Ranchester High School - Rustler Yearbook (Ranchester, WY)

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“PIONEERS OF 1939” There is a recognized law of nature that there is no such thing as standing still, either there is a movement forward or a falling backward. At this time of the school year we have a great army of young people moving out from the shelter of our public schools into a larger field of education. This may be some college or university, or, as our elders have termed it, “the school of hard knocks.” It is natural for school boys and girls to want to go forward as life gives them the command to march on. Promotion time is always a happy occasion and graduation brings reward for honest effort. “March On!” is a sort of unspoken motto for every red-blooded young person. They are on the march and naturally do not want to retreat unless it is to get a better start or to correct some mistake that will otherwise be a hindrance. The same thing is true in all walks of life. No man wants to have his business slumping or falling off. Growth and increase is ever the goal of his ambition. People are not all alike. Some are more determined, some more aggressive, some more capable, and some better equipped with training or financial backing. Determination plays a prominent part in the success of any individual, the determination to keep on going even when the way seems almost impossible. Adelina Patti, the singer, was a child of poverty yet she determined to be a singer and in spite of all sorts of discouragement placed her name among the highest of world musicians. Patti had a natural gift but if she had lacked determination she would have been only an ordinary musician. Robert E. Peary was just an ordinary school boy in Pennsylvania but he set himself to certain tasks of engineering. Step by step he worked upward to a position that would have satisfied most men. But Robert Peary was not easily satisfied. He wanted to do something outstanding for civilization. Again and again he made a long trek into the cold Arctic regions and in 1909 he was able to announce that he had located the North Pole. Peary was a determined man and he wrote that, “even Polar ice would melt by the heat of effort.” Eugene O’Neill is a modem writer who kept on the march in spite of many difficulties. Broken health sent him to a tuberculosis sanitarium in 1912. After six months he was released, his case marked “arrested and uninteresting.” But O’Neill was not bested. He set about building up his health and finding his place as a writer of plays. He was misunderstood by his relatives, his plays were considered crazy and publishers returned them unpublished but he kept working and striving and finally reaped reward for his efforts. Three of his plays have received the Pulitzer Prize. “Beyond the Horizon,” 1920, “Anna Christie,” in 1922, and “Strange Interlude,” in 1928. Graduates of today are looking into the future. What their own horizons may be no one can tell. This much is known from the study of history and biography—their success depends upon their determination to keep on the march regardless of conditions or circumstances. You will remember many of the brilliant quotations of the late Will Rogers. In one of his syndicated letters from Alaska just before his unfortunate last flight he said, “Now out to visit Matanuska Valley where they sent those 1935 model Pioneers.” Schools all over our fair land are sending out 1939 model pioneers at this time. Boys and girls are going out into, what is for them, a great unknown. Times are not easy for graduates. The professions seem crowded, industries say they have no places for them. Some can go on and take further studies and that will put off pioneering a few years longer but sooner or later they must all face hard facts and world issues as we take our places in a competitive world. What of that future? Resume of Class President’s address, given by Wilbur Jester, May 18, 1939.

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SENIORS Motto—“A Winner Never Quits and a Quitter Never Wins.” Colors—Blue and White Flower—White Carnation CLASS ROLL President Wilbur Jester—“Bubba” Vice President Arthur Schilling—“Art” Secretary Edythe Ann Kuzma—“Tango” Treasurer Lawrence Hood—“Larry” Student Council Bob Rawlings—“Bob” Winnefred Rice—“Winnie” THE THRESHOLD Over the threshold they come and go, The kin we love and the friends we know; And we gaily laugh as they leave the door, For we never know they will come no more Over the threshold loved of yore. Over the threshold—but as they pass, Age and infant and youth and lass, And whether they walk with sob or song, Whether with feeble step or strong, They leave a mark that shall last for long. Over the threshold! 0 sculptor, you Wonderful, beautiful things may do; But none shall fashion and none shall own A thing as beautiful as the stone Carved by the footseps we have known. —Douglas Malloch.