions. Our forefathers accomplished much in spite of great handicaps. They overcame the darkness caused by night-fall; we must overcome the darkness which is due to the industrial and financial crisis that envelopes the earth. Let us accomplish our task in such a way as to verify our motto, “Sunrise not sunset ' so that the sun may seem to shine more brightly after this period of storm and stress. We have already secured much of the equipment which we are to use during our life. We have acquired the fundamental learning which will enable us to take up our duties in the business world or secure for us the entrance into a higher institution of learning. We have, also, formed social contacts, strengthened friendship and built character during these pleasant years in high school. Our success will be determined not simply by our preparation. The person with the best equipment may fail if he does not use it properly. It will be the effort which we put forth that will determine the winner. Perhaps we are now able to perceive the necessity of storms. Vege- tation cannot exist without a certain amount of rain; nor would human initiative and energy thrive if one knew the future would always lead to an easy, sunny pat h. In the history of our country depressions have been periodical. They are only periods of adjustment in the world of industry. When the former conditions of prosperity return, a greater degree of learning will doubtless be in demand. So even though our hands may be idle temporarily, we must strive to keep our minds con- structively employed in order to meet the highest possible requirements. To our faculty we wish to offer our gratitude for their untiring efforts in preparing us for this event. To our parents we express our thanks for the sacrifices they have made in our behalf. To the individual members of this graduating class we express the hope that our com- mencement will truly prove a sunrise, not a sunset. Nina VanValkenburgh.

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SOCI AL CALENDAR 5 Sept. 6 Social Calendar First Semester School opens, two new faculty members. Oct. 14 Glee Club Dance, Garfield. Oct. 18 Class Elections. Nov. 9 Band Concert, Majestic, Bohumir Kryll. Nov. 14 Songsters’ Dance, Smith’s Garage. Nov. 21 Senior Girls’ Dinner, Cafeteria. Dec. 2 Art Exhibit, Library Hall, Miss Aukcrman. Dec. 18 Christmas Program, First Congregational Church. Dec. 21 10B Party, Auditorium. Jan. 23 Honor Society Initiation. Jan. 27 Charm School, Senior Play, Garfield. Jan. 29 Bacculaureate, First M. E. Church. Feb. 2 J. Hop, Arabian Ballroom. Feb. 3 Commencement, First Congregational Church. Feb. 6 Second Semester Second Semester. Mar. 10 Tournament at Pontiac. Mar. 30 Spring Sports Tournament, Washington Gym. Mar. 31 Spring Sports Tournament. Apr. 1 Spring Sports Tournament. Apr. 28 12A Party, Garfield. Apr. 28-29 Hi-Y International Street Fair. May 10 Spring Concert, First Congregational Church. May 5 Senior Girls’ Tea A. A. U. W., at Mrs. Ottaway’s. May 12 Dramatics Club three plays, Auditorium. May 17 Honor Society Initiation. May 26 Athletic Ball, Elks Temple. May 28 Baccalaureate, Congregational Church. June 1 Hop, W. B. A. June 2 Commencement, Desmond.

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SALUTATORY 7 Salutatory Recognition, happiness, success — they stand outlined like three tall elm trees against an eastern sky when the greyness is slipping away from a spring dawn and the morning sun is sending its first rays over the edge of the world. They tower straight and firm, the three landmarks toward which we instinctively set our footsteps. During the past four years we have met success and failure; we have merited praise and reproach. If during these months we have gathered a few of the fundamentals of living, our time has been well spent. Graduation is not the achievement day that tradition has made it appear. We have not reached the final goal post; we are merely approach- ing the start of a race for which we have been preparing. We have come to the point where we must pause momentarily to make a brief resume of what we have done and to weigh the value of our preliminary achievements. It is for us to determine what we have that is worthy to be taken with us into the future and what will merely encumber us if we do not discard it. At times some of us have failed — miserably and completely. Our whole efforts have been directed along the wrong paths, and the things toward which we should have striven have been lost. But it is not what we have done that matters; those failures are a part of the past. We must turn our minds to the future and make it a success. When the school doors close behind us, they do not terminate the period in which criticism and classification are meted out to us. The rating that our teachers can no longer give us will be replaced by the ready judgment of our fellow men. They, like our teachers, will decide to whom shall go the praise and honors that are th eirs to give and will publish them abroad so that all may know who has made his life worth while. As yet we have done nothing but try to feel out for ourselves the ways of living. Now we are ready to begin our careers, and we must make a good beginning and must have the right aim. The praise of public opinion is sweet to taste, but too much of it is apt to spoil our intellectual impetuosity and to lessen our capacity for the things that have earned praise. Invariably the worth acknowledged by the few is overlooked by the many, but it is the only recognition really deserving of the name. It is for us to go forth to seek that which will make our lives and the lives of those about us richer and fuller. Choose to do what you enjoy, make the doing of it more important than any glory it can bring, and you will travel surely and safely up the road to true recognition, happi- ness, and success. Ella McIntyre.