Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

Page 9 text:

Foreword “The Forty-Niners . our class sobriquet, recalls the rugged days of the rush for gold, when with courage, determination, and singleness of purpose, men struck out across the country in search of treasure. Like those resolute pioneers of the frontier, our class has made the journey for gold. At times, the trails which we have followed have been difficult and treacherous. Our will to win, however, has led us to more level ground, thus making our trek through school smooth again. In our constant quest, we have uncovered many nuggets. In¬ creased knowledge, social development, advice and coun¬ sel, true friends, and happy moments have been ours. We have panned our gold and have found high ideals. With such riches in our possession, the gold of the future awaits us, containing success, happiness, and prosperity. During our travels, we have left footprints along the way, footprints which show the individuality, character, and accomplishments of our class. I hese footprints may be unimportant to some, hut to us. who have made them, they are the symbol of youth, our won¬ derful youth. They remind us of tedious but necessary homework assignments, rousing football games on crisp fall afternoons, and heavenly proms. It is our steps on this path through early life in our search for gold, which we, the Forty-Niners, endeavor to inscribe in this, the Pioneer. To symbolize our spirit and to personify our theme, we have chosen to have one of those earlier Forty-Niners accompany us, travel through our hook with us, as we weave together our history, in pictures and words. For the Pioneer of 1949 is our diary, and the meeting place of both our memories and our hopes— the embryo story of the modern Forty-Niners of R.H.S.

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The Seniors. 11-35 Features. 36-56 Activities. 57-66 Sports. 67-75 Advertisements . . . . 78 - 103

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Headmaster Fellow Students: I use the above salutation because, though many of you may not have suspected it, all of us on the faculty have been students with you during the past three years. Although our formal education is a thing of the past, we have been daily carrying on our studies with you and about you. We have earnestly tried to understand you as individuals so that we might better serve you in the capacity of teachers and counsellors. We have tried to get you started on the road of self-education so that gradually you may develop your mental powers to meet intelligently in later life situations that will call for you to pass judgment on points of conflicting evidence. We hope that by now you have learned not to accept every statement as fact. There is real educational value in doubt, provided that it does not degenerate into mere skepticism or opposition for opposition’s sake. The American ideal calls for intelligent questioning of pre¬ sumed facts before acceptance. We hope that by now the fundamental philosophy of true American education has become part of your mental equipment. We hope that we have helped introduce the proper leaven into your mind so that you may live a happy, intelligent, and in¬ quiring life. No school, no institution can cure the ignorance and folly of man. Each must discover the path of wisdom for himself. You cannot “get” an education anywhere. You become educated only by virtue of patient con¬ tinued study, quiet meditation, intellectual courage to analyze and revise when necessary much of what you have come to believe is true. Someone — I think it was Lord Bacon — wrote, “There are four facets to Wisdom. They are Intellectual Curi¬ osity — the observance and study of the nature of things, Sympathy — the willingness to listen to and consider the statements of others, Modesty, and Piety.” I recom¬ mend that for a full and useful life you keep these four facets bright and clear before you. Rudolf Sussmann